Has anyone had a genuinely psychedelic experience via music alone?
Yes and with others present, via Guided Imagery and Music aka GIM. Ten sessions, with an intro and increasing levels of musical engagement.
Think depth psychology. Add a quiet room, comfortable seating. Start with a guided body relaxation technique run through with your practitioner/guide. Head to toe and back. Eyes closed. Commence music, details in here
Classical, ambient, semi-new-age (bit too harsh a tag), drone. As each session's music evolves and with your eyes closed, your guide asks you to outline your internal visual world. First two sessions i felt like a child wanting the breakthrough without understanding. You think "i must be doing this wrong?". Third session. Run through the intro body relaxing (protocol is vital), but this time a different track in style played and something in my mind elevated itself instantly and vertically, like a bird. It was as if "I" shifted to "self", best language. All around you could see/sense the great rim of the world (McCarthy) combined with patterns like a Georgiana Houghton painting. You metaphorically fly around it and with it. This is as good as representation as possible, moving, always moving. The guides asks just the appropriate level of questions, not suggestions by any stretch
When the session finishes you're asked to attempt to draw what you saw &/or felt. After the final session the guide lines up each session's drawing in a linear chronology, left to right. You can see the changes of engagement occur in your drawing as the experience deepens. Bit too personal to include the rest, all i can say is it seemed the neuropsychological epitome of Soul Flight
A guide to worldwide shamanism and shamanistic practices, emphasizing historical and current cultural adaptations.This two-volume reference is the first international survey of shamanistic beliefs from prehistory to the present day. In nearly 200 detailed, readable entries, leading...
books.google.co.uk
If you could measure cortisol levels with some clients at the start of each session and the post-session level, that'd be one thing, but it's the expression and postures of the people who go through this process, the brightness in their eyes, that twinkle of "where the hell did i just go and why do i feel this clear?". Repeated. If you'd like to try it i'd highly recommend
not reading the book above, ironically, as it could add more expectation bias, but it has a superb compendium of case studies and a full discography to wet the appetite of any ears.