Psychedelics and ecology

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Researchers have noted the relationship between psychedelics and ecology, particularly in relation to the

psychedelic drugs and the perception of interconnectedness expressed through ecological ideas and themes produced by the psychedelic experience. This is felt through the direct experience of the unity of nature and the environment of which the individual is no longer perceived as separate but intimately connected and embedded inside.[1]

Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, the first person to synthesize LSD, believed that the drug made one aware and sensitive to "the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom" and the role of humanity in relation to nature.[2] Stanley Krippner and David Luke have speculated that "the consumption of psychedelic substances leads to an increased concern for nature and ecological issues".[3] As a result, American psychologist Ralph Metzner and several others have argued that psychedelic drug use was the impetus for the modern ecology movement in the late 1960s.[1]

Terminology and assessment

In the context of the psychedelic experience, the term

ecological relationships. Subjects undergoing an LSD psychedelic therapy session in a controlled, laboratory setting report boundary dissolution and the feeling of unity with nature during a psychedelic peak experience.[4] Vollenweider & Kometer (2010) note that measuring the "feelings of unity with the environment" can now be reliably assessed using the five-dimensional altered states of consciousness rating scale (5D-ASC) of which "oceanic boundlessness" is the primary dimension.[5] Research by Lerner & Lyvers (2006) and Studerus et al. (2010) show that the self-reported values and beliefs of psychedelic drug users indicate a higher concern for the environment than both non-users and users of other illegal drugs. It is unclear from the research whether the concern for the environment preceded the psychedelic experience or came about as a result of it.[6] Conversely, Lester Grinspoon reports that ecological awareness may result in psychedelic drug users forgoing the drug and non-users staying away from it entirely to remain "pure". In other words, ecological awareness may not precipitate psychedelic drug use, but may actually discourage it.[7]

History

It is likely that humans have consumed psychoactive plants in the ritual context of

ecological balance in the rainforest habitat.[10] Experts speculate that the ecological values of shamanism are an attribute of the psychedelic experience.[8]

Those who ingest psychoactive drugs often report similar experiences of ecological awareness. Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss, British religious studies scholar Graham Harvey, and American mycologist Paul Stamets have all written about the shared ecological message of the psychedelic experience.[11][3] The back-to-the-land movement and the creation of rural intentional communities by the hippie counterculture of the 1960s was in part due to the wide use of psychedelic drugs which people felt helped them get in touch with nature.[12]

First color photograph of the whole Earth (western Hemisphere), shot from the ATS-3 satellite on 10 November 1967

Rastafari movement, who maintain that cannabis use brings them "closer to the earth".[16]
In more recent times, the ecologist movement Extinction Rebellion has been allegedly founded after a psychedelic experience.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1583947272
    .
  2. ^ Smith, Craig S. (April 30, 2008). Albert Hofmann, the Father of LSD, Dies at 102. The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  3. ^
    ISSN 1080-8981
  4. ISBN 0897931580
    .
  5. doi:10.1038/nrn2884
  6. ^ Maclean KA, Johnson MW, Griffiths RR. Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness. J Psychopharmacol (Oxford). 2011;25(11):1453-61.
  7. ISBN 0-465-06450-7
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 1576076458
    .
  9. ISBN 0781787467
    .
  10. ^ Reichel-Dolmatoff, Geraldo (1976). Cosmology as Ecological Analysis: A View from the Rain Forest. Man, 11 (3): 307-318. (subscription required)
  11. ISSN 1080-8981
  12. ^ Rome, Adam (2003). "Give Earth a Chance": The Environmental Movement and the Sixties Archived 2015-05-01 at the Wayback Machine. The Journal of American History, 90 (2): 543-544.
  13. doi:10.1111/jacc.12051
    (subscription required)
  14. ^
    ISBN 0786457783
    .
  15. ^ Thiele, Leslie Paul (2000). Book Review: de Geus, M. 1999. Ecological Utopias: Envisioning the sustainable society. International Books, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Conservation Ecology, 4 (1): 18.
  16. ISBN 1439102619
  17. ^ "Extinction Rebellion co-founder used 'psychedelic medicine' for inspiration".

Further reading

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