You’d think the word psychedelic was entirely modern; but, “delic” comes from Greek (delein) and means “to make manifest.” So, psychedelic is about making the psyche manifest…well, at least aspects of Psyche which had hitherto been unmanifest. Psychedelic experience is referred to as mind altering.
Mind altering substances are part of just about every culture going way way back in time. The body, the “bio” as an organic chemical factory, produces substances which alter the mind naturally. And, of course, some plants naturally produce mind altering chemicals. The mere act of sensing the world is mind altering; eating food is mind altering, sports is mind altering, sex is mind altering, education is mind altering…..It is as if mind altering activities are necessary…..
Where would we be if our minds had not been altered? Where will we be if we don’t alter our minds?
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
- Albert Einstein