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I felt this connection
with everything,
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especially with nature.
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I have understood for a
long time that change is part
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of the essential nature of the
universe and that I've always
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been afraid of change.
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But today, I felt deeply
that change is a gift.
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I wish I could
put it into words.
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It was a sense of connectedness
that runs through all of us
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and also a sense of the strength
of it and the power of it.
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DvX3M
www.opensubtitles.org
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Mystical experience has been
a part of human nature as far
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as we know.
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And most major religions
and religion traditions,
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at the core, were about
a mystical experience.
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Mysticism is unlike a belief
in something or knowledge
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based on what someone tells you.
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It's the direct
experience of that thing,
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what's been called the ground of
being, to quote, Paul Tillich,
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or all that is,
in Hinduism, or in Christianity,
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Christ-consciousness.
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It's a direct
experience with all
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that is with nature, with
God, as some would call it.
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The word psychedelic
means "mind manifesting,"
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and it came from a poem.
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"To fathom hell
or sorrow angelic,
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just take a pinch
of psychedelic."
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The word psychedelic
was coined by a psychiatric
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researcher named Humphry Osmond
in a letter to author Aldous
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Huxley in 1956, before
Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey,
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or the hippie movement.
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And yet the use of
psychedelics goes back long
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before the 20th century.
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For as long as humans have
been roaming the Earth,
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they've ingested and worshipped
these mysterious plants.
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In the 16th and
17th centuries,
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when the Spanish conquistadors
arrived in the New World,
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they were horrified
by what they observed.
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They saw the native people
using a vast pharmacopeia
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of native plants for purposes
of healing and divination.
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00:03:03,020 --> 00:03:05,936
And this was
entirely in conflict
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with the orthodox,
rigid belief system
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that conquistadors
brought with them.
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The mushroom ceremonies
happened at night.
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They involved invoking
spirits, divining the future,
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looking for lost things.
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And there were women who were
doing the ceremonies as well
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as men.
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So so many things,
probably, about that culture
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was shocking.
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And certainly, in
Christianity, the power
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is given to priests who
speak on behalf of God.
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And so the thing that is
scary about psychedelics
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is that it gives power
directly to people.
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The inquisition,
in the year 1616,
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formally condemned the use
of hallucinogenic plants
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and stated that the punishment
for anyone who would use such
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plants, whether they be
natives or immigrant Spaniards,
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was death by the cruelest
methods available.
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1938.
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In 1938, as Europe stood
on the brink of world war,
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a chemist working for a
pharmaceutical company
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in Switzerland made a
most unusual discovery,
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one that would alter the
course of human events to come.
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Albert Hofmann was,
from a young person,
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very focused on nature, kind
of a nature mystic almost.
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And he worked at Sandoz
Pharmaceutical Companies.
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And they were looking... in
1938 is when he invented LSD.
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It was also from ergot,
which is a fungus that
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grows on wheat and barley.
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He was looking at
various compounds
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where he could start
with what was in ergot
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and manipulate them
in different ways.
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And LSD-25 was the
25th variation.
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And in 1943, five
years later, he
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had what he called a peculiar
presentiment that there was
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something worthwhile in LSD-25.
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He accidentally
ingested some,
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because you don't need that much
LSD to get into your system.
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And he had a really
unexpected experience.
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It wasn't anything
that blew his mind,
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but it was enough that
he paid attention.
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It was on a Friday.
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And so he went home
over the weekend.
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And on Monday,
April 19, 1943, he
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decided that he would
do a planned experiment,
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and he would take
an amount that he
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said was so small that he
thought nothing would happen.
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But he wanted to
be extra cautious.
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And that turned out
to be 250 micrograms,
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250 millionths of a gram.
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Which 100 micrograms is
usually enough for someone
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who's naive to LSD to have
a full-blown experience.
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Some of the symptoms
occurred immediately,
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and very soon to become very,
very strong, very intense.
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And I became anxious, and I
asked my laboratory assistant
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to accompany me home.
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And then, we went home by
bicycle because it was wartime,
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and of course, I had no car.
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And I reported about
this bicycle ride
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because I had the feeling
that time would stand still.
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It's quite an
extraordinary property of LSD,
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and yet that's a very,
very deep meaning.
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If you have such a deep
affect of your whole body,
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of your consciousness,
of your senses,
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LSD must attack the very center
of our psychic existence.
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Hofmann feared that his
nightmare would never end,
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that he had permanently
damaged his mind,
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00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,466
and wondered what his wife and
children would think when they
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returned home to find a
madman in the living room.
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Slowly, the effects wore off.
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And after a night's rest,
he entered his garden,
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where everything was
teeming with life.
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Woke up the next day and
felt refreshed, rejuvenated.
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He found things to be
novel and interesting.
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He went back to the lab to
figure out what had happened.
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Nobody had thought that anything
in terms of the microgram range
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could create an effect.
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But in fact, he discovered
this very potent compound.
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And then, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals
tested it in animals
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for safety and
toxicity, then tested it
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in some of the members of
Sandoz Pharmaceuticals.
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But in 1943, Hofmann became
temporarily psychotic through
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accidental ingestion
of the drug.
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The door swung wide
open for research
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into the nature of the
schizophrenic process,
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and in a larger sense, into
the biochemistry of psychosis.
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They believed that it might
be a tool to help psychiatrists
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00:08:01,730 --> 00:08:05,486
understand the inner
experience of their psychotic
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00:08:05,510 --> 00:08:06,986
or schizophrenic patients.
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00:08:07,010 --> 00:08:11,186
So they packaged samples
of LSD and shipped them out
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to the leading psychiatric
researchers around the world.
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I'm going to give you this
cup that contains lysergic
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acid, 100 microgram.
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00:08:21,770 --> 00:08:25,016
suggesting that they
try this compound themselves,
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that it was a
psychotomimetic drug,
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that it would induce the kind
of psychotic experience that
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their patients were going
through and would better help
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them understand and so
better help them treat.
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How you feel?
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Well, I feel very fine.
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I feel very buoyant and
light and resilient.
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I feel as though this
chair is not solid.
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It seems to be...
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I have a feeling
that my hands are not
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resting against this chair.
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And I see flashes of
color quite a bit.
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I see this rug,
for example, seems
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to have an awful
lot of complements
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of violet and yellow.
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00:09:08,550 --> 00:09:12,216
It seems to feel that
I'm going to watch it.
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Now, as it turned out, the
experience is not at all like
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what the inner experience
of a schizophrenic is.
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Now, when you look at
your hands, do as I do.
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Close your eyes, and just
concentrate on your hands.
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There it is.
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I feel these lovely colors
vibrating all over me.
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It's lovely.
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Any lines?
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Any forms?
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Just like the
shimmering water, you know?
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You can put
your hand down now.
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Come on.
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Describe it.
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I don't know.
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It's just giving, and...
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You don't know.
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00:10:01,876 --> 00:10:05,636
You want to give yourself...
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You want to give yourself
as much as you can.
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There's all sorts of things
happening during a psychedelic
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experience.
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One thing is that the
5-HT2A receptor, which
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is the psychedelic receptor, is
being stimulated quite a bit.
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And that's mostly serotonin.
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But then it turns out
that if you stimulate
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the 5-HT2A receptor
enough, it actually
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creates a receptor couple
with a whole other transmitter
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system, which is oxytocin.
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They form what's called a dimer.
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They dimerize, and they
create a receptor complex.
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In a couple, when you
fall in love with someone,
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there's a lot of oxytocin,
and you're open to them,
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and you're bonding with them.
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With a mother who's
nursing a baby,
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and there's like
maternal infant bonding,
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oxytocin is there for that.
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I feel very benevolent.
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I mean, I feel as though I
have no enemies in the world.
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And this is very lovely.
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And that sense of oneness and
unity and connection signifies
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sort of the peak of a
psychedelic experience.
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And when you come away from
that, you come away changed.
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00:11:08,930 --> 00:11:11,756
The insight that I was
getting from traditional
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and classic Buddhist meditation
was similar to the insight that
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I'd finally arrived
at under the acid.
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The lesson was
form is emptiness.
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There's a sense of
emptiness and transitoriness
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in all perceived phenomena.
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00:11:28,970 --> 00:11:31,646
And there's no need
to get hysterically
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hung up on any thought
form, no need to grab.
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And there is no enlightenment,
no wisdom, no illumination,
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00:11:39,350 --> 00:11:43,676
no god, no identity, no
self, no reference point,
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that any grabbing for a
reference point is vain.
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00:11:47,263 --> 00:11:48,656
And that's one of
the first things
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you think when you
get high anyway,
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00:11:50,138 --> 00:11:51,626
that even if you
didn't get high,
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you'd be seeing the same
reality, that in a sense,
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acid is not necessary.
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00:11:55,850 --> 00:11:58,457
And that's why it's OK.
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00:12:01,820 --> 00:12:05,966
In the early 1950s, as LSD
research was in its infancy,
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00:12:05,990 --> 00:12:08,786
little was known in the West
about naturally-occurring
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psychedelics.
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00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,706
In 1953, author
Aldous Huxley was
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00:12:13,730 --> 00:12:16,556
given mescaline, the active
ingredient in the peyote
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00:12:16,580 --> 00:12:21,056
cactus, under the supervision
of psychiatrist Humphry Osmond.
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00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:24,446
Huxley later wrote about this
experience in the seminal book
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00:12:24,470 --> 00:12:26,636
"The Doors of Perception."
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00:12:26,660 --> 00:12:29,936
And in New York City, a
very unlikely character
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helped bridge the gap between
the ancient traditions
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00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,711
and modern America.
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00:12:35,735 --> 00:12:39,936
R. Gordon Wasson was a
very successful businessman
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and banker.
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00:12:40,761 --> 00:12:43,886
He was a vice
president of JP Morgan.
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As a young man, he met his
future wife, Valentina,
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who was Russian.
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And she had a great interest and
enthusiasm for the collection
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of edible mushrooms.
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While on their honeymoon
in the Catskill Mountains,
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00:12:58,700 --> 00:13:02,486
Valentina leaped with excitement
after spying a cluster of wild
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mushrooms growing in the forest.
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00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:07,706
She sounded off the
species name in Russian
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00:13:07,730 --> 00:13:11,366
and insisted that they prepare
them for dinner that night.
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00:13:11,390 --> 00:13:14,756
Wasson, of Anglo-Saxon
heritage, was brought up
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00:13:14,780 --> 00:13:17,636
to believe mushrooms were
poison and was horrified
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00:13:17,660 --> 00:13:19,856
at his wife's enthusiasm.
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00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:21,686
This difference in
cultural attitudes
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00:13:21,710 --> 00:13:25,586
became the catalyst for Wasson's
lifelong interest in mycology,
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00:13:25,610 --> 00:13:27,506
or the study of fungi.
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00:13:27,530 --> 00:13:30,836
And then, in the early
'50s, a friend of his wrote him
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00:13:30,860 --> 00:13:35,426
a letter suggesting he look
into an extant mushroom cult
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00:13:35,450 --> 00:13:37,806
in the central
highlands of Mexico,
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00:13:37,830 --> 00:13:41,861
where he had heard that there
was use of hallucinogenic
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00:13:41,885 --> 00:13:42,662
mushrooms.
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00:13:42,686 --> 00:13:45,266
Now, this came as quite
a surprise to Wasson
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00:13:45,290 --> 00:13:47,276
because at this
time, the early '50s,
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00:13:47,300 --> 00:13:49,916
it was not believed that
there were such things
246
00:13:49,940 --> 00:13:53,686
as hallucinogenic mushrooms.
247
00:13:53,710 --> 00:13:59,386
We went into the Mazatec
area far from the highways,
248
00:13:59,410 --> 00:14:01,546
remote from Mexico City.
249
00:14:01,570 --> 00:14:04,096
There we found that
rotten bagasse,
250
00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,496
as it's called, bagasso,
covered with mushrooms.
251
00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,846
These mushrooms I didn't
know, had never seen.
252
00:14:10,870 --> 00:14:13,426
They were the sacred mushrooms.
253
00:14:13,450 --> 00:14:15,916
After much difficulty,
and by some accounts,
254
00:14:15,940 --> 00:14:18,436
manipulation on
the part of Wasson,
255
00:14:18,460 --> 00:14:23,086
he eventually found entry into
a velada, or mushroom ceremony.
256
00:14:23,110 --> 00:14:25,606
The curandera, or
healer, was a woman
257
00:14:25,630 --> 00:14:28,006
named Maria Sabina,
who represented
258
00:14:28,030 --> 00:14:30,226
a long line of
underground healers
259
00:14:30,250 --> 00:14:33,376
left intact since the
days of Spanish conquest.
260
00:14:35,950 --> 00:14:39,976
And we were seeing
incredible sights.
261
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,646
All your senses
are rendered acute.
262
00:14:42,670 --> 00:14:44,866
We say that you see visions.
263
00:14:44,890 --> 00:14:46,606
You see hallucinations.
264
00:14:46,630 --> 00:14:49,426
But that doesn't begin
to tell the story.
265
00:14:49,450 --> 00:14:51,496
The hallucinations
are only part of it.
266
00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:52,846
You hear sounds.
267
00:14:52,870 --> 00:14:54,166
You smell things.
268
00:14:54,190 --> 00:14:58,147
The night was thrilling.
269
00:15:04,510 --> 00:15:07,936
The visions were not
blurred or uncertain.
270
00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,936
I felt that I was
now seeing plain,
271
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,796
whereas ordinary vision
gives us an imperfect view.
272
00:15:15,820 --> 00:15:19,426
I was seeing the archetypes,
the Platonic ideas
273
00:15:19,450 --> 00:15:25,186
that underlie the imperfect
images of everyday life.
274
00:15:25,210 --> 00:15:27,406
The thought crossed my mind.
275
00:15:27,430 --> 00:15:29,536
Could the divine
mushrooms be the secret
276
00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,660
that lay behind the
ancient mysteries?
277
00:15:35,660 --> 00:15:37,856
Could the miraculous
mobility that I was now
278
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,276
enjoying be the explanation
for the flying witches that
279
00:15:41,300 --> 00:15:44,036
played so important a part
in the folklore and fairy
280
00:15:44,060 --> 00:15:46,926
tales of northern Europe?
281
00:15:46,950 --> 00:15:50,136
These reflections passed through
my mind at the very same time
282
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,026
that I was seeing the visions.
283
00:15:52,050 --> 00:15:54,036
For the effect of
the mushrooms is
284
00:15:54,060 --> 00:15:58,026
to bring about a vision of the
spirit, a split in the person,
285
00:15:58,050 --> 00:16:01,486
a kind of schizophrenia.
286
00:16:01,510 --> 00:16:04,276
Unbeknownst to Wasson,
his trips to Mexico were
287
00:16:04,300 --> 00:16:07,426
infiltrated by a group with
more nefarious interests
288
00:16:07,450 --> 00:16:10,126
in the mind-altering
effects of psychedelics.
289
00:16:10,150 --> 00:16:12,406
In their neverending
search for the miracle weapon,
290
00:16:12,430 --> 00:16:15,706
CIA operatives searched here
in the remote mountain areas
291
00:16:15,730 --> 00:16:18,886
of southern Mexico for what
up to then had been considered
292
00:16:18,910 --> 00:16:20,986
a myth, magic mushrooms.
293
00:16:21,010 --> 00:16:25,216
And so Gordon Wasson was
unwittingly participating
294
00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,806
in this sort of military
use of psychedelics.
295
00:16:29,830 --> 00:16:33,406
They used this man, a
part-time chemist with the CIA,
296
00:16:33,430 --> 00:16:36,136
to dupe this man, a
vice president of a bank
297
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,956
and an amateur mycologist,
or mushroom expert,
298
00:16:38,980 --> 00:16:41,296
to try to get to the magic
mushrooms and turn them
299
00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:42,160
into a drug.
300
00:16:42,184 --> 00:16:44,326
They gave it to several
different chemists to try
301
00:16:44,350 --> 00:16:48,446
to figure out what was in it,
and nobody could figure it out.
302
00:16:48,470 --> 00:16:50,416
And so they called
on Albert Hofmann,
303
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,516
since he had invented LSD.
304
00:16:52,540 --> 00:16:54,196
And they asked him
could he figure out
305
00:16:54,220 --> 00:16:57,586
what was in the mushroom
that made it so psychedelic.
306
00:16:57,610 --> 00:17:00,166
It would be the amateur,
R. Gordon Wasson and his
307
00:17:00,190 --> 00:17:03,226
colleagues, who would win
the race and develop the drug
308
00:17:03,250 --> 00:17:07,845
psilocybin from the
magic mushrooms.
309
00:17:07,869 --> 00:17:12,106
I think that is very
strange that LSD is not just
310
00:17:12,130 --> 00:17:13,786
a laboratory product.
311
00:17:13,810 --> 00:17:19,396
It is closely related with
this old Indian magic drug.
312
00:17:19,420 --> 00:17:24,226
That means that LSD belongs
pharmacologically, chemically,
313
00:17:24,250 --> 00:17:28,256
to the group of the sacred
magic plants of Mexico.
314
00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,726
It's a very important finding.
315
00:17:31,750 --> 00:17:34,756
Wasson was friends
with Henry Boothe Luce,
316
00:17:34,780 --> 00:17:37,066
who was the publisher
of "Life Magazine."
317
00:17:37,090 --> 00:17:40,006
He told his friend Luce
about his experience,
318
00:17:40,030 --> 00:17:43,156
and Luce encouraged him
to write up his account.
319
00:17:43,180 --> 00:17:47,326
That was really the first word
out to Western civilization
320
00:17:47,350 --> 00:17:50,656
that psychedelic mushrooms
indeed existed at all.
321
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:53,926
And it really stimulated
growing interest
322
00:17:53,950 --> 00:17:57,886
and led to the psychedelic
explosion of the '60s.
323
00:17:57,910 --> 00:18:01,876
Wasson's influence became due
in large part to an enigmatic
324
00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:05,026
Harvard psychologist
named Timothy Leary.
325
00:18:05,050 --> 00:18:08,656
Though he became known as the
most dangerous man in America,
326
00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,076
he might have been described
by others in the year 1960
327
00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:15,676
as a New England square,
a hard-drinking Irishman,
328
00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:19,216
or by himself, an atheist
psychologist in the midst
329
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:20,956
of a midlife crisis.
330
00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:23,816
Timothy Leary was a
very prominent researcher
331
00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:24,617
at Harvard.
332
00:18:24,641 --> 00:18:27,436
His California
Personality Inventory
333
00:18:27,460 --> 00:18:29,486
is still being used today.
334
00:18:29,510 --> 00:18:32,346
He was sort of a pied piper.
335
00:18:32,370 --> 00:18:34,386
During his early
years at Harvard,
336
00:18:34,410 --> 00:18:37,806
Leary was in the throes
of personal crisis.
337
00:18:37,830 --> 00:18:41,496
His first wife had committed
suicide on his 35th birthday,
338
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,846
reportedly after a
strained open marriage.
339
00:18:45,870 --> 00:18:48,116
It was during this time
that he described himself
340
00:18:48,140 --> 00:18:51,386
as an anonymous
institutional employee who
341
00:18:51,410 --> 00:18:55,106
drove to work each morning in
a long line of commuter cars
342
00:18:55,130 --> 00:18:57,986
and drove home each
night and drank Martinis,
343
00:18:58,010 --> 00:19:00,116
like several million
middle-class,
344
00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:02,636
liberal, intellectual robots.
345
00:19:06,830 --> 00:19:10,736
Inspired by Wasson's article,
Leary traveled down to Mexico
346
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,376
with a colleague in
1960 who had found
347
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:17,116
some mushrooms from a
curandero in the mountains.
348
00:19:17,140 --> 00:19:19,006
Leary later said
that he learned more
349
00:19:19,030 --> 00:19:21,166
about the brain and
its possibilities,
350
00:19:21,190 --> 00:19:24,106
and more about psychology,
in the five hours
351
00:19:24,130 --> 00:19:27,646
after taking the mushrooms
than he had in the preceding 15
352
00:19:27,670 --> 00:19:31,846
years of studying and doing
research in psychology.
353
00:19:31,870 --> 00:19:36,016
When he got back to Harvard,
he got permission to do
354
00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,056
research with psilocybin.
355
00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,826
And that was the beginning of
the Harvard Psilocybin Research
356
00:19:40,850 --> 00:19:41,627
Project.
357
00:19:41,651 --> 00:19:43,186
And that was really
the beginning
358
00:19:43,210 --> 00:19:46,186
of formal research,
attempted clinical research,
359
00:19:46,210 --> 00:19:48,503
of psychedelic agents
in the United States.
360
00:19:48,527 --> 00:19:50,836
Timothy Leary had two
research products that could go
361
00:19:50,860 --> 00:19:53,496
to the Harvard Psilocybin
Research Program.
362
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,466
It was a Good Friday
study with Walter Pahnke.
363
00:19:55,490 --> 00:19:59,296
It was a remarkable
study and groundbreaking.
364
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,056
They had given
psilocybin and a placebo
365
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,576
to 20 graduate
students in theology,
366
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,086
comparing their experiences to
genuine mystical experiences
367
00:20:08,110 --> 00:20:10,606
found throughout millennia,
through mystics and saints.
368
00:20:10,630 --> 00:20:13,906
They arranged to have
access to the Marsh Chapel.
369
00:20:13,930 --> 00:20:15,736
It was Good Friday.
370
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,496
They were in a basement chapel.
371
00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,336
And the service from
upstairs in the main chapel
372
00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:23,551
was being piped through.
373
00:20:29,340 --> 00:20:31,836
The Reverend Howard
Thurman was the minister,
374
00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:34,026
who was Martin Luther
King's mentor...
375
00:20:34,050 --> 00:20:38,706
This incredible dynamic
speaker, orator.
376
00:20:38,730 --> 00:20:45,636
You, Pilate, standing for
Rome, are the universal coward.
377
00:20:45,660 --> 00:20:51,096
I, standing for the kingdom of
God, have braved everything,
378
00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:59,120
lost everything, and
won an eternal crown.
379
00:20:59,460 --> 00:21:01,926
They developed a scale
of mystical experience.
380
00:21:01,950 --> 00:21:04,866
Some of the items are a noetic
quality, intuitive quality
381
00:21:04,890 --> 00:21:08,136
of understanding things,
transcendence of time and space
382
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,906
as we know it, a sense of
unity with all living things
383
00:21:10,930 --> 00:21:14,266
internally as well.
384
00:21:14,290 --> 00:21:15,290
I shall die.
385
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,245
But that is all that
I shall do for death.
386
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,296
Of the 20
experimental students,
387
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,206
nine out of the 20 people
had a mystical experience.
388
00:21:33,230 --> 00:21:36,116
And eight out of those
nine had the psilocybin.
389
00:21:36,140 --> 00:21:38,576
It was the first study
showing that these agents,
390
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,286
these medicines,
these sacraments,
391
00:21:40,310 --> 00:21:43,646
can produce an experience that
was found throughout millennia
392
00:21:43,670 --> 00:21:46,136
in various religious traditions.
393
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,034
One young man had
a kind of nervous...
394
00:21:49,058 --> 00:21:50,576
I was going to say
nervous breakdown,
395
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,496
but it was actually
positive for him.
396
00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,826
So he was so blown away by
this spiritual experience
397
00:21:55,850 --> 00:21:58,166
he was having that he kind
of ran out of the chapel.
398
00:21:58,190 --> 00:21:59,874
And he was trying to
run to the, I think,
399
00:21:59,898 --> 00:22:02,756
the dean or the president's
office to proclaim everything
400
00:22:02,780 --> 00:22:03,926
that he had learned.
401
00:22:03,950 --> 00:22:08,636
And behaved rather bizarrely
out in public until the sitters
402
00:22:08,660 --> 00:22:11,486
found him and retrieved
him and brought him back.
403
00:22:11,510 --> 00:22:15,416
And he actually had to be
sedated with a tranquilizer.
404
00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,876
So that's kind of an
interesting piece of history
405
00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:19,016
that didn't get reported.
406
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,516
The object of this
presentation is to demonstrate
407
00:22:28,540 --> 00:22:33,226
the effect of MER-17,
a new blocking agent,
408
00:22:33,250 --> 00:22:37,876
against the development
of LSD-25 psychosis.
409
00:22:37,900 --> 00:22:41,656
We have used two healthy
graduate students in psychology
410
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:42,796
as subjects.
411
00:22:42,820 --> 00:22:46,726
When Sandoz discovered the
psychoactive effects of LSD,
412
00:22:46,750 --> 00:22:50,596
they also observed that it
deepens sort of introspective
413
00:22:50,620 --> 00:22:53,116
insight and can be
used in psychotherapy.
414
00:22:53,140 --> 00:22:56,866
So it's a really unique
history in the area of drug
415
00:22:56,890 --> 00:23:00,916
research in that there was a
heyday of psychedelic research
416
00:23:00,940 --> 00:23:05,476
extending from the 1950s
through the early '70s.
417
00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:08,176
Back then, any psychiatric
researcher or clinician could
418
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,206
write Sandoz to get a sample
of LSD to test it or to use it
419
00:23:12,230 --> 00:23:13,007
clinically.
420
00:23:13,031 --> 00:23:14,836
It was legal and available.
421
00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:17,476
And that really began
the big experiment
422
00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:21,406
with LSD that lasted
close to 30 years.
423
00:23:21,430 --> 00:23:23,836
In carefully
controlled experiments,
424
00:23:23,860 --> 00:23:26,956
interesting results have been
reported on the therapeutic use
425
00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:31,246
of LSD with the mentally
ill, the drug addict,
426
00:23:31,270 --> 00:23:35,416
the terminal cancer patient, and
in the VA hospital in Topeka,
427
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:40,096
Kansas, a special research
program for alcoholics.
428
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:41,806
We bring them
in on one Monday,
429
00:23:41,830 --> 00:23:45,736
and they spend one week of
getting acquainted and having
430
00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,796
all the tests and
examinations done.
431
00:23:48,820 --> 00:23:52,546
The second Monday, we
give them a small dose
432
00:23:52,570 --> 00:23:56,296
of LSD in the five-man
ward, together.
433
00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,166
Then, the third Monday,
we give them a larger dose
434
00:24:00,190 --> 00:24:03,916
individually and have
each one of them cared
435
00:24:03,940 --> 00:24:06,916
for by one of these teams.
436
00:24:06,940 --> 00:24:10,306
And this is where we aim for
the so-called psychedelic
437
00:24:10,330 --> 00:24:11,956
experience.
438
00:24:11,980 --> 00:24:14,746
The best clinical outcomes
are with subjects who,
439
00:24:14,770 --> 00:24:18,016
during the course of what
was often just a one-session
440
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,486
treatment, during that session,
had a psychospiritual epiphany,
441
00:24:22,510 --> 00:24:24,436
a mystical-level experience.
442
00:24:24,460 --> 00:24:27,806
I know I kept fighting
the religious music.
443
00:24:27,830 --> 00:24:31,066
I didn't know why
then, but Dr. Koren
444
00:24:31,090 --> 00:24:36,016
kept urging me to find out
why I was fighting this.
445
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,731
And I remember I was just
really scared to death.
446
00:24:43,770 --> 00:24:46,776
And I just reached up,
and it was like somebody
447
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,930
grabbed me and brought me up.
448
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:58,266
And I interpret this as for
the first time in my life,
449
00:24:58,290 --> 00:25:00,096
I wanted love.
450
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:03,686
And I think this is the thing
that was probably my biggest
451
00:25:03,710 --> 00:25:06,324
problem is that I thought
everybody was forcing it on me,
452
00:25:06,348 --> 00:25:07,640
and I wasn't going to let them.
453
00:25:10,530 --> 00:25:15,096
The amazing thing about LSD
is very much its evolutionary
454
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:18,456
nature, is that it seems
to concentrate in areas
455
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,716
of the brain that relate to
mammalian and reptilian stages
456
00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:25,356
of evolutionary development
which are then experienced
457
00:25:25,380 --> 00:25:29,136
by the person, the fact also
that people become aware
458
00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,976
of the fact that man is not
just a single-dimensional being
459
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,706
in a physical body but
exists as a being over many,
460
00:25:36,730 --> 00:25:39,546
many lifetimes at many levels
of consciousness beyond
461
00:25:39,570 --> 00:25:41,046
the physical.
462
00:25:41,070 --> 00:25:43,476
And I do feel that,
in the future,
463
00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:45,246
there will be
centers where people
464
00:25:45,270 --> 00:25:48,546
will be able to go to prepare
people for any kind of turning
465
00:25:48,570 --> 00:25:51,126
point or crisis in their
life, such as along the lines
466
00:25:51,150 --> 00:25:53,526
of the incredible
powerful research
467
00:25:53,550 --> 00:25:56,716
that Stan Grof and Walter Pahnke
did at Spring Grove Hospital
468
00:25:56,740 --> 00:25:57,990
with terminal cancer patients.
469
00:26:01,030 --> 00:26:03,936
This is a mental institution,
Spring Grove State Hospital
470
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:05,166
in Baltimore.
471
00:26:05,190 --> 00:26:07,236
It is one of four places
in the country where
472
00:26:07,260 --> 00:26:09,456
research on LSD
treatment continues
473
00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:11,256
under federal sponsorship.
474
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,306
The tablets in Ott's hand each
contain a microscopic trace
475
00:26:15,330 --> 00:26:16,926
of LSD.
476
00:26:16,950 --> 00:26:20,256
To an observer, the atmosphere
seems closer to faith healing
477
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:21,366
than medicine.
478
00:26:21,390 --> 00:26:24,666
So the way in which they
really refined the approach is
479
00:26:24,690 --> 00:26:28,416
that they used a two-person
team, often a male-female.
480
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,446
They pioneered eight-hour
therapy sessions, sometimes
481
00:26:31,470 --> 00:26:33,076
even longer.
482
00:26:33,100 --> 00:26:37,026
It was this very expressive,
supportive environment.
483
00:26:37,050 --> 00:26:40,416
It isn't so much the drug
as the drug in the context
484
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,386
in which it's used,
the expectations,
485
00:26:43,410 --> 00:26:45,996
how the person is held
safely while they're under
486
00:26:46,020 --> 00:26:48,456
the influence of it, and the
interpretation that's made
487
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:49,806
afterwards.
488
00:26:49,830 --> 00:26:51,816
I was here under LSD.
489
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,656
This went on for a million
miles on both sides,
490
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,976
an endless deep
and eternity onto.
491
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,336
And it was just one of
the fears I had buried,
492
00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,006
and it was a fear
of being left alone.
493
00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:08,196
We get very stuck in
our ways and sort of rigid
494
00:27:08,220 --> 00:27:09,127
in our thinking.
495
00:27:09,151 --> 00:27:10,668
One of the things
the psychedelics do
496
00:27:10,692 --> 00:27:13,836
is they increase
cognitive flexibility.
497
00:27:13,860 --> 00:27:16,596
You become less rigid in
how you think they quiet
498
00:27:16,620 --> 00:27:19,116
down the default
mode network, which
499
00:27:19,140 --> 00:27:23,366
is sort of the self-obsessed,
self-serving, how am I doing?
500
00:27:23,390 --> 00:27:24,167
Who am I?
501
00:27:24,191 --> 00:27:25,706
Am I liked?
502
00:27:25,730 --> 00:27:26,707
What did I do yesterday?
503
00:27:26,731 --> 00:27:27,998
What am I going to do tomorrow?
504
00:27:28,022 --> 00:27:31,026
And the psychedelics sort
of quiet this narcissism
505
00:27:31,050 --> 00:27:34,416
and neuroticism and allow
other parts of the brain
506
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,296
to get more active or to
connect with each other.
507
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:38,796
I feel beautiful.
508
00:27:38,820 --> 00:27:40,146
All right.
509
00:27:40,170 --> 00:27:43,020
I feel squashed
with beautiful.
510
00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:50,916
That's a really powerful,
useful experience to have.
511
00:27:50,940 --> 00:27:53,526
And it can help people
out of a dark place.
512
00:27:53,550 --> 00:27:55,416
If you hadn't
been prepared for it,
513
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:59,136
if you hadn't gone through
those weeks of preparation,
514
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,046
would LSD have meant as much?
515
00:28:02,070 --> 00:28:06,396
If I was ill before, I would
have been ill, it seems to me,
516
00:28:06,420 --> 00:28:08,136
beyond repair.
517
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,516
I would have been so
frightened without the guidance
518
00:28:12,540 --> 00:28:14,616
and the trust and
the preparation.
519
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:16,665
It would have been
a tragedy, horrible.
520
00:28:24,140 --> 00:28:28,556
I got interested in LSD
therapy when I was in two-year
521
00:28:28,580 --> 00:28:32,216
public health service at the
public health prison hospital
522
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,566
in Lexington, Kentucky.
523
00:28:34,590 --> 00:28:37,146
At that time, there was
really no good treatment
524
00:28:37,170 --> 00:28:39,066
for narcotic addiction.
525
00:28:39,090 --> 00:28:41,526
Recidivism rate was
extraordinarily high.
526
00:28:41,550 --> 00:28:45,876
I think people leaving Lexington
had a 90% relapse rate.
527
00:28:45,900 --> 00:28:49,936
And I had read about the
studies with alcoholism.
528
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,866
And I thought
perhaps LSD might be
529
00:28:52,890 --> 00:28:57,636
useful to provide some lasting
change for narcotic addiction.
530
00:28:57,660 --> 00:29:00,696
In looking at the
literature at that time,
531
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:02,916
it looked like
that therapists who
532
00:29:02,940 --> 00:29:09,006
had used LSD themselves got much
better results than therapists
533
00:29:09,030 --> 00:29:11,176
who had not used LSD themselves.
534
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,346
So I decided to do
a controlled study.
535
00:29:14,370 --> 00:29:19,116
I would give LSD to a group of
narcotic addicts at Lexington
536
00:29:19,140 --> 00:29:22,626
who volunteered for the study,
without having ever taken LSD
537
00:29:22,650 --> 00:29:27,576
myself, to see what impact
that the experience might have
538
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,246
on their relation
with other prisoners,
539
00:29:30,270 --> 00:29:34,876
with authority figures, with
insight about themselves.
540
00:29:34,900 --> 00:29:38,826
And then, my plan was to
then take the LSD myself
541
00:29:38,850 --> 00:29:42,696
under supervision from staff at
the Addiction Research Center
542
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,516
there who were
experienced with the agent
543
00:29:45,540 --> 00:29:48,666
and do a second group.
544
00:29:48,690 --> 00:29:51,896
But unfortunately, when I
was getting ready to do that,
545
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,906
the company that made LSD,
Sandoz, decided to recall it.
546
00:29:56,930 --> 00:30:02,246
This was around 1965,
1966, because LSD
547
00:30:02,270 --> 00:30:03,980
had become a street drug.
548
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,546
And on streets like this,
transactions involving me take
549
00:30:14,570 --> 00:30:16,696
place all the time...
550
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,426
Illegal, of course, but
my tabs and caps and sugar
551
00:30:20,450 --> 00:30:23,816
cubes that dissolve in your
mind as well as your mouth
552
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,156
are selling every day.
553
00:30:26,180 --> 00:30:31,256
Drop a cap on me,
man, and drop out.
554
00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:36,056
But watch it, because the
trip can be a trap, too.
555
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,656
You never know where a
ticket with me will take you.
556
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:41,876
Just as pioneers of
psychedelic research were
557
00:30:41,900 --> 00:30:44,696
beginning to understand
its therapeutic potential,
558
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,296
LSD began to leak out
of the laboratory.
559
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,056
The two figures most
responsible for its expansion
560
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,866
into the American culture lived
on opposite ends of the country
561
00:30:54,890 --> 00:30:57,716
and were from equally
different backgrounds.
562
00:30:57,740 --> 00:31:00,956
On the West Coast, Ken
Kesey was introduced to LSD
563
00:31:00,980 --> 00:31:06,236
in the late 1950s as part of
the CIA's MK-Ultra program.
564
00:31:06,260 --> 00:31:08,346
At the time, I was
training for the Olympics.
565
00:31:08,370 --> 00:31:09,966
I made it to be an alternate.
566
00:31:09,990 --> 00:31:10,766
As a wrestler?
567
00:31:10,790 --> 00:31:11,757
Yeah, as a wrestler.
568
00:31:11,781 --> 00:31:14,996
I'd never been drunk on beer,
let alone done any drugs.
569
00:31:15,020 --> 00:31:17,006
But this is the
American government.
570
00:31:17,030 --> 00:31:18,966
I had a neighbor who
was a psychologist.
571
00:31:18,990 --> 00:31:21,366
He was booked to do the
experiments that Tuesday.
572
00:31:21,390 --> 00:31:22,167
He chickened out.
573
00:31:22,191 --> 00:31:23,546
He says, you want
to do them? $20.
574
00:31:23,570 --> 00:31:24,086
Show up.
575
00:31:24,110 --> 00:31:24,997
They gave them to me.
576
00:31:25,021 --> 00:31:28,939
I did them on every Tuesday
for six or eight months.
577
00:31:28,963 --> 00:31:31,106
The government wanted
somebody to look in that room.
578
00:31:31,130 --> 00:31:32,246
They said, hey, we
got a great room.
579
00:31:32,270 --> 00:31:33,806
We discovered this nice room.
580
00:31:33,830 --> 00:31:36,296
Let's get somebody to go
in there and look it over.
581
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,456
Kesey would go on
to write "One Flew over
582
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,906
the Cuckoo's Nest" partly
based on these experiences,
583
00:31:41,930 --> 00:31:45,356
and later, to host the so-called
acid tests with the Merry
584
00:31:45,380 --> 00:31:46,227
Pranksters.
585
00:31:46,251 --> 00:31:49,346
And by that time, the
government had said, OK,
586
00:31:49,370 --> 00:31:50,280
stop that experiment.
587
00:31:50,304 --> 00:31:52,946
All these guinea pigs that we've
sent up there into outer space,
588
00:31:52,970 --> 00:31:54,386
bring them back
down, and don't ever
589
00:31:54,410 --> 00:31:56,428
let them go back up there
again, because we don't
590
00:31:56,452 --> 00:31:57,816
like the look in their eyes.
591
00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:02,606
I give the CIA total credit
for sponsoring and initiating
592
00:32:02,630 --> 00:32:06,806
the entire consciousness
movement counterculture events
593
00:32:06,830 --> 00:32:08,306
of the 1960s.
594
00:32:08,330 --> 00:32:10,556
And on the East
Coast was Timothy Leary,
595
00:32:10,580 --> 00:32:13,316
the now-former
Harvard psychologist.
596
00:32:13,340 --> 00:32:16,596
He began to distribute
the drug beyond his research
597
00:32:16,620 --> 00:32:17,397
subjects.
598
00:32:17,421 --> 00:32:20,066
He began to speak quite
openly to the press.
599
00:32:20,090 --> 00:32:23,786
He signed an agreement
promising that he would not
600
00:32:23,810 --> 00:32:27,746
give it to any undergraduate
students but only to graduate
601
00:32:27,770 --> 00:32:32,546
students who were using it
for some appropriate academic
602
00:32:32,570 --> 00:32:33,417
purpose.
603
00:32:33,441 --> 00:32:35,016
And Tim Leary honestly...
604
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,016
I don't think he ever met
a rule he didn't like.
605
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,206
And that rule
quickly was broken.
606
00:32:39,230 --> 00:32:41,246
The Harvard
Administration found out
607
00:32:41,270 --> 00:32:43,166
and summarily dismissed him.
608
00:32:43,190 --> 00:32:49,466
And he became the apostle
preaching the religion
609
00:32:49,490 --> 00:32:52,286
of psychedelic drugs.
610
00:32:52,310 --> 00:32:56,546
We teach the science
and art of ecstasy.
611
00:32:56,570 --> 00:32:59,156
We teach people how
to turn on or how
612
00:32:59,180 --> 00:33:01,406
to go out of their minds.
613
00:33:01,430 --> 00:33:04,556
By turn on, we
mean tune in to get
614
00:33:04,580 --> 00:33:08,936
beyond your routine
ways of thinking
615
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:10,676
and acting and experiencing.
616
00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:14,036
We often say that we're teaching
people how to use their head.
617
00:33:14,060 --> 00:33:17,353
The point is that in
order to use your head,
618
00:33:17,377 --> 00:33:18,710
you have to go out of your mind.
619
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,066
What were your feelings
when people like Timothy Leary
620
00:33:25,090 --> 00:33:26,266
and Ken Kesey...
621
00:33:26,290 --> 00:33:30,316
Ken Kesey with his pranksters
and Timothy Leary, obviously,
622
00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:32,356
with tune in, turn
on, drop out, what
623
00:33:32,380 --> 00:33:35,411
were your feelings, as the
chemist who had created this?
624
00:33:35,435 --> 00:33:39,026
I was quite astonished,
because when I had discovered
625
00:33:39,050 --> 00:33:43,876
these very deep effects of LSD,
never would I have believed
626
00:33:43,900 --> 00:33:46,633
that it would be a pleasure
drug on the street...
627
00:33:46,657 --> 00:33:47,716
Never would have believed.
628
00:33:47,740 --> 00:33:50,986
The indians believe that you
should take the mushrooms
629
00:33:51,010 --> 00:33:53,716
only if you are prepared.
630
00:33:53,740 --> 00:33:56,746
And then only do the
mushrooms bring you
631
00:33:56,770 --> 00:33:58,666
in contact with the gods.
632
00:33:58,690 --> 00:34:02,746
If you are not prepared,
then it makes you crazy,
633
00:34:02,770 --> 00:34:05,146
or you may even die.
634
00:34:05,170 --> 00:34:08,401
That is a belief of the
Indians based on thousands
635
00:34:08,425 --> 00:34:10,179
of years of experience.
636
00:34:13,230 --> 00:34:17,405
Drugs are subversive, and
psychedelics are the most
637
00:34:17,429 --> 00:34:19,326
subversive of all the drugs.
638
00:34:19,350 --> 00:34:21,546
And he was labeled
most dangerous man
639
00:34:21,570 --> 00:34:26,526
in America because of these very
powerful and very subversive
640
00:34:26,550 --> 00:34:28,385
drugs and ideas.
641
00:34:28,409 --> 00:34:31,546
Many of my colleagues have
maintained a rather harsh view
642
00:34:31,570 --> 00:34:32,347
of Leary.
643
00:34:32,371 --> 00:34:34,655
They blame him
for the repression
644
00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:37,548
of psychedelic
research in the '60s.
645
00:34:37,572 --> 00:34:39,006
We shouldn't lose
sight of the fact
646
00:34:39,030 --> 00:34:41,556
of the degree to which
psychedelics in the culture
647
00:34:41,580 --> 00:34:45,846
were associated with a very
vigorous antiwar movement.
648
00:34:45,870 --> 00:34:47,826
The kind of turn
on, tune in, drop out,
649
00:34:47,850 --> 00:34:49,493
that phrase gets a bad rap.
650
00:34:49,517 --> 00:34:51,576
But if you look at what
was happening at the time,
651
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,945
I think the call
was for young people
652
00:34:53,969 --> 00:34:56,241
to not buy into the status quo.
653
00:34:58,353 --> 00:35:00,746
Some people talk about the
counterculture as being this
654
00:35:00,770 --> 00:35:03,506
romantic, even
religious movement,
655
00:35:03,530 --> 00:35:06,386
that you're talking about using
these means to free yourself up
656
00:35:06,410 --> 00:35:09,326
from the distractions of the
world so that you can transcend
657
00:35:09,350 --> 00:35:12,296
it and think about ultimate
questions about human
658
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:13,257
existence.
659
00:35:13,281 --> 00:35:16,550
And that's really what Leary
was totally talking about.
660
00:35:18,807 --> 00:35:20,866
What we're thinking
about is a peaceful planet.
661
00:35:20,890 --> 00:35:22,221
We're not thinking
about any kind of power.
662
00:35:22,245 --> 00:35:24,546
We're not thinking about
revolution or war or any
663
00:35:24,570 --> 00:35:25,956
of that.
664
00:35:25,980 --> 00:35:27,606
We would all like
to be able to live
665
00:35:27,630 --> 00:35:31,056
an uncluttered life, a
simple life, a good life,
666
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,017
and think about moving the
whole human race ahead a step.
667
00:35:38,650 --> 00:35:40,276
They're taking
it in sugar cubes.
668
00:35:40,300 --> 00:35:41,896
It's being dropped
into their punch.
669
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:43,396
They're going to institutions.
670
00:35:43,420 --> 00:35:46,897
They're swell for the
rest of their life.
671
00:35:50,660 --> 00:35:55,706
God, no, no, no, no!
672
00:35:55,730 --> 00:35:58,146
Authorities felt they
had a public health crisis
673
00:35:58,170 --> 00:35:58,947
on their hands.
674
00:35:58,971 --> 00:36:01,226
And these were also
catalysts for change.
675
00:36:01,250 --> 00:36:02,966
And the changes
they were inducing
676
00:36:02,990 --> 00:36:05,576
were often perceived in
a very threatening manner
677
00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:06,956
by those in authority.
678
00:36:06,980 --> 00:36:12,176
This moral decay weakens
our resistance to the onslaught
679
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,086
of the communist
masters of deceit.
680
00:36:15,110 --> 00:36:16,916
We've got to do
something about this.
681
00:36:16,940 --> 00:36:17,940
Don't you think so?
682
00:36:21,250 --> 00:36:25,846
The drug war is based on
demonizing drugs and demonizing
683
00:36:25,870 --> 00:36:27,166
drug users.
684
00:36:27,190 --> 00:36:29,596
Nixon said that the two
main enemies that he had
685
00:36:29,620 --> 00:36:32,686
were the Civil Rights
Movement and the hippies.
686
00:36:32,710 --> 00:36:36,256
And so while you couldn't
criminalize the ideas
687
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:37,786
that they were
struggling for, you
688
00:36:37,810 --> 00:36:40,186
could criminalize the
drugs that they were using.
689
00:36:40,210 --> 00:36:43,696
We must wage what I have
called total war against public
690
00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:46,396
enemy number one in
the United States,
691
00:36:46,420 --> 00:36:47,740
the problem of dangerous drugs.
692
00:36:50,770 --> 00:36:54,556
Richard Nixon declared war
on drugs, and Congress, in 1970,
693
00:36:54,580 --> 00:36:56,236
passed the Controlled
Substance Act,
694
00:36:56,260 --> 00:36:58,816
which essentially put all
serotonergic hallucinogens,
695
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:02,146
like LSD and psilocybin, into
this very restrictive category
696
00:37:02,170 --> 00:37:06,376
of Schedule I, which means
highest addictive liability,
697
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,626
no therapeutic utility.
698
00:37:08,650 --> 00:37:11,416
And that was really the
beginning of the war on drugs
699
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,846
that we now have for
the last 40 years, which
700
00:37:13,870 --> 00:37:17,336
has created a real problem.
701
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,886
At the time, something like
123 million prescriptions were
702
00:37:19,910 --> 00:37:23,156
written by psychiatrists and
doctors for tranquilizers.
703
00:37:23,180 --> 00:37:25,346
And more people are
killed in car crashes
704
00:37:25,370 --> 00:37:29,396
because they're drunk
then die because of LSD.
705
00:37:29,420 --> 00:37:33,026
What kind of drugs are OK and
what aren't is a very political
706
00:37:33,050 --> 00:37:34,226
question.
707
00:37:34,250 --> 00:37:37,946
Abuse of hard drugs began to
replace mind-expanding agents,
708
00:37:37,970 --> 00:37:41,666
and LSD faded from the culture
almost as quickly as it had
709
00:37:41,690 --> 00:37:42,800
exploded into it.
710
00:37:48,060 --> 00:37:51,606
By the 1970s, all remaining
psychedelic studies
711
00:37:51,630 --> 00:37:54,136
had been shut down.
712
00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:57,466
In 1972, '73,
I had left school,
713
00:37:57,490 --> 00:38:02,146
and I got a job as a research
assistant in a dream research
714
00:38:02,170 --> 00:38:05,366
study at Maimonides
Medical Center in Brooklyn.
715
00:38:05,390 --> 00:38:10,456
And my job was to stay up all
night and monitor sleep EEGs.
716
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:13,456
And every time our
subject went into a dream,
717
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:15,986
I would wake them up
over an intercom system,
718
00:38:16,010 --> 00:38:17,936
ask them what was going
through their mind,
719
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:19,816
and tape record the dreams.
720
00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:22,966
But this also meant I had a
lot of time during the night,
721
00:38:22,990 --> 00:38:25,006
and I love to read.
722
00:38:25,030 --> 00:38:28,576
And one of the researchers
in his office, he
723
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:30,946
had a tremendous collection
of books and articles
724
00:38:30,970 --> 00:38:32,416
on psychedelics.
725
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,816
And I read voraciously.
726
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,156
Now, at that time,
my father was very
727
00:38:37,180 --> 00:38:39,826
concerned about what he thought
was my lack of direction.
728
00:38:39,850 --> 00:38:42,106
And he had told me
that when I figure out
729
00:38:42,130 --> 00:38:44,806
what I wanted to do with
my life, I should call him.
730
00:38:44,830 --> 00:38:47,056
It didn't matter what time
of the day or night it was.
731
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:48,676
He wanted me to call him.
732
00:38:48,700 --> 00:38:52,036
So there I was, at 2 or
3 o'clock in the morning,
733
00:38:52,060 --> 00:38:55,166
just so impressed by
what they had done.
734
00:38:55,190 --> 00:38:56,956
I felt I wanted to do this also.
735
00:38:56,980 --> 00:39:00,196
I woke him up from a deep
sleep, and I said, Dad,
736
00:39:00,220 --> 00:39:01,796
I figured out what I want to do.
737
00:39:01,820 --> 00:39:03,526
And he said, well,
what's that, son?
738
00:39:03,550 --> 00:39:06,206
I said, I want to
study psychedelics.
739
00:39:06,230 --> 00:39:07,037
Well, why is that?
740
00:39:07,061 --> 00:39:08,666
Well, they're fascinating.
741
00:39:08,690 --> 00:39:12,556
There's so much we could
learn about the brain, about
742
00:39:12,580 --> 00:39:15,016
the mind-brain interface,
about mental illness.
743
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,806
And there are these
extraordinary treatment models.
744
00:39:17,830 --> 00:39:21,286
And people who conventional
treatments cannot help or help
745
00:39:21,310 --> 00:39:22,366
with this model.
746
00:39:22,390 --> 00:39:25,006
And he said, well,
son, there might
747
00:39:25,030 --> 00:39:26,926
be something to what you say.
748
00:39:26,950 --> 00:39:29,836
But no one will listen
to you unless you
749
00:39:29,860 --> 00:39:31,300
get your credentials.
750
00:39:42,820 --> 00:39:44,836
My personal background
really has a lot
751
00:39:44,860 --> 00:39:49,886
to do with Timothy Leary and the
use of psychedelics in society.
752
00:39:49,910 --> 00:39:53,246
I had been born Jewish in 1953.
753
00:39:53,270 --> 00:39:55,406
I was raised on stories
of the Holocaust.
754
00:39:55,430 --> 00:39:57,596
And then, as a young
boy, I was involved
755
00:39:57,620 --> 00:40:02,056
in going to school during
the Cuban Missile Crisis.
756
00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:04,066
This idea that there
could be nuclear war
757
00:40:04,090 --> 00:40:09,316
and wipe out civilization
was also very traumatizing.
758
00:40:09,340 --> 00:40:11,146
The final step for
me was Vietnam,
759
00:40:11,170 --> 00:40:13,636
and I was in the last
years of the lottery.
760
00:40:13,660 --> 00:40:17,416
And I was a Vietnam War
protester, a draft resister.
761
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:20,716
And so I first tried
LSD in '71, but I
762
00:40:20,740 --> 00:40:22,316
had a very difficult time.
763
00:40:22,340 --> 00:40:25,658
And I couldn't really handle
my psychedelic experiences.
764
00:40:25,682 --> 00:40:27,616
I went to the guidance
counselor at my college,
765
00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:29,146
and I was so lucky.
766
00:40:29,170 --> 00:40:31,006
The guidance counselor
took me seriously.
767
00:40:31,030 --> 00:40:34,526
And then, he said that this
was an important exploration
768
00:40:34,550 --> 00:40:35,327
that I was doing.
769
00:40:35,351 --> 00:40:37,246
And he gave me a
book to read, which
770
00:40:37,270 --> 00:40:39,826
was a manuscript copy
of "Realms of the Human
771
00:40:39,850 --> 00:40:44,026
Unconscious, Observations from
LSD Research," by Stan Grof.
772
00:40:44,050 --> 00:40:46,586
When I read this book,
everything fell into place
773
00:40:46,610 --> 00:40:47,387
for me.
774
00:40:47,411 --> 00:40:50,476
I saw this therapeutic
use and also
775
00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:52,226
the spiritual aspects of it.
776
00:40:52,250 --> 00:40:54,556
And I felt, OK,
this is a response
777
00:40:54,580 --> 00:40:57,986
to the craziness of the world.
778
00:40:58,010 --> 00:41:01,816
It seems to me that
since the French Revolution
779
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,056
and the Enlightenment,
man was put at the center
780
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:06,646
of the universe.
781
00:41:06,670 --> 00:41:10,516
And certain difficult
notions of God,
782
00:41:10,540 --> 00:41:13,516
on which one was
dependent, were put aside.
783
00:41:13,540 --> 00:41:17,086
And that notion of man being
at the center of the universe
784
00:41:17,110 --> 00:41:19,996
led to the industrial society
that we have around us, led
785
00:41:20,020 --> 00:41:22,216
to a great deal of energy.
786
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:24,106
And the LSD experience
and what we've
787
00:41:24,130 --> 00:41:27,076
been through in the
'60s has brought us
788
00:41:27,100 --> 00:41:29,986
to a whole new
philosophy, that man
789
00:41:30,010 --> 00:41:31,786
is not the center
of the universe,
790
00:41:31,810 --> 00:41:34,711
that we're simply the
transformative energies,
791
00:41:34,735 --> 00:41:37,126
and that we live in a
sort of cosmic ecology
792
00:41:37,150 --> 00:41:39,856
for which we're responsible.
793
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:43,726
And this is, to my mind,
the great challenge that's
794
00:41:43,750 --> 00:41:47,776
in front of us, to
take the consciousness
795
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,986
and the individual
headspace that we've all
796
00:41:51,010 --> 00:41:54,926
managed to develop and now
begin asking ourselves,
797
00:41:54,950 --> 00:41:57,280
what is it all for,
and how can we use it?
798
00:42:04,380 --> 00:42:07,376
We're now in what you can
consider a second renaissance
799
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:08,936
of psychedelic research.
800
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:12,476
There are a handful of centers
in the US, universities
801
00:42:12,500 --> 00:42:14,336
that are conducting
research studies.
802
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:18,146
Probably the reinitiation
of psychedelic research,
803
00:42:18,170 --> 00:42:20,336
I would really credit
Rick Strassmann.
804
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,156
Rick Strassmann had been one
of the doctors that I'd worked
805
00:42:23,180 --> 00:42:23,957
with.
806
00:42:23,981 --> 00:42:27,686
And he decided that he would
submit a protocol for DMT,
807
00:42:27,710 --> 00:42:31,346
looking at it as potential
cause of schizophrenia.
808
00:42:31,370 --> 00:42:35,846
A psychotomimetic model, so
it means mimicking psychosis.
809
00:42:35,870 --> 00:42:38,186
And so it's a way for
a government agency
810
00:42:38,210 --> 00:42:41,946
to feel OK about funding
psychedelic research.
811
00:42:41,970 --> 00:42:45,296
So the Pilot Drug Evaluation
Staff approved this study
812
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:46,227
in 1990...
813
00:42:46,251 --> 00:42:48,986
and really kind of
reinitiated the field,
814
00:42:49,010 --> 00:42:49,857
I would say.
815
00:42:49,881 --> 00:42:52,406
And then our work
here, Roland Griffiths
816
00:42:52,430 --> 00:42:54,896
got it started not long after.
817
00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:58,976
In 2006, the Hopkins team
set the standard for scientific
818
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:02,606
rigor by publishing their
landmark study "A followup
819
00:43:02,630 --> 00:43:05,576
to Walter Pahnke's and
Timothy Leary's Good Friday
820
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,966
experiment," concluding that
under the right setting,
821
00:43:08,990 --> 00:43:12,926
psilocybin can reliably
induce a mystical experience.
822
00:43:12,950 --> 00:43:15,506
I knew nothing
about Johns Hopkins.
823
00:43:15,530 --> 00:43:17,304
I didn't know anything
about Baltimore.
824
00:43:17,328 --> 00:43:18,596
I didn't know Roland Griffiths.
825
00:43:18,620 --> 00:43:20,186
I didn't know any
of these characters.
826
00:43:20,210 --> 00:43:23,036
And I ended up going to grad
school out in California where
827
00:43:23,060 --> 00:43:25,466
we were doing a study
with meditators when
828
00:43:25,490 --> 00:43:28,946
Roland's paper was published on
mystical experiences promoted
829
00:43:28,970 --> 00:43:30,086
by psilocybin.
830
00:43:30,110 --> 00:43:31,886
And I just remember
saying to my advisor,
831
00:43:31,910 --> 00:43:33,553
I was like, that's
where I'm going next.
832
00:43:33,577 --> 00:43:35,666
Katherine MacLean's
research on openness,
833
00:43:35,690 --> 00:43:39,146
that was a really big deal, that
study, because it was always
834
00:43:39,170 --> 00:43:42,266
thought that your personality
is your personality.
835
00:43:42,290 --> 00:43:44,666
How novelty-seeking you
are and how open you are,
836
00:43:44,690 --> 00:43:46,916
that's just who you are, and
those things don't really
837
00:43:46,940 --> 00:43:47,717
change.
838
00:43:47,741 --> 00:43:50,306
But what the Hopkins
trials showed
839
00:43:50,330 --> 00:43:51,956
was that people do
become more open,
840
00:43:51,980 --> 00:43:54,206
and you can actually measure
it on a personality test.
841
00:43:54,230 --> 00:43:55,286
And that's a big deal.
842
00:43:55,310 --> 00:43:59,666
70% of people were saying,
this is among the five most
843
00:43:59,690 --> 00:44:03,066
personally meaningful
experiences of my life.
844
00:44:03,090 --> 00:44:05,426
I would ask people,
what does that mean?
845
00:44:05,450 --> 00:44:08,066
And someone might
say, well, gee,
846
00:44:08,090 --> 00:44:11,576
when my first child was
born, my daughter, that
847
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:14,256
changed my life forever.
848
00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:17,576
And recently, my
father passed away.
849
00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:19,396
That was big.
850
00:44:19,420 --> 00:44:20,495
It's kind of like that.
851
00:44:25,790 --> 00:44:29,446
It was around 2006, and I
had just taken over as the head
852
00:44:29,470 --> 00:44:31,821
of the Division of Alcoholism
and Drug Abuse at Bellevue.
853
00:44:31,845 --> 00:44:33,956
As an addiction
psychiatrist, I'd
854
00:44:33,980 --> 00:44:35,996
always been interested
in these compounds
855
00:44:36,020 --> 00:44:38,966
because they just seem different
from other drugs of abuse.
856
00:44:38,990 --> 00:44:41,941
They didn't behave like cocaine
or amphetamine or tobacco.
857
00:44:41,965 --> 00:44:43,316
They seemed
completely different,
858
00:44:43,340 --> 00:44:45,656
yet they were labeled as
the most addictive drug.
859
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:47,336
So I always thought
that there was
860
00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:49,346
something interesting
and different about them.
861
00:44:49,370 --> 00:44:51,026
At the time, one
of my supervisors
862
00:44:51,050 --> 00:44:52,616
was Dr. Jeffrey Guss.
863
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:57,026
I saw that Albert Hofmann's
100th birthday was being
864
00:44:57,050 --> 00:45:00,146
celebrated in
Basel, Switzerland.
865
00:45:00,170 --> 00:45:04,016
I must do what Huxley
wrote me in a letter.
866
00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:06,516
What you take in by
vision experience
867
00:45:06,540 --> 00:45:09,446
you must give out in daily life.
868
00:45:09,470 --> 00:45:13,036
And that is now the
task which I try,
869
00:45:13,060 --> 00:45:17,816
the feeling to be a part
of the universe, which
870
00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:20,556
I got by LSD experience.
871
00:45:20,580 --> 00:45:25,134
This feeling is always
present in my life.
872
00:45:25,158 --> 00:45:27,176
When you think about
what people thought about
873
00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:30,356
in the '60s, that LSD is
going to make you drop out
874
00:45:30,380 --> 00:45:32,906
of society, Albert Hofmann,
who discovered LSD,
875
00:45:32,930 --> 00:45:36,596
was married for 79 years, had
a career at the same company
876
00:45:36,620 --> 00:45:41,516
for almost his entire life,
and was an inspiration to quite
877
00:45:41,540 --> 00:45:43,136
a few of us.
878
00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:46,586
Sort of on a lark, I went
to this conference because I
879
00:45:46,610 --> 00:45:49,076
wanted to meet and see
the people that were doing
880
00:45:49,100 --> 00:45:50,276
psychedelic research.
881
00:45:50,300 --> 00:45:53,666
And it was there that I
first met Charles Grob.
882
00:45:53,690 --> 00:45:58,376
Administering a psychedelic
to cancer patient with anxiety
883
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:01,976
had not occurred
since the early 1970s.
884
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,796
And I felt this was an
ideal patient population
885
00:46:04,820 --> 00:46:07,976
to really start off with
because the early literature was
886
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:09,156
so impressive.
887
00:46:09,180 --> 00:46:12,206
And all of this, from
FDA through the hospital
888
00:46:12,230 --> 00:46:14,456
committees, took several years.
889
00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:17,576
But I was patient,
and I was persistent,
890
00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,566
and I felt this was really
a worthy effort to make.
891
00:46:21,590 --> 00:46:24,956
And in the end, we got the
approvals we had requested.
892
00:46:24,980 --> 00:46:27,686
When I was at NYU, I was
working at Bellevue for nine
893
00:46:27,710 --> 00:46:30,116
years, running the
psychiatric emergency room.
894
00:46:30,140 --> 00:46:32,756
I met with the chairman at
the time, a guy named Robert
895
00:46:32,780 --> 00:46:35,216
Cancro, And I
talked to him a lot
896
00:46:35,240 --> 00:46:38,726
about what was going on
at UCLA or at Hopkins
897
00:46:38,750 --> 00:46:41,126
and saying that there was
really enough people at NYU who
898
00:46:41,150 --> 00:46:43,826
are interested that we should
try to do something in NYU.
899
00:46:43,850 --> 00:46:47,096
In the 1970s, I came across
the literature on psychedelics
900
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:49,638
and entheogens, and I also have
a long interest in palliative
901
00:46:49,662 --> 00:46:50,439
care...
902
00:46:50,463 --> 00:46:51,986
I'm a palliative
care psychologist...
903
00:46:52,010 --> 00:46:55,526
And how we die in this
country and the death anxiety.
904
00:46:55,550 --> 00:46:57,761
And it felt the perfect match.
905
00:46:57,785 --> 00:46:59,636
At first, we were
just an education group.
906
00:46:59,660 --> 00:47:03,156
But after meeting Charlie
Grob at UCLA, I asked him,
907
00:47:03,180 --> 00:47:05,456
so this is really
possible to do this,
908
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:07,986
and you can make a
career out of this?
909
00:47:08,010 --> 00:47:10,196
And he said, yes, and
it's all about doing it
910
00:47:10,220 --> 00:47:12,266
correctly and
carefully and avoiding
911
00:47:12,290 --> 00:47:14,136
mistakes made in the past.
912
00:47:14,160 --> 00:47:15,920
So we decided to do it.
913
00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:26,766
My name is Estalyn
Walcoff, and I work
914
00:47:26,790 --> 00:47:28,026
as a psychotherapist.
915
00:47:28,050 --> 00:47:29,886
My name is Dinah Bazer.
916
00:47:29,910 --> 00:47:31,566
I teach figure skating.
917
00:47:31,590 --> 00:47:35,226
My name is Nick Fernandez,
and I work as a clinical
918
00:47:35,250 --> 00:47:37,626
research coordinator in
a psychiatry department
919
00:47:37,650 --> 00:47:39,316
at a hospital here in New York.
920
00:47:39,340 --> 00:47:42,486
I'm an adult
literacy teacher,
921
00:47:42,510 --> 00:47:44,926
part-time at the public library.
922
00:47:44,950 --> 00:47:51,186
I was diagnosed five years
ago with a type of lymphoma
923
00:47:51,210 --> 00:47:52,776
that was untreatable.
924
00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:56,796
And not only was it untreatable,
but everybody who had had it
925
00:47:56,820 --> 00:47:58,086
had died from it.
926
00:47:58,110 --> 00:47:59,596
It was aggressive.
927
00:47:59,620 --> 00:48:03,636
I was diagnosed with
leukemia when I was 17 in 2004.
928
00:48:03,660 --> 00:48:06,396
And it was during my
senior year of high school
929
00:48:06,420 --> 00:48:08,856
when I was just getting
ready to go to college.
930
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:12,816
I received the official
diagnosis in December of last
931
00:48:12,840 --> 00:48:15,246
year, so just about a year ago.
932
00:48:15,270 --> 00:48:18,096
And it changed the
course of my life,
933
00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:23,196
because I went from being a
physically active 17-year-old
934
00:48:23,220 --> 00:48:25,026
to a cancer patient.
935
00:48:25,050 --> 00:48:28,446
When the chemo was over, I
thought, let's celebrate.
936
00:48:28,470 --> 00:48:29,946
I thought I would
want to celebrate.
937
00:48:29,970 --> 00:48:32,279
And when the chemo was over,
I didn't want to celebrate,
938
00:48:32,303 --> 00:48:35,946
because that's when
the fear set in.
939
00:48:35,970 --> 00:48:39,096
That's when you start thinking,
when will the other shoe drop?
940
00:48:39,120 --> 00:48:41,436
When will this come back?
941
00:48:41,460 --> 00:48:44,166
Always in my life, I've
been an anxious person.
942
00:48:44,190 --> 00:48:47,766
And naturally, when I
was given that diagnosis
943
00:48:47,790 --> 00:48:49,116
my anxiety shot up.
944
00:48:49,140 --> 00:48:53,616
And even though years and
years and years keep going by
945
00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:56,916
and I'm still OK,
I know very well
946
00:48:56,940 --> 00:49:00,616
that this could
return at any moment.
947
00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:04,366
I really went to work on
myself because I thought that
948
00:49:04,390 --> 00:49:07,756
if I were going to die much
sooner than I had planned,
949
00:49:07,780 --> 00:49:10,966
then I wanted to
understand myself better.
950
00:49:10,990 --> 00:49:13,606
I wanted to understand
spirituality better.
951
00:49:13,630 --> 00:49:17,146
I wanted not to
have a bitter heart.
952
00:49:17,170 --> 00:49:20,126
And I wanted to be open.
953
00:49:20,150 --> 00:49:24,526
So I did what I could
for the past five years.
954
00:49:24,550 --> 00:49:27,946
And I came across a
post about this study.
955
00:49:27,970 --> 00:49:29,656
I read it once,
and then I closed it.
956
00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:32,515
And then I read it again, and
I said, I qualify for that.
957
00:49:35,060 --> 00:49:39,706
So I traveled down to New York
City for an initial screening
958
00:49:39,730 --> 00:49:40,607
interview.
959
00:49:40,631 --> 00:49:43,306
I traveled down to New
York City several times
960
00:49:43,330 --> 00:49:47,326
for psychotherapy sessions
with my two psychiatrists.
961
00:49:47,350 --> 00:49:49,816
After several sessions
of therapy and careful
962
00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:52,816
preparation, participants
are given psilocybin
963
00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:55,576
in a comfortable living room
setting under the guidance
964
00:49:55,600 --> 00:49:57,776
of their therapist team.
965
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:00,056
After a brief ritual,
they are encouraged
966
00:50:00,080 --> 00:50:03,266
to lie down on the
couch, wear eye shades,
967
00:50:03,290 --> 00:50:05,576
and listen to classical
music in order
968
00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:07,916
to create an inward experience.
969
00:50:07,940 --> 00:50:12,566
Having mentioned that I had
taken psychedelics in my 20s,
970
00:50:12,590 --> 00:50:15,446
the whole object was to see
how beautiful nature was,
971
00:50:15,470 --> 00:50:19,204
to hear how wonderful music
was, to see what could be seen,
972
00:50:19,228 --> 00:50:20,496
to touch what could be touched.
973
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:23,516
So this was very, very different
because the whole thing
974
00:50:23,540 --> 00:50:25,850
that I was going to be
experiencing was my own mind.
975
00:50:36,690 --> 00:50:40,026
There was an immersion
into complete chaos,
976
00:50:40,050 --> 00:50:45,306
360-degree chaos, where I had no
idea of up, down, left, right.
977
00:50:45,330 --> 00:50:48,786
Initially, it was
absolutely terrifying.
978
00:50:48,810 --> 00:50:50,346
I think I could
compare it to being
979
00:50:50,370 --> 00:50:54,075
in the hold of a ship that's
in a storm-tossed sea.
980
00:50:56,640 --> 00:51:01,726
I also began experiencing
great emotional pain,
981
00:51:01,750 --> 00:51:06,336
in particular because I had been
listening to a Black spiritual.
982
00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:10,934
I felt I could hear the
pain in that woman's voice
983
00:51:10,958 --> 00:51:11,976
who was singing the song.
984
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:16,026
And it brought to me the
whole gestalt of slavery
985
00:51:16,050 --> 00:51:19,386
and what that is to pull
people out of their homes
986
00:51:19,410 --> 00:51:20,826
and treat them like animals.
987
00:51:20,850 --> 00:51:26,571
And I sobbed and sobbed
and sobbed because of that.
988
00:51:32,570 --> 00:51:37,316
And the ability to just
be held by my mentors
989
00:51:37,340 --> 00:51:41,556
and do that greatly,
greatly relieved me.
990
00:51:41,580 --> 00:51:45,386
And I believe it was Tony
who took my hand and said,
991
00:51:45,410 --> 00:51:46,616
it's all right.
992
00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:47,427
It's all right.
993
00:51:47,451 --> 00:51:49,026
Just go with it.
994
00:51:49,050 --> 00:51:51,966
And the further
I went into it,
995
00:51:51,990 --> 00:51:57,176
the more it became evident to
me that the chaos could not
996
00:51:57,200 --> 00:52:05,200
maintain its magnetic draw on me
nor its strength when I stayed
997
00:52:07,020 --> 00:52:08,020
focused.
998
00:52:13,330 --> 00:52:17,236
The worst pain and the worst
fear and the worst anxiety
999
00:52:17,260 --> 00:52:21,086
turned into something
that has opened,
1000
00:52:21,110 --> 00:52:25,576
which is the most precious
thing I've ever known.
1001
00:52:25,600 --> 00:52:31,966
It was a sense of connectedness
that runs through all of us
1002
00:52:31,990 --> 00:52:37,126
that I never knew, and also
a sense of the strength of it
1003
00:52:37,150 --> 00:52:38,440
and the power of it.
1004
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:45,746
It looked like very dense
and beautiful clouds that were
1005
00:52:45,770 --> 00:52:50,036
almost like in the jigsaw
puzzle fashion that were backlit
1006
00:52:50,060 --> 00:52:51,806
by a moon that I could not see.
1007
00:52:51,830 --> 00:52:55,616
So they were crevices of
faint light through it.
1008
00:52:55,640 --> 00:52:59,796
And these eyes were
searching me out.
1009
00:52:59,820 --> 00:53:06,486
I felt it was a manifestation
of an alienation I had long
1010
00:53:06,510 --> 00:53:08,526
carried through my
whole life that was just
1011
00:53:08,550 --> 00:53:10,350
trying to lay claim to me.
1012
00:53:16,760 --> 00:53:21,076
I felt very profoundly
that there was no one
1013
00:53:21,100 --> 00:53:24,386
that they could find.
1014
00:53:24,410 --> 00:53:25,540
I saw my fear.
1015
00:53:29,670 --> 00:53:31,026
I pictured it.
1016
00:53:31,050 --> 00:53:35,116
I don't think this
was a hallucination.
1017
00:53:35,140 --> 00:53:38,686
I pictured it as
a dark mass there.
1018
00:53:38,710 --> 00:53:42,346
I, like, screamed,
"Get the fuck out!"
1019
00:53:42,370 --> 00:53:45,736
I will not be eaten
alive by this fear.
1020
00:53:45,760 --> 00:53:49,966
And once that happened,
it was just gone.
1021
00:53:49,990 --> 00:53:55,266
The fear was gone
and didn't come back.
1022
00:53:55,290 --> 00:53:57,366
And it still hasn't.
1023
00:53:57,390 --> 00:54:01,386
I had this feeling
coming over me,
1024
00:54:01,410 --> 00:54:05,880
and the thought was of
compassion for myself.
1025
00:54:10,790 --> 00:54:12,205
It touches me the most.
1026
00:54:14,710 --> 00:54:17,746
That's such a gift.
1027
00:54:17,770 --> 00:54:25,770
I needed to stop talking and
look inside and find that I was
1028
00:54:26,870 --> 00:54:27,647
part of it.
1029
00:54:27,671 --> 00:54:28,688
I was part of everything.
1030
00:54:28,712 --> 00:54:33,246
I was part of God,
that you are, too.
1031
00:54:33,270 --> 00:54:34,266
Everything is.
1032
00:54:34,290 --> 00:54:36,336
And you can call it
whatever you want to.
1033
00:54:36,360 --> 00:54:37,806
I don't usually call it God.
1034
00:54:37,830 --> 00:54:38,925
I just call it the one.
1035
00:54:44,360 --> 00:54:47,420
And that's the best thing that
can ever happen to you, ever.
1036
00:54:51,730 --> 00:54:56,206
We co-evolved on the planet
with cannabis and with poppy
1037
00:54:56,230 --> 00:54:58,366
and psilocybin mushrooms.
1038
00:54:58,390 --> 00:55:00,916
These things have been on
the planet since we have,
1039
00:55:00,940 --> 00:55:02,386
as far as I can
tell, which means
1040
00:55:02,410 --> 00:55:04,576
we've co-evolved with them.
1041
00:55:04,600 --> 00:55:06,136
And psychiatry is
kind of failing.
1042
00:55:06,160 --> 00:55:08,356
Many, many people are
taking sleeping pills
1043
00:55:08,380 --> 00:55:10,606
and anti-anxiety meds
and antidepressants
1044
00:55:10,630 --> 00:55:13,736
and for a really long time.
1045
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:16,306
I really think there's a
better way to treat addiction
1046
00:55:16,330 --> 00:55:21,886
or to treat the sort of
despair and anxiety and malaise
1047
00:55:21,910 --> 00:55:24,145
that many of us are
feeling more and more.
1048
00:55:27,070 --> 00:55:28,966
We need a different
perspective, and we
1049
00:55:28,990 --> 00:55:31,096
need that sort of
overview effect
1050
00:55:31,120 --> 00:55:35,086
that the astronauts get when
they see that every one of us
1051
00:55:35,110 --> 00:55:38,110
is just on this blue ball
hurtling through space.
1052
00:55:41,110 --> 00:55:43,466
I think that psychedelics
give you that perspective.
1053
00:55:43,490 --> 00:55:47,116
And so I hope that they can
engender more cooperation,
1054
00:55:47,140 --> 00:55:50,866
more us versus them,
more of this idea
1055
00:55:50,890 --> 00:55:54,516
that separation is an illusion,
and that we all sort of
1056
00:55:54,540 --> 00:55:57,276
have the answers
for our own growth
1057
00:55:57,300 --> 00:55:59,325
and for the healing
of the planet.
1058
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:06,906
If people could know how
connected they really are,
1059
00:56:06,930 --> 00:56:09,666
connected to spirit and
connected to each other
1060
00:56:09,690 --> 00:56:13,566
and connected to nature, so much
of their fear would dissipate.
1061
00:56:13,590 --> 00:56:15,786
So much of their
anxiety would dissipate.
1062
00:56:15,810 --> 00:56:19,146
And I just know that
if, in the future,
1063
00:56:19,170 --> 00:56:24,336
this could be used
with all patients,
1064
00:56:24,360 --> 00:56:28,896
under the direction of mentors,
shamans, psychotherapists,
1065
00:56:28,920 --> 00:56:31,965
it would make for a
much happier world.
82046
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