A psychedelic education: How an initial encounter with LSD changed my mind and shaped my life and career

Abstract

In a letter to Humphrey Osmond in 1953, Aldous Huxley speculated about a "new system"of education in which psychedelics may play a part "by making it possible for young people to 'taste and see' what they have learned about at second hand, or directly but at a lower level of intensity, in the writings of the religious, or the works of poets, painters and musicians."In 1968, the author unwittingly engaged himself in this "new system"of education. This essay details the events that led to his initial experience with LSD as well as how that initial encounter proved to be a seminal experience in his life, changed his mind, and shaped his career path.