benzyme said:
SalooM said:
you cannot exclude the fact that LSD is highly unpredictable
riiiight...
this is not a fact at all. if it was, I wouldn't have become bored with it from doing it so much.
I take Grov's writings (like Strassman's) with a grain of salt, as it transcends scientific reasoning into the metaphysical realm, a lot of which is still anecdotal, and subject to interpretation. mildly interesting, nonetheless.
LSD is highly unpredictable in many ways. But to concentrate it more on the subject and what I really mean here is that because "somebody" has the desire to have a blissful experience, doesn't mean that LSD will offer it for him. For instance, MDMA is predictable. LSD is not.
And I cannot really get the logical connection between the predictability of LSD and the fact that you get bored on it. This is a personal reaction to the substance and the reason behind it could be anything apart from its qualities and certainly *not* because you have done it too much..Lot's of people have done it too much and they still get very very high on it every single time. There are also some people who take enormous amounts and they report minimal effects. But this is not the reaction an average person would have.
But this is the reaction of one person. If you give LSD to 10000 people and you collect data, then you can observe, think and try to make something out of it. That is what Grof has done. "LSD Psychotherapy" is the most scientific book written for one of the most non-scientific topics. In my opinion he does not transcend scientific reasoning into the metaphysical realm at all. I wonder where exactly did you see that?? I am really curious to re-open my book and find it. What he does is to give his observations straight on to your eyes and propose a possible explanation that fits best with the current theories of the psyche. He is extremely careful with the language he is using. And when things get bizzare and into the transpersonal reals, he avoids to "explain" them and he just gives them as a fact of people's experience,and for people's food for thought with a note of sceptisism that metaphysical reality could be possible. He has also tried to validate crazy stuff that people have mentioned to him that came from their experience. A very interesting read.
And when you say anecdotal what exactly do you mean??
I have read quite a few books about psychedelics but Grof was the best map I have seen for my experiences. It is the most complete work on LSD ever written and it can act as a brilliant guide for someone that wants to use LSD not just to experience the beauties of a "trip", but also how to use it to transform his consciousness in everyday life.
I am gonna tell you a little story now in order to reach a conclusion..
A couple of years ago I drunk Ayahuasca in a workshop being held in the UK. I remember at some point I got out and I was starring at the sky. I suddenly felt my body to be in a great state. It is difficult to describe the sense of balance and strength I felt in my body. It just felt amazing. Soooo nice but at the same time it felt so "normal". I thought that Ayahuasca had "healed" my body image and it will stay like that. Unfortunately it didn't and after that experience I started going to the gym in order to try and strengthen my body and heal it myself after years of mistreating it. What I noticed though was that after a few months, I could lift 2-3 times the kilo's I could lift when I first started but, when I was tryin to do something different, for example push-ups I was falling dead on the floor. So I abandoned the gym and started doing exercises with my body weight as I found it a more complete form of exercise. At some point, I had the chance to attend an Ashtanga Yoga class. I was magically touched by that practice. I stopped everything and I started practicing it 1, 2, or maybe 3 times a week depending on external circumstances. I also started reading about yoga and I was doing it just as a form of physical exercise.
But I was always getting tired and stiff and I was hurting alot even after a few months of practice. And my progress was small. So I started to think about it and try to read some more and find some info. The best solution was found by accident in one of the books of John Lilly, I think it was "The center of the Cyclone". To make a long story short, the solution was to do the practice as it is "prescribed" by the books on the subject. Which is, 6 times a week for 1 hour and a half, every week. With empty stomach. No matter if you feel tired, hungry or excused about "other things to do". Practice practice practice. And all is coming. So I did. There were times, many times that I wanted to just collapse on the floor. There were many times that I was questioning myself why I was doing that. There were times that I was cancelling my social life because I was too tired after practice to do anything. Now, after three months of this, I just do not have words to describe what is happening to me. I am close to this sensation that Ayahuasca gave me, but ALL the time. I feel light as a feather, calm and concentrated. I go up the stairs as if I am walking on straight pavement. (Not to mention a large increase on my sensitivity to LSD).
So the point here is that, I believe many people have read books or articles on Yoga. Some of them have seen them with sceptisism, others might have been inspired and others will immediately dismiss them. But very very few will do the sacrifice and follow what is written on a method and find out for themselves. It is the same thing with Grof's work. Of all these people who have read the book, how many did they do exactly what is proposed in this book in order to find out for themselves if Grof's model works or not?? It is not an easy work at all. It is very hard work indeed.LSD is hard work. But I believe it is worth the effort!!
