Breaking Convention: Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness

Breaking Convention: Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness by Adams, Cameron. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781583947715.

Breaking Convention--a collection of essays and articles from the international conference of the same name--is a multifaceted exploration of the history, use, and benefits of psychedelics since the dawn of humankind. Some pieces address the archaeological and ethnographic evidence of psychedelic use as a vital part of early human development. Others focus on modern psychedelic history--such as pre-World War II psychedelic research and self-experimentation, or the fear-mongering nuclear era of the 1950s and 1960s, when psychedelics were banished into a forty-year Dark Ages. Still other pieces examine contemporary drug use, particularly MDMA and poly drug use (the use of a combination of drugs for a specific effect). The book concludes with a piece by Rick Doblin, PhD, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), in which he offers a bold vision of the future, one in which psychedelics and expanded consciousness are an integral part of modern cosmopolitan society. Contents Introduction Altered States and the Prehistoric Ritualisation of the Modern Human Mind Tracing Neolithic World Views: Shamanism, Irish Passage Tomb Art and Altered States of Consciousness Towards an Exploration of the Mind of a Conquered Continent: Shamanism, Sacred Plants and Amerindian Epistemology "A Train of Delightful Visions": Early Scientific Encounters with Psychedelics Psychedelic Formations in Literature Drop Acid Not Bombs Season of the Witch: 1966 and the Vilification of LSD in Britain Breaking Conventions in Policy and Science Religious Freedom and the Expansion of Ayahuasca Ceremonies in Europe Introduction to the MDMA Debate Poly and Mono: Reflections on the Validity of "Poly Drug Use" From Meta-Sin to Medicine: A Program for Future Research into the Healing Power of Psychedelics A Declaration of Psychedelic Studies Biophenomenology of Altered States Cognitive Phenomenology of Mind Manifestation Psychedelics, Parapsychology and Exceptional Human Experiences The Anaesthetic Revelation: Psychedelia and Mysticism Deceptive Cadences: A Hermeneutic Approach to the Problem of Meaning and Psychedelic Experience A Matter of Spirit: An Imaginal Perspective on the Paranormal Communications from the Herbs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Ini Consciousness Afterword: A Bold Vision, by Rick Doblin