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{{Short description|Methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness}}
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{{redirect|Psychonaut}}
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]'', a Chinese book of alchemy and meditation.]]
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{{Dablink|This article is about people who explore their inner psyche, and related practices; for other uses, see ].}}
{{Expert-subject-multiple|Psychology|Spirituality|Psychedelics, Dissociatives and Deliriants|date=February 2010}}
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'''Psychonautics''' (from the ] {{lang|grc|ψυχή}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|psychē}}'' 'soul, spirit, mind' and {{lang|grc|ναύτης}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|naútēs}}'' 'sailor, navigator')<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations">{{cite book |last=Blom |first=Jan Dirk |title=A Dictionary of Hallucinations |page=434 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbF44AEMGdcC&pg=PA434 |access-date=2010-03-05 | isbn=978-1-4419-1222-0 | year=2009 | publisher=Springer}}</ref> refers both to a methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of ], including those induced by ] or ], and to a research group in which the researcher voluntarily immerses themselves into an altered mental state in order to explore the accompanying experiences.<ref name="addiction research">{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/16066350801983707 |year=2008 |last1=Newcombe |first1=Russell |title=Ketamine Case Study: The Phenomenology of a Ketamine Experience |pages=209–215 |journal=Addiction Research & Theory |volume=16 |issue=3 |s2cid=143462683 }}</ref>
A '''psychonaut''' (also spelled psychanaut or psychenaut) (deriving from the ] ψυχή (soul) and ναύτης (sailor), that is, a sailor of the mind/soul) is a person who intentionally induces ] in an attempt to investigate his or her mind, and possibly to address spiritual questions through direct experience. Psychonauts tend to be ], willing to explore ] traditions from established world religions, ], technologies such as ], ], ], ], and ]. Because techniques that alter consciousness can be dangerous, and can induce a state of extreme susceptibility, psychonauts generally prefer to undertake these explorations either alone, or in the company of people they trust.


The term has been applied diversely, to cover all activities by which ] are induced and utilized for ] purposes or the exploration of the ], including ], ]s of the ]an ] tradition,<ref name="flores">As noted by {{cite book |last=Flores |first=Ralph |title=Buddhist scriptures as literature: sacred rhetoric and the uses of theory |year=2008 |publisher=State University of New York Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xq76kvMGAjoC&q=psychonaut&pg=PA163 |access-date=2010-03-05 |isbn=978-0-7914-7339-9}}</ref> the ] of Ancient India,<ref>{{cite thesis |author= R. N. Hema |date= December 2019 |title= Biography of the 18 Siddhars |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338534110 |publisher= National Institute of Siddha}}</ref> ],<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/> and archaic/modern drug users who use ]ic substances in order to gain deeper insights and spiritual experiences.<ref name="toxicology">{{cite journal |last=van Riel |year=2007 |title=New Drugs of Abuse |journal=Clinical Toxicology |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=372–3 |doi=10.1080/15563650701284894 |s2cid=218860546 |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=ENV&recid=7439632&q=psychonaut&uid=789091652 |access-date=2010-03-05 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Self-experimentation of psychedelics in groups may foster innovation of alternative medication treatment.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kempner |first1=Joanna |last2=Bailey |first2=John |title=Collective self-experimentation in patient-led research: How online health communities foster innovation |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027795361930351X |journal=Social Science & Medicine |pages=112366 |language=en |doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112366 |date=1 October 2019|volume=238 |pmid=31345612 |s2cid=196544851 }}</ref> A person who uses altered states for such exploration is known as a '']''.
Goals of psychonautic practices may be to answer questions about how the mind works, improve one's psychological state, answer existential or spiritual questions, or improve cognitive performance in everyday life.


==Etymology and categorization==
==Term==
The term ''psychonautics'' derives from the prior term ''psychonaut'', which began appearing in North American works in the late 1950s. The first reference that corresponds to contemporary usages of the term was in the 1965 edition of the ''Group Psychotherapy'' journal. A 1968 magazine, ''Beyond Baroque'', refers to ] as a psychonaut.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
According to Dr. Elliot Cohen (Manchester Academy for Transpersonal Studies), "Psychonautics is the means to study and explore consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness (ASCs); it rests on the realisation that to study consciousness is to transform it."{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} He also argues that psychonautics should not be associated with substance use, but rather with various wisdom traditions, transpersonal and integral movements. When ] depicts the ] ] as a Psychonaut (''Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness''){{citation needed|date=February 2010}} this is an appropriate use of the term.


] author ] describes ideas related to psychonautics - in reference to ] - in his 1970 essay on his own extensive drug experiences ''Annäherungen: Drogen und Rausch'' (literally: "Approaches: Drugs and Inebriation").<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Jünger |title=Annaherungen: Drogen und Rausch |pages=430 |chapter=Psychonauten}} Cited in {{cite book |last=Taylor|title=The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature |page=1312 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kgUAQAAIAAJ&q=psychonaut+%22Annaherungen:+Drogen+und+Rausch%22 |access-date=2010-03-05 | year=2005 | publisher=Thoemmes Continuum|isbn=978-1-84371-138-4 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> In this essay, Jünger draws many parallels between drug experience and physical exploration—for example, the danger of encountering hidden "reefs."
While some psychonauts abstain from psychoactive drugs and discourage their use, others encourage it.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} The term "psychonaut" is often misinterpreted as implying frequent drug use. Many psychonauts use a psychoactive substance frequently, some weekly or more, and do so generally to supplement other tools such as meditation.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} Most psychonauts maintain that their use of altered consciousness is different from social or ] use, and their use usually has a ] or ] significance to them.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}
According to ], the word ''psychonaut'' was originally coined by the ] author ].{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} <!--expand -->


] made ''Psychonaut'' the title of a 1982 book on the experimental use of ], ] and ] in the experimental exploration of consciousness and of ], or "]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Peter J. |title=''Liber Null''. (1978) and ''Psychonaut''. (1982) (published in one volume in 1987) |date=April 1987 |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=978-0-87728-639-4}}</ref>
==Use of the term==
Psychonaut is a modern term{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} often associated with ] practices{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}; however, many{{who|date=February 2010}} distinguish between the mental/spiritual exploration of the psychonaut and healing-oriented ] practice.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}


The term's first published use in a scholarly context is attributed to ] ], in 2001.<ref>{{cite journal |year=2001 |title=Pharmanopo-Psychonautics: Human Intranasal, Sublingual, Intrarectal, Pulmonary and Oral Pharmacology of Bufotenine |journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=273–282 |url=http://direct.bl.uk/bld/PlaceOrder.do?UIN=103562030&ETOC=RN |access-date=2010-03-05 |doi=10.1080/02791072.2001.10400574 |last1=Ott |first1=Jonathan |pmid=11718320 |s2cid=5877023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302224138/http://direct.bl.uk/bld/PlaceOrder.do?UIN=103562030&ETOC=RN |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url-status=dead }} Cited by {{cite book |last=Blom |first=Jan Dirk |title=A Dictionary of Hallucinations |page=434 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbF44AEMGdcC&pg=PA434 |access-date=2010-03-05 |isbn=978-1-4419-1222-0 |year=2009 |publisher=Springer }}</ref>
==Associated concepts, technologies, and practices==
===Concepts===
====Brain function====
Its roots are revealed within many of the world’s great and ancient Wisdom Traditions (Shamanistic and Mystical). Some of its most popular and recognizable forms include ] (from ] to ]), ] cultivation (native Chinese), ] (]) and Kabbalistic (Jewish) insights and methods.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}


===Definition and usage===
Psychonautics may be considered an attempt to generate a user's manual for human consciousness.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} Developing upon ], which is concerned with understanding other people, psychonauts are more concerned with understanding themselves, and the process of self exploration; accordingly, they engage in direct exploration of themselves and their own thought processes.<!-- this is not incongruous with psychology -->{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}
Clinical psychiatrist Jan Dirk Blom describes psychonautics as denoting "the exploration of the psyche by means of techniques such as ], ], ], and the use of ] or ]s, and a psychonaut as one who "seeks to investigate their mind using intentionally induced altered states of consciousness" for spiritual, scientific, or research purposes.<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/>
As such, psychonauts seek to empiricaly understand mental process and functioning and employ such knowledge in their activities. Some{{Who|date=October 2009}} advocate the use of ] of ] frequencies, which can lead to quite distinct perceptual states; a detailed examination and understanding of one's own thought processes, habits, and beliefs is also sought.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} Hallucinatory states, drug-induced or otherwise, are seen as a form of subliminal symbolism or as a real but distinct reality; as with other processes of the mind, psychonauts seek to understand these.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} These states often simultaneously dissociate the mind from the ego and offer an objective view of one's mental processes.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Psychological theories and concepts are also often taken into account.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}


Psychologist Dr. Elliot Cohen of ] and the UK Institute of Psychosomanautics defines psychonautics as "the means to study and explore consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness; it rests on the realization that to study consciousness is to transform it." He associates it with a long tradition of historical cultures worldwide.<ref name="Cohen">UK Institute of Psychonautics and Somanautics {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110073128/http://www.transpersonalacademy.co.uk/psychonautics.htm |date=10 November 2010 }} at his {{cite web |url=http://www.transpersonalacademy.co.uk |title=Academy for Transpersonal Studies |access-date=10 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923100000/http://www.transpersonalacademy.co.uk/ |archive-date=23 September 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Leeds Beckett University offers a module in Psychonautics<ref>{{cite web |title=Course Specification - BA (Hons) Psychology and Society |url=https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/~/media/files/Courses/Information/SPSYC.pdf |website=Leeds Beckett University |publisher=] |access-date=11 September 2020 |date=2017–18 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314230052/https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/~/media/files/Courses/Information/SPSYC.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Elliot Cohen |url=https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/staff/dr-elliot-cohen/ |website=Staff Directory |publisher=] |access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref> and may be the only university in the UK to do so.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
This is also ideally practically applied in bettering one's self through the knowledge of one's own thought processes; with this understanding and heightened perception of one's own internal dialogue, it is thought that one is more able to control his own ], and detach oneself from what is seen as a ] common to modern culture.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}


American Buddhist writer ] depicts the ] ] as a psychonaut, stating that "Tibetan lamas could be called psychonauts, since they journey across the frontiers of death into the in-between realm."<ref name="flores"/>
====Mythical archetypes and concepts====
Psychonauts place emphasis on various mythical ]s and concepts, believing that these are useful to coming to understand one's own thought patterns and the nature of existence, reflecting realities and meanings that should be understood{{by whom?|date=February 2010}}.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} As in shamanic practice, the symbol of the '']'' is often{{weasel word|date=February 2010}} employed{{by whom?|date=February 2010}}, often{{weasel word|date=February 2010}} overlaid with '']s'' and other relevant concepts of bodily function; the ] ] and its chakra-like '']'' is one notable example of this in mythology.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} The nature of '']'' is often{{weasel word|date=February 2010}} explored{{by whom?|date=February 2010}} in trying to understand one's own situation, actions, and relation to the outside world.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}


====Metaphysics==== ===Categorization===
The aims and methods of psychonautics, when state-altering substances are involved, is commonly distinguished from ] by research sources.<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/> Psychonautics as a means of exploration need not involve drugs, and may take place in a spiritual context with an established history. Cohen considers psychonautics closer in its association to wisdom traditions and other transpersonal and integral movements.<ref name="Cohen"/>
Psychonauts are often{{weasel word|date=February 2010}} interested in ],{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} the branch of philosophy dealing with the ultimate nature of reality or existence; it is thought{{by whom?|date=February 2010}} that in coming to some understanding of how the universe functions and the nature of existence, practitioners would be better able to integrate their life experiences.{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}


However, there is considerable overlap with ] and due to its modern close association with ] and other drugs, it is also studied in the context of ] from a perspective of addiction,<ref name="addiction research"/> the drug abuse market and ] psychology,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1089/109493103322278790 |last1=Schifano |date = August 2003|first1=Fabrizio |last2=Leoni |first2=Mauro |last3=Martinotti |first3=Giovanni |last4=Rawaf |first4=Salman |last5=Rovetto |first5=Francesco |title=Importance of Cyberspace for the Assessment of the Drug Abuse Market: Preliminary Results from the Psychonaut 2002 Project |journal=CyberPsychology & Behavior |volume=6 |pages=405–410 | issue=4|pmid=14511453 }}</ref> and studies into existing and emerging drugs within ].<ref name="toxicology"/>
===Technologies and practices===
====Hallucinogens/Entheogens====
Commonly used for mental exploration and expansion, many psychonauts{{Who|date=February 2010}} find the experiences induced by these entheogens leave a positive and profound impact on their lives. While hallucinogens can sometimes lead to bad experiences for users, psychonauts may gain insight from both bad and good experiences. Shamans also frequently used psychoactive plants for healing and meditational purposes.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} They would often go into a trance or have a vision which would determine many things for the tribe.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} Many people{{Who|date=February 2010}} throughout history have used these plants for many different reasons.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}


==Methods==
Some ] and ] commonly used by psychonauts include:
]'') has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3000 years.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Bigwood, Jeremy |author2=Stafford, Peter J. |title=Psychedelics encyclopedia |publisher=Ronin Pub |location=Berkeley, CA |year=1992 |pages=118–9 |isbn=978-0-914171-51-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ec5hNgYWHtkC&pg=RA2-PA342}}</ref>]]
*], which contains ] (THC).
* ],<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/> ]s, and especially ] such as ], ]s, ] and ], but also ]s and ''atypical'' psychedelics such as ], ], '']'', ''],'' ''],'' ], and ]
*], which contain ].
* ]s, which are the songs (i.e. something verbal that is ordinarily perceived as an auditory sensation) the ] sing to induce pictorial representations, rich tapestries of colors and patterns that are visually seen by the listener. (See: ]) The ayahuasca ingredient, harmine, was once known as telepathine because of this group-facilitated activity of singing icaros and the shared perception it cultivates. A shaman who is one of the Ayahuascero people is expected to memorize as many icaros as they can.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Herzberg |first1=Nicholas |title=Analysing Icaros: The Musicology of Ayahuasca Ceremonies |url=https://www.academia.edu/13517785 |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>
*] and ] cactus, which contain ].
* Disruption of psychological and physiological processes required for usual mental states - ], ], ],<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/> ]/], ]
*], a sage containing ],
* ], both as a means of inducing an altered state, and also for practical purposes of ] and of obtaining suitable focus and intention
*], a vine containing ] (also produced in the human brain.)
* ]ing, in particular ]<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/> in which the person retains a degree of volition and awareness, and ]s
*] commonly extracted from ] and ] seeds.
* ]<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/>
*], found in the ] toad and in the ] and ] trees.
* ]<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/>
*], found in a wide variety of plants and to a lesser extent in the ] toad.
* Meditative or ] inducing dance, like ] can also be used to induce altered state of consciousness
* ]<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/>
* ] and other devices that change neural activity in the ] (])<ref name="dictionary of hallucinations"/> by means of light, sound, or electrical impulses, including: ], ]s, ], and ]
* ] (GIM) refers to all forms of music-imaging in an expanded state of consciousness, including not only the specific individual and group forms that music therapist and researcher Helen Bonny developed, but also all variations and modifications in those forms created by her followers.


These may be used in combination; for example, traditions such as shamanism may combine ritual, fasting, and hallucinogenic substances.


==Works and notable figures==
Less common:
{{see also|Psychedelic literature}}
*]
{{multiple image |align=right|image1=Aldous Huxley.JPG|caption1=] (1894–1963)|width1=125|image2=Timothy-Leary-Los-Angeles-1989.jpg|caption2=] (1920–1996)|width2=130||footer=Two iconic psychonautical researchers and advocates of the 20th century.}}
*]
Works such as ] by ], ] by ], and ''On Hashish'' by ] have psychonautic elements insofar as they explore human and drug-induced experiences. They may be considered precursors to psychonautic literature, but they are not psychonautic works in their own right.
*]
*]
*]


One of the best known psychonautic works is ]'s '']'', which recounts his experience after taking 400mg of mescaline.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fastcodesign.com/1673120/see-the-contest-winning-cover-for-brave-new-world |title=See The Contest-Winning Cover For "Brave New World" |last1=Dunne |first1=Carey |newspaper=Co.design |date=30 July 2013 |access-date=25 May 2015 }}</ref><ref name="darwinspharmacy">{{cite book |last=Doyle |first=Richard M. |date=2011 |title=Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noösphere |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-99095-8 }}</ref><ref name="invisiblelandscape">{{cite book |last=Carpenter |first=Dan |date=2006 |title=A Psychonaut's Guide to the Invisible Landscape: The Topography of the Psychedelic Experience |publisher=Park Street Press |isbn=978-1-59477-090-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/26/doors-perception-huxley-mescaline-reading-group |title=The Doors of Perception: What did Huxley see in mescaline? |last1=Jordison |first1=Sam |date=26 January 2012 |work=] |access-date=25 May 2015 }}</ref> The American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, writer and inventor ] was a well-known psychonaut. Lilly was interested in the nature of ] and, amongst other techniques, he used isolation tanks in his research.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lilly |first=John C. |year=1956 |title=Mental Effects of Reduction of Ordinary Levels of Physical Stimuli on Intact, Healthy Persons |volume=5 |pages=1–9 |work=Psychiatric Research Reports. |url=http://www.planetpuna.com/Lilly%20Papers/40.%20LILLY,%20JOHN%20C.%201956.pdf}}</ref>
Though avoided by most modern psychonauts, certain species of the ] family have been used for psychoactive purposes throughout human history.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} The most common of these is ], which is classified as a ], not as a ]. Datura is rarely used by psychonauts because control and lucidity are lost in a delirious state, and the experience is often not remembered.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} With deliriants like datura, self-inflicted injury and even death can occur. Nevertheless, deliriants are still occasionally employed in psychonautics.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}


] is an author well-known for accounts of his experimentation with psychedelic drugs. ] and ]-fiction author ] has also been described as a psychonaut for several of his works such as '']''.<ref name="darwinspharmacy" />
====Cannabis====
] is often used individually, or in combination with many hallucinogens to amplify and extend the experience. The chemical THC (the main psychoactive chemical in Cannabis) is technically classified as a hallucinogen with both sedative and stimulant properties.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} Though it is generally{{weasel word|date=February 2010}} considered{{by whom?|date=February 2010}} a "light hallucinogen," its synergistic effect with other hallucinogens is rather potent and at higher doses it can be a powerful psychedelic experience.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}


Another influential figure is the psychologist and writer ].<ref name="invisiblelandscape" /> Leary is known for controversial talks and research on the subject; he wrote several books including '']''. Another widely known name is that of American ], ], lecturer, and author ].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Richards|first1=Chris|title=Sturgill Simpson: A country voice of, and out of, this world|newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sturgill-simpson-a-country-voice-of-and-out-of-this-world/2014/03/31/46277cce-b8f9-11e3-899e-bb708e3539dd_story.html|access-date=16 June 2015|date=31 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Harms|first1=Shane|title=Fall brings a change in the climate of consciousness|url=http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2014/10/28/features/fall-brings-change-climate-consciousness|access-date=16 June 2015|date=28 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224051611/http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2014/10/28/features/fall-brings-change-climate-consciousness|archive-date=24 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> McKenna spoke and wrote about subjects including psychedelic drugs, plant-based ], ], ], ], ], culture, technology, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.
====Dreams====
As dreams are considered by psychonauts to be a window into thought processes, many keep ]s in order to better remember dreams and further their understanding of their own symbolic internal dialogue.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} Many{{Who|date=February 2010}} attempt to not only remember their dreams, but engage in ], in which one is consciously aware of their state while dreaming.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}


Among the most influential figures are undoubtedly ] and ] who together authored ] and ], a pair of books which contain fictionalized autobiographies and detailed notes on over 230 psychoactive compounds. Some present-day psychonauts refer to themselves as "Shulginists" to denote a belief in the principles they identify in Shulgins' work.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Doc |first1=Zee |date=14 April 2018 |title=What is a Shulginist? |url=https://www.drzee.org/post/2018/04/14/what-is-a-shulginist |access-date=29 October 2022 |website=Doc Zee |language=en}}</ref>
==== Meditation ====


==See also==
There are various forms of meditation though the most commonly practiced is 'concentration meditation' where the meditator seeks to quiet the activity of his/her mind by concentrating/focusing attention upon a single object, sound, sensation or thought.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


====Ritual==== == References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
] is often employed{{by whom?|date=February 2010}} for purposes of grounding and centering one's{{Who|date=February 2010}} self, to set one's{{Who|date=February 2010}} focus and intentions, and to instill a conception of the significance and depth of psychonautical practice.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} Repeated use of ritual may{{weasel word|date=February 2010}} also train the brain to associate certain activities and states of consciousness with specific situations, creating deeper experiences and allowing one to more easily enter altered states of consciousness.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}

====Neurotechnology====
Specific technologies employed include:

*]
*]s
*]
*]

These devices attempt to induce specific ] patterns using ] (brainwave synchronization) through light and sound, or through direct electrical stimulation.

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
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Latest revision as of 04:37, 20 December 2024

Methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness "Psychonaut" redirects here. For other uses, see Psychonaut (disambiguation).

Illustration from The Secret of the Golden Flower, a Chinese book of alchemy and meditation.

Psychonautics (from the Ancient Greek ψυχή psychē 'soul, spirit, mind' and ναύτης naútēs 'sailor, navigator') refers both to a methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness, including those induced by meditation or mind-altering substances, and to a research group in which the researcher voluntarily immerses themselves into an altered mental state in order to explore the accompanying experiences.

The term has been applied diversely, to cover all activities by which altered states are induced and utilized for spiritual purposes or the exploration of the human condition, including shamanism, lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Siddhars of Ancient India, sensory deprivation, and archaic/modern drug users who use entheogenic substances in order to gain deeper insights and spiritual experiences. Self-experimentation of psychedelics in groups may foster innovation of alternative medication treatment. A person who uses altered states for such exploration is known as a psychonaut.

Etymology and categorization

The term psychonautics derives from the prior term psychonaut, which began appearing in North American works in the late 1950s. The first reference that corresponds to contemporary usages of the term was in the 1965 edition of the Group Psychotherapy journal. A 1968 magazine, Beyond Baroque, refers to Timothy Leary as a psychonaut.

German author Ernst Jünger describes ideas related to psychonautics - in reference to Arthur Heffter - in his 1970 essay on his own extensive drug experiences Annäherungen: Drogen und Rausch (literally: "Approaches: Drugs and Inebriation"). In this essay, Jünger draws many parallels between drug experience and physical exploration—for example, the danger of encountering hidden "reefs."

Peter J. Carroll made Psychonaut the title of a 1982 book on the experimental use of meditation, ritual and drugs in the experimental exploration of consciousness and of psychic phenomena, or "chaos magic".

The term's first published use in a scholarly context is attributed to ethnobotanist Jonathan Ott, in 2001.

Definition and usage

Clinical psychiatrist Jan Dirk Blom describes psychonautics as denoting "the exploration of the psyche by means of techniques such as lucid dreaming, brainwave entrainment, sensory deprivation, and the use of hallucinogens or entheogens, and a psychonaut as one who "seeks to investigate their mind using intentionally induced altered states of consciousness" for spiritual, scientific, or research purposes.

Psychologist Dr. Elliot Cohen of Leeds Beckett University and the UK Institute of Psychosomanautics defines psychonautics as "the means to study and explore consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness; it rests on the realization that to study consciousness is to transform it." He associates it with a long tradition of historical cultures worldwide. Leeds Beckett University offers a module in Psychonautics and may be the only university in the UK to do so.

American Buddhist writer Robert Thurman depicts the Tibetan Buddhist master as a psychonaut, stating that "Tibetan lamas could be called psychonauts, since they journey across the frontiers of death into the in-between realm."

Categorization

The aims and methods of psychonautics, when state-altering substances are involved, is commonly distinguished from recreational drug use by research sources. Psychonautics as a means of exploration need not involve drugs, and may take place in a spiritual context with an established history. Cohen considers psychonautics closer in its association to wisdom traditions and other transpersonal and integral movements.

However, there is considerable overlap with modern drug use and due to its modern close association with psychedelics and other drugs, it is also studied in the context of drug abuse from a perspective of addiction, the drug abuse market and online psychology, and studies into existing and emerging drugs within toxicology.

Methods

The San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi) has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3000 years.

These may be used in combination; for example, traditions such as shamanism may combine ritual, fasting, and hallucinogenic substances.

Works and notable figures

See also: Psychedelic literature Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)Timothy Leary (1920–1996)Two iconic psychonautical researchers and advocates of the 20th century.

Works such as Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey, The Hasheesh Eater by Fitz Hugh Ludlow, and On Hashish by Walter Benjamin have psychonautic elements insofar as they explore human and drug-induced experiences. They may be considered precursors to psychonautic literature, but they are not psychonautic works in their own right.

One of the best known psychonautic works is Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, which recounts his experience after taking 400mg of mescaline. The American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, writer and inventor John C. Lilly was a well-known psychonaut. Lilly was interested in the nature of consciousness and, amongst other techniques, he used isolation tanks in his research.

Ken Kesey is an author well-known for accounts of his experimentation with psychedelic drugs. Philosophical- and Science-fiction author Philip K. Dick has also been described as a psychonaut for several of his works such as The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.

Another influential figure is the psychologist and writer Timothy Leary. Leary is known for controversial talks and research on the subject; he wrote several books including The Psychedelic Experience. Another widely known name is that of American philosopher, ethnobotanist, lecturer, and author Terence McKenna. McKenna spoke and wrote about subjects including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, culture, technology, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.

Among the most influential figures are undoubtedly Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin who together authored PiHKAL and TiHKAL, a pair of books which contain fictionalized autobiographies and detailed notes on over 230 psychoactive compounds. Some present-day psychonauts refer to themselves as "Shulginists" to denote a belief in the principles they identify in Shulgins' work.

See also

References

  1. ^ Blom, Jan Dirk (2009). A Dictionary of Hallucinations. Springer. p. 434. ISBN 978-1-4419-1222-0. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  2. ^ Newcombe, Russell (2008). "Ketamine Case Study: The Phenomenology of a Ketamine Experience". Addiction Research & Theory. 16 (3): 209–215. doi:10.1080/16066350801983707. S2CID 143462683.
  3. ^ As noted by Flores, Ralph (2008). Buddhist scriptures as literature: sacred rhetoric and the uses of theory. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7339-9. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  4. R. N. Hema (December 2019). Biography of the 18 Siddhars (Thesis). National Institute of Siddha.
  5. ^ van Riel (2007). "New Drugs of Abuse". Clinical Toxicology. 45 (4): 372–3. doi:10.1080/15563650701284894. S2CID 218860546. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  6. Kempner, Joanna; Bailey, John (1 October 2019). "Collective self-experimentation in patient-led research: How online health communities foster innovation". Social Science & Medicine. 238: 112366. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112366. PMID 31345612. S2CID 196544851.
  7. Jünger. "Psychonauten". Annaherungen: Drogen und Rausch. p. 430. Cited in Taylor; et al. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. Thoemmes Continuum. p. 1312. ISBN 978-1-84371-138-4. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  8. Carroll, Peter J. (April 1987). Liber Null. (1978) and Psychonaut. (1982) (published in one volume in 1987). Weiser Books. ISBN 978-0-87728-639-4.
  9. Ott, Jonathan (2001). "Pharmanopo-Psychonautics: Human Intranasal, Sublingual, Intrarectal, Pulmonary and Oral Pharmacology of Bufotenine". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 33 (3): 273–282. doi:10.1080/02791072.2001.10400574. PMID 11718320. S2CID 5877023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2010. Cited by Blom, Jan Dirk (2009). A Dictionary of Hallucinations. Springer. p. 434. ISBN 978-1-4419-1222-0. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  10. ^ UK Institute of Psychonautics and Somanautics page Archived 10 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine at his "Academy for Transpersonal Studies". Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  11. "Course Specification - BA (Hons) Psychology and Society" (PDF). Leeds Beckett University. Leeds Beckett University. 2017–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  12. "Elliot Cohen". Staff Directory. Leeds Beckett University. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  13. Schifano, Fabrizio; Leoni, Mauro; Martinotti, Giovanni; Rawaf, Salman; Rovetto, Francesco (August 2003). "Importance of Cyberspace for the Assessment of the Drug Abuse Market: Preliminary Results from the Psychonaut 2002 Project". CyberPsychology & Behavior. 6 (4): 405–410. doi:10.1089/109493103322278790. PMID 14511453.
  14. Bigwood, Jeremy; Stafford, Peter J. (1992). Psychedelics encyclopedia. Berkeley, CA: Ronin Pub. pp. 118–9. ISBN 978-0-914171-51-5.
  15. Herzberg, Nicholas. "Analysing Icaros: The Musicology of Ayahuasca Ceremonies". Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  16. Dunne, Carey (30 July 2013). "See The Contest-Winning Cover For "Brave New World"". Co.design. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  17. ^ Doyle, Richard M. (2011). Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noösphere. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-99095-8.
  18. ^ Carpenter, Dan (2006). A Psychonaut's Guide to the Invisible Landscape: The Topography of the Psychedelic Experience. Park Street Press. ISBN 978-1-59477-090-6.
  19. Jordison, Sam (26 January 2012). "The Doors of Perception: What did Huxley see in mescaline?". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  20. Lilly, John C. (1956). "Mental Effects of Reduction of Ordinary Levels of Physical Stimuli on Intact, Healthy Persons" (PDF). Psychiatric Research Reports. Vol. 5. pp. 1–9.
  21. Richards, Chris (31 March 2014). "Sturgill Simpson: A country voice of, and out of, this world". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  22. Harms, Shane (28 October 2014). "Fall brings a change in the climate of consciousness". Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  23. Doc, Zee (14 April 2018). "What is a Shulginist?". Doc Zee. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

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