In the same way that common consciousness is integral to human experience, so too are our altered states. Beyond the trappings of our civilised version of humanity, few of us have ever been wholly content with everyday waking awareness, not when we have the capacity to seek, recognise and experience alternative states of consciousness, and see the day from a slightly different angle. There are so many ways to alter our consciousness, from music, drugs and our choice of food to meditation, dance and exercise. Because and perhaps in spite of this, attempts to expand consciousness have been both worshipped and demonised throughout human history. For example, just being inside a church, with its subdued light, etherial voices and reverent atmosphere, can encourage the free association of other-worldly feelings, and that is before you drink any holy wine. Other religions owe their origins to the archaic use of hallucinogenic plants and fungi. All seek a magnificent glimpse of the oceanic boundlessness that seems to exist just beyond our usual awareness--an altered state of consciousness, Our passion for altered states may also have given us evolutionary advantage over less sentient species. It is perhaps a privilege of the human condition, with its lofty claims of spirituality and consciousness, that we reserve the right to alter it.

After all, one man's cognitive impairment is another man's party and we have, it seems, become masters and mistresses of messing with the brain and her tenuous attempts to remain straight. So, welcome to this journey into the hinterlands of consciousness expansion. Along the way we will encounter pounding hearts, cosmic sex, smouldering herbs and psychedelic potatoes. Not to mention a pinch or two of phanerothyme.