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I don't think so either. I've watched quite a few old films of Leary. Early on I think Leary was sincere. But I think he used psychedelics to gain a few basic spiritual insights, then concentrated on using these "spiritual laws" he had discovered to help service his ego. Granted, Leary did face a lot of tough things in his life as well as persecution by just about everyone. That may account for part of his attitude during his later years. McKenna, I don't know. He seemed kind of like an eccentric scientist to me. Kind of like an absent-minded professor. I guess I felt positive about him, but I would not say I considered him "enlightened" or anything.

I'm curious - have you looked into Richard Alpert's life? As you may know, we was also a Harvard professor who left at the same time Leary did. But he took a far more spiritual path than Leary did. Still, watching him talk in his later years, I don't see that he radiates overwhelming contentment. It seems he was fairly content but yet still frequently struggled with a lot of the issues the rest of us struggle with. Albert Hoffman to me always seemed to be a very content person. But granted, I've only seen a few later interviews with him.

For me, the main goal of using psychedelics is to gain insight into my mind and personal makeup. This is the kind of thing that could likely be done, albeit a lot more slowly and more expensively, without drugs by using psychotherapy techniques. If I can gain insight to get past various hangups I've always had, then I have reached my goal. I'm not trying to become "super-human", "a god", to "transcend earthly existance", etc. This is not to say that I don't believe in the spiritual. I do, but for me personally I think my "mission" on this earth involves doing things in this life, some of which are for the benefit of others. Past experiences may have left me with ineffective life strategies that interfere both with my enjoyment of daily life and with my ability to do positive things (including for others) in this life. That's just what psychedelics mean to me personally. I'm not condemning anyone else who uses them for different reasons or saying that my use of them is "better" than others use, just speaking for myself here.

elphologist

<blockquote data-quote="elphologist1" data-source="post: 3317200" data-attributes="member: 3456">I don&#039;t think so either.&nbsp; I&#039;ve watched quite a few old films of Leary.&nbsp; Early on I think Leary was sincere.&nbsp; But I think he used psychedelics to gain a few basic spiritual insights, then concentrated on using these &quot;spiritual laws&quot; he had discovered to help service his ego.&nbsp; Granted, Leary did face a lot of tough things in his life as well as persecution by just about everyone.&nbsp; That may account for part of his attitude during his later years.&nbsp; McKenna, I don&#039;t know.&nbsp; He seemed kind of like an eccentric scientist to me.&nbsp; Kind of like an absent-minded professor.&nbsp; I guess I felt positive about him, but I would not say I considered him &quot;enlightened&quot; or anything.&nbsp; I&#039;m curious - have you looked into Richard Alpert&#039;s life?&nbsp; As you may know, we was also a Harvard professor who left at the same time Leary did.&nbsp; But he took a far more spiritual path than Leary did.&nbsp; Still, watching him talk in his later years, I don&#039;t see that he radiates overwhelming contentment.&nbsp; It seems he was fairly content but yet still frequently struggled with a lot of the issues the rest of us struggle with.&nbsp; Albert Hoffman to me always seemed to be a very content person.&nbsp; But granted, I&#039;ve only seen a few later interviews with him.For me, the main goal of using psychedelics is to gain insight into my mind and personal makeup.&nbsp; This is the kind of thing that could likely be done, albeit a lot more slowly and more expensively, without drugs by using psychotherapy techniques.&nbsp; If I can gain insight to get past various hangups I&#039;ve always had, then I have reached my goal.&nbsp; I&#039;m not trying to become &quot;super-human&quot;, &quot;a god&quot;, to &quot;transcend earthly existance&quot;, etc.&nbsp; This is not to say that I don&#039;t believe in the spiritual.&nbsp; I do, but for me personally I think my &quot;mission&quot; on this earth involves doing things in this life, some of which are for the benefit of others.&nbsp; Past experiences may have left me with ineffective life strategies that interfere both with my enjoyment of daily life and with my ability to do positive things (including for others) in this life.&nbsp; That&#039;s just what psychedelics mean to me personally.&nbsp; I&#039;m not condemning anyone else who uses them for different reasons or saying that my use of them is &quot;better&quot; than others use, just speaking for myself here.elphologist</blockquote>

[QUOTE="elphologist1, post: 3317200, member: 3456"] I don't think so either. I've watched quite a few old films of Leary. Early on I think Leary was sincere. But I think he used psychedelics to gain a few basic spiritual insights, then concentrated on using these "spiritual laws" he had discovered to help service his ego. Granted, Leary did face a lot of tough things in his life as well as persecution by just about everyone. That may account for part of his attitude during his later years. McKenna, I don't know. He seemed kind of like an eccentric scientist to me. Kind of like an absent-minded professor. I guess I felt positive about him, but I would not say I considered him "enlightened" or anything. I'm curious - have you looked into Richard Alpert's life? As you may know, we was also a Harvard professor who left at the same time Leary did. But he took a far more spiritual path than Leary did. Still, watching him talk in his later years, I don't see that he radiates overwhelming contentment. It seems he was fairly content but yet still frequently struggled with a lot of the issues the rest of us struggle with. Albert Hoffman to me always seemed to be a very content person. But granted, I've only seen a few later interviews with him. For me, the main goal of using psychedelics is to gain insight into my mind and personal makeup. This is the kind of thing that could likely be done, albeit a lot more slowly and more expensively, without drugs by using psychotherapy techniques. If I can gain insight to get past various hangups I've always had, then I have reached my goal. I'm not trying to become "super-human", "a god", to "transcend earthly existance", etc. This is not to say that I don't believe in the spiritual. I do, but for me personally I think my "mission" on this earth involves doing things in this life, some of which are for the benefit of others. Past experiences may have left me with ineffective life strategies that interfere both with my enjoyment of daily life and with my ability to do positive things (including for others) in this life. That's just what psychedelics mean to me personally. I'm not condemning anyone else who uses them for different reasons or saying that my use of them is "better" than others use, just speaking for myself here. elphologist [/QUOTE]