Los diarios del ácido: La guía de un psiconauta sobre la historia y el uso del LSD

by Christopher Gray

Una exploración sobre las verdades personales y espirituales reveladas mediante el LSD

• Indica que las visiones inducidas por el LSD tejen una trama continua de un viaje a otro

• Muestra que los viajes o trances psicodélicos pasan por tres los temas personales y la conciencia prenatal, la pérdida del ego y, por último, lo sagrado

• Explora el consumo de sustancias psicodélicas a lo largo de la historia, incluidas las alucinaciones masivas comunes en la Edad Media y los primeros usos terapéuticos del LSD

Christopher Gray, cuando tenía casi sesenta años, por primera vez en mucho tiempo probó a tomar una dosis de 100 microgramos de LSD. Los efectos fueron tan extraordinarios y sorprendentemente agradables, que comenzó a consumir la misma dosis de igual manera cada dos o tres semanas.

En Los diarios del ácido, Christopher Gray describe en detalle su experimento con el LSD durante un período de tres años y comparte la sorprendente conclusión de que sus visiones iban entretejiendo una historia coherente de una experiencia a otra, y le revelaban una trama subyacente de verdades personales y espirituales. Basándose en las teorías de Stanislav Grof y con citas de otras experiencias parecidas a la suya (como las de Aldous Huxley, Albert Hofmann y Gordon Wasson), muestra que los viajes pasan por tres la primera tiene que ver con asuntos personales y la conciencia prenatal; la segunda con la pérdida del ego, a menudo con matices sobrenaturales; y la tercera con temas sagrados, espirituales y apocalípticos. Al cotejar sus experiencias con el estudio de la utilización de sustancias psicodélicas a lo largo de la historia, incluidas las alucinaciones masivas producidas por el cornezuelo, comunes en la Edad Media, y las primeras veces que el LSD se utilizó con fines terapéuticos, Gray ofrece a los lectores una mayor comprensión y apreciación del valor potencial del LSD, no solo con fines de crecimiento transpersonal, sino de desarrollo espiritual.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

(1942-2009) Christopher Gray was known for his involvement with Situationist International in the 1960s.

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Stevie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book took me a while to read... not because it was uninteresting but because it required so much thought to really understand what Gray was trying to say... and what he had to say was really eye-opening and even at times synchronized with my own undeveloped ideas. Everyone should read this, not just druggies or hippies... It's not even about the acid, but more the ideas behind it and the implications it might have on society.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The “history” part mentioned in the title is rather negligible; just a few short chapters at the onset of the book provide a short, very broad history of LSD’s creation and usage. The true gem here is the rest of the book, and Gray’s fearless exploration of the realms, both painful and transcendent, which LSD leads him to. An outstanding document of psychedelic experimentation.

[Nikki Berkebile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serious implications that should not be ignored by the field of psychotherapy.

[gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked this up because it was 1 pound and it vaguely seemed like something i could be interested in. ended up enjoying it way more than i expected! i like how the author is older and thereby has more of a realistic and grounded perspective on the subject. i wish i could find out more about his biography. this was very easy to read and felt almost like reading somebody's personal journal. i didn't agree with all his points, but this book will stay with me.

[Nick Mather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gray states that his project here was inspired by Terrence McKenna's claim that before there can be a psychedelic philosophy, we need the accounts of psychonauts in order to sucessfully chart the terrain. Gray's diaries details his once monthy self-experimentation with LSD during his late fifties. He relies largely on the theories of Stan Groff, in particular the idea that LSD can help someone relive and work through the birth trauma. One can't help but wonder if Gray's experiences weren't overly influenced by his readings of Groff and whether his experiences would have been different if he had not relied on Groff so thoroughly. Gray also brings in some Gurdjieff, Jung, Huxley all accompanied by a soundtrack of classical music. There are other books about the history of LSD and psychedelics that are more thorough, though Gray's personal narrative is appreciated and a welcome additional to psychedelic literature.

[Littlevision · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was pretty good until he started ranting about politics that had little to do with acid, and I found my eyes getting glazed over every time the word "government" popped up.

Christopher Gray went on 40+ LSD trips and documents his adventure in this book. I wish I could find more information about the author, but there is no biography in the book and little information online. From what I can discern, he died in 2009, the same year his book was published.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very in-depth book, can't that I agree with all of the author's conclusions but as the book itself says "it's too early for a science, what we need now are the diaries of explorer's." This is one such diary and it's a fantastic treatment of the LSD experience, demystifying many myths as well as tying the drug into both the personal narrative of author, and the political narrative of the 60s counterculture until the present day.

[DropOfOcean · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Overall I enjoyed the book, it’s a story about one man’s attempt to grasp what everything is about by using one the most powerful tool available - LSD. What I was not into were political sections and strong influence of Stanislav Grof. The book ended bit mysteriously considering that the author died the same year book was published. I don’t believe Christopher believed in death as an end though and neither do I.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really gives you something to think about....

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st Read: November 10, 2015 - November 19, 2015

Really interesting book. Enjoyed it immensely! Related a lot to his experiences and trips. I will read this one again. It's a keeper!