Dissertation Notes: "Flesh-out"

Dissertation structure & Content

Sections / Chapters?...

Psychedelic Substances in question: Ayahuasca, Mescaline, Cannabis, LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA

Shamanic ritual Liberation – Psychedelics as a gateway/tool. Spiritual awareness, exploring ones higher self, consciousness and deeper meaning/understanding of life, purpose, place. Teaching through ritual & social implications

- Who is the shaman?

- What is the shamanic ritual? Historical, traditional, spiritual - What drug does it use? – Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, Mescaline - The meaning behind this ritual, what does it provide people with in their society?

- How does this relate to liberation? What do the substances provide?

- A tool to be used to help access and understand a deeper meaning within oneself, ones environment, “the higher being”, spirituality, understanding ones place on the earth and universe, contact with ancestors - Early state of religion and spirituality.

- Examples of key early shamanism in parts of the world and tribes. An early/documented Ayahuasca trip example…

- Place in society? Modern? Ancient?

- Liberation? - Psychedelic plants as teachers & expanding one’s own consciousness and understanding of self and others. Connection to the earth and understanding of ones meaning and place.

- The taking of Psychedelic plants not influenced by the religious doctrine that comes with other ways of journeying to true awareness and mystical experiences. Un bias towards the brainwashing and control that comes with the tainted aspects of the religions that promote the same kind of discipline.

- Gives people the opportunity to experience the mystical and expansion of one’s consciousness without the ties, bias, years of dedication and discipline that if attempting through religious means - varying religions promote

- Has not and cannot be made illegal by western culture and powers due to the religious nature of the substance, experience and the engrained use of the substance in these ancient societies. – Examples of this. These cultures governments wouldn’t dream of making them illegal – it would be like taking away the key part of their cultures history.

Sources: “High Society” “The Long Trip” “Neurons to Nirvana” _

Counters to shamanic ritual - negative and dangerous shamans exploiting their power - alternative ways of expanding ones consciousness and understanding of spirituality i.e. religion and the damning of drug induced states - non drug journeys to enlightenment – how other religions and cultures look at shamanic ritual and criticize this.

- Racism?

- Despite the importance – the shamanic ritual has not taken off in the western world (is slowly in present day) – why is this? Could triangulate

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‘Hippie’ 1960’s/70’s counterculture movement Strive for liberation from the constraints of society thanks to what psychedelic experience has shown people.

- 1950’s Beatniks – Unhappy with society restraints but instead of fighting – hid, became alternative and underground in the use of drugs like cannabis. This is where the beginnings of people’s unhappiness and the stemming of the need for social change began post war.

- From Beatniks to hippies - Why? - What was the ideology?

- Hippies sought to free themselves from societal restrictions, choose their own way, and find new meaning in life. One expression of hippie independence from societal norms was found in their standard of dress and grooming, which made hippies instantly recognizable to one another, and served as a visual symbol of their respect for individual rights. Through their appearance, hippies declared their willingness to question authority, and distanced themselves from the "straight" and "square" (i.e., conformist) segments of society.

- Why was this? – Vietnam war - Key substances: LSD and Cannabis. What did these substances provide people with?

- Liberation from the constraints of society.

- suppression – war on drugs

Counters to the “hippie” movement and ideologies / utopianism - The loudness of the hippie revolt and ideology caused counters themselves: - Messy, recreational use – without the knowledge of shamanic ritual and teachings. Should these teachings and methods of inducing the psychedelic experience have been present – would the psychedelic experience have made a more profound impact on society and culture – one that could not be quashed?

- Government retaliated by: - Halted medical and therapeutic research - Physically took peoples freedom away by criminalising these substances - Took the freedom of these values away from society by causing taboo and publicly damning these substances and their potential with lies, stigma, fear. The spread of fearmongering - communism

- 2 main groups of opposition within society at the time: Hippie movement – vs – American patriarchy - why did the movement fail? Did it end up a contradiction to what they stand for?

- because I have had this experience – I am more enlightened than you. This gives me power over you. I know more than you.

- liberated from a controlling society but do we still needed a societal structure, hierarchy, a leader? Was this present in communes still and going against what the hippie ideology and utopian dream was?

- Marx / Freud?

- What are the flaws of hippie? – Too radical? Legacy? Known for the wrong reasons?

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Present day – medical and therapeutic uses for psychedelics. Also ideas and processing The psychedelic re-emergence Liberated from mental health disorders, pain, depression, traumatic experiences (PTSD)

- Are scientists, activists, psychotherapists are in fact revolutionising – but in a clever way: Modern hippies - triangulate - Want to get to the point where psychedelics are legal again – and can change the world - Working within the system to achieve what they want *(as opposed to fighting the system head on like hippies did) Under the radar through science and therapy, Why? - The basic natural human right and purpose to be free to explore oneself, ones consciousness, ones deeper meaning, links to the natural world and planet, the ultimate meaning of life and mind and links to spirituality.

- Results: better human beings – empathic. (quotes from Neurons to Nirvana) - Liberation from westernised medication – pharmaceuticals _ Counters to psychedelic liberation in terms of medical and therapeutic purposes: - The need to overcome stigmas so engrained in society - Can they cause mental health issues in someone’s if not administered right (set & setting) - Miss use of psychedelics recreationally - Is this a promotion of drug taking? The dangers of this?

- Had the therapy experience themselves without the need for legal therapeutic session. A person can administer it themselves. – in the wrong environment - The people that promote the therapeutic side - A danger of misinterpreting the medical benefits of these substances – jumping into selfmedicating without proper background knowledge and understanding in regards - This could be challenged as there needs to be a call for more research so these substances and their effects can be educated properly and truthfully.

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Notes on the engrained human need to enhance and expand through the use of drugs History shows this The true nature of being alive Apparent in animal kingdom also

To enhance – to better oneself for higher meaning and purpose

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Notes on exploration We pour billions into space exploration and still have to explore deep sea thoroughly.

Psychedelics – the 3rd frontier? The next dimension – Psychedelic exploration. Just as important, mushrooms specifically are a species all of their own- alien. Exploring consciousness – understanding all life.

Instead of outward exploration – show we explore inwardly? Unlock the mystery of our brain, consciousness and soul.

To liberate is to educate through experience. Shamanic in its truest most ancient nature.

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Note on the future of psychedelic substances The widespread acceptance of use of psychedelics in medicine and therapy Opens the doors to further research Research can now focus on further benefits – spirituality, empathy, human intelligence, processing, ideas (Silicon Valley) – similar to how cannabis law is playing out? turned from medicinal to recreational.

Governments want money Move to legalising it worldwide for recreational use – would this ever happen?

Get enough people to do something and experience it for themselves (the psychedelic experience) – what would be the impact if everyone had the chance to have a profound and life changing experience? ….World change: Potential for less war, new laws because people think about things differently? Technological, spiritual, economic, environmental progression. New ideas.

Stronger connection to the planet.

A tool to gain more knowledge about ourselves and our brains in every way. Serotonin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Questions to ask in tutorial:

- would the counter to what im describing in terms of how psychedelics have influenced liberation – be the un-liberating side of these examples? Is it necessary to go into this for every section? i.e. the counters (how hippie caused war on drugs, negative views of shamanic ritual & scepticism, spirituality vs science, modern day - How many sources?

- What kind of sources? Journals, Books, speeches i.e is Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna, Albert Hoffman, Rick Doblin, psychiatrists, doctors, are these sources academic enough?

- In terms of visual sources to critically analyse (such as OZ magazine) which showcase the relationship psychedelics and the impact they have had on liberation – is 3 sources enough?

Should the 3 sources to analyse, each be from the 3 case study areas I am looking at? (1 x shamanic, 1x hippie, 1x present day medical and therapeutic? …. Or should 3 sources be from one area / time period?

- Should all the sources I choose to analyse be to back up what I am trying to say (that psychedelics have had a profound impact on liberation and are in fact the tool for showing us the way) or should one or more challenge the message?

- Are the above sections covered sufficient enough to make for the basis of my investigation? (Shamanic, Hippie, Present day therapeutic and medicinal) - How should I go about putting the above information (along with the relevant sources) into the dissertation structure?

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Possible examples/sources to analyse:

That show the strong connection between psychedelics and liberation - +ve • Aldous Huxley – ‘Doors of Perception’ • The Psychedelic Experience – Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead • Music – The Grateful Dead, The Beatles • Woodstock • Psychedelic posters and album artwork • Oz Magazine & cover • R. Crumb cartoonist • 1970’s Hippie communes - Famous photograph of the Bray Family at the Mystic Arts Commune in Sunny Valley, Oregon, in 1969 - Utopian ideals of the Black Bear Commune - Camp Taylor – Paradise Lost • Present day - Medical and therapeutic life changing “profound” testimonials - Current psychedelic art – Alex Grey • The Peace Symbol – Gerald Holtom, Nuclear Disarmament, Goya’s “Peasant before the firing squad” • Shaman artwork? Ancient cave drawings that show expansion of consciousness?

That stifle liberation ideology that psychedelics bring - -ve • “This is your brain on drugs” – 1987 video • Anti-drug propaganda – posters/flyers • Anti-drug infographics • Anti-drug movie posters - marijuana

^ For examples that are more experience based instead of primarily visual – how do I go about analysing them? And then relating back to the sources and points I am trying to make? i.e communes, Woodstock, music groups, books…

Bray Family – Mystic Arts Commune

Grateful Dead Poster

Origins of the Peace symbol

OZ Magazine cover – satirical side of the miss-education on the use of drugs • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Timothy Leary: Public Enemy, social revolutionist, black panthers

In terms of the practical:

Had the idea in terms of synthesis that if shamanic ritual is the teachings of what psychedelics can provide us with – then my reportage/communication/explanation of real life testimonials (where psychedelics have impacted someone’s life for the better – either medically or spiritually) is in its way also teaching the world of what psychedelics can offer mankind, challenges stigmas and taboo and is an ultimate form of modern shamanism.

Teachings of the potentials of psychedelic experience- through visuals – influenced by the psychedelic substances.

Illustration – the means to communicate, teach, educate, convey

Reportage example/style/communication of personal & emotive info – Olivier Kugler