Entheogens And The Development Of Culture
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Entheogens And The Development Of Culture
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Author : John A. Rush
language : en
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Release Date : 2013-07-30
Entheogens And The Development Of Culture written by John A. Rush and has been published by North Atlantic Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-07-30 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
Entheogens and the Development of Culture makes the radical proposition that mind-altering substances have played a major part not only in cultural development but also in human brain development. Researchers suggest that we have purposely enhanced receptor sites in the brain, especially those for dopamine and serotonin, through the use of plants and fungi over a long period of time. The trade-off for lowered functioning and potential drug abuse has been more creative thinking--or a leap in consciousness. Experiments in entheogen use led to the development of primitive medicine, in which certain mind-altering plants and fungi were imbibed to still fatigue, pain, or depression, while others were taken to promote hunger and libido. Our ancestors selected for our neural hardware, and our propensity for seeking altered forms of consciousness as a survival strategy may be intimately bound to our decision-making processes going back to the dawn of time. Fourteen essays by a wide range of contributors—including founding president of the American Anthropological Association’s Anthropology of Religion section Michael Winkelman, PhD; Carl A. P. Ruck, PhD, Boston University professor of classics and an authority on the ecstatic rituals of the god Dionysus; and world-renowned botanist Dr. Gaston Guzma, member of the Colombian National Academy of Sciences and expert on hallucinogenic mushrooms—demonstrate that altering consciousness continues to be an important part of human experience today. Anthropologists, cultural historians, and anyone interested in the effects of mind-altering substances on the human mind and soul will find this book deeply informative and inspiring. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Entheogens Myth And Human Consciousness
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Author : Carl A. P. Ruck
language : en
Publisher: Ronin Publishing
Release Date : 2012-12-11
Entheogens Myth And Human Consciousness written by Carl A. P. Ruck and has been published by Ronin Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2012-12-11 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
ENTHEOGENS, MYTH AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS is a much needed accessible exploration into the role of psychoactive sacraments - entheogens - in religion, mythology, and history, and also includes most treatments of the subject focus on modern scientific research, psychotherapy, are auto-bibliographic accounts, or are agenda-driven or otherwise naive and myopic. A great mystery of altered states of consciousness and species development is expanding with new archeological and anthropological discoveries. Religious story telling (myth) is a timeless journey. Surprisingly it’s not about truth. It’s about finding one’s self in the midst of the discovery of the “Other.” It is the story of what is separate and unknown that creates self-consciousness. Our entire life consists ultimately in the discovery of the “Other,” which gives meaning to the discovery of the self. The arts and language are the fossil remnants scattered on our path. ENTHEOGENS, MYTH AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS discusses the influence of psychoactive substances on consciousness, human evolution and mystical experiences. It explores how religion, mythology, art and culture stem from entheogenic consciousness and why it's important to us today. "Entheogens, or psychoactive sacraments, have a long, storied history that has played an essential role in the evolution of consciousness, mythology, culture, religion, art - and even history and politics. ENTHEOGENS, MYTH AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS outlines this suppressed - yet seminal - undercurrent of history, giving examples of the role of entheogens from the primal shamanic religions through, the historical religions, esoteric mystical traditions including the Mystery Religions, alchemy and Freemasonry, and into contemporary expressions. Authors Ruck and Hoffman draw upon decades of research and personal experience in discussing the best documented examples of historically important entheogenic evidences, various ongoing threads of research and speculation to muse upon the 'meaning' of it all..." Our hominid ancestors experienced a spiritual wakening at the very dawn of consciousness that set them apart from the other creatures of our planet. It was a journey to another realm induced by a special food that belonged to the gods. This was a plant that was animate with the spirit of deity. It was an entheogen. It was the visionary vehicle for the trip of the first shaman. The story was told over and over again until it achieved the perfect form of a myth. The realm was imagined as a topographical place, the outer limit of the cosmos, the fiery empyrean, or its geocentric opposite, our own planet Gaia. Myths multiplied over time, but they always preserved this primordial truth. These myths provide a road map, a scenario, if you can read them, for whoever today wants to follow. However, it is not an easy journey, and it is also fraught with many dangers, of getting lost, of finding no return. Access to the entheogens is now largely prohibited or strictly licensed. The restrictions constitute an infringement of cognitive freedom, limiting the further evolution of human potential into productive creative imagination and experiences that lie beyond the normal, the traditional province of shamans, who can understand the speech of plants and animals, change shape at will, and journey, both physically and in the spirit, to distant exotic realms. In addition, religions have staked out territorial claims to this realm of spiritual consciousness. They have colonized it, identified it with their god, often reserving the access for their own elite. Similarly, trade in drugs, both medicinal and illegal, has colonized the etheogens, making them only chemicals, rationally depriving them of their spirit. ENTHEOGENS, MYTH AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS is a guide for the curious that provides a historical overview of the role that entheogens have played in the development of our unique supremacy as a species and offers also pathways and advice for reconnecting with the primordial sources of nature’s power. ENTHEOGENS, MYTH AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS investigates the role entheogens have played in the evolution of humankind’s attempt to define reality in a context of metaphysical or theological dimensions. Although other botanical intoxicants will be considered (cannabis, daphne, opium, Syrian rue, datura, mandrake), none, with the possible exception of mandrake, seem to have lent themselves so readily to metaphoric personifications, which make this the subject for a course on mythology. The source of humankind’s fascination and repulsion for fungi, indeed, leads to a fundamental consideration of the psychological nature of mankind’s fascination or awareness of what in the categorization of religions is termed animism and rituals of ecstatic shamanism. In addition, the linking of bread and wine as sacramental foods is due to parallel concepts of controlled fungal growth as a simulacrum of the cosmos itself. The goal is not so much to acquire factual knowledge of this vast subject, but to open up pathways for reflection upon the basic nature of human existence and consciousness. The narrative is the awesome history of discovery and the findings of ancient rituals that meld into twentieth-century controversy and criticism of psychedelics. The future of humanity and the direction of twenty-first century brain science is challenged as well as our sense of social convention. Entheogens have been deemed be prohibited controlled substances and as such is an infringement of cognitive freedom. Whatever the danger of potential abuse, the substance is not the fault, but the user. The hammer is not guilty, but the carpenter who misuses it because of deficient training. In order to exonerate the executioner in Classical antiquity, the axe was brought to trial and found guilty. The prohibition has drastically retarded the investigation into the therapeutic potential of proscribed drugs, including their efficacy in curing addiction. Some of these substances also offer the potential for accessing levels of cognition and consciousness beyond the ordinary, the traditional provenance of mystics and shamans, like bilocation, clairvoyance, and zoomorphism.
The Psychedelic Gospels
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Author : Jerry B. Brown
language : en
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date : 2016-09-15
The Psychedelic Gospels written by Jerry B. Brown and has been published by Simon and Schuster this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-09-15 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
Reveals evidence of visionary plants in Christianity and the life of Jesus found in medieval art and biblical scripture--hidden in plain sight for centuries • Follows the authors’ anthropological adventure discovering sacred mushroom images in European and Middle Eastern churches, including Roslyn Chapel and Chartres • Provides color photos showing how R. Gordon Wasson’s psychedelic theory of religion clearly extends to Christianity and reveals why Wasson suppressed this information due to his secret relationship with the Vatican • Examines the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels to show that visionary plants were the catalyst for Jesus’s awakening to his divinity and immortality Throughout medieval Christianity, religious works of art emerged to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for the largely illiterate population. What, then, is the significance of the psychoactive mushrooms hiding in plain sight in the artwork and icons of many European and Middle-Eastern churches? Does Christianity have a psychedelic history? Providing stunning visual evidence from their anthropological journey throughout Europe and the Middle East, including visits to Roslyn Chapel and Chartres Cathedral, authors Julie and Jerry Brown document the role of visionary plants in Christianity. They retrace the pioneering research of R. Gordon Wasson, the famous “sacred mushroom seeker,” on psychedelics in ancient Greece and India, and among the present-day reindeer herders of Siberia and the Mazatecs of Mexico. Challenging Wasson’s legacy, the authors reveal his secret relationship with the Vatican that led to Wasson’s refusal to pursue his hallucinogen theory into the hallowed halls of Christianity. Examining the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels, the authors provide scriptural support to show that sacred mushrooms were the inspiration for Jesus’ revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven and that he was initiated into these mystical practices in Egypt during the Missing Years. They contend that the Trees of Knowledge and of Immortality in Eden were sacred mushrooms. Uncovering the role played by visionary plants in the origins of Judeo-Christianity, the authors invite us to rethink what we know about the life of Jesus and to consider a controversial theory that challenges us to explore these sacred pathways to the divine.
Psychedelic Healing
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Author : Neal M. Goldsmith, Ph.D.
language : en
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date : 2010-12-24
Psychedelic Healing written by Neal M. Goldsmith, Ph.D. and has been published by Simon and Schuster this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010-12-24 with categories.
A Transatlantic Political Theology Of Psychedelic Aesthetics
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Author : Roger K. Green
language : en
Publisher: Springer
Release Date : 2019-04-02
A Transatlantic Political Theology Of Psychedelic Aesthetics written by Roger K. Green and has been published by Springer this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-04-02 with Social Science categories.
Arguing that we ought to look to psychedelic aesthetics of the 1960s in relation to current crises in liberal democracy, this book emphasizes the intersection of European thought and the psychedelic. The first half of the book focuses on philosophical influences of Herbert Marcuse and Antonin Artaud, while the second half shifts toward literary and theoretical influences of Aldous Huxley on psychedelic aesthetics. Framed within an emergent discourse of political theology, it suggests that taking a postsecular approach to psychedelic aesthetics helps us understand deeper connections between aesthetics and politics.
Expanding Mindscapes
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Author : Erika Dyck
language : en
Publisher: MIT Press
Release Date : 2023-11-21
Expanding Mindscapes written by Erika Dyck and has been published by MIT Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-11-21 with Medical categories.
The first collection of its kind to explore the diverse and global history of psychedelics as they appealed to several generations of researchers and thinkers. Expanding Mindscapes offers a fascinatingly fluid and diverse history of psychedelics that stretches around the globe. While much of the literature to date has focused on the history of these drugs in the United States and Canada, editors Erika Dyck and Chris Elcock deliberately move away from these places in this collection to reveal a longer and more global history of psychedelics, which chronicles their discovery, use, and cultural impact in the twentieth century. The authors in this collection explore everything from LSD psychotherapy in communist Czechoslovakia to the first applications of LSD-25 in South America to the intersection of modernism and ayahuasca in China. Along the way, they also consider how psychedelic experiments generated their own cultural expressions, where the specter of the United States may have loomed large and where colonial empires exerted influence on the local reception of psychedelics in botanical and pharmaceutical pursuits. Breaking new ground by adopting perspectives that are currently lacking in the historiography of psychedelics, this collection adds to the burgeoning field by offering important discussions on underexplored topics such as gender, agriculture, parapsychology, anarchism, and technological innovations.
Chasing Immortality In World Religions
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Author : Deborah M. Coulter-Harris
language : en
Publisher: McFarland
Release Date : 2016-07-25
Chasing Immortality In World Religions written by Deborah M. Coulter-Harris and has been published by McFarland this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-07-25 with Religion categories.
Humans have been chasing immortality since the beginning of history, seeking answers to sickness and aging, death and the afterlife, and questioning the human condition. Analyzing ideas from ancient Sumer, Egypt, Greece and India, as well as the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, this study explores how early religious models influenced later beliefs about immortality, the afterlife, the human soul, resurrection, and reward and punishment. The author highlights shared teachings among the most influential religions and philosophies, concluding that humankind has not substantially changed its conceptions of immortality in 6,000 years. This continuity of belief may be due to chromosomal memory and cultural inheritance, or may represent a fundamental way of conceptualizing the afterlife to cope with mortality. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
The Psilocybin Connection
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Author : Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD
language : en
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Release Date : 2022-04-05
The Psilocybin Connection written by Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD and has been published by North Atlantic Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2022-04-05 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
A comprehensive guide to psilocybin mushrooms and their impact on our psychology, biology, and social development. How—and why—do psychedelics exist? Did psilocybin catalyze our early human ancestors’ social evolution? And how can an integral understanding of psychedelics quite literally change the world? In an ambitious and comprehensive look at psilocybin—and an inside look at how humanity co-evolved alongside "magic" mushrooms—Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD, explores our historical and ancestral relationship to psychedelics and presents new and exciting research about what psilocybin can mean for us today. Separated into three sections—Present, Past, and Future—The Psilocybin Connection advances our understanding of psychedelics in unexpected and original ways. Khamsehzadeh shares compelling research that suggests how naturally occurring psychedelics may have played an essential role in humanity's social, cultural, and linguistic evolution. Supported by archaeological evidence, neuroscience, and academic studies, he explores how mushrooms gave rise to art and expression, impacted spiritual experiences, and even spurred human brain development. Blending the most comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of psilocybin research with stories of his own and others' psychedelic awakenings, Khamsehzadeh moves our understanding of the psychedelic mushroom forward toward a fresh, hopeful, and exciting future.
Quantum Science Of Psychedelics
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Author : Carl Johan Calleman
language : en
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date : 2020-03-10
Quantum Science Of Psychedelics written by Carl Johan Calleman and has been published by Simon and Schuster this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-03-10 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
A groundbreaking exploration of how psychedelics and quantum science are vital to understanding the evolution of consciousness and reality • Explains why altered states of consciousness exist, how they work, and why psychedelics have the effects that they do • Describes how quantum waves, rather than the DNA molecule, have been the driving force behind biological and historical evolution • Explains how psychedelics interact with the human mind to create altered states that may further the continued evolution of consciousness In this groundbreaking book, Carl Johan Calleman reveals the quantum science of the Maya, a science lost to the modern world that explains the phenomenology of psychedelics and altered states of consciousness. The ancient Maya had a sophisticated understanding of the multidimensional nature of reality and the forces that drive the evolution of consciousness. Calleman explains how quantum waves, illustrated by the Mayan Calendar, emanate from the center of the universe and activate new phases in the evolution of consciousness through holographic resonance, which alters the dualities of the human mind. For example, the 5th Wave, which dominated in Paleolithic times and evolved human consciousness above that of animals, brought a chaotic floating state reminiscent of the psychedelic or shamanic state, and the recent 8th Wave brought the digital revolution. The 9th Wave, which began in 2011, offers the potential for individual development of higher consciousness and healing if we can synchronize ourselves with its positive holograms. This multidimensional perspective explains why altered states of consciousness exist and how they work. Calleman describes the role of the pineal gland for the human mind, how it controls our state of consciousness and how it can connect us to the cosmic Tree of Life. He shows that the mind is a “reducing valve” that normally limits our experience of cosmic consciousness but that this can be reversed through altered states. As Calleman concludes, psychedelics like ayahuasca and DMT not only give rise to extraordinary mystical and cosmic experiences and enable access to healing states, but they also are important for harmoniously synchronizing humanity with the 9th Wave to further the evolution of consciousness.
Mescaline
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Author : Mike Jay
language : en
Publisher: Yale University Press
Release Date : 2019-06-18
Mescaline written by Mike Jay and has been published by Yale University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-06-18 with Social Science categories.
A definitive history of mescaline that explores its mind-altering effects across cultures, from ancient America to Western modernity Mescaline became a popular sensation in the mid-twentieth century through Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, after which the word “psychedelic” was coined to describe it. Its story, however, extends deep into prehistory: the earliest Andean cultures depicted mescaline-containing cacti in their temples. Mescaline was isolated in 1897 from the peyote cactus, first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. During the twentieth century it was used by psychologists investigating the secrets of consciousness, spiritual seekers from Aleister Crowley to the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, artists exploring the creative process, and psychiatrists looking to cure schizophrenia. Meanwhile peyote played a vital role in preserving and shaping Native American identity. Drawing on botany, pharmacology, ethnography, and the mind sciences and examining the mescaline experiences of figures from William James to Walter Benjamin to Hunter S. Thompson, this is an enthralling narrative of mescaline’s many lives.