The Acid Diaries
A Psychonaut's Guide to the History and Use of LSD
Published on 24. September 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-59477-383-9 (ISBN)
Description
In The Acid Diaries, Gray details his experimentation with LSD over a period of three years and shares the startling realization that his visions were weaving an ongoing story from trip to trip, revealing an underlying reality of personal and spiritual truths. Following the theories of Stanislav Grof and offering quotes from others' experiences that parallel his own--including those of Aldous Huxley, Albert Hofmann, and Gordon Wasson--he shows that trips progress through three stages: the first dealing with personal issues and pre-birth consciousness; the second with ego-loss, often with supernatural overtones; and the third with sacred, spiritual, and even apocalyptic themes. Pairing his experiences with an exploration of psychedelic use throughout history, including the ergot-spawned mass hallucinations that were common through the Middle Ages and the early use of LSD for therapeutic purposes, Gray offers readers a greater understanding and appreciation for the potential value of LSD not merely for transpersonal growth but also for spiritual development.
Reviews / Votes
"Truly The Acid Diaries is a return to form for psychedelic literature, not only is it a beautifully written narrative but it's full of engaging ideas that Gray uses to weave a web of possibility and, ultimately, hope for the future of psychedelics." * Psychedelic Press, UK, August 2010 * "For anyone who thinks the story of LSD was written in the sixties: think again. The Acid Diaries combines a sharp critique of that decade's psychedelic adventures with a brave and original series of self-experiments in the present day. The result is an instant classic of acid literature." * Mike Jay, author of Artificial Paradises and High Society * "Read this book." * Nick Sand, designer of Orange Sunshine acid and legendary underground chemist * "A unique account of a courageous psychonaut's journey into the preternatural depths of human consciousness." * Martin A. Lee, coauthor of Acid Dreams * "The Acid Diaries is the best insider's portrait of the psychedelic journey I've ever found; the writing is stunningly beautiful in its effervescent candor. The Acid Diaries is an exceptionally honest and unguarded book." * Dr. Christopher M. Bache, author of Lifecyles, Dark Night/Early Dawn, and The Living Classroom * "Instant enlightenment? Hardly. One has to work for it, as outlined in this book . . . highly recommended . . ." * Jonathan Ott, ethnobotanist, writer, translator, publisher, natural products chemist, and botanical * "Like any strong acid trip, there is both existential angst and cosmic bliss, and many states in between. The Acid Diaries is a contemporary classic of personal psychedelic exploration." * Michael Horowitz, Tim Leary's autobiographer * "All psychonauts will admire and profit from this amazing gift." * John Allen, chairman of Global Ecotechnics and inventor of the Biosphere 2 Project * ". . . a rich, dense, philosophical, and psychological trip memoir." * Jon Taylor, Erowid * "If you have any interest at all in acid, then get your hands on this book!" * Stewart Home, artist, academic, filmmaker, activist, and author * " . . . extraordinarily insightful..." * Dose Nation, October 2010 * "It is Gray's foundation in spiritual practices that makes The Acid Diaries glow. . . Gray is not some detached scientist. Nor is he some drugged our hippie. He writes with an intelligent, literate and confessional voice that's casual, yet never sloppy. . . This makes The Acid Diaries an excellent "gateway" book into the genre of psychedelic literature for anyone new to the field." * Gene Ching, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (Volume 42 (4), December 2010 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Rochester
United States
Publishing group
Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
465 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-59477-383-9 (9781594773839)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2010
Park Street Press
€10.87
Available for download
Person
Christopher Gray (1942-2009) was well known for his involvement in the 1960s with Situationist International, for his various radical writings, and as Swami Prem Paritosh, disciple of the guru Osho. He translated Raoul Vaneigem's Banalites de Base (as The Totality for Kids) and is the author of Leaving the Twentieth Century, the first English- language anthology of Situationist ideas, and the biography Life of Osho.
Content
Preface
1 Batch 25
2 Wonder Drug
3 The Doors of Perception
4 Psychopolitics and the Sixties
5 Bad Trips
6 The First Maps
7 Sleep--and Waking Up
8 Realms of the Human Unconscious
9 Session 1: A Low-Dose Trip
10 The First Group of Trips
11 Session 6: Doubling the Dose
12 BPM 2
13 Session 8: Windle Hey
14 Session 9: Mum
15 Underground Psychotherapy
16 Set, Setting, and History
17 God as Light
18 "I Saw a Man Cloathed with Raggs . . ."
19 Resistance
20 Psychedelics Since the Sixties
21 Resistance (continued)
22 Anna and A Cappella
23 Anna's Death
24 Session 21: Being Two People Simultaneously
25 The Transpersonal
26 Tripping on the Heath
27 The Purple Flowers
28 "Ecstatic Journey of the Living into the Realm of the Dead . . ."
29 "Ecstatic Journey . . ." (continued)
30 Terrible Beauty
31 "Not the true samadhi . . ."
32 Session 27: Last Trip in the Woods
33 Demonstrations, Ecstasy, Advaita
34 Return of the Repressed
35 "Another World Is Possible"
36 "Another World Is Possible" (continued)
37 Toward a Sacramental Vision of Reality
38 Meltdown in God
39 Out of the Body?
40 Session 45: At Judges Walk
41 BPM 4
42 The Long Flashback
43 Interim Report
44 Interim Report (continued)
45 Mutual Immanence
46 Sanctus
Appendix: Ergot and the West
Notes
Bibliography: A Chronology of Psychedelic
Literature
1 Batch 25
2 Wonder Drug
3 The Doors of Perception
4 Psychopolitics and the Sixties
5 Bad Trips
6 The First Maps
7 Sleep--and Waking Up
8 Realms of the Human Unconscious
9 Session 1: A Low-Dose Trip
10 The First Group of Trips
11 Session 6: Doubling the Dose
12 BPM 2
13 Session 8: Windle Hey
14 Session 9: Mum
15 Underground Psychotherapy
16 Set, Setting, and History
17 God as Light
18 "I Saw a Man Cloathed with Raggs . . ."
19 Resistance
20 Psychedelics Since the Sixties
21 Resistance (continued)
22 Anna and A Cappella
23 Anna's Death
24 Session 21: Being Two People Simultaneously
25 The Transpersonal
26 Tripping on the Heath
27 The Purple Flowers
28 "Ecstatic Journey of the Living into the Realm of the Dead . . ."
29 "Ecstatic Journey . . ." (continued)
30 Terrible Beauty
31 "Not the true samadhi . . ."
32 Session 27: Last Trip in the Woods
33 Demonstrations, Ecstasy, Advaita
34 Return of the Repressed
35 "Another World Is Possible"
36 "Another World Is Possible" (continued)
37 Toward a Sacramental Vision of Reality
38 Meltdown in God
39 Out of the Body?
40 Session 45: At Judges Walk
41 BPM 4
42 The Long Flashback
43 Interim Report
44 Interim Report (continued)
45 Mutual Immanence
46 Sanctus
Appendix: Ergot and the West
Notes
Bibliography: A Chronology of Psychedelic
Literature