Subcultures and Social Trends: Psychonauts – Exploring the Inner Psyche through the Altered States of Consciousness
“…there were shamans before there were Gods….”
Spirit travel through altered states of consciousness has existed across some cultures throughout the ages, and those primitive peoples had a profound and lasting impact upon new consciousness exploration. The first viewpoint of the world was through the lens of animism- a perspective which emphasizes the existence of the supernatural (ghosts, spirits, and gods) inhabiting the objects and beings of the world around the individual. Through these objects and beings, they could interact with humans.
In the mind of the primitive human, those spirits could inhabit the bodies of men and beasts. The belief espoused that any individual the supernatural beings chose to occupy would suffer a debilitating illness or insanity, but often received higher wisdom in exchange. One could only contact these supernatural beings in the spirit realm, which required an individual to enter an altered state of consciousness.
”Shamans are said to ‘die’ and return to life many times. They know how to orient themselves in the unknown regions they enter during their ecstasy. They learn to explore the new planes of existence their experiences disclose.”
History and evidence show ancient shamans had extensive knowledge of a variety of pharmacological hallucinogens. In fact, there is also evidence which suggests ancient shamans engaged in practices which serve as the foundation for present day yoga and meditation.
What Exactly is a Psychonaut?
“Hey Chavez, why ain’t the killin’ us?”
“’Cause we’re in the spirit world asshole, they can’t see us.”
-Young Guns the 1988 thriller/action movie
The phrase “Psychonaut” is derived from the Greek language, and translates to “a sailor of the mind and soul.” Psychonauts seek to intentionally induce and explore altered states of consciousness through mystical traditions established from various cultures and religions. They engage in several techniques to enter these altered states: meditation, hypnosis, rituals, lucid dreaming, sleep deprivation, fasting, sensory deprivation, oxygen deprivation, biofeedback and (most commonly) psychedelics.
Some of the experiences shared by shamans, mystics, artists, poets and Psychonauts include the intensification of colors; going through the naked intensity of reality, unfiltered from everyday abstraction and sensing the inherent nature of things. Albert Hoffman described it as “experiencing the inextricable intertwining of the physical and spiritual.”
Shamanism and Altered States
Shamanism is believed to be at least 25,000 years old, and fully 90 percent of the world's cultures make use of one or more states of altered consciousness. Typically, in the Native American tradition, practitioners of shamanism enter altered states of consciousness and interact with spiritual entities to heal individuals who are ill or distressed. Within the Native American traditions, “soul loss” is believed to be the primary cause of illness and can be closely equated with depression. The healer enters an altered state to entice the soul back to the body with prayer and ritual.
Shamans have some methods to enter and altered state. Contrary to popular belief and urban legend, pharmacologically assisted altered states are the exception more than the norm in Native American Shamanic tradition. The more standard course chosen to enter an altered state comes from extreme displays of physical endurance: dehydration, extreme fasting, sleep deprivation, extended solitude, subjecting themselves to extreme temperatures and intense rhythmic stimulation (dancing, drumming, chanting, etc.).
Shamans may use these techniques to bring the individual in need of healing into an altered state as well. Recent research suggests these non-pharmacological methods of inducing altered states work to change the brain waves of the subject to make them more susceptible to suggestion.
Modern Day Neo-Shamans and Psychonauts
Modern neo-shamans and Psychonauts are seeking to explore the mind or psyche with the belief these experiences have long-term benefits in their everyday lives.
”Psychonauts often use entheogens coupled with other mind altering techniques to get into a state of trance or deep states of meditation…Ritual is often employed for purposes of grounding and centering one's self, to set one's focus and intentions, and to instill a conception of the significance and depth of psychonautical practice. Repeated use of ritual may 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.”
The essays and accounts of Psychonauts tend to gravitate towards the realm of quantitative science: pharmacology, posology, cognitive psychology, ethnomedicine, and anthropology. However, they are not confined to the codified scientific method of Western science, and the altered state inner voyages may bridge many different worlds.
Famous Psychonauts
”…the English novelist and critic Aldous Huxley, wrote about his experience with mescaline in his book entitled Doors of Perception. He stated that the entheogenic experience had the potential to “shed light on unsolved riddles such as the place of mind in nature and the relationship between brain and consciousness.” He also suggested that such insights might bring one closer to understanding the worlds of the visionary, medium and even the mystic.”
Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda, American author, and anthropologist who wrote the first person series describing his apprenticeship with a Yaqui Indian medicine man identified only as Don Juan Matus. This series earned him a bachelor's degree and a doctorate from the University of California. This set also had him featured on the cover of the March 5, 1973 issue of Time magazine, who described him as, "an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in a tortilla."
John C. Lilly
John Lilly holds the esteemed position in the history of Psychonauts for the development of the sensory deprivation tank (and attempted communication between humans and dolphins).
”In 1953, Lilly began a job studying neurophysiology with the US Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Corps. At the N.I.M.H. in 1954… with the desire of isolating a brain from external stimulation, he devised the first isolation tank, a dark, soundproof tank of warm salt water in which subjects could float for long periods in sensory isolation. Lilly and a research colleague were the first to act as subjects of this research. What had been known as perceptual isolation or sensory deprivation was reconceptualized as Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique (R.E.S.T.)….”
Nicholas Sand
Nicholas Sand’s claim to fame (or infamy) is holding the esteemed place of most prolific and famous of the underground chemists in the history of psychedelics. He and his sidekick, Tim Scully, prodigiously produced an orange barreled pill called “Orange Sunshine” and singlehandedly ushered in the proliferation of LSD into the mainstream in the 1960s. Of particular note, Nicholas Sand holds Steve Jobs and John Lennon as his disciples.
Psychologists tend to remain skeptical about claims of transcendence through altered states of consciousness and label them as delusional or self-deceptive. Parapsychologists, on the other hand, suggest we research to learn the significance of each of these altered states as it relates to the totality of the complete human entity.
”The psychonautic experience may provide an insight into the mechanics of perception, the creative workings of the mind, the origins of religious and ecological sensitivity, whilst simultaneously being able to provide clinical evaluations of novel psychoactive agents.”
References
Rosenfeld, Nicols. “Incredibly Trippy Portraits of Famous Psychonauts.” Psychedelic Frontier. July 29, 2014. http://psychedelicfrontier.com/trippy-portraits-psychonauts-nicolas-rosenfeld/
Wells, Hattie. “The Importance of Psychonautics for the Modern World.” MindVox. 2003. http://ibogaine.mindvox.com/articles/importance-psychonautics-modern-world/
Thomason, Timothy. “The Role of Altered States of Consciousness in Native American Healing.” The Cuyamungue Institute. 2016. http://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/the-role-of-altered-states-of-consciousness-in-native-american-healing/
Psychedelic Adventure. “Psychonauts: Entheogenic Explorers of the Psyche or Soul.” N.p. October 24, 2016. http://www.psychedelicadventure.net/2009/03/psychonauts-entheogenic-explorers-of.html
Wikipedia. “Psychonautics.” N.p. September 24, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychonautics
Roots of Consciousness. “Shamanistic Traditions.” WilliamJames.com. N.d. http://www.williamjames.com/History/SHAMANS.htm
Wikipedia. “Carlos Casteneda.” N.p. October 17, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda
Image References
Widner, Wes.“Aldous Huxley.” Reason to Stand. January 19, 2011. http://reasontostand.org/archives/2011/01/19/aldous-huxley-on-propaganda-and-why-we-fall-for-it-2
Wikipedia. “Carlos Casteneda.” N.p. October 17, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda
Doors of Perception. “John C. Lilly Sensory Depravation.” N.p. September 15, 2013. http://doorofperception.com/2013/09/john-c-lilly-sensory-deprivation/
Serendipity. “Nick Sand.” N.p. N.d. http://www.serendipity.li/dmt/nsand/
a subject almost dangerous to contemplate nowadays as there seems to be some sort of war on consciousness! Good to read this and come across such information, thanks for the good courage and dedication to the development of such knowledge. Namaste :)
@eric-boucher thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. I appreciate the interaction with those who read my work.
I think one of the things most humans have forgotten is the power of the mind, and by extension, the power we have over our own reality. When I initially decided to look into Psychonauts, I thought I would be doing a piece on the drug culture, but I was absolutely amazed about the direction this piece took me. It was also the most difficult piece for me to complete since I first began writing the series. Each of these deep dives into subcultures has given me some insight and changed me in some way. For instance, tomorrow I am scheduled to spend 90 minutes in a sensory deprivation tank. Last week I took part in a paranormal investigation. Go figure.
I remember as a child hoping and dreaming of experiencing the isolation tank, after I had watched a famous Canadian movie brilliantly done called "Altered States"... I'm still very keen on the idea and still would love to experience it. On the same line of thought, there's a room in the USA that has something like -6dB room where, apparently, people can't stay more than 30 minutes because of the sounds they become aware while in there which mostly come from their own body.. I offered to go in there for a day but no one got back to me on that one yet, unfortunately. ;) I'm so glad you are delving in such important matters. We are on an axis and turning point in human history and if humans are to survive their own history, this is definitely a direction many should move toward in order to fully create the change needed. We really only need about 5 to 7% of active people in the population to do so, but it is important and essential. You bring hope and a breath of fresh air to our humanity. Thank you and namaste :)
excellent post congratulations, thanks for sharing
@jlufer thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate it.
I personally had the experience (dmt/pharma-variant) without those usual rituals. I wrote a whole essay on it, and could half relate to Aldous Huxley's account, although not Terrence Mckenna's (I'm surprised you missed him btw). I think what the shamans went through being "dead" is the phase where you need to accept the death of your ego (or letting loose) before the journey continuous without one's mental hesitation.. well I got through that pretty quickly actually. There's still a lingering image/feeling/sensation/sound that I still can't put in words til today, but there was a time when I felt like I was floating in between the state of nothingness, and the big bang (or coming into existence). The cracking is very distinct, like hearing sound for the first time. I felt like i'm god or something like that, for a few hours after the peak.
@kevinwong Thanks for the upvote and comment. I did some research on Terrence McKenna, but I didn't really find something that I liked or fit into the story I was telling with this piece. He seemed somewhat disjointed compared to the others I featured.
Regarding the idea of dying multiple times with shamans, the interesting thing is the context that phrase was used in the research materials. The shamans would generally go out into the woods in complete isolation to starve and dehydrate themselves for a period of four days- basically to the point of near death. It was at this point, they would trigger an altered state.
When the adepts graduated into shamans, they were required to do this ritual, but the alter state vision that was a common thread to all of them was having their skin flayed and stripped from their muscles, then their muscles stripped from their bones. The spirits would then rebuild the souls of the new shamans with new muscle and flesh of a healer.
Thanks for sharing your own experiences. It's interesting to see how each individual experiences their altered states of consciousness.
Not sure if there are any concrete studies, but from Joe Rogan's show, it's said that DMT molecules gets released in the brain during near-death experiences. My type of "trip" usually involves sight of mechanical elves and the feeling of being in an underground dome, according to most reports. But I just did not experience any of those.
@kevinwong I just finished the sensory depravation tank experience we spoke about two nights ago. That was very surreal. I finally get the idea of letting go of your ego to experience the full altered state. It was strange not being able to determine if I was asleep and dreaming or awake and hallucinating. That was very life changing and no chemicals involved.
Cool article man. Thanks for the in-depth information.
I've honestly never done any substance before so I've always been curious.
But it's hard to get good information considering most who do it are like, "Hahahah yeah I got so high" and shit.
And when you try to get information online, you get shit like, "Weed cures cancer. Proof inside."
Right.
@aldentan thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I appreciate it.
Achieving an altered state doesn't require use of psychedelics. Altered states can even be achieved through intense visualization much like what athletes do before their peak performance. I just finished (about an hour ago as of this response) 90 minutes in a sensory depravation tank, and it was surreal. Not being able to determine if I was asleep in the tank and dreaming or wide awake and hallucinating was something unexpected. I would suggest you try a float session in a tank to experience it for yourself without chemistry. Seriously mind altering experience.
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thanks @lpfaust for wonderful post for us psychonauts☘🍄🌿