“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”—Lao Tzu
When it was clear I would likely spend the rest of my professional life on an entrepreneurial path, my father offered his advice, “Never disregard wild ideas until you have thought them through, and don’t concern yourself with what others think about you for considering such allegedly crazy ideas.” It was good advice, but in some instances, I must admit I had to push myself into a space of intelligent consideration. Legalizing LSD is one such instance.
Legalizing LSD and making it readily available can solve many of the world’s critical issues, from climate change to poverty to terrorism. That’s the mantra of the esteemed, globally-recognized, Czechoslovak-born psychiatrist, Dr. Stanislav Grof. In a recent interview in The Optimist magazine, Grof, who has both an MD and PhD, argues that, “It may be the only real chance for our troubled industrial civilization.”[i] Let’s take a closer look to understand his case for LSD.
The Discovery
LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, was first synthesized in 1938 by Dr. Albert Hoffman, then working for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals. He was looking for new drugs that might be useful as anti-psychotics. Hoffman prepared LSD from ergotamine, a chemical derived from a fungus known as ergot. It is interesting to note that psilocybin, the active ingredient in a fungus known as “magic mushrooms, is also a strong psychedelic drug.”
Perhaps having latent alchemical inclinations, Hoffman did what most modern chemists would never do; he tasted his new molecule, and within 30 minutes experienced the very first LSD “trip.” Fortunately for him, it was a good one and he was overwhelmed by his journey to a higher level of consciousness. After much testing, Hoffman convinced Sandoz to share samples of LSD with several renowned scientists around the world. Grof was one of them. Sandoz delivered a supply of LSD to the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, where Grof was then a research scientist. By then, Sandoz had released LSD as a drug known as Delysid for treatment of various psychiatric disorders.
Experiencing Cosmic Consciousness
Grof became one of the first volunteers to take the drug. He explains, “I had a very, very powerful experience to the point that I was one person in the morning and another one in the evening.” He revealed that seven years of psychoanalysis did very little for him compared to his first experience with LSD. “There had not been any convincing connection between those seven years analyzing dreams on the couch and anything that had happened in my life. This experience (with LSD) created a real deep, lifetime passionate interest in non-ordinary states.”
Grof’s “holistic” experience with LSD was similar to reports by others who had taken the drug as well as the experience of those who had ingested psilocybin. Of related interest is the fact that psilocybin was used over thousands of years by shamans as a means to connect with the divine. A recent book by Jerry and Julie Brown, The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity, analyzes the impact of psilocybin on followers during the early years of the Judaic-Christian religions.[ii] Grof explains that with his first LSD experience, “I went in as an atheist…Then in one afternoon, I suddenly discovered the whole spiritual dimension in existence. I discovered Cosmic Consciousness (author’s emphasis).
Grof subsequently supervised some 5,000 LSD sessions, as well as experiencing the drug himself numerous times. His research with LSD was recognized internationally and in 1967 he was invited to become a research fellow and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University and subsequently the Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore. He next spent time as a scholar-in-residence at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he continues to teach and lead workshops on achieving higher levels of consciousness.
Renewed Interest In LSD
As part of its “war on drugs,” the United States banned LSD in 1967 as an illegal drug as did the United Nations in 1971. However, after nearly 50 years, there is renewed interest in LSD and other psychedelic agents. Recent trials in the United Kingdom suggest that LSD may be a promising drug to help reverse deep patterns of addictive and negative thinking. A large study by the Norwegian University for Science and Technology, recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology concludes that there is no link between the use of LSD or psilocybin and any mental health issues. And scientists at New York University suggest that psychedelic agents such as psilocybin can be very helpful in treating patients with terminal cancer.
LSD Elevates Consciousness
Grof seems to suggest that a substantial decrease in the level of consciousness of a small minority of our global population is responsible for increased terrorism and violence, the dismissal of climate change as a critical reality, support for increased nuclear armaments, and a host of other frightening threats to humanity. He feels that higher levels of consciousness are the path to reversing these challenges. Grof reminds us that Freud argued that most of our problems in life emerge from the subconscious which drives our daily experiences and actions. He argues that “It’s (your subconscious or as Freud called it, your unconscious) running your life. It makes your perception of yourself and of the world around you, your relationships, and your behavior. You are acting according to old programs. It’s distorting your life.”
He points out that psychoanalysis did not solve the consciousness issue for him, but LSD did. Grof maintains that “LSD acts like a powerful catalyst that makes available the contents from really deep levels of the psyche that are not normally accessible to exploration.” He implies that it does the same thing as deep meditation, but does not require years of practice to achieve the same results. Psychedelic drugs such as LSD enable you to experience traumas imprinted in your subconscious and then address them so that your level of consciousness rises and as a result, you [your deep Self] and not your subconscious, are in control of your life. He uses the word holotropic [drawn towards wholeness] to describe the state of awareness or consciousness that LSD creates. In these holotropic states a person transcends the boundaries of normal existence, which is ruled primarily by the subconscious and the ego, and can uncover his or her identity, namely the true Self.
The Benefits
There have been a number of research programs in the past that suggest psychedelics like LSD can provide insight to past traumas and disorders and heal them. The famous Concord Prison Experiment conducted by the infamous Professor Timothy Leary of Harvard University showed that prisoners who underwent LSD therapy showed only a 50 percent relapse in criminal behavior after leaving prison compared to much higher percentages for those who did not undergo treatment. Grof, who has worked with terminally-ill cancer patients found that after LSD therapy, they completely lose any fear of death. Other studies have shown success with treating chronic alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and intense pain.
As a former Silicon Valley resident, I can attest to the fact that I have known a number of entrepreneurs who have experimented with micro levels of LSD as a means to increase their creativity. Steve Jobs, my neighbor in Palo Alto for nearly five years, said several times in our conversations as well as in public interviews that taking LSD was one of the most important things he had ever done in his life. And Nobel laureate, Francis Crick in his book What The Dormouse Said disclosed that LSD helped him unravel the structure of DNA.
The Risks
LSD influences consciousness in a holistic way, so much so that Grof passionately argues, “Psychedelics are very safe biologically, and they can really sort of open the psyche at a very profound level.” Grof recognizes that as with any drug, there are risks associated with taking LSD. He notes that although the drug is not addictive, it must be administered by trained healthcare professionals. Dosage and the mental state of the person taking the drug must be taken into consideration. LSD should never be administered to a person at the edge of a psychological crisis. That could lead to what has been called a “bad trip” by the drug culture activists of the 1960s,” and result in challenging psychological issues.
When LSD became illegal, Grof continued to be approached by people around the world for alternative means to expedite their elevation to higher levels of consciousness. In response to this need, he and his wife Christina spent considerable time developing a procedure known as “holotropic breathwork.” It involves controlled fast breathing, complemented by specially designed music and energy-releasing bodywork. In some aspects, it is similar to the ancient practice of pranayama. Grof claims that this method, administered by an experienced person, can create similar insights and healing effects as do psychedelics such as LSD.
The Brain Does Not Create Consciousness
Based on years of LSD research and his efforts with holotropic breathwork, Grof comes to a conclusion reached millennia ago by the great Wisdom Seekers and ancient mystics, namely that the mind does not produce consciousness; consciousness produces the mind; the mind is simply a mediator of consciousness. He points to extensive supporting evidence. For example, people whose brains completely shut down during a near-death experience (NDE) report vivid pictorial details when revived. He notes that people, blind from birth and have a NDE, also report dramatically vivid personal pictures that can be validated. Grof feels that “Such observations show that consciousness can operate independently of our body and is not a product of the brain.” He explains this, referencing Rupert Sheldrake’s work on the “Morphogenic Field” and Ervin Laszlo’s concept of the “Akashic Field.”
In simple terms, there is a Personal Consciousness and a Collective Consciousness. The latter is a field (Morphogenic or Akashic) that records everything that ever happened and retains the details of this information forever. Through altered states of consciousness such as meditation or the use of psychedelic agents such as LSD, it is possible to tap into this field. This has huge potential for human learning and understanding.
My Thoughts
I conclude that we should not cast aside LSD and other psychedelic agents such as psilocybin as dangerous addictive drugs, putting them in the same category as heroin and cocaine. On the other hand, I don’t feel we can make them freely available to anyone and everyone and expect that this will change the course of humanity in a favorable direction. However, legalizing LSD and perhaps psilocybin as consciousness stimulants to be carefully administered by healthcare professionals may present valuable alternatives to treating a host of mental maladies and in the right setting provide emotionally healthy individuals with an effective means to tap into the Collective Consciousness field. This could be an expedient means to acquire advanced knowledge and insight and elevate your consciousness to much higher levels. It might even engender you with a strong predisposition to help create a better world.
I have never tried LSD. Would I? I would give it serious consideration if administered by an experienced professional like Dr. Grof.
Perhaps there was something to dear old Dad’s advice.
Sat, Chit, Ananda!
Enjoy your journey, make a difference!
By James Cusumano
[i] Jurriaan Kamp, The Optimist, Winter edition, pp. 40 – 45, 2016. Many of the facts in this column are drawn from this reference.
[ii] Jerry B. Brown and Julie M. Brown, The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity, Park Street Press, Rochester, Vermont, 2016.