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Manifesting Minds: A Review of Psychedelics in Science, Medicine, Sex, and Spirituality
Featuring essays and interviews with Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Ram Dass, Albert Hofmann, Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin, Daniel Pinchbeck, Tim Robbins, Arne Naess, and electronic musician Simon Posford, as well as groundbreaking research and personal accounts, this one-of-a-kind anthology is a "best of" collection of articles and essays published by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Topics include the healing use of marijuana and psychedelics--including MDMA, ibogaine, LSD, and ayahuasca--for PTSD, anxiety, depression, and drug addiction, as well as positive effects of these substances in the realm of the arts, family, spirituality, ecology, and technology.
Among many other thought-provoking and mind-opening pieces are the following:
• "On Leary and Drugs at the End," by Carol Rosen and Vicki Marshall
• "Psychedelic Rites of Passage," by Ram Dass
• "To Be Read at the Funeral," by Albert Hofmann
• "Another Green World: Psychedelics and Ecology," by Daniel Pinchbeck
• "Psychedelics and Species Connectedness," by Stanley Krippner, PhD
• "Huxley on Drugs and Creativity," by Aldous Huxley
• "Psychedelics and the Deep Ecology Movement: A Conversation with Arne Naess," by Mark A. Schroll, PhD, and David Rothenberg
• "Psychedelic Sensibility," by Tom Robbins
• "Electronic Music and Psychedelics: An Interview with Simon Posford of Shpongle," by David Jay Brown
• "How Psychedelics Informed My Sex Life and Sex Work," by Annie Sprinkle
• "Consideration of Ayahuasca for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," by Jessica Nielson, PhD, and Julie Megler, MSN, NP-BC
• "Psychedelics and Extreme Sports," by James Oroc
• "Youth and Entheogens: A Modern Rite of Passage?," by Andrei Foldes with Amba, Eric Johnson, et al.
• "Diary of an MDMA Subject," by Anonymous
• "Dimethyltryptamine: Possible Endogenous Ligand of the Sigma-1 Receptor?," by Adam L. Halberstadt
• "Lessons from Psychedelic Therapy," by Richard Yensen, PhD
• "Psychosomatic Medicine, Psychoneuroimmunology, and Psychedelics," by Ana Maqueda
• "Talking with Ann and Sasha Shulgin about the Existence of God and the Pleasures of Sex and Drugs," by Jon Hanna and Silvia Thyssen
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Among many other thought-provoking and mind-opening pieces are the following:
• "On Leary and Drugs at the End," by Carol Rosen and Vicki Marshall
• "Psychedelic Rites of Passage," by Ram Dass
• "To Be Read at the Funeral," by Albert Hofmann
• "Another Green World: Psychedelics and Ecology," by Daniel Pinchbeck
• "Psychedelics and Species Connectedness," by Stanley Krippner, PhD
• "Huxley on Drugs and Creativity," by Aldous Huxley
• "Psychedelics and the Deep Ecology Movement: A Conversation with Arne Naess," by Mark A. Schroll, PhD, and David Rothenberg
• "Psychedelic Sensibility," by Tom Robbins
• "Electronic Music and Psychedelics: An Interview with Simon Posford of Shpongle," by David Jay Brown
• "How Psychedelics Informed My Sex Life and Sex Work," by Annie Sprinkle
• "Consideration of Ayahuasca for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," by Jessica Nielson, PhD, and Julie Megler, MSN, NP-BC
• "Psychedelics and Extreme Sports," by James Oroc
• "Youth and Entheogens: A Modern Rite of Passage?," by Andrei Foldes with Amba, Eric Johnson, et al.
• "Diary of an MDMA Subject," by Anonymous
• "Dimethyltryptamine: Possible Endogenous Ligand of the Sigma-1 Receptor?," by Adam L. Halberstadt
• "Lessons from Psychedelic Therapy," by Richard Yensen, PhD
• "Psychosomatic Medicine, Psychoneuroimmunology, and Psychedelics," by Ana Maqueda
• "Talking with Ann and Sasha Shulgin about the Existence of God and the Pleasures of Sex and Drugs," by Jon Hanna and Silvia Thyssen
From the Trade Paperback edition.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 10, 2013
44 people are currently reading
571 people want to read
About the author
Rick Doblin
10 books26 followersRick Doblin, PhD, is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS; maps.org). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master's thesis on a survey of oncologists about medical marijuana for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a 34-year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 6, 2015
The science on these substances is unstoppable, and if they are granted the research they deserve--from informative, intelligent, and experienced practitioners--there is going to be a massive shift in our perception of reality, a more appreciative understanding of nature, and a deeper connection to the spiritual realms beyond this material one.
"The psychedelic experiences largely go ignored because, in a Foucaldian sense, they offer a resistive discourse to that of the societally legitimated explanations of what occurs under the influence of such plants and fungi, in the West at least. Being based solely on the effects of mushrooms on others, these legitimated discourses typically take a pathological, psychological, or prohibitory stance, and so this subjective animaphany appears to transgress a fundamental societal boundary, communicating with "spirits," which subsequently becomes labeled as "madness." But which is more "mad," communicating with the spirits of nature or sitting back while earths ecology descends rapidly into the greatest wave of mass extinction in sixty five million years?"
"The psychedelic experiences largely go ignored because, in a Foucaldian sense, they offer a resistive discourse to that of the societally legitimated explanations of what occurs under the influence of such plants and fungi, in the West at least. Being based solely on the effects of mushrooms on others, these legitimated discourses typically take a pathological, psychological, or prohibitory stance, and so this subjective animaphany appears to transgress a fundamental societal boundary, communicating with "spirits," which subsequently becomes labeled as "madness." But which is more "mad," communicating with the spirits of nature or sitting back while earths ecology descends rapidly into the greatest wave of mass extinction in sixty five million years?"
December 2, 2019
For someone like me, born in 1984, I didn't have any school communities using LSD and experience popular discussion about it within large groups (like in the 60s-early 70s). But my best friends, drug store coworkers; funniest buddies, orphan friends and eloquent peers all had tried it... I heard many stories of trips from my pals -- in the sex section and others there are similar descriptions.
It's interesting for someone like me to read about Tim Leary's final days, and Albert Hofmann's funeral statement. My mom lived in Haight-Ashbury for a few years, someone came to her door having a bad trip and she took him in and calmed him (I've given a ride home to two people having bad trips). She always maintained the religious lifestyle but since she was a certain age in the 60s she gained some knowledge of that period (my dad, too). For me, reading about Tim Leary and Albert Hofmann (although both lived in my lifetime) is history.
The history referenced to in this book, for younger people like me, is interesting and important to have in libraries that contain diverse amounts of information. That way, American and world culture is preserved, and we can learn from history. There is also a future in psychedelics in medicine and therapy, as well as posible legal recreational use, which is worked on today. Whether everyone is happy with this, well, not everyone is, but research continues to give evidence that makes even those opposed to them reason to pause. The FDA has been and is changing thanks to MAPS, and Rick Doblin, the book's editor and founder (and many other strong, intelligent voices and scientists).
What did I learn from this book? I learned about more extreme permissive parenting styles, not necessarily ones that I agree with (allowing your kids to take 2C-B, pot, very openly -- letting children be exposed to a religious peyote environment). On the other hand, who am I to say this is the wrong parenting style? Honestly! Especially in the religious environment. I would think that if you are not indigenous, why are you practicing an indigenous religious tradition... But who am I to judge?
I also gleaned information about chemistry and biology, not much of it deeply useful, but still interesting. The overall effect I got out of this book was its reflections on psychology and philosophy, which I've been into lately. It also got me to finally watch Avatar, which I really enjoyed. From this compilation I also was introduced to Shpongle, electronica music that is fun to listen to when you're in certain moods.
It's interesting for someone like me to read about Tim Leary's final days, and Albert Hofmann's funeral statement. My mom lived in Haight-Ashbury for a few years, someone came to her door having a bad trip and she took him in and calmed him (I've given a ride home to two people having bad trips). She always maintained the religious lifestyle but since she was a certain age in the 60s she gained some knowledge of that period (my dad, too). For me, reading about Tim Leary and Albert Hofmann (although both lived in my lifetime) is history.
The history referenced to in this book, for younger people like me, is interesting and important to have in libraries that contain diverse amounts of information. That way, American and world culture is preserved, and we can learn from history. There is also a future in psychedelics in medicine and therapy, as well as posible legal recreational use, which is worked on today. Whether everyone is happy with this, well, not everyone is, but research continues to give evidence that makes even those opposed to them reason to pause. The FDA has been and is changing thanks to MAPS, and Rick Doblin, the book's editor and founder (and many other strong, intelligent voices and scientists).
What did I learn from this book? I learned about more extreme permissive parenting styles, not necessarily ones that I agree with (allowing your kids to take 2C-B, pot, very openly -- letting children be exposed to a religious peyote environment). On the other hand, who am I to say this is the wrong parenting style? Honestly! Especially in the religious environment. I would think that if you are not indigenous, why are you practicing an indigenous religious tradition... But who am I to judge?
I also gleaned information about chemistry and biology, not much of it deeply useful, but still interesting. The overall effect I got out of this book was its reflections on psychology and philosophy, which I've been into lately. It also got me to finally watch Avatar, which I really enjoyed. From this compilation I also was introduced to Shpongle, electronica music that is fun to listen to when you're in certain moods.
October 29, 2017
Amazing Book! If you are into health, wellness and wholeness, read this book. If you are into "counterculture" at all or "futurism", read this book. If you are a burner )'( or an academic or a solitary explorer of altered states of consciousness, read this book. If you have children, read this book. My favorite section was the coming of age section and my favorite story was the one about Timothy Leary's last days. I was bawling my heart out for that one and read it out loud to my partner. I've read tons of books about entheogens/psychedelics, their history, possible therapeutic uses, etc. and I am very glad this one exists.
May 2, 2021
Truly delightful gather of readings about the psychedelics realms and their many facets!!
January 29, 2014
This book is fantastic. Lots of really insightful and intriguing essays from experts and explorers in many fields.
I especially like the chapters on ethics, sex, and psychotechnologies. I think this book is a great read for anyone following the field of psychedelic research or interested in where the culture and community could take these ideas.
I was very pleased to see some topics tackled in this book that I haven't really seen in other literature that is available at the moment, and I think that this is one of the best selling points of the book. Many different voices contributed and although some were more entertaining, inspiring, educational, or clearer than others, there were very few chapters that I felt bogged down in or struggling to get through.
Great book. Please read it if you have any interest at all in the field.
I especially like the chapters on ethics, sex, and psychotechnologies. I think this book is a great read for anyone following the field of psychedelic research or interested in where the culture and community could take these ideas.
I was very pleased to see some topics tackled in this book that I haven't really seen in other literature that is available at the moment, and I think that this is one of the best selling points of the book. Many different voices contributed and although some were more entertaining, inspiring, educational, or clearer than others, there were very few chapters that I felt bogged down in or struggling to get through.
Great book. Please read it if you have any interest at all in the field.
December 12, 2016
Although it's pretty biased and certainly doesn't say much about the negatives of using psychadelics irresponsibly, it's a fascinating look at how psychadelics have affected various thinkers. I like how fluffier opinion pieces are interspersed with more rigorous, well-cited works.
December 31, 2017
A hodge-podge of essays - way too many are misguided/woo.
Includes Hoffmann's self-written eulogy and a few slightly more interesting pieces.
Can be skipped.
Includes Hoffmann's self-written eulogy and a few slightly more interesting pieces.
Can be skipped.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews