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A larger number of people are exploring psychedelic states of mind in the world today than at any other point in history. Their shared experiences form the outline of a vast underground culture, whose steady influence upon society can be traced across thousands of years, back to Amerindian plant drug cults and the psychedelic celebrations in ancient Greece that gave birth to our Western society. But the full scope of this psychedelic culture, and its many expressions in the past, have remained poorly understood or even unknown. Psychedelia has usually been taken as a metaphor, or a symptom of something else, even though its true nature is singular and unparalleled. Psychedelia by Patrick Lundborg is the first ever book to present psychedelic culture in its full complexity and range. Out of a colorful history that spans 3500 years emerges a philosophy and way of life that is as dazzling and rich as the psychedelic experience itself. |
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As this book shows, psychedelia is a living underground culture, engaged in constant dialogue with its mainstream counterpart. Psychedelia's creative, visionary presence in art, rock music and pop culture is thoroughly examined, highlighting many unique and at times unknown works and traditions, from William Blake to Philip K Dick, from Eden Ahbez to Shpongle, from Haight-Ashbury to the beaches of Goa. The 20th century's misguided attempts to reduce psychedelia into a branch of psychology or religion are given a critical, sometimes controversial look. A case is made for psychedelic philosophy, a fresh, unprejudiced model to replace the failed interpretations of the past. In the third millenium, psychedelic culture may be standing on the brink of a mystery greater than anything encountered in the past. This mystery comes forth in chapters on ayahuasca and DMT, and has reverberations far outside the realms of psychedelia, cutting into vital questions of consciousness and evolution. Most of all, psychedelia is a celebration of life, in the here and now and in the deep realms of inner-space. The final chapters of Psychedelia discuss the challenges and rewards of the psychedelic experience, as mastered by shamans and teachers from various entheogenic cultures. |
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Product details |
About the Author
Patrick Lundborg (b. 1967) has a B.Sc in Information Science from
Stockholm University, with additional studies in Classic Philosophy and
History of Religion. After retiring from a professional career as a
project manager, he works full-time as a writer-researcher in the field
of psychedelic culture. Among his earlier works are The Age Of
Madness (1992), a guide to 1960s garage music, and 13th Floor
Elevators–The Complete Reference File (2002). The Acid Archives
(2006-2010), a pioneering study of underground 1960s-70s music from
North America, is Lundborg’s most popular work to date, having gone
through two editions and five reprintings, and receiving favorable
reviews in leading magazines such as Mojo and The Wire. In addition to
the books and the
Lysergia.com website he edits, Lundborg has written magazine
articles, monographs and album liner notes. See also
Wikipedia page. |
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Resources The Feed Your Head website is a repository for psychedelic information assembled by the Psychedelia author since the 1990s, including book reviews, interviews and essays. The
front
cover shows a beautiful painting by the renowned Peruvian ayahuasca
artist Anderson Debernardi, licenced uniquely for the Psychedelia
book. |
Promo material Magazine ad #1 Handbill Brochure front Brochure back |
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News 2014-February-22 A long and insightful review of Psychedelia has now been published at the Reality Sandwich, one of the key nodes in the modern hallucinogenic network. Reviewer Benton Rooks has testified on the book 'changing his life', and I guess that makes two of us! In the review Rooks also discusses some of his own avenues of 'entheodelic' research which provides a good example of the highly active and wonderfully diverse psychedelic scene of the 2010s. Psychedelia is one of the most essential books in the argument for psychedelic shamanism and self-initiation into metaphysical mysteries... it paves the way for a number of different inquiries into cutting edge entheogenic research and altered states. It is absolutely required reading for any psychedelicist... Reality Sandwich start page, you should explore this place if you haven't.
Renowned underground scenemaker and scholar of Occulture Carl Abrahamsson recently published a favorable review of Psychedelia at his blog. No stranger to these domains, Carl smartly identifies the optimistic streak that runs through the book, a tone which is deliberate and hardly given when looking at Western society and its handling of psychedelic compounds and private spirituality. He describes the book
2013-December-30 No immediate Psychedelia news of recent, but the book continues to sell well around the world, and the collectable hard-cover version on eBay is moving nicely too. 2013-September-30 Here is a recently published interview with the Revolt Of The Apes blog, in which the editor caught me in the Summer doldrums when time was available, and also asked some questions that were new and different.
Classic Rock magazine feature a brand new
and most welcome
in-depth review of the Psychedelia book written by none
other than 'Youth', legendary UK musician and scenemaker with Killing
Joke and the influential Dragonfly label. Youth is quite enthusiastic
over the book and awards it 9 out of 10, which is the best rating logged
so far, along with those at Amazon.com. A couple of points raised in the
review are addressed in the
Psychedelia blog. A blog editor in Poland sent me a bunch of intelligent questions related to the Psychedelia book, which I answer to the best of my ability. Read the interview at the Magivanga blog. 2013-June-15 The most recent issue of WIRE magazine in England features a contribution from me that is an expansion of a section in the Psychedelia book, dealing with Donovan's magic "Isle Of Islay". Wire's 'epiphanies' section was an appropriate window for my contemplations on this song. A scan will be added once the current issue is out of print. 2013-June-1 The new British magazine Flashback featured a lengthy review of Psychedelia in the most recent (#3) issue. Written by Gray Newell, the review is both enthusiastic and psychedelic in its own right.
2013-May-24 A Stockholm-based internet radio show
invited me to discuss the early history of psychedelic music, which we
did for a pleasant and hopefully illuminating hour. Music selections
included Eden Ahbez, Alan Watts, 13th Floor Elevators and the Dovers.
The show/podcast will air during June, exact date will be added here. Noted writer/researcher Erik Davis recently invited me to appear on his recurring radio show on PRN, The Expanding Mind. We spent a fun hour discussing the psychedelic experience and psychedelic culture based on topics raised in my Psychedelia book. You can hear the whole podcast here. 2013-April-15 British music magazine Shindig!
inaugurate their re-launched website with a
long
interview with Psychedelia author Patrick Lundborg,
covering several vital aspects of the book. Leading music magazine Mojo has published
a rather friendly review of Psychedelia, by David Sheppard.
Next to our domestic SvD (below) this is the biggest publication to
review the book so far. 2013-March-13 Terrascope Online recently published the longest and most detailed review of Psychedelia so far. Reviewer Jeff Penczak displays an excellent understanding of several vital aspects to the book. "...by addressing almost every walk of life, Lundborg has in effect created The New Psychedelic Bible... It’s an early candidate for Book of The Year, one which I will return to often to feed my head, re-energise my mind, and rejuvenate my consciousness." Here's the complete Terrascope review. 2013-March-9
An illuminated review of Psychedelia recently appeared at
Psypress, a knowledgable British blog/website devoted to psychedelic
matters. 2013-February-27
The old warhorse Record Collector magazine reviews Psychedelia in an
elegant and entertaining way, awarding the book four stars out of 5. 2013-February-25
Richard Allen delights us with a positive, well-written review in the new issue
of Shindig magazine (UK). 2013-February-18
Psychedelic role model Ralph Metzner gives the Psychedelia book
a powerful push in his newsletter, which goes out to hallucinogen
experts around the world. Thanks Ralph! 2013-February-8 The Pop Matters website have published a long,
well-written and quite agreeable review of Psychedelia,
read it here. 2013-January-18 A radio station in upstate New York have begun reading the entire Psychedelia book over the air, in 10-minute instalments each week! One of the more unusual and thrilling forms of feedback we have received so far. Earlier this month saw a brief mention of the book
(+photo) in The Wire, who hopefully will come back with a complete
review later on. 2012-December-31 A long, enthuastic review of the Psychedelia book appeared in one of Sweden's largest morning newspapers, see more at the Psychedelia blog 2012-November-27 The highly active and popular
It's Psychedelic Baby website did an interview with me recently
concerning the Psychedelia book and other hallucinogenic delights. Check
it out here:
Interview with Patrick
The book has definitely reached European retailers
now, as I've heard from several people who have purchased it in the last
week. Next week it should be available in the US as well, but I believe
you can already order it from several mail-order dealers, such as
Forced Exposure.
2012-November-25 A first draft of the comprehensive A-Z index for the Psychedelia book has now been uploaded. This is a 0.9 version, to be followed with a more official 1.0 version in a couple of weeks.
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