Cyberethnography of the Visionary Plants/People's List

My "ethnographic description" of the VPL is based on close to four years of observing this group. I must be purposely vague on some points as the topic that I'm dealing with is pretty sensitive, and members of the VPL can be intensely private, usually out of concern for their legal safety.

I'm not promoting or encouraging the violation of local, state and federal laws concerning the use of psychoactive substances. I'm merely describing what I see as a very interesting group of seemingly sincere, like-minded human beings. Throughout this brief lecture, I'll be using the words "psychedelic" and "entheogen" interchangeably, depending on the context in which I'm speaking.

I. Focus of the Group/Veeples

A safe, virtual community devoted to description and intelligent and informed discussion of issues and ideas related to the history, cultivation and proper use of hallucinogens, either from botanical sources (e.g. marijuana, mushrooms, ayahuasca, peyote), or synthesized compounds such as LSD and MDMA (Ecstasy).

By and large, most members use the term entheogen, rather than hallucinogen or psychedelic, which are now perceived as pejorative and culturally-loaded terms. Entheogen might be best described as a "psychoactive sacrament...a plant or chemical substance taken to occasion spiritual or mystical experiences."

II.. History

Formed in 1994 by Andrew Edmond, then a graduate student in bio-chemistry in a Mid-Western college. Edmond went on to construct the Lycaeum, the Internet's most informative guide to all things psychedelic. Lycaeum members were initially Veeples. Edmond eventually left the VPL (in its incarnation as ELF), handing it over to another Veeple, who still moderates to this day. Evolution, in name (VPL - ELF[Dec. 96] -TAZ [Sept. 97]- RAM [June 98] - VPL [May99])

Membership was based on inside circle of friends, some rare advertising on the newsgroup alt.drugs.psychedelic, as well as through invitations extended to seemingly intelligent posters in similar groups, which was only a few dozen initially, and has gone through many transformations, if only in name, and now has somewhere between 200-300 members, though many are not active posters. Initially included "psychedelic celebrities" such as Alexander Shulgin, Terence McKenna, whose books (PIHKAL and TIKHAL, The Archaic Revival, Food of the Gods) and ideas have been quite influential to the psychedelic underground.

Membership falls across gender lines (though predominantly male), age groups (students, young and middle-aged professionals, aging hippies, senior citizens exposed to psychedelics earlier or later in life), across job lines (I've met computer programmers, students, journalists, university professors, and others claim to be in the computer industry, music, arts, medicine, psychology, life sciences [esp. botany, chemistry & neurology], and nationalities, with members contributing to discussions from areas such as the United States, Canada, England, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Mexico and Spain, and at least eight more countries (from Julia, List Moderator). Various religious upbringings and orientations, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and quite a few seem to have been reared in a secular context. Some are even members or former members of religious groups (e.g. syncretic Brazilian groups such as Santo Daime and Uniao do Vegetal) that openly use entheogens. More than anything else, the ideas expressed by group members resonant most closely with those expressed in the world's mystical traditions, as well as modern and archaic shamanic traditions the world over (more on that later). Veeples are often widely-read, possessing much deeper knowledge of a wide variety of fields than is typical in laypersons; they are often highly informed in matters of the physical sciences (neurology, psychopharmacology, organic chemistry, botany, etc.) and social sciences (psychology, comparative religion, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies, law), philosophy , the humanities and other intellectual realms. Everything is seen as relevant to the psychedelic experience.

Substances most often discussed are both legal and illegal, though "legal" should be more accurately described "not specifically illegal;" the former category includes various cacti, seeds, mint plants, exotic plant mixtures and non-scheduled compounds; the latter includes Cannibas, LSD, MDMA (Ecstasy), magic mushrooms, DMT, peyote, and some little-known compounds and plants.

III. Philosophy/Worldview

Directly/indirectly influenced by psychedelic culture of the mid to late 1960s. Simply put, this culture emphasized a belief that a peaceful, spiritual Utopia could be attained through the enlightenment of the world via the use of psychedelics such as LSD. In retrospect, most Veeples look at the goals and techniques of their predecessors as naive at best, and woefully destructive at worst.

Whereas psychedelics were much talked about during that decade, and public figures such as Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley openly encouraged their use in one way or another, today's psychedelicists write, work and spread their message in a much quieter way. Leary appeared on television, in lectures, in concerts and other public forums encouraging people to "turn on, tune in and drop out." The official reaction to the antics of Leary and his Harvard colleagues was to ban psychedelics across the board, and whatever research was being done on them (in this country) ceased in the mid-1970s, having resumed only recently. In an effort to avoid the destructive publicity that psychedelics and their users received in the 1960s, Veeples (and the psychedelic underground in general) now work quietly, hoping that change at an individual level can make life/world a better place.

Certain assumptions can typically be found to be exemplified by Veeples, but these are simply abstractions that can not cover every belief of every member. The primary assumptions can perhaps be more eloquently described in works such as Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy, but I have to make do here. First and foremost, the human being is not simply a creature of flesh and bone, but has a definite spiritual component as well, and this spiritual aspect is perhaps the guiding force of human life...

Consciousness is the interaction of flesh and spirit...

All reality, physical and spiritual, is one and the same, and our nervous system necessarily limits our full perception and experience of reality...

The workings of the central nervous system operate as a kinds of "reducing valve," (to paraphrase Huxley) in that normal states of consciousness, i.e. the ones we experience on a daily basis, only reveal a limited view of the world around us; it follows that introducing relatively benign alternative chemicals into the central nervous system affords one a drastically altered view of the world, one perhaps no more or less valid or useful than our normal waking consciousness...

Entheogens, particularly plant-based substances, are inhabited by spirits, or a non-physical presence of some sort. Group members typically see their use serving a variety of purposes...

First there is the psychedelic, or mind-manifesting facet. They are used as tools to explore personal consciousness and outlook and can be used for aesthetic and therapeutic pursuits. It is taken for granted that the view of self one is afforded in non-ordinary states of consciousness is valuable in that it allows for the evaluation of life and habit from a perspective that might be difficult to obtain otherwise. This a view supported by decades of research in numerous countries.

Then there's the entheogenic facet: consciousness being a interaction of spirit and flesh, the exploration of consciousness is therefore a spiritual act, and because spirit is connected to all aspects of existence, one can explore all levels of physical and spiritual reality. The ultimate experience in this regard might be described as analogous to ideas of "oneness with the universe," as it is expressed in the world's religious traditions.

Beyond the basic experiences, there are other reasons that Veeples use psychedelics...

Identity: as a small, select group, from a diverse range of backgrounds, many in social milieus in which their practices are frowned upon, if not punishable by law, Veeples typically feel that their solitary or small group use of psychedelics unites them with a larger body of people across the planet that use these substances, and also touches on the feelings that are at the core of religious experience, reflecting the contention that the roots of religion can be found in archaic practices such as shamanism. More simply, the VPL is a comforting meeting place populated by people of similar mindsets, who understand the same references and who have had similar, profoundly moving experiences.

Civil Disobedience: Veeples often see the prohibition of their sacraments and practices as needlessly harsh restrictions on their personal rights; most believe drug prohibition is not only hypocritical in a society rife with the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and sundry over-the-counter and prescription drugs, but also places intolerable limits on religious freedom and the basic pursuit of happiness. Ingesting/cultivating psychedelics and acting as a member of a thriving underground gives many Veeples the sense that they are fighting these negative trends through willful violation of some very harsh laws.

While appearing normal in many regards, holding conventional jobs, raising children and going to the grocery store just like everybody else, many Veeples see themselves and their peers as humans on the cutting edge of modern consciousness, and quietly hope to further their spiritual and psychological evolution, and in turn, the evolution of the human species.

So, this is the set with which many Veeples use psychedelics and with which they discuss, understand and integrate their experiences.

The Life of the VPL...

Veeples disseminate many ideas and material objects through the VPL. Veeples share helpful tips for the cultivation of select botanicals, theorize about the societal and personal impacts psychedelics have had, and share current news related to their interests. There is very little noise in this group. Most discussions are well-informed and mature, and "flame wars" are quite rare. Psychedelics are the focus, and different personalities are rarely at odds with each other. The idea that Veeples often share some deeply mystical knowledge about existence, that they really Know (with a capital "K") each others experiences, so there's a great deal less of petty bickering and personal flame wars than one might find in other such groups.

The VPL's most prominent and important feature is that of the Trip Report, and the subsequent discourse based on these reports. Trip Reports, as the name implies, are anecdotal accounts of Veeple's personal psychedelic experiences, described to the best of the author's ability. The descriptions tend to be highly poetic and highly abstract, as psychedelic experiences are essentially non-verbal, and are often difficult to accurately frame in the confines of language. I once saw a Trip Report that quoted a John Lennon lyric: "words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup." Trip Reports run the gamut from relatively casual, low-dose experiences that alter perception in a minor way (which is how psychedelics tend to be used recreationally in this culture), to heavily ritualized high-dose experiences in which the author literally comes to know a drastically different reality, perhaps experiencing such highly novel states as oneness with God, Nature, Universe/ exploring alien landscapes and conversing with its inhabitants/coming into contact with discarnate entities, experiences having more in common with the world's shamanic traditions than anything we're familiar with in the West. Such experiences can be so powerful that in their wake, the author must seriously question what the nature of Reality is. We're talking about some pretty heavy experiences. As it stands, post-industrial Western society certainly doesn't make much room for the experience or discussion of such states, so events can be difficult to work into one's daily life, and the VPL provides its members with a forum in which to express ones deepest inner experiences in such a way that perhaps those with far greater experience can comment and help the author gain understanding, or at the very least, comfort the recovering tripper.

Such discourses are essential for many Veeples, as they perceive their psychedelic experiences as directly relating to their spiritual lives, and if ones spiritual life is in chaos, ones entire life is as well. Most Veeples live in personal and cultural situations in which there simply is no real-time forum for the proper discussion of powerful inner experience. Whereas in other cultural situations in which inner experience is highly valued and considered worthy of discussion, there is often a guide or shaman with whom to consult post-experience, Veeples tend to live in climates lacking anything of the sort, so the electronic forum is often their only option. It gives one the sense of being part of a community unified by common experience and understanding. Veeples live in two realities; they live just like you and I, driving cars, shopping, watching TV...they also inhabit of world of extraordinary depth and highly novel phenomena that defy conventional understanding. For its members, the VPL fulfills a great need, the need to connect with people on a spiritual level, people who share the knowledge of another world of experience and thought.

Further Reading:

Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, translated from the French by Willard R. Trask, New York: Pantheon Books, 1964.

Forte, Robert (ed.). Entheogens and the Future of Religion San Francisco: Council on Spiritual Practices, 1997.

Grof, Stanislav. Realms of Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research New York: The Viking Press, 1975.

Huxley, Aldous. The Perennial Philosophy, 3rd edition New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945.

McKenna, Terence. The Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge: A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution New York: Bantam Books, 1992.

Merkur, Dan. The Ecstatic Imagination: Psychedelic Experiences and the Psychoanalysis of Self-Actualization. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.

Rushkoff, Douglas. Cyberia: Life in the Trenches of Hyperspace San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco, 1994.


John N. Grunwell
mahajohn@wam.umd.edu