Spiritual Growth With Entheogens: Psychoactive Sacramentals and Human Transformation by Edited by Thomas B. Roberts ISBN 9781594777097, 1594777098 instant download

Spiritual Growth With Entheogens: Psychoactive Sacramentals and Human Transformation by Edited by Thomas B. Roberts ISBN 9781594777097, 1594777098 instant download

Reveals entheogens as catalysts for spiritual development and direct encounters with the sacred

• With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Frances Vaughan, and many others

• Includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants

• Explores protocols for ceremonial use of psychedelics and the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change

Modern organized religion is based predominantly on secondary religious experience--we read about others’ extraordinary direct spiritual encounters in the distant past and have faith that God is out there. Yet what if powerful sacraments existed to help us directly experience the sacred? What if there were ways to seek out the meaning of being human and our place in the universe, to see the sacred in the world that surrounds us?

In this book, more than 25 spiritual leaders, scientists, and psychedelic visionaries examine how we can return to the primary spiritual encounters at the basis of all religions through the guided use of entheogens. With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Frances Vaughan, Myron Stolaroff, and many others, this book explores protocols for ceremonial use of psychedelics, the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change, psychoactive sacraments in the Bible, myths surrounding the use of LSD, and the transformative ayahuasca rituals of Santo Daime. It also includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants. Dispelling fears of inauthentic spirituality, addiction, and ill-prepared encounters with the holy, this book reveals the potential of entheogens as catalysts for spiritual development, a path through which faith can directly encounter God’s power, and the beginning of a new religious era based on personal spiritual experience.

“If we can encounter God through a sunrise seen from a mountaintop, why not through a mushroom prayerfully ingested.”

(Brother David Steindl-Rast, from the foreword)

“A powerful testimony from pioneers of consciousness research, spiritual teachers, and scholars about the potential of psychedelic plants and their compounds to bring spirituality to modern society and help alleviate the dangerous alienation that has brought humanity to the brink of destruction.”

(Stanislav Grof, M.D., author of LSD Psychotherapy, Psychology of the Future, and When the Impossible Happens)

“Explains all aspects of the psychedelic experience as a tool for spiritual evolution, from personal accounts to detailed information and practical instructions. A key book.”

(Dieter Hagenbach, President, Gaia Media Foundation)

“A tour de force of the history of the Western reencounter with these perennial sacred plants written by leading figures from many disciplines. The broad coverage exemplifies the importance of psychedelic plants for many disciplines and their diverse potentials for personal and social transformation.”

(Michael Winkelman, Ph.D., author of Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing and editor of Altering Consciousness)

“Some of the most serious, sustained, thoughtful, and mature voices on the subject of entheogens and religion. The contributors reflect on the historical trajectories of this conversation, address the common stereotypes and misconceptions, and offer new directions of thought and vision, reminding us again of what this conversation has always been about: the extraordinary cosmic being we so casually and carelessly call the human being.”

(Jeffrey J. Kripal, professor of religious studies, Rice University, and author of Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal)

“Tom Roberts is the keeper of the flame for the study of psychedelics, the chief librarian of the entheogenic archive. In this soul-nourishing book he’s compiled the wisdom, humanity, and technical expertise the world just might be ready for now in order to provide us legally accessed soul-manifesting sacramental experience via psychedelics.”

(Charles Hayes, editor of Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures)

“For those who value profound religious experiences and who wish to become increasingly well informed about how entheogens could become responsibly integrated into meditative practices and the offerings of spiritual retreat centers, there is much to be learned from the well-chosen essays in this book.”

(William A. Richards, S.T.M., Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Bayview School of Medicine)

“This is an invaluable collection of presentations that dispels the fog about the multi-faceted relationships between psychedelic experiences and spiritual experiences, between faith and experience, and the intricate dance still going on between them.”

(James Fadiman, Ph.D., author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide)

“It is one thing to understand that people can move into altered states of consciousness; it is quite another to understand that this fact is not just a psychological side-show, but deeply, even centrally important for understanding the human mind. Roberts’ book argues this point on every page, through riveting accounts retold by pioneers and leaders in the field of transpersonal psychology. This book is mind-altering in the best sense of the word.”

(Glenn Hartelius, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and editor of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies)

“A useful reference work that presents the current state of understanding from the relevant scientific, practical, and judicial perspectives.”

(Dennis McKenna, Ph.D., founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute and coauthor of The Invisible Landscape)

“Spiritual Growth with Entheogens is essential reading for people interested in humanity’s efforts to experience the divine. This is an outstanding collection of essays and studies on mystical experience.”

(Michael Nielsen, professor and chair of psychology, Georgia Southern University, and coeditor of Archive for the Psychology of Religion)

“This essential collection forces a reexamination of the legal status of controlled substances in view of the benefit that mind-altering sacramental entheogens offer for psychotherapy and spiritual growth.”

(Carl A. P. Ruck, professor of classical studies, Boston University, and author of Mushrooms, Myths, and Mithras)

“...a rich and broad mix of science, anecdotes, therapeutic indications, and spiritual philosophies exploring the legitimate and responsible use of entheogens—if not to produce genuine religious experiences, to “seed a spiritual life,” as Br. David Steindl-Rast says in an introduction. The authors expect that the...rewards of an open mind may reshape a new era of spiritual intelligence.”

(Publisher's Weekly)

“...this book reveals the potential of entheogens as catalysts for spiritual development and the beginning of a new religious era based on personal spiritual experience.”

(Branches of Light, October 2012)

“This book really enlightened me as to the history, practices and general sentiments of the diverse professionals who value entheogens as a valid and very worthwhile complement to spiritual practices. It’s been added to my Top 10 list of important books to read.”

(Alice R Berntson, New Connexion, May 2013)

SPIRITUALITY / ENTHEOGENS

“A major contribution to ensuring the continued expansion of the renaissance in psychedelic research. Spiritual Growth with Entheogens would be an outstanding textbook in all courses of psychedelic psychotherapy, mysticism, and spirituality.”
--Rick Doblin, Ph.D., executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

“An all-star lineup of psychedelic cognoscenti.”
--Julie Holland, M.D., editor of The Pot Book and author of Weekends at Bellevue

Modern organized religion is based predominantly on secondary religious experience--we read about others’ extraordinary direct spiritual encounters in the distant past and have faith that God is out there. Yet what if powerful sacraments existed to help us directly experience the sacred? What if there were ways to seek out the meaning of being human and our place in the universe, to see the sacred in the world that surrounds us?

In this book, more than 25 spiritual leaders, scientists, and psychedelic visionaries examine how we can return to the primary spiritual encounters at the basis of all religions through the guided use of entheogens. With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Frances Vaughan, Myron Stolaroff, and many others, this book explores protocols for ceremonial use of psychedelics, the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change, psychoactive sacraments in the Bible, myths surrounding the use of LSD, and the transformative ayahuasca rituals of Santo Daime. It also includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants. Dispelling fears of inauthentic spirituality, addiction, and ill-prepared encounters with the holy, this book reveals the potential of entheogens as catalysts for spiritual development, a path through which faith can directly encounter God’s power, and the beginning of a new religious era based on personal spiritual experience.

THOMAS B. ROBERTS, Ph.D., is professor emeritus at Northern Illinois University and a former visiting scientist at Johns Hopkins. The coeditor of Psychedelic Medicine and the author of Psychedelic Horizons, he has spoken at international conferences on entheogens, consciousness, and psychedelic science. He lives in DeKalb, Illinois.