‘Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide’ Follows Helpful Reading – 7/22/2023 – Science

Twelve years late, one of the most influential books of the so-called renaissance of mind-altering drugs is published in Portuguese, “The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide – Safe, Therapeutic and Sacred Travel”, by psychologist James Fadiman. For those who have never heard of it, it’s the pope of microdosing.

Microdosing? Yes, probably today the most widespread use of LSD and psilocybin, psychoactive of the so-called “magic” mushrooms. Both compounds are illegal in Brazil and in many other countries, by the way, but prohibition has never been an impediment for people to travel.

When taking a microdose, or subperceptive dose, the person does not embark on a psychedelic journey. Taking a tenth or twentieth of a full dose, no visual or spatiotemporal distortions, but supposedly improves cognition and physical disposition.

It is not by chance that this type of consumption has become popular among technology and financial market professionals, despite the scarce scientific evidence of the alleged benefits. Fadiman’s book has a lot to do with the phenomenon, as it appeared at the moment when the wind was starting to turn.

The “Guide” contains several chapters and passages that live up to the title, with guidelines on how to prepare for an experience, conduct it as a psychonaut or travel guide (“trip-sitter”, as they say), and then make sense of it. There is even a seven-page checklist in the work.

Despite this, Fadiman warns that nothing contained in the book “is intended to encourage or support illicit behavior”. Right. The purpose is to “encourage safe and sacred ways to use these substances if, in any way, they are used”, given that psychedelics remain widely available.

The “Guide” is more than a manual, however. His recommendations, in fact, make up common sense in the area: be clear about the purpose, choose a safe and cozy place, preferably in nature, be accompanied by friends or trusted guides, listen to calm and inspiring music…

All this was already practiced by hippies and psychotherapists in the 1960s, before the war on drugs declared by the USA, which stopped all research. The volume is also a document about that prehistory, now forgotten, in which LSD figured as the most studied drug in psychiatry, under the label Delysid.

Another richness of the book are the testimonials about psychedelic experiences of famous and anonymous people. Travels and advantages told by celebrities such as Aldous Huxley, Albert Hofmann, Timothy Leary and Peter Coyote, but also by architects and engineers who participated in experiments on creativity and problem solving carried out by Fadiman, in California, until they received a letter from the government, in 1966, ordering everything to stop.

The book brings to today’s reader a bunch of data on the results collected six decades ago in these surveys, now in full re-edition. Another service of the “Guide” is to dispel myths about psychedelic drugs, such as the alleged adulteration of LSD with strychnine, chromosomal alterations, destruction of neurons or distribution of children’s decals with acid.

The biggest problem, partly due to the delay with which the work reaches the Brazilian reader, is its outdatedness. The bulk of research that is rehabilitating psychedelics for clinical practice took place after 2011 and does not appear in the “Guide”. Some recommended links to more information on the net have stopped working.

Unfortunately, Fadiman informs that he does not intend to revise the “Guide”, considering that its recommendations and the historical aspect remain valid and useful. In addition, he is now fully dedicated to a new book—about microdosing.