Psychedelic Humanities

Psychedelic Humanities
Author: Erika Dyck
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2024-06-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 2832550487

Psychedelics are part of a resurgence of interest in consciousness studies, especially as altered states of consciousness are being re-examined in the context of psychedelic-assisted therapies. To date, discussions about psychedelics in modern medicine have been dominated by studies in biomedicine. However, given that cultural factors play a significant role in the subjective effects of psychedelics, psychedelics can be considered a uniquely powerful point of convergence between the cultural and biomedical. Writers and artists, alongside psychiatrists and pharmacologists, have participated in shaping ‘the psychedelic experience’ by drawing on a rich set of approaches that blend narrative, arts, and humanities concepts to explain and interpret psychedelic experiences and explore consciousness for creative purposes. Psychedelic studies, past and present, emphasize the importance of ‘set and setting’ or the context of psychedelic consumption and its paramount importance in shaping psychedelic experiences. These non-pharmacological factors rely on a different set of methods and interpretations that necessarily rely on studies conducted outside of the biomedical sciences.

American Trip

American Trip
Author: Ido Hartogsohn
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2020-07-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0262539144

How historical, social, and cultural forces shaped the psychedelic experience in midcentury America, from CIA LSD experiments the Harvard Psilocybin Project. Are psychedelics invaluable therapeutic medicines, or dangerously unpredictable drugs that precipitate psychosis? Tools for spiritual communion or cognitive enhancers that spark innovation? Activators for one's private muse or part of a political movement? In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers studied psychedelics in all these incarnations, often arriving at contradictory results. In American Trip, Ido Hartogsohn examines how the psychedelic experience in midcentury America was shaped by historical, social, and cultural forces—by set (the mindset of the user) and setting (the environments in which the experience takes place). He explores uses of psychedelics that range from CIA and military experimentation to psychedelic-inspired styles in music, fashion, design, architecture, and film. Along the way, he introduces us to a memorable cast of characters including Betty Eisner, a psychologist who drew on her own experience to argue for the therapeutic potential of LSD, and Timothy Leary, who founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project and went on to become psychedelics' most famous advocate. Hartogsohn chronicles these developments in the context of the era's cultural trends, including the cold war, the counterculture, the anti-psychiatric movement, and the rise of cybernetics. Drawing on insights from the study of science, technology, and society, he develops the idea of LSD as a suggestible technology, the properties of which are shaped by suggestion. He proposes the concept of collective set and setting, arguing that the historical and sociocultural context of midcentury America offered a particular set and setting—creating the conditions for what he calls the American trip.

Neuropsychedelia

Neuropsychedelia
Author: Nicolas Langlitz
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2013
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0520274814

Neuropsychedelia examines the revival of psychedelic science since the "Decade of the Brain." After the breakdown of this previously prospering area of psychopharmacology, and in the wake of clashes between counterculture and establishment in the late 1960s, a new generation of hallucinogen researchers used the hype around the neurosciences in the 1990s to bring psychedelics back into the mainstream of science and society. This book is based on anthropological fieldwork and philosophical reflections on life and work in two laboratories that have played key roles in this development: a human lab in Switzerland and an animal lab in California. It sheds light on the central transnational axis of the resurgence connecting American psychedelic culture with the home country of LSD. In the borderland of science and religion, Neuropsychedelia explores the tensions between the use of hallucinogens to model psychoses and to evoke spiritual experiences in laboratory settings. Its protagonists, including the anthropologist himself, struggle to find a place for the mystical under conditions of late-modern materialism.

Psychedelics and Spirituality

Psychedelics and Spirituality
Author: Thomas B. Roberts
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1644110237

Reveals how psychedelics can facilitate spiritual development and direct encounters with the sacred • With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Brother David Steindl-Rast, and many others • Includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants • Explores protocols for ceremonial use of psychedelics and the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change Modern organized religion is based predominantly on secondary religious experience--we read about others’ extraordinary spiritual encounters with God but have no direct experience ourselves. Yet there exist powerful sacraments to help us directly experience the sacred, to help us seek out the meaning of being human and our place in the universe, and to help us see the sacred in the world that surrounds us. In this book, more than 25 spiritual leaders, scientists, and psychedelic visionaries examine how we can return to the primary spiritual encounters at the basis of all religions through the guided use of psychedelics. With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Myron Stolaroff, and many others, this book explores protocols for ceremonial and spiritual use of psychedelics, including LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and MDMA, and the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change. It examines psychoactive sacraments in the Bible, myths surrounding the use of LSD, and the transformative ayahuasca rituals of Santo Daime. The book also includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants. Dispelling fears of inauthentic spirituality, addiction, and ill-prepared encounters with the holy, this book reveals the potential of psychedelics as catalysts for spiritual development, a path through which faith can directly encounter God’s power, and the beginning of a new religious era based on personal spiritual experience.

Otherworlds

Otherworlds
Author: David Luke
Publisher: Aeon Books
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2019-05-24
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1916068987

Scientist and psychonaut David Luke weaves personal experience and scientific research in this comprehensive exploration of chemically mediated extra ordinary human experiences."Emphasizing parapsychological aspects of the psychedelic experience, Luke's new book fills in a fascinating and previously neglected lacuna in the burgeoning field of human studies with these compounds. " - Rick Strassman, PhD "A psychedelic Indiana Jones. " - Matt Colborn, PhD "David Luke's delightful one-liner about his book is that it's 'about weird people in weird places taking weird substances doing weird things and, importantly, having weird experiences' . . . On reflection, it's much more profound than that . . . So weird reader, forge ahead without fear. " - Dean Radin, PhD "In his fascinating book David plunges into this controversial topic and gives the backstory, the front story, and possible ways forward to bring paranormal and psychedelic research together, and further our understanding of both. " - Dennis J. McKenna, PhD "A remarkable collection and a necessary one. This body of research illuminates aspects of psychedelic experiences usually obscured or denied in the medical and clinical research and sensationalized in the popular press. " - James Fadiman, PhD "A real Dr Gonzo. " - Will Self

The Psilocybin Connection

The Psilocybin Connection
Author: Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2022-04-05
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1623176557

A comprehensive guide to psilocybin mushrooms and their impact on our psychology, biology, and social development. How—and why—do psychedelics exist? Did psilocybin catalyze our early human ancestors’ social evolution? And how can an integral understanding of psychedelics quite literally change the world? In an ambitious and comprehensive look at psilocybin—and an inside look at how humanity co-evolved alongside "magic" mushrooms—Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD, explores our historical and ancestral relationship to psychedelics and presents new and exciting research about what psilocybin can mean for us today. Separated into three sections—Present, Past, and Future—The Psilocybin Connection advances our understanding of psychedelics in unexpected and original ways. Khamsehzadeh shares compelling research that suggests how naturally occurring psychedelics may have played an essential role in humanity's social, cultural, and linguistic evolution. Supported by archaeological evidence, neuroscience, and academic studies, he explores how mushrooms gave rise to art and expression, impacted spiritual experiences, and even spurred human brain development. Blending the most comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of psilocybin research with stories of his own and others' psychedelic awakenings, Khamsehzadeh moves our understanding of the psychedelic mushroom forward toward a fresh, hopeful, and exciting future.

Philosophy and Psychedelics

Philosophy and Psychedelics
Author: Christine Hauskeller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2022-06-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1350231622

What do psychedelics reveal about consciousness? What impact have psychedelics had on philosophy? In this rapidly growing area of study, this is the first volume to explore the philosophy of psychedelic experience, from a range of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives. In doing so, Philosophy and Psychedelics reveals just why the place of psychedelics in our societies should not be left to medical sciences alone, as psychedelic experience opens up new perspectives on fundamental philosophical questions relating to human experience, ethics, and the metaphysics of mind. Mapping a range of philosophical responses to the surge in studies into psychedelic drugs in the cognitive sciences, this go-to volume examines topics including psychedelics and the role of governance; psychedelics and mysticism; what psychedelics can tell us about dyadic thankfulness; and psychedelics as ways to gain new knowledge. Written by leading international scholars, the essays cover Western and non-Western traditions, from analytic philosophy to Zen Buddhism, and discuss a variety of hallucinogens, such as LSD, MDMA, and Ayahuasca, in order to build a much-needed bridge between the rapidly growing scientific research and the philosophy behind psychedelic experience.

The Psychedelic Handbook

The Psychedelic Handbook
Author: Rick Strassman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2022-08-09
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1646043812

Learn everything you need to know about psychedelics with this ultimate guide packed with information on popular psychoactive drugs like psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA, DMT and LSD--plus practical tips for microdosing and how to safely "trip"--from bestselling author Dr. Rick Strassman. Entering the world of psychedelics can be daunting, and many aren't sure where to start. Research continues to expand and legalization looms on the horizon for psychedelics like psilocybin. The Psychedelic Handbook is a complete manual that explains the basics of psychedelics in a way that is accessible for the novice user--or even just the psychedelic-curious. Inside you'll find: Information on the science and history of psychedelics Basic information on popular psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, and peyote The difference between psychedelics and other "psychedelic-like" such as MDMA and ketamine The healing potential of psychedelic medicine for depression, PTSD, and anxiety And much more! Clinical research psychiatrist and bestselling author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Dr. Rick Strassman offers his expert advice for safely and effectively reaping the benefits of psychedelic medicine.

Sacred Knowledge

Sacred Knowledge
Author: William Richards
Publisher:
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2018-06-24
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780231174077

Sacred Knowledge is the first well-documented, sophisticated account of the effect of psychedelics on biological processes, human consciousness, and revelatory religious experiences. Richards argues that, if used responsibly and legally, psychedelics have incredible potential to assuage human suffering and contribute to the quality of life.

Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness

Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness
Author: David Jay Brown
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2015-10-15
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1620553937

In-depth and well-researched interviews with the leading minds in psychedelic science and culture • A curated collection of interviews with 15 accomplished scientists, artists, and thinkers, including Albert Hofmann, Stanislav Grof, Rick Strassman, and Charles Tart • Explores their profound reflections on the intersections between psychedelics and a wide range of topics, including psychology, creativity, music, the near-death experience, DNA, and the future of psychedelic drug medical research After many dark years of zealous repression, there are now more than a dozen government-approved clinical studies with psychedelics taking place around the globe. But what does the future hold for psychedelic research and the expansion of consciousness? In this curated collection of interviews with pioneers in psychedelic thought, David Jay Brown explores the future of mind-altering drugs, hallucinogenic plants, and the evolution of human consciousness. The accomplished scientists, artists, and thinkers interviewed in the book include LSD discoverer Albert Hofmann, psychologist Stanislav Grof, DMT researcher Rick Strassman, anthropologist Jeremy Narby, MAPS founder Rick Doblin, ethnobotanist Dennis McKenna, psychologist Charles Tart, and musician Simon Posford from Shpongle, as well as many others. Demonstrating deep knowledge of his interviewees’ work, Brown elicits profound reflections from them as well as their considered opinions on the future of psychedelic drug medical research, God and the afterlife, LSD and mysticism, DMT research and non-human entity contact, problem-solving and psychedelics, ayahuasca and DNA, psilocybin and the religious experience, MDMA and PTSD, releasing the fear of death, the tryptamine dimension, the therapeutic potential of salvia, and the intersections between psychedelics and creativity, ecology, paranormal phenomena, and alternate realities. In each interview we discover how these influential minds were inspired by their use of entheogens. We see how psychedelics have the potential to help us survive as a species, not only by their therapeutic benefits but also by revealing our sacred connection to the biosphere and by prompting people to begin on the path of spiritual evolution.