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and folklore traditions and myths and legends of paradises and fairylands
are found all over the world and have something in common, symbolized
by the gem-like qualities of visionary experience. The visionary experience
is ancient and universal, regardless of one's culture, educational background
or anything else. Everyone in history has shared the same big brain and
everyone has had access to it. One of the most common and interesting myths and legends are those of the magic drug or potion. The legend of the magic potion was and is very real and it obviously stems from those who have had the magical, visionary experience. The witches of the Middle Ages weren't crazy. They were tripping and just like now, in "modern" times, everyone thought that they were insane. When the ships sailed to the New World and the East to bring back "spices", what do you think those "spices" were? They sure weren't garlic powder and paprika. When Ponce de Leon sailed to Florida, looking for the "fountain of youth" or the "elixir of life", what do you think he was looking for? In the Middle Ages, when alchemists were trying to change lead into gold, don't take that literally. It means that they were trying to change consciousness from lead to gold. The different colors of the stained glass windows of medieval churches are psychedelic and surely were the result of visionary experiences. The heroic, mythological figures that are parts of religious art and architecture are manifestations of the figures seen with the eyes closed, when tripping and again, people from all cultures, backgrounds and time periods will see the same kind of figures, showing that it is a universal experience. You won't find any of this in the history books. Every historical writer has their own theory of history and then fits the facts into their theory. "Accepted" history is what's in fashion at the time, regardless of whether it's true or not. Are publishers and universities going to accept that the LSD type of experience has had a major, profound, positive effect on the history of the world? Stanislav Grof doesn't need convincing. As he says on page 313 of his book, Beyond the Brain: "The individual is flooded by light of supernatural beauty and experiences a state of divine epiphany. He or she has a deep sense of emotional, intellectual and spiritual liberation and gains access to breathtaking realms of cosmic inspiration and insight. This type of experience is clearly responsible for great achievements in the history of humanity in the area of science, art, religion and philosophy." Aldous Huxley, in Moksha, on page 208, in his own way, explains some of the value and goodness of an LSD experience: "I suppose in a certain sense one can say the value is absolute. In a sense one can say that visionary experience is, so to say, a manifestation simultaneously of the beautiful and the true, of intense beauty and intense reality and as such it doesn't have to be justified in any other way. After all, the Good, the True and the Beautiful are absolute values and in a certain sense one can say that visionary experience has always been regarded as an absolute value, that it has been always felt to be intrinsically of immense significance and importance and worth having at a very great price." |