looking for the definition of 'psychonaut'

[faustus]

intuitively i know what it means, but does anyone have a good source of info that's appropriate for referencing? e.g. journal article or book

mainstream psychedelic literature (non-fiction or fiction) would be the best.

gracias!

EDIT: actually, i've found some references. new question: would you consider a psychonaut to be a psychedelic drug user, or one who is interested in altered states of consciousness, and therefore prone to experimentation of hard drugs e.g. heroin or cocaine?

Edited October 18, 2009 by faustus

[AndyAmine.]

IMO the first 1/2 of the name suggests that its a person that navigates the psychedelic/psychotic space, personally I would not consider heroin but in the end I guess it comes down to ones personal view of what substances or acts are considered psychedelic or disassociate.

Opiates do create a state of dreaminess or delirum but, yeah, I wouldnt really call is either of the above in the true sense.

[mac]

The text in my sig is the greek for psychonaut witch is translates to Soul Sailor

I'm not sure about the idea a psyconaut has to use substances, meditation would be a good example but thats just my uneducated opinion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychonaut A psychonaut (also spelled psychanaut or psychenaut) (deriving from the Greek ψυχή (soul) and ναύτης (sailor), that is, a sailor of the mind/soul) is a person who experiences intentionally induced altered states of consciousness in an attempt to investigate their mind, and possibly address spiritual questions through direct experience

Edited October 18, 2009 by mac

[The Jamanoid]

Or that guy from that cool game "Psychonauts"...which I gotta say, is a trip...

[AndyAmine.]

Yeah I agree, thats why I said 'substances or acts' in my post above.

[faustus]

let me put things in context:

lets say you have a bunch of people in whom hallucinogen use is commonplace. they've used all the classic hallucinogens.

but they also have a pattern of use involving hard drugs and party drugs e.g. opiates, meth/amphetamine, cocaine, GHB etc.

their drug use history is extensive. on average they've consumed around 17 different drugs. in other studies of drug users, this is usually around 12 or so drugs.

on top of this, one quarter appear cannabis dependent and one quarter have administered drugs IV on at least one occasion.

what would you call this group? an outsider would be more inclined to call them junkies. without knowing the underlying motivations of their use, would you just call them extreme poly drug users?

surely a psychonaut could be said to take any drug that affects the mind, not specifically hallucinogens?

Edited October 19, 2009 by faustus

[paradox]

wouldn't a psychonaut be someone who takes drugs specifically for the purpose of the exploration of consciousness?

as oposed to someone who takes a lot of drugs just for fun without much intent other than to have a good time. i'm not sure

& i feel that the term could be broad enough to include people who do not necissarily take drugs but who use meditation & other techniques in order to explore their inner world. but perhaps that would be broadening the definition too much. as the general use of the term is to describe drug users & to include meditators etc might be getting too far away from the way the term is actually generally used.

if you had to break term down & simplify it's meaning i'd say a psychonaut is someone who uses psychedelic substances & other mind altering drugs & plants specifically as a means to explore the psyche.

non-psychedelic drugs may or may not be used by the psychonaut but principally i think it would be based on the use of psychedelics. by my definition i wouldn't call someone who uses stimulants & depressants etc & NOT psychedelics a psychonaut, cause as far as i'm concerned when it comes to 'exploring the psyche' psychedelics will propell you light years further into inner space than any other class of drugs. i mean you wouldn't call say a motobike rider (?) an astronaut. to earn that title you have to fly a rocket which will propell you with enough power to break through the earths atmosphere & into space...

[JDanger]

I think if you want to make a distinction between a 'psychonaut' and 'extreme poly drug user' your best bet might be to make intent the pivot on which the distinction is made. Kinda subjective I know, but what else could you use to make the distinction? For instance:

If a user says, "I use many different kinds of drugs because hell, gotta try everything once", we can put them in the 'extreme-poly-drug-user' box.

If a user says, "I use many different kinds of drugs in order to explore the various states of consciousness they bring", we can put them in the 'psychonaut' box.

The latter implies a deeper appreciation of the psyche, while the first implies an interest in novel experience. More accurately, the latter implies a deliberate navigation of various states of consciousness while the first connotes a more haphazard 'shits-and-giggles' attitude. Kinda like comparing a whale watcher to a sailor. They're both on the boat but only one is actually directing it.

Very difficult to tease apart, I know. Might be best to think of it along the lines of "I take drugs seriously" vs "seriously, I take drugs".

To clarify, if we consider the difference between an astronaut and one of Richard Branson's millionaire space-tourists, we might come up with a more solid line. Both go to space. The first is there to work, the other is there to play and gawk at the pretty pictures.

Consider my $0.02 deposited.

[edit] Xoda beat me to it. Trumped.

Edited October 19, 2009 by JDanger

[Xenodimensional]

soul sailor/mind explorer

[JDanger]

1. psychonaut 135 up, 8 down

A person who intelligently experiments with mind-altering chemicles, sometimes to the extent of taking exact measurements and keeping records of experiences.

"John is a complete psychonaut, last night he took 2c-i and now look at him melting away on who knows what with that notepad in his hand."

2. psychonaut 49 up, 1 down

A person who explores, experiences, and studies their subconscious and reality through the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Many psychonauts also believe that hallucinogenic drugs have mystical and spiritual powers.

"The psychonaut chomped on the mushrooms and wondered about eternity and love."

3. psychonaut 44 up, 19 down

One who explores human mind, often doing all kinds of wierd experiments and watching peoples' gestures, words, reactions very closely.

"He prepared all that just to see my reaction, damn that psychonaut!"

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=psychonaut

[PhoenixSon]

intresting topic faustus