"The Psychedelic Experience" is a beautiful short film created by San Francisco art teacher Jean Mayo and filmmaker Allan Willis in 1965. It includes contributions from Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and music from Ravi Shankar.
The film won a prize at the San Francisco film festival that year, but caused such a big controversy because of its title, that Mayo had to move to another town.
This film begins with Timothy Leary saying "'Psychedelic' means 'mind expanding.' The psychedelic experience is a voyage inside. A trip into the countless galaxies of your own nervous system. For thousands of years, philosophers and poets have told mankind that there's more inside. That the reality of the external world is only one of millions of reality within the human nervous system." Leary's visionary ideas are more important now than ever before.
From Youtube:
"in 1965 san francisco art teacher jean mayo (now millay) and her good friend film maker allan willis set out to make a short experimental film and used materials close to hand to help the effects (soap bubbles etc…) but once completed it needed a name so they came up with 'the psychedelic experience'….Timothy leary/Ralph metzner were asked to contribute along with music by ravi shankar and his always brilliant tabla player alla rakha…it won a prize at the san francisco film festival held that year & then the troubles began….hippiedom was in its infancy and certain people were upset with a film named 'the psychedelic experience' so mayo had to leave her job and move along to another town!..when you think that two years later it was very passe to mention such words!..rare to find for many years and unseen it now makes an arrival here for your viewing pleasure.."
