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The Religious Experience: Its Production and Interpretation

a

Timothy Leary & Gunther M. Weil

University Books , New Hyde Park , NY

Published online: 02 Aug 2012.

To cite this article: Timothy Leary & Gunther M. Weil (1968) The Religious Experience: Its Production and Interpretation, Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs, 1:2, 3-23, DOI: 10.1080/02791072.1968.10524515
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E=
PSYCHEDELIC READER
G u n t h e r M. vVeil, Editor
University Books, New H y d e Park, N.Y.
pp 191-213

THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE:

ITS PRODUCTION AND INTERPRETATION

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Timothy Leary

Three y e a r s a g o o n a s u n n y afternoon in t h e g a r d e n of a C u e r n a v a c a
Villa, I a t e s e v e n of t h e s o - c a l l e d " s a c r e d mushrooms" w h i c h had b e e n g i v e n
t o m e by a s c i e n t i s t from t h e U n i v e r s i t y of M e x i c o . During t h e n e x t f i v e h o u r s ,
I w a s w h i r l e d through a n e x p e r i e n c e w h i c h c o u l d b e d e s c r i b e d i n many e x t r a v a g a n t m e t a p h o r s b u t w h i c h w a s a b o v e a l l a n d w i t h o u t q u e s t i o n t h e d e e p e s t rel i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e of my l i f e .
S t a t e m e n t s a b o u t p e r s o n a l r e a c t i o n s , however p a s s i o n a t e , a r e a l w a y s
r e l a t i v e to t h e s p e a k e r ' s h i s t o r y a n d may h a v e l i t t l e g e n e r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e .
Next come t h e q u e s t i o n s "Why? a n d "So w h a t ?
'I

I'

There a r e many p r e d i s p o s i n g f a c t o r s - i n t e l l e c t u a l , e m o t i o n a l , s p i r i t u a l ,
s o c i a l - w h i c h cause o n e p e r s o n to b e ready for a d r a m a t i c mind-opening e x p e r i e n c e a n d w h i c h l e a d a n o t h e r to s h r i n k back from new l e v e l s of a w a r e n e s s . The
d i s c o v e r y w h a t t h e human brain p o s s e s s e s a n infinity of p o t e n t i a l i t i e s and c a n
o p e r a t e at u n e x p e c t e d s p a c e - t i m e d i m e n s i o n s left m e f e e l i n g e x h i l a r a t e d , a w e d ,
a n d q u i t e c o n v i n c e d t h a t I h a d a w a k e n e d from a long o n t o l o g i c a l s l e e p .

A profound t r a n s c e n d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s h o u l d l e a v e i n its w a k e a c h a n g e d
man a n d a c h a n g e d life. S i n c e my illumination of August, 1 9 6 0 , I h a v e d e v o t e d
most of my e n e r g i e s to try to u n d e r s t a n d t h e r e v e l a t o r y p o t e n t i a l i t i e s of t h e human
nervous s y s t e m a n d to m a k e t h e s e i n s i g h t s a v a i l a b l e t o o t h e r s .
I h a v e r e p e a t e d t h i s b i o c h e m i c a l a n d (to m e ) s a c r a m e n t a l r i t u a l o v e r f i f t y
times p e r s o n a l l y , a n d a l m o s t e v e r y time, I h a v e b e e n a w e d by r e l i g i o u s r e v e l a t i o n s a s s h a t t e r i n g as t h e f i r s t e x p e r i e n c e . During t h i s period I h a v e b e e n lucky
enough to c o l l a b o r a t e i n t h i s work w i t h more t h a n 50 s c i e n t i s t s a n d s c h o l a r s w h o
joined our v a r i o u s r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s . W e h a v e a r r a n g e d t r a n s c e n d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s
for over o n e t h o u s a n d p e r s o n s from a l l w a l k s of life, i n c l u d i n g 69 f u l l - t i m e r e l i g i o u s p r o f e s s i o n a l s , a b o u t half of whom p r o f e s s t h e C h r i s t i a n or J e w i s h f a i t h a n d
about half of whom belong t o E a s t e r n r e l i g i o n s .

*Lecture d e l i v e r e d at a m e e t i n g of Lutheran p s y c h o l o g i s t s a n d o t h e r i n t e r e s t e d
p r o f e s s i o n a l s , s p o n s o r e d by t h e Board of T h e o l o g i c a l E d u c a t i o n , Lutheran C h u r c h
in America, i n c o n j u n c t i o n with t h e 7 1 s t Annual C o n v e n t i o n of t h e American Psyc h o l o g i c a l Association, P h i l a d e l p h i a , B e l l e v u e Stratford H o t e l , Aug. 30, 19 63.

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I n c l u d e d i n t h i s r o s t e r a r e t w o c o l l e g e d e a n s , a divinity c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t , t h r e e u n i v e r s i t y c h a p l a i n s , a n e x e c u t i v e of a r e l i g i o u s foundation, a
prominent r e l i g i o u s e d i t o r , a n d s e v e r a l d i s t i n g u i s h e d r e l i g i o u s p h i l o s o p h e r s . In
our r e s e a r c h files a n d i n c e r t a i n denominational offices t h e r e is building up a
l a r g e a n d q u i t e r e m a r k a b l e c o l l e c t i o n of r e p o r t s w h i c h w i l l b e p u b l i s h e d w h e n
t h e p o l i t i c a l a t m o s p h e r e b e c o m e s more t o l e r a n t . A t t h i s point it is c o n s e r v a t i v e
to state t h a t o v e r 75 per c e n t of t h e s e s u b j e c t s report i n t e n s e mystico-religious
r e s p o n s e s , a n d c o n s i d e r a b l y mot-? t h a n half c l a i m t h a t t h e y h a v e h a d t h e d e e p e s t
s p i r i t u a l e x p e r i e n c e of t h e i r life.
The i n t e r e s t g e n e r a t e d by t h i s r e s e a r c h l e d to t h e formation of a n informal
g r o u p of m i n i s t e r s , t h e o l o g i a n s a n d r e l i g i o u s p s y c h o l o g i s t s who h a v e b e e n meeting o n c e a month (summers e x c e p t e d ) for o v e r t w o y e a r s , w i t h a n a v e r a g e of 20
p e r s o n s i n a t t e n d a n c e . In a d d i t i o n t o arranging for s p i r i t u a l l y o r i e n t e d p s y c h e d e l i c s e s s i o n s a n d d i s c u s s i n g p r e p a r e d p a p e r s , t h i s g r o u p provided t h e s u p e r v i s o r y man-power for t h e d r a m a t i c "Good Friday" s t u d y , and w a s t h e o r i g i n a l
p l a n n i n g n u c l e u s of t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n w h i c h a s s u m e d s p o n s o r s h i p of o u r r e s e a r c h
i n consciousness-expansion: IF-IF (The I n t e r n a t i o n a l F e d e r a t i o n for I n t e r n a l
Freedom). The g e n e r a t i n g i m p u l s e a n d t n e o r i g i n a l l e a d e r s h i p of IFIF came from
a s e m i n a r i n r e l i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e , a n d t h i s fact may b e r e l a t e d to t h e alarm w h i c h
IFIF a r o u s e d i n s o m e s e c u - l a r a n d p s y c h i a t r i c c i r c l e s .
THE "GOOD FRIDAY" STUDY, w h i c h h a s b e e n s e n s a t i o n a l i z e d r e c e n t l y
i n t h e p r e s s as "The M i r a c l e of M a r s h C h a p e l , d e s e r v e s further e l a b o r a t i o n
not o n l y a s a n e x a m p l e of a s e r i o u s , c o n t r o l l e d e x p e r i m e n t , involving o v e r 30
c o u r a g e o u s v o l u n t e e r s , but also a s a s y s t e m a t i c d e m o n s t r a t i o n of t h e r e l i g i o u s
a s p e c t s of t h e p s y c h e d e l i c r e v e l a t o r y e x p e r i e n c e . This s t u d y w a s t h e Ph.D.D i s s e r t a t i o n r e s e a r c h of a g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t i n t h e p h i l o s o p h y of religion a t
Harvard U n i v e r s i t y , w h o i s , i n c i d e n t a l l y , both a n M . D. a n d a Bachelor of
Divinity. This i n v e s t i g a t o r set o u t to d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t e x p e r i e n c e r e p o r t e d during p s y c h e d e l i c s e s s i o n s w a s s i m i l a r t o t h e m y s t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e r e p o r t e d by s a i n t s a n d famous r e l i g i o u s m y s t i c s .
I'

The sub.jects i n t h i s s t u d y w e r e 2 0 divinity s t u d e n t s s e l e c t e d from a

g r o u p of v o l u n t e e r s . The s u b j e c t s w e r e d i v i d e d i n t o f i v e g r o u p s of four persons,
a n d e a c h group met b e f o r e t h e s e s s i o n for o r i e n t a t i o n a n d preparation. T o e a c h
g r o u p w e r e a s s i g n e d two g u i d e s w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e p s y c h e d e l i c e x p e r i e n c e . The
t e n g u i d e s w e r e p r o f e s s o r s a n d a d v a n c e d g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s from Boston-area
colleges.
The experiment took p l a c e i n a s m a l l , p r i v a t e c h a p e l , beginning about
o n e hour before noon o n Good Friday. The Dean of t h e C h a p e l , who w a s t o
c o n d u c t a three-hour d e v o t i o n a l s e r v i c e u p s t a i r s i n t h e main h a l l of t h e c h u r c h ,
v i s i t e d t h e s u b j e c t s a few m i n u t e s b e f o r e t h e s t a r t of t h e s e r v i c e a t noon, a n d
g a v e a brief i n s p i r a t i o n a l t a l k .
Two of t h e s u b j e c t s i n e a c h group a n d o n e of t h e t w o g u i d e s w e r e g i v e n
a moderately stiff d o s a g e (i.e., 30 mg) of p s i l o c y b i n , t h e c h e m i c a l s y n t h e s i s
of t h e active i n g r e d i e n t i n t h e " s a c r e d mushroom" of M e x i c o . The remaining

two s u b j e c t s a n d t h e s e c o n d g u i d e r e c e i v e d a p l a c e b o w h i c h produced n o t i c e a b l e s o m a t i c s i d e effects, but which w a s not p s y c h e d e l i c . The s t u d y w a s

triple-blind: N e i t h e r t h e s u b j e c t s , g u i d e s , nor e x p e r i m e n t e r knew w h o r e c e i v e d
psilocybin.

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B e c a u s e t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n d e s c r i b i n g t h i s s t u d y h a s not y e t b e e n p u b l i s h e d , 1
any d e t a i l e d d i s c u s s i o n of t h e r e s u l t s would b e premature a n d unfair to t h e i n v e s tigator. I c a n s a y , however, t h a t t h e r e s u l t s c l e a r l y s u p p o r t t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t ,
w i t h a d e q u a t e preparation and i n a n environment w h i c h is s u p p o r t i v e a n d r e l i g i o u s ly meaningful, s u b j e c t s report m y s t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y more t h a n p l a c e b o
controls.

O u r s t u d i e s , n a t u r a l i s t i c a n d e x p e r i m e n t a l , t h u s d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t if t h e
e x p e c t a t i o n , p r e p a r a t i o n , a n d s e t t i n g a r e s p i r i t u a l , a n i n t e n s e m y s t i c a l or r e v e l atory e x p e r i e n c e c a n b e e x p e c t e d in from 4 0 t o 9 0 per c e n t of s u b j e c t s i n g e s t i n g
p s y c h e d e l i c drugs. T h e s e r e s u l t s may be a t t r i b u t e d to t h e b i a s of our r e s e a r c h
group, w h i c h h a s t a k e n t h e "far-out" a n d r a t h e r d a n g e r o u s p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e r e a r e
e x p e r i e n t i a l - s p i r i t u a l a s w e l l a s s e c u l a r b e h a v i o r a l p o t e n t i a l i t i e s of t h e n e r v o u s
s y s t e m . W h i l e w e s h a r e a n d follow t h e e p i s t e m o l o g y of s c i e n t i f i c p s y c h o l o g y
( o b j e c t i v e r e c o r d s ) , our b a s i c o n t o l o g i c a l a s s u m p t i o n s a r e c l o s e r to Jung t h a n t h e
Freud, c l o s e r to t h e m y s t i c s t h a n t o t h e t h e o l o g i a n s , c l o s e r to E i n s t e i n a n d Bohr
than t o Newton. In order t o c h e c k o n t h i s b i a s , let u s cast a c o m p a r a t i v e g l a n c e
a t t h e work of o t h e r r e s e a r c h g r o u p s i n t h i s f i e l d w h o b e g i n from more c o n v e n t i o n a l
ontological b a s e s

O s c a r Janiger, a p s y c h i a t r i s t , a n d W i l l i a m M c G l o t h l i n , a p s y c h o l o g i s t ,
have reported t h e r e a c t i o n s of 194 p s y c h e d e l i c s u b j e c t s . Seventy-three of t h e s e
took LSD a s part of a p s y c h o t h e r a p y program, a n d 1 2 1 w e r e v o l u n t e e r s . The religious "set" would not b e e x p e c t e d to d o m i n a t e t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s of t h e s e s u b j e c t s . The r e s u l t s , w h i c h a r e a b s t r a c t e d from a p a p e r p u b l i s h e d i n
Psyched e l i c Review,
a r e as f o l l o w s ;

ITEM

PER CENT
Janiger-McGlothlin
(non-re l i g iou s s et t ing)

...

Increased interest in morals, ethics.

:
Increased interest in other universal concepts
(meaning of life):
C h a n g e i n s e n s e of v a l u e s
LSD s h o u l d b e u s e d for becoming a w a r e
of o n e s e l f :
g e t t i n g new meaning to life:
g e t t i n g p e o p l e t o u n d e r s t a n d e a c h other:
An e x p e r i e n c e of l a s t i n g benefit:

N = 194
35
48
48
75
58
42
58

Two o t h e r s t u d i e s , o n e by Ditman et a l . , a n o t h e r by S a v a g e et a l . , u s e d
t h e same q u e s t i o n n a i r e , a l l o w i n g for inter-experiment comparison. Both Ditman

and Savage are psychiatrists, but the c l i n i c a l environment of the l a t t e r ' s study
is definitely more religious ( s u b j e c t s are shown religious articles during the
Summarizing t h e religious items of their questionnaires:
s e s s i o n , etc.)

ITEM

PER CENT
Ditman
(supportive)
environment)
N = 74

Savage
(supportive
env ir o nm e nt &
some religious
s t i m uli)
N =96

49
32

85
83

40

90

F e e l it (LSD) w a s t h e g r e a t e s t
thing that ever happened t o me:
A religious experience.
:
A greater awareness of God or a
Higher Power, or a n Ultimate
reality:

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..

Here, then, w'e have five scientific s t u d i e s by qualified investigators -Ditman e t al., 5
the four naturalistic s t u d i e s by Leaxy et a l . ,
Savage et a l . ,
and the triple-blind study in the Harvard dissertation
and Janiger-McGlothlin,
mentioned earlier--yielding data which indicate that (1) if t h e setting is supportive but not spiritual, between 40 to 75 per cent of psychedelic s u b j e c t s w i l l
report intense and life-changing religious experiences: and t h a t (2) if the set and
setting a r e supportive and spiritual, then from 40 to 90 per c e n t of the experiences
w i l l be revelatory and mystico-religious.
It is hard t o see how t h e s e r e s u l t s c a n b e disregarded by t h o s e who are
concerned with spiritual growth and religious development. These data a r e even
more interesting b e c a u s e the experiments took place during a n historical era
when mysticism, individual religious e c s t a s y ( a s opposkd t o religious behavior),
w a s highly s u s p e c t , and when the c l a s s i c , direct, non-verbal means of revelation and consciousness-expansion s u c h a s meditation, yoga, fasting, monastic
withdrawal and sacramental foods and drugs were surrounded by a n aura of fear,
clandestine secrecy, a c t i v e s o c i a l sanction, and even imprisonment.
The 69
professional workers in religious vocations who partook of psychedelic s u b s t a n c e s
(noted earlier), were responsible, respected, thoughtful, and moral individuals
who were grimly aware of t h e controversial nature of the procedure and aware that
their reputations and their jobs might be undermined (and, as a matter of fact,
have been and are today being threatened for some of them). Still the results
read: 75% spiritual revelation. It may w e l l b e that the most i n t e n s e religious
experience, like t h e finest m e t a l , requires fire, the heat of external bureaucratic opposition, t o produce the k e e n e s t edge. When the day comes--as it
surely will--that sacramental biochemicals like LSD w i l l be as routinely and
tamely used as organ music and i n c e n s e to a s s i s t in the attainment of religious
experience, i t may w e l l be that t h e ego-shattering effect of t h e drug w i l l be
diminished. Such may be one a s p e c t of t h e paradoxical nature of religious experience.

* * * *
6

THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. You are undoubtedly wondering about the

meaning of this phrase which h a s been used s o freely i n the preceding paragraphs.
May I offer a definition?

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The religious experience is the e c s t a t i c , incontrovertibly certain, subjective discovery of answers to four b a s i c spiritual questions. There c a n be, of
course, absolute subjective certainty i n regard t o s e c u l a r questions: "Is t h i s
the girl I love? I s Fidel Castro a wicked man? Are the Yankees the b e s t b a s e ball t e a m ? " But issues which do not involve the four b a s i c questions belong t o
secular games, and s u c h convictions and f a i t h s , however deeply held, c a n b e
distinguished from the religious, Liturgical practices, rituals, dogmas, theological speculations, c a n be and too often are secular, i. e . , completely divorced
from the spiritual experience.

What are t h e s e four b a s i c spiritual q u e s t i o n s ? There is the UltimatePower question, the Life question, the Human-Destiny question, and the Ego
question.
1.

THE ULTIMATE-POWER QUESTION:

What is the Ultimate Power of Basic Energy which moves t h e universe,
c r e a t e s life? What is t h e Cosmic Plan?

2.

THE LIFE OUESTION:

What is life, where did i t s t a r t , where is it going?

3.

THE HUMAN-DESTINY QUESTION:

What is man, whence did h e come, and where is he going?

4.

THE EGO QUESTION:

What a m I ? What is my place in the plan?

While one may disagree with the wording, I think most thoughtful peoplenhilosophers or not- c a n agree on something l i k e t h i s l i s t of b a s i c i s s u e s . Do
not speak of the great religous statements-Eastern or monotheistic-speak directly
to t h e s e four questions.
Now one important f a c t about t h e s e questions is that they a r e continually
being answered and re-answered, not only by a l l the religions of the world but
a l s o by the data of the natural s c i e n c e s , Read t h e s e questions again from the
standpoint of the g o a l s of (1) astronomy-physics, (2) biochemistry, (3) g e n e t i c s ,
paleontology, and evolutiorlary theory, (4) neurology.
W e a r e all aware of the unhappy fact that both s c i e n c e and religion are
too often diverted towards s e c u l a r game g o a l s . Various pressures demand that
laboratory and church forget t h e s e b a s i c questions and instead provide distractions, illusory protection, narcotic comfort, Most of us dread confrontation with

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the answers to t h e s e b a s i c questions, whether t h e s e answers come from s c i e n c e

or religion. But if "pure" s c i e n c e and religion address themselves t o the same
b a s i c questions, what is the distinction between the two d i s c i p l i n e s ? Science
is t h e systematic attempt t o record and measure the energy process and t h e
s e q u e n c e of energy transformations w e c a l l life. T h e goal is to answer the b a s i c
questions in terms of objective, observed, public data. Religion is the systema t i c attempt to provide answers to the same questions subjectively, in terms of
direct, incontrovertible, personal experience.
Science is a s o c i a l system which evolves r o l e s , rules, rituals, values,
language, space-time locations t o further the quest for t h e s e goals-these answers.
Religion is a social system which has evolved i t s r o l e s , rules, rituals, values,
language, space-time locations t o further the pursuit of t h e same goals-the revelatory experience. A science which fails t o address itself t o t h e s e spiritual
g o a l s , which a c c e p t s other purposes (however popular) becomes secular, political, and tends t o oppose new data.
Religion w h i c h fails t o provide direct experie,itial answers to t h e s e spiritual questions become secular, political, and
tends t o oppose the individual revelatory confrontation. R. C. Zaehner,8 whose
formalism is not always matched by his tolerance, has remarked that "experience,
when divorced from revelation, often l e a d s to absurd and wholly irrational excesses. I t Like any statement of polarity the opposite is equally true: revelation, when divorced from experience, often l e a d s t o absurd and wholly rational
e x c e s s e s . Those of u s who have been researching the area of c o n s c i o u s n e s s
have been a b l e t o collect considerable sociological data about the tendency of
the rational mind t o spin out i t s own interpretations. But I s h a l l have more t o
s a y about the political situation in a later section of t h i s paper.
At t h i s point I should like to present my main t h e s i s . I am going t o advance the hypothesis that t h o s e a s p e c t s of the psychedelic experience which
s u b j e c t s report t o be ineffable and e c s t a t i c a l l y religious involve a direct awareness of the p r o c e s s e s which physicists and biochemists and neurologists
measure

W e are treading here on very tricky ground. When we read the reports
of LSD s u b j e c t s , w e a r e doubly limited. First, they can only speak in the vocabulary they know, and for the most part they do not p o s s e s s t h e lexicon and training of energy s c i e n t i s t s . Second, w e researchers only find what w e are prepared
to look for, and too often w e think in crude psychological-jargon concepts: moods,
emotions, value judgments, diagnostic categories.
In recent months w e have re-examined our data and have begun to interview
s u b j e c t s from the perspective of this present hypothesis. The results are interesting. To s p e l l them out in brief detail I am going t o review some of the current
scientific answers to t h e s e four b a s i c questions and then compare them with reports from psychedelic subjects.

THE ULTIMATE- POWER QUESTION :

A. The scientific answers t o this question change constantly-Newtonian laws, quantum indeterminacy, atomic structure, nuclear structure. Today
the b a s i c energy is located within the nucleus. Inside the atom,

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a transparent sphere of emptiness, thinly populated with electrons,

the s u b s t a n c e of t h e atom h a s shrunk t o a core of unbelievable smallness: enlarged 1 0 0 0 million times, a n atom would b e about the s i z e
of a football, but its nucleus would s t i l l be hardly visible-a mere
speck of dust a t t h e center. Y e t that nucleus radiates a powerful
electric field which holds and controls the electrons around it.9
Incredible power and complexity operating a t s p e e d s and s p a t i a l dimensions w h i c h our conceptual minds cannot register. Infinitely small, y e t pulsating outward through enormous networks of electrical forces-atom, molecule,
cell, planet, star: a l l forms dancing to the nuclear tune.
The cosmic design is t h i s network of energy whirling through spacetime. More than 1 5 , 0 0 0 million y e a r s ago the o l d e s t known s t a r s began t o
form. Whirling d i s k s of g a s molecules (driven of course by that tiny, spinning,
nuclear force)-condensing clouds-further condensations-the tangled w e b of
spinning magnetic fields clustering into s t e l l a r forms, and e a c h s t e l l a r cluster
hooked up in a magnetic dance with i t s planetary cluster and with every other s t a r
in t h e galaxy and e a c h galaxy whirling in synchronized relationship t o t h e other
galaxies.
One thousand million g a l a x i e s . From 100 million t o 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 million
s t a r s in a galaxy-that is to s a y , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 million planetary s y s t e m s per galaxy
and each planetary system slowly wheeling through the s t e l l a r c y c l e t h a t allows
for a brief time the possibility of life a s w e know it.
Five thousand million y e a r s ago, a slow-spinning dward s t a r w e c a l l the
s u n is the center of a field of swirling planetary material. The planet earth is
created, In five thousand million years the s u n ' s supply of hydrogen will b e
burned up, the planets will be engulfed by a final s o l a r explosion. Then the
ashen remnants of our planetary system will spin silently through the dark infinity of space. And then is t h e dance over? Hardly. Our tiny solar light,
which is one of one hundred thousand million s u n s in our galaxy, will scarcely
be missed. And our galaxyJs one of a thousand million g a l a x i e s spinning out
and up a t rates which exceed'the speed of light-each galaxy eventually burning
up, t o be replaced by new g a l a x i e s t o preserve t h e dance equilibrium.
Here in the always changing data of nuclear physics and astronomy is
the current scientific answer t o the first b a s i c question-material enough indeed
for a n awesome cosmology.

B. Psychedelic reports often contain phrases which seem t o describe

similar phenomena, subjectively experienced.

I p a s s e d in and out of a s t a t e s e v e r a l times where I w a s so relaxed that

I felt open t o a total flow, over and around and through my body (more
.All objects were dripping, streaming, with white-hot
than my body).
light or electricity which flowed in the air. It w a s a s though we were
watching the world, j u s t having come into being, cool off, i t s s u b s t a n c e
and form still molten and barely beginning t o harden.

..

'

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Body being destroyed a f t e r it became so heavy as t o be unbearable. Mind

wandering, ambulating throughout a n ecstatically-lit indescribable lands c a p e . How c a n there be so m u c h light-layers and layers of light, light
upon light, all is illumination.
I became more and more conscious of vibrations-of the vibrations in my
body, the harp-strings giving forth their individual t o n e s Gradually I
f e l t myself becoming one with t h e cosmic Vibration.. .in t h i s dimension
there were no forms, no d e i t i e s or personalities-just b l i s s .

The dominant impression w a s that of entering into the very marrow of

existence..
It w a s a s if e a c h of the billion atoms of experience which
under normal circumstances are summarized and averaged into crude,
indiscriminate wholesale impressions w a s now being s e e n and savored
for itself, The other c l e a r s e n s e w a s t h a t of cosmic relativity. Perhaps
all experience never g e t s summarized in any inclusive over-view. Perhaps a l l there is, is t h i s everlasting congeries of a n infinite number of
d i s c r e t e points of view, each summarizing t h e whole from its perspective.

..

I could see t h e whole history and evolution along which man h a s come.
I w a s moving into t h e future and saw t h e old cycle of peace and war, good
times a n d bad times, starting to repeat, and I s a i d , "The same old thing
again, Oh God! It has changed though, it is different," and I thought of
the r i s e of man from animal t o spiritual being. But I w a s still moving into
the future and I saw the whole planet destroyed and all history, evolution,
and human efforts being wiped out in t h i s one ultimate destructive act of
God.

e., contentSubjects speak of participating in and merging with pure

energy, white light; of witnessing the breakdown of macroscopic objects into
vibratory patterns, v i s u a l n e t s , t h e c o l l a p s e of external structure into wave patt e r n s , t h e awareness t h a t everything is a dance of particles, sensing the smalln e s s and fragility of our system, visions of the void, of world-ending explosions,
of the cyclical nature of creation and dissolution, etc. Now I need not apologize
for the flimsy inadequacy of t h e s e words. We j u s t don't have a better experiential
vocabulary. If God were to permit you a brief voyage into the Divine Process, let
you whirl for a second into the atomic nucleus or spin you out on a light-year trip
through t h e g a l a x i e s , how on earth would you describe what you saw, when you
got back, . b r e a t h l e s s , t o your office? This metaphor may sound far-fetched and
irrelevant, but j u s t a s k someone who h a s t a k e n LSD in a supportive setting.
( i D

10

(2)

THE LIFE QUESTION:

A.

The Scientific Answer:

Our planetary system began over five billion y e a r s ago and h a s

around five billion y e a r s t o go. Life a s w e know it d a t e s back t o about o n e
billion y e a r s . In other words, t h e earth spun for about 80 per cent of its exi s t e n c e without life. The c r u s t slowly cooled and w a s eroded by i n c e s s a n t
water flow. "Fertile mineral mud w a s deposited. now giving.. .for the first
t i m e . . .the possibility of harboring life.
Thunderbolts in the mud produce
amino a c i d s , the b a s i c building blocks of life. Then life begins the c e a s e l e s s
production of protein molecules, incalculable in number, forever combining into
new forms. The variety of proteins " e x c e e d s all the drops of water in all the
Then protoplasm. C e l l , Within t h e cell, incredible
oceans of the world".
beauty and order.

..

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I'

When w e consider the teeming activity of a modern city it is difficult

to realize that in the cells of our bodies infinitely more complicated
p r o c e s s e s are a t work-ceaseless manufacture, acquisition of food,
A l l t h i s t a k e s place i n
storage, communication and administration.
superb harmony, with t h e cooperation of all the participants of a living
system, regulated down t o the smallest d e t a i l , 9

Life is t h e striving c y c l e , of repetitious reproductive energy transformations. Moving, twisting, devouring, changing, t h e unit of life is t h e
cell. And the blueprint is the g e n e t i c code, the two nucleic a c i d s - The long,
intertwined, duplicating c h a i n s of DNA and the controlling regulation of RNA"which determine the structure of the living s u b s t a n c e " .
And where is it going? Exactly like t h e old Hindu myths of cyclical
rotation, t h e astrophysicists tell us that life is a temporary sequence which
occurs a t a brief midpoint in t h e planetary cycle. Terrestrial life began around
four billion y e a r s A.B. ("after t h e beginning" of our solar cycle) and will run
for another two billion y e a r s or so. A t t h a t time the solar furnace will burn so
hot that the minor planets (including Earth) will boil, bubble and burn out. In
other planetary systems the t i m e s p a n s are different, but t h e c y c l e is probably
the same.
There comes a n intermediate s t a g e in the temperature history of a planet
which can nourish living forms, and then life merges into the final unifying fire.
Data here, indeed, for a n awesome cosmology.

B. T h e psychedelic correlates of t h e s e biological concepts sounds

like this: confrontation with and participation in cellular flow; v i s i o n s of microscopic processes; strange, undulating, multi-colored, t i s s u e patterns; being
a one-celled organism floating down arterial waterways; being part of the f a n t a s t i c
artistry of internal factories; recoiling with fear a t t h e i n c e s s a n t push, struggle,
drive of the biological machinery, clicking, clicking, e n d l e s s l y , endlessly-at
every moment engulfing you. For example:
11

(a)

My e y e s c l o s e d , the impressions became more intense. The colors were

brilliant blues, purples, and greens with d a s h e s of red and s t r e a k s of
yellow-orange. There were no e a s i l y identifiable objects, only convolutions, prisms, and continuous movement.

(b)

My heart a lizard twitching lithely in my pocket, awaiting the wave again,

my f l e s h sweating a s it crawled over my bones, the mountains curved
around my heart, the surf crashing a g a i n s t my mucoused lungs, coughing
into heart b e a t s , pulsing death t o s c a r e m e . Futile body. Awaiting the
undertow escaping under the wave which crashed so coughingly over my
.The universe has
heart, blue lighted into YES. An undertow going UP..
a n a x i s which is not perpendicular, and around it flock the living colors,
pulsing eternal involutions.

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..

(c)

I then gradually became aware of movement, a rocking type of movement,

like on a roller-coaster, y e t I did not move my body a t a l l . , .With an
overwhelming acceleration I w a s turning around and around, swirling, then
shuttling back and forth, like a p i e c e of potassium on water, h i s s i n g ,
sparkling, full of life and fire.

(3)

THE HUMAN-DESTINY QUESTION:

A.

The Scientific Answer:

The flame of life which moves every living form, including the cell cluster
you c a n yourself, began, w e a r e told, a s a tiny single-celled,spat-k in the lower
pre-Cambrian mud; then p a s s e d over in steady transformations t o more complex
forms. W e like to speak of higher forms, but l e t s not ignore or patronize the
single-cell game. I t s s t i l l quite thriving, thank you. Next, your a n c e s t r a l fire
glowed in s e a w e e d , a l g a e , f l a g e l l a t e , sponge, coral (about one billion y e a r s ago);
then f i s h , fern, scorpion, milliped (about 600 million y e a r s ago). Every c e l l in
your body t r a c e s back (about 4 5 0 million y e a r s ago) t o t h e same light-life flickering in amphibian (and what a fateful and questionable decision t o l e a v e t h e seashould w e have done it?)-until, one million y e a r s ago, comes t h e aureole glory of A
Australopithecus *

The torch of life next p a s s e s on t o t h e hand-axe culture (around 6 0 0 , 0 0 0

y e a r s ago) t o Pithecanthropus ( c a n you remember watching for t h e change of
Southern elephants and the sabre-tooth t i g e r ? ) ; then blazing brightly in the radiance of our great-grandfather Neanderthal man ( a mere 7 0 , 0 0 0 y e a r s ago), suddenly flaring up in that cerebral explosion that doubled t h e cortex of our grandfather Cromagnon man ( 4 4 , 0 0 0 t o 109,000 y e a r s ago), and then radiating into the
*The f o s s i l s of the newly discovered Homo H a b i l i s from East Africa are estima t e d t o be 1 , 7 5 0 , 0 0 0 y e a r s old. (N.Y. T i m e s , March 1 8 , April 3 & 4 , 1964.
Another estimate t r a c e s human origins back about 1 5 million years: -N.Y. T i m e s ,
April 12, 1 9 6 4 . )

12

full flame of recent man, our older Stone Age, Neolithic brothers, our Bronze
and Iron Age s e l v e s .
The r a c e , far from being culminated, has j u s t begun:

What next?

The development of Re-hominines Australopithecus.. . t o the f i r s t

emergence of the
.Cromagnons l a s t e d about
fifteen thousand
human life-spans,
.In t h i s relatively short period in world history the
hominid type submitted t o a positively hurricane change of form: indeed
he may be looked upon as one of the animal groups whose potentialities
of unfolding with the g r e a t e s t intensity have been realized. It must,
however, by no means be expected t h a t t h i s natural flood of development
will dry up with Homo s a p i e n s r e c e n s . Man will be unable to remain
man a s we know him now, a modern s a p i e n s type, He will in the c o u r s e s
of the next hundreds of millennia presumably change considerably physiologically and physically. 1 0

..

...

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..

B.

The psychedelic Correlate:

What does all t h a t evolutionary b u s i n e s s have t o do with you or m e or

LSD or the religious experience? It might, it just might, have a lot t o do with
very current events. Many, and I am j u s t bold enough t o s a y most, LSD subjects s a y they experience early forms of racial or sub-human s p e c i e s evolution
during their s e s s i o n s . Now the easiest interpretation is the psychiatric: "Oh
y e s , hallucinations. Everyone knows that LSD m a k e s you crazy, and your delusions c a n t a k e any psychotic form." But wait; not so f a s t . I s it entirely
inconceivable that our cortical cells, or the machinery inside t h e cellular nucleus, "remembers back along t h e unbroken chain of electrical transformations
that connects every one of us back t o that original thunderbolt in t h e preCambrian mud? Impossible, you s a y ? Read a g e n e t i c s text. Read and reflect about t h e DNA chain of complex protein molecuJes that took you a s a
uni-celled organism a t t h e moment of your conception and planned every s t a g e
of your natural development. Half of that genetic blueprint w a s handed t o you
intact by your mother, and half from your father, and then slammed together in
that incredible welding process w e call conception.
I'

YOU", your ego, your good-old American-social-self, have been trained

t o remember certain crucial s e c u l a r game landmarks: your senior prom, your
wedding day, But is it not possible that others of your ten billion brain c e l l s
"remember" other critical survival crossroads like conception, intrauterine
events, birth? Events for which our language h a s few or no descriptive
terms?
Every cell in your body is the current-carrier of a n energy torch which
traces back through millions of generation-transformations
Remember t h a t
genetic code?

You must recognize by now the difficulty of my t a s k . I am trying t o

expand your c o n s c i o u s n e s s , break through yourmacros pocic, s e c u l a r set,
"turn you on", give you a faint feeling of a psychedelic moment, trying t o

relate two s e t s of p r o c e s s e s for which w e have no words speed-of-light

energy-transformation p r o c e s s e s and the transcendent vision.

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I ' m going t o call for help. I could appeal to quotes from Gamow
the cosmologist, or Eiseley t h e anthropologist, or Hoyle the astronomer,
or Teilhard du Chardin t h e theological biologist, or Aldous Huxley the great
visionary prqphet of our times, or Julian Huxley whose pharmacological predictions sound like science-fiction. I could c a l l upon a hundred articulate
s c i e n t i s t s who talk in dazed poetry about the spiritual implications of their
work. Instead, I am going to read a p a s s a g e by the German anthropologist
Egon Freiherr von Eickstedt. The topic is the spiritual attitude of
Australopithecus. The point is t h a t t h i s description of the world-view
of a tiny monkey-man who lived a million y e a r s ago could be a quote from
any one of a hundred LSD reports I ' v e read in the last three y e a r s . Von
Eickstedt's research l e a d s him to s a y that,
In t h e way of experience there is dominant, throughout, a kaleidos c o p i c interrelated world, Feeling and perception are hardly separa t e d in the world of visions; s p a c e and time are j u s t floating environmental qualities.. . T h u s the border between I and not-I is only a t
the border of o n e ' s own and actually experienced, perceptible world..
But this by no means denotes merely b e s t i a l brutality and c o a r s e n e s s
which is s o erroneously and often ascribed t o the beginnings of humanity. Quite t h e reverse. The thymality within his own circle means
j u s t the opposite, tenderness, goodness and cheerfulness, and allows
with complete justification the presumption of a picture of intimate
family life and t h e s p e c i f i c teaching of the children, a l s o need of
ornament, dance and much happiness.
T h u s the extremes of feeling
swing with the mood between fear and love, and the dread of t h e unknowable.. 11

W e have in our f i l e s a n LSD report from a world-renowned theologian with

astonishing parallels t o t h i s quotation.
Th,e b e s t way I c a n describe the experience as a whole is to liken it
to an emotional-reflective-visual kaleidoscope. ,Experiences involving t h e s e three components kept dissolving continuously from
one pattern into another, Emotionally the patterns ranged from s e r e n e
contentment and mild euphoria t o apprehension which boarded on, but
never quite slipped into, alarm, But overwhelmingly they involved (a)
astonishment at the absolutely incredible immensity, complexity, int e n s i t y , and extravagance of being, e x i s t e n c e , the cosmos, c a l l i t
what you will. Ontological shock, 'I suppose. (b) The most a c u t e
s e n s e of t h e poignancy, fragility, preciousness, and significance
of a l l life and history. The latter w a s accompanied by a powerful
s e n s e of t h e responsibility of a l l for a l l . . .Intense affection for my
family.. .Importance and rightness of behaving decently and responsibly.

14

(4)

THE EGO QUESTION:

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A.

The S c i e n t i f i c Answer:

The q u e s t i o n "Who a m I ? " c a n b e a n s w e r e d at many l e v e l s . Psycholog i s t s c a n d e s c r i b e a n d e x p l a i n your p s y c h o g e n e s i s a n d p e r s o n a l e v o l u t i o n .

S o c i o l o g i s t s a n d a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s c a n e x p l a i n t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e t r i b a l games
w h i c h govern y o u r development. B i o l o g i s t s c a n d e s c r i b e your u n i q u e p h y s i c a l
s t r u c t u r e . But t h e e s s e n c e of y o u a n d " y o u - n e s s " is your c o n s c i o u s n e s s . You
a r e not a p s y c h o l o g i c a l or s o c i a l or bodily robot. N o e x t e r n a l d e s c r i p t i o n comes
c l o s e . W h a t c a n n o t b e m e a s u r e d , r e p l a c e d , u n d e r s t o o d by a n y o b j e c t i v e method
is your c o n s c i o u s n e s s . And w h e r e is t h i s l o c a t e d ? In y o u r n e r v o u s s y s t e m .
The s e c u l a r - g a m e e n g i n e e r s c a n e n t e r t a i n y o u w i t h theik a n a l y s e s of your macros c o p i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , but t h e bio-chemical n e u r o l o g i s t is t h e man to l i s t e n to.
He is t h e p e r s o n w h o c a n l o c a t e " y o u " i n t h e five-billion-year s e q u e n c e by
d e s c r i b i n g t h e c a p a c i t i e s of your c o r t e x . Your c o n s c i o u s n e s s is a b i o c h e m i c a l
electrical process.
The human b r a i n , w e a r e t o l d ,

is c o m p o s e d of a b o u t 1 0 b i l l i o n n e r v e c e l l s , any o n e of w h i c h may
c o n n e c t w i t h as many as 2 5 , 0 0 0 o t h e r n e r v e c e l l s . The number of interc o n n e c t i o n s w h i c h t h i s a d d s u p to w o u l d s t a g g e r e v e n a n astronomer-and
a s t r o n o m e r s a r e u s e d to d e a l i n g w i t h a s t r o n o m i c a l numbers. The number
is f a r g r e a t e r t h a n a l l t h e atoms i n t h e u n i v e r s e .
. T h i s is why p h y s i o l ogists remain u n i m p r e s s e d w i t h c o m p u t e r s . A computer s o p h i s t i c a t e d
e n o u g h to h a n d l e t h i s number of i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n s would h a v e t o b e big
e n o u g h to c o v e r t h e e a r t h . l 2

..

I n t o t h i s matrix f l o o d s " a b o u t 1 0 0 million s e n s a t i o n s a s e c o n d

And s o m e w h e r e i n t h a t t e n - b i l l i o n - c e l l galaxy
(the) v a r i o u s s e n s e s .
s o l a r s y s t e m of c o n n e c t e d n e u r o n s w h i c h is a w a r e of y o u r social s e l f .
" e g o " is to your c o r t e x w h a t t h e p l a n e t Earth is to our g a l a x y w i t h i t s
million s u n s .
I'

from..
is a tiny
Your
100,000

B. The p s y c h e d e l i c a n s w e r to t h e "I" q u e s t i o n is t h e c r u x of t h e LSD

e x p e r i e n c e . M o s t of t h e effect s w i r l s around t h i s i s s u e . As Erik Erikson
reminds u s , i t ' s hard e n o u g h to s e t t l e o n a s i m p l e t r i b a l r o l e d e f i n i t i o n of
"Who a m I?
Imagine t h e d i l e m a of t h e LSD s u b j e c t w h o s e c o r t e x is s u d d e n l y
turned o n to a much h i g h e r v o l t a g e , w h o s u d d e n l y d i s c o v e r s h i s brain s p i n n i n g
a t t h e s p e e d of light, f l o o d e d by t h o s e 100 million s e n s a t i o n s a s e c o n d . M o s t
of t h e a w e a n d r e v e r e n t wonder stems from t h i s c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h a n u n s u s p e c ted r a n g e of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , t h e t r e m e n d o u s a c c e l e r a t i o n of i m a g e s , t h e s h a t t e r ing i n s i g h t i n t o t h e n a r r o w n e s s of t h e l e a r n e d as o p p o s e d t o t h e p o t e n t i a l i t y of
a w a r e n e s s , t h e humbling s e n s e of w h e r e o n e ' s e g o is i n r e l a t i o n s h i p to t h e
total energy f i e l d .
I'

(a)

I w a s d e l i g h t e d to see t h a t my s k i n w a s d i s s o l v i n g in t i n y p a r t i c l e s
a n d f l o a t i n g a w a y . I f e l t as though my o u t e r s h e l l w a s d i s i n t e g r a t i n g ,
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a n d t h e 'essence' of m e w a s b e i n g l i b e r a t e d to ioin t h e 'essence' of

everything e l s e about me.
Two r e l a t e d f e e l i n g s w e r e p r e s e n t . O n e w a s a tremendous freedom t o
e x p e r i e n c e , t o b e I. It b e c a m e v e r y important to d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n
'I' a n d ' M e ' , t h e l a t t e r being a n o b j e c t d e f i n e d by p a t t e r n s a n d s t r u c t u r e s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s - a l l of w h i c h h a d v a n i s h e d - a n d t h e former
b e i n g t h e s u b j e c t e x p e r i e n c i n g a n d f e e l i n g . My normal life s e e m e d t o
b e a l l M e , a l l d e m a n d s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , a c r u s h i n g burden w h i c h
d e s t r o y e d t h e p l e a s u r e a n d freedom of being '1'. Later in t h e e v e n i n g
t h e q u e s t i o n of how to f i t b a c k i n t o my normal l i f e w i t h o u t becoming a
slave of its p a t t e r n s a n d d e m a n d s b e c a m e paramount. The o t h e r r e l a t e d
f e e l i n g w a s o n e of i s o l a t i o n . The s t r u g g l e t o p r e s e r v e my i d e n t i t y w e n t
on i n l o n e l i n e s s : t h e ' I ' c a n n o t b e s h a r e d or b u t t r e s s e d . The ' M e ' ,
s t r u c t u r e d a s it is, c a n b e s h a r e d , a n d is i n f a c t w h a t w e m e a n w h e n
w e t a l k about " m y s e l f " , but o n c e it is t h u s o b j e c t i f i e d it is no longer
I , it h a s become t h e known r a t h e r t h a n t h e knower. And TSD s e e m e d to
s t r i p a w a y t h e s t r u c t u r e a n d to l e a v e t h e knowing p r o c e s s n a k e d - h e n c e
t h e enormous s e n s e of i s o l a t i o n : t h e r e w a s no M e to b e communicated.
All t h i s time, for a b o u t 2-3 h o u r s , a l t h o u g h t h e r e w a s thinking, t a l k i n g
g o i n g o n , my mind w a s being u s e d , y e t t h e r e w a s no e g o . . .I c o u l d
w i t h t o t a l d i s p a s s i o n e x a m i n e v a r i o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a t 'I' h a d w i t h
p a r e n t s , f r i e n d s , p a r t s of ' m y s e l f ' , e t c . P e o p l e w h o w a l k e d i n t o t h e
room w e r e a c c e p t e d w i t h t h e same s e r e n e equanimity t h a t I f e l t a b o u t
a c c e p t i n g my o w n m e n t a l p r o d u c t s ; t h e y w e r e r e a l l y w a l k i n g a r o u n d i n
my mind.

I w a s e n t e r i n g i n t o a n o t h e r d i m e n s i o n of e x i s t e n c e , ' I ' w a s not.

Everything w a s t o t a l l y d i s s o l v e d i n t o a flow of m a t t e r c o n t i n u o u s l y
moving. N o t i m e , n o s p a c e . A f e e l i n g of c o l o r , but i n d e s c r i b a b l e .
F e e l i n g of movement mainly. A w a r e n e s s t h a t I, t h e o t h e r s , a r e only
c o l l e c t i o n s of c l u s t e r s of m o l e c u l e s , w h i c h are a l l part of t h e same
stream

For t h e small p e r c e n t a g e of unprepared s u b j e c t s w h o t a k e LSD i n

c a r e l e s s or m a n i p u l a t i v e s e t t i n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e terror a n d paranoid p a n i c ,
t h e i r misery i n v a r i a b l y c e n t e r s around t h e s t r u g g l e to re-impose ego c o n t r o l
o n t h e whirling e n e r g y flow i n them a n d a r o u n d t h e m . Theirs is t h e e x h a u s t i n g
a n d s a d t a s k of attempting to slow down a n d l i m i t t h e e l e c t r i c a l p u l s e of t h e
ten-billion-cell cerebral computer. Thorazine, alcohol and narcotics help
a p p l y t h e b r a k e s . So, I f e a r , do w o r d s .

* * * * *
W h e n w e r e a d a b o u t t h e c u r r e n t f i n d i n g s of t h e e n e r g y s c i e n c e s s u c h
a s t h o s e I h a v e j u s t r e v i e w e d , how c a n our r e a c t i o n b e o t h e r t h a n r e v e r e n t
a w e a t t h e g r a n d e u r of t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s , at t h e s t a g g e r i n g complexity of

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t h e d e s i g n , t h e s p e e d , t h e scope? Ecstatic humility b e f o r e s u c h Power a n d

I n t e l l i g e n c e . I n d e e d , w h a t a s m a l l , s e c u l a r c o n c e p t - i n t e l l i g e n c e - to d e s c r i b e
t h a t Infinitude of Harmonious Complexity ! How i m p o v e r i s h e d o u r v o c a b u l a r y
and how narrow our i m a g i n a t i o n !

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Of c o u r s e , t h e f i n d i n g s of t h e pure s c i e n c e s do not produce t h e r e l i g i o u s

r e a c t i o n w e s h o u l d e x p e c t . We a r e s a t i a t e d w i t h s e c u l a r s t a t i s t i c s , d a z e d i n t o
robot d u l l n e s s by t h e enormity of f a c t s w h i c h w e a r e not e d u c a t e d t o comprehend.
Although t h e f i n d i n g s of p h y s i c s , g e n e t i c s , p a l e o n t o l o g y a n d neurology h a v e
tremendous r e l e v a n c e to our l i f e , t h e y a r e of l e s s i n t e r e s t t h a n a f a l l i n t h e s t o c k
market or t h e status of t h e p e n n a n t r a c e .
The message is dimly g r a s p e d h y p o t h e t i c a l l y , r a t i o n a l l y , but n e v e r e x p e r i e n c e d , f e l t , known. But t h e r e c a n b e t h a t s t a g g e r i n g , i n t e l l e c t u a l - g a m e
e c s t a s y w h i c h comes w h e n y o u b e g i n t o s e n s e t h e c o m p l e x i t y of t h e P l a n . To
pull b a c k t h e v e i l a n d see for a s e c o n d a fragment of t h e e n e r g y d a n c e , t h e life
power. How c a n y o u a p p r e c i a t e t h e Divine u n l e s s y o u comprehend t h e s m a l l e s t
part of t h e f a n t a s t i c d e s i g n ? To e x p e r i e n c e ( i t ' s a l w a y s for a moment) t h e a n s w e r s
t o t h e four b a s i c s p i r i t u a l q u e s t i o n s is t o m e t h e p e a k of t h e r e l i g i o u s - s c i e n t i f i c
quest.

But how c a n o u r i l l - p r e p a r e d n e r v o u s s y s t e m s g r a s p t h e m e s s a g e ? C e r t a i n l y t h e a v e r a g e man c a n n o t m a s t e r t h e c o n c e p t u a l , m a t h e m a t i c a l b e a d g a m e

of t h e p h y s i c s g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t . M u s t h i s e x p e r i m e n t i a l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e D i v i n e
p r o c e s s come i n watered-down s y m b o l s , s e r m o n s , hymns, robot r i t u a l s , r e l i g i o u s
c a l e n d a r a r t , moral-behavior s a n c t i o n s e v e n t u a l l y s e c u l a r in t h e i r a i m ? Fortuna t e l y t h e G r e a t P l a n h a s produced a happy a n s w e r a n d h a s endowed e v e r y human
being w i t h t h e equipment to comprehend, to know, t o e x p e r i e n c e d i r e c t l y , incontrovertibly. It's t h e r e i n t h a t network of t e n b i l l i o n e l l s , t h e number of w h o s e
i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n s "is f a r g e a t e r t h a n all t h e atoms i n t h e u n i v e r s e .
I'

If y o u c a n , for t h e moment, throw off t h e g r i p of y o u r l e a r n e d mind, your

t r i b a l c o n c e p t s , a n d e x p e r i e n c e t h e message c o n t a i n e d in t h e ten-billion-tube
c o m w t e r w h i c h y o u carry b e h i n d y o u r f o r e h e a d , you would know t h e awe-full
truth. Our r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t s t h a t e v e n t h e u n e d u c a t e d layman c a n e x p e r i e n c e
d i r e c t l y w h a t is s l o w l y d e d u c e d by s c i e n t i s t s - f o r e x a m p l e p h y s i c i s t s , w h o s e
h e a v y , c o n c e p t u a l minds lumber a l o n g at t h r e e c o n c e p t s a s e c o n d , attempting
to fathom t h e speed-of-light p r o c e s s e s w h i c h t h e i r b e a u t i f u l m a c h i n e s r e c o r d
a n d w h i c h t h e i r b e a u t i f u l s y m b o l s portray.

But t h e b r a k e s can b e r e l e a s e d . Our r e c e n t s t u d i e s s u p p o r t t h e hypothesis t h a t p s y c h e d e l i c f o o d s a n d d r u g s , i n g e s t e d by p r e p a r e d s u b j e c t s i n a s e r ious, s a c r e d , s u p p o r t i v e a t m o s p h e r e , c a n put t h e s u b j e c t i n p e r c e p t u a l t o u c h

w i t h o t h e r levels of e n e r g y e x c h a n g e s . Remember t h e d a t a - t h e Good Friday
s t u d y , t h e S a v a g e s t u d y , t h e 69 r e l i g i o u s p r o f e s s i o n a l s . Forty t o ninety per
c e n t t e l l i n g us t h e y e x p e r i e n c e d ''a g r e a t e r a w a r e n e s s of G o d , or a H i g h
Power, or an Ultimate Reality.
'I

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But t o w h a t do t h e s e LSD s u b j e c t s r e f e r w h e n t h e y report s p i r i t u a l r e a c t i o n s ? Do t h e y o b t a i n s p e c i f i c i l l u m i n a t i o n s i n t o t h e four b a s i c q u e s t i o n s ,

o r a r e t h e i r r e s p o n s e s simply a w e and wonder a t t h e e x p e r i e n c e d n o v e l t y ?
Even i f t h e l a t t e r w e r e t h e c a u s e , c o u l d i t not s u p p o r t t h e r e l i g i o u s a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e p s y c h e d e l i c s u b s t a n c e s a n d simply underline t h e n e e d for more
sophisticated religious language coordinated with scientific d a t a ?
But
t h e r e is some e v i d e n c e , phenomenological but y e t haunting t h a t t h e s p i r i t u a l
i n s i g h t s a c c o m p a n y i n g t h e p s y c h e d e l i c e x p e r i e n c e might b e s u b j e c t i v e a c c o u n t s of t h e o b j e c t i v e f i n d i n g s of a s t r o n o m y , p h y s i c s , b i o c h e m i s t r y , a n d
neurology.
Now t h e n e u r o l o g i c a l a n d p h a r m a c o l o g i c a l e x p l a n a t i o n s of a n LSD
v i s i o n a r e s t i l l f a r from b e i n g u n d e r s t o o d . W e know a l m o s t nothing a b o u t
t h e p h y s i o l o g y of c o n s c i o u s n e s s a n d t h e body-cortex i n t e r a c t i o n . W e c a n n o t
a s s e r t t h a t LSD s u b j e c t s a r e d i r e c t l y e x p e r i e n c i n g w h a t p a r t i c l e p h y s i c i s t s
a n d b i o c h e m i s t s m e a s u r e , but t h e e v i d e n c e a b o u t t h e d e t a i l e d complexity of
t h e g e n e t i c c o d e a n d t h e a s t o n i s h i n g d e s i g n of t h e i n t r a - c e l l u l a r communicat i o n s h o u l d c a u t i o n u s a g a i n s t l a b e l i n g e x p e r i e n c e s o u t s i d e of o u r c u r r e n t
t r i b a l c l i c h e s a s " p s y c h o t i c " or abnormal. For t h r e e t h o u s a n d y e a r s o u r
g r e a t e s t p r o p h e t s a n d p h i l o s o p h e r s h a v e b e e n t e l l i n g u s to look w i t h i n , a n d
t o d a y our s c i e n t i f i c d a t a a r e s u p p o r t i n g t h a t a d v i c e w i t h a humiliating f i n a l i t y .
The l i m i t s of i n t r o s p e c t i v e a w a r e n e s s may w e l l b e s u b - m i c r o s c o p i c , c e l l u l a r ,
m o l e c u l a r a n d e v e n n u c l e a r . W e o n l y see, a f t e r all, w h a t w e a r e t r a i n e d a n d
p r e d i s p o s e d t o see. O n e of our c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s i n v o l v e s t e a c h i n g
s u b j e c t s to r e c o g n i z e i n t e r n a l p h y s i c a l p r o c e s s e s much as w e t r a i n a beginning
biology s t u d e n t to r e c o g n i z e e v e n t s v i e w e d through h i s m i c r o s c o p e .

N o m a t t e r how p a r s i m o n i o u s our e x p l a n a t i o n s , w e m u s t a c c e p t t h e fact

t h a t LSD s u b j e c t s d o c l a i m to e x p e r i e n c e r e v e l a t i o n s i n t o t h e b a s i c q u e s t i o n s
and d o a t t r i b u t e l i f e - c h a n g e to t h e i r v i s i o n s .
W e a r e , of c o u r s e , a t t h e v e r y beginning of our r e s e a r c h i n t o t h e s e imp l i c a t i o n s . A new e x p e r i e n t i a l l a n g u a g e a n d p e r h a p s e v e n new metaphors for
t h e g r e a t p l a n w i l l d e v e l o p . W e h a v e b e e n working o n t h i s p r o j e c t far t h e p a s t
t w o y e a r s , writing m a n u a l s w h i c h t r a i n s u b j e c t s to r e c o g n i z e e n e r g y p r o c e s s e s ,
t e a c h i n g s u b j e c t s to communicate via a m a c h i n e w e c a l l t h e e x p e r i e n t i a l typew r i t e r , a n d w i t h m o v i e s of m i c r o b i o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s e s . And w e h a v e c o n t i n u e d
t o p o s e t h e q u e s t i o n t o r e l i g i o u s a n d p h i l o s o p h i c g r o u p s a s I a m doing tonight.
W h a t d o y o u t h i n k ? Are t h e s e b i o c h e m i c a l v i s i o n s r e l i g i o u s ?
Before y o u a n s w e r , remember t h a t G o d (however y o u d e f i n e t h e Higher
Power) produced t h a t w o n d e r f u l m o l e c u l e , t h a t extra-ordinarily powerful organic s u b s t a n c e w e c a l l LSD, j u s t a s s u r e l y a s " H e " c r e a t e d t h e r o s e , or t h e
s u n , or t h e c o m p l e x c l u s t e r of m o l e c u l e s y o u i n s i s t o n c a l l i n g your " s e l f .
I'

Among t h e many h a r a s s i n g c o m p l i c a t i o n s of our r e s e a r c h i n t o r e l i g i o u s

e x p e r i e n c e h a s b e e n t h e f a c t t h a t few p e o p l e , e v e n some t h e o l o g i c a l profess i o n a l s , h a v e much c o n c e p t i o n of w h a t a r e l i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e r e a l l y is. Few

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have any idea how the Divine Process presents It'self. If a s k e d , they tend t o
become embarrassed, intellectual, e v a s i v e . The adored cartoonists of t h e
Renaissance portray the Ultimate Power a s a Dove, or a Flaming Bush, or a s a
man--venerable, with a white beard, or on a Cross, or a s a Baby, or a Sage
s e a t e d in the Full Lotus Position. Are t h e s e not incarnations, temporary
housings, of the Great Energy P r o c e s s ?
Last f a l l a minister and h i s w i f e , a s part of a courageous and dedicated pursuit of illumination, took a psychedelic biochemical c a l l e d dimethyl tryptamine. This wondrous alkaloid (which closely approximates serotonin, the
natural "lubricant" of our higher nervous system) produces the most intense
psychedelic effect of any sacramental food or drug. In 2 5 minutes (about the
duration of the average sermon), you a r e whirled through t h e energy dance, the
cosmic process, a t the highest psychedelic s p e e d . T h e 2 5 minutes a r e s e n s e d
a s lasting for a second and for a billion-year Kalpa. After the s e s s i o n , the
minister complained that t h e experience, although shattering and revelatory, w a s
disappointing b e c a u s e it w a s "content-free"--so physical, s o unfamiliar, so
scientific, like being beamed through microscopic panoramas, like being oscillated through cellular functions a t radar acceleration. Well, what do you
expect? If God were to t a k e you on a v i s i t through His "workshop", do you
think you'd walk or g b by b u s ? Do you really think it would be a stroll through
a c e l e s t i a l Madame Tussard waxworks? Dear friends, the Divine Product is
evident in every s e c u l a r event. The Divine Product we c a n see. But the Divine
Process operates in time dimensions which are far beyond cut routine, secular,
space-time limits. Wave vibrations, energy dance, cellular transactions. Our
s c i e n c e describes t h i s logically. Our brains may be capable of dealing with
t h e s e p r o c e s s e s experientially.
So here we are. The Great Process h a s placed in our hands d key t o
this direct visionary wgrld. I s it hard for u s t o a c c e p t that t h e key might be a n
organic molecule and not a new myth or a new word?

* * * * * * *
And where do we g o ? There a r e i n the United States today s e v e r a l
hundred thousand persons who have experienced what I have attempted to
describe to you tonight- a psychedelic, religious revelation. There are, I
would estimate, s e v e r a l million equally thoughtful people who have heard
the joyous tidings and who are waiting patiently but determinedly for their
psychedelic moment t o come.
There is, of c o u r s e , the expected opposition. The classic conflict
of the religious drama-always changing, always the same. The doctrine (which
w a s originally someone's experience) now threatened by the new experience.
This time t h e administrators have a s s i g n e d the inquisitorial role to t h e psychiatrists, whose proprietary claims t o a revealed understanding of t h e mind
and whose antagonism t o consciousness-expansion are w e l l known t o you.

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The clamor over psychedelic drugs is not reaching 'full crescendo. You
have heard rumors and you have read the press a s s a u l t s and the slick-magazine
As sophisticated adults you have perhaps begun t o
attacks-by-innuendo.
wonder: why the hysterical outcry? As s c i e n t i s t s you a r e beginning t o ask:
Where is the evidence? A s educated m e n w i t h a n eye for history, you are, I
itrust, beginning to s u s p e c t that w e ' v e been through this many times before.
In the current h a s s l e over psychedelic plants and drugs, you are witnessing a good-old-fashioned, traditional, religious controversy. On the one s i d e
the psychedelic visionaries, somewhat uncertain about the validity of their revelations, embarrassedly speaking in new tongues (there never is, you know,
the satisfaction of a sound, right academic language for the new vision of the
Divine), h a r a s s e d by the knowledge of their own human frailty, surrounded by
the inevitable legion of eccentric would-be followers looking for a new panacea,
always i n grave doubt about their own motivation--(hero? martyr? crank?
crackpot?)--always on the verge of losing their material achievements--(job,
reputation, long-suffering wife, conventional friends, parental approval);
always under t h e fire of the power -holders. And on the other side: t h e establishment (the administrators, the police, the fund-granting foundations, the
job-givers) pronouncing their familiar lines in the drama: "Danger ! Madness !
Unsound! Intellectual corruption of youth ! Irreparable damage ! Cultism !
The i s s u e of chemical expansion of c o n s c i o u s n e s s is hard upon u s . During the
next months, every avenue of propaganda is going t o barrage you with the
arguments. You c a n hardly e s c a p e i t . You a r e going t o be pressed for a position. Internal freedom is becoming a major religious and civil-rights controversy.
I'

How c a n you d e c i d e ? How c a n you judge? Well, i t ' s really quite simple.
Whenever you hear anyone sounding off on internal freedom and consciousnessexpanding foods and drugs--whether pro or con--check o u t t h e s e questions:
(1) Is your advisor talking from direct experience, or simple repeating
c l i c h e s ? Theologians and intellectuals often depreciate "experience" in favor
of f a c t and concept. This c l a s s i c debate is falsely labeled. Most often it
becomes a case of "experience" v e r s u s "inexperience".

(2) Do his words spring from a spiritual or from a mundane point of

view? Is he motivated by a dedicated q u e s t for answers t o b a s i c questions,
or is h e protecting his own social-psychological position, h i s own game investment ?
( 3 ) How would h i s argument sound i f it were heard i n a different culture (for example, in an African jungle hut, a ghat on t h e Ganges, or on another planet inhabited by a form of life superior to ours); or i n a different
time (for example in Periclean Athens, or in a Tibetan monastery, or in a
bull-session led by any one of the great religious Ieaders--founders--messiahs);
or how would it sound t o other s p e c i e s of life on our planet today--to the dolphins, t o the c o n s c i o u s n e s s of a redwood t r e e ? In other words, try t o break
out of your u s u a l tribal game-set and listen with the e a r s of another one of G o d ' s
creatures.

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( 4 ) How would the debate sound to you i f you were fatally d i s e a s e d

with a week to live, and thus l e s s committed to mundane issues? Our research
group receives many requests a week for consciousnes s-expanding experiences,
and some of t h e s e come from terminal patjents.13

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(5) Is t h e point of view one which opens up or c l o s e s down? Are you

being urged t o explore, experience, gamble out of spiritual faith, join someone who s h a r e s your cosmic ignorance on a collaborative voyage of discovery?
Or are you being pressured t o c l o s e off, protect your g a i n s , play it safe, accept the authoritative v o i c e of someone who knows b e s t ?

(6) When we s p e a k , w e s a y little about t h e subject-matter and disc l o s e mainly the s t a t e of our own mind. Does your psychedelic advisor u s e
terms which are positive, pro-life, spiritual, inspiring, opening, b a s e d on
faith in the future, faith in your potential, or does h e betray a mind o b s e s s e d
by danger, material concern, by imaginary terrors, administrative caution or
e s s e n t i a l distrust in your potential. Dear friends, there is nothing in life t o
fear, no spiritual game c a n be lost. The choice is not double-bind but doublewin. 14
(7) If h e is against what he c a l l s "artificial methods of illumination",
ask him what constitutes the natural. Words? Ritua s ? Tribal c u s t o m s ?
Alkaloids ? Psychedelic v e g e t a b l e s ?

(8) If he is against biochemical a s s i s t a n c e , where does he draw the

line? Does he u s e nicotine? alcohol? penicillin? vitamins ? conventional
sacramental s u b s t a n c e s ?
(9) If your advisor is against LSD, what is he for? If h e forbids you
the psychedelic key to revelation, what does he offer you i n s t e a d ?

* * * * * * *
SUMMARY
The outline of t h i s paper c a n be summarized a s follows:
(1) Evidence is cited t h a t , depending on the s e t and setting, from
40 to 9 0 per cent of psychedelic s u b j e c t s report intense religious experiences.

( 2 ) The religious experience w a s defined a s the e c s t a t i c , incontrovertibly certain, subjective discovery of answers to four b a s i c questions which
concern ultimate power and design, life, man and self. It w a s pointed out that
science attempts t o provide objective, external answers t o t h e s e same questions.
( 3 ) We considered the hypothesis t h a t the human being might be a b l e t o
become directly aware of energy exchanges and biological p r o c e s s e s for which
w e now have no language and no perceptual training. Psychedelic foods and

21

drugs were suggested as one key t o t h e s e neurological potentials, and subjective reports from LSD s e s s i o n s w e r e compared with current findings from the
energy s c i e n c e s .
(4) The current controversy over t h e politics of t h e nervous system

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(which involves secular-external v e r s u s spiritual-in ternal commitments) were

reviewed, a n d a c h e c k l i s t for t h e intelligent voter w a s presented.

22

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Leary, T., Litwin, G.H., a n d M e t z n e r , R., " R e a c t i o n s to P s i l o c y b i n Admini s t e r e d in a Su p p o rtiv e Environment." J. N e r v o u s & M e n t a l D i s e a s e , Vol. 1 3 7
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( 1962 ). The m o s t r e c e n t l y p r o p o s e d l e g i s l a t i o n a g a i n s t P e y o t e is s e e n i n t h e
C o n q r e s s i o n a l Record (Ho u s e ) for D e c . 1 3 , 1 9 6 3 . W. La Barrels fa mo u s book,
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d a t e . For a good g e n e r a l s t a t e m e n t i n a n o t h e r a r e a of r e s e a r c h , see "The H alluc i n o g e n i c D r u g s , " by Barron, Jarvik, a n d Bunnell. Sci. Amer., Vol. 2 1 0 , No. 4
(April 19 64), 29 -3 7.

8 Z a e h n er; R.C., At Sundry T i m e s . An E s s a y i n t h e C o mp a ris o n of R e lig io n s .

London: F a b e r & Fab er, 1 9 5 8 , p. 57.
W o l t e r e c k , H., W h a t S c i e n c e Knows About Life, N.Y.:
l o S c h e n k , G.,

The H i s t o r y of Man. P h ila ., N.Y.:

A s s o c i a t i o n P r e s s , 1963.

C h i l t o n Co., 1 9 6 1 , pp. 56-57.

l1 I b i d . , p. 238

1 2 C a m p b e l l , R., "The C i r c u i t s of t h e S e n s e s , " i n a s e r i e s o n "The Human Body"

(Part IV). Life. Vol. 5 4 , No. 2 7 (June 2 7 , 1 9 6 3 ) , 64-76b.
l 3 T he m e d i c a l p r e s s h a s r e c e n t l y r e p o r t e d o n t h e a n a l g e s i c u s e of LSD w i t h

t e r m in al c a n c e r p a t i e n t s . Cf. M e d i c a l World N e w s , Aug. 3 0 , 1 9 6 3 , M e d i c a l

Tribune, April 8, 1 9 6 3 , a n d J. h e r . M e d . Assoc., J a n . 4, 1964.
14 L e v i t s k v , A. - p e r s o n a l co mmu n ic a tio n .
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