Welcome to A to Z of Altered States, my little corner of the internet. This is a home for all the wild ideas my ego tells me to keep to myself; the ones I’m a little too afraid to pitch to editors but want to write anyway—and especially the ones that feel like they don’t belong in the relentless churn of “content” that I have grown so weary of being a part of.
Why This Place Exists
To get a little more specific: I’m sick of spending hours carefully crafting a piece of writing just for an editor to attach a cringey headline to it. I’m weary of being pitched business stories that feel like pro-social propaganda. And more than anything, I’m tired of having interactions online and in person that eventually become transactional. Are you being friendly with me at a conference because you value human connection, or because you want me to write about your new start-up, non-profit, or your next digital art project? Are you cozying up to me because you want to say hello, or because in a few months, you hope to cash in a “friendly” favour? More often than not, it seems to be the latter.
I’ve pulled back from writing over the last few months to sharpen my grifter-detection skills and to get really clear on exactly what it is I want to write about. While I enjoy writing about cannabis and psychedelics, the altered states provided by these substances aren’t readily accessible to most people. It’s this reality that inspired me to create A to Z of Altered States.
To put it plainly, I’ve grown bored, and a bored writer makes for boring writing. Having a niche is great until it gives you tunnel vision. In my disillusionment, I find myself reminiscing on my early days as a staff writer at the Georgia Straight. While being an entry-level generalist certainly didn’t afford me a lot in the way of income, covering a broad (and often strange) assortment of subjects gave me some incredible opportunities and tons of inspiration. (Like the time I got to fly in a Breitling fighter jet at the Abbotsford Air show. Withstanding forces of up to +4 Gs? Now that was an altered state.)
This is a place where I’ll dive deep into subjects I’ve been yearning to cover or revisit, despite the overwhelming fear that comes up when I think about breaking out of the “drug writer” box I’ve put myself in. It’s a place for me to explore altered states and their effects without being a slave to SEO mandates, subject to clickbait headlines, or focused on the need to be “evergreen.” And where appropriate, it’s a place for me to get vulnerable. It’s just mine.
Why I’m Writing About Altered States of Consciousness
You might be thinking, “Hmm, this subject seems awfully specific.” On the contrary, my decision to focus on altered states of consciousness comes from a desire to write about the human experience more broadly.
Think about it: whether we want to admit it or not, we’re doing things to alter our consciousness all day long. Ask yourself this: if changing your state is akin to pushing a big red button, how many times a day are you pushing that button? For most of us, it’s several times a day.
Coffee in the morning to wake up? You just hit the button. Satisfying a craving with a bag of chips? You’ve hit it again. How about something sweet for a little energy spike after that carb crash? That’s a button-smash. Scrolling on your phone to avoid something on your to-do list? You guessed it. But in the same way that habitual snacking and endless scrolling can shift our state, so can going for a walk, meditating, and spending time in nature. We’re still hitting the button, but one set of behaviours is unconscious, while the other is conscious.
In the same way that habitual snacking and endless scrolling can shift our state, so can going for a walk, meditating, and spending time in nature. We’re still hitting the button, but one set of behaviours is unconscious, while the other is conscious.
There’s nothing wrong with eating salty snacks (I sometimes joke that my partner and I should buy shares of our favourite chip brand), and I have an undeniable sweet tooth, so I’m not here to point fingers. The pleasurable state change we get from certain foods—and even the time we spend on Instagram—isn’t inherently negative. What’s negative is how easy it is to get lost in a daily cycle of using things like unhealthy food and social media to unconsciously shift our consciousness.
Altered states are not all peak experiences; in fact, most of them aren’t. As I’ve just illustrated, we are in constant pursuit of altered states, seeking to up- or down-regulate, “find flow” or “get grounded” by some means of pharmacological, psychological, or physiological intervention. My intention here is to discuss the different ways we consciously shift our consciousness, and what the effects of those shifts can be on our health and well-being. (Make no mistake, though; there are no rules here. Anything under the umbrella of altered states, and within its perimeter, is on the table.)
Yes, I’ll Still Write About Cannabis and Psychedelics
These topics will always be in my wheelhouse. The state shift provided by (my favourite types of) drugs fits squarely within the definition of an “altered state,” and given the ongoing scientific, political, and cultural developments related to cannabis and psychedelics, it would be silly to abandon coverage of them. I’ll write two regular columns, In the Weeds and Through the Doors (yes, that’s a Huxley reference) where I’ll discuss what’s happening in the respective spaces. Where appropriate, I’ll take a more personal approach to these subjects in essays and articles, and when I can, I’ll feature Q+As with people doing cool, disruptive things. You can find my writing about cannabis and psychedelics under the Pharmacological category. (You can also expect me to write about other drugs, such as caffeine, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals here.)
Other Things I Plan to Write About
Within the other subcategories of altered states, Psychological and Physiological (you can read about how I chose those categories here), you can expect to read about the following, in no particular order: martial arts, music, sex, food, sleep, movement, meditation, exercise, breathwork, weight lifting, BDSM, dance, sauna, cold plunge (lol, sorry), sensory deprivation, lucid dreaming, and more. (See what I mean? There’s a lot to talk about here.)
I’ll have a few regular columns, like one on music that makes me feel things, and another on insatiable meals. I’ll also include regular Q+As with folks specializing in some of the above-mentioned practices.
On Accepting Pitches
This is primarily a place for self-generated content, but if you have a really, really, really unique pitch, send me a message using the button below. PR folks, please use this sparingly or it will disappear from this website and I will change my email address, never to be revealed again! (I joke, but seriously… no business stories dressed up as pro-social propaganda, please.)
If you’re interested in reading what I have to say about altered states, I’m grateful. After all, I’m just a human having a human experience, and I’m probably not that different from you. We are all feeling the pressure of living in a capitalist society where social credit is king. It’s no wonder we’re doing whatever we can to escape that reality—or make peace with it—by finding different ways to alter our state of being.
One more thing: if what you’ve read here resonates with you, please consider sharing this post, and/or becoming a paid subscriber. For the first few months of this project, I’m offering subscriptions at $5 a month instead of $10. There are perks to subscribing, including audio/podcast versions of every post read by yours truly, exclusive subscriber-only posts, full archive access, a members-only chat feature, and more. Founding members get all of that, plus a personalized copy of one of my books! If you’re already a subscriber, thank you so much for making it possible for me to continue this work.
With love, gratitude, and reverence for life,
Amanda
A to Z of Altered States
Share this post