One thing that stands out about trip reports from early Western psychonauts is that they often involve unpleasant, uncomfortable experiences. Such experiences are still more frequently reported in Western countries without a tradition of ritualistic use than they are in non-Western, Indigenous cultures that do follow this kind of tradition. Julian Shea wrote an insightful…
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Peter Tscherkassky is an Austrian avante-garde filmmaker. He’s one of the few filmmakers who, through his experimental techniques, can create truly mind-altering cinema. There are certainly many films I’d describe as psychedelic – in terms of depicting trips or because of their cinematography and themes – but Tscherkassky’s experimental short films are different to films…
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Psychedelics have long been associated with the enhancement of creativity, particularly artistic creativity, in the form of drawing, painting, and music. The artwork of Alex Grey and the music of Shpongle are clear products of adventures in psychedelic mindscapes. Creating artwork is also a popular activity while tripping (during moments when one isn’t having a…
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A common narrative in the psychedelic space is that having a psychedelic experience is like undergoing 10 years of therapy (or another number of years), condensed into just several hours. A headline for a 2023 piece in The i Paper reads ‘How a five-day, £4,000 psychedelic retreat saved me 10 years of intensive therapy’. Mark…
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Because of the influence of ‘set and setting’, not everyone’s psychedelic experience is the same. Various aspects of ‘set’ (e.g. beliefs, expectations, mood, personality, intention, level of restfulness) and ‘setting’ (e.g. culture, environment, music, people present) interact with the drug and the dose to produce a particular kind of experience. This includes the visual qualities…
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