Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism is a book written by author and journalist Daniel Pinchbeck

Daniel Pinchbeck

Daniel Pinchbeck is an author living in New York’s East Village, where he is editorial director of Reality Sandwich, a blog website centered around New Age philosophy and activism. He is the author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism and 2012:...

, founding editor of the literary journal Open City. Published in 2002, Breaking Open the Head covers, in Pinchbeck's words, the cultural history of psychedelic use, philosophical and critical perspectives on shamanism

Shamanism

Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...

, and his personal transformation from a cynical New York litterateur to psychedelic acolyte.

Pinchbeck details his initiation with the Bwiti

Bwiti

Bwiti is a West Central African spiritual practice by the forest-dwelling Babongo and Mitsogo people of Gabon, where it is counted as one of the three official religions, and the Fang people of Gabon and Cameroon...

 and their use of iboga

Iboga

Tabernanthe iboga or Iboga is a perennial rainforest shrub and hallucinogen, native to western Central Africa. Iboga stimulates the central nervous system when taken in small doses and induces visions in larger doses. In parts of Africa where the plant grows the bark of the root is chewed for...

. The account remains personal with Pinchbeck crediting the experience with an insight into his reliance on alcohol.

External links

• Official site - complements book and offers public discussion forums.