Psychedelics- translated from Greek clear mind" - view narcotic psychoactive substances, the use of which causes a transition to altered states of consciousness, expanding the boundaries of habitual perception.

Psychedelics include various synthetic and semi-synthetic substances found in some mushrooms, peyote cactus and other plants.

The effect of psychedelics is perceived by a person as a state similar to dreaming, trance, meditation. This mental state is characterized unexpected emotional experiences.

Like other types of drugs, psychedelics are serious danger for the body: the likelihood increases birth of children with congenital anomalies, strong mental changes, including depression.

The most common psychedelics are LSD and mescaline. It is during their study in 50s the last century was introduced scientific term"psychedelic", replacing obsolete names " hallucinogen" and " fantasticum".

After World War II, psychedelic drugs were used in medical purposes. Psychedelic boom as a means of changing consciousness, fell on the 60s, which is associated with various youth subcultures(hippies, beatnies, etc.), as well as with the work of psychology professor Timothy Leary and writer Ken Kesey. Soon psychedelics due social orientation their adherents (active protest activity of youth movements) were prohibited by law.

Psychedelics have been known to mankind for several millennia. Their use has been associated with folk medicine , as well as with different religious and shamanistic cults. It should be noted that the use of psychedelic drugs in traditional cultures strictly regulated, associated with numerous taboo. For example, ordinary people they could only be used in certain time (for example, at a religious holiday), and shamans used similar substances only when behavior of rituals(shaming, etc.). In this context, psychedelics are also called entheogens.

The action of psychedelics can be described as disable filters, screening out various signals, which consciousness in its usual state considers unnecessary (feelings, emotions, memories, fantasies, etc.). Once in an altered state of consciousness, a person begins take all these signals. Possibilities of logical and abstract thinking decreasing, coming to the fore illogical thinking.

Psychedelics cause the following effects: illusions, negative feelings (fear, depression) or vice versa ( euphoria, tranquility), violation coordination, hallucinations. Very sharp transitions between negative and positive states. It should be noted the phenomenon of eidentism - fusion of sensations obtained from various bodies feelings. Often a person under the influence of psychedelics experiences strong feelings openness and trust to those around you.

It is important to note that outside observers can guide visions and influence them. When using a psychedelic, a spontaneous establishment of logical connections between random objects in consciousness. As a result, one finds an unexpected solution to a problem, makes a discovery inaccessible to him in his ordinary state of consciousness.

If we talk about the physical symptoms of taking psychedelics, then it should be noted that they can predominate or alternate sympathetic and parasympathetic responses. The first is characterized by rapid pulse, rise blood pressure, dilated pupils, etc. In the second, opposite symptoms are observed - a slowdown in the pulse and a drop in pressure, tearing, salivation, etc.

The proximity of psychedelic states to the states achieved in the course of various spiritual practices raises the question of their applicability for self-development. In every direction your approach to this problem. For example, Castaneda describes the use of the psychedelic peyote cactus as indispensable attribute"way of the warrior", helping him in spiritual self-improvement. Mystic Osho draws attention to dual nature drugs, pointing out that the problem is not in drug addiction itself, but in a society that pushes people to drugs and at the same time persecutes them for it. From a practical point of view, Osho acknowledged the possibility and effectiveness of single use of psychedelic substances under control spiritual teachers and doctors. Some destinations Sufism oppose drugs, pointing out that their use blocks energy channels.

In conclusion, it must be said that psychedelics, although they are strong tool for spiritual search, but at the same time their action harmful to human health, and abuse leads to degradation rather than spiritual growth. This problem is especially strong in modern society where banning psychedelics makes them coveted" the Forbidden fruit".

In Russian law forbidden the use and distribution of many psychedelic substances.

Related to "Wake Dreams"

Psychedelia

Comments on the quoted quotes - in purple.

I express my gratitude to everyone who, in one way or another, provided materials for this article, expressed their opinion and helped with their comments by reading it :)

This article focuses on the consideration of the effects of changes in the psyche - as a result of psychedelic influences, the essence and mechanisms of these changes are described. The article is written in the form of an abstract that compares and summarizes the data of articles and books, contains a deep hierarchy of references to sources that allow you to consider the issue carefully enough for those interested and, at the same time, quickly understand the essence.

Psychedelia (from Greek ψυχη - soul, δηλειν - whole) - means areas of knowledge, science, pseudo-knowledge and science dealing with the stability of the human psyche or another.
Psychedelia is also sometimes referred to as the art of using psychedelics, in particular psychedelic music and psychedelic rock.
A. Krutskikh in the article Psychedelics today:
Humphry Osmond, one of the first LSD researchers, coined the term "psychedelic iki" (mind manifesting). The last term these funds in scientific literature usually denoted in case of their non-medical, recreational, illegal use. The official term used in a strictly scientific context is "hallucinogens". However, it is not entirely accurate, as it focuses on hallucinations, which are just not characteristic of drugs in this group, they only cause changes in perception, illusions or pseudo-hallucinations that are not taken for physical reality; in addition, this is far from the main pharmacological effect. Hallucinations in the true sense of the word are caused by anticholinergics and arylcyclohexylamines (PCP, ketamine). Therefore, the term "psychedelics" is necessary to distinguish between these different substances in their action.

Wikipedia says about this word:
The word was widely used among those who use hallucinogens (psychedelics), as a result of which a special psychedelic subculture arose. This happened due to the fact that those who use these drugs more often than others stumbled in their reflections, monologues, dialogues and conversations with accomplices on questions implying doubts about the integrity of the questioner himself.
It can be said that the question of integrity was created by those who noticed a rift within themselves. Thus, psychedelia studies (or accumulates knowledge about the subject) not so much the integrity of the psyche as its bizarre cracks. It is the process of this observation that is attractive to a number of people who use drugs.

More about the dangers and consequences of holotropic breathing- in an article by psychologist Yuri Molchanov Holotropic Breathwork and S. Grof :
April 17, 2001, Governor Bill Owens, of Colorado signed adopted law, which disables the use of the "rebirthing" method. A similar law was also passed in North Carolina. The cup of patience overflowed the death of 10-year-old Candace Newmaker. She died in April 2000 while undergoing what is known as "rebirthing" therapy. Critics of therapies that attempt to replicate the process of birth have pinpointed at least five cases in which babies have died from these methods.

The mystical background in the form of "transpersonal" experiences is the assertion that all hallucinations are not subjective illusions arising from the fact that the boundary of the images that fall into perception is violated, but - as if objective empathy of an out-of-body nature. At the same time, transpersonal s are not embarrassed by empathy in the form of a stone by the road, or even mythical creatures, even in the form of God, and the fact that only that which was somehow known to the psychonaut or constituted elements of that mosaic that generates fantastic under the influence of a hallucinogen can be perceived. pictures due to an absurd combination.

People, in certain situations, can be very conditionally divided into preference for one of two types of response: fighters and researchers. The first ones have no time to look for new ways to overcome problems, they must react with lightning speed due to well-developed skills. The latter are not fast because they see a lot alternative options developments, they are much less sure and indecisive. But they have a real opportunity to slowly go through these options, trying them out and gaining experience in learning new things.
If normally, depending on the circumstances, a person can be either a fighter or a researcher, then after non-specific mixing of the boundaries of associations with a sufficiently long intake of psychedelics, they increasingly lose their ability to be researchers, losing the fine balance painstakingly acquired by life experience, and are limited to a quick , superficial style of thinking i. They can boast of their speed and efficiency, be free from reflection, doubt and uncertainty, but this is due to the loss of another opportunity that is absolutely necessary for creative people.
The mechanisms of the described psychic phenomena will be discussed in more detail below. And now I will note that the preferred style of behavior is not something originally inherent in a person. Moreover, in different circumstances it can be different. But one thing can be said: if a person is not familiar with these circumstances and he has little experience there or masterfully worked out a certain behavioral program, then he will tend to the style of a fighter. If, on the other hand, he has experienced many variations of possible response, he will tend to the second, unless circumstances require an immediate response. With experience, the tendency to reason and reflection increases more and more. And if the more subtle, not yet worked out and weak nuances of experience are lost, simply will not be associated with the conditions of given circumstances, then for these circumstances the propensity for prudence, for in-depth study of options, instead of preferring the most used will be lost. Absurd linking occurs according to the law of what is most important for a person, what comes to the fore and therefore is not at all so accidental (according to the law of highlighting attention, which will be discussed below).
It is important to understand here that each element life experience It is developed specifically for current conditions and in other conditions it may not even be remembered. Because the features of what is remembered are always tied to the features of the conditions that existed at the time of remembering. Therefore, by turning our attention to something distracting us, we can completely forget about what we were just thinking about until we are able to resurrect the previous conditions in our memory.
All these are not simple consequences of understanding the mechanisms of mental processes in general, which can be found in the materials on systemic neurophysiology. At the end of this article, there will be an opportunity for discussion, where you can ask questions to clarify the specific implementation of certain mechanisms or make correct comments.

With the help of the data provided by several articles and books, let's review the essence of psychedelics and their mechanism of action.

Now let's dwell on how it is supposed to use psychedelics in psychotherapeutic practice on the example of the book by E.M. Krutitsky and A.Ya. Grinenko Stabilization of remissions in alcoholism (ketamine psychedelic psychotherapy)

...in connection with the negative consequences widespread and uncontrolled use of psychedelics in the late 60s in the United States and in most European countries laws have been passed prohibiting or severely restricting the medical use of psychedelic drugs...
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A psychological dictionary published in 1990 (Petrovsky A.V., Yaroshevsky M.G., 1990) defines psychedelics as "substances that cause psychedelic states ... The impact of psychedelics can change the personality, deeply rebuild the hierarchy of its motives and values.".
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... these drugs cause psychotic states: psychosis, characterized by the phenomena of depersonalization, derealization, split or disorder of personality, visual and auditory hallucinations, violation of the body scheme, etc. Which depends not so much on the dosage as on the characteristics of the mental state of a person, but in any case, mental processes are sharply disturbed.
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The idea that LSD causes a state that can be considered as a model of psychosis, and therefore can be used to study mental illness, and, in particular, schizophrenia, was at one time quite widespread in the West (Yensen K., 1988). However, a number unique features psychedelic states (primarily the phenomenology of the psychedelic experience), which were already noted in the works of L. Levin (Lewin L., 1924), could not be fruitfully interpreted within this paradigm. He wrote that these substances induce states resembling psychoses, but already in his early works he noted that these states are characterized by a special kind of mystical and transcendental experiences, which may be of considerable interest to ethnographers and religious scholars.
those. according to Lewin, these are not quite psychoses because they cause mystical experiences. On what determines the subjective sensation of mystical experiences, see Mystical experience of nuns studied by neuroscientists and Mystical experience gives a mushroom drug. Those. psychedelics cause psychoses with the activation of subjective sensations of the mystical.

The term "psycholytic therapy" was proposed by R. Sandison (Sandison R., Whitelaw J., 1957) and can literally be understood as dissolution. or release from tensions and conflicts in the human psyche. Psycholytic therapy is usually carried out in the process of psychoanalytic targeted therapy in order to reduce and facilitate it. Psycholytic therapy usually uses low to medium doses of psychedelics (30-60mcg LSD, 300-500mg mescaline) and a large number of(up to 100 or more) psycholytic sessions (sessions) with subsequent psychoanalytic interpretation of the material received during the session. The main idea of ​​this approach is the idea that consecutive sessions help the patient to realize and integrate various levels his unconscious and resolve the deep conflicts underlying his psychopathological symptoms.
Despite the fact that psychiatrists are clearer than anyone else: psychoses do not pass without a trace, up to 100 or more artificial psychoses are used in order to eliminate unwanted things in the psyche at all costs, without even seriously thinking what kind of consequences it causes, as always calculated in the case of the use of potent pharmacological agents. Exactly like the story of the lobotomy... Basically, these are followers of outright transpersonalist mystics Jung and Grof or Emirik Freud, who have no idea about the real mechanisms of the psyche.
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As noted by psychotherapists who have worked with psychedelic drugs, deeply impressive and quite unique in nature psychedelic experiences can significantly change the patients' assessment of their past life experience, transform their value system and the meaning of life orientations, cause positive personal and behavioral changes (Sherwood J. et al., 1962). At the same time, nothing is said about negative behavioral changes, as is usually the case with enthusiasts. The important thing is that life experience changes extremely dramatically; let us remember this very well in order to understand below what this means.
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Psychotherapy within the framework of this approach consists in preparing the patient for a psychedelic session, facilitating its conduct, as well as conducting special psychotherapy after the session in order to help the patient relate psychedelic experiences to his future life.
This is very important conditions in order to bring to the fore exactly the experiences necessary for the transformation, and not what will turn out to be most significant by chance at the moment of psychedelic therapy. In the ongoing psychedelic seminars, in fact, this is omitted and a rather random and extensive part of life experience is subjected to transformation, leading to immeasurably large losses in the adequacy of reality.
Extrapharmacological factors, such as the psychological setting during the session, its musical arrangement, the therapist's view of psychedelic therapy, and his behavior before, during, and after the session play an extraordinary role. important role in achieving a therapeutic result and avoiding unwanted side effects and complications of treatment (Yensen R., 1985). It must be added that in general everything is very influential simply because no one can say in advance what exactly will cause important associations for the patient. However, all of the above techniques are too non-specific in order to pick up the key specifically to the problem of this person.
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However, S. Roquier proposed a form of group psychedelic therapy in the form of a kind of psychedelic marathon (10-20 patients, 18-22 hours), using various psychedelic drugs (including LSD and ketamine), special music and slides, which he called psychosynthesis (not to be confused with the psychosynthesis of R. Asogioli) (Grinspoon L., Bakalar J., 1977). The psychosynthesis of S. Roquier provided for intensive interpersonal interaction of the group members and was focused on both psychodynamic material and transpersonal experiences, with a special emphasis on the feeling of love, understanding of existential problems and quasi-religious experience.
Everything that is updated during the session, including the feeling of love, will undergo a serious deformation.
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According to S. Grof, psychotherapy is based on the passage by the patient of a number of areas of his unconscious in order to comprehend and integrate the material available there.
It is characteristic that all these arguments, starting from Freud, are conducted without any idea of ​​the mechanisms of the "unconscious" at all, although at present this question no longer covers the fog of the unknown: The Unconscious as a Phenomenon of the Organization of Brain Memory . And, as a result, everything comes to the mystical transpersonal.
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Leaving other concepts outside the scope of this review, we note, however, that most of them, like the ideas of S. Grof, are largely speculative in nature, which does not allow them to be elevated to the rank of scientific theories.
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The use of psychedelic psychotherapy, as a rule, made it possible to change the psychological attitude of patients to the inevitable and imminent death, caused a decrease in anxiety, depression and fear of death, contributed to a state of peace, reconciliation with the past and natural human limitations, the formation of a new outlook on life, death and being ...
Of course, one can imagine more radical means of not noticing anything bad around, but, undoubtedly, one of such means that hides many manifestations of reality by reformatting life experience is psychedelics.

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Complications of psychedelic therapy can be roughly divided into acute (transient) and prolonged (chronic). The acute ones are primarily acute panic reactions (APR), the symptoms of which include frightening illusions and hallucinations, anxiety, fear, depressive reactions, confusion, and paranoid judgments. The duration of ODA, as a rule, is from 1 to 24 hours. ODA is usually easily stopped with the help of psychotherapeutic influences (soothing conversation, calm friendly atmosphere), in some cases tranquilizers are used (Grinspoon R., Bakalar J., 1977). Sometimes such disorders, especially in the absence of an experienced psychotherapist, ended in accidents and suicides (Grinspoon L, Bakalar R., 1977).

Prolonged (chronic) complications of psychedelic use include prolonged depression and anxiety, paranoid behavior, and prolonged psychotic episodes that closely resemble schizophrenic symptoms. Their duration varies from several days to months or more (Grinspoon L., Bakalar J., 1977). Fortunately, these kinds of complications are quite rare - in less than 1-2% of cases of psychedelic use.
So, even by this modest admission - 1-2 people out of 100 will get a critical psychoproblem, the rest will get problems varying degrees severity, which is not easy to immediately identify, and everyone will have serious changes in the psyche, which no one denies.
Different sources give very different statistics of negative side effects, and the more the author defends the harmlessness of psychedelics, the smaller the percentage of crises leads and, characteristically, in various works may even show different scores.
Here is the confession of an author known to me who has 10 years of experience in the use of psychedelics and their substitutes - holotropic breathing:

"I responsibly declare that the use of these substances is extremely dangerous for health! Taking psychedelics, you risk developing psychotic conditions, depression, psychological dependence, not to mention other gifts like Olney's blades and other unpleasant consequences! The path of Carlos Castaneda, Aldous Huxley , Terence McKenna and Ken Kesey is a distance that 9 out of 10 people go down.Think and sensibly assess your strengths before trying psilocybin mushrooms, DXM, LSD and other hallucinogens.If you do not belong to the lucky 10 percent, then you are treated you will be for a long time and it’s not a fact that you will be cured ... "
There are also much more sophisticated psychonauts, for example: http://lsdinfo.by.ru/aboutme.html
I watched a lot of them on the net in order to highlight common features characteristic of thinking, which is formed under the influence of psychotropics.

Prolonged complications of psychedelic therapy also include the so-called flashback "glitch" (Grinspoon L., Bakalar R., 1977) (posthallucinogenic perceptual disorders according to DSM-IV). These are spontaneous acute provoked by a variety of factors or arising without any apparent reason relapses of some experiences that took place during the action of psychedelics, which are paroxysmal in nature. They may appear months after the use of the drugs.

A peculiar complication of psychedelic therapy is a specific condition that can be referred to as "amotivational syndrome" (Grinspoon L., Bakalar R., 1977). It is characterized by passive life position, anergy, loss of interest in ordinary life, to material values ​​and an increase in interest in religion, in spiritual life.
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on a large statistical material (5,000 people, 25,000 psychedelic sessions), it was proved that the frequency of prolonged psychoses was 1.8 per 1000 in patients and 0.8 per 1000 in healthy subjects, and the frequency of suicides during and after the session was 0, 4 per 1000 in patients and 0 in healthy subjects.
There is clearly something wrong with the statistics in the article: such a percentage is quite expected even without sessions. Other authors give immeasurably sadder figures. It's hard to say what "healthy" means. Apparently, a group of people who are not prone to particular excitability and neurotic reactions. Nothing critical was noticed in such people, up to suicide. But who gave the statistics of less serious consequences? The one that poured out abrupt change life experience? After all, it is clear that, in addition to extreme cases of tragic consequences, there is something that cannot be seen and fixed so simply.

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Apparently promising direction may be a study of deep psychological mechanisms underlying the personality changes induced by psychedelic therapy.
The very recognition of personal change puts this problem in the very first place: what can be more important than personality? But here it is mentioned as something secondary, and the main thing is the expected effect of the treatment, regardless of what happens as a result to the person, what she loses and how much she changes. Of course, there are situations when it is not a pity to delete several years of life experience from life (while maintaining the memory of what has been experienced, but already associated with other ideas and values).

The following describes the preparatory procedures and the psychedelic session itself, aimed at consolidating a stable rejection of induced hallucinations - experiences that are vivid in their disgust, initiated by the psychotherapist on the basis of preliminary conversations and concerning strictly specific content, almost not affecting other aspects of the personality.
It is with this, strictly limiting the range of elements of personal experience involved in the process, that the least traumatic result for the psyche is obtained: a minimum of negative consequences with a maximum of the desired effect. If this is the only way to use psychedelic therapy, then only a question of weighing arises: how much the patient's problem requires inevitable intervention for such a cardinal correction of the psyche. At the same time, there can be no talk of subjecting the entire psyche or a completely random part of it to correction, as happens in mass psychedelic sessions.
Results of subsequent psychological testing, given in the article, they say that even with such a dosed impact, the personality undergoes very significant changes, which means that a lot of life experience - a specific attitude to certain aspects of reality, is changed not by the influence of this reality itself, but purely subjectively, t .e. in a certain disharmony with reality, inadequacy to it.
No matter how you narrow the possible associations, they turn out to be too broad, which is described in the form of an account of experiences.
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Patients' descriptions of the content of their experiences during a ketamine psychedelic session had quite a lot in common (see section 2.9): rapid movement in various kinds of tunnels and corridors, a feeling of separation of soul and body, experiencing in a symbolic form of one's own death and rebirth, identification With inanimate objects, the fear of the impending global catastrophe, a feeling of losing one's "I", experiencing one's loneliness, the threat of a break with loved ones, a feeling of being lost in a vast and limitless Universe, a feeling of being unable to control oneself, a feeling of subordination to a terrible chaotic rapid movement, a fall, the horror of an enclosed space, lack of an exit and suddenly - a sudden appearance exit and the spiritual renewal associated with it, a complex "oceanic" feeling of dissolution and unity with the Universe, with the Cosmos, a sense of belonging to a Higher Power, God, a sense of the reality of the existence of other dimensions and worlds (no less real than the ordinary world), etc. All these experiences were unusually sharp, intense, very unusual. Many patients noted the difficulty of conveying their experiences in words. Everything seen by the patients always took place in a bright, colorful, complex topologically designed, some kind of "volumetric-holographic" world. Thus, ketamine caused a variety of experiences, from fear and horror to spiritual rebirth and renewal.
That which gives rise to such a wide range of experiences with an emotional coloring from the most negative to the most positive, simply cannot bring only "positive" changes in the personality, being associated in memory with various parties perception (subsequently, such a connection will work when such signs appear in reality). In fact, the effect of the destruction of life experience does not come down to specifically negative or positive consequences (it all depends on the assessment of what is positive and negative), but is the result of a violation of the balance with reality previously developed by this experience.

In the comments made, a certain attitude is expressed towards attempts to correct the psyche with the help of psychedelics. Taking into account that the psyche will change far beyond the boundaries of the desired correction, that these changes are very extensive, unpredictable and strictly individual and, in the most general manifestation, leading to many spontaneous associations, evens out many of the boundaries of perception previously identified by the balance of life experience, depriving many of them not yet completely narrowing down the options of possible reactions and thus making thinking more superficial, one should be forced to go for such non-specific corrections of the psyche as much as possible and by the most sparing methods. I think that Veresaev's method, when medicine developed, walking over the corpses and crippled, which characterizes its primitive initial phase development, has already ended as scientific as it has become today. This cannot be said, however, with regard to the multitude of "transpersonal psychologists" who not only scientific psychology, but in general they have nothing to do with science, being in their transpersonal mysticism and who are so zealously engaged in the promotion of "holotropic breathing", hiding behind humane goals.

Let's take a closer look side effects taking psychedelics, on the basis of which one can draw conclusions about how their use can be justified in psychiatry and in general by those who wish to change themselves.

Even casual marijuana use changes the brain
As a general illustration, here is a copy of the discussion on the forum of the site of cannabis lovers, where a topic was created specifically to find arguments against this article:, which began with the call:
"My comrade, he is trying to expose her (and I tried). The first time he did not work out very well ... Make suggestions on the "obser", but with reason, look for jambs and help in editing our work."
In short, the drug addicts tried to spread the article in a scientific way, in which they did not understand its main essence, but quickly slipped into:
"DudkaLize, damn it, it's about queers again... The topic doesn't seem to be about that" On the fifth page of a completely stupid "discussion", reminiscent of a joke:
Hark sits, scores a joint. Kypnyl, sits bald.
He sees the grandfather is coming, but right along the way
following the grandfather, an open sewer manhole. Hark:
-Grandfather... Etta... Oppa.
the participants in the scientific discussion squabbled among themselves :)

“We are not talking about the development of the brain, but about its degradation, because hyperventilation that occurs during a session of holotropic breathing leads not only to a narrowing of cerebral blood flow, but also to death. nerve cells", - says in an interview http://www.dni.ru/ the head of the department traditional systems recovery National Institute Health Rinad Minvaleev. (here is one of his interesting contributions to discussions: http://www.realyoga.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=9583)
. Given the urgency and conflict, the topic will be strictly moderated in this regard: messages that do not carry informational content on the merits of the discussion will be marked as garbage.
The author of this article has never dealt with psychedelia, but this helps rather than hinders the generalization of the vast material of many researchers of this phenomenon. Attempts to ask: "have you ever been subjected to a lobotomy in order to speak about it with knowledge of the matter ?!" will be considered incorrect :)

Today, almost every person who knows something about drugs knows very well about psychedelics also known as hallucinogens. Indeed, this type of drug is very common in many countries of the world, mainly in North America, Europe and Russia. And very often the harm of psychedelics is seriously underestimated.

Psychedelics - what is it?

Perhaps any expert will tell you with certainty that psychedelics are another kind of drugs - substances that humanity has created to intoxicate itself with subsequent destruction. may be both natural and artificial origin and in different countries the most widespread are precisely those species which are most readily available. The term itself was introduced by the researcher Humphrey Osmond, who devoted his career to studying one of the most terrible and dangerous psychedelics - LSD. Literally from Greek it is translated as "expanding consciousness." In fact, this term is not entirely correct, after all. psychedelic substances they do not at all allow using feelings that are inaccessible in the “normal mode”, as some experts believe (especially those working in the field of occult “sciences”), but simply cause hallucinations. Of course, each person needs to know more about psychedelics to be able to make your choice, and choosing life, not dubious pleasure.

What drugs are psychedelics

Of course, if you are interested in the topic of psychedelics, then it will be useful for you to know what types of drugs are included in this group. By far the most common type is marijuana. Yes, it has exactly the same mechanism of action on the human body and psyche as all the others. psychedelics, although its effect is much weaker than that of other drugs in this group. Also included are LSD, beta-carbolines, amphetamine-like compounds, ibogaine substances, tryptamine hallucinogens, and a few others. All of them are united by the fact that they have approximately the same effect on the body of a drug addict.
Some of them give a more powerful effect, while others are less weak. However, one thing is for sure - starting with the weakest drugs (marijuana), most addicts gradually move to harder ones, especially if they have the opportunity buy psychedelics with a minimum level of risk. Well, if we are not talking about our country, but about the whole world as a whole, then in many countries some psychedelics are legal and authorized for sale. In some countries, this is due to the need for use in medicine, while in others it is not explained in any way. Examples include the Netherlands, the United States, many Asian countries (Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and others). In Switzerland, marijuana was also legalized for a while as an experiment, but after only a few months, the sale was banned, and there were no more attempts to repeat this experiment - it cost too much the gene pool of an entire people. The harm of psychedelics was very obvious.

What effect do psychedelics have

Of course, all psychedelics have different effects. However, in general, it can be classified and introduced into a general framework. First of all, the use of these drugs is accompanied by hallucinations. Which is understandable - after all, another name that psychedelics have is hallucinogens. That is why many plant hallucinogens have been used since ancient times by shamans of many tribes (as a rule, the most backward, living in Africa, Australia, America). However, they find application psychedelic drugs and today. First of all, these are fans of various occult sciences. It is thanks to drugs that they enter a trance state. Of course, hallucinogens simply allow them to enter a state of temporary insanity (which is a fairly accurate term that many experts agree with) in order to later pass off their crazy visions as messages from other worlds or revelations from spirits, angels, the devil, or the Lord. Alas, often these drugs are also taken by ordinary youth. As a rule, they just want to have fun and relax. Beer no longer "inserts", but about harm from psychedelics if they heard anything, it was rather vague and not very detailed.
Effect of psychedelics - common hallucinations. Moreover, it can be both feelings close to euphoria, from which a person feels surprisingly light, and completely opposite. Persecution mania, unaccountable fear, severe depression - all this is also a consequence of taking drugs. In a state of such depression, drug addicts who decide buy psychedelics and experience their effect on themselves, they often commit suicide, confident that this is the only way they can get rid of all the problems, dullness and meaninglessness of life. The fear that psychedelics evoke is often literally deadly. A person who is sure that a maniac (alien, monster) is chasing him can simply throw himself out the window or open his veins. Sometimes he responds with unmotivated rage, generated by the same mania. In this state, the addict is quite capable of killing parents or children who accidentally come into his field of vision. He is not responsible for his actions at all, as a patient with severe stages of schizophrenia.

How Harmful Can Psychedelics Be?

Of course, not the first year in medicine, politics and other spheres of life there have been fierce discussions about - Are psychedelics harmful? Perhaps it is silly to argue about this. How can drugs be harmless to health? Of course, only a person who receives a good profit from drug addicts can say so.
What brings the use of psychedelics? Of course, broken families - not a single sane person wants to connect his life with a drug addict who is characterized by mood swings, unmotivated aggression and is not responsible for his actions.
With prolonged use of this type of drug (no matter how they are taken - smoking, injections, pills or soaked blotters), the human brain loses many of its functions - they are simply blocked. A person can never think logically anymore, he is often haunted by hallucinations, even if he does not take drugs. Any slightest trouble drives him into depression. It may well be that because of some trifle a person can commit suicide. Not surprisingly, many of the most ardent advocates of the "harmlessness of psychedelics" end up in psychiatric hospitals.
As practice shows, the probability of having children with congenital physical or mental disabilities in people who "dabble in soft drugs" increases many times over. And for women, taking drugs is especially dangerous - after all, they are future mothers, so one “jamb” smoked out of interest is enough to give birth to a disabled child in the future, many years later.

Prevention of psychedelic use among young people

It may surprise some that today there is a lot of talk about consequences of using psychedelics and very little about how children and adolescents can be helped to avoid this terrible danger. Well, one thing is for sure, prosperous families in which parents pay due attention to education and moral character children, the army of drug addicts practically does not receive replenishment. Why is this?
In fact, everything is very simple. On any drugs, especially on light ones (as well as on beer), teenagers usually get addicted out of boredom or out of curiosity. That is, if a teenager has no hobby, everything free time he is engaged in "doing nothing", simply does not know what to do with himself, then the likelihood that he will "try something new" increases significantly.
But if a teenager has interests, then this danger is reduced hundreds of times. And it does not matter what the teenager is fond of. It could be boxing or stamp collecting, going out into the wild or raising aquarium fish, reading or building model sailboats, caring for pets or painting - the main thing is that he always has something to do that he really likes to do.
Well, besides, the right parents will eventually tell him about effect of psychedelics, alcohol and other toxic substances. It really helps the child to live a proper and happy life. And he never even thinks about the possibility of using drugs.
So, maybe you should break away from watching TV shows and football matches and spend a few hours a week talking with your child and finding common activities? You can be sure that in the future it will be returned in abundance.

Psychedelics are substances that belong to the psychoactive class. They change the perception of the environment and affect emotional background human, as well as some psychological processes.

The term "psychedelics" is made up of two Greek wordsψυχή - soul, δήλος - clear. Psychedelics contribute to the introduction of human consciousness into an altered phase. These substances are not explicitly recognized as dangerous because they do not cause strong addiction or persistent dependence.

Unlike hard drugs such as opiates or cocaine, the use of substances containing psychedelics cannot guarantee the euphoria described in the medical literature and will not allow you to achieve a predetermined state. Taking psychedelics contributes to the introduction of a person and an altered phase of consciousness, the content of which depends on many factors:

• body condition,
• mental make-up of the individual,
• past neurological diseases, etc.

Pharmacologically, most psychedelics are antagonists of serotonin receptors belonging to the 5-HT class, sensitive to two groups of psychoactive substances - tryptamines and phenylethylamines. Psychedelics can formally include any substance that affects work a wide range receptors in the nervous system.

The distribution and production of psychedelics in most countries of the world is prosecuted by law. Recently, attempts have been made in some countries to use psychedelics to treat addiction to nicotine and alcohol. They are also used to treat depression in patients with severe cancer.

History of synthesis and use of psychedelics

Closely studying psychedelics from a medical point of view began in the early twentieth century, when information about mescaline appeared in popular culture. Its extracts, mixtures and products of processing of vegetable raw materials began to be studied in detail only in the 50s. Prior to that, there was a study of the effects of psychedelics on the human mind. Initially, mescaline extracts were called "psychotomimetic", which meant - causing psychosis. But its action does not always provoke the occurrence of psychoses, and this term had to be abandoned, replacing it with the term "psychedelic".

History of the use of psychedelics in folk cultures goes back to prehistoric times. They were originally used in shamanic practices by the Indians. North America to communicate with the spirits of ancestors. They have also been used to correct and treat some mental illness and "casting out evil spirits". Today, psychedelics are used in some countries. South America with the same goals.

The first scientific interest in Western culture to psychedelics arose in the middle or late XIX century. This was caused by the beginning of work with mescaline in chemical laboratories. After the Second World War, mescaline was used as a medicine in the treatment of severe depressive disorders.

In the 1960s, the CIA used psychedelics in secret research on people who did not know that they were the subject of study. After an experimental person died in the MK-Ultra project, which studied the effects of psychedelics on people, the study was discontinued. The study gave material that spoke of the presence of mass mental disorders in the test subjects. In addition, cases of a few suicides were noted, but it was not possible to prove a direct connection with the use of psychedelics.

Nowadays, there is an offshoot of psychotherapy called "psychedelic therapy". It is based on the use of psychedelics for the treatment mental disorders and serious illnesses.

Today, the study of the effects of these substances on consciousness has been restored again. healthy people and people with severe illnesses. An organization called the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Research was created specifically to oversee the ongoing work, which works in research institute Heffner.

Drug groups

Psychedelics include substances of synthetic and semi-synthetic origin, such as dimethoxybromoamphetamine, 4-bromo-2.5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, 2.5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine and N-dimethyltryptaamine, which are found in some plants, such as mushrooms (psiloscin and psilocybin), cacti ( peyote) or ayahuasca, which is made from a plant called chaliponga (spirit creeper or creeper of the dead) from which a 12-hour decoction is made for rituals. Each shaman has his own ayahuasca recipe. Recipes can vary and include up to twenty ingredients.

Substances derived from these plants include monaminooxidase inhibitors such as:

• alkaloids,
• harmaline,
• harmin.

If in narcotic substances vegetable components containing a powerful psychoactive alkaloid N-dimethyltryptamine are added, then the effect of taking a psychedelic resembles telepathy.

Psychedelics should not be confused with dissociative substances such as PCP or ketamine, which belong to a long line of hallucinogens.

Teragyracannabinoids are also psychoactive substances, but can only be classified as minor psychedelic substances. They can stimulate psychedelic experiences when taken in large doses and only in rare cases. Some psychedelic properties have MDMA or MDA. You can also talk about some elements in plant empathogens, such as Salvia divinorum.

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The effect of consumption

Chemically, psychedelics can be divided into tryptamines and phenethylamines. They differ in the nature and degree of impact on the psyche. Phenylethylamines are more like strong synthetic substances that call for a harsh reaction in the body. This distinguishes them from tryptamines, which have a milder effect that lasts as long as phenlyethylamines.

The conditionality of this classification is manifested not only in the degree of impact on the body, but also in some chemical signs substances. For example, tryptamine substances are better referred to as indole substances, since not all tryptamines can be psychedelics. So, LSD, being a product of lysergic acid, has an effect on the body similar to tryptamines.

At the physiological level, psychedelics can be classified as serotonin receptor antagonists. Intracellular action is associated with the activation of Gi / 0 proteins and the production of mRNA genes:

• EGR-1,
• EGR-2.

When ingested, psychedelics primarily affect the fifth layer of neurons in the cerebral cortex.

Scientists believe that the mechanism of action of these drugs is to neutralize the work of filters that work with signals that, in ordinary life, go out without reaching consciousness and without causing a response of the psyche or a reflex response of the body. These signals can come not only from the outside, but also come from the subconscious, being activated by memories, emotions or impressions that struck a person many years ago. Activation of the unconscious or subconscious gives vivid effects.

The classic psychedelic drugs are LSD and mescaline. These substances are considered extremely dangerous, since when they enter the body they cause disorganization of mental activity, disorientation in space, which leads to severe mental disorders and leads to derealization or depersonalization. In the case of a person with indolent or latent mental illness, the use of mescaline or LSD can lead to the activation of a process that is difficult to treat, and in some cases does not respond at all.

The psychedelic experience of a person depends not only on the baggage of the psyche and the presence or absence of mental illness or deviations, but also on the setting in which the reception takes place or on the impressions received immediately before it.

To some possible effects admission includes:

• illusions,
• synesthesia,
• fear,
• depression,
• feeling of peace,
• impaired coordination of movements,
• auditory and visual pseudohallucinations,
• vivid memories,
• violations of the understanding of time and space in which a person is located,
• illusions of telepathy or clairvoyance.

Scientists believe that the effect of these substances on the psyche is similar to strong religious feeling. Changing the perception of what is happening is similar to the state of consciousness practiced by yogis. This state has received various names in the religious books of the countries of the East - samadhi, satori, etc.

How drug addiction manifests itself

When taking psychedelics, we can talk about the formation of only mental addiction. These substances do not cause bright physical addiction, withdrawal symptoms or withdrawal.

Mental dependence is formed after the first application.

Gradually, a person has a simplification and degradation of personality, a break in social ties. The danger of taking psychedelics is to increase the latent course or tendency to develop mental illness, such as manic-depressive psychoses, schizophrenia, paranoia attacks, etc.

Consequences for the psyche

The consequences of taking can be divided into short-term and long-term. Single use of drugs leads to:

• loss of clarity of perception of visual objects - the image bifurcates, dissolves, takes on a different shape, sharp color changes.
• complete or partial loss of vision
• to auditory and visual hallucinations,
• changing the perception of space,
• a feeling of peace, the desire to relax, sing, observe the change of hallucinatory objects.

An overdose of psychedelics leads to loss of consciousness, a sharp increase in body temperature, tachycardia, nausea and vomiting.

Regular intake leads to a sharp drop in the mental potential of the individual and the destruction mental health. Most observations of drug addicts who have had a long history of taking psychedelics record:

• violation mental activity- the inability to concentrate, to absorb information normally, to concentrate on what is happening,
• degradation of the personality of the addict - the only thought that prompts drug addicts to act is the thought of finding the next dose, breaking social ties, losing friends, family, work,
• strengthening of the latent course of mental illness or deviations.

From Neurons to Nirvana - Psychedelics in Medicine

Calculate the cost of addiction treatment

And also a layer of counterculture that appeared due to the use of psychedelics or some very strange phenomenon out of the ordinary course of things.

Scope of the word

In another technique popular in the United States, a single, very high dose of LSD (0.3-0.6 mg) is given after extensive psychological preparation of the patient. This method, called psychedelic therapy, attempts to induce religio-mystical experiences through the shock effects of LSD. Such an exploratory experience can serve as a further starting point for the restructuring and treatment of the patient's personality, together with psychotherapeutic treatment. The term psychedelic, which can be translated as "manifesting the mind" or "expanding consciousness", was coined by Humphrey Osmond, a pioneer of LSD research in the United States.

However, many are not inclined to reduce the concept of "psychedelia" solely to drugs, since "expansion of consciousness" and the sensations associated with it can be achieved without the use of psychoactive drugs through the use of holotropic breathing, sensory deprivation or sleep deprivation and various forms of meditation and also some of the psychological and spiritual practices offered by religions, some forms of psychotherapy and alternative medicine, the occult, mysticism, esotericism, new age philosophy, and others. Thus "psychedelic experience" ("trip"; those who experience them may be called "psychonauts") associated not only with taking LSD or, for example, DOB, mescaline, Salvia divinorum or marijuana, but also with Qigong gymnastics sessions, “contacting” (“ channeling”), “visionary” (studies of the “astral plane”) and similar or just with manifestations of schizophrenia and other mental disorders.

The Soviet Russian psychiatrist and narcologist Alexander Danilin in his book "LSD: hallucinogens, psychedelia and the phenomenon of addiction", pays special attention"Soviet-style psychedelia" and also separates the term "psychedelia" from its unequivocal association with drug use. He talks about the "esoteric quest" among the inhabitants of the USSR in the -70s during the heyday of the drug "psychedelic revolution" in the West (special attention is paid to the role of the KGB in this process).

In particular, Danilin writes:

If in America the rapidly growing youth revolution had its distinct stages in the form of the wave-like use of LSD and the search for psychological analogues of drug trance that followed it, then domestic psychedelia was initially engaged in the search for what we called “special states of consciousness”. Perhaps the entire phenomenon of "Soviet-style psychedelia" is most of all described by the concept of "esoteric quest". The most accurate name is used by V. Lebedko, who calls this phenomenon “Russian sannyas” (“sannyasin” in Hinduism is a seeker of spiritual revelation who has not yet decided on the choice of a teacher). An epidemic of mystical quests avalanched through our country throughout the 70s, just like the "psychedelic revolution" in America during the 60s. Not all of its participants were able to determine what exactly they were looking for. One of our patients defined the feeling he followed as "a hunger that burns everything inside for the knowledge of everything forbidden and beyond."

Psychedelia in culture

Psychedelic experiences are widely reflected in contemporary art, giving rise to the concepts of "psychedelic music", graphics, literature, cinema.

Artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, the late Beatles, and other hippie era musicians are considered to be the pioneers of modern psychedelic music. Such projects are usually classified as psychedelic rock, and with the spread of electronic music, the genre has become much more diverse. From the core culture of goa trance in the mid-1990s, the so-called "psychedelic trance" (characteristic representatives - Israeli projects Infected Mushroom, Astrix) budded, the genre "psychedelic downtempo" (or psybient, characteristic representatives - Shpongle, Bluetech, Shulman, Entheogenic ) and others.

In the literature, such works are directly related to psychedelia, such as, for example, the works of Aldous Huxley and Tom Wolfe's Electric Cooling Acid Test:

Face! The doctor enters again, and ... - miracles, doc, unfortunate guinea pig - Kesey can now look into him. For the first time he notices that the doctor's left side is trembling. underlip but he doesn't just jitter, he can - and it doesn't seem to be the first time! - to see how each muscle fiber becomes cruciform, pushing the weak jelly of the lips to the left, how the fibers rush one after another back into the infrared caverns of the body, through the transistor insides of the nerve plexuses, each on an air raid signal, and the inner hooks of the unfortunate fool desperately cling to these writhing little bastards, trying to hold them and calm them down, I'm a doctor, in front of me is an experimental human sample inside the unfortunate fool, they show his own movie about the desert, only every Arab with a mustache from horse hair is a threat - if only the lip, the face remain at the same level, at the level that the Official Plasterer's honey bottle guaranteed him ... Miracles! For the first time, he gained the ability to see inside people... Oh yes, that little capsule that blissfully slid down the esophagus contained LSD.

Psychedelia influenced the work of many writers of a later (after the end of the hippie era) period - for example, Viktor Pelevin, Dmitry Gaiduk.

In general, one can note the close connection between psychedelics and "addict" literature - an illustration of this can be the work of Irvine Welsh. This "pathological" variant of psychedelia is not the only one that exists, although writers most often turn to it.

see also

• Psychedelic music

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Psychedelia

“I can't say, I don't know. No one is to blame, - said Natasha, - I am to blame. But it all hurts terribly. Oh, that he is not going! ...
She went out to dinner with red eyes. Marya Dmitrievna, who knew how the prince received the Rostovs, pretended that she did not notice Natasha's upset face and firmly and loudly joked at the table with the count and other guests.

That evening the Rostovs went to the opera, for which Marya Dmitrievna got a ticket.
Natasha did not want to go, but it was impossible to refuse Marya Dmitrievna's kindness, which was intended exclusively for her. When she, dressed, went out into the hall, waiting for her father and looking in a large mirror, she saw that she was good, very good, she became even more sad; but sad sweet and loving.
“My God, if he were here; then I would not be like before, with some kind of stupid timidity in front of something, but in a new way, I would simply hug him, snuggle up to him, make him look at me with those searching, curious eyes with which he so often looked at me and then would make him laugh, as he laughed then, and his eyes - how I see those eyes! thought Natasha. - And what do I care about his father and sister: I love him alone, him, him, with this face and eyes, with his smile, masculine and childish at the same time ... No, it’s better not to think about him, not think, forget, completely forget for this time. I can’t bear this waiting, I’m about to sob,” and she moved away from the mirror, making an effort not to cry. “And how can Sonya love Nikolinka so evenly, so calmly, and wait so long and patiently!” she thought, looking at Sonya, also dressed, who came in, with a fan in her hands.
“No, she is completely different. I cant"!
Natasha felt at that moment so softened and tender that it was not enough for her to love and know that she was loved: she needed now, now she needed to hug her beloved and speak and hear from him words of love with which her heart was full. While she was riding in the carriage, sitting next to her father, and gazing thoughtfully at the lights of the lanterns flickering in the frozen window, she felt even more in love and sadder and forgot with whom and where she was going. Having fallen into a line of carriages, the Rostovs' carriage, slowly screeching through the snow, drove up to the theater. Natasha and Sonya hurriedly jumped out, picking up dresses; the count came out, supported by lackeys, and between the ladies and men entering and selling posters, all three went into the corridor of the benoir. The sounds of music could be heard from behind the closed doors.
- Nathalie, vos cheveux, [Natalie, your hair,] - whispered Sonya. The chaplain politely and hurriedly slipped in front of the ladies and opened the door of the box. The music became louder heard at the door, the illuminated rows of boxes with the bare shoulders and arms of the ladies, and the parterre noisy and shiny with uniforms, flashed. The lady, entering the neighboring bin, looked around Natasha with a feminine, envious look. The curtain had not yet risen and the overture was being played. Natasha, straightening her dress, walked along with Sonya and sat down, looking around the illuminated rows of opposite boxes. She had not experienced for a long time the feeling that hundreds of eyes were looking at her bare arms and neck, suddenly and pleasantly and unpleasantly seized her, causing a whole swarm of memories, desires and worries corresponding to this sensation.
Two remarkably pretty girls, Natasha and Sonya, with Count Ilya Andreevich, who had not been seen in Moscow for a long time, drew upon themselves general attention. In addition, everyone knew vaguely about Natasha's conspiracy with Prince Andrei, knew that since then the Rostovs had lived in the village, and looked with curiosity at the bride of one of the best grooms in Russia.
Natasha grew prettier in the village, as everyone told her, and this evening, thanks to her agitated state, she was especially good. She struck with the fullness of life and beauty, combined with indifference to everything around. Her black eyes looked at the crowd, looking for no one, and a thin, bare arm above the elbow, leaning on a velvet ramp, obviously unconsciously, in time with the overture, clenched and unclenched, crumpling the poster.
“Look, here is Alenina,” Sonya said, “it seems with her mother!”
- Fathers! Mikhail Kirilych has grown even fatter,” said the old count.
– Look! Anna Mikhailovna is our current!
- The Karagins, Julie and Boris are with them. Now you can see the bride and groom. - Drubetskoy made an offer!
- How, now I found out, - said Shinshin, who was a member of the Rostovs' box.
Natasha looked in the direction in which her father was looking, and saw Julie, who, with pearls on her thick red neck (Natasha knew, sprinkled with powder), was sitting with a happy look, next to her mother.
Behind them, with a smile, with her ear to her mouth, Julie could be seen, combed smoothly, beautiful head Boris. He looked frowningly at the Rostovs and smilingly said something to his bride.
“They are talking about us, about me and him!” thought Natasha. “And he truly calms the jealousy of his bride for me: they worry in vain! If only they knew how I don't care about any of them."
At the back sat Anna Mikhailovna, dressed in a green robe, with a devoted to the will of God and a happy, festive face. In their box there was that atmosphere - the bride and groom, whom Natasha knew and loved so much. She turned away and suddenly everything that was humiliating in her morning visit came to her mind.
“What right does he have to not want to accept me into his kinship? Oh, better not think about it, not think about it until he arrives!” she said to herself and began to look at the familiar and unfamiliar faces in the stalls. In front of the stalls, in the very middle, leaning back against the ramp, stood Dolokhov with a huge shock of curly hair combed up, in a Persian costume. He stood in the very sight of the theatre, knowing that he drew the attention of the whole hall to himself, as freely as if he were standing in his room. The most brilliant youth of Moscow crowded around him, and he apparently excelled among them.
Count Ilya Andreich, laughing, nudged the blushing Sonya, pointing out to her former admirer.
- Did you know? - he asked. “And where did he come from,” the count turned to Shinshin, “because he disappeared somewhere?”
- Disappeared, - answered Shinshin. - He was in the Caucasus, and there he fled, and, they say, he was a minister in Persia for some sovereign prince, he killed the Shakhov’s brother there: well, all the Moscow ladies go crazy! Dolochoff le Persan, [Persian Dolokhov,] and that's it. We now have no word without Dolokhov: they swear by him, they call him like a sterlet, - said Shinshin. - Dolokhov, yes Kuragin Anatole - all of our ladies were driven crazy.
A tall, beautiful lady with a huge plait and very bare, white, full shoulders and neck, on which there was a double string of large pearls, entered the neighboring benoir, and sat down for a long time, rustling her thick silk dress.
Natasha involuntarily peered into this neck, shoulders, pearls, hairstyle and admired the beauty of the shoulders and pearls. While Natasha was already peering at her for the second time, the lady looked around and, meeting her eyes with Count Ilya Andreich, nodded her head and smiled at him. It was Countess Bezukhova, Pierre's wife. Ilya Andreich, who knew everyone in the world, leaned over and spoke to her.
“Long time ago, Countess?” he spoke. - I'll come, I'll come, I'll kiss your hand. But I came here on business and brought my girls with me. They say Semyonova plays incomparably,” said Ilya Andreevich. - Count Pyotr Kirillovich never forgot us. He is here?
“Yes, he wanted to come in,” Helen said and looked at Natasha carefully.
Count Ilya Andreich again sat down in his place.
- Is it good? he whispered to Natasha.
- Miracle! - said Natasha, - you can fall in love! At this time, the last chords of the overture sounded and the bandmaster's stick rattled. In the parterre, belated men went to their places and the curtain rose.
As soon as the curtain rose, everything fell silent in the boxes and stalls, and all the men, old and young, in uniforms and tailcoats, all the women in precious stones on their naked bodies, with greedy curiosity directed all their attention to the stage. Natasha also began to look.

On the stage there were even boards in the middle, painted pictures depicting trees stood on the sides, and a canvas on boards was stretched behind. In the middle of the stage were girls in red corsages and white skirts. One, very fat, in a white silk dress, was sitting especially on a low stool, to which a green cardboard was pasted at the back. They all sang something. When they finished their song, the girl in white went up to the prompter's booth, and a man in tight-fitting silk pantaloons on thick legs, with a feather and a dagger, came up to her and began to sing and spread his arms.
The man in tight trousers sang alone, then she sang. Then they both fell silent, the music began to play, and the man began to run his fingers over the hand of the girl in the white dress, obviously waiting for the beat again to begin his part with her. They sang together, and everyone in the theater began to clap and shout, and the man and woman on the stage, who portrayed lovers, began to bow, smiling and spreading their arms.