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Psychanaut (psychonaut, psychenaut)
Psychanaut is a term coined from the combination of two Greek
words: Psyche (soul or mind) and Naut (sailor or traveler), that is,
a traveler of the mind/soul. A Psychanaut is a person who experiences
intentionally induced altered states of consciousness in order to experience
spiritual reality through direct experience.
Tools used by psychanauts
psychanauts tend to be pluralistic, using various techniques in their
inner explorations such as:
- Multiple world mystical traditions
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Tantric sex
- Lucid dreaming
- Psychedelic substances (entheogens)
- Brainwave entrainment
- Sensory deprivation
- Fasting
- Hypnosis
- Astral projection
- Ego death
- Food choices
- Breathing techniques
Psychanauts use trance technologies and mind-altering tools more for
their ability to act as entheogens than for their inebriating (or social)
effect, and their use most often has a deep spiritual significance.
Because techniques that alter consciousness can be intense, and can
induce a state of susceptibility, psychanauts generally prefer to undertake
these explorations either alone, or in the company of trusted companion(s).
Therefore, they are averse to using altered consciousness in a "party"
context. Psychanauts generally regard the latter sort of use as irresponsible
and potentially dangerous.
Many psychanauts are very interested in physical health, viewing the
body as temple of the soul.
Goals of psychanautical work - Cosmic Consciousness and personal
psychology
Goals of psychanautic practices are twofold: expanded spiritual consciousness
through direct experience, and improvement of psychological and cognitive
performance through study of personal motivations and attitudes.
Psychonauts usually are drawn to writings by well know literary psychonauts
such as Aldous Huxley, Bertrand Russell, Ram Dass, Robert Anton Wilson,
Timothy Leary, Terance McKenna, Daniel Pinchbeck, and Dan Carpenter.
Psychanautics may be considered an attempt to generate a user's manual
for the human brain. Unlike psychology, which is concerned with understanding
other people, psychanauts are more concerned with understanding themselves,
and the process of self exploration - which leads to greater understanding
of the larger human condition.
Key to the psychonaut experience is conscious modification of brain
wave frequencies, which can lead to quite distinct perceptual states;
a detailed examination and understanding of one's own thought processes,
habits, and beliefs is also sought. Hallucinatory states, drug-induced
or otherwise, are seen as a form of subliminal symbolism or as a real
but distinct reality; as with other processes of the mind, psychanauts
seek to understand these. These states often simultaneously dissociate
the mind from the ego and offer an objective view of one's mental processes.
Psychological theories and concepts are also often taken into account,
particularly those of Carl G. Jung and Abraham Maslow.
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