<i>Breaking Convention</i>--a collection of essays and articles from the international conference of the same name--is a multifaceted exploration of the history, use, and benefits of psychedelics since the dawn of humankind. Some pieces address the archaeological and ethnographic evidence of psychedelic use as a vital part of early human development. Others focus on modern psychedelic history--such as pre-World War II psychedelic research and self-experimentation, or the fear-mongering nuclear era of the 1950s and 1960s, when psychedelics were banished into a forty-year Dark Ages. Still other pieces examine contemporary drug use, particularly MDMA and poly drug use (the use a combination of drugs for a specific effect). The book concludes with a piece by Rick Doblin, PhD, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), in which he offers a bold vision of the future, one in which psychedelics and expanded consciousness are an integral part of modern cosmopolitan society.<br><br><u>Contents</u><br>Introduction <br>Altered States and the Prehistoric Ritualisation of the Modern Human Mind<br>Tracing Neolithic World Views: Shamanism, Irish Passage Tomb Art and Altered States of Consciousness<br>Towards an Exploration of the Mind of a Conquered Continent: Shamanism,<br>Sacred Plants and Amerindian Epistemology<br>"A Train of Delightful Visions": Early Scientific Encounters with Psychedelics<br>Psychedelic Formations in Literature<br>Drop Acid Not Bombs<br>Season of the Witch: 1966 and the Vilification of LSD in Britain<br>Breaking Conventions in Policy and Science<br>Religious Freedom and the Expansion of Ayahuasca Ceremonies in Europe<br>Introduction to the MDMA Debate<br>Poly and Mono: Reflections on the Validity of "Poly Drug Use"<br>From Meta-Sin to Medicine: A Program for Future Research into the Healing Power of Psychedelics<br>A Declaration of Psychedelic Studies<br>Biophenomenology of Altered States<br>Cognitive Phenomenology of Mind Manifestation<br>Psychedelics, Parapsychology and Exceptional Human Experiences<br>The Anaesthetic Revelation: Psychedelia and Mysticism<br>Deceptive Cadences: A Hermeneutic Approach to the Problem of Meaning and Psychedelic Experience<br>A Matter of Spirit: An Imaginal Perspective on the Paranormal<br>Communications from the Herbs: A Step-by-Step Guide to <i>Ini</i> Consciousness<br>Afterword: A Bold Vision, by Rick Doblin <br><b><br></b>