“Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation”
The above quoted lines from the famous song “Aquarius” by “The 5th Dimension” gives an outline of the basic theme of the American Dream, an idea much in vogue in the 20th century America (Stephenson). Many writers have explored the theme of the American Dream and its subsequent corruption. However, the book of the journalist Jay Karl Stevens “Storming Heaven; LSD and the American Dream” is unique in its own regard as it explores the idea of the American Dream and its subsequent corruptions and the contribution of LSD towards it, through the lens of psychology (ELcock). …show more content…
The major focus of this particular subject is on the unconscious mind of the human beings and the factors which determine their actions. It is to be noted that the unconscious segment of the human mind has been the focus of research ever since the traditional times (Adler). However, significant inroads were made into this particular genre only in the 18th century particularly beginning with the works of Schelling and Sigmund Freud (Diamond). The work of Jay Stevens “Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream” also explores the conscious segment of the human mind and the effect of substances like LSD on it. The effect of the substance LSD on the American society is captured vividly in lines like “Reading through the monographs, you could sense the confusion that LSD had created in the scientific community, when, using it as a deep probe into the unconscious, it had stirred up something that looked very much like their archenemy, the mystic religious experience! What was that doing in there….So many things happened in the psychedelic state that just couldn't be expressed in language” (Stevens). He provides an overview of the effect of the substance LSD on the consciousness of the individuals and its related processes. It is significant to note that rather than providing the effects of the substance LSD on the consciousness of the individuals as a scientific research or a study like the “The Interpretation of Dreams” by Sigmund Freud, he provides an overview of the effect of the substance LSD on the consciousness of the individuals as a historical document which enumerates the history of the substance and the American society (Adler). He provides an overview of the American society in the following words "the madness of the place, the shouts, the chasing, the gunning bikes, the chaotic, occasional screams of girls running has convinced people that the Haight is a rare
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation”
The above quoted lines from the famous song “Aquarius” by “The 5th Dimension” gives an outline of the basic theme of the American Dream, an idea much in vogue in the 20th century America (Stephenson). Many writers have explored the theme of the American Dream and its subsequent corruption. However, the book of the journalist Jay Karl Stevens “Storming Heaven; LSD and the American Dream” is unique in its own regard as it explores the idea of the American Dream and its subsequent corruptions and the contribution of LSD towards it, through the lens of psychology (ELcock). …show more content…
The major focus of this particular subject is on the unconscious mind of the human beings and the factors which determine their actions. It is to be noted that the unconscious segment of the human mind has been the focus of research ever since the traditional times (Adler). However, significant inroads were made into this particular genre only in the 18th century particularly beginning with the works of Schelling and Sigmund Freud (Diamond). The work of Jay Stevens “Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream” also explores the conscious segment of the human mind and the effect of substances like LSD on it. The effect of the substance LSD on the American society is captured vividly in lines like “Reading through the monographs, you could sense the confusion that LSD had created in the scientific community, when, using it as a deep probe into the unconscious, it had stirred up something that looked very much like their archenemy, the mystic religious experience! What was that doing in there….So many things happened in the psychedelic state that just couldn't be expressed in language” (Stevens). He provides an overview of the effect of the substance LSD on the consciousness of the individuals and its related processes. It is significant to note that rather than providing the effects of the substance LSD on the consciousness of the individuals as a scientific research or a study like the “The Interpretation of Dreams” by Sigmund Freud, he provides an overview of the effect of the substance LSD on the consciousness of the individuals as a historical document which enumerates the history of the substance and the American society (Adler). He provides an overview of the American society in the following words "the madness of the place, the shouts, the chasing, the gunning bikes, the chaotic, occasional screams of girls running has convinced people that the Haight is a rare