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Do Psychedelics Allow Interspecies Communication?

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Christopher O'Brien

Christopher O'Brien

Back in the Saddle Aginn
Staff member
[Paul Devereux has been on my wish-list as a guest on the Paracast since before I joined as Gene's co-host. Now that he has this new book out, The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia perhaps we can persuade him to join us for some enlightened reparte' concerning the role of psychedelics in modern culture and his other stellar work identifying the potential natural causes for certain classes of unexplained anomalous light phenomena. I've been impressed w/ PD's work for years, Gene?
—chris]

Do Psychedelics Allow Interspecies Communication?
by Paul Devereux

Societies of the past have used the psychedelic experience to strengthen, renew and heal the spiritual underpinning of their social structures. The ever-deepening social unease that Western civilisation seems to be caught in is the real source of our 'drug problem': natural hallucinogens are not the problems in themselves, it is the context in which they are used that matters. If there were orderly and healthy structures and mechanisms for their use and the cultural absorption of the powerful experiences – and knowledge – we could separate these from the culture of crime that surrounds them now. In short, the problems are not in the psychoactive substances themselves, but in a society, which on the one hand wants to prohibit, mind-expansion altogether and on the other chooses to use mind-expanding substances in a literally mindless, hedonistic fashion. REST OF ARTICLE HERE:
 
I don't necessarily agree with all of Devereux's viewpoints. But he usually has thought provoking ideas to put forward.

The issue of psychedelics and society: As the paths of our inner and outer explorations would seem to merge somewhere in the future, this may someday be an issue with which society has to deal head on. (no pun intended) Brute force prohibition may prove as untenable as pronouncing alchemy a sin.
 
Maybe you could get Graham Hancock on as well, seeing as his big thing lately is "the war on consciousness" that coincides with the "which on the one hand wants to prohibit, mind-expansion altogether" part of your post. A psychadelic round table of sorts - make sure to open with some Pink Floyd or Grateful Dead for that episode :) No surprise on TPTB wanting to keep this sort of thing under control - it's similar to the way they keep a lid on UFO's, if they can't control it they don't want the public being involved.

I do lean towards it being possible to communicate with other conscious individuals that are on bordering wavelengths / frequencies / universes, but I have a metaphysical lean in general.

I think the world would be a better place if all politicians, CEO's, and other persons in power were required to do Ayahuasca. I also agree with Joe Rogan that they should just load up some crop dusters with cannabis haze and blanket the Middle East.
 
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