Entheogens can they be good or bad?
by frankiespeakin 36 Replies latest jw friends
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frankiespeakin
Shamanism:http://www.erowid.org/library/books/spirit_of.shtml
BACK COVER #
In this highly praised account of the most ancient of religious practices, Roger N. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., vividly evokes the training, techniques, experiences, states of mind, and healing practices of the tribal shaman. He also shows how some shamanic practices are found to foreshadow contemporary medical and psychological techniques.
BLURBS #A wonderfully lucid, engrossing guide to shamans' practices and beliefs.
--Publishers Weekly
Quite simply, this book is a major step forward in the understanding of the vital phenomena of shamanism. I recommend it highly!
-- Charles T. Tart, Ph.D., author of Altered States of Consciousness
A splendidly clear and timely survey of shamanism.
-- Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D., author of Imagery and Healing
This definitive work on healing is invaluable for anyone interested in the spiritual path. Ministers, practitioners, spiritual counselors, healers, and the lay reader will all find Walsh's concepts not only inspirational, but consciousness expanding as well. An excellent book.
-- Science of Mind
An incredibly vast and complex subject has been explained with impeccable clarity. A psychological analysis of shamanism is long overdue. Dr. Walsh has accomplished this task very successfully, indeed in a masterly way.
-- Corrado Pensa, Professor of Philosophy and Religions of India, University of Rome
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S) #Roger Walsh M.D., Ph.D. attended Queensland and Stanford Universities and is currently professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology at the University of California at Irvine. He has published more than one hundred scientific papers and ten books and his writings have received some twenty national and international awards.
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frankiespeakin
Dr. Grof 's early research in the clinical uses of psychedelic substances was conducted at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, where he was Principal Investigator of a program systematically exploring the heuristic and therapeutic potential of LSD and other psychedelic substances. In 1967, he was invited as Clinical and Research Fellow to the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Here's a c&p of professor Grof's site:
http://www.holotropic.com/ (click on books and music for the rest of this page if interested)
Featured Items
Exploring Holotropic Breathwork: Selected Articles from a Decade of The Inner Door
Edited by Kylea Taylor 608 pages - $70.00
A unique reference text in which professionals from medical, academic, therapeutic, and spiritual fields, trained by Stanislav Grof, M.D. contribute 144 field reports on the subjects of physical healing, therapy, kundalini, astrology, and more, written from their experience practicing Holotropic Breathwork in countries around the globe.
Psychology of the Future
Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research
by Stanislav Grof, M.D.345 pages - $26.00
In this, his newest book, one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology, describes in a systematic and comprehensive way his observations from more than forty years of research of an important variety of non-ordinary states of consciousness that he calls holotropic (literally moving toward wholeness from the Greek holos = whole and trepein = to move in the direction of something).
LSD Psychotherapy
by Stanislav Grof, MD.352 pages - $13.00
This new edition provides a complete account of a remarkable chapter in the ever-continuing inquiry into our transpersonal nature and origins. The controlled studies described in this book reveal exciting and challenging data about the nature of human consciousness, perception, and reality itself. Dr. Grof outlines a new cartography of the human mind, one which accounts for experiences such as shamanic trance, near-death experiences and altered states of consciousness.
The Adventure of Self-Discovery
$26.00
Dimensions of Consiousness and New Perspectives in Psychotherapy and Inner Exploration
by Stanislav Grof, M.D.Here Grof presents a useful model of the psyche--a model extended by his thirty years of studying non-ordinary states of consiousness.
"The data, much of which is precious anecdotal material from the field's most creative explorer, stirs the mind to consider new possibilities. It is a wonderfully open and inviting text."
--Richard D. Mann -
frankiespeakin
Here a interview with Albert Hofman:
http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v08n3/08330hof.html
A Conversation with Albert Hofmann
Also see the MAPS' Albert Hofmann Archive
Are there lessons we can learn from the past insofar as what went wrong with the research, why it was stopped, that we should be attentive to, so mistakes are not repeated? On November 26, 1996, Charles Grob, M.D. visited with Albert Hofmann in Rheinfelden, outside of Basel, Switzerland, where Dr. Hofmann was recovering from knee surgery. The following are excerpts from their conversation. CG: Dr. Hofmann, thank you for speaking with me. I would like to tape record our discussion, with the understanding that you will be provided a transcript for review and approval before publication. I would first like to ask how old are you currently, and how is your health?
AH: I am 90 years old, and I am feeling very fit. I had knee surgery last month, but am now doing very well. The rehabilitation hospital has provided excellent physical therapies for my knee, and I am almost ready to go home to Rittematte. I am in very good condition, and swim in the indoor pool every day. I will miss the swimming, but I am looking forward to going home soon.
CG: I would like to speak with you about your views on psychedelic drugs. To start with, do you believe it is possible to re- establish psychedelic research as a respectable scientific field?
AH: I think there are many good signs. After years of silence, there have recently been some investigations in Switzerland and Germany, and also in the United States. We had a meeting in Heidelberg last year (European College for the Study of Consciousness), and there were many good presentations. In Heidelberg I enjoyed meeting with Rick Doblin (of MAPS) and Professor Nichols (of the Heffter Research Institute), and I think both of their organizations are doing fine work. Their approach appears to be quite different than that of some of their predecessors from several decades ago.
CG: Are you referring to Dr. Leary?
AH: Yes. I was visited by Timothy Leary when he was living in Switzerland many years ago. He was a very intelligent man, and quite charming. I enjoyed our conversations very much. However, he also had a need for too much attention. He enjoyed being provocative, and that shifted the focus from what should have been the essential issue. It is unfortunate, but for many years these drugs became taboo. Hopefully, these same problems from the Sixties will not be repeated.
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frankiespeakin
http://www.maps.org/sys/nq.pl?id=72&fmt=page
MEDICINE HOPE FOR PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS
LSD Was Tested On Cancer Patients In The 1960s
by Arran Frood, BBC News (UK Web)
Could illegal hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and psilocybin ever become credible prescription medicines?
It might sound far-fetched, but just a decade ago it seemed unlikely that the prohibited and mildly hallucinogenic drug cannabis would become a mainstream pain-killing medicine.
But it is happening: Cannabis pain-killing pills and sprays are being developed to help people with multiple sclerosis, cancer and Aids.
Now some scientists and psychotherapists think more powerful psychoactive drugs like psilocybin, found in 'magic mushrooms', could have a future as medicinal agents for a number of conditions.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved, but not funded, a pilot study aiming to see if the euphoria and insight of a mild psychedelic 'trip' can ease the physical and emotional pain experienced by thousands of terminal cancer patients each year.
Charles Grob, Professor of Psychiatry and Paediatrics at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre, California, and lead scientist on the cancer-psilocybin trial, said: "There is great potential.
"A significant patient population may gain benefits from these treatments."
Professor Grob will be one of the first scientists in 25 years to administer psilocybin to a person in a therapeutic setting.
He wants to see if people's lives can be improved if psychoactive drugs are used under carefully controlled conditions.
Past success
In the past it seemed to work: in the 60s, cancer sufferers reported less anxiety, a reduced fear of death, better moods, and surprisingly, even less pain in the weeks after treatment with LSD, which is similar in structure and effect to psilocybin.
So, what will happen during a 21st century psychedelic therapeutic session?
The subjects will lie down wearing an eye mask to screen out distractions and headphones pumping in gentle music to fully immerse them in their journey.
"We are going to let the patients guide their own experience by reacting only to their needs," said Professor Grob.
"We are there to hold their hands and talk if they feel the need, but we will not overtly attempt to take it in any spiritual or religious direction. It is up to them."
The rationale says it is better to let the drug gently lift the veil, divorce the association between mind and body and let the patient enjoy the full-on experience as they wish, than interfere in a way that may be incompatible with the patient's psyche.
UK perspective
Could this ever cross the water? In the 50s, 60s and 70s, Britain and many European countries were active centres of psychoactive drug research.
Dr Kate Law, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said: "With full, informed consent, we have no problem with it in principle.
"These patients are adults and people make their own choices. It is right that we look at these chemicals with the same stringent standards as we do for other drugs.
"People shy away from the fact that other powerful drugs like heroin are used when caring for cancer patients, many of which have side-effects of their own."
However, Dr Law said Cancer Research UK will only support this type of research if there was an analgesic effect - and the preliminary results suggest the overall procedure did not confuse or harm the patient.
Could the drug experience provide the patient with a greater delusion and a more fantastical escape?
Would it allow patients, perhaps already in denial, to become even more withdrawn, hidden, aloof even? Dr Ken Checinski is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and senior lecturer at St Georges Medical School, London.
Balance
Although he does not represent the RCP, he says his opinions may be typical of many psychiatrists. He says it is a question of balancing the benefits and the risks.
"In terminal care the patient has a right to be pain free, but also has a right to go about their business in the usual way during the final weeks of their lives.
"It's unacceptable to be made psychologically unwell during this period.
"But most drugs also have a medical use - amphetamine and cocaine derivatives, opiates, tranquillisers and now the cannabinols - so there is no reason why we shouldn't consider using the serotonin agonists (hallucinogens).
"However, governments should provide funding for this type of research, not vested interest groups."
The scientific use of mind-altering drugs has often been controversial. But Professor Grob and his scientific allies have fought long and hard for a reconsideration of the hallucinogens as serious medicines.
A not-for-profit collective of like-minded scientists, groups like MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) believe outlawed drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) and psilocybin have a better chance than conventional treatments of successfully managing many conditions.
Credibility established
A similar study involving psilocybin and the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is nearing completion at the University of Arizona.
And an MDMA (ecstasy) trial for the counselling of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) victims is finally underway after a bureaucratic bad-trip with red tape.
"We are re-opening an area that has been shut down for 25 years," said Professor Grob.
"A couple of groups have established credibility through the formal channels. It may take time but it's possible."
Nevertheless, more state-tolerated than state-sponsored, MAPS and their academic friends know that the eyes of the authorities and a wider scientific community are upon them.
The study is funded by the Heffter Research Institute.
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Valis
pyschotropic plants and their preparation should be done with care. Many times the plants/seeds cannot and should not be digested without being treated with chemicals and other kinds of processing.
Morning glory seeds/LSD: can be very potent and poisonous if not extracted right
salvia divinorum: not for those who can't lose control for any period of time
toad venom: pure DMT when burned to certain temperature, very short pleasant experience
mountain laurel: another poisonous plant that must be used w/caution
jimson weed seed pods/seeds: JUST SAY NO.
Just my two cents..
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frankiespeakin
Val,
I tried Jimson weed,,it used to grow like crazy at this one hyway exit(208) smoked it chewed it but only very small does. Made me feel like I wanted to jump out of my skin for days. It has an evil smell and when I would pick it usually October the vapors would fill my call and I would start tripping(mildly) just from the fumes.
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Valis
frank...I stayed up three days after ingesting what was almost a whole pod of seeds...I ate food that wasn't there, smoked cigars with a nonexistant midget, got very paranoid about who was outside of the house and locked myself in for the duration...not what I call a good time. Be careful out there..
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
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avishai
anyone here see the Peter Jennings report on ecstasy? It basically showed how the Governments trials showing holes in the brain were completely false, and how it's one of the few drugs taht most people fell positive about having done. Also, that it kills about as many people as aspirin
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avishai
Has anyone tried any of the so called "research chemicals"?
On November 26, 1996, Charles Grob, M.D. visited with Albert Hofmann in Rheinfelden, outside of Basel, Switzerland, where Dr. Hofmann was recovering from knee surgery. The following are excerpts from their conversation.