David Jay Brown - Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness: Conversations with Albert Hofmann, Stanislav Grof, Rick Strassman, Jeremy Narby, Simon Posford, and Others

For Serena Watman, with boundless love and appreciation

FRONTIERS OF
PSYCHEDELIC CONSCIOUSNESS

David Jay Browns Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness is a quintessential explorers journal: a trip report on Davids own odyssey to track down the pioneering minds of the entheogenic space. New ways of thinking about self and world abound! The new space seems to be inner space, and this book is a first-rate psychedelic excursion into this rich new land.

JASON SILVA, EMMY NOMINATED HOST OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNELS BRAIN GAMES

As the psychedelic renaissance gathers momentum, it seems very timely to revisit the writings of some of the pioneers in the movement who have shed light on the fascinating aspects of consciousness brought about by these substances. David Jay Brown has curated an insightful selection of interviews with some of these movers, whose experiences and understanding continue to pave the way for the reintegration of psychedelics into Western society. A most useful volume.

AMANDA FIELDING, DIRECTOR OF THE BECKLEY FOUNDATION FOR CONSCIOUSNESS AND DRUG POLICY RESEARCH

In Davids series of interviews, coming as they are from such a diverse range of contributors, a broader, more passionate, and truthful description of humanitys psychedelic trajectory could barely be imagined. Each chapter takes the reader from the precision of hard science and political ethics to the most intensely beautiful personal happenings, in which spirituality and personal growth and development are woven into the interviewees patchwork quilt of experiences. Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness works so well because it is not only a gathering of great minds and famous pioneers; it is also a deeply intimate documentation of David talking, in his original, sensitive way, simply with people. It is undoubtedly a powerful educational tool, but above all else it is a testament of great human warmth.

BEN SESSA, M.D., PSYCHIATRIST, PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCHER, AND AUTHOR OF THE PSYCHEDELIC RENAISSANCE

For serious students of psychedelic history this book is a vital and vibrant continuation to his seminal Mavericks of the Mind. There is no greater chronicler of psychedelic thinking than David Jay Brown.

BRUCE DAMER, PH.D., AUTHOR OF AVATARS!: EXPLORING AND BUILDING VIRTUAL WORLDS ON THE INTERNET

David Jay Brown is one of the most incisive chroniclers of the second stage of the psychedelic revolution and other alternative movements. His book offers deep dives through the psyche of some of the most intriguing characters of our time.

DANIEL PINCHBECK, AUTHOR OF BREAKING OPEN THE HEAD AND 2012: THE RETURN OF QUETZALCOATL

Acknowledgments

The genesis for this book was sparked while I was working as the guest editor for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Founded in 1986, MAPS is a nonprofit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.

I wrote the monthly newsletters for MAPS for a year, and for five years I edited their special theme bulletins on the relationship among psychedelics and technology, ecology, the mind-body connection, death and dying, and popular art.

While I was working on the MAPS bulletins I interviewed numerous psychedelic researchers and took the opportunity to discuss more than was necessary for the bulletin, where only a fraction of the interviews were published. That was because I had in mind this book, which contains all of the interviews in their complete form.

First and foremost I would like to thank everyone at MAPS. It was a real pleasure and honor to work with this cutting-edge organization that is helping to change the world.

Id also like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of the people who have allowed me to interview them for this collection.

Additionally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the following individuals for their generous contributions and valuable support: Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Maria-Teresa Gutierrez-Macanilla, Hana Fiona Theobald, Jon Graham, Arleen Margulis, Meriana Dinkova, Jacob Andrade, Ania Grycan, Jess Buckner, Danielle Bohmer, Danelle Benari, Amanda Rose Loveland, Lily Ross, Sara Huntley, Willow Aryn Dellinger, Jessi Daichman, Serena Watman, Buck Noe, Sara Mokhtari-Fox, Selina Reddan, Veronika King, Jesse Ray Houts, Audreanne Rivka Sheehan, Patricia Holt, Linda Parker, Denis Berry, Zach Leary, Maria Grusauskas, Rebecca McClen Novick, Annie Sprinkle, Kelly Hollerbach, Heather Goldstein Greenberg, Brandi Goldstein, Geoffrey and Valerie Goldstein, Louise Reitman, Sammie and Tudie, Rick Doblin, Amy Barnes Excolere, Sherry Hall, Suzie Wouk, Sherri Paris, Robert Forte, Valerie Leveroni Corral, David Wayne Dunn, Robin Rae, Brummbaer, Deed DeBruno, Randy Baker, Steven Ray Brown, Banna Federico, Anna Damoth, Sandy Oppenheim, Lorey Capelli, Dana Peleg, Mimi Peleg, Bethan Carter, Al Brown, Cheryle and Gene Goldstein, Dina Meyer, Bernadette Wilson, Nick Herbert, Erin Jarvis, Jody Lombardo, Erica Ansberry, Jessica Ansberry-Gagnon, Goo Bear, Maria Ramirez, Rob Bryanton, Linda DAmato, Nathan West, Paula Rae Mellard, Mike Kawizky, Linda Capetillo-Cunliffe, Boa Cowee, Ivy Summer Abshell, Alan Shoemaker, Massimiliano Geraci, Jeff Rosenbaum, Allisun Shine and Tyler, Mark Van Thillo, Gaie Alling, Liza Gopika Lichtinger, Torrey Peacock, Robert J. Barnhart, Frank Alan Bella, Brittany Nicole, Susanne G. Seller, Teresa King, Ben Osen, Jim Steele, Patrice Villastrigo, Rupert Sheldrake, Tod Barnett, Dragonflower Lyoness, Arlene Istar Lev, Catherine McBride, Rick Strassman, Stanley Krippner, Ralph Metzner, C. Michael Smith, Simon Posford, Jason Silva, Ben Sessa, Bruce Damer, Daniel Pinchbeck, and Dieter Hagenbach.

Special thanks to my worldwide network of Internet friends, who inform me about new scientific developments, support my work, share their creative talents, and challenge my ideas. I am most grateful for everyones contributions and communications.

Introduction

In my four previous interview booksMavericks of the Mind, Voices from the Edge, Conversations on the Edge of Apocalypse, and Mavericks of Medicinepsychedelic drugs and plants played a supporting role. I usually had one or two questions in each interview about how psychedelics had influenced my interviewees work, and many of the topics that we discussed were inspired by my own psychedelic experiences.

Shamanic journeys with LSD, magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, and cannabis inspired many of the questions I asked, as well as many of my interviewees responses and the ideas that were discussed. A large percentage of the accomplished scientists, artists, and thinkers whom Ive interviewed over the years were inspired by their use of psychedelics, and I felt like it was my sacred duty to record this important historical information for future generations.

In this new collection, psychedelic drugs and plants are the primary focus of the interviews. Psychedelic drugs and plants have played an invaluable role in my own cognitive development. My experiences with LSD and cannabis as a teenager had a profound effect on me. They strongly influenced the direction of my academic studies and, later, the course of my career, as well as my psychological and spiritual perspectives on the nature of reality.

These experiences are documented in my book The New Science of Psychedelics: At the Nexus of Culture, Consciousness, and Spirituality,