Monthly Archives: August 2019

A Colorful Island in Space

This series would be incomplete if I did not share some personal psychedelic anecdotes from my own past. In my late teens and early twenties I used to smoke marijuana in social settings with my friends. These occasions were always filled with fun and laughter. There was one instance while getting high at dusk in a wooded area that I envisioned a GIANT pair of disembodied Keds Sneakers (the old kind with the high backs) walking down the path in our direction as everyone howled with laughter. Another time I was driving past my first family home that we used to live in (direction heading west) and pointing out to my passengers “here, we used to live on that side of the road (pointing left).” Then, at the end of the street we turned-around and proceeded driving down the road again (direction heading east) as I pointed out, “here, we used to live on THAT side of the road (pointing right). You had to be high while appreciating this. But by far the most singular episode occurred while living in the wilds of South Florida in 1980. At that time I was working at assorted jobs to pay my way through college; one of them was at a place named “The Olde Fashioned Cookie Junction”, a locale inside one of the shopping Malls. While working with a girl named Dawn, we both were smoking some Sensimilla. Now Sensimilla is a most highly concentrated form of cannabis that, unlike other forms, contained no seeds. Here’s a more full representation: read more

Posted in LSD and Psychedelic Buddhism, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Will of the Matter

Lama Anagarika Govinda (1898-1986) was a German Mystic who primarily spent most of his spiritual formation (20 years) as a member of the Kargyutpa Buddhist Order. He was though, the quintessential eclectic seeker after truth, spending time in Sri Lanka and Burma before traveling with his wife, Li Gotami, to Tibet and embedding himself there in a hermitage. He was well versed in Mahayana, Vajrayana, as well as Theravadin Traditions. Most of his writings well reflect this special blend of spiritual disciplines. My favorite book of his, The Foundation of Tibetan Mysticism, was released in 1969. A companion piece, Creative Meditation and Multidimensional Consciousness followed in 1977; this particular text was utilized during our Dharma-series, The Tathāgatagarbhatārā Tantra. Another prominent text is his spiritual autobiography, The Way of the White Clouds, A Buddhist Pilgrim in Tibet, 1966: read more

Posted in LSD and Psychedelic Buddhism, Spirituality | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Timothy Leary’s Dead

For Timothy Leary (1920-1996) psychedelic drugs were sacraments. He first began his own experimentation with these substances using Mexican Magic Mushrooms in his forties. In fact, his book, Timothy Leary, High Priest, devotes more time and effort describing these particular “mushroomed” states with his colleagues and friends than his early LSD experiences. I like the format of the book. It’s divided into sections labeled “Trips”, or particular episodes in his psychedelic journey. Each chapter also includes pertinent segments from the I Ching, as well as references to works like Dante’s Divine Comedy and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: read more

Posted in LSD and Psychedelic Buddhism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mind at Large

Aldous Huxley’s (1894-1963) best known works are Brave New World, written in 1931, a favorite time-frame of mine since it was the same year that Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein were released; The Perennial Philosophy in 1945, and the work that concerns us here, The Doors of Perception in 1954. read more

Posted in LSD and Psychedelic Buddhism | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LSD and Psychedelic Buddhism


GREEN BUDDHA Ed Paschke, 2000

The motivation behind presenting this series first occurred while doing research on Lama Anagarika Govinda and Dr.Timothy Francis Leary, contrasting their views on the potential of psychedelic drugs and whether or not they are beneficial or a direct hindrance to one’s meditation and general growth in the Buddhadharma. At the outset, some readers will most likely state that’s a ridiculous statement as most assuredly any incursions into the realm of psychedelia clouds the mind rather than dissipating the mists of ignorance from a true and devoted Mind adept. After doing heavy research on this matter I can state categorically that they are both right and wrong. This assertion will be ascertained as our series progresses. However, I will state unequivocally up front that these mind-altering excursions are no vehicle of escape from the human predicament—yea, they usually open the door to “Super-Samsara”, but its samsara just the same. The Govinda Vs Leary angle will commence in an upcoming blog, but firstly it behooves us to critically examine psychedelia and how it flavors the tea of Psychedelic Buddhism. read more

Posted in LSD and Psychedelic Buddhism, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments