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existing in space -- and in relatively similar positions. This
is, paradoxically, despite the fact that when any moment is felt
totally under any of these drugs the experience appears to
transcend time and space. We have, for the sake of communication,
and with temerity and perhaps some levity, assigned names to some
of the most frequently-appearing places: Cosmic Rejection or
Limbo; Chaos; the Black or Schizophrenic Belt; the Desert; the Ice
Country. In addition to these are the two which have occupied
man's attention since the birth of self-consciousness: Heaven and
Hell.
"The secret of experiencing these 'places' creatively seems
to be the patient's total acceptance of their 'reality' and one's
presence there as fully as though for 'eternity' if necessary. In
fact, one of the techniques for maintaining a deep psychic level
of drug operation is to have the individual 'move' toward that
which appears repulsive, painful, or frightening, and to continue
the experience as long as it is. (Resolution, transcendence)
"In the course of five years of work with the psycholytic or
mind-changing drugs -- LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, Ritalin, and
the amphetamines -- one can only be awestruck by the genius of
Freud, Adler, and Jung -- and be saddened at the forces which
split apart this trinity& 
"Freud is recognized as the cartographer of the personal
unconscious, although if one reads him carefully it is apparent
that he recognized the racial and perhaps the collective
unconscious in his use of the terms archaic mind and biological
heritage. Adler saw the vast importance of the siblings: our
observation is that as often as not the triangle of relationship,
which Freud too narrowly named oedipal, is worked out through the
siblings either totally or supplementarily to that of the
parental. Jung perceived the importance of racial inheritance,
the collective unconscious -- and most importantly to me, the
cosmic levels of consciousness and man's need to turn toward them
at least by mid-life& 
(Then I described our therapeutic methods)
"The main process is the allowance of the patient's
unconscious to reveal itself in its own sequence. Direct
interpretations -- used at appropriate points to clarify and to
slice away misperceptions -- have been found effective in taking
the patient deeper into the drug experience. Recently we have
been experimenting -- successfully, we believe -- with non-verbal
techniques: physical contact for anxious or fearful patients; the
presence of both male and female therapist even if one or both
seldom speak; hostility discharge by throwing clay or by beating
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cardboard boxes; reduction of inhibitions and extension of
emotional range through feeling difference textures and materials
-- to 'feel' tactilely seems closely related to 'feel'
emotionally; the presence of additional individuals personally
familiar with LSD in difficult cases -- this technique in addition
to but distinct from group therapy where all individuals except,
or course, the therapist are under a low dose of LSD; and physical
containment -- to break certain refractory defense patterns, for
example at the extreme, passive resistance to the point of
suicide.
"There are other experimental but efficacious techniques
which are little understood and as yet not named or categorized.
One of these is eye-to-eye non-verbal communication. This may
sound strange; it is strange how well it works.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that a large part of the
interaction between doctor and patient takes place at a non-verbal
level. This is disconcerting in our highly-rational, over-
intellectualized society where semantics seem to act as the cement
of human relationship. However, much better results are observed
to occur when the wisdom of the deep unconscious is allowed to
take over -- with the therapist acting more as guide and
interpreter.
"In the course of our therapeutic work, a number of startling
phenomena have been observed. We may have a milieu in which such
little-understood phenomena as ESP,  sensitives , laying on of the
hands, so-called faith healing, hypnosis, and other uncharted
border-line states of consciousness may be systematically
examined. In this, as in all research, it is imperative to keep
an open mind -- to be willing to look at any data which emerge --
no matter how contrary to traditional beliefs."
The only phenomenon which occurred often that I didn't
mention because I didn't dare: past lives. Not only we, but
everyone else with whom I communicated were getting so much data
on what appeared to be past lives. But that is an entirely
different story, and one which belongs, primarily, to Dr. Ian
Stevenson who has spent a life-time demonstrating the occurrence
of such phenomena with 3,000 verified case histories, mostly of
children, from all over the world.
The effect of my paper was a little strange -- it was as if
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they didn't quite know what to do with it or with me. Dr. Frank
Lake from Nottingham said,
"We shall not have the proper language until we become
familiar with the work of the existentialists. And then again
we've had Dr. Betty Eisner's jeux d'esprit, lifting us up to her
own happy empyrean height. One thing is quite certain -- that if
people have anything to do with LSD in therapy they seem to enjoy
the experience; perhaps we shouldn't, but I think we do. There is
sometimes thought to be a scientific virtue in not enjoying
things."
Hear! Hear! and Tut! Tut!
Why shouldn't a scientist enjoy his/her work?
(I report on the meetings to Humphry in a letter dated April 12)
"Incidentally, at the London meetings, it was decided
(informally) to call the drugs psycholytics following a long
thrashing out of the problem at Gottingen last November. Have you
heard from anyone about the APT, the Association of Psycholytic
Therapists? Ron is the new president, Cornellius van Rhijn VP,
Hans Leuner from Germany something (maybe I have these mixed up).
Anyway, it came into being the weekend after the meetings when we
all went up to visit Ron in Powick. Anderson of Copenhagen was
there, too, and also Arendsen-Hein of Holland. We had a wonderful
time seeing LSD at the hospital; also we are very fond of the
Sandisons and enjoyed so much seeing the boys and Evelyn as well
as any moment that we can see Ron. I almost didn't make it as one
of the  founding fathers of the APT (I'm not sure who they all
are: just know in the US they are Hy Denber, Joel Elkes, Sid, and
me). For a long time there was quite a fight about me because I
am a PhD. I wasn't in on this, but Will was, said a few pertinent
things, and then left the meeting. The next day three of them
tried to get me to go back to medical school and get an M.D. (to
which I replied I was too old and would be more valuable spending
the time in research then in repeating schooling). When Dr.
Anderson of Copenhagen found it would take me at least six years,
he immediately saw the senselessness of it. The others, I'm not
sure, ever did. It does get discouraging to run into the
prejudice which judges more from the initials after one's name (or
one's sex, because I'm afraid this had some bearing, too) then by
what the individual is and can do. At times I get tired of
carrying the torch and fighting the battle& 
"The meetings were really wonderful. Best of all was to be
with a group of people who were doing what I was, were intensely
interested, and to whom I wasn't a nut. There are a group of
young people -- those who are getting together in the APT -- who
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are very active and enthusiastic about LSD. I think I mentioned
most of their names in the earlier part of the letter I had
started& Incidentally, I met Dr. Spencer, the head of the hospital
at Powick, and he is one of the sweetest and finest men I have
ever met. Do you know him? He offered me a job at Powick, and if [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]