The Ecstatic Imagination: Psychedelic Experiences and the Psychoanalysis of Self-Actualization

Offering a comprehensive theory of psychedelic experiences, the book challenges and refines existing explanations by presenting a unified model applicable to various substances. It emphasizes the value of self-reports as critical data to enhance the psychoanalytic understanding of imagination. By exploring the phenomenology of experiences with LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin across cultures, the author integrates insights from classical and modern psychoanalytic theories. The work culminates in a detailed psychoanalytic perspective on self-actualization, filling gaps left by previous theories.