The Castalians vs the Pranksters
The notoriety of DMT as a perilously mad trip was amplified in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, as author Tom Wolfe related an episode where one of Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters was administered DMT at Timothy Leary’s expansive new digs in Millbrook, New York. It was the summer of 1964.
DMT Research from 1956 to the Edge of Time
From a representative sample of a suitably psychedelic crowd, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t tell you all about Albert Hofmann’s enchanted bicycle ride after swallowing what turned out to be a massive dose of LSD. Far fewer, however, could tell you much about the world’s first DMT trip.
A Review of Andrew Dawson’s Santo Daime: A New World Religion
What is it that draws modern middle class individuals to a highly ecstatic and mystic religious culture in light of the increasing presence of scientific rationalism and reductionism? Andrew Dawson’s book has led me closer to finding the answer.
DMT and the Bible: An Interview with Rick Strassman
I was 20 years old one summer day in 1972, watching the sun set from my dorm room, when I vowed to do psychedelic drug research. I knew then that I would use psychopharmacology, Buddhism, and psychoanalytic models in my approach to explicating and utilizing the psychedelic drug effect. But the results of my DMT studies, the goal of nearly 25 years of preparation, study, training, research, and practice showed me that those models were inadequate for fully encompassing the DMT state.
DMT, the Prophetic Experience, and the Hebrew Bible
To the extent that DMT and other psychedelics occasion altered states of consciousness with “prophecy-like” features, one could consider the judicious use of these agents in this context. In a complementary manner, those who use psychedelic drugs for spiritual purposes may wish to consider the Hebrew Bible an interpretive tool for understanding and applying the information contained in their drug sessions.
Who’s Tripping Who?
Psychedelic plants, fungi and animals can provide extremely valuable insights relating to life on this planet. Our species would be foolish to disregard these transformative agents that can be of benefit to ourselves, all life, and our long term future on this planet.
Cosmic Consciousness, Transcendence and Dissociation
The distinction between dissociation and transcendence is not always easy to make. At Harvard in the early 1960s, we experimented with DMT. While most of us found the experience to be chaotic and dissociative, one of our visitors assumed a yoga posture and sat in deep meditative absorption for 40 minutes, thanked us and left. The ability to make sense of the experience would certainly be a function of having had some prior experiences of transcendent consciousness…
Unified Psychedelic Theory: An Interview with Patrick Lundborg R.I.P.
We are honored with this interview with Patrick Lundborg, author of the psychedelic bible Psychedelia; a brilliant, warm, and humorous soul.
20 Essential Books on the Mysterious Power of Ayahuasca
Despite the recent surge in popularity of the vine, the subtle occult and metaphysical aspects of ayahuasca—for those who have dedicated their entire life to understanding and working with it—still needs further exploration.
The Second Psychedelic Revolution Part Three: Terence McKenna, The Rise of the Plant Shaman
In the decade following his death, the focal points of Terence McKenna’s life’s work have become, for better and for worse, something of a blueprint for the rise of a global neo-tribal, techno-shamanic culture.
