For years I have argued in favor of astrology on television, in direct violation of a written code which states that astrology can be mentioned on the air only in a denigrating fashion. That code is reprehensible and needs to be thrown out. However, if we had waited for the authorities to awaken to the absurdity of such restrictions many fine people would still be hiding in the shadows. We had to push forward and explain ourselves in order to reverse that perfidious ruling. Fortunately the producers of the shows on which I and other astrologers have appeared have had the courage to take matters into their own hands and do what they know to be right.
For me, history repeated itself when I began regressing people to former lifetimes on television. As far as I know I was the first person to demonstrate reincarnation therapy this way, though it has since become common practice. Yet as late as 1977 the manager of a television station had to be physically restrained from bursting in and throwing me out midway through a show because he fancied I was breaking a rule against practicing hypnosis on the air. In view of the importance of the issue of human survival of death such confrontations do not seem like a very big risk to take.
If a few courageous people had not been willing to act on their convictions we would still be obliged to believe that the sun circles the earth, slavery would still be condoned, and in Massachusetts it would still be against the law for a man to kiss his wife on Sunday. Fortunately there is a place in our society for the conscientious objector, as was made evident during the controversy over the morality of the Viet Nam War. I would like, therefore, to register myself as a conscientious objector to the enforced moratorium on research into altered states of consciousness as facilitated by certain well tested and relatively safe psychedelic substances, and am willing to accept the consequences of taking such a stand.
At this point Howard and I are as well qualified as two people can be to work within the field of consciousness expansion. In order to set the ball rolling, however, we have had to proceed on our own. There simply wasn't any other way to begin. Most of us don't break into houses. However, if the house is burning down then it is wrong not to enter in order to save the people within. By the same token, the state of the world is now so critical as to justify extreme measures on the parts of those who wish to quench the flames of human selfishness which threaten to incinerate us all.
In making the journeys mentioned in this account we have acted according to our most sincerely held beliefs. Intelligent people should not permit themselves to be tyrannized by unintelligent rulings which are no longer relevant to an existing situation. We are not trying to persuade people either to believe or to behave as we do. Rather, we are hoping to assist them to open their minds to other realities which they can experience for themselves. For this purpose we and they must be permitted the internal freedom to proceed along the pathway to greater self-discovery.
The outcome of this train of thought was that on the twenty-eighth of February I decided to undergo the last personal samadhi session that would be recorded in this book. Henceforth the material received would be funneled into a new folder labeled The Alchemy of the Soul or else fall into a full-scale scientific research program. Lying back in bed I wondered what our bright spirit of ketamine would say to that. What ponderous or portentious "last word" would she have for our readers? In this respect my own mind was a complete blank. The challenge was entirely up to her.
For the first time it seemed as though I were reaching the goddess directly. Veiled in light, her form remained elusive. It could have been an aureole of blonde hair or a flicker of liquified sunbeams that caught my attention. What was clear, however, was the golden effervescence of her presence. Perfumed blossoms were floating down around me while trills of music sounded like birds singing or children playing. If there can be such a thing as a happiness archetype this was it.
As it turned out, the goddess didn't have much to say. Rather, it was evident that she was trying to tune me into a new way of being. I had expected a serious message-perhaps even a final sermon for our readers. Instead I was met with a froth of laughter. Now the words were rippling through my mind as though each bursting bubble was releasing its content of meaning. As nearly as I can transmit it, this is what she said:
"At this time, planet Earth is starved for joy. Not for gaseous hilarity. We need no coarse guffaws nor vaporous giggles. My greatest gift will be the spirit of pure joy. Please, my children, be happy. Rise into the blue like butterflies. Let your hearts take flight; look to the sun-drenched skies where light and love abide. You don't even have to call what you do therapy unless it pleases you to use this term. Just be free, and when you want to fly I will give you wings."
To my surprise, the goddess agreed that the time had come to end this book. "Send it forth," she said. "It's only the beginning. Just the opening of a door. But let them know the way is there-that there is a way up and out. Yes, an entrance into my bright world of love and laughter, light and beauty. Open the door and let them through. Then as they come up to me, I will go back down with them to bless this Earth I love so well with a new springtime of the soul.
8: Coming Together
Ketamine stimulates the central nervous system and at the same time produces a dissociation in the thalamocortical tract which is the main relay center for sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex. Hence it separates the higher nerve centers in the brain from the lower centers in the spinal cord, producing a sense of separation between mind and body.
We knew from the start that the day would come when we would want to share our adventures into the bright world with our friends. Nevertheless, we proceeded with caution, observing our own reactions over the period extending from late September to February. Finally, in a quiet way, we permitted the word to go out that we were conducting research with a little-known psychedelic agent and would be willing to work with interested volunteers.
Some jumped at the opportunity. The majority hung back or were undecided. Naturally this reticence was to be expected. On the whole, however, the reactions elicited made it clear that quite apart from the natural hesitation that anyone would feel in experimenting with an obscure drug, "consciousness expansion" is not a particularly high priority concern, even among metaphysical students. But of course our background in yoga and hypersentience had long since demonstrated that few people want to be the first to try out a new technique, particularly when it is offered free of charge. Once it becomes "the thing to do" the story is very different.
In allaying people's fears it seemed noteworthy that in numerous cases it was the heavy smokers, compulsive coffee drinkers, pill-poppers and boozers who protested the most vehemently against the idea of taking a mini-dose of a substance routinely administered to children and old people because of its proven reputation for being a completely safe anesthetic. One man who drinks five or six bottles of Coca Cola a day, sips black coffee half the night, and who suffers from advanced emphysema as a result of compulsive chain smoking stated flatly, "It is against my principles."
To date, no one has had a "bad trip," although not all were enthused over the experience. Most psychedelic sophisticates have reported that this was the most pleasurable drug experience they have ever had and have wished to continue their explorations. A few still preferred LSD or some other substance. Virtually everyone has commented on the impossibility of describing the dimension of being to which the mind was transported. Yet when these people do start groping for words it is apparent that the levels of consciousness through which they have passed bear a remarkable similarity to those described in this narrative as well as to each other. One has the feeling that they are describing the same phenomenon, albeit from differing points of view.