Psychedelia and Gnosticism

June 8th, 2023

Again, as soon as I form a sliver of an idea in my head and start to think it over and look for connections, there comes a realization that other people already had it before me. The same happened with the sudden realization that psychedelia (in art but mostly in music) and Gnosticism are connected on a level I cannot clearly vocalize just yet but definitely feel as true. Recently I've been reading a lot about Gnosticism and psychedelia. It has been my interest since I was a teenager and something just clicked for me recently while looking at both of them together.

Searching for something secret and sacred and mysterious is common for both of those ideas. The same is the idea of hidden beauty that can disguise the drabness and disillusion of everyday life. Beauty that can be found or enhanced is easily distilled from words or sounds that carry a deeper meaning that is accessible to those chosen and trained in ways to see and interpret what is underneath the ordinary. And that was a lot of words to say that I feel the commonality between psychedelia and gnosis comes down to the decision of everyone affected and touched by them to go on a search for betterment. And what is more — I know I can go on with that lifelong search without a need for any substances or stimuli. Reality and my perception of it are enough to experience the search for truth and beauty in a world of endless findings.