Then (1955), Moksha: Letters of Huxley & Osmond
The Psychedelic Research Network: Huxley and Osmond's Informal Institution
The letters show Huxley and Osmond building an informal institution: a network of researchers, clinicians, and thinkers sharing findings, coordinating research, discussing protocols, and developing the theoretical framework for what would become psychedelic-assisted therapy. Their network included Hubbard, Grof, Heard, Janiger, Watts, Pahnke, and others. This informal institution preceded any formal professional organization.
confirmed
The informal Huxley-Osmond network has been formalized into multiple institutions: MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, founded 1986 by Rick Doblin) is the direct institutional heir; the Heffter Research Institute (1993) focuses on clinical research; the Beckley Foundation (1998) funds research and policy; the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins (2019); the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London (2019). The Psychedelic Science conference (2023, 12,000+ attendees) represents the formalization of the network into a professional community. The informal letters that built the first network are now institutional architecture across multiple continents.
Sources
- MAPS, Annual Report (2024)
- Heffter Research Institute (founded 1993)
- Psychedelic Science 2023 Conference