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Out of the Ordinary

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Documentary series uncovering stories from the left field. Presented by Jolyon Jenkins

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Out of the Ordinary: Series 5

Out of the Ordinary: Series 5: Altered States of Consciousness

03/03/2017

Altered States of Consciousness

Series 5

BBC Radio 4 - Out of the Ordinary, Series 5, Altered States of Consciousness

Fifty years after LSD was banned, Jolyon Jenkins tries to expand his mind without drugs.

It's 50 years since LSD was banned. Since then, self-styled 'psychonauts' have tried to get altered states of consciousness without drugs. Does it work? Jolyon Jenkins investigates.

For 50 years, one of the most powerful psychoactive drugs, LSD, has been illegal in Britain. The authorities do not want you to alter your state of consciousness. In 2016, the government passed a law banning all psychoactive substances except caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. 

But can you enter altered states of consciousness without drugs? Since the 60s, experimental "psychonauts", deprived of psychedelics, have been trying. Sensory deprivation, flotation tanks, hyperventilation, and light machines are just some of the methods that are claimed to be able to put you in trance states, expand your consciousness, or even produce spiritual experiences. 

Jolyon Jenkins, who has never taken LSD or even had a spiritual experience, investigates, even going so far as to construct his own retro "altered states of consciousness induction device". Will his consciousness expand, or retain its current dimensions? 

Producer/presenter: Jolyon Jenkins.

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