Methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness
Psychonautics
(from the
Ancient Greek
ψυχ?
psych?
'soul, spirit, mind' and
να?τη?
naut?s
'sailor, navigator')
[1]
refers both to a methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of
altered states of consciousness
, including those induced by
meditation
or
mind-altering substances
, and to a research cabal in which the researcher voluntarily immerses themselves into an altered mental state in order to explore the accompanying experiences.
[2]
The term has been applied diversely, to cover all activities by which
altered states
are induced and utilized for
spiritual
purposes or the exploration of the
human condition
, including
shamanism
,
lamas
of the
Tibetan
Buddhist
tradition,
[3]
the
Siddhars
of Ancient India,
[4]
sensory deprivation
,
[1]
and archaic/modern drug users who use
entheogenic
substances in order to gain deeper insights and spiritual experiences.
[5]
Self-experimentation of psychedelics in groups may foster innovation of alternative medication treatment.
[6]
A person who uses altered states for such exploration is known as a
psychonaut
.
Etymology and categorization
[
edit
]
The term
psychonautics
derives from the prior term
psychonaut
, which began appearing in North American works in the late 1950s. The first reference that corresponds to contemporary usages of the term was in the 1965 edition of the
Group Psychotherapy
journal. A 1968 magazine,
Beyond Baroque
, refers to
Timothy Leary
as a psychonaut.
[
citation needed
]
German
author
Ernst Junger
describes ideas related to psychonautics - in reference to
Arthur Heffter
- in his 1970 essay on his own extensive drug experiences
Annaherungen: Drogen und Rausch
(literally: "Approaches: Drugs and Inebriation").
[1]
[7]
In this essay, Junger draws many parallels between drug experience and physical exploration?for example, the danger of encountering hidden "reefs."
Peter J. Carroll
made
Psychonaut
the title of a 1982 book on the experimental use of
meditation
,
ritual
and
drugs
in the experimental exploration of consciousness and of
psychic phenomena
, or "
chaos magic
".
[8]
The term's first published use in a scholarly context is attributed to
ethnobotanist
Jonathan Ott
, in 2001.
[9]
Definition and usage
[
edit
]
Clinical psychiatrist Jan Dirk Blom describes psychonautics as denoting "the exploration of the psyche by means of techniques such as
lucid dreaming
,
brainwave entrainment
,
sensory deprivation
, and the use of
hallucinogens
or
entheogens
, and a psychonaut as one who "seeks to investigate their mind using intentionally induced altered states of consciousness" for spiritual, scientific, or research purposes.
[1]
Psychologist Dr. Elliot Cohen of
Leeds Beckett University
and the UK Institute of Psychosomanautics defines psychonautics as "the means to study and explore consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness; it rests on the realization that to study consciousness is to transform it." He associates it with a long tradition of historical cultures worldwide.
[10]
Leeds Beckett University offers a module in Psychonautics
[11]
[12]
and may be the only university in the UK to do so.
[
citation needed
]
American Buddhist writer
Robert Thurman
depicts the
Tibetan Buddhist
master
as a psychonaut, stating that "Tibetan lamas could be called psychonauts, since they journey across the frontiers of death into the in-between realm."
[3]
Categorization
[
edit
]
The aims and methods of psychonautics, when state-altering substances are involved, is commonly distinguished from
recreational drug use
by research sources.
[1]
Psychonautics as a means of exploration need not involve drugs, and may take place in a religious context with an established history. Cohen considers psychonautics closer in association to wisdom traditions and other transpersonal and integral movements.
[10]
However, there is considerable overlap with
modern drug use
and due to its modern close association with
psychedelics
and other drugs, it is also studied in the context of
drug abuse
from a perspective of addiction,
[2]
the drug abuse market and
online
psychology,
[13]
and studies into existing and emerging drugs within
toxicology
.
[5]
Methods
[
edit
]
- Hallucinogens
,
[1]
oneirogens
, and especially
psychedelics
such as
peyote
,
psilocybin mushrooms
,
LSD
and
DMT
, but also
dissociatives
and
atypical
psychedelics such as
ketamine
,
dextromethorphan
,
Tabernanthe iboga
,
Amanita muscaria
,
Salvia divinorum
,
MDMA
, and
Cannabis
- Icaros
, which are the songs (i.e. something verbal that is ordinarily perceived as an auditory sensation) the
Ayahuasceros
sing to induce pictorial representations, rich tapestries of colors and patterns that are visually seen by the listener. (See:
synesthesia
) The ayahuasca ingredient, harmine, was once known as telepathine because of this group-facilitated activity of singing icaros and the shared perception it cultivates. A shaman who is one of the Ayahuascero people is expected to memorize as many icaros as they can.
[15]
- Disruption of psychological and physiological processes required for usual mental states -
sleep deprivation
,
fasting
,
sensory deprivation
,
[1]
oxygen deprivation
/
smoke inhalation
,
holotropic breathwork
- Ritual
, both as a means of inducing an altered state, and also for practical purposes of
grounding
and of obtaining suitable focus and intention
- Dreaming
, in particular
lucid dreaming
[1]
in which the person retains a degree of volition and awareness, and
dream journals
- Hypnosis
[1]
- Meditation
[1]
- Meditative or
trance
inducing dance, like
Sufi whirling
can also be used to induce altered state of consciousness
- Prayer
[1]
- Biofeedback
and other devices that change neural activity in the
brain
(
brainwave entrainment
)
[1]
by means of light, sound, or electrical impulses, including:
mind machines
,
dreamachines
,
binaural beats
, and
cranial electrotherapy stimulation
- Guided Imagery and Music
(GIM) refers to all forms of music-imaging in an expanded state of consciousness, including not only the specific individual and group forms that music therapist and researcher Helen Bonny developed, but also all variations and modifications in those forms created by her followers.
These may be used in combination; for example, traditions such as shamanism may combine ritual, fasting, and hallucinogenic substances.
Works and notable figures
[
edit
]
Two iconic psychonautical researchers and advocates of the 20th century.
Works such as
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
by
Thomas De Quincey
,
The Hasheesh Eater
by
Fitz Hugh Ludlow
, and
On Hashish
by
Walter Benjamin
have psychonautic elements insofar as they explore human and drug-induced experiences. They may be considered precursors to psychonautic literature, but they are not psychonautic works in their own right.
One of the best known psychonautic works is
Aldous Huxley
's
The Doors of Perception
, which recounts his experience after taking 400mg of mescaline.
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
The American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, writer and inventor
John C. Lilly
was a well-known psychonaut. Lilly was interested in the nature of
consciousness
and, amongst other techniques, he used isolation tanks in his research.
[20]
Ken Kesey
is an author well-known for accounts of his experimentation with psychedelic drugs.
Philosophical-
and
Science
-fiction author
Philip K. Dick
has also been described as a psychonaut for several of his works such as
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
.
[17]
Another influential figure is the psychologist and writer
Timothy Leary
.
[18]
Leary is known for controversial talks and research on the subject; he wrote several books including
The Psychedelic Experience
. Another widely known name is that of American
philosopher
,
ethnobotanist
, lecturer, and author
Terence McKenna
.
[21]
[22]
McKenna spoke and wrote about subjects including psychedelic drugs, plant-based
entheogens
,
shamanism
,
metaphysics
,
alchemy
,
language
, culture, technology, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.
Among the most influential figures are undoubtedly
Alexander Shulgin
and
Ann Shulgin
who together authored
PiHKAL
and
TiHKAL
, a pair of books which contain fictionalized autobiographies and detailed notes on over 230 psychoactive compounds. Some present-day psychonauts refer to themselves as "Shulginists" to denote a belief in the principles they identify in Shulgins' work.
[23]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
Blom, Jan Dirk (2009).
A Dictionary of Hallucinations
. Springer. p. 434.
ISBN
978-1-4419-1222-0
. Retrieved
5 March
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Newcombe, Russell (2008). "Ketamine Case Study: The Phenomenology of a Ketamine Experience".
Addiction Research & Theory
.
16
(3): 209?215.
doi
:
10.1080/16066350801983707
.
S2CID
143462683
.
- ^
a
b
As noted by
Flores, Ralph (2008).
Buddhist scriptures as literature: sacred rhetoric and the uses of theory
. State University of New York Press.
ISBN
978-0-7914-7339-9
. Retrieved
5 March
2010
.
- ^
R. N. Hema (December 2019).
Biography of the 18 Siddhars
(Thesis). National Institute of Siddha.
- ^
a
b
van Riel (2007).
"New Drugs of Abuse"
.
Clinical Toxicology
.
45
(4): 372?3.
doi
:
10.1080/15563650701284894
.
S2CID
218860546
. Retrieved
5 March
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Kempner, Joanna; Bailey, John (1 October 2019).
"Collective self-experimentation in patient-led research: How online health communities foster innovation"
.
Social Science & Medicine
.
238
: 112366.
doi
:
10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112366
.
PMID
31345612
.
S2CID
196544851
.
- ^
Junger. "Psychonauten".
Annaherungen: Drogen und Rausch
. p. 430.
Cited in
Taylor; et al. (2005).
The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature
. Thoemmes Continuum. p. 1312.
ISBN
978-1-84371-138-4
. Retrieved
5 March
2010
.
- ^
Carroll, Peter J. (April 1987).
Liber Null
. (1978) and
Psychonaut
. (1982) (published in one volume in 1987)
. Weiser Books.
ISBN
978-0-87728-639-4
.
- ^
Ott, Jonathan (2001).
"Pharmanopo-Psychonautics: Human Intranasal, Sublingual, Intrarectal, Pulmonary and Oral Pharmacology of Bufotenine"
.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
.
33
(3): 273?282.
doi
:
10.1080/02791072.2001.10400574
.
PMID
11718320
.
S2CID
5877023
. Archived from
the original
on 2 March 2012
. Retrieved
5 March
2010
.
Cited by
Blom, Jan Dirk (2009).
A Dictionary of Hallucinations
. Springer. p. 434.
ISBN
978-1-4419-1222-0
. Retrieved
5 March
2010
.
- ^
a
b
UK Institute of Psychonautics and Somanautics
page
Archived
10 November 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
at his
"Academy for Transpersonal Studies"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 September 2010
. Retrieved
10 March
2010
.
- ^
"Course Specification - BA (Hons) Psychology and Society"
(PDF)
.
Leeds Beckett University
.
Leeds Beckett University
. 2017?18. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 14 March 2023
. Retrieved
11 September
2020
.
- ^
"Elliot Cohen"
.
Staff Directory
.
Leeds Beckett University
. Retrieved
11 September
2020
.
- ^
Schifano, Fabrizio; Leoni, Mauro; Martinotti, Giovanni; Rawaf, Salman; Rovetto, Francesco (August 2003). "Importance of Cyberspace for the Assessment of the Drug Abuse Market: Preliminary Results from the Psychonaut 2002 Project".
CyberPsychology & Behavior
.
6
(4): 405?410.
doi
:
10.1089/109493103322278790
.
PMID
14511453
.
- ^
Bigwood, Jeremy; Stafford, Peter J. (1992).
Psychedelics encyclopedia
. Berkeley, CA: Ronin Pub. pp. 118?9.
ISBN
978-0-914171-51-5
.
- ^
Herzberg, Nicholas.
"Analysing Icaros: The Musicology of Ayahuasca Ceremonies"
. Retrieved
29 March
2023
.
- ^
Dunne, Carey (30 July 2013).
"See The Contest-Winning Cover For "Brave New World"
"
. Retrieved
25 May
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Doyle, Richard M. (2011).
Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noosphere
. University of Washington Press.
ISBN
978-0-295-99095-8
.
- ^
a
b
Carpenter, Dan (2006).
A Psychonaut's Guide to the Invisible Landscape: The Topography of the Psychedelic Experience
. Park Street Press.
ISBN
978-1-59477-090-6
.
- ^
Jordison, Sam (26 January 2012).
"The Doors of Perception: What did Huxley see in mescaline?"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
25 May
2015
.
- ^
Lilly, John C. (1956).
"Mental Effects of Reduction of Ordinary Levels of Physical Stimuli on Intact, Healthy Persons"
(PDF)
.
Psychiatric Research Reports
. Vol. 5. pp. 1?9.
- ^
Richards, Chris (31 March 2014).
"Sturgill Simpson: A country voice of, and out of, this world"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
16 June
2015
.
- ^
Harms, Shane (28 October 2014).
"Fall brings a change in the climate of consciousness"
. Archived from
the original
on 24 February 2015
. Retrieved
16 June
2015
.
- ^
Doc, Zee (14 April 2018).
"What is a Shulginist?"
.
Doc Zee
. Retrieved
29 October
2022
.
External links
[
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]