It’s not exactly remorse, or a bottle full of grief, panic and anxiety that sweeps into your consciousness of thought; it is but a blow of self discovery and self realisation that marks the start of your unified approach towards unifying the body and soul.
Self Discovery, gaining Inner Consciousness, Mind Altering Experiences, and looking at yourself from a Third-Person View – is never truly a very pleasant journey.
Ecstasy is there, but it comes after the worse is gone!
Many people have lost their minds, their cognition, and their self identity during a very engulfing Psychonautics Session. While many have also come out of their experiences with more meaning and knowledge in their mind!
Psychonautics is definitely a subject, which is not to be trifled with. However, it is also necessary that every man must experience or witness the Astral thought of existence.
Pure is the Nature. Science is its soul. You brain makes up your definition of Science. And your Psyche is your Mind.
Sound’s crazy?? Surely Yes!
This is 2iL.org. It stands for Today I Learned.
And Today we are taking a deep dive into a discourse on Psychonautics; and some of the prominent figures involved through out, in this culture of thought and science.
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But, as of Now… keep diving!
What is Psychonautics?
It is indeed a psychedelic experience. But it is also something more than that.
Psychonautics is a modern concept, but it has its existence rooted in the early stages of human civilisation
Everything in the Universe, throughout all its kingdoms, is conscious: i.e., endowed with a consciousness of its own kind and on its own plane of perception.
……. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
(Founder of Theosophy and author of The Secret Doctrine.)
Psychonautics has everything to do with the Psyche. You can actually sum it up in one line by saying that Psychonautics is the free flow travelling of your Psyche in the Space-Time Fabric.
Our mind is very well capable to establish connections with the absolute consciousness of the universe. It is not extraordinary to think that you are a part of everything, and everything is truly a part of you.
This thought was also greatly highlighted by Carl Sagan.
Hence, if we believe that everything is ‘One’, and it is in the ‘One’ that we reside, then we are already in touch with every form of consciousness.
Psychonautics is about exploring the realms of consciousness. It is witnessing the force of creation, evolution and metamorphosis.
It is the journey of the Soul. The traveling of your Psyche, and connecting with the universal Being.
The term Psychonautics came into the Lexicon in the mid to late 20th century- the time when experiments with Psychedelics and altered state of consciousness were on the peak.
In various recorded evidences of people, while they were induced in a psychedelic state of consciousness, we have seen their behaviours and thought processes are questioning the reality- in which we claim to exist.
It is a belief that Psychonautics is a special field, which teaches one to believe strongly in Soul and that Psyche exists in all- thereby helping in a better connectivity with the One and the Absolute.
You can very well say that this ‘One and Absolute’ is God itself.
However, you can also say that it is the greater consciousness; it is the Force that makes Creation, Destruction, and Change possible.
And to simply put it into place, Psychonautics is about understanding the origin of the ultimate Power that provides ‘Everything’ with the life force to exist.
But whatever, let’s break the ice! Psychonautics is something you have to experience yourself! It can’t be taught in terms of words and written/spoken wisdom!
“Are You Experienced???”
………………. Jimi Hendrix.
Taking a dive into the history of Psychonautics:
Since the ancient days of Human Civilisation, there have been Gurus, Shamans, and Spiritual philosophers.
These people engrossed themselves in mind bending rituals and a lifestyle that involved the consumption of Psychotropic and of course Psychedelic substances.
The roots of Psychonautics is circulating around Religion, Mysticism, Science and Metaphysics.
Philosophies of ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Aryan polymaths do contain glimpses of Psychonautics and the propagation of the Psyche.
But, it was only when the Hippies and the figures of the Beat Generation and Psychedelic Rock started using excess of Psychedelic compounds, that it marked the beginning of the collective study of Psychonautics as a very important subject- that’s a crossbreed of Psychology, Spiritualism, Science, Philosophy, and Pharmacology!
Yet, hold on! Psychonautics saw a big uprise when the Theosophical Society was active. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, Annie Besant, and other leading figures of Theosophy started to speak of Astral Projection, The characteristics of The Pineal Gland, and altered states of consciousness.
Picking some of the prominent figures, contributing to Psychonautics: (The Psychonauts!)
(*** This article considers Psychonauts not only as the users of psychedelic and psychotropic substances. Rather it is believed, that a Psychonaut is anyone- who has understood and experienced an impactful phenomenon of the inner Psyche and its attributes; be it with the aid of psychedelics, vigorous research, meditation, scientific experiments, or while under any medical condition.Psychonauts are those, who have embarked on the journey and propagation of the Psyche! )
- Aristotle: With his work on Metaphysics, which describes the intrinsic character of Being and Existence.
- Rene Descartes: With his research work on the functionality of Pineal Gland, and considering it as the Seat of the Soul. *During the psychedelic 60s, Pineal Gland was justified as capable to produce N,N-DimethylTryptamine : a compound responsible enough to induce a state of altered consciousness, and also believed by many to cause Astral Projection and Dimension shifts.
- Sigmund Freud: His lifestyle was and is debatable. He spent a significant amount of his Life while being under the influence of psychotropic drugs, Stimulants, and Psychoactive substances.
And, his contributions to the understanding of the Soul, Mind, Psyche, Dreams, and Pharmacology is spell bounding.
- Sri Ramkrishna Paramahamsa: A very important spiritual figure of 19th Century, who explored the deepest meanings of Consciousness and the Divine.
- Swami Vivekananda: The Disciple of Sri Ramkrishna, and who reasoned with the inner self to welcome and comprehend the source of Knowledge and Spirituality. He has made notable amount of contribution into the understanding of Psyche/Atman/Spirit/Soul, and Religion.
- The collective figures of Theosophy: One of the biggest contributions made to Psychonautics, was during the Theosophy era. This particular stream of philosophy deals with the visions and perceptions in the altered states of consciousness, and the knowledge of God- the Divine.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, Annie Besant, and other members of the Theosophical Society are all credited with the mass acceptance of the interlinking of Psychology and Spirituality. Though Psychonautics was not an existing term back then.
- The Beat Generation, The Hippies, and The Psychedelic Rock groups: 1960s was the time that popularised the relation between Psychonautics and Psychedelics.
This period saw the rise of Psychedelic substances and their use among the young generation.
The psychedelic era of the 60s and 70s influenced Music, Art, Poetry, Science, Philosophy, Film, Technology, and Computation.
Prominent figures include (who have taken psychedelics extensively and/or deepened the thought of Psychonautics) Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Terrance McKenna, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Hunter S Thompson, Rick Strassman, Albert Hoffman (The first person to synthesise and then consume Lysergic Acid Diethylamide), and many more.
- Other supportive figures: Albert Einstein (For his theories surrounding SpaceTime and Relativity, which definitely provide many underlying ideas of Psychonautics, God and Quantum); Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd & Jim Morrison of The Doors in particular, whose lyrics have dealt with various subjects belonging to the Psyche, Space, Time, and Love- the connection of Souls; Carl Sagan (he took the boundaries of Cosmology even further, that can answer a lot about psychonautics), Meher Baba (a spiritual leader who influenced many Rock and Roll stars), Swami Prabhupada (founder of ISKCON- International Society for Krishna Consciousness), and many others.
Ending with a small talk on Astral projection:
Many people, who have psychonautical and/or near death experiences, have claimed that Astral Projection of the soul is possible.
It is where your soul travels freely out of your body, and can cross various dimensions that are believed to lie beyond Space and Time. The Astral Plane is where the Spirit ventures out into.
This whole event takes place while you are alive.
One of the founding principles of Psychonautics is Astral Projection.
It is however very debatable. Astral Projection and Psychonautics still don’t have proper foundation to strictly base the Soul Travel.
It is therefore best left to individuals alone. It is for you to discover the deepest mysteries of Psychonautics, Psychedelics, and the Spirit.
The game is tough, and the trips can be bumpy. But you sure have the capacity to understand your inner spirit.
For it is only in you, your universe rests!
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