Sublime

There is no way to avoid a discussion of Thomas De Quincey at this point. Like Timothy Leary in the 1960s, De Quincey was able to convey the visionary power of what he experienced. For De Quincey this was a power imprisoned within the labyrinth of the poppy.

Shulgin believes that psychedelics are, for the mind, what the telescope was for astronomical research, or the microscope for biology.

‘Language is not merely a device for communicating ideas about the world, but rather a tool for bringing the world into existence … Reality is not simply ‘experienced’ or ‘reflected’ in language, but instead is actually produced by language.’

Oman touches here on a very fruitful theme—the degree to which the style and way of life of an entire culture can be imbued with the attitudes and assumptions engendered by a particular psychoactive plant or drug.

psilocybin, the psychedelic substance in magic mushrooms, activates a primitive network in the brain, one linked with emotion.

Central Intelligence Agency collusion in the international heroin and cocaine trade of our own time.

Esoteric spirituality, the yogic practices of saddhus, and the emphasis on the direct experience of the transcendent are all little more than aspects of the veneration of cannabis in India.

Tryptamine Palace: 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad by James Oroc. Martin considers this a fantastic read because it looks at the 5-MeO-DMT experience from a Buddhist and Hindu perspective. The Toad and the Jaguar by Ralph Metzner. A quick read on 5-MeO-DMT from a pioneer