--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "hugheshugo" > <richardhughes103@> wrote: > > > > After breathing the solvents he had used produced no effect, Hofmann > > suspected that the synthetic drug was the source. "LSD spoke to me," > > he said. "He came to me and said, 'You must find me.' He told > > me, 'Don't give me to the pharmacologist, he won't find anything.' " > > > > "A peculiar pre-sentiment" - One of those intuitive > > moments where the unconcious mind seems to know more about > > what's going on than you do. > > > > Like Francis Crick dreaming of spiral staircases when > > he was stuck on working out how DNA reproduced itself. > > One of the greatest flashes of inspiration. But rumour > > has it that when he was on his death-bed he admitted > > the inspiration came to him during an acid trip. > > Here's an interesting piece of American celebrity > lore that I always found interesting. Picture Cary > Grant, right? The quintessence of outgoing charm, > poise, elegance, and savoir faire, even though he > started life as Archie Leach in a poor neighborhood > in England. Well, as it turns out, Cary Grant drop- > ped acid 2-3 times a week for much of his adult life > under the care of his psychiatrist, a rebel who > "came up" during the early psychedelic revolution > with Leary and Alpert, and who never abandoned his > belief that it (LSD) could be a powerful and bene- > ficial psychiatric tool. It would appear, given the > generally positive response that most people have > to the vibe of his long-term patient, that he was > correct. > > I agree with Curtis and with others who said that > the trouble with LSD was the "recreationalization" > of the drug. It was a sacrament, and used as one, > could lead to valuable insights -- about the world, > about the self, and about Self. Like him, I never > had anything but the most positive, uplifting > experiences during the period that I experimented > with LSD, and have the greatest respect for it. > I liken its "cheapening" as something to party > down with to some callous youth finding a 200-year- > old bottle of the finest cognac and seeing it only > as a way to get drunk. >
I always wondered what the therapeutic use might be, it always seemed so confusing and so much never-the-same thing-twice, perhaps it was the mind expanding sense of greater reality that helped put things into perspective for people. I sure never looked at the world the same way. But more likely the dose was smaller than you'd take at one of Leary or Keseys' (or my) acid parties. I would like to have tried it in that context but I can't see our recreational use as cheapening it, we had real God consciousness experiences, and the music helps, in fact it's designed to take you as far as you can go. We all ended up kidding ourselves it was the "real" reality that would somehow lead us to the promised land. Didn't work of course, not for anyone. But you have to follow every lead in my view. The problem comes, as it does with all drugs, when you start taking it too seriously and mistake the signpost for the destination. Or using it to escape rather than arrive, That must be what Albert saw and worried about. It did make a good party great, you could save the analysis for when you got home. Which we did, the best times tripping are when you're with people you like in cosy surroundings, good music etc. Best of all on a summer day out in the country on magic mushrooms, got a real connection with nature, it's like the same movie but with different cinemaphotography. It made me wonder that there was some greater power connecting everything together for a tiny little piece of fungus to have that sort of effect on you. I've seen clouds turn into the most beautiful living statues of Greek Gods and dragons coiled round the moon, battalions of tigers chasing across the sky at sunset. I could go on but I'm sure you get the general idea. Cheapening or not, it was the best of times. Perhaps the true sacrament is the mind and hallucinogenics just one of the keys to unlock it.
