Psychedelia (from other Greek ψυχή - soul, δήλος - clear) - the phantasmagoria of narcotic trance, [1] caused by the intake of psychedelics , a state of altered consciousness , an unstable state of the psyche [2] , as well as a layer of counterculture that appeared due to the use of psychedelics or what It’s a very strange phenomenon, which stray from the usual course of things. [3]
Scope of Use
First of all, the word is associated with a separate category of psychoactive substances ( drugs ), which are often called psychedelics , although the names “ hallucinogens ” (causing hallucinations) and “ psychotomimetics ” (imitating psychosis) are also used [4] .
The term psychedelic itself ( psychedelic or psychedelic ) was first proposed in 1956 by the British (working in the USA and Canada) psychiatrist Humphry Osmond , who studied the possibilities of using these substances (primarily LSD ) in psychotherapy. Subsequently, the word was popularized in the works of Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley . LSD Discoverer Albert Hofmann, in his book LSD - My Difficult Child, writes: [5]
 | In another technique popular in the United States, a single, very high dose of LSD (0.3-0.6 mg) is taken after intensive psychological preparation of the patient. This method, called psychedelic therapy, attempts to provoke religious-mystical experiences through the shock effects of LSD. Such research experience can serve as a further starting point for the restructuring and treatment of the patient’s personality, together with psychotherapeutic treatment. The term psychedelic, which can be translated as “manifesting intelligence” or “expanding consciousness,” was proposed by Humphrey Osmond, a pioneer in the study of LSD in the United States. |  |
At the same time, many are not inclined to reduce the concept of “psychedelia” exclusively to drugs, since “expansion of consciousness” and the associated sensations can be achieved without the use of psychoactive drugs through the use of holotropic breathing , sensory deprivation or sleep deprivation and various forms of meditation a also some of the psychological and spiritual practices proposed religions , some forms of therapy and alternative medicine , occult , mysticism , esoteric , philosophy New Age and others. Thus arr Zoom " psychedelic experience " ( " trip "; experiencing them may be called " psychonaut ") are connected not only with the reception of the LSD or, for example, ADD , mescaline , Salvia divinorum or marijuana [6] , but with sessions gymnastics Tsigun " kontaktorstvom ”(“ Channeling ”),“ visionary work ”(research on the“ astral plane ”), and the like, or simply with manifestations of schizophrenia and other mental disorders [7] .
Soviet Psychedelia
Soviet Russian psychiatrist-narcologist Alexander Danilin, in his book “LSD: hallucinogens, psychedelia and the phenomenon of dependence”, pays special attention to “Soviet psychedelia” and also separates the term “psychedelia” from the unambiguous connection with drug use. He talks about “esoteric searches” among the inhabitants of the USSR in the 1960s and 70s during the heyday of the narcotic “psychedelic revolution” in the West (special attention is paid to the role of the KGB in this process).
In particular, Danilin writes:
| If in America the rapidly growing youth revolution had its distinct stages in the form of a wave-like use of LSD and the subsequent search for psychological analogues of narcotic trance, then domestic psychedelia initially began to search for what we called “special states of consciousness”. Perhaps the whole phenomenon of Soviet-style psychedelia is best described by the concept of esoteric quest. The most accurate name is used by V. Lebedko , who calls this phenomenon “Russian sannyasa” (“ sannyasin ” in Hinduism is a seeker of spiritual revelation who has not yet decided on the choice of a teacher). The epidemic of mystical searches spread like an avalanche in our country throughout the 70s, just like the "psychedelic revolution" in America during the 60s. Not all of its participants were able to determine what exactly they were looking for. One of our patients defined the feeling, which was followed by “burning everything inside, hunger for the knowledge of everything forbidden and beyond.” [eight] |
Psychedelia in Culture
Psychedelic experiences are widely reflected in contemporary art , giving rise to the concept of " psychedelic music ", graphics, literature, and cinema.
The pioneers of modern psychedelic music are considered to be such artists as Jimi Hendrix , Pink Floyd , The Doors , The Who , Jefferson Airplane , The Grateful Dead , later The Beatles and other musicians of the hippie era. Such projects are usually referred to the psychedelic rock genre, and with the spread of electronic music the genre has become much more diverse. [9] The so-called “ psychedelic trance ” (characteristic representatives - Israeli projects Infected Mushroom , Astrix ) spun off from the core culture of goa trance in the mid -1990s , the genre “psychedelic downtempo ” (or psybient , characteristic representatives - Shpongle , Bluetech , Shulman , Entheogenic ) and others.
In the literature, works such as, for example, the works of Aldous Huxley and the “Electro-Cooling Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe are directly related to psychedelia:
| Face! The doctor enters again, and ...- miracles, dock, unfortunate experimental rabbit - Kesey can now look into him. For the first time he notices that the doctor’s lower lip is trembling on the left side, but he’s not just shaking, he can - and, it seems, not for the first time! - to see how each muscle fiber becomes cruciform, pushing weak jelly to the left, lips, how the fibers rush back one after another, into infrared caverns of the body, through the transistor interiors of the nerve plexuses, each by an air alarm, and the internal hooks of the unfortunate fool desperately cling to these writhing little bastards, trying to keep them and be safe, I’m a doctor, in front of me an experienced human model inside an unhappy fool shows his own movie about the desert, only about every Arab mustache horsehair is a threat - if only lip person remained at the same level, at the level, which guaranteed him a vial of honey Official Plasterer ... Miracles! For the first time, he gained the ability to fill in the role of ... Oh yes, that little capsule that blissfully slid down the esophagus contained LSD. [ten] |
Psychedelia influenced the work of many writers of a later period (after the end of the hippie era) - for example, Victor Pelevin , Dmitry Gaiduk .
In general, we can note the close connection of psychedelics with "drug" literature - an illustration of this is the work of Irwin Welch . Such a “pathological” version of psychedelia is not the only one existing, although writers most often turn to it.
See also
- Psychonautics
- Psychedelics
- Psychedelic experience
- Psychedelic psychotherapy
- Psychedelic music
- Psychedelic rock
- Canterbury scene
- Kraut rock
- Trans (music genre)
- Occultism
- New age
- Hippie
Notes
- ↑ Great Dictionary of the Russian Language / Ch. ed. S. A. Kuznetsov. - SPb. : Norint, 1998. - Author's edition of 2009.
- ↑ Psychedelia // Slovonovo: site. {{Subst: not AI}}
- ↑ Decenter D. Alternative Culture: Encyclopedia. - M.: Ultra. Culture, 2005 .-- 235 p.
- ↑ Krutskikh A. Psychedelics today.
- ↑ Hofmann A. LSD is my difficult child.
- ↑ Schizophrenia progresses faster among smokers of marijuana (inaccessible link from 08-02-2015 [1674 days])
- ↑ Sachs O. The man who mistook his wife for a hat / Oliver Sachs.
- ↑ Danilin A.G. LSD: hallucinogens, psychedelia, and the phenomenon of addiction. - Moscow: Centerpolygraph, 2001. - ISBN 5-227-01464-7 .
- ↑ Rublev S. S. Voices in the head // Musical Encyclopedia “ Sounds . Ru ”. - March 17, 2007.
- ↑ Wolf T. Electrocooling Acid Test . - Amphora, 2006. - ISBN 5-367-00213-7 .