The Way of the Psychonaut: Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys, Volume Two

The Way of the Psychonaut is one of the most important books ever written about the human psyche and the spiritual quest. The new understandings were made possible thanks to Albert Hofmann’s discovery of LSD—the “microscope and telescope of the human psyche”—and other psychedelic substances. This comprehensive work is a tour de force through the worlds of psychology, psychotherapy, Holotropic Breathwork, maps of the psyche, birth, sex, and death, transpersonal experiences, psychospiritual death and rebirth, reincarnation, karma, mystical states, archetypes, spiritual emergency, art, artists, and higher creativity. Although written in his late eighties, Psychonaut is possibly Grof’s greatest contribution. The commanding breadth and depth of knowledge is astounding, the tone of his writing easy and accessible, and the narratives brightened with intriguing personal accounts, amusing anecdotes, and brilliant case studies. Grof reviews the history of depth psychotherapy, the important revisions that are needed to make it more effective, and why the inner quest is such an essential activity. Arguably one of the fathers of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, its most experienced practitioner, and deeply deserving of a Nobel Prize in medicine, he has successfully unveiled a new and sweeping paradigm in self-exploration and healing. The vast and useful knowledge in this book is sure to be an invaluable and treasured resource for all serious seekers. The second volume of this encyclopedia focuses on the observations and experiences from the research of holotropic states that indicate an urgent need for a radical revision of some basic assumptions of mainstream psychiatry and psychology. It also suggests the areas in which these changes are needed and describes their nature.