This is a book about the intersections of three dimensions. The first is the way social scientists and historians treat the history of psychiatry and healing, especially as it intersects with psychedelics. The second encompasses a reflection on the substances themselves and their effects on bodies. The third addresses traditional healing, as it circles back to our understanding of drugs and psychiatry. The chapters explore how these dimensions are distinct, but deeply intertwined, themes that offer important insights into contemporary healing practices. The intended audience of the volume is large and diverse: neuroscientists, biologists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists; mental health professionals interested in the therapeutic application of psychedelic substances, or who work with substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and PTSD; patients and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine; ethnobotanists and ethnopharmacologists; lawyers, criminologists, and other specialists in international law working on matters related to drug policy and human rights, as well as scholars of religious studies, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians; social scientists concerned both with the history of science, medicine, and technology, and concepts of health, illness, and healing. It has a potentially large international audience, especially considering the increasing interest in “psychedelic science” and the growing spread of the use of traditional psychoactives in the West.

This book offers a series of perspectives on the therapeutic potential of the ritual and clinical use of the Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca in the treatment and management of various disorders. This book presents biomedical and anthropological data on the use of ayahuasca and provides critiques on how it is used for treating depression, PTSD, anxiety, substance dependence, and eating disorders. The volume also explores ayahuasca’s role in the psychological well-being and quality of life of humans, and discusses possibilities of it enhancing cognition and coping with grief. The book examines ayahuasca’s association with psychotherapy and also highlights the challenges of integrating plant medicines into psychiatry. Further, the book expands on some preliminary research with animals, suggesting that ayahuasca acts at multiple levels of neural complexity. The study on the neurogenic effects of ayahuasca alkaloids opens a new avenue of research with potential applications ranging from psychiatric disorders to brain damage and dementia. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals will find this book relevant to their work regarding substance abuse and alternative medicine.

Plant Medicine Mystery School Volume I: The Superhero Healing Powers of Psychotropic Plants takes a kaleidoscopic deep dive into the omnipotent, mysterious, and gloriously gorgeous world of psychotropic plant medicines. Penned by a trained Ayahuasca shaman, this book delves into the superpowers of plants, including Magic Mushrooms, Cannabis, Huachuma, Ayahuasca, Iboga, and many more. The plants themselves are the stars, described in animated detail-not as objects, but as the sentient, wisdom-filled, playful beings that they are. There's also ample information about how healing really happens, the way plant consciousness merges with human consciousness, the ancient art of protection and spiritual safety, and all the life-changing tools and insights that empower psychonauts and pilgrims to make the most of every ceremony and psychedelic journey. If you are called to work with Plant Medicines in any fashion, your next dance into any psychedelic portal will be immeasurably enhanced and improved by the wisdom and real-world experience shared in this book. If you are going to travel to an exotic land it is best to go with a trusted guide. If you want to journey to the sublime psychedelic universe that Ayahuasca and other psychotropic plants open up to us, it is wise to travel with someone who really knows the way. This wonderful book clearly shows that Tina Kat Courtney is such a guide. Authentic, curious and deeply awake. Enjoy the trip! Tim Freke, author of Soul Story: Evolution and The Purpose of Life Just as corporations arrive to colonize psychedelics and their healing potentials, this book reminds us all to carry humility into the strange and expansive worlds opened up in relationship to sacred plants. Embracing the wisdom carried by indigenous lineages, this book is driven to address the serial crises unfolding across the planet with a sense of fierce love, drawing on insights gained through personal trials and transformations. It presents a vision of deep hope in our capacity to learn to care for ourselves and for one another in alliance with larger scale other-than-human forces. Neşe Devenot, author of Chemical Poetics: The Literary History of Psychedelic Science Tina "Kat" Courtney, also known as The AfterLife Coach, is a traditionally trained Ayahuasquera and Huachumera, carrying the Shipibo-Conibo, Quechua-Lamista, and Chavin plant medicine lineages. She works as a ceremony guide and psychedelic integration coach, and is a certified Death Doula. Kat is an enthusiastic advocate for reverent and safe plant medicine experiences and is a passionate messenger of how to co-create magic without trauma in psychedelic spaces. She is also the co-founder of Plant Medicine People, a Plant Medicine concierge company. If you'd like to work with Kat or join her in a Sacred Ceremony, find out more at www.afterlife.coach and www.plantmedicinepeople.com. Metanoia Press is an independent, utopian, double-blind peer-reviewed publisher navigating the intersections between inner and outer change. Gambling that consciousness is the crux of the 21st century biscuit, the key to change on both ecological and social scales, Metanoia digs deeeeep into global and local traditions of nonduality including psychonautics, fiction, meditation, poetry, music and visual art as we collectively wake up from the evolutionary dead end of subject/object thinking and the practices of ego. With a growing global sangha of writers, editors, artists and musicians, Metanoia Press hereby composes the soundtrack to the post pandemic awakening: Tune in, Turn on, Transform. www.metanoia.press

Explores the potential of psychedelics as medicine and the intersections of politics, science, and psychedelics • Explores the tumultuous history of psychedelic research, the efforts to restore psychedelic therapies, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness • Offers non-technical summaries of the most recent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca • Includes the work of Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker Embracing the revival of psychedelic research and the discovery of new therapeutic uses, clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Louis Miller discusses what is happening today in psychedelic medicine--and what will happen in the future--with top researchers and thinkers in this field, including Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker. Dr. Miller and his contributors cover the tumultuous history of early psychedelic research brought to a halt 50 years ago by the U.S. government as well as offering non-technical summaries of the most recent studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca. They explore the biochemistry of consciousness and the use of psychedelics for self-discovery and healing. They discuss the use of psilocybin for releasing fear in the terminally ill and the potential for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD. They examine Dr. Charles Grob’s research on the indigenous use and therapeutic properties of ayahuasca and Dr. Gabor Mate’s attempt to transport this plant medicine to a clinical setting with the help of Canada’s Department of National Health. Dr. Miller and his contributors explore the ongoing efforts to restore psychedelic therapies to the health field, the growing threat of overmedication by the pharmaceutical industry, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness. They also discuss the newly shifting political climate and the push for new research, offering hope for an end to the War on Drugs and a potential renaissance of research into psychedelic medicines around the world.

For psychotherapists and inner explorers, an expansive, multidimensional odyssey into the history, practice, and potential of psychedelic healing Now that the stigmas against psychedelic medicine are finally lifting, there’s a lot of curiosity—and confusion—about these powerful compounds. How can psychedelics be used safely? What are the risks? Can they truly help heal the wide variety of conditions that has garnered such international attention? In Psychedelic Revival, Sean Lawlor invites you on a deep dive into the science, spirituality, and practice of psychedelic healing—a revival of both the first wave of pre-1960s research and ancient healing traditions with plant medicines. Join this respected author and researcher to gain a full-spectrum understanding of the possibilities and limits of psychedelics, including: • The Western history of psychedelic medicine and recreational use • The millennium-spanning legacy of Indigenous plant medicine traditions • In-depth chapters on psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, ketamine, mescaline, ibogaine, peyote, ayahuasca, DMT, and more • Practical insights, from microdosing to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to transformative mystical experiences • The shadow dimensions of psychedelics—bad trips, scientific stigmatization, inequality of access, and many other essential topics Informed by solid research and direct wisdom from perceptive firsthand accounts, Lawlor guides you into the psychedelic landscape, covering treatment methods, realistic benefits, and the legitimate perils psychedelics can induce. Along the way, he shares exclusive interviews with luminaries such as Michael Pollan, Rick Doblin, Camille Barton, Carl Hart, Jim Fadiman, Rick Strassman, Natalie Ginsberg, Sandor Iron Rope, and many more. Psychedelics have tremendous healing potential, yet all evocative modalities should be handled with care. To make good choices, we need quality information about the prospects and pitfalls of these emerging therapeutic tools. Psychedelic Revival is an invaluable resource for navigating this exciting frontier in Western healing.

“Cody Johnson beautifully balances historical knowledge with cutting-edge science to produce a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening read which paints a holistic picture of the risks and benefits of psychedelic use in modern day medicine and culture.” —Rick Doblin, PhD, Founder and Executive Director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Magic Medicine explores the fascinating history of psychedelic substances and provides a contemporary update about their growing inclusion in modern medicine, science, and culture. Each chapter dives into the rich history of a single plant or compound and explores its therapeutic and spiritual uses in cultures near and far. Firsthand quotes allow glimmers of psychedelic light throughout. Learn all about: Classical psychedelics, including 2C-B, ayahuasca, LSD, and peyote The empathogenic psychedelics MDA and MDMA Dissociative psychedelics, including DXM, ketamine, and salvia Unique psychedelics, including cannabis, DiPT, and even fish and sea sponges The history of psychedelic plants and substances is full of colorful facts and stories, and intriguing questions. Did US Army Intelligence really use LSD as an enhanced military interrogation technique? How is DiPT able to make a familiar tune sound utterly foreign? Can MDMA (Ecstasy) help people overcome traumatic experiences? Many psychedelic plants and substances have a long history of being incorporated into various healing traditions—such as cannabis and opium in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Science is beginning to research what traditional cultures have told us for years: psychedelics have transformative healing properties. Anyone who has ever wondered about psychedelics—from complete neophytes to veteran trippers, seekers and sages to skeptics and scientists, therapists and patients to green thumbs and armchair anthropologists—will find something in this engrossing and beautifully designed book.

With the rise of interest in the use of plant medicines like ayahuasca, iboga and psilocybin mushrooms for healing and spiritual growth, there is a growing need for practices that help psychedelic explorers and therapy patients prepare for, navigate and integrate their experiences. In this book, yoga teacher and integration counselor Brian James reveals the ways that yoga and plant medicine intersect and complement one another as powerful catalysts for healing, growth and psycho-spiritual transformation. Sharing personal stories and reflections from his own healing journey with ayahuasca, James shows how yoga offers a valuable framework and set of practices that support the intentional use of plant medicines and other psychedelics. The core message woven through the essays in this little book is simple but profound: yoga and psychedelics are both paths to the heart. When approached with respect and care, these paths can lead to a life of greater freedom, harmony and joy.