Hamptonese: The Asemic Writing of James Hampton

James Hampton (1909–1964) was an American outsider artist. He worked as a janitor, and in his spare time, in secrecy, he built a large assemblage of religious art, made from scavenged materials: cardboard, plastic, glue, pins, tape, old furniture, jelly jars, aluminum and gold foil, shards of mirror, desk blotters held together with tacks, and…

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How Do Psychedelics Affect Musical Ability?

Listening to certain music while on psychedelics can be a highly memorable and therapeutic experience. Since the 1950s, the presence of a carefully curated playlist has been treated as an essential part of psychedelic-assisted therapy; so much so that psychedelic researchers have referred to music as ‘the hidden therapist’. (However, more recently, researchers have also…

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Can Psychedelics Help Heal Intergenerational Trauma?

Intergenerational trauma (also known as generational trauma or ancestral trauma) refers to the idea that trauma can be passed down through the generations, affecting those who didn’t directly experience it. It is the notion that unresolved traumas, pain, and suffering experienced by past generations influence the emotional well-being of those who exist today. Examples of…

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Timothy Leary: The Embodiment of the Trickster Archetype

The psychologist Timothy Leary was (and still is) a controversial countercultural figure. He can be credited with introducing many young people to LSD and mind expansion, which spelled good news to some and bad news to others. When you open your mind, you may not always like what falls in. Leary became an evangelist for…

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Can DMT Cause Tinnitus?

On the subreddit r/DMT, there are many posts from users who describe developing tinnitus after using DMT. This wasn’t a potential risk of DMT – or any psychedelic – I had considered before. Admittedly, the link between DMT use and tinnitus is mostly anecdotal at this point. Still, the number of DMT users reporting newly…

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