On this episode of Here and Now, Ram Dass breaks down the history of psychedelics and helps us in understanding the risks and the rewards of these consciousness-altering chemicals.
A History of Psychedelics
In response to a question about the risks and rewards of using psychedelics, Ram Dass begins with a primer on the history of these consciousness-altering chemicals. He explores how psychedelics have been used in religious rituals throughout history, and brings us into modern times with Albert Hoffman’s discovery of LSD. He talks about how psychedelics allow people to come out of their egocentric predicament and see the universe freshly.
“The predicament is that as you develop a model of who you are and how the universe works, it’s extremely hard to get out of that… What the chemical allows you to do is set that aside for a moment and see the universe from a different vantage point.” – Ram Dass
Intuitive Validity (19:05)
Ram Dass illuminates how psychedelics became a cultural phenomenon in the 1960s, and how these chemicals also became a threat to the social structure. He touches on some details from his time at Harvard, including the historic Good Friday Experiment, and what eventually led to him being fired. He talks about the consequences of psychedelics being made illegal.
“When I had the chemical, I touched a part of myself that made me question the whole social structure and not be willing to play by the rules anymore. Because something was more intuitively valid to me; the part of me that I met was more intuitively valid than the part of me that had been part of the social game. In other words, I met something behind my own ego.” – Ram Dass
I was 14 when I first took LSD, and throughout my teens, probably dropped acid another 3-4 times. It hit me when Ram Dass said he wouldn’t recommend it for young children because we haven’t really become somebody yet in order to become nobody. He said it sometimes made us unable to follow through on things like jobs and education and may be confused. THAT IS TRUE FOR ME. I’ve always been ambitious as an artist/explorer, but never followed through with it – instead leading a somewhat boring life and having three failed marriages, and dropping out of college after one semester.
Where can I go to heal from that, or evolve from that, or whatever I might need to do to clear that up? I have done psychedelics as an adult and I do not regret it at all, but is there a remedy if you did it too young – to recapture that youthful dreaming?
Hey, I don’t know much but from your comment it sounds like there’s still a little voice in you that holds those dreams and it just needs to be listened to, which might be hard at first but I think it’ll get stronger as you quiet down and hear it.
I wrote you a long post then lost it. The essence of it was Be Here Now and think on Hanuman for a happier life. Love, Quig