6 Psychedelics Creativity
Chapter 6 looks at how psychedelics can enhance creativity. As the renaissance continues to unfold, psychedelic’s impact on society is beginning to be publicly acknowledged. Early research on problem solving and creativity is cited. Celebrities who have come out of the “psychedelic closet” are noted along with how mindful use impacted their work and philosophy. Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple and Nobel Prize winner Kerry Mullis are two high profile examples. It is no secret that psychedelics fueled the creativity that led to the construction of the personal computer and impacted music, literature and art. We look at the mechanisms of action that can result in better and different mind body connections. We also look at altered states through the lens of Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow.
This perspective on psychedelic enhanced creativity operationalizes how different “mind apps” (thank you Dr. Roberts!) can be combined and enhanced. Microdosing, the taking of subthreshold doses of psychedelics is also examined. Given that psychedelics are “dose-respondent” (i.e., responses vary based on dose) – it is increasingly clear that one can titrate their dose based on what they want to accomplish by psychedelic use.
Once we get over the political hurdle of approving psychedelics to address intractable conditions (e.g. PTSD and treatment resistant depression), I can see a shift to include improving wellness. This would be a significant development, given the centuries of successful psychedelic plant use for healing and decades of successful research before politics got in the way of science.
Read
- Hardon, A. (2021). Chemical Creativity. In: Chemical Youth. Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57081-1_8
Watch
Can Psychedelics Accelerate Scientific Problem Solving? (58 min)
