DESMA 9: Art, Science and

Technology.
Psychonautical Museum
Dennis Yeh
Section B

Abstract
The Psychonautical Museum: A
museum dedicated to the
promotion of life, selfawareness, and spirituality
through the responsible use of
LSD-25 or other mindexpanding substances. The
museum is aimed towards
refuting the myths, lies, and
exaggerations that portray
psychoactive substances as
destructive toxins. Through
enlightenment and experience,
we aspire to eliminate
unfounded fears regarding
psychoactive substances, and
seek to provide a greater
understanding of individual
and collective conciousness to
the general public through the
safe and responsible application
Psychonaut (noun) - A person who
of LSD in a controlled setting.
experiences intentionally induced altered
Patrons are informed about the
states of consciousness in an attempt to
effects, benefits, and risks of
using LSD to explore the mind,
investigate his or her mind and possibly
address spiritual questions through direct and those prepared and willing
are provided LSD, which will
experience.

Concept / Topic
The U.S. governments war on drugs emphasizes
that all psychoactive substances are extremely
dangerous and cause permanent irreparable
damage to the mind and body. Their exaggerations
and propaganda, emphasized by the general
publics lack of understanding, lead to unfounded
Cannabis: Used shamanicallyfears about such substances. LSD has been proven
by the Hindu, Sikh, Rastafari,to have no addiction potential whatsoever, and the
etc.
only damage it cause is if a user has latent
psychological problems which can be brought out
by LSD (in <1% of users). Hallucinogens have been
used in religious and spiritual ceremonies dating
as far back as Ancient Greece, and many
indigenous tribes use mind-altering substances in
their spiritual ceremonies and rituals in the U.S. to
this day. Why should these spiritual experiences
be limited just to these natives? My goal with this
project is to promote awareness throughout the
world about the benefits as well as the risks of
such mind-altering substances (specifically LSD),
hoping that the general populace will come to the
realization that LSD should not be regarded as a
A Native American
dangerous narcotic, but rather a spiritual tool of
harvesting Peyote
self-awareness that should be respected as well as

Context: Effects of
LSD
POSITIVE

EFFECTS LIST

increase in energy (stimulation)

increase in associative & creative thinking
mood lift
increased awareness & appreciation of music
increased awareness of senses. (eating, drinking, smell)
closed and open eye visuals
profound life-changing spiritual experiences

NEUTRAL

general change in consciousness (as with most psychoactives)

pupil dilation
difficulty focusing
increased salivation and mucus production (causes coughing in some people)
unusual body sensations (facial flushing, chills, goosebumps, body energy)
unusual thoughts and speech
change in perception of time
quickly changing emotions (happiness, fear, anxiety, anger, joy, irritation)
slight increase in body temperature
slight increase in heart rate
NEGATIVE
anxiety

tension, jaw tension

increased perspiration

nausea

dizziness, confusion

insomnia
megalomania

over-awareness & over-sensitization to music and noise (high doses)

paranoia, fear, and panic

unwanted and overwhelming feelings

unwanted life-changing spiritual experiences

flashbacks (extremely rare cases, unproven)

This YouTube video allows you to experience

spatial distortions similar to open-eye
visuals users experience on LSD, without
actually doing LSD.

Precedents
LSD has been used for spiritual enlightenment by millions since Albert
Hofmann first synthesized and experimented with it in 1943. Some of the
worlds most influential artists and scientific minds have used LSD in
order to become fully aware of who they are. While it is no surprise that
such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles used LSD often,
you might be surprised to find some of these other people on that list:

-Steve Jobs backpacked through India in search of philosophical

enlightenment, and called his LSD experiences there "one of the two or
three most important things [he had] done in [his] life (Markoff xviii-xix).

-Bill Gates told Playboy Magazine in 1994 that during his college years,

"on a couple of well-planned isolated occasions [me and my roommate]

would go off to the country and spend time contemplating the universe."

-Richard Feynman, who worked on the Manhattan Project, contributed

extensively to theoretical physics, pioneered the field of quantum
computing, and introduced the idea of nanotechnology, experimented
with LSD, marijuana, and ketamine in conjunction with sensory
deprivation techniques while he was a professor at CalTech.

-Dr. Timothy Leary was a psychology professor at Harvard in the 1960s

who experimented heavily with mescaline (peyote), psilocybin and LSD on

himself and his graduate students. He claimed a 90% success rate in
reforming prisoners using LSD, and almost all of Leary's participants
reported profound mystical experiences which they felt had a tremendous
positive effect on their lives.
LSD is a relatively recent invention, having only been around for less than
70 years. In 1968, LSD was federally outlawed in the U.S. due to
unfounded fears that it would corrode the Western middle class. To
this date, LSD remains on the DEAs Schedule I list (suggesting a high
potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use) despite
experiments that suggest LSD and other similar hallucinogens may treat
alcohol and opiate addictions, as well as a treatment for cluster
headaches. In addition, a small study of 31 terminally ill cancer patients
receiving LSD to relieve anxiety, depression, and pain showed that 71% of

Project Proposal
The Psychonautical Museum is designed
to be a three story building with two
theaters, an art/sculpture gallery,
A patrons visit begins with planetarium, and a room dedicated to
a documentary on LSD,
housing several flotation sensory
which covers a brief history
deprivation tanks.
of the substance, outlines
the psychological and
physiological effects of
LSD, as well as the benefits
and risks of taking it. After
the film, the patron is given
a choice whether or not to
take LSD and embark on
their own spiritual
experience. If they decide
to drop LSD, they must
undergo a brief mental
health and physical
screening and sign a
waiver citing that they are
choosing to take LSD under
their own free will and
have been informed about
all possible risks and

After entering the main museum (by

going up to the second floor), patrons will
be in an art gallery, consisting of
psychedelic art and sculptures: art
inspired by the psychedelic effects of
hallucinogens and other mind-altering
substances.

Underwater

Soul Labyrinth

Another
Reality

The Psychedelic Music Theatre consists of collections of

psychedelic music inspired by mind-altering substances (Pink
Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Liquid Tension Experiment, Grateful Dead,
etc.) played throughout the third floor, including the
planetarium, where patrons are able to travel through the stars
at speeds that would never be possible to achieve in real life.
In addition, another theatre on the same floor would play
documentaries such as Planet Earth, which allows patrons to
travel to every corner of our planet and view the natural
beauty and diversity which may not exist in the near future.
With the effects of LSD, every sense is heightened, and
patrons will be able to experience a deep and profound
spiritual connection with the world while contemplating the
universe.
When patrons have
experienced all that
the museum
has to offer, they can return to the first
floor, where staff will administer SSRI antidepressants, which will negate the effects
of LSD. While the patrons come down,
they have the option of using an isolation
tank: a lightless soundproof tank filled with
water at skin temperature, which causes a
transition from alpha and beta brainwaves
to theta brainwaves, enhancing creativity
and self-awareness, allowing a deep and
complete meditative state; a fitting end to
a spiritual journey of the mind.

Conclusion
Some of the human races most brilliant artistic and scientific minds as
well as entire cultures have used mind-altering substances in a spiritual or religious
manner, as a tool for self-awareness and inflective consciousness. Hallucinogens
have no addictive potential. In fact, modern psychologists are currently
experimenting with different substances to treat heroin, alcohol, and other drug
addictions. So why are people so apprehensive about LSD? It is human nature to
fear the unknown. There are many myths about LSD that are completely untrue,
such as LSD causing insanity, people jumping off roofs because they think they can
fly, or staring at the sun until they go blind. Such myths, as well as the
exaggeration of the effects of LSD by the naive that have never experienced it
coupled with the governments tough stance against all things mind-altering
(remember that alcohol, which we now all take for granted, was banned for 13
years in the 20th Century) has lead to an unfounded fear of a substance that should
not be feared, but respected.
I sincerely doubt that the U.S. government will ever legalize LSD.
However, LSD has been around for less than a century, and thus a lot is unknown
about it. Despite this fact, it is increasingly hard for educated minds with a
legitimate interest in researching psychoactives to do so with the current legal
status of such substances today. In addition, the government will not legalize any
psychoactives without extensive research about the risks and benefits. This
dilemma effectively wipes out any chance of the common citizen being able to use
LSD and other mind-opening substances to seek spiritual enlightenment legally.

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