Since the turn of the century, mystic researchers have pointed to the similarities between mystics on the one hand, and artists, poets, mathematicians, musicians, in short, all those who are involved in creative activity. One common denominator, using the terminology of the day, is a state of inspiration, a sort of creative ecstasy, an immediate insight of some form. However, the question of...
The ceramics of the ancient Nazca, an extinct people that lived on the south coast of Peru from 100 to 800 AD, are examined. It is suggested that plant hallucinogens and stimulants including Trichocereus pachanoi, Erythroxylon coca, Datura spp., and Anadenanthera peregrina were utilized in religious ritualism connected with shamanism, stressing personal ecstasy as a means of contact with the...
The concern of this article is to examine the conceptual framework within which drug-induced ecstasy has been compared to and/or used to interpret religious mysticism. No attempt is made to theorize about the “true” nature of either kind of experience; rather the author articulates the underlying assumptions and examines the social setting within which such discussions are carried on. The...
The relationship of the trophotropic and ergotropic systems of autonomic-somatic integration and their relevance to a variety of emotional states and levels of consciousness is reviewed. The importance of proprioceptive afferent feedback to the reticular formation and hypothalamus for the maintenance of ergotropic responsivity is indicated together with the beneficial clinical effects of...
Our usual conception of the shaman is, indeed, that he employs monotonous effects to fall into ecstasy and arrive at the state of trance: he sings and dances alone, or along with others. The auditory stimulations and the motoric movements, in increasing intensity, and the emotional induction from the crowd around him result in his falling into a trance in the end, and the disconnecting of...
S ummary In 45 normal subjects changes in the horizontal eye movements following the administration of psychotropic drugs have been studied. 1. Following the administration of amobarbital (250 mg, i.v.) and chlorpromazine (1.0mg/kg, i.m.), rapid eye movements (R) decreased gradually until they disappeared altogether. 2. LSD 25 (0.5 or 1.0γ/kg, i.m.) produced increase of R in 80% and markedly...
> ANCIENT HINDUS, like the Aztecs of Central America, may have found their religion in a mushroom with hallucinogenic properties. R. Gordon Wasson, an ethnomycologist, believes the redcapped fly mushroom, A manita Muscaria, is the holy plant celebrated in the Rig Vedaa book of hymns the Hindus claim as their earliest religious heritage. Aryan tribes which swept down into India some 3,000 years...
This Special Issue of Neuropharmacology on psychedelics provides a timely and comprehensive update on progress following the previous Neuropharmacology Special Issue “ Psychedelics: New Doors, Altered Perceptions ” . Remarkable advances have been made in basic and clinical research on psychedelics in the five years since 2018. It is partly based on the seminar series focused on psilocybin...
Psychedelic drugs have recently emerged as plausibly effective pharmacological agents for the management of depression, anxiety, and other neuropsychiatric conditions, including those that are treatment-resistent. The latter half of the 20th century marked a revolution in the treatment of mental illnesses, exemplified by the introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other...
Eva Gallacher, Maria Arnold, Uwe Herwig et al.
preprint
Background: The role, necessity, and relevance of psychotherapy within psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) remain contested: some view it principally as safety support, whereas others regard it as essential to safety and efficacy. Patient-centred evidence on how psychotherapy is experienced within real-world PAT is scarce. We examined how patients understood the role of psychotherapy in their...