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WHAT'S ON THIS PAGE NAVIGATION BOX SPECIAL REPORT: IN DEFIANCE OF SCIENCE 3 -- The Missing Link; I-Fo,UFO, We-Fo; TRAILER: Et In Arcadia Ego; TRAILER: Jeezus , Son of Gawd; | INSPIRATIONAL Use Contents Navigation Console | Go To Next Page (Page 15) |
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. | . | ween the primate-based image of pre-man and the civilised ver- sion. Such a view is, of course, in total opposition to any held by historians, theologians or anyone else who might have an opinion. |
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| . | Somehow, somewhere we have lost a crucial piece of the puzzle. Of course, any piece of a puzzle is crucial but this one is the piece that holds the whole thing together, gives it meaning and makes it work. But maybe we can find some clues in the past. In his new book, ‘The Long Trip; A Prehistory of Psychedelia’, consciousness-expert Paul Devereux puts forward the view that the defining influence in ancient cultures was the hallucinogenic experience. We take his thesis further by suggesting that the hallucinogenic experience is no less than ‘The Missing Link’ that bridges the gap between ‘civilised’ man and his primate ancestors. |
. | . | It is not, however, beyond all possibility. .....In support of our hypothesis, let us consider and compare in simplistic terms the nature of the human mind. One of the things that distinguishes human beings from all other thinking creatures is a sense of individual unique- ness and identity. This sense of being an entity that is largely separate from nature. Linked with a highly-developed brain structure, a high level of intelli- gence and communication |
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| . |  ome a day and 1967 will be recognised as the pivotal point in world history it is revealing itself to be. While the real meaning of what happened in 1967 is only now coming to light, everyone has been effected by the events that took place in that year. Their influence has reverberated through society producing a range of subtle but important changes in attitude that have, to a large extent, defined the closing years of the millennium. |
. | . | ability, this ‘separate entity’ view provides the basis for what has been traditionally seen as the determining factor that disting- uishes man from the other creatures of the earth — self- determination. They also, almost, |
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| . | .....But, although the events of ‘67 continue to exert a major influence over society, there have been no dramatic changes, no great steps forward, no revolutions. That is, no overt revolutions. For, what took place in 1967, was not much less than a revolution even though it did not involve weapons. Indeed, in some ways it was more of a revolution than is armed insurr- ection. .....Despite the commonly accept- |
.... | . | Paul Devereux combines ‘his twin passions’ to interesting and original effect. Cataloguing the symbols that define the hallucinogenic experience and tracing them into the very roots of human life on earth, he reveals a cultural existence that is clearly based on psychedelics. Although he does not ignore the well-researched and documented psychedelic cultures of the |
. | . | provide the basis for the totally abstract thought that has produc- ed such civilised concepts as God and art. Almost. But not quite. .....Now let us consider, again in very simplistic terms, the nature of the hallucinogenic experience. There are a number of aspects of tripping that are relevant here. The dramatic and powerful nature of the visions, both in form and colour; the inclusiveness of the world viewed in such a state; the |
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. | . | enhanced sense of individual- ity; the expanded vision of oneself and one’s functioning; the reconnection with emotional expression in life; the inspiration. Everyone who has had such an experience will recognise the resonances in these factors. |
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| . | ed meaning, ‘revolution’ is more about evolution than anything else. A glance at the word itself confirms our point. And evolution? Well, evolution and consciousness go hand in hand. All of which brings us back to 1967 and the major change in consciousness that took place over those few summer months. When, in a flash of white light, we glimpsed in the boundless landscape of our own conscious- | . | . | Middle and Far East and Central Americas, his interests and researches have been concent- rated closer to home. ....The influence of Serbian sham- anism on American cultures is well-known. What is less known is that the same influences are evident in pre-Celtic arts and artefacts. Drawing his examples from earth works in Brittany and early Neolithic pottery from Great |
. | . | ....Let us now put all this together. ....Unfortunately, this is where our argument really loses its foundation. For we can only offer you airy fairy conjecture. Is it not possible that the key quality our primate-ancestors lacked was that crucial sense of individual identity? And, if so, how did they develop it? Surely the develop- ment from functioning without |
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| .. | ness the hidden world that under- writes the whole of external reality, we were making a statement on a number of levels. In the mere act of experiencing an expanded inner vision we were restoring man’s subtle link with the Cosmos as whole, reaffirming his right to |
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| .. | increased consciousness and realigning the world-view that had been imposed upon him by the scientific establishment. State- ments, however, do not mean much without some kind of attend- ant validatory experience to make them come alive. .....So it was with the silent revolut- ion of 1967. ....Those who participated in ‘67 had that validatory experience and so powerful was it that in many cases it lit up their lives. But they were only a few. .....Consciousness, however, is not contained or confined. It exists in everyone (and, for that matter, in everything) and as such, to some extent, is shared by every- one. It is not so surprising, there- fore, that the essence of those |
. | . | Britain, Paul Devereux plots the progress across Europe of Mycenean and Minoan (early Greek, to us ordinary folk) influ- ences. Taking such Neolithic tomb artefacts as braziers as indications of opium and canna-bis use that goes back to halfway through the fifth millennium BC, he ties in dramatic cultural and artistic changes that took place at that time and relates these to the sudden appearance of chamber- ed mound tombs and the decor- ations they bear. .....With a strong hypothesis bas- ed on extensive archaeological research — both his own and that of others — and drawing on the fullest range of sociological and scientific research studies, Paul |
. | . | individual awareness to funct- ioning with it is a quantum leap of unimaginable proportions. Think about it. Looking at world history (which is not to say, looking at the history of the world) there would seem to be no precedent for such a leap. That, and the absence of any kind of physical evidence, weighs heavily — to our mind — against non-assisted evolution. .....And there are those ‘civilising’ abstract concepts. How do creatures not yet this side of the human/animal divide come up with such concepts as Art and God? They are surely the stuff of tripping. And, indeed, why come up with such concepts at all? They can surely only have come into being to facilitate expression of profound states of conscious- ness that can only have been |
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. | . | experienced with hallucinogens. .....Taking our argument on to its final recourse in total subjectivity, we have experienced the multi- farious magic of thinking within the psychedelic mode. It is in such a mode that one can experience the dual conscious- |
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| .. | experiences not only entered collective consciousness but became a well-integrated part of it. The process that accompanied this integration was so subtle and subliminal that it is difficult now to see how or when it happened. But happen it did. Suddenly it was just there. ......It was an ineffable ‘something’ but it changed our attitudes. In a big way. ......In the aftermath of ‘67, the Western world would rediscover an interest in spiritual matters. It |
. | . | Devereux presents a view that expands existing knowledge regarding the persuasiveness of psychedelic influences on culture. We are all, it seems, whether we like it or not, children of the psychedelic experience. And, for some of us, it is a huge relief that there is at last some recognition of what we already knew. .....If Paul Devereux’s hypothesis is a bold one, let us try to top it. ....We can, of course, never do so. We have neither his academic |
. | . | ness that is responsible for the realisation of individual identity and for the ability to see the broader picture. .....That experience changes lives. It is an irrevocable bite into the Apple of Knowledge that changes things irrevocably. Having had a vision of the expansive vistas of our own consciousness we can never again return to a self-image that panders to limitation and small- mindedness. We can never rest |
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| .. | would apply new standards of freedom and acceptance in sexual matters. It would start to return to a less exploitative view of the world. It would turn away from allopathic medicine and look again at unorthodox health systems. It would have a new regard for | . | . |  |
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| .. | individual and collective freedoms. Indeed, in broad terms, it would see the world in a different way to the way in which it had seen it before that fateful year. .....This has been and still is our heritage from the 60s. ....But there is something more. Something that is even more important, more significant, more influential. But, alas, it is some- thing that is even harder to put words around. Since ‘67, it is as if life has taken on a new dimension — the dimension of mind expans- ion. When the hippies broke down |
. | . | credentials nor can we offer a vast body of historical evidence, such as he provides, to support our case. The best we can offer is surmise, supposition and conjecture. And presumption. We have plenty of that. .....Our outrageous proposal is that the hallucinogenic experience is not only at the roots of civilisat- ion, it is responsible for that civilisation. What we are actually suggesting is that the hallucino- genic experience is the link bet- TOP OF COULMN |
. | . | comfortably on our laurels. We can never forget that we haveseen the secret of life. We can never ignore the importance of being ‘chosen’ for such an experience. We can never turn our backs on evolution. We can never stop celebrating life and living. We can only forevermore acknowledge our own mental power and its potential to take us into higher realms of existence. PLAIN TEXT • TOP OF PAGE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
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| .. | the gates of the prison in which our minds had been confined they opened a portal through which so many have since passed. The hippies’ experience of inner freedom, their vision of inner landscapes, their appreciation of the subtle level of existence have been shared by so many people. .....The effects of this are manifold. The most obvious one is the West- ern world’s preoccuation with drugs and drug use since the 60s. Less obvious is the general freeing up of attitudes. Once again, phen- omena do not come much subtler than this. How can we describe it? There has been a broadening of vision, a relaxation of precon- ceptions, a freshness of approach. But it has been subtle. So subtle |
. | . | PLAIN TEXT If some of the ideas and hypotheses put forward in the main article on this page are conjectural, it is hard to argue against the many changes that have come our way through stuff |
. | . | ably, one of the most influential to be published in the latter half of the 20th century. In many ways von Daniken redefined esoteric writing. His infinitely accessible but nonetheless extremely erudite and well argued tome set a new standard of easy-readability for books that would otherwise have been of academic interest only. .....And, in so many ways, it was a revolutionary publishing event. Briefly, the book suggested that life on earth could not have developed in the way it did without some external influence. Without too much trouble von Daniken could demonstrate that there were earthworks -- like the lines and symbols on the Nazca plains and Elephantine Island in the Upper Nile -- that could only have been viewed from above. Drawing on biblical references to flaming chariots and other bright objects in |
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| . | that it is only now, when it is producing its first fruit, that we can even be sure it happened. .....It is a new vision that takes in our psychedelic past in a way that would have been impossible pre-1967. And, what is more, it isa vision and a subject that accords with the vision and interests of a broad section of the public. .....One reflection of this new vision is the recent book by Paul Devereux, ‘The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia’. A child of the 60s, Mr Devereux was amongst those adventurers in |
. | .. | that happened in the late 60s. But while many of the changes have been slow in coming and subtle in their effects, they were not all like that. .....There were some dramatic changes that took place almost immediately. One of these was in the sudden expansion in the number of books on mystical, metaphysical, spiritual and similar subjects. Of course, such books had always been published. The big change was that suddenly they started to sell -- big time. The change in consciousness that this represented was immense. ...In 1965, as a young aspirant to the hip culture, I tried to find a book on |
..... | . | the sky, he was able to put forward a persuasive case for UFOs and visitors from other worlds. He could even draw on the earliest cave paintings to support his case. These seemed to show a space-suited figure, but we will come back to this contentious interpetation later. What made the book more impressive was the massive blasphemous sweep with which he suggested that the planet may have been 'seeded' with life by an alien culture. 'Was God an Astronaut?' asked the book's cover flash. And for a while we were certainly sure He might have been. .....The book, of course, was given a lot of stick by the Christian funda- |
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| . | consciousness who had that crucial experience, reached the only conclusions possible and carried them through. He is yet another individual (in addition to the writer and untold others), whose lives were irrevocably changed by the events of ‘67. As the potted biography at the front of the book says: ‘For over twenty-five years Paul Devereux has pursued his twin passions: the study of ancient sites and the study of consciousness .’ We hope that means what we think it means. .....Offering the profoundly moving experiences during his first trip as the basis for his studies (see 'Visions of Infinity,' next page) TOP OF COULMN |
. | . |  Bless their little pointy heads |
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. | . | yoga. Living in London, I had the famous Charing Cross Road -- wall to wall bookshops with Foyles, a some-what tarnished crown, at its head -- in which to pursue my task. I didn't have the time to browse so I went straight to the counter in each shop and asked: "Do you have any books on yoga?" The most intelligent and knowledgeable response I got ended up offering me a book on yoghurt-making. Even that was a pretty avant-garde subject for a bookshop to have something on -- yoghurt not yet having made the transition from Shangrila to Safeway. What I found was that almost no one had even heard of yoga and none of the book-shops, mainstream or specialised,stocked books on such an esoteric subject. In the end, in the Penguin Bookshop (claim to fame: 'Every Penguin in Print',) I found a book called 'Yoga' by a nice man called Ernest Wood. At the same time I picked up a copy of 'Buddhism' by Christmas Humphreys. I still have both books, though they are now so yellow with age that they look like they have been through a golden shower. I had read Kerouac's 'The Dharma Bums' and now I was about to find out what the title meant. .....There is a point to the story and the point is this: pre-1967 no one had heard of yoga; post-1967 everyone had. That is some gigantic change. Isn't it? .....And it wasn't just yoga but a whole range of esoteric subjects that quite suddenly became of interest to a broad spectrum of readers. The general public were, of course, merely catching up. For the books that in 1968 suddenly became unexpected bestsellers, had been produced in late 1966 or 1967 and we had already read them. .....But there were some seminal books amongst them and there was more and better to come. 'Supernature' by Lyall Watson changed our view of the natural world and gave it a meaning that had some profound implications. John Michell's 'A View Over Atlantis' made us look again at pre-Christian spirituality and enabled us to see the legacy that had been left for us, carved into the land. And 'Chariots of the Gods' by Erich von Daniken, challenged our Christian pre-conceptions about where we came from and offered some out of this world suggestions. .....The last of these books was, argu- TOP OF COULMN
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. | . | mentalists. But that is their job -- to remind us what small-minded and bigotted mean. That, however, was better than von Daniken being dragged out and barbequed. .....For the rest of us, it became a talking point for months. The evidence was convincing, except for one thing. There was one picture in the book of one of the earliest cave paintings. Taken from the wall of a cave high in the Atlas Mountains in Africa that was thought, at that time, to have been the birth place of Homo Erectus, the painting seemed to show a space-suited and helmetted figure. The interesting thing was the radiations coming from his helmet. They were strange; not at all like a glow effect or anything one would recognise. But I did. They seemed to me to be psilocybin mushrooms (psilocybe semilanceata, liberty caps, to be precise.) .....Looking now at the photograph of the original cave painting in von Daniken's book, I realise that I must have based this interpretation on another rendering of the painting -- the mushrooms are not clearly enough seen in the photograph to form any conclusions about what they might be. However, I can tell you this, whatever I based my conclusion on, it was clear and unequivocal. I was in no doubt. .....It was not a particularly original or revolutionary conclusion to come to. Indeed, one had only to have read Carl Jung's 'Man and His Symbols' and have had a psychedelic experience to appreciate from where the symbols came. But as the years unfolded there was much to support it. Early cave paintings from Siberia, mushroom stones from the ancient Mayan culture and so much of the new wave of archeological research seemed to fit in with the hypothesis. .....Although Paul Devereux does not go quite as far as saying the same thing as me, he is constrained by his academic background and the lack of hard evidence. However, reading between the lines of his book, one old tripper reading another old tripper, I got the distinct feeling that he had come to a similar conclusion. Sorry, Mr Devereux, if I have assumed too much. But what do you expect? .....For those of us who have had the experience, it is not too much of a stretch of the imagination. Is it? PLAIN TEXT • TOP OF PAGE  |
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