During the advent of LSD, psychedelics were something completely new to western culture. This was typified by the utter amazement in the neophyte descriptions by figures such as Aldous Huxley in 'The Doors of Perception'. It seems to me that western culture had become completely and utterly alienated from the tribal history of it's past, one in which shamanism and the use of mind altering plants was (and is) an ongoing cultural past time throughout the world.

Since that time many books, including the works of Carlos Castaneda, Terrence McKenna and others have done a great job at illuminating this history and so the typical user of LSD and other psychedelics nowadays is much more conscious of the historical and cultural dimensions of their hallucinogenic use - except, that is young kids who are just beginning to experiment. But if they are interested in the culture they will soon learn, it's all out there on the internet now.

I also have a theory that with the advent of MDMA (ecstasy) and it's total domination of club culture throughout the world in the last twenty years people have stopped using LSD as a party drug which it was never made for. This is because LSD and other hallucinogens are too honest, too intense and not at all guaranteed to provide you with a great night out - it's just as likely to awaken you to the nature of all your illusions, mortality, the nature of global environmental politics or anything else hidden in your subconscious. Ecstasy on the other hand, with it's sugar coated serotonin level inspiring molecules is a great party drug. No wonder you can buy it for two pounds a pop in London these days (so I hear), and it is used by millions every weekend around the world - despite the scare campaigns very few people die of ecstasy, as opposed to say, alcohol.

So what's my point?
I think that after the first wave of major psychedelic revolution in the sixties that the use of LSD and other hallucinogens has settled down into a more sedate subculture in the 21st century, albeit a huge global subculture with varying degress of consciousness. In the sixties proponents such as Dr. Timothy Leary believed that all we had to do was make everyone drop a trip and society would pirouette on it's access and the revolution would be a happening thang. Today, I believe we are more conscious that while many things did change in the sixties, global paradigm shift of the alienated spiritual culture of the west from the earth and the soul is going to take a whole lot more than just a dose of good acid. What is different now is an international community of NGO's committed to environmental consciousness and social change. We have educated young and old people throughout the world meeting and affecting change on all levels through gatherings such as the World Social Forum. We have indigenous leaders all over the world sharing their view of history, and gaining a voice which they were never given in the days of slavery and colonisation in which they were first encountered. We also have the history of spiritual philsophy from all over the world, from all of history to leaqrn from as we begin to evolve a new kind of consciousness as to how live on this world peacefully..
We also have a helluvalot of challenges to face up to as well, but maybe I've said enough for now.

Let it just be said that in my opinion psychedelics and the resurgence of shamanic practise do have their place in the wider ecology of social change, but perhaps it is not worth overstating them? They are important ingredients of psychic liberation for the individual hemmed into psychic prisons in an affluent culture with unlimited access to less consciousness raising drugs and narcotics, but many find their way out of the wormhole without it.

Many rivers leading to the source, y'know.

Anyone got any thoughts on these ideas?

xx
Tim