Five Ways in Which LSD Shaped Today’s World
How LSD changed everything: from spirituality to the Internet
There are many changes that the 60s have brought about: Anti-war movements, vegetarianism, new styles in music and fashion. All of these were directly influenced and brought about by LSD, a powerful psychedelic molecule which is considered the driving force of the Hippie counter-culture. This counter-culture is now mainstream, and LSD is thus responsible of some of the biggest changes of the last 50 years. The influence of LSD has strongly shaped the world we live in today.
1. Music
This is a given one. Picture music before the mid-sixties, when people first started turning on to acid (LSD). And then think of 1967 — which some experts call the best year for music ever. Why this sudden change, why this explosion of creativity?
LSD is known for bringing out creative impulses. Young people from all over the world — but especially from Los Angeles and San Francisco — began processing their psychedelic experiences into music. Nothing was off-limit, everything could be done: New instruments were invented, age-old ones (such as the Indian sitar) imported from the East.
Later, in the 1990s, a new genre of psychedelic music was created: Goa. It is named after the Indian beach state, which is considered one of the Hippie paradises on earth. The children of the Hippies who settled there in the 60s soon became bored of their parent’s guitar music. They created a new, fast, electronic form of music, which they simply called Goa. It is also known as Psytrance.
The 60s are known as the most creative decade for music. There is one primary reason for this: LSD and other psychedelics. If today the Sitar or Goa music (Psytrance) are so popular, that is also thanks to the Hippies of the 60s. And the great music of the 60s — the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and Pink Floyd — were all directly influenced by their mind-altering experiences.
2. New Age and Spirituality
When the first people started having psychedelic and mystical experiences on LSD, the same theme kept coming up: How do we sustain this high? Because yes, you might feel at peace with yourself and the universe, you might feel full of love and understanding while you are tripping — but you always have to come down.
This is why psychedelic explorers started looking to the east for answers. Richard Alpert aka Ram Dass — a Harvard scientist turned LSD prophet turned Hindu Guru — said about his trips to India:
I was looking for a new map of consciousness.
He found one in Bhakti Yoga, an old form of Yoga focusing on devotion and love.
Other people came back from the East with different spiritual practices: Some brought back Zen Meditation, others Hatha Yoga, the bodily and best-known path of Yoga. Some found their way to the great Sufi poets of Persia, others to Tantra or Mantra.
All these spiritual paths had the same goal: to integrate the great psychedelic experiences, to make the “high” sustainable.
Without the 60s and LSD, Yoga wouldn’t be as popular today. You wouldn’t have heard about Kundalini or Yantra, and you probably wouldn’t be reading about Neem Karoli Baba or Hafez.
3. Fashion
What goes for music is also valid for our way of dressing. What up to the early 60s would have been considered extremely unusual and strange, is part of the mainstream today: colorful dresses and psychedelic patterns, Indian beads, “Jesus sandals”, Tie Dye, orange sunglasses, and so on. This was the fashion of the Hippies, and this is how many people dress in Western countries today. Look at how some of the counter-cultural heroes used to dress, for example Jimi Hendrix of Jim Morrison. It is no wonder that so many people followed the examples of their heroes.
In the 1960s, long hair used to be the identifying factor for Hippies and Acid Heads. Today, they have entered the mainstream. But they — as well as generally a more alternative style of dressing and living — wouldn’t have if not for the counter-culture and LSD.
4. Technology and Silicon Valley
It is not surprising that Silicon Valley is located so close to San Francisco, the heart of the Hippie movement.
Steve Jobs famously said that his experiences with LSD were some of the most meaningful of his life. He also said:
“I can say it was a positive life changing experience for me and I am glad I went through that experience”
Bill Gates is another Tech innovator who said that LSD played an important part in his life and work.
Another example: Some of the first forums on the internet were created by fans of the Grateful Dead (notorious lovers of LSD) who were looking for virtual ways to share concert recordings with each other.
So LSD played and still plays a crucial role in Silicon Valley. That can still be seen today: microdosing (the practice of regularly taking sub-perceptual doses of psychedelics) is especially popular among the IT crowd of Silicon Valley. It is said that microdosing LSD promotes focus, creativity and new way of thinking — all of which are highly useful when trying to create new technologies.
5. Festivals
The Human Be-In of 1967 is regarded as the first modern festival. This huge festival had music and art, and most importantly LSD. They served as a meeting point for all the alternatively-minded people of the US: For the first time, Hippies and Acid Heads from all over the country met and exchanges music and ideas.
Coachella, Lollapalooza, Burning Man and all the other big festivals of the world are inspired by the first big Hippie festivals of the 60s, which in turn were created by and for LSD enthusiasts.
Without LSD, no festivals.
Other fields which were shaped by LSD
Vegetarianism: Whoever has taken psychedelics will know that it is almost impossible to eat meat during a trip. You feel so connected to the whole earth, that the last thing you want to do is eat another organism
Ecological Awareness: This goes hand-in-hand with vegetarianism, and can also be seen as one of the big takeaways of many trips: “We only have this world, and we have to treat is nicely” is something many people think and feel while under the influence of psychedelic substances such as LSD or magic mushrooms.
Anti-war movements: “Why should I harm my fellow human beings? Why should I fight in an unjust war?” This is what many people started thinking in the 60s, and LSD definitely influenced this was of thought. After all you don’t want to harm people you feel deeply connected to. And you feel deeply connected to everyone and everything while tripping.
LSD: The Hidden Influence on Today’s World
All these and many more of today’s mainstream aspects were first created by Acid Heads and Hippies. Without LSD, we wouldn’t have many of the most popular bands of all time, there wouldn’t be such a huge interest in Eastern philosophies and religions — and there might just not be the Internet itself.
Today, after 50 years in the underground, psychedelics are entering mainstream discussion again. There is much talk about the medical benefits of psilocybin and microdosing, and scientific studies about LSD and psychedelics are finally being carried out again. So who knows in which ways mind-altering substances will shape the next years. But one thing is clear: We wouldn’t be where we are today without LSD!
