PSYCHEDELICS - Sciencemadness.org

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____________________________________________________ Psychedelics
typographic stage. As technology unites the scattered human
cultures into a new solidarity, the contemporary individual
must have all cultures present within him simultaneously in
order to be realized as a human being.
At the same time that the electronic stage is extending
man's exploration outside the body, it is creating a desire for
exploration of the individual's inner world. One example is
the widespread interest in psychedelic substances. Many
Americans, having ingested these chemicals, echo McLuhan's
and Ong's theories. They state that their psychedelic epi-
sodes bring about "a sense of simultaneity in time and space,"
and "a sense of solidarity with all the people in the world."
Others gather into drug or "hippie" subcultures, in which
tribal rites are enacted, in which bright Indian clothes and
primitive body markings are worn, and in which an intense
sense of community often develops.
A limited number of attempts have been made to investi-
gate the effects of psychedelic experience on either receptive
language (listening and reading) or expressive language
(speaking and writing). The four levels of psychedelic experi-
ence (sensory, recollective-analytic, symbolic, integral) pro-
vide an organizational structure in which this area may be
explored and discussed.
Receptive Language
Trouton and Eysenck (1961) have pointed out that psy-
chedelic experience is influenced not only by factors related
to drug administration, but by personality, physiology, set,
and setting. In their account, they also mention "suggestion"
and "reinforcement of responses by the experimenter," which
suggests the importance of language in determining how a
subject reacts.
The ritual developed by the Native American Church il-
lustrates the use of language to produce a positive set and
setting for the ingestion of peyote. A ceremonial leader, the
head chief, initiates the singing of songs and co-ordinates re-
quests by individuals for special prayers. The ritual is so ar-
ranged and so co-ordinated to the needs of the communicants