Classification of the Psychedelic experience

I am of a strong opinion that the psychedelic experience is not for everyone. Even at the height of human society (10,000 or so years ago) only shamans, medicine men or priests regularly dealt with the psychedelic experience. Now with our ever growing population, there are more and more people who are having psychedelic experiences which are good. But likewise, there are more people who would gain no benefits by having a psychedelic experience. The nature of society is that, for whatever reason, everyone is not ready for psychedelic experiences.

I do not believe in any way that the psychedelic experience should be limited only to a few members of society, it should be made available for anyone who chooses to seek out the experience. Humanity would benefit greatly from having conditions under which one could have safe psychedelic experiences under the guidance of someone who is trained in such things.

Please remember too that when talking about the psychedelic experience I am talking about all psychedelic experiences not just the use of plants and chemicals which evoke that experience, for that is only one of many valuable tools by which to have a psychedelic experience. Trance, meditation, fasting, sensory deprivation, running, asana practice and countless others all evoke the psychedelic experience, all are important for those trying to find the right key (to the doors of perception) for them.

In order to try to flush out where people, in society, fit into the structure of psychedelic experience I have tried to reduce these categories into five discrete categories. In no way are these absolute, but an attempt to understand where people fit and how they represent the psychedelic experience to them selves and others.

Category one
“Never tried it never will”. These are those among us who took drug miseducation to heart. They believed the lies that the government and their church have told them about the evils of “drugs” and are scared to even think about trying anything to do with the psychedelic. While many will grow up to develop caffeine, alcohol and nicotine addictions (ironic I think) and drink and drive, they too often grow up to be in the position to further entrench the lies about the psychedelic experience further, continually eroding the truth of such things. Be wary of anyone who denounces with out knowledge.

Category Two
“Tried it once, got scared, never will try it again”. Similar to category one these are the unfortunate people who, with little or no guidance, were catapulted into a psychedelic experience before they were properly prepared. While a bit of “set and setting” and in most cases a lower dose of what ever they took (or attempting meditation before chemicals) would have all but eliminated the problem, it was not so. These people are often in a better position, if they choose, to entrench the lies spouted by our corporate overlords about the evils of the psychedelic experience. Because they can speak to the “horrors” of drugs because they tried it once and... well you get the picture.

Category three
“Because my friends were...”. There is a large section of people who have psychedelic experiences because it is a part of the repertoire of their peer group. Ashram meditation retreats, special diets, raves, urban shamanism. As is often the case with peer pressure, while the experiences are often genuine, the effects of these experience (it has been my experience anyway) do not hold. This is because the experience was not sought as a personal quest but part of the norms of a group. At the very least these people have been shown the door, and while the activities of a peer group change over time and naturally diminish or stop psychedelic experiences these people know in some way. Somehow they know the importance or impact these experience could have, even though they only ever caught glimpses of it themselves

Category four
This category combines two attempts at psychedelic experiences “spiritual only” and “late life awakening”. The first, those who confine their psychedelic experiences only to those which they feel will continue their spiritual journey (and can often be found straddling category three and four). These are the people who are SO focused on looking for spiritual enlightenment they do not realize that they are staring at it in the mirror. The second, late life awakening often come to the psychedelic experience (or back to it from category 2) as adults, while these people hold incredible potential for self-discovery and the psychedelic thought they, like the “spiritual only” often get so caught up in the destination and do not comprehend the importance of the journey, or that there is not really a destination, to begin with.

Category five
Finally, the last category. Those people who attempt to understand the depth and breadth of the psychedelic experience, who know the potential that these experiences hold to save humanity, who cherish each insight gained and are dedicated to furthering each psychedelic experience to the fullest.

So where do you and your peer group fall in the spectrum of psychedelic experience?