The effect upon the analog I, of psychedelic experience.
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:25 am
I first read Jaynes' book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, when it was first published around 1976/77. This was subsequent to my own extensive experimentation with LSD in the 1960's when I was guided principally by "The Tibetan book of the Dead," as not much had been written at that time about Hoffman's discovery. My experience had led me to question other individuals who asked me about my own experience with the drug about the effects their use had had on them when they experimented with psychedelics. One of the questions I invariably asked was how they referred to themselves during their experience.
For me, one of the invariable characteristics of my own response to the drug was during it's effect on me to always refer to myself in the third person, and I never referred to myself in the first person "I" until I had sufficiently recovered days later. The LSD that I used came in a pharmaceutical bottle of 100 microgram tablets from SANDOZ labeled Delycid from Switzerland. It was very powerful and I never took less than one tablet. The response I got from most individuals was either a profound ambiguity, or a confirmation of a parallel to my own experience. I ended up using the question as a qualifier for further enquiry as to the veracity or authenticity of their experience. Valid or not, their response indicated to me whether or not their experience had been one that was either recreational, under dosed, or serious. For me 100 micrograms was definitely not recreational, usually taking around 14 hours before normal waking consciousness returned, and more used much additional time I did not always have.
Anyway, my question to the list is to ask whether or not anyone else who reads this list has experienced anything similar to what I experienced long ago. My conjecture is that I experienced an artificial version of the Bicameral Mind. Any response would be appreciated either critical, or supportive. Thank-you. Glenn Miles
For me, one of the invariable characteristics of my own response to the drug was during it's effect on me to always refer to myself in the third person, and I never referred to myself in the first person "I" until I had sufficiently recovered days later. The LSD that I used came in a pharmaceutical bottle of 100 microgram tablets from SANDOZ labeled Delycid from Switzerland. It was very powerful and I never took less than one tablet. The response I got from most individuals was either a profound ambiguity, or a confirmation of a parallel to my own experience. I ended up using the question as a qualifier for further enquiry as to the veracity or authenticity of their experience. Valid or not, their response indicated to me whether or not their experience had been one that was either recreational, under dosed, or serious. For me 100 micrograms was definitely not recreational, usually taking around 14 hours before normal waking consciousness returned, and more used much additional time I did not always have.
Anyway, my question to the list is to ask whether or not anyone else who reads this list has experienced anything similar to what I experienced long ago. My conjecture is that I experienced an artificial version of the Bicameral Mind. Any response would be appreciated either critical, or supportive. Thank-you. Glenn Miles