The acid diaries : a psychonaut's guide to the history and use of LSD

An exploration of the personal and spiritual truths revealed through LSD • Reveals that LSD visions weave an ongoing story from trip to trip • Shows that trips progress through three stages: personal issues and pre-birth consciousness, ego-loss, and on to the sacred • Explores psychedelic use throughout history, including the mass hallucinations common in the Middle Ages and the early therapeutic use of LSD Toward the end of his fifties, Christopher Gray took, for the first time in years, a 100-microgram acid trip. So extraordinary, and to his surprise so enjoyable, were the effects that he began to take the same dose in the same way--quietly and on his own--once every two to three weeks. 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. "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 Toward the end of his fifties, Christopher Gray took, for the first time in years, a 100-microgram acid trip. So extraordinary, and to his surprise so enjoyable, were the effects that he began to take the same dose in the same way--quietly and on his own--once every two to three weeks. 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. 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 Cover Image; Title Page; Dedication; Epigraph; Table of Contents; Preface; Chapter 1: Batch 25; Chapter 2: Wonder Drug; Chapter 3: The Doors of Perception; Chapter 4: Psychopolitics and the Sixties; Chapter 5: Bad Trips; Chapter 6: The First Maps; Chapter 7: Sleep-and Waking Up; Chapter 8: Realms of the Human Unconscious; Chapter 9: Session 1: A Low-Dose Trip; Chapter 10: The First Group of Trips; Chapter 11: Session 6: Doubling the Dose; Chapter 12: BPM 2; Chapter 13: Session 8: Windle Hey; Chapter 14: Session 9: Mum; Chapter 15: Underground Psychotherapy;Christopher Gray's numerous LSD trips over a three-year period progressed through three distinct stages, weaving an ongoing story from trip to trip. The Acid Diaries reveals the immense potential of LSD for transpersonal growth and spiritual development.