Download or read book How to Change Your Mind written by Michael Pollan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now on Netflix as a 4-part documentary series! “Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research. A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.

Download or read book This Is Your Mind on Plants written by Michael Pollan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The instant New York Times bestseller | A Washington Post Notable Book | One of NPR's Best Books of the Year “Expert storytelling . . . [Pollan] masterfully elevates a series of big questions about drugs, plants and humans that are likely to leave readers thinking in new ways.” —New York Times Book Review From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan, a radical challenge to how we think about drugs, and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants—and the equally powerful taboos. Of all the things humans rely on plants for—sustenance, beauty, medicine, fragrance, flavor, fiber—surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable. So, then, what is a “drug”? And why, for example, is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable, but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime? In This Is Your Mind on Plants, Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs—opium, caffeine, and mescaline—and throws the fundamental strangeness, and arbitrariness, of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming (or, in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants. Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness, and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings? In this unique blend of history, science, and memoir, as well as participatory journalism, Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts, and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively—as a drug, whether licit or illicit. But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants, Pollan shows, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago, this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants, and our attraction to them through time, holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds, and our entanglement with the natural world.

Download or read book Manifesting Minds written by Rick Doblin, Ph.D. and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2014-01-07 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

Download or read book A Really Good Day written by Ayelet Waldman and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2017 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In an effort to treat a debilitating mood disorder, Ayelet Waldman undertook a very private experiment, ingesting 10 micrograms of LSD every three days for a month. This is the story--by turns revealing, courageous, fascinating and funny--of her quietly psychedelic spring, her quest to understand one of our most feared drugs, and her search for a really good day"--

Download or read book Cooked written by Michael Pollan and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NEW NETFLIX SERIES 'It's not often that a life-changing book falls into one's lap ... Yet Michael Pollan's Cooked is one of them.' SundayTelegraph 'This is a love song to old, slow kitchen skills at their delicious best' Kathryn Huges, GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR The New York Times Top Five Bestseller - Michael Pollan's uniquely enjoyable quest to understand the transformative magic of cooking Michael Pollan's Cooked takes us back to basics and first principles: cooking with fire, with water, with air and with earth. Meeting cooks from all over the world, who share their wisdom and stories, Pollan shows how cooking is at the heart of our culture and that when it gets down to it, it also fundamentally shapes our lives. Filled with fascinating facts and curious, mouthwatering tales from cast of eccentrics, Cooked explores the deepest mysteries of how and why we cook.

Download or read book Sacred Knowledge written by William A. Richards and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-08 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sacred Knowledge is the first well-documented, sophisticated account of the effect of psychedelics on biological processes, human consciousness, and revelatory religious experiences. Based on nearly three decades of legal research with volunteers, William A. Richards argues that, if used responsibly and legally, psychedelics have the potential to assuage suffering and constructively affect the quality of human life. Richards's analysis contributes to social and political debates over the responsible integration of psychedelic substances into modern society. His book serves as an invaluable resource for readers who, whether spontaneously or with the facilitation of psychedelics, have encountered meaningful, inspiring, or even disturbing states of consciousness and seek clarity about their experiences. Testing the limits of language and conceptual frameworks, Richards makes the most of experiential phenomena that stretch our understanding of reality, advancing new frontiers in the study of belief, spiritual awakening, psychiatric treatment, and social well-being. His findings enrich humanities and scientific scholarship, expanding work in philosophy, anthropology, theology, and religious studies and bringing depth to research in mental health, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology.

Download or read book LSD My Problem Child written by Albert Hofmann and published by Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. This book was released on 2017-09-27 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father, organic chemist Albert Hofmann, Ph.D. He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. In LSD: My Problem Child, we follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery. Underlying it all is Dr. Hofmann's powerful conclusion that mystical experiences may be our planet's best hope for survival. Whether induced by LSD, meditation, or arising spontaneously, such experiences help us to comprehend "the wonder, the mystery of the divine, in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula, in the seeds of plants, in the body and soul of people." More than sixty years after the birth of Albert Hofmann's problem child, his vision of its true potential is more relevant, and more needed, than ever.

Download or read book Neuropsychedelia written by Nicolas Langlitz and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neuropsychedelia examines the revival of psychedelic science since the "Decade of the Brain." After the breakdown of this previously prospering area of psychopharmacology, and in the wake of clashes between counterculture and establishment in the late 1960s, a new generation of hallucinogen researchers used the hype around the neurosciences in the 1990s to bring psychedelics back into the mainstream of science and society. This book is based on anthropological fieldwork and philosophical reflections on life and work in two laboratories that have played key roles in this development: a human lab in Switzerland and an animal lab in California. It sheds light on the central transnational axis of the resurgence connecting American psychedelic culture with the home country of LSD. In the borderland of science and religion, Neuropsychedelia explores the tensions between the use of hallucinogens to model psychoses and to evoke spiritual experiences in laboratory settings. Its protagonists, including the anthropologist himself, struggle to find a place for the mystical under conditions of late-modern materialism.

Download or read book Philosophy of Psychedelics written by Chris Letheby and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-05 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent clinical trials show that psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin can be given safely in controlled conditions, and can cause lasting psychological benefits with one or two administrations. Supervised psychedelic sessions can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and addiction, and improve well-being in healthy volunteers, for months or even years. But these benefits seem to be mediated by "mystical" experiences of cosmic consciousness, which prompts a philosophical concern: do psychedelics cause psychological benefits by inducing false or implausible beliefs about the metaphysical nature of reality? This book is the first scholarly monograph in English devoted to the philosophical analysis of psychedelic drugs. Its central focus is the apparent conflict between the growing use of psychedelics in psychiatry and the philosophical worldview of naturalism. Within the book, Letheby integrates empirical evidence and philosophical considerations in the service of a simple conclusion: this "Comforting Delusion Objection" to psychedelic therapy fails. While exotic metaphysical ideas do sometimes come up, they are not, on closer inspection, the central driver of change in psychedelic therapy. Psychedelics lead to lasting benefits by altering the sense of self, and changing how people relate to their own minds and lives-not by changing their beliefs about the ultimate nature of reality. The upshot is that a traditional conception of psychedelics as agents of insight and spirituality can be reconciled with naturalism (the philosophical position that the natural world is all there is). Controlled psychedelic use can lead to genuine forms of knowledge gain and spiritual growth-even if no Cosmic Consciousness or transcendent divine Reality exists. Philosophy of Psychedelics is an indispensable guide to the literature for researchers already engaged in the field of psychedelic psychiatry, and for researchers-especially philosophers-who want to become acquainted with this increasingly topical field.

Download or read book Psychedelic Medicine written by Richard Louis Miller and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the potential of psychedelics as medicine and the intersections of politics, science, and psychedelics • Explores the tumultuous history of psychedelic research, the efforts to restore psychedelic therapies, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness • Offers non-technical summaries of the most recent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca • Includes the work of Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker Embracing the revival of psychedelic research and the discovery of new therapeutic uses, clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Louis Miller discusses what is happening today in psychedelic medicine--and what will happen in the future--with top researchers and thinkers in this field, including Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker. Dr. Miller and his contributors cover the tumultuous history of early psychedelic research brought to a halt 50 years ago by the U.S. government as well as offering non-technical summaries of the most recent studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca. They explore the biochemistry of consciousness and the use of psychedelics for self-discovery and healing. They discuss the use of psilocybin for releasing fear in the terminally ill and the potential for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD. They examine Dr. Charles Grob’s research on the indigenous use and therapeutic properties of ayahuasca and Dr. Gabor Mate’s attempt to transport this plant medicine to a clinical setting with the help of Canada’s Department of National Health. Dr. Miller and his contributors explore the ongoing efforts to restore psychedelic therapies to the health field, the growing threat of overmedication by the pharmaceutical industry, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness. They also discuss the newly shifting political climate and the push for new research, offering hope for an end to the War on Drugs and a potential renaissance of research into psychedelic medicines around the world.

Download or read book Quantum Science of Psychedelics written by Carl Johan Calleman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking exploration of how psychedelics and quantum science are vital to understanding the evolution of consciousness and reality • Explains why altered states of consciousness exist, how they work, and why psychedelics have the effects that they do • Describes how quantum waves, rather than the DNA molecule, have been the driving force behind biological and historical evolution • Explains how psychedelics interact with the human mind to create altered states that may further the continued evolution of consciousness In this groundbreaking book, Carl Johan Calleman reveals the quantum science of the Maya, a science lost to the modern world that explains the phenomenology of psychedelics and altered states of consciousness. The ancient Maya had a sophisticated understanding of the multidimensional nature of reality and the forces that drive the evolution of consciousness. Calleman explains how quantum waves, illustrated by the Mayan Calendar, emanate from the center of the universe and activate new phases in the evolution of consciousness through holographic resonance, which alters the dualities of the human mind. For example, the 5th Wave, which dominated in Paleolithic times and evolved human consciousness above that of animals, brought a chaotic floating state reminiscent of the psychedelic or shamanic state, and the recent 8th Wave brought the digital revolution. The 9th Wave, which began in 2011, offers the potential for individual development of higher consciousness and healing if we can synchronize ourselves with its positive holograms. This multidimensional perspective explains why altered states of consciousness exist and how they work. Calleman describes the role of the pineal gland for the human mind, how it controls our state of consciousness and how it can connect us to the cosmic Tree of Life. He shows that the mind is a “reducing valve” that normally limits our experience of cosmic consciousness but that this can be reversed through altered states. As Calleman concludes, psychedelics like ayahuasca and DMT not only give rise to extraordinary mystical and cosmic experiences and enable access to healing states, but they also are important for harmoniously synchronizing humanity with the 9th Wave to further the evolution of consciousness.

Download or read book Behavioral Neurobiology of Psychedelic Drugs written by Adam L. Halberstadt and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-03-27 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together the latest basic and clinical research examining the effects and underlying mechanisms of psychedelic drugs. Examples of drugs within this group include LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. Despite their structural differences, these compounds produce remarkably similar experiences in humans and share a common mechanism of action. Commonalities among the substances in this family are addressed both at the clinical and phenomenological level and at the basic neurobiological mechanism level. To the extent possible, contributions relate the clinical and preclinical findings to one another across species. The volume addresses both the risks associated with the use of these drugs and the potential medical benefits that might be associated with these and related compounds.

Download or read book Changing Our Minds written by Don Lattin and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changing Our Minds is an experiential tour through a social, spiritual and scientific revolution that is redefining our culture's often-confusing relationship with psychoactive substances. Veteran journalist Don Lattin chronicles the inspiring stories of pioneering neuroscientists, psychotherapists, spiritual guides and ordinary people seeking to live healthier lives by combining psychedelic drugs, psychotherapy, and the wise use of ancient plant medicines. In ground-breaking clinical trials, specially trained therapists employ Ecstasy (MDMA) to help U.S. veterans struggling with the psychological aftermath of war. Other psychiatrists in government-approved research offer psilocybin to alcoholics trying to get sober and cancer patients struggling with the existential distress of a life-threatening illness. Meanwhile, new imaging technology has enabled neuroscientists to map the psychedelic brain in real time, deepening our understanding of human consciousness. the essential primer for understanding and navigating this new consciousness-raising territory.

Download or read book Good Chemistry written by Julie Holland and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-06-16 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher explores the science of connection—why we need it, how we’ve lost it, and how we might find it again. We are suffering from an epidemic of disconnection that antidepressants and social media can’t fix. This state of isolation puts us in “fight or flight mode,” deranging sleep, metabolism and libido. What’s worse, we’re paranoid of others. This kill-or-be-killed framework is not a way to live. But, when we feel safe and loved, we can rest, digest, and repair. We can heal. And it is only in this state of belonging that we can open up to connection with others. In this powerful book, Holland helps us to understand the science of connection as revealed in human experiences from the spiritual to the psychedelic. The key is oxytocin—a neurotransmitter and hormone produced in our bodies that allows us to trust and bond. It fosters attachment between mothers and infants, romantic partners, friends, and even with our pets. There are many ways to reach this state of mental and physical wellbeing that modern medicine has overlooked. The implications for our happiness and health are profound. We can find oneness in meditation, in community, or in awe at the beauty around us. Another option: psychedelic medicines that can catalyze a connection with the self, with nature, or the cosmos. Good Chemistry points us on the right path to forging true and deeper attachments with our own souls, to one another, and even to our planet, helping us heal ourselves and our world.

Download or read book Plant Medicines Healing and Psychedelic Science written by Beatriz Caiuby Labate and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-28 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book about the intersections of three dimensions. The first is the way social scientists and historians treat the history of psychiatry and healing, especially as it intersects with psychedelics. The second encompasses a reflection on the substances themselves and their effects on bodies. The third addresses traditional healing, as it circles back to our understanding of drugs and psychiatry. The chapters explore how these dimensions are distinct, but deeply intertwined, themes that offer important insights into contemporary healing practices. The intended audience of the volume is large and diverse: neuroscientists, biologists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists; mental health professionals interested in the therapeutic application of psychedelic substances, or who work with substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and PTSD; patients and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine; ethnobotanists and ethnopharmacologists; lawyers, criminologists, and other specialists in international law working on matters related to drug policy and human rights, as well as scholars of religious studies, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians; social scientists concerned both with the history of science, medicine, and technology, and concepts of health, illness, and healing. It has a potentially large international audience, especially considering the increasing interest in “psychedelic science” and the growing spread of the use of traditional psychoactives in the West.

Download or read book The Omnivore s Dilemma written by Michael Pollan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This acclaimed bestseller and modern classic has changed America’s relationship with food. It’s essential reading for kids who care about the environment and climate change. “What’s for dinner?” seemed like a simple question—until journalist and supermarket detective Michael Pollan delved behind the scenes. From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young readers’ adaptation of Pollan’s famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global implications of their food choices. With plenty of photos, graphs, and visuals, The Omnivore’s Dilemma serves up a bold message to the generation most impacted by climate change: It’s time to take charge of our national eating habits—and it starts with you.

Download or read book The Psychedelic Handbook written by Rick Strassman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn everything you need to know about psychedelics with this ultimate guide packed with information on popular psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA, DMT and LSD—plus practical tips for microdosing and how to safely "trip"—from bestselling author Dr. Rick Strassman. Entering the world of psychedelic drugs can be challenging, and many aren’t sure where to start. As research continues to expand and legalization looms on the horizon for psychedelics like psilocybin, you may need a guide to navigate what psychedelics are, how they work, and their potential benefits and risks. The Psychedelic Handbook is a complete manual that is accessible to anyone with an interest in these “mind-manifesting” substances. Packed with information on psilocybin, LSD, DMT/ayahuasca, mescaline/peyote, ketamine, MDMA, ibogaine, 5-methoxy-DMT (“the toad”), and Salvia divinorum/salvinorin A, this book is your ultimate reference for understanding the science and history of psychedelics; discovering their potential to treat depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and other disorders, as well as to increase wellness, creativity, and meditation; learning how to safely trip and explaining what we know about microdosing; and recognizing and caring for negative reactions to psychedelics. Clinical research psychiatrist, founding figure of the American psychedelic research renaissance, and best-selling author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Dr. Rick Strassman shares his experience and perspectives as neither advocate nor foe of psychedelics in order to help readers understand the effects of these remarkable drugs.