The Future of Psychedelics
This article originally appeared in Conscious Choice magazine.
The 2008 World Psychedelic Forum was an almost shockingly respectable affair. Held in Basel, Switzerland, in a spacious convention center next to the five-star Swissôtel Basel, the event drew 1,500 visitors for a two-day symposium on the past and present state of psychedelic thought and research. Despite flashes of eccentricity and DayGlo, you could have easily thought you were at a conference for alternative medicine or some abstruse but uncontroversial hobby. I felt honored to be one of the speakers, part of a high-profile group which included the Czech LSD researcher and theorist Stanislav Grof; Ralph Metzner, a well-known author and teacher and one of Leary's original partners at Harvard; botanists Dennis McKenna, Christian Raetsch and Kat Harrison; MAPS director Rick Doblin; anthropologist and author Jeremy Narby; visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey; and many more.
The Gaia Media Foundation organized the forum, following upon their successful LSD conference, marking the 100th birthday of the recently late LSD chemist Albert Hofmann, two years ago. The 2008 event mingled nostalgia and insularity, futurism and hope, in equal measures. On the nostalgia side, Timothy Leary's archivist Michael Horowitz mounted an exhibit of psychedelic art and media imagery, much of it from the heyday of late-sixties flower power, while Carolyn (Mountain Girl) Garcia gave a heartfelt speech about her journeys with the Merry Pranksters and the early Haight Ashbury days of the Grateful Dead. Although Hofmann was still living at the time, he declined to attend the festivities, due to family concerns.
Sixty-five years since Hofmann's first accidental dose, new frontiers in psychedelic research are opening up, represented at the Forum by an array of therapists and scientists from institutions across Europe, the U.S. and Canada. After a 35-year blockade on the subject, psychedelic research with human subjects is being permitted again. In Switzerland, a new study explores LSD as a tool of psychotherapy -- the first such study to be allowed since the early 1970s. After years of persistent effort, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (maps.org) has succeeded in shepherding a number of projects through the regulatory system. Studies underway in the United States include research on use of psilocybin as a treatment for cluster headaches, and on MDMA (Ecstasy) as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a complex likely to haunt tens of thousands of veterans as they return from the Iraq War.
Today, there is potential for psychedelics to be reintroduced into mainstream culture, not as drastic catalysts of social upheaval but as tools that can help people overcome serious problems. In the future, MAPS sees itself becoming a "nonprofit pharmaceutical company" that distributes psychedelics to qualified professionals. On a deeper, almost subconscious level, cultural and political resistance to the scrupulous study and at least the religious use of psychedelics seems to have dissipated, to a certain extent. A recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins, giving psilocybin to subjects who had never taken a psychedelic before, found that most subjects had long-lasting positive changes in their worldview. CNN and The Wall Street Journal gave prominent coverage to the results of this study. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court ruled in the favor of the American branch of União do Vegetal, a syncretic religion from Brazil that uses ayahuasca as its sacrament.
Beyond the scientific framework, there is compelling anecdotal data on the benefits of psychedelic use for creative processes, intellectual work and personal development. Recently, British newspapers reported that Francis Crick may have been taking low doses of LSD when he discovered the double helix shape of the DNA molecule (although he refused to allow this to be published before his death). The Nobel Prize winning biochemist Kary Mullis openly discussed the inspiration he gained from psychedelics. Many pioneers of the Internet and the personal computer experimented with psychedelics. And of course, the anthemic music, film, literature and visual culture of the late-1960s remains iconic.
During his speech at the conference, Dr. Tom Roberts, a psychology professor at Northern Illinois University, proposed that the rediscovery of psychedelics in modern culture is creating a "second Reformation." During the first Reformation, the Bible, which was only available to a priest class able to read Latin, was translated, printed and distributed to the masses, who were then able to read and interpret the "word of God" for themselves. By providing direct access to the mystical experience described in sacred texts from around the world, this "second Reformation" will, eventually, eliminate the need for a priest class that stands between the individual and personal revelation. Of course, such a deep shift in cultural perspective is a long process -- the first Reformation developed over a few hundred years.
At this point in time,
those of us who see validity in the psychedelic experience can feel
cautiously optimistic that we are reaching some tipping point in
cultural perception. The discourse around hallucinogens has become far
more sophisticated and measured than it was a generation ago. While
Timothy Leary argued psychedelics were a shortcut to "enlightenment"
and that everyone should "turn on" and "drop out," researchers today
consider psychedelics to be powerful tools that have negative effects
if used improperly, like all tools. But these substances may also have
tremendous benefits for the individual and society, when we become
mature enough to make use of them.
Image by marco braun, courtesy of Creative Commons license.
- 5-13-08
- Daniel Pinchbeck's blog
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Comments
Didn't have opportunity to
Must. Be. Wonderful. . .
Cool Cool
Propaganda Anonymous
Sounds great.
Some sane perspectives towards psychedelics.
One point where my thoughts and opinions diverge from yours Daniel, is upon the persona of Timothy Leary.
Leary told many close friends that, 'Everyone gets the Tim Leary they deserve.'
And what I think that means is that his life and person was extremely complex.
From my research and readings into the life and works of Timothy Leary I never got the impression that if I dropped enough Acid then I would become enlightened. Leary churned out theories and hypothesis' and his 'Turn On' 'Tune In' 'Drop Out' slogan, I think, can be broken down like this.
You 'Turn On' certain circuits of your nervous system when using psychedelics. These circuits are Non-Euclidean, Non-Aristotelian, and Multi-dimensional....
One 'Tune's In' to these circuits, and with practice can learn how to access these parts with or without psychedelics. The 'Drop Out' part of the equation comes into play when one chooses to drop out of the rat race existence of America during the 60's. It seemed more like a 'Dropping out' from the Ideological Structures that bind people to those lifestyles.
I think Leary was grossly mis-understood back then and remains so to this day. Albeit, he may have played some part in his being misunderstood....but as Allen Ginsburg said the cat was essentially a Beat. And they were all a little crazy.
See man, I find Leary's later work's 'Info-psychology' and 'Chaos and Cyberculture' to be much more informative than his and Alpert and Metzger's 'The Psychedelic Experience'
And his first book, 'Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality,' simplified in 'The Politics of Self-determination' I find to be absolutely brilliant social psychology.
What upsets me most, really, and this is not directed towards you, but the Polite Politics that silently govern some professions and congregations is that these great pieces of thought that Leary produced are ignored, and he for all his contributions to Transactional Psychology is Black-Listed, Still to this day!
Not Cool, IMHO.
Sure Leary had some flaws. But I say that those flaws existed more in his personal life than in his philosophical/psychological life.
Lastly, the 2000 Disinfo.com Conference used one of Leary's later phrases as it's title slogan. And I think this phrase is a great addendum to Leary's 'Tune In' 'Turn On' 'Drop Out' And that phrase is 'Find the Others'
After one has had that great psychedelic breakthrough, and have dropped out from the one-dimensional world of plastic lies, then go out and find the others.
I consider Reality Sandwich, much like Disinfo.com and MaybeLogic.org as a place to find the others.
And for me, personally, Leary most definitely helped me with that.
PEACE D
fear of enlightenment
the other day, i was listening to what i think was a reading of Carl Jung's work (i could be wrong, but WHO said it isn't the important part), and it basically said that in modern culture, the the fear and loathing is not for the psychedelics themselves, but rather for what they do, or more accurately, for what they cause to happen in the mind of the individual. there are drug stores on every corner, and i would say that a large percentage of people in the world are on some kind of prescription "drug". not to mention the rampant use of tobacco, caffeine, and alcohol (to name a few). people have little to no qualms about those socially acceptable drugs, but for some reason they condemn and fear the subtances that by comparison are healthier and far more likely to to be mentally constructive, rather than DESTRUCTIVE.
perhaps the reason for this can be summed up in two quotes:
"People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul." - Carl Jung
"LSD has the tendency to cause insanity in those who do NOT take it." (paraphrased) - Timothy Leary
Beautiful
respect-able. to be able of
the respect of others, self, medicine plants?
which part of being respectable are we glad that were not exactly?
i agree though, for me to there is a tension in the language, in legitimacy.
to be legitimate seems these days synonymous with being effective in capitalist society. i wonder about other legitimate drugs; is their legitimacy enabling us to use them any more positively?
i worry also if legitimization leads to compartmentalization, taxation, trivialization.
i think this need to seperate resonsible use from irresponsible use stems from a desire to be accepted by the system and therefore ultimately by ourselves.
i have to say this is something that i definately feel, i am worried deeply by the nililistic hedonistism that seems to be gathering momentum at the moment and certainly in england is inescapable in the festival scene. i find it distressing that whilst i feel im trying to put all my energy into being awake and dealing with the situation on the planet right now, alot of us even in the supposedly alternative scene are doing the exact opposite.
so i can understand the desire to want to be seperate from that just as i can understand that any psychdellic experience is as valid as the next. i want to be able to believe that we are all on our path and learning exactly the lessons that we need to right now. but i have to say i am really stuggling with this at the moment.
*in lak'esh ala k'in
graduation?
i'm not sure what exactly leary meant by dropping out. it could be either dropping out of society or about leaving lsd. i'd be interested to see. kesey talked about the "acid graduation," which is a similarly vague idea.i think he was talking about graduating from the drug, and then trying to get there without the shortcut after having seen "it," but i'm not positive about either of their true beliefs concerning the extent to which lsd should be used.
dosages and frequency of use seem to be based on individual preference and "need." there couldn't be a universal rule for that kind of thing. one person could take massive amounts for a long period of time, and have it be fully positive and enlightening, and another could just as easily devour it obsessively with the wrong intentions where it damages them more than it helps. intentions seem to be the key.as for ecstasy prescribed to veterans...i'm sure it would have some positive effects, but prescription mdma? is that what we need? is that what vets need? dependence on it to maintain happiness can be pretty intense too. i would worry about abuse, not that they haven't been abused, because they do need much more attention at home. peace sandwich,bill
The Future of Psychedelics
Couldn't agree more CJ
Propaganda Anonymous
My thoughts with psychedelics like LSD and Mushrooms is that most of the talk about 'responsible' vs 'irresponsible' usage is OVER. It's a done deal. The books were closed long ago.
Our culture has had Leary, Ginsburg, The Merry Pranksters, Hunter S. Thompson, on and on....
We've moved past the first stage.
This is where I really like what Daniel has to say. Thinking about the influence of psychedelics in 'our' culture. First stage of 'Initiation' being the 60's. And now, quite possibly, we may be in second stage 'Initiation'
I don't look at the mistakes my parents made with the way they lived with and wrestled with the world with anger anymore. I look upon them with compassion, learn from their mistakes, and get it moving. Hoping that my seeds will be forgiving in their own way and go further than I. I
think we NEEDED those crazy trippy cats. I learned soooo much from 'IRRESPONSIBLE' Trips. But, yeah, part of the lesson was to find more contained ways of tripping.
Perhaps that's what Atrio was getting at.
There are enough experienced 'guides' out there, even on a casual level, to help people utilize psychedelics that will enhance their own developments.
I have much respect to all the juvenile delinquents I have known in my time when it comes to certain moments of psychedelia.
I first got wind of LEARY in high school when a friend stole a book of his for me.
Sometimes, with the way this whole thing is configured, One needs the 'Criminal' mindset in order to break free. But once one has got his/her footing on some solid ground, ya then plant the seeds in righteous soil.
Responsible vs Not
There results of the wild eyed trip gurus has been global illeagalization of paychedelics, immediately grouping new ones in the Schedule I status as they get discovered. The drug culture of the 1960's went too far, and we can't repeat that history is my suggestion. The result was devastating, considering the avalibility of psychedelics. With the new studies on going I am ecstatic that these substances may be legitimized possibly with in my lifetime. The men mentioned above were using and urging the responsible use of these psychedelic substances. Huxley asked Leary to "keep it down", regarding the exploitation of psychedelics and set & setting. Perhaps we needed the mass expolitation at that time. We now need to decriminalize these tools and the way to do that will be found through responsible clinical trials with documented repeatable results, which won't be such an impossibility. It will require patience and cool calm collected heads.
The 'VS.' 'Either/Or' Logic seems pointless to me
Propaganda Anonymous
I think that ultimately 'clinical trials' in many different types of settings is a good move. The Set and Setting method something, and I may be mistaken, that Leary came up with.
Leary was a swashbuckler. Huxley, a very contained and sweet individual I'm sure. Both were needed in my estimation. This movement seems to take all kinds. And we can debate over which side of the spectrum is more important, my guess is that it is bigger than all our preferences.
My retort towards your suggestion, Atrio, about the devastating affects of the making of LSD illegal is this (and I borrow from Robert Anton Wilson here)
When psychedelics went illegal, it forced many heads to get more creative in their pursuits. Prime example is Stanislav Grof's research. When LSD went illegal he then went back to the books, with his Christina, and found that The Breath can be utilized in a specific way to induce transperaonal experiences. They then re-invented Holotropic Breathwork!
My guess is that they would not have come up with that if psychedelics had not been made illegal. See what I'm saying?
It all seems part of a bigger story arc, Bucky Fuller has a name for such instances. He dubbed it 'Precession' (Critical Path)
Where we are at today, My suggestion towards the new research would be keep the SETTING as non-clinical as possible.
Who wants to trip around a bunch of white coats?
I think Stan Grof's work should be the definitive Model to work from.
I see some glimmers of hope
Word...LOGOS
Propaganda Anonymous
zezt man, you seem to have a lot of intense feelings associated with the topic of psychedelics.
I cannot, at this time, agree with much of what you are saying.
I am interpreting what you have posted as a form of paranoia. Paranoia does have it's place, but I don't see it as productive and not really completely true.
I do agree with some of the passion in your words. However I don't think that the CIA got anywhere with LSD. I think they tried, but LSD was 'The Problem Child' that couldn't be contained by Authoritarian Forces.
Thinking in Generalizations, and perpetuating Ideological structures of repression, seems more dangerous to me than what 'THEY' can do.
CJ man, I'm really diggin on your story here. I totally feel what you're putting out there on this topic.
CREATIVITY seems the ultimate goal here, I think too!
'Reality is nothing but a song'
Movements and symphonies...that's where it's at!
I think that coalesces with Robert's thought's on the subject.
Let's all become Artists and Scientists!
kensho
'While Timothy Leary argued psychedelics were a shortcut to "enlightenment"..'
This may seem a bit simplistic, but I think in many ways it could be true.
I found it interesting that -
'“sacred mushrooms” can induce mystical/spiritual experiences descriptively identical to spontaneous ones people have reported for centuries.'
Alan Watts also talks about the similarities between psychedelics and the mystical experience -
http://deoxy.org/w_psyrel.htm
I think this kind of 'kensho' experience can shake up a person's beliefs about the world, making them more pliable, more ready for enlightenment.
http://deoxy.org/wiki/Kensho
And I think that drugs are still very much a taboo subject for teachers of advaita/nonduality, that they dare not talk about it, as if that drugs lead to enlightment is still a 'secret'.
It just makes me mad that it is illegal for us to experiment with our own minds in this way.
Do we want to live in an enlightened society or not?
My experience with MDMA
MDMA has changed my life for the better. When I first took ecstacy I had very little expectations.
(By the way, this anecdote may seem trivial, juvenile, ignorant, I don't know, but it's my experience and it has only deepened my love for mind altering substances and curiosity in their potential for mind expansion and and catalyst for a global consciousness.)
Anyway, I went into my first MDMA experience with very little expectations. I was unfamiliar, I guess, with the drug. I have had experiences with DXM, marijuana, and varied amphetamines, so I did ecstacy out of pure curiosity. What I was certainly not expecting, was an altered mental state. I thought I would only recieve wonderful tingly feelings all over and to be completely elated for a few hours, etc. I had only a slight body high, though and had no urges to run, dance, or exchange perpetual hugs or anything like that.
I am an anxious person by nature and for the past few months, my head has been clogged with worries, questions, concerns, doubts, and countless other emotions that I didn't know what to do with. I pestered my family and friends with endless rants on the government, the environment and the blatant ignorance and biggotry of the people around me. I'd given up on hoping the world would change and the ever expanding ignorance epidemic of this country would cease.
Within about a half hour of taking ecstacy, though, my head was cleared. Everything fell into place and I almost got a feeling of omniscience, like I knew everything would be fine. I contemplated on my past worries and realized that things take time and the only thing you can do to change the world around you is to do something about it yourself and hope the rest of the people of the world will follow.
I let go of the animosity I had for the negetive people around me; those who act out of hate and ignorance. I felt a deeper connection with the living things around me. It was like they could feel my anxiety and were releasing a calming energy. I realize how ridiculous and eccentric this sounds, but it's the only way I can put it into words. Really, the experience was ineffable.Even now, about a month or so later, I have a more accepting world view. I am less anxious and more patient and I have more hope in the world and it's people. I've been volunteering more and it helps progress seem tangible.
Take that as you will. It's just an experience, nothing here is a fact, of course, and I am expecting anyone who reads this to question it's validity and that's okay with me. I would really like to know if anyone else has had any similar experiences. I am still much the neophyte; I've only been living seventeen years, afterall.
Peace
Interpretations ARE NOT Accussations
Propaganda Anonymous
Zezt, I was careful in my post in order to avoid any 'accussations.' Notice I wrote 'My Interpretation' Instead of 'You ARE Being this way'
And this ties into my comment about Generalizations perpetuating repressive ideologies.
From own research into psychedelics I have seen the importance that language plays in shaping our perceptions.
Starting with what Robert Anton Wilson has to say about the subject, check Quantum Psychology, and working backwards. How 'The IS of Identity' inherently distorts our perception of our world, etc.
The subject-predicate relationship which our Indo-European langauge structure throws out there does fuck with shit.
So maybe in your readings you have come across people being silenced after being called paranoid, but in my experience It's usually the paranoid people who never stop talking.
They'll tell you the same crappy argument again and again. Over and over. And they will refuse any outside opinion, then accussing the other parties as being part of the conspiracy of fools.
And yeah man, I couldn't agree more, both emotionally and intellectually with you about how power structures have twisted things to their advantage.
I share the same sentiments about Resistance. Myself and the family I come from have some history with that.
But I prefer water to rocks most of the time.
A man hired a plumber. That plumber was a crook. Took him to the cleaners. That man never hired any plumber ever again. Concluding that ALL plumbers were crooks based on that one plumber. As a result, his house filled with shit.
The Revolution is Right Now! (IMO)
The Revolution is found inside us!
And it is also outside of us.
Zezt, Sorry if it seemed like I was ACCUSING you of being paranoid.
I was trying to determine how much of your post was an airing-out and a venting, and how much was based upon open-minded inquiry.
If I wanted to do that, I would have said 'Yo man cool out. I think you ARE Being Paranoid' Dig?
You could say, that it's all semantics, but I think you'd be missing what I'm saying.
I work at being an Optimist.
I WILL it into being, because I realize the Horror of the situation.
ONE
About Paranoia
Propaganda Anonymous
I'd like to quickly say a word about 'Paranoia'
I see a spectrum of Paranoia Or 'NOIA,' rather.
NOIA perhaps being the state of mind where one sees everything is connected.
I delineate three points upon this spectrum of 'NOIA' Para-
Pro-
Meta-
Pro-noia is the title of a book this astrologer cat Rob Brezsny wrote.
Pro-Noia seems to be the 'conspiracy of hope'
As opposed to PARAnoia where the conspiracy os one of doom
Then there's META-noia, which kinda coincides with PRo-noia. Where everything is connected but in a cool way.
My own experience with mind-altering substances has gotten me thinking about the arguments for all these NOIA's
All seem to 'exist'
As Zezt made mention of the woman's movement and the inherent prejudice in Freudian theory that was influenced by social Victorian beliefs, that women 'were' Hysterical. And accused of being 'paranoid' by those who benefited from the social conditions at the time.
The same argument can be made for the egregious acts done upon African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants in the US as well.
Alexander Cockburn's amazing book Whiteout puts forth the argument that some paranoia can be justified. The US policy in the history of this country right up until the 1970's COINTELPRO program has been insane towards many people.
So quickly, I agree that there is at times reason 'to be' paranoid.
I think Paranoia is step 1. First step acknowledgment. Then movement forward is needed. Because one can get stuck there, and just point fingers all day long, and forget about action.
It also seems like the anxiety one may feel for survival purposes. Maybe prolonged bouts of paranoia is a survival mechanism gone too far. A sign of PTSD.
During an Ayahuasca ceremony I 'SAW' that ALL of IT EXISTS!
The 'Black Prison Planet' My phone is being tapped, I've been on a list since I was born, etc.....
And then I also 'saw' that outside, as well as inside, of that 'Prison Planet' there is a silent benevolent force slowly healing all of that. And the importance was not Proving either of the two, but more in my CHOICE of where to direct my attention. What do I wish to focus on.
Cause my attention and intentions play a major role in all of this.
I could choose 'TO FIGHT!' this prison planet. To strike first, draw blood from it's fat ugly mouth, but that engagement seemed to lead me to a trap. Trapped into an energy exchange that kept me Fighting.
I 'saw' how focusing too much on that Fight could lead to a self-fulfliing prophecy.
I will read David Icke and listen to Alex Jones, all to a point. But I'll prolly pay more attention to Ward Churchill and Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn and Robert Anton Wilson.
I DO think that Paranoia does have it's place, from time to time. And that we all experience it as well.
How can we not? The world around us is moving so quickly, technologies are bringing us closer together while at the same time pulling us apart.
I think Paranoia becomes a problem though when we get stuck in that mindset.
And there are plenty of ways to get unstuck.
As well as plenty of ways to live balenced and work with the struggle of being counter to the culture of over-the-counter culture while acknowledging messed up stuff and still working to get to the sweet center of every hard shell.
We can be that owl who gets to the center of a tootsy-pop! haha
Accelerated Medicines
Daniel: "Of course, such a deep shift in cultural perspective is a long process -- the first Reformation developed over a few hundred years."
Yet, we accelerate. What once took hundreds of years, or 50 years, or 25 years, now, often, sometimes, possibly, may take 10, 5 or, moments.
Re: set&setting, clinical v. creative, legal v. illegal etc
It seems to me that in "Western" culture the engagement with these substances or plants, began in the fields and forests of Mexico and South America (Gordon Wasson, Richard Evans Schultes etc). Then moved into the laboratory and research/investigation stages (Hofmann, Huxley, Leary etc). Once this research was all sorted out (and synthesized, recognized and realized) - it got out! And people freaked out!
And that freak out of course was the 60's, 70's - the "initiation", the "1st reformation"...
Since that time, the substances, people and plants swirl and grow.
Slowly, these plants/substances began to reassert themselves - through various research, the McKenna brothers started to get their work and voice louder and louder, the UK rave scene grew and grew with LSD and Ecstacy. Meanwhile, Ayahuasca quietly moves into place.
And now I see a mix (similar to this article's image) where lab and forest, clinical and creativity, urban and jungle connect together to form a new picture, one comprehensive, chaotic, crisp and connected; re-formative.
I find it very interesting that things like LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA etc, are (re)asserting themselves or being recognized by and into popular/mainstream/authority culture as the medicines they always have been.
Forest for the Trees
cjmoore: "So, as far as "popular/mainstream/authority culture" what is this some kind of clever feint or a mea culpa? As if the pharmaceutical companies are suddenly mindful? am i missing something here?"
I made no mention of pharmaceutical companies.
I'm referencing these MAPS studies: "... underway in the United States include research on use of psilocybin as a treatment for cluster headaches, and on MDMA (Ecstasy) as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a complex likely to haunt tens of thousands of veterans as they return from the Iraq War."
Who is it that's "suddenly mindful" - well of course it's these plants and substances.
;)
So instead of it being a jolly ol' freak out in hippie land for a few thousand people (not a bad thing really) - these plants, mushrooms and substances are beginning to gain acceptance and recognized as helpful by the gen.pop of mainstream/authority culture (ie CNN, Wall Street, Supreme Court etc), and as something that can help ease the stress of war.
Not too shabby.
Of course that's not to say it's the only thing going or would in any way limit the growth of these amzazingly benevolent plants and mushrooms.
Think of the (Little) Children
I wouldn't worry so much there captain CJ.
Some tend to feel as though this is all taking forever, but it's not. It's going fast. It's mycelial.
Some tend to feel such anxiety, or perhaps even "pre-traumatic-stress" ha!
But no one is in charge. One has the choice of bowing and accepting and/or conflicting with "authority" - or creating, developing and/or presenting possibilites which makes such perceived power and muddy mind-sets obsolete.
A foot in the door? Kicking the door open? Perhaps.
I see it more so as benevolent things and plants and people overgrowing the gates.
Or, a classic Dennis McKenna description: "Somehow I understood - though no words were involved - that the Banisteriopsis vine was the embodiment of the plant intelligence that embraced and covered the earth," he recalled. At the end of his vision, a voice told him, "You monkeys only think you're running things."
Reintegrating psychedelics
Interesting debate here...
I can understand the unease some might feel towards psychedelics reintegrating with clinical psychology. Judging by the state of mental healthcare and Big Pharma capitalism (not to mention any unseemly ulterior motives to the antidepressants epidemic) it would seem like bringing psychedelics into the realm of regulated medicine would degrade and destroy their sacredness, and perhaps be used for equally unseemly purposes.
But I would argue that the opposite is likely to happen, and has happened before -- that psychedelic medicine will instead re-enchant and revolutionize the nature of healing in the Western paradigm. Their wisdom is too great to be contained and manipulated, and those that attempt to do so will either be frustrated at their lack of control (as has happened in the past) and give up, or will themselves be swept up in the experience. I love the story of Ken Kesey's initiation, a guinea pig for the CIA-sponsored LSD experiments on students at Menlo Park in the 60s -- the clinical, sterile, manipulative vibe was in full effect, and the end result was setting off a spark in a potent individual who can be credited with much of the magical hijinx that soon took over America's youth.
I would also point to the groundbreaking work of Dr. Rick Strassman in the early 1990s with DMT. It seems almost fantastic that he would be granted DEA and FDA clearance to administer this ultrapotent psychedelic to human subjects, over a 5 year period at the height of the Drug War. Reading of his accomplishments challenged my conception of the New World Order stranglehold over our culture and government -- it is still possible to achieve amazing, wonderful things within the bounds of legal research and exploration.
Strassman's work is fascinating, ethically pure, and incredibly important -- as is the work of so many of the reserachers currently enjoying legal clearance to perform many other fascinting, important studies using these long-demonized substances. I think many of those conducting these studies know full well the depth of the sacred knowledge that resides in the substances they are working with. And I believe that, if allowed to reintegrate into regulated practice, the psychedlic plants could ultimately heal the sicknesses of modern medicine. Their absence is likely a large part of the reason modern medicine (especially mental health) has been co-opted and maligned, after all.
Creativity and all the other dormant, untapped reserves of the human condition would follow as a matter of course...
-st
Run Silent, Run Deep
Zezt: "My deep concern is that now more than ever . We need all the help we can get to wake UP!
Not using the most profound ALLIES for such a recovery for compartmentlized 'disorders'. "
So, you're saying that we need all the help we can get, ... just not for those who need help with their "compartmentlized 'disorders'" and not in certain ways, or with certain things...
?
Yes, that is ...ironic. Sounds limiting. Also sounds like exclusivity of some kind.
These substances, whatever you want to call them, from psychedelics to medicines to phanerothymes to entheogens to plants to whatever - engage people in ways they need to be engaged. In other words, they speak to one in one's own language.
If certain populations of people are encountering these things in labs or for clinical disorders, that does not discount them in any way. Nor should it overtly affect your own personal relationship with these things.
To make this mundane world sublime, Take half a gram of phanerothyme - Aldous Huxley
relocate to campfire
Drugs and 2012
I agree that certain drugs
I agree that certain drugs can initially open you up if that's the reason why you take them.
"Beyond the scientific framework, there is compelling anecdotal data on the benefits of psychedelic use for creative processes, intellectual work and personal development. "
Beyond this they can interfere in the process of evolving. The development of one's gifts takes work, drugs are a diversion and may halt or hinder that development that you have naturally by being born human. Utilizing one's body mind spirit complex to get beyond the cultural conditioning releases one from the child/authority myths and allows one to mature individually and independently at one's own pace and insures that you will do it gracefully with absolute integrity.
The 3 year 3month retreat I mentioned was done with no phone and alone as well...I was able to release myself from the judgemental mind and acheived greater states of awareness than Daniel describes in his book 2012.
Meant well: http://zencrystals.blogspot.com/
A
Written after my 'retreat'.
THE ARTIST'S CHOICE
INTEGRITY/INSANITY
Elimination of ignorance.
Is art therapy, descriptions of a sick society or predictions of change? All are valid definitions.
Then there are artists who are singlemindedly concerned with truth within themselves and that which would be considered universal.
Non-separatists.
Perhaps they see the problem and are drawing from heart felt insight towards an evolutionary advancement towards wholeness/oneness.
In observing what was done by the Abstract Expressionists in response to two world wars in terms of bringing art to its conclusion in displaying purely black canvases it becomes also the end of an evolutionary mind process unmistakenly seen - the death of art, the death of the spirit of a world culture. Standing in front of a black canvas confronts the viewer with a very uncomfortable situation. A reflection? It's fascinating how art is able to impact on the culture by forcing it to look at what's happening. The message takes time to become absorbed by the masses. One could say it takes time to catch up to a movement created by those who in some cases staked their lives and who have the courage to stand for what they know in the face of all opposition.
Darkness or Enlightenment?
Here we are confronted with a climate which has arrived at the epitome of self-centeredness and almost total individual alienation causing mass suicide, extreme mental anguish, all-pervasive power-based behavior world wide. Artists themselves have become involved in this vicious game.
At this crossroad, elimination of the cause of conflict is to realize ourselves as perfect individuals who are not separate from nature and the universe. Allowing what can be defined as direct sensual contact with reality and devoid of beliefs. Removing the cause and breaking the cycle, not soothing, not describing symptoms, not covering up but crafting an entirely new movement of moving with.
Not looking right or left, using centered all-pervasive awareness, seeing, directly penetrating into whole beyond limited purviews - expansion, touching all things in all ways with no barriers -acceptance.
In this evolutionary process an artist is in the unique position of not taking sides, they can choose to be non-institutional and being free of all cultural bias has the ability to attain true anarchy of the mind which promotes the clarity of their work through a benign justice blind to prejudice expressing unity and balance through art.
This is Creativity, Excitement and Beauty in it's clearest form.
Eliminating egoistic aims, centering, they have the potential to create change universally.
By eliminating cultural indoctrination and letting all bias fall by the wayside the are free and are freeing for others.
Living in the world as part of the struggle they become innovators who can shape and define what is. And within this context they can become undistorted and even impeccable mirrors of the change that is occurring, the change towards sanity.
FROM PURE JOY SPRINGS ALL CREATION, BY JOY IT IS SUSTAINED, TOWARDS JOY IT PROCEEDS AND TO JOY IT RETURNS.
JAO - TAOS 1994
Am not a member of any group or religion. Using the philosophy of non-dual thought can be done on one's own.
Discernment/Moral Judgement
Moral Judgement is defined as better and worse, greater and inferior, right and wrong. In zen terms these are defined as products of the confused mind.
Daniel freely admits his confusion in his book, I merely suggested an exercise to allow him to face this and eliminate it.
Don't believe 1/2 of what you read.
You Mean you believed it?
1/2 the book was perfectly clear and 1/2 the book appears to me to be a put on.
Child of the Millenium
Zezt: "We have been and CONTINUE to be treated as children. Do you agree with me? Yes? No? If no why not? Really explain your case As we are being treated as children and/or domesticated animals the world is being destroyed, including all species..."
I don't feel as though I am being treated like a child by any "authority", because: 1) I do not consider "They" or "Them" as my parents and/or gaurdians or "higher-ups" or bosses or anything of that nature. 2) No one is in charge. 3) You are in charge. 4) Each individual has a responsibility to take charge of their own life, as well as the life of the planet, for it is the same thing. Pointing fingers and waiting will leave you bored, anxious and unsatisfied.
I get the impression that you're missing the forest for the trees. Clincal or laboratory psychedelics use is but one tree in a vast forest. No need to burn it down or try to tell it to move.
If these things are opening up in areas like this (mainstream/labs/clinical etc), it is simply another stream, another avenue, another piece of fruit on the "psychedelic tree".
Of course these things will make "headlines", CNN and so forth - but what generally does not get so much airplay, perhaps because it has become so wide and deeply integrated, is the fact that never before has there been so many people engaging so many of these substances (psychedelics, shamanic medicines, entheogens etc etc) in so many ways, for so many different purposes than there are right now.
The 60's gets all the glory. But the millenium is off the freakin' hook.
Zezt: "..this BS"
"...and Cowtowing"
well, of course magic mushrooms grow from bullshit and cowshit.
;)
Reformation II
Question for DP