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A List of Websites That Discuss the Dangers of and Harm Done by LSD
One aspect of the book, "The Experience of Hallucinations in Religious Practice" is its anti-drug stance. This is even after the author spent much time reading material by Carlos Castenada, and others. Drugs do not give spiritual experience, they can only take away from authentic spiritual experience. A hallucination by nature is not a "vision" or a spiritual experience, although the Spirit may help an addict, perhaps when they are even in their addiction. It's impossible to talk rationally about the topic of spirituality and drug use from someone who is still addicted. One must find out why one needs drugs so badly for some kind of "spiritual" experience or even emotional lift. When one gets at the heart of that, then one can have real spiritual experience, even "visions," without drugs.
LSD Drug Information -- Facts sheet about LSD and its effects on users.
National Institute of Drug Abuse -- Facts sheet regarding different kinds of hallucinogens including
LSD.
New Zealand Drug Foundation -- List of symptoms, effects, and side effects of LSD.
Drugalcohol-rehab.com -- Information from a site that lists rehab centers
Can LSD cause actual bodily harm? -- Even though this is just a Yahoo Answers site, it does
have some good information.
United States Drug Enforcement Agency -- Overview on LSD, effects, and population trends relating to LSD.
National Drug Intelligence Center -- Quick list of LSD facts and related substances.
Prevention of Psychological Effects of d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD 25) -- An article from 1956 by K. H. GINZEL & W. MAYER-GROSS from Department of Experimental Psychiatry, University of Birmingham..
Here is an interesting Google search on the words "drugs not spirituality."
Here is an interesting Google search on the words "LSDnot spirituality."
Excerpts from the book: The Experience of Hallucinations in Religious Practice
65
What is wrong with some people psychologically is that they do not only create voices but also believe in them. Some things they can work on are avoiding drugs and avoiding shunning the inner truth about what they are experiencing. Continued use of marijuana and other drugs that can cause hallucinations will mean that hallucinators will never be free of the voices because marijuana is found to produce such symptoms. (Citation: Study finds cannabis triggers transient schizophrenia-like symptoms. Edward Perry, M.D., et al. Neuropsychopharmacology, Advanced Online Publication (June 2, 2004)). Drug use would work in the brain in the same way that we become accustom to use certain actions or expressions: the brain likes to repeat patterns for efficiency and economy.
104
We can picture the brain divided into three imaginary parts when hallucinating. The three parts are: the part that is one's consciousness of oneself, the part that is the perception of the real outside world (the senses), and the part that is the hallucination. Fears and traumas in life, or perhaps organic causes like drugs, have caused the hallucinated inner speech. There are also delusions of grandeur which fuel, motivate and color one's hallucinations. Occult beliefs, like the belief in an inner circle of humanity which can see people at distances and put thoughts in people's mind, can further color one's thought processes and allow hallucinations to develop when one is more prone to them.
110
There are certain people that will not be able to see the reason to start this therapy of not allowing hallucinations to continue without doubting their validity. Some refer to these people as those that "may never be coming back" -- people have done LSD or other drugs and "never came down." I have met certain people that "may never be coming back." They may never be able to separate themselves from their automatic projected thinking. Like the delusion of grandeur, it provides a type of solacing that they feel they need more than they feel they need being considered normal by society. With voices, they are never alone, they are never at the lower level in which society may try to place them. Essentially, this is saying that the person would rather live a life half-asleep than fully awake. The fact that throughout history well meaning "esotericists" and various fringe religious doctrines have encouraged this kind of escape should be considered.
111
The path of spirituality that most competent and functioning people chose to follow, even those of a mystical disposition, often warns that this type of damage really happens and it's why drugs must be watched out for. It's amazing to see the new "Western shamans" who advocate drug use yet don't also talk about the large percentage of people who end up unemployable, homeless, or institutionalized based on conditions that happened after they started using such powerful drugs.
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The brain can be seen in some ways as similar to any other kind of organ. When it is stressed and overworked, it stops functioning in the way it was intended. Hallucinations will probably never leave one who is prone to them and who drinks alcohol often or does hallucinogenic drugs. Marijuana can be classified as a mild hallucinogen. It can no longer be a possibility in the hallucinator's worldview to both use intoxicants and to get hallucinations to stop. Having hallucinations even after the stopping of the use of intoxicants occurs in some. Such behavior was simply caused, or made more frequent, by past drug abuse.
Bibliography
"Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior : A Four-Step Self-Treatment Method to Change Your Brain Chemistry." Jeffrey Schwatz, M.D. (Harpercollins; 1996)
"Cognitive Therapy for Delusions, Voices and Paranoia." Paul Chadwick, Max J. Birchwood, Peter Trower (John Wiley & Sons Inc, 1996).
"Hallucinations in Clinical Practice." Ghazi Asaad, M.D. (Brunner/Mazel. 1990).
"Solace: The Missing Dimension in Psychiatry." Paul C Horton, M.D. (University of Chicago Press,1981).
"Stations of the Mind: New Directions for Reality Therapy." William Glasser, M.D. (Harpercollins, 1981).
Study finds cannabis triggers transient schizophrenia-like symptoms. Edward Perry, M.D.,et al. Neuropsychopharmacology, Advanced Online Publication (June 2, 2004)
"The Anatomy of Hallucinations." Fred H. Johnson, M.D. (Nelson-Hall Chicago, IL. 1978).
"The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind." Julian Jaynes. (Houghton Mifflin, 1976).
"Transient Psychosis: Diagnosis, Management, and Evaluation." Joe P. Tupin, M.D. et al (Brunner/Mazel. 1984).
"Unity and Multiplicity: Multilevel Consciousness of Self in Hypnosis, Psychiatric Disorder and Mental Health." John O. Beahrs, M.D. (Brunner-Routledge, 1981).
"Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity: Studies of Verbal Hallucinations." Ivan Leudar and Philip Thomas. (Brunner-Routledge 2000).
About the book: The Experience of Hallucinations in Religious Practice
"The Experience of Hallucinations in Religious Practice" by R.S. Pearson is the one of the first books to help distinguish what is a spiritual experience and what may be merely a type of dream phenomena or hallucination. The author discusses how much religious and so-called esoteric experience takes place in the state of consciousness within the brain that is similar to the dream state in human beings. This book is written by someone who has a religious perspective, yet it is non-denomenational and not offensive to those of any faith. It is not written in a technical style, yet still provides challenging material.
Today, a large percentage of religious thought encourages people to have extra-sensory experiences. Medical science has also proven both the value of religious faith in some people via statistical studies, and also the fact that some religious experiences fall into the same category as hallucinations or dreams. Because of the many popular celebrity psychics, some of whom even talk to the dead on TV, many come to believe that whatever you experience is what you imagine it to be. But for one who was taught by many different religious teachers, and did a detailed study of religious literature, Pearson felt it necessary to write about the other side of the picture. "Like the great religions teach, many are going to have to learn by personal experience that it's often best to not believe in these experiences," Pearson says. "The problem is, that there are psychological studies that show the longer that you hallucinate, the more your IQ can decrease."
The author believes that today's spiritual climate is often dangerous, because there isn't much sophistication in understanding what people can often experience when they open themselves up to spiritual practices. Most of the traditional religious leaders, whether they be Christians, Jews, Islamic, Zen Buddhist monks, or yogis, teach not to make much of so-called paranormal experiences. Such experiences have traditionally been said to be possibly dangerous. However, to some of today's modern writers, these experiences become the most important part of their spirituality.
The author has done some charitable work among the homeless of Seattle and he recognizes that many of the homeless are mentally ill and are experiencing hallucinations. "Most likely the homeless who are hallucinating are believing that they are having religious experiences. Often they already feel condemned by God because they hallucinate God condemning them." He realizes that since there was no book written when he was younger on this subject, that a book like his that takes both a religious and psychological perspective fills an important need. He says, that, on the contrary, only books were written encouraging people to hallucinate.
Pearson states, "I tried to write this book for the biggest audience possible. I state clearly up front that I am not a trained psychologist or psychiatrist. Some proofreaders were expecting me to write an academic book that referenced every statement, but many readers are intimidated by such books. I wrote a book that will inform most people's understanding of psychology but one which has no technical medical information from brain science, so as to not intimidate people in the reading process."
Although witten from a spiritual perspective, the author has tried to remove his own specific personal beliefs from this book to create an interfaith work.