This recently discovered footage of an American housewife being filmed in 1956 during an experimental LSD session got me thinking about a couple of other classic trip clips.
At the height of the psychedelic movement, this stunning swinging ’60s space cadet was filmed by the BBC as part of a report on the lysergic influx into the UK. “It must be to do with orange… not only with orange…”:
British politician Christopher Mayhew takes mescaline in the company of Dr Humphry Osmond, the psychiatrist who invented the word ‘psychedelic’. In 1953, Osmond had given the author Aldous Huxley his first dose of mescaline, and Huxley would famously write about his encounter with the hallucinogen in his book ‘The Doors Of Perception’ (1954), which, in turn, would give the band The Doors the inspiration for their name.
This footage was filmed by the BBC in 1955, but wouldn’t be screened until 31 years later, in 1986:
History Of LSD Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LSD
No wonder these were never shown till years later, it seems to me that it shows some “proven” sane, intelligent people rather enjoying themselves and experiencing somewhat of an epiphany.
I’ve never taken a proper acid trip but I wouldn’t mind it now having seen these, fortunately now I’m too old and knackered to even try.
Some nice sound bites in there too!
seeing in stereo……………..
Ha ha! I wish everybody could talk in technicolor! 🙂
Great post Greg! I’d never seen the first and third clips before…
Acid was very prominent in my youth, geography had a lot to do with what you were exposed to when I was growing up. In my locale it was predominantly weed, acid and speed, at university many young folk there had previously spent their time on heroine, living only within 20 odd miles from myself.
My first experience with acid was a double drop of ‘double dipped’ strawberries. I was 14 at the time (early 90’s) and nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced…..Coming up I burst in laughter at a passing woman for no apparent reason, a few minutes later I heard church bells clanging through the night.
Early in I saw pink and cyan streamers through the air, eventually I ended up concluding that everything was made of this. Later in I could see molecules…stretching up into the sky as far as I could see. I saw, heard and felt a great many things.
Another similarity with the first clip was the merging with objects. For me rather than a curtain, I had ventured inside and looking at myself with literally huge black pupils I felt and heard this great rumbling beneath my feet. This has to be one of the most incredible rushes on record, the low and gradual rumbling of the sound grew and grew to the point where it felt like the whole ground/earth slowly rose up from my feet and off out of my head!
That first experience certainly felt like a vail had been lifted from the apparent static environment in which I had known my whole conscious life. I dabbled fairly regularly through my teens and we enjoyed many moments. At that time in my life it would seem that my mind had not been contaminated, constrained or conditioned, I could enjoy the experience for what it was. Later on it would become more difficult, to the point where I could no-longer handle it. I yearn that one day I will be able to release the conditioned shackles and again enjoy what can be such an incredible experience.
The last time was about ten years ago now, I watched this which I’d never seen this before..one of my favourite all time tracks anyway,,,,by the time they were walking along with their trail I was not only hearing, seeing but actually feeling it, quite mad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqyz_MgJu5o&feature=related
I’ve since had the odd go on cubensis mushrooms…similar to acid, and less prolonged (4hrs opposed to 12-16 hrs). More recently I tried; Mescaline which seemed to be a more organic feeling trip than the adrealine/rushing feeling trip of mushrooms or acid….
Recently I heard that we only actually see with 10% of the information our brain is fed with, the rest is genetic, anticipated, conditioned and learnt…..trust your senses? 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypd5txtGdGw
These pictures were put up on life the other day although I’m not convinced that they were entirely balanced…… http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/50751/life-on-lsd#index/0
Cheers
P
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In an environment of man-made filters (government, religion, culture, society, peer groups) it is interesting to strip these all away and see life for what it it is. Epiphany is a good description.