The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys

James Fadiman

May 2011 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Psychedelics for spiritual, therapeutic, and problem-solving use

• Presents practices for safe and successful psychedelic voyages, including the benefits of having a guide and how to be a guide

• Reviews the value of psychedelics for healing and self-discovery as well as how LSD has facilitated scientific and technical problem-solving

• Reveals how microdosing (ultr-low doeses) improve cognitive functioning, emotional balance, and physical stamina

• This year 600,000 people in the U.S. alone will try LSD for the the first time, joining the 23 million who have already experimented with this substance

Called “America’s wisest and most respected authority on psychedelics and their use,” James Fadiman has been involved with psychedelic research since the 1960s. In this guide to the immediate and long-term effects of psychedelic use for spiritual (high dose), therapeutic (moderate dose), and problem-solving (low dose and microdose) purposes, Fadiman outlines best practices for safe, sacred entheogenic voyages learned through his more than 40 years of experience--from the benefits of having a sensitive guide during a session (and how to be one) to the importance of the setting and pre-session intention.

Fadiman reviews the newest as well as the neglected research into the psychotherapeutic value of visionary drug use for increased personal awareness and a host of serious medical conditions, including his recent study of the reasons for and results of psychedelic use among hundreds of students and professionals. He reveals new uses for LSD and other psychedelics, including microdosing, extremely low doses, for improved cognitive functioning and emotional balance. Cautioning that psychedelics are not for everyone, he dispels the myths and misperceptions about psychedelics circulating in textbooks and clinics as well as on the internet. Exploring the life-changing experiences of Ram Dass, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, and Huston Smith as well as Francis Crick and Steve Jobs, Fadiman shows how psychedelics, used wisely, can lead not only to healing but also to scientific breakthroughs and spiritual epiphanies.

Ratings and reviews

This is an outstanding work that ranges through the history of modern use of entheogens, the therapeutic setting, how to make best use in less formal settings, micro-dosing, and other clinical and day-to-day implications of their use. It is a lively and well-written book, NOT loaded with a bunch of technical jargon -- it's accessible to a wide range of readers. I've been familiar with this subject for over 50 years and this rates as one of the best works on the subject that I've ever read.

About the author

James Fadiman, Ph.D., did his undergraduate work at Harvard and his graduate work at Stanford, doing research with the Harvard Group, the West Coast Research Group in Menlo Park, and Ken Kesey. A former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a professor of psychology, he teaches at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which he helped found in 1975. An international conference presenter, workshop leader, management consultant, and author of several books and textbooks, he lives in Menlo Park, California, with his filmmaker wife, Dorothy.