Higher Wisdom: Eminent Elders Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics

Higher Wisdom
Eminent Elders Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics

Roger Walsh & Charles Grob (eds.). Published by State University of New York Press.

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DESCRIPTION FROM BACK COVER

Psychedelics have been a part—often a central and sacred part—of most societies throughout history, and for half a century psychedelics have rumbled through the Western world, seeding a subculture, titillating the media, fascinating youth, terrifying parents, enraging politicians, and intriguing researchers. Not surprisingly, these curious chemicals fascinated some of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century, fourteen of whom were interviewed for this book. Because no further human research can be done, these researchers constitute an irreplaceable resource. Higher Wisdom offers their fascinating anecdotes, invaluable knowledge, and hard-won wisdom—the culmination of fifty years of research and reflection on one of the most intriguing and challenging topics of our time.

Acclaim for Higher Wisdom

“Psychedelics have been a part—often a central and sacred part—of most societies throughout history, and for half a century psychedelics have rumbled through the Western world, seeding a subculture, titillating the media, fascinating youth, terrifying parents, enraging politicians, and intriguing researchers.  Not surprisingly, these curious chemicals fascinated some of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century, fourteen of whom were interviewed for this book.  Because no further human research can be done, these researchers constitute an irreplaceable resource.  Higher Wisdom offers their fascinating anecdotes, invaluable knowledge, and hard-won wisdom—culmination of fifty years of research and reflection on one of the most intriguing and challenging topics of our time.

Roger Walsh Albert Hofmann and Stan Grof at Fetzer 1998

Roger, Albert Hofmann and Stan Grof

This is an important book, not only as a valuable historical document, but as a reminder of the remarkable promise and peril of what are broadly called psychedelics.  The fact is—apart from all the government oppression at one end to the hippie hype at the other—psychedelics are a profound doorway into areas of the psyche rarely glimpsed otherwise, and thus, at the very least, are important psychological research tools.  However, because the oppressive side of the argument has generally won the day, accounts such as those contained in this book are not only invaluable historical records, but reminders of the importance of individual freedom of choice as well.”
—Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything

“Higher Wisdom takes us back into the rush of optimism on human potentials and spiritual depths that drove a generation of psychedelic researchers.  Walsh and Grob have edited a fascinating book.”
—T. George Harris, former editor of Psychology Today

“This is an inspiring and important record, one of courageous explorers and amazing stories describing a critical chapter in the transformation of human consciousness.”
—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life

HIGHER WISDOM:
Eminent Thinkers Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics

Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. and Charles S. Grob, M.D.
Editors

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Roger Walsh & Charles S. Grob
Psychedelics and the Western World: A Fateful Marriage

Charles S. Grob & Gary Bravo
The High Road: History and Hysteria

PART ONE

RESEARCH: CONSCIOUSNESS, CREATIVITY, AND CHEMISTRY

James Fadiman
Transpersonal Transitions: The Higher Reaches of Psyche and Psychology

Albert Hofmann
From Molecules to Mystery: Psychedelic Science, the Natural World, and Beyond

Myron Stolaroff
How Much Can People Change?

Alexander T. “Sasha” Shulgin & Ann Shulgin
Frontiers of Pharmacology: Chemistry and Consciousness

PART TWO

PSYCHOTHERAPY: PERSONAL AND TRANSPERSONAL

Betty Eisner
The Birth and Death of Psychedelic Therapy

Gary Fisher
Treating the Untreatable

Stanislav Grof
The Great Awakening: Psychology, Philosophy, and Spirituality in LSD Psychotherapy

PART THREE

CULTURE AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Peter T. Furst
Ancient Altered States

Michael Harner
Tribal Wisdom: The Shamanic Path

Laura Archera Huxley
More Recipes for Living and Loving

PART FOUR

RELIGIOUS IMPLICATIONS: PSYCHE, SOUL, AND SPIRIT

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
Transcending Religious Boundaries

Ram Dass
Walking the Path: Psychedelics and Beyond

Huston Smith
Do Drugs Have Religious Import? A Forty Year Follow-Up

CONCLUSION

Roger Walsh & Charles S. Grob
In Conclusion: What Did They Learn and What Can We Learn From Them?

References and Notes

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