James Fadiman - The Psychedelic Explorers Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys

THE

PSYCHEDELIC

EXPLORERS GUIDE

James Fadiman, one of the foremost pioneers of scientific research of the potential of psychedelic substances for therapy, self-discovery, spiritual quests, and creative problem-solving, has written an invaluable guide for safe and productive sessions. Based on more than forty years of the authors experience in the field and presented in a clear, easily understandable style, this book is a breath of fresh air, dispelling the mis-information that has been disseminated over many decades by sensation-hunting journalists and fear-based antidrug propaganda. The publication of The Psychedelic Explorers Guide could not be more timely; it coincides with a major renaissance of interest in psychedelic research worldwide. The information that it provides will thus be useful not only for the hundreds of thousands of people involved in self-experimentation but also for the new generation of psychedelic researchers.

STANISLOV GROF, M.D., AUTHOR OF

LSD: DOORWAY TO THE NUMINOUS

James Fadiman was the Forrest Gump of the psychedelic sixties. He witnessed the first flowerings of that amazing era of mindexpansion, then kept popping up for cameo appearances whenever the action got particularly interesting and enlightening. Now, riding a new wave of scientific research into the beneficial use of these misunderstood substances, Fadiman is back with a practical and at the same time inspiring guidebook for the next generation of entheogenic explorers.

DON LATTIN, AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING
THE HARVARD PSYCHEDELIC CLUB

This is some of the most thoughtful, wise, heartfelt, and essential instruction for the use of sacred medicine.

JACK KORNFIELD, AUTHOR OF
A PATH WITH HEART

Fadiman knows what he is talking about. This is the book we have needed.

HUSTON SMITH, AUTHOR OF THE WORLDS RELIGION AND
CLEANING THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION

Approaching his subject from intimately historical, psychological-cultural, and accessibly authoritative perspectives, Fadimans psychedelic magnum opus establishes the benchmark reference for anyone interested in understanding, experiencing, or supervising the effects of this unique family of psychoactive substances.

RICK STRASSMAN, M.D., CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF
PSYCHIATRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF

MEDICINE AND AUTHOR OF DMT: THE SPIRIT MOLECULE

James Fadimans manual offers helpful and well-informed guidance for those who seek the divine within through sacred plants and psychedelic substances.

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

At last, theres a practical, commonsense manual for mindful therapeutic sessions using psychedelics, one thats informed by the latest science and unfettered by arcane platitudes. It will be a boon to personal transformation and a road map for avoiding trouble along the way for all who use it. Bon voyage!

CHARLES HAYES, AUTHOR OF TRIPPING:
AN ANTHOLOGY OF TRUE-LIFE PSYCHEDELIC ADVENTURES

Finally! A comprehensive guide not only to psychedelic use in a therapeutic setting but also, even more bravely, to psychospiritual exploration and cognitive enhancement. We are fortunate to reap the benefits of Professor Fadimans years of cumulative knowledge and experience as well as to hear from a cadre of whos who in the psychedelic cognoscenti.

JULIE HOLLAND, M.D., EDITOR OF
THE POT BOOK AND ECSTASY: THE COMPLETE GUIDE

Psychedelics have been part of native cultures for centuries and remain so in many areas of the world. Properly used, they offer a one-step guide to enlightenment and connection with intuition as well as the soul and the Divine. Dr. Fadimans book offers the best information and guidance available today. Everyone interested in exploring the world of inner consciousness will find this work indispensable.

NORM SHEALY, M.D., PH.D., FOUNDER OF THE
AMERICAN HOLISTIC HEALTH ASSOCIATIONAND

COAUTHOR OF SOUL MEDICINE AND LIFE BEYOND 100

The prohibition of psychedelic drugs in the twentieth century unfortunately restricted a most promising and profound inquiry into the religious mysteries of consciousness. This brave and encouraging book goes a long way toward restoring our constitutional right to explore these mysteries. By encouraging individual responsibility and intelligence in this era of purported health care reform, James Fadiman takes a bold and refreshing step toward reclaiming our freedom of religion, which is the very essence of democracy and the American dream.

ROBERT FORTE, EDITOR OF ENTHEOGENSAND THE FUTURE OF

RELIGION AND TIMOTHY LEARY: OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

The Psychedelic Explorers Guide is a brave and uniquely valuable book. Written by one of the most highly respected and innovative researchers from the 1960s, this extraordinary book covers topics not found in any other book on the subject. Fadiman offers us a beautifully written, insightful summation of important early research on creativity, problem solving, and psychospiritual development, tragically cut off by government edict, as well as new research on the use of sub-threshold doses of LSD to enhance normal functioning, in the process creating a road map for the future of psychedelic research. The Psychedelic Explorers Guide wisely focuses not on pathology but on human potential for health and, as such, shows us how these transformative substances can improve the future of psychologyand the future of society. Throughout this radical yet evidence-based volume, Fadiman uses a combination of the research and his own broad personal experiences working with Leary, Alpert (Ram Dass), Kesey, and other seminal figures in psychedelic research and practice to make the convincing case that psychedelics offer the power to transform society and reintegrate unitary spirituality into Western civilization. The Psychedelic Explorers Guide is written with a wry humor that brings Fadimans sincere, soulful intentionality immediately to the reader, integrating and transforming from the moment one opens this important, mature, and absolutely essential book. If you are interested in the safe, effective, and transformative use of psychedelics to improve our lives and our society, you will devour this book. Fadimans The Psychedelic Explorers Guide is the finest book ever written on the topica must read.

NEAL GOLDSMITH, PH.D.,
AUTHOR OF PSYCHEDELIC HEALING

THE

PSYCHEDELIC

EXPLORERS GUIDE

Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys

JAMES FADIMAN, PH.D.

Park Street Press

Rochester, Vermont Toronto, Canada

For Dorothy, my partner in all ways.

Thank you to those, among others, who helped me along this path:

Albert Hofmann, who in 1943 acted on his intuition to look again at the twenty-fifth derivative of lysergic acid, which he had put aside five years earlier as being of no special interest.

Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), who first opened my eyes to the wonders of the ten thousand worlds.

Willis Harman, who led me past those worlds to the interconnectedness of all things.

Ken Kesey, Tim Leary, and Al Hubbarddestroyers of structures and complacency, who made it all both possible and impossible.

For it appears to me that among the many exceptional and divine things your Athens has produced and contributed to human life, nothing is better than those [Eleusinian] mysteries. For by means of them we have transformed from a rough and savage way of life to the state of humanity, and have been civilized. Just as they are called initiations, so in actual fact we have learned from them the fundamentals of life, and have grasped the basis not only for living with joy but also for dying with a better hope.