A stunning tribute to the Lsd discoverer Albert Hofmann by Alex Grey. If you click on the image, you can see psychedelic luminaries like Paul Stamets, the McKenna brothers and Robert Gordon Wasson with the 'curandera' Maria Sabina (on the left) and Amanda Fielding, David Nichols, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond (on the right).
Today, April 19, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first human experience with Lsd and its discoverer, the legendary Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. On April 19, 1943, after having unintentionally taken a substantial dose of Lsd in his laboratory, the good doctor, feeling the first unexpected effects of the substance, took his bike to go back home.....and the rest is history.
Read about the original Lsd bycicle ride HERE and search "Bycicle Day 2025" for the closest event to your home (San Francisco? London? Zurich? etc.)
"Cobweb of Trips by Robert Dickins is a literary history of psychedelics that catches a sublime aesthetic weaving its way through mid-twentieth century Britain and beyond.
Spinning a psychospiritual thread from literature and the history of medicine, this story brings to light how the question of psychedelics, and the trips people had, were animated by the era’s cultural transformations.
From spiritual reimaginings and scientific novelty, to political agitation and the counterculture of the 1960s, Cobweb of Trips is a poetic thread emerging when the psychedelic experience alighted in modern history."
I strongly recommend this new book by Robert and a visit to Robert's PsychedelicPress UK for books, writings, rarities and more.
To buy the book (£ 24.95) click here
To visit Psypress click here
Ralph Metzner (1936 - 2019), original member of the legendary Harvard psychedelic triumvirate together with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later aka Ram Dass) has devoted his entire life to the study and experimentation of modified states of consciousness by means of psychotropic substances and different technics and traditions. He has been a renowned psychoterapist and prolific author of books like Maps of Consciousness (1971), Through the Gateway of Heart (1985), Sacred Mushrooms of Vision: Teonanacatl (2005), Sacred Vines of Spirits: Ayahuasca (2006), Allies for Awakening (2015) and his latest Searching for the Philosophers; Stone (2019).
'Celebrating the life and legacy of Ralph Metzner, this book explores how Ralph touched the lives of those around him in extraordinary and remarkable ways, recasting people’s worldviews and inspiring the flowering of creativity, personal growth, and spiritual transformation. '
Authored by Cathie Coleman, Ph.D. and with contributions by Rick Doblin, Charles S. Grob, Stan Grof, Stanley Kripner, Dennis McKenna, Christian Rätch and others.
If you like adventurous and meaningful biographies, and are interested in entheogens and inner research, don't miss this book. Strongly recommended!
"My Psychedelic Explorations - The Healing Power And Transformational Potential Of Psychoactive Substances" is Claudio Naranjo's psychedelic autobiography with previously unpublished interviews and research papers _, Explores Dr. Naranjo's pioneering work with MDMA, ayahuasca, cannabis, iboga, and psilocybin _, Shares his personal accounts of psychedelic sessions and experimentation, including his work with Alexander ',Sasha' Shulgin and Leo Zeff _, Includes the author's reflections on the spiritual aspects of psychedelics and his recommended techniques for controlled induction of altered states In the time of the psychedelic pioneers, there were psychopharmacologists like Alexander ',Sasha' Shulgin, psychonauts like Aldous Huxley, and psychiatrists like Humphrey Osmond. Claudio Naranjo was all three at once. He was the first to study the psychotherapeutic applications of ayahuasca, the first to publish on the effects of ibogaine, and a long-time collaborator with Sasha Shulgin in the research behind Shulgin's famous books. (...)
You can order this book here ( pages 448 - $ 29.99 ) or on the usual book sources like Amazon.
On April 19, 1943 the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann ingested the first intentional dose of LSD. To celebrate that legendary event many people congregate every year in Europe, U.S and other parts of the world. See for example the details of the San Francisco parade here and don't forget the wonderful "Bycicle Day" comic book by Brian Blomerth (Google it)
