Page 175 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

156 Mysteries of the Mind

alcoholism, addiction to pain medications, and Kurtzwell, Paula. “Medical Possibilities for Psychedel-
alleviation of pain in cancer patients. ic Drugs.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
[Online] http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/795_
Individuals who continue to use psyche-
psyche.html.
delics obtained through various means other
Masters, R. E., and Jean Houston. The Varieties of Psy-
than the Drug Enforcement Administration
chedelic Experience. New York: Dell/Delta, 1966.
have organizations of their own and are deter-
mined to meet what they consider a challenge McKenna, Terrence, and Tom Robbins. Archaic Revival
to their personal freedoms. They claim that Speculations on Psychedelic Mushroom, the Amazon,
the benefits gained from the psychedelic expe- Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the
rience is valuable and should not be forbidden Rebirth of the Goddess & the End of History. San
anyone who, of his or her own volition, would Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.
like to explore it. Merkur, Daniel. Psychedelic Sacrament Manna, Medita-
tion & Mystical Experience. Rochester, Vt.: Inner
Traditions International, 2001.
Pearce, Joseph Chilton. The Biology of Transformation:
A Blueprint of the Human Spirit. Rochester, Vt.:
FDA research noted that extended use of LSD
Inner Traditions International, 2002.
could lead to mood swings, including depression, Psychedelic Library. [Online] http://www.psychedelic-
which could in turn lead to suicide. library.org/.
Targ, Russell, and Harold E. Puthoff. Mind-Reach: Sci-
entists Look at Psychic Ability. New York: Dela-
corte Press/Eleanor Friede, 1977.
Although mind-expansion drugs have not Tart, Charles, ed. Altered States of Consciousness. New
been found to be narcotic in the sense that York: John Wiley & Sons, 1969.
they set up a physical craving within the user,
possible long-term effects of the drugs have
Relaxation
not yet been determined. If the drug is used as
a means of escape from reality, it is possible Unlike hypnosis, in relaxation the subjects do
that a user could become dependent upon it in not enter a sleep or trancelike state. Instead,
the same manner that many people become they are deeply relaxed and helped by a practi-
dependent upon alcohol. Psychedelics have tioner to achieve a positive state of mind
been studied extensively since ibogaine was wherein they can visualize (imagine) the alle-
isolated in the early 1900s, mescaline in the viation of an illness or perceive a means by
1920s, and LSD since 1943, but government which they might achieve a certain objective
scientists state that it is still too early to deter- or goal in their life. Generally, subjects are
mine whether or not the drugs have serious or relaxed and led on a guided meditation or cre-
practical medicinal uses. ative visualization by someone who reads the
process from a script. In some cases, the indi-
vidual may have prerecorded the script in his
M Delving Deeper
Albert Hofmann Foundation: The Homepage of the or her own voice and may thereby repeat the
Inventor of LSD. [Online] http://www.hofmann. process as often as desired for reinforcement of
org. 18 November 2002. the technique. Often, soft, soothing music is
Council on Spiritual Practices. [Online] http://www.csp. played in the background as the individual
org/. undergoes the relaxation process.
Hayes, Charles. Tripping: An Anthology of True Life Relaxation and creative visualization utiliz-
Psychedelic Adventures. New York: Penguin-Put- ing symbolic imagery became increasingly pop-
nam, 2000. ular among those in the New Age Movement
Krippner, Stanley, with Etzel Cardena and Steven J. in the 1970s, and seminars and workshops fea-
Lynn. Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examin- turing such techniques continued to draw large
ing the Scientific Evidence. Washington, D.C.: audiences into the 1990s. Basically, the philos-
American Psychological Association, 2000. ophy behind the relaxation process is quite

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