Is There A Way Out? Part Four

More information is given on pages 41-44 in Beyond The Brain about how the knowledge he gained from psychotherapy sessions using LSD as a tool challenges the mechanistic view of the universe: "The most critical and serious challenge for the Newtonian-Cartesian mechanistic model of the universe comes from the last category of psychedelic phenomena, an entire spectrum of experiences for which I have coined the term transpersonal. The common denominator of this rich and ramified group of unusual experiences is the individual's feeling that his or her consciousness has expanded beyond the ego boundaries and has transcended the limitations of time and space."

"Many experiences belonging to this category can be interpreted as regression in historical time and exploration of one's biological, cultural, or spiritual past. It is not infrequent in psychedelic sessions to experience quite concrete and realistic episodes of fetal and enbryonic life. Many subjects report vivid sequences on the cellular level of consciousness that seem to reflect their existence in the form of sperm and ovum at the time of conception. Sometimes the regression appears to go even further and the individual has a convinced feeling of reliving episodes from the life of his or her biological ancestors, or even drawing on the pool of collective and racial memories. On occasion, LSD subjects report experiences in which they identify with various animals in the evolutionary pedigree, or have a distinct feeling of reliving memories or their existence in a previous incarnation. "

"Some other transpersonal phenomena involve transcendence of spatial rather than temporal barriers. Here belong the experiences of consciousness of another person, group of persons, or all of humanity. One can even transcend the limits of a specifically human experience and tune into what appears to be the consciousness of animals, plants, or inanimate objects. In the extreme, it is possible to experience the consciousness of all creation, of the entire planet, or of the entire material universe."

"Individuals who encounter transpersonal experiences of this kind in their psychedelic sessions frequently gain access to detailed and rather esoteric information about the corresponding aspects of the material that by far exceeds their general educational background and their specific knowledge of the area in question. Thus, the reports of LSD subjects who have experienced the episodes of embryonic existence, the moment of conception, and elements of cellular tissue, and organ consciousness abound in medically accurate insights into the anatomical, physiological, and biochemical aspects of the processes involved. Similarly, ancestral experiences, elements of the collective and racial unconscious in the Jungian sense, and "past incarnation memories" frequently bring quite remarkable details related to specific historical events and costumes, architecture, weapons, art, or religious practices of the cultures involved. LSD subjects who relived phylogenetic memories or experienced consciousness of contemporary animal forms not only found them unusually authentic and convincing, but also acquired extraordinary insights concerning animal psychology, ethnology, specific habits, complex reproductive cycles and courting dances of various species."

"Many LSD subjects have independently reported their insights that consciousness is not a product of the central nervous system and, as such, limited to humans and higher vertebrates. They saw it as a primary characteristic of existence that cannot be further reduced to, or derived from, anything else. Those individuals who have reported episodes of conscious identification with plants or parts of plants had sometimes remarkable insights into such botanical processes as germination of seeds, photosynthesis in the leaves, pollination, or exchange of water and minerals in the root system. Equally common is a sense of identification with consciousness of inorganic matter or processes, such as gold, granite, water, fire, lightning, tornado, volcanic activities, or even individual atoms and molecules. Like the preceding phenomena, these experiences can be associated with surprisingly accurate insights."

I am not doing much of anything fast these days- but hope to have the next part of this series here before a matter of months goes by;-)! All the best to anyone stopping by!