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Entheogens:WhatsinaName?TheUntoldHistoryofPsychedelicSpirituality,SocialControl,andtheCIA
ByJanIrvin
November11,2014v.3.5,Nov.20,2014
O,besomeothername!
What'sinaname?thatwhichwecallaroseByanyothernamewouldsmellassweet;WilliamShakespeare,RomeoandJuliet
IntroductionToday there are many names for drug substances that
we commonly refer to as
hallucinogens,psychedelics,psychoactives,orentheogens,etal.Butithasntalwaysbeenthatway.Thestudyofthehistoryandetymologyofthewordsforthesefascinatingsubstancestakesus,surprisingly,rightintotheheartofmilitaryintelligence,andwhatbecametheCIAsinfamousMKULTRAmindcontrolprogram,and
revealshow thenames themselveswereused inmarketing these substances
to thepublic, andespeciallytotheyouthandcountercultures.1
Theofficialhistoryhas itthattheCIApersonnel involved
inMKULTRAwere justdupes,kindofstupid,and, by their egregious
errors, the psychedelic revolution happened thwarting their
efforts.
TheclaimisthatthesesubstancesgotoutoftheCIAscontrol.WordslikeblowbackandincompetenceareoftentossedaroundinsuchtheoriesregardingtheCIAandmilitaryintelligence,butwithoutmuch,ifany,supportingevidence.
ItsalmostimpossibletodaytohaveadiscussionregardingtheactualdocumentsandfactsofMKULTRAandthepsychedelicrevolutionwithoutsomeoneinterruptingtoinformyouhowitreallyhappenedeventhoughmostoftentheyhaveneverstudiedanythingonthesubject.
Aswegetstarted,Iwouldliketoproposethatwequestionthisideaofblowback:Whodoesitbenefittobelieve
that itwasallanaccidentand that theCIAandmilitary intelligencewere
justdupes?Does
itbenefityou,orthem?Itmightbeuncomfortableforamomentforsomeofustoadmitthatmaybethey(theagents)werentsostupid,andmaybeweweretheonesduped.Sometimesthebestmedicineistojustadmithey,yougotmeand
laugh
itoff.ForthoseofyouwhoveheardtheseblowbacktheoriesandhaventconsideredthepossibilitythattheCIAcreatedthesemovements
intentionally,thisarticlemaybechallengingforyou,butstickwithit,asitwillbeworthyourwhile.
Nowwereready.Because,defensesaside,amorehonest,andlessbiased,inquiryintothehistoryandfactsreveals,startlingly,somethingquitedifferentfromthepopularmyths.Thispaperreveals,forthe
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first time, how the opposite of the official history is true,
and that the CIA did, in fact, create
thepsychedelicrevolutionandcounterculturesintentionally.
As Ill show in thisarticle, thegoalhadchangedand theywantedaname
thatwouldhelp sell
thesesubstancestothemassesassourcesofspiritualenlightenmentratherthan
insanity.
IntheirbookThePsychedelicExperience:AManualBasedontheTibetanBookoftheDead,weseedoctorsTimothyLeary,RalphMetzner,andRichardAlpertexplain:
Ofcourse,thedrugdosedoesnotproducethetranscendentexperience.Itmerelyactsasachemical
key it opens themind, frees thenervous systemof
itsordinarypatternsandstructures. The nature of the experience
depends almost entirely on set and setting.
Setdenotesthepreparationoftheindividual,includinghispersonalitystructureandhismoodatthetime.Settingisphysicaltheweather,theroom'satmosphere;socialfeelingsofpersonspresenttowardsoneanother;andculturalprevailingviewsastowhatisreal.Itis
forthisreasonthatmanualsorguidebooksarenecessary.Theirpurposeistoenableaperson
to understand the new realities of the expanded consciousness, to
serve as
roadmapsfornewinteriorterritorieswhichmodernsciencehasmadeaccessible.2TimothyLeary,RalphMetzner,RichardAlpert
Butwhatwas thepurposeofallof this?They state Thenatureof the
experiencedepends
almostentirelyonsetandsetting.Aswelldiscoveronthisetymologicaltrip,itwasallaboutmarketingtheCIAsmarketingregardingsetandsetting.Soundlikeawhackyconspiracytheoryyet?Aswellsoondiscover,
its not. The CIAs MKULTRA program was very real, was exposed before
Congress in theRockefellerandChurchCommissions,andwasallover
thenewsmedia in the1970s.But
thatwas40yearsagoandthisisnow.Sowhyshouldwecare?Becausemuchoftheprogramwasntrevealedinthe1970sandpersists
to thepresent,and itaffected justabouteveryone. Itwasnt limited to
justa fewthousand victims of the CIAs secret human experiments.
Therewere actuallymanymore victims
millionsmore.Youmayhavebeenoneofthem.
Aswell see, this idea that thepsychedelic revolution and
counterculturewere intentionally
createdaffectsmostofus:theyouthcaughtupindruguse,theparents,theantiwarmovement,thoseinvolvedin
thepsychedelic revolutionor
inpolitics;aswellasartists,orpeoplewhouse thesesubstances
forspirituality,orevenanyonewhoseverspokenthewordpsychedelic.Itaffectsusbecause,aswellsee,thatswhatitwasmeanttodo.
In the early years of research into these drugs, psychology
researchers and military intelligencecommunities sometimes called
them, aside from hallucinogen, by the name "psychotomimetic"
whichmeanspsychosismimicking.Thewordhallucinogen,togeneratehallucinations,camejustafewyears
before psychotomimetic. The same year that psychotomimetic was
created we also saw thecreation of the word psychedelic which means
to manifest the mind. The last stage of thisetymological evolution,
as well see, was the word entheogen which means to generate
godwithin.Wellreturntohallucinogenandtheseotherwordsinthecourseofourjourney.
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Whilethesewordsmayhavetoldwhatthesesubstancesdo inthe
intelligencecommunityscollectiveunderstanding,accurateornot,
theyare loadedwith
implications.Suggestibility,otherwiseknownassetandsetting,isoneofthem.Thestudyofthehistoryofthesewords,theiretymology,revealshowMKULTRAresearcherscoveredupandkeptcoveredupuntilnowthatisthisaspectoftheMKULTRAmindcontrolprogram.
PsychotomimetictopsychedelicInthe1950smostCIAcandidatesandagentswererequiredtotakepsychedelicorhallucinogenicdrugstopreparethemforchemicalandbiologicalwarfareattack.Thisrequirementdidn'tturntheagencyintohippies.Asthisarticlewillshow,marketingandPRpeoplethattheAgencylaterhiredcreatedthatendresult.
19November1953MEMORANDUMFORTHERECORD[]The Medical Office
commented also on the draft memorandum to DCI from Director
ofSecurity,subject:ProjectExperimentalProjectUtilizingTraineeVolunteers;
totheeffectthat itwas recommended the programnot be confinedmerely
tomale volunteer traineepersonnel but that the field of selection
be broadened to include all components of
theAgencyandrecommendedthatthesubjectmemorandumbechangedasappropriatetothebroadening
of such scope. The Project committee verbally concurred in
thisrecommendation.[]3~CIAMKULTRAfiles
As JayStevens,authorofStormingHeaven, reveals in the
followingquote,suggestibilityplaysa
largepartinthewaypsychedelicdrugswork.
TodrivesomeonecrazywithLSDwasnogreataccomplishment,particularlyifyoutoldtheperson
he was taking a psychotomimetic and you gave it to him in one of
those
pastelhospitalcellswithagrimnursestandingbyscribblingnotes.4~JayStevens
Psychotomimetic (psychosismimicking) is aword loadedwith
implications, suggestibility being themostimportant.This
issomething
thatAldousHuxley,Dr.TimothyLeary,R.GordonWassonandothersmadeclear
intheirbooksandarticles.Inordertosuggestwhatthecreatorsofthepsychedelicrevolutionwanted,theyhadtopayparticularattentiontothename(s)usedforthesesubstances.
What'sinaname?...Answer,practicallyeverything.5~AldousHuxley
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However, formarketingandPRpurposes,
thewordpsychotomimeticwasabandoned,orremarketed,notlongafteritwascreatedin1957.
Butwhyisallofthisimportant?
AsHuxleyjustadmittedabove:What'sinaname?...Answer,practicallyeverything.Insanity,orpsychosismimicking,oreven
generatinghallucinations, arent attractive terms
anddontworkwellformarketingpurposesorfortheoutcomeofthepsychedelicor,more
importantly,theentheogenicexperience.
Thoughthismaysoundimplausibleatfirst,thepurposeofmakingthesesubstancesmoreattractivewasto
intentionallysellthem,andnot justtopatients
inhospitalwardsandtothose
inachairwiththeirtherapists,but,especially,totheyouthandcounterculturesoftheworldanefariouspurposeindeed.HereLearyreflectsonArthurKoestlersworkregardingjuvenilization:
FromKoestler I learned about juvenilization, the theory that
evolution occurs not in
theadult(finalform)ofaspeciesbutinjuveniles,larvals,adolescents,preadults.Thepracticalconclusion:
if you want to bring about mutations in a species, work with the
young.Koestlers teaching about paedomorphosis prepared me to
understand the
geneticimplicationsofthe1960syouthmovementanditsrejectionoftheoldculture.6~TimothyLeary
Theunderstandingofsuggestibility,orsetandsetting,
includingthenamegiventhesesubstances,
iseverythinginhowpsychedelicsworkandwerestudied(andused)bytheCIAforsocialcontrol.
What could the name be replaced with? This was the problem set
before those interested inremarketing these substances to the
youth, counterculture and artists around the world.
WhendiscussinghowtomarketthesedrugswithHumphryOsmond,AldousHuxleyremarked:
Aboutanameforthesedrugswhataproblem!7~AldousHuxley
Over a couple decades this project would be undertaken by two
different teams: Aldous Huxley,HumphryOsmondandAbramHoffer;and
thesecond,headedbyProfessorCarlA.P.RuckofBostonUniversity,includedR.GordonWasson,andalsoJonathanOtt,JeremyBigwoodandDanielStaples.
SomeofusformedacommitteeundertheChairmanshipofCarlRucktodeviseanewwordforthepotionsthatheldAntiquityinawe.Aftertryingoutanumberofwordshecameupwithentheogen,godgeneratedwithin,whichhiscommitteeunanimouslyadopted[].8~GordonWasson
Andthoughtheydefendthem,MartinLeeandBruceShlainrevealsomeoftheseremarketingtacticsinAcidDreams:
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The scientist who directly oversaw this research project was Dr.
Paul Hoch, an earlyadvocate of the theory that LSD and other
hallucinogens were essentially
psychosisproducingdrugs.InsucceedingyearsHochperformedanumberofbizarreexperimentsforthearmywhilealsoservingasaCIAconsultant.IntraspinalinjectionsofmescalineandLSDwere
administered to psychiatric patients, causing an "immediate,
massive, and almostshocklikepicturewithhigherdoses."Aftereffects
("generalized discomfort," "withdrawal," "oddness," and "unreality
feelings")lingeredfortwotothreedays followingthe
injections.Hoch,wholaterbecameNewYorkState Commissioner for Mental
Hygiene, also gave LSD to psychiatric patients and
thenlobotomizedtheminorder
tocomparetheeffectsofacidbeforeandafterpsychosurgery.("It
ispossible thata certainamountofbraindamage isof
therapeuticvalue,"Hochoncestated.) Inoneexperiment ahallucinogenwas
administeredalongwith a local
anestheticandthesubjectwastoldtodescribehisvisualexperiencesassurgeonsremovedchunksofhiscerebralcortex.9~MartinLeeandBruceShlain
In the followingquote theauthors reveal theirbias in the
situation,arguing for the spiritualaspects,while in the same book
denying the psychosis aspects and that the psychedelic
revolutionwasintentionallycreatedbytheCIA:
Many other researchers, however, dismissed transcendental
insight as either
"happypsychosis"oralotofnonsense.Thekneejerkreactiononthepartofthepsychotomimeticstalwarts
was indicative of a deeply ingrained prejudice against certain
varieties ofexperience. In advanced industrial societies
paranormal" states of consciousness arereadily disparaged as
"abnormal" or pathological. Such attitudes, cultural as much
asprofessional,playeda crucial role in circumscribing thehorizonof
scientific
investigationintohallucinogenicagents.10~MartinLeeandBruceShlain
Here Lee and Shlain resort to name calling and ridicule, for
example referring to
psychotomimeticstalwartsanddeeplyingrainedprejudice,asthefoundationoftheirargumentratherthanlookingattheevidenceitselfwhichsoundsironicinabookabouttheCIAusingthesesamesubstancesformindcontrol.Andwhowerethesepsychotomimeticstalwarts?WasitonlyDr.Hoch?Aswellsee,LeeandShlain
seem to also be referring to Aldous Huxley, Humphry Osmond, Albert
Hofmann and
SashaShulgin.LeeandShlain,whilepartiallyexposingMKULTRA,thenpromotetheideathatthepsychotomimetictheorywasinvalid.Theycontinue:
Despite widespread acknowledgment that the model psychosis
concept had outlived itsusefulness, the psychiatric orientation
articulated by those of Dr. Hoch's
persuasionprevailedintheend.Whenitcametimetolaydowntheirhand,themedicalestablishmentandthemediaboth"mimicked"the
linethatforyearshadbeensecretlypromotedbytheCIA and themilitarythat
hallucinogenic drugswere extremely dangerous because
theydrovepeopleinsane,andallthistalkaboutcreativityandpersonalgrowthwasjustalotof
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hocus pocus. This perception of LSD governed themajor policy
decisions enacted by
theFDAandthedrugcontrolapparatusintheyearsahead.11[emphasisadded]~MartyLeeandBruceShlain
Hereweseetheideathatthepsychosisconcepthadoutliveditsusefulness.Whatdoesthatmeanexactly?Itsanambiguousstatement.Mostassumeittomeanthatthesubstancesdidntactuallycreatepsychosis.But
isthattrue?What if,
instead,duetotheabovementionedsuggestibilityfactorandsetandsetting,
theydecided to remarket thesedrugsasspiritual rather thanpsychotic?
Ifweentertainthisidea,werealizeitcouldtakejustanewnametochangenotonlyeverythingabouttheoutcomeoftheexperience,buthowquicklytheyouthandcounterculturewouldadoptthem.Wellexpandonthisideathroughoutthisarticle.
Ona sidenote, it shouldprobablybementioned that
itwasactuallyTimothyLearyandArthurKlepswho went (along with Walter
Bowart and Allen Ginsberg) before Congress in 1966
recommendingregulation.Youcanthaveagoodyouthfulrebellionwithlegalsubstances!
SenatorDodd.Don'tyouthinkthatthedrugneedstobeputundercontrolandrestriction?Dr.LEARY.Pardon,sir.SenatorDodd.Letmerephrasemyquestion.DontyoufeelthatLSDshouldbeputundersomecontrol,orrestrictionastoitsuse?Dr.LEARY.Yes,sir.SenatorDodd.Astoitssale,itspossession,anditsuse?Dr.LEARY.Idefinitelydo.Inthefirstplace,Ithinkthatthe1965DrugControlAct,whichthiscommittee,Iunderstand,sponsored,isthehighwatermarkinsuchlegislation.[]Dr.Leary.Yes,sir.Iagreecompletelywithyourbill,the1965DrugControlAct.IthinkthisisSenatorDodd.ThattheFederalGovernmentandtheStategovernmentsoughttocontrolit?Dr.Leary.Exactly.Iamin100percentagreementwiththe1965drugcontrolbill.SenatorKennedyofMassachusetts.SothereshouldntbeDr.Leary.IwishtheStates,Imightadd,wouldfollowthewisdomofthiscommitteeandtheSenate
and Congress of the United States and follow your leadwith exactly
that kind oflegislation.Senator Kennedy ofMassachusetts. So there
should not be indiscriminate distribution
ofthisdrugshouldthere?Dr.Leary. Ihaveneversuggested that, sir.
Ihaveneverurgedanyone to takeLSD.
Ihavealwaysdeploredindiscriminateorunprepareduse.12
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AstheUniversityofRichmondwebsiterelates:Learywas one ofmany
expertswho testified at the 1966 subcommittee hearings,whichshowed
both ardent support and uncompromising opposition to LSD.[] Just
severalmonthsafter thesubcommitteehearings,LSDwasbanned
inCalifornia.ByOctober1968,possession of LSD was banned federally
in the United States with the passage of
theStaggersDoddBill,markingatremendoussteptowardstheWarOnDrugscampaignthatwouldariseinthe1970s.13
ButwhowithintheCIAhadpromotedthistermpsychotomimetic?For a
moment, lets turn to the Oxford English Dictionary, where, under
the definition ofpsychotomimetic,itstates:
psychotomimetic,a.andn.[Orig.formedaspsychosomimetic,f.psychos(is+o+mimetica.,andlateralteredtomatchpsychotica.]A.Aadj.Havinganeffectonthemindorig.likenedtothatofapsychoticstate,withabnormalchangesinthought,perception,andmoodandasubjectivefeelingofanexpansionofconsciousness;oforpertainingtoadrugwiththiseffect.14
Under thequotations in theOED forpsychotomimetic,we further see
thatR.W.Gerard is listed
for1955,andthesecondentryfor1957isfromDr.HumphryOsmond:
1956R.W.GerardinNeuropharmacology:Trans.2ndConf.,1955132Letusatleastagreetospeakof
socalledpsychoseswhenwearedealingwith them inanimals.Along
thatsameline,IhavelikedatermwhichIhavebeenusinglatelypsychosomimeticfortheseagents
insteadof schizophrenogenic. 1957Neuropharmacology:Trans. 3rdConf.,
1956205(heading)Effectsofpsychosomimeticdrugsinanimalsandman.1957H.OsmondinAnn.N.Y.Acad.Sci.LXVI.417Thedesignationpsychotomimeticagentsforthosedrugsthatmimicsomeof
thementalaberrations thatoccur in
thepsychoseshadbeensuggestedbyRalphGerardandseemedespeciallyappropriate.15[emphasisadded]
If we read the OED entry carefully, what we see above is that
Gerard actually used the
termpsychosomimeticwithans,ratherthanpsychotomimeticwithat.Infact,itappearsfromtheOEDthatitwasOsmondhimselfwhowasfirsttobeginusingthetermpsychotomimetic,whichwasalsoadopted
by the CIA andmilitary for their purposes. This sameOsmond, aswell
soon discover, justmonths later created the name psychedelic for
these substances. Notice that Osmond states Thedesignation
psychotomimetic agents [] seemed especially appropriate. ThatOsmond
created
thewordpsychotomimeticisafactthatLeeandShlainseemtowanttoavoid.
InanotherinterestingquoteintheOEDfrom1970,weseenoneotherthanSashaShulginreferringtoibogaineasapsychotomimetic:
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1970A.T.ShulgininD.H.EfronPsychotomimeticDrugs25Ibogaineisanotherexampleinthefamilyofpsychotomimetics,withcomplexstructuresandnoresemblancetoknownmetabolicmaterials.16
WasthisaslipbyauthorsLeeandShlainrevealingthatOsmondandShulginwereCIA?
Itistrue,infact,thatbothworkedforthegovernment.WhileShulginworkedfortheDEA,hewasalsoamemberof
the infamousBohemianClub17; and aswell seebelow,Osmond is revealed
in
theCIAsMKULTRAdocuments.18Butletsnotgetaheadofourselves.Wellcomebacktothisshortly.
In 1954, predating theOEDs reference toHuxleys close
friendHumphryOsmond, in TheDoors ofPerceptionHuxleystated:
Mosttakersofmescalin[sic]experienceonlytheheavenlypartofschizophrenia.Thedrugbrings
hell and purgatory only to thosewho have had a recent case of
jaundice,
orwhosufferfromperiodicaldepressionsorchronicanxiety.19~AldousHuxley
Hecontinued:
Theschizophrenicisasoulnotmerelyunregenerate,butdesperatelysickintothebargain.Hissicknessconsistsintheinabilitytotakerefugefrominnerandouterreality(asthesanepersonhabituallydoes)
in thehomemadeuniverseofcommonsensethestrictlyhumanworld of useful
notions, shared symbols and socially acceptable conventions.
Theschizophrenicislikeamanpermanentlyundertheinfluenceofmescaline20~AldousHuxley
InHeavenandHellHuxleywenton:
Manyschizophrenicshavetheir timesofheavenlyhappiness;but the
fact that(unlike
themascalin[sic]taker)theydonotknowwhen,ifever,theywillbepermittedtoreturntothereassuringbanalityofeverydayexperiencecausesevenheaventoseemappalling.21~AldousHuxley
In their letters, Aldous Huxley and HumphryOsmondwere very
concerned overwhat to call thesesubstances,butwhyshould
thepublichavecaredwhat these twopeoplewanted tocall
them?Theywerestillmostlysecretat this timeandhardlyanyoneknewabout
themexcept
throughmarketingeffortsandpublications.Furthermore,whywereHuxleyandOsmondsoconcerned,andwhywould
itbeaproblem,unlesstherewereanulteriormotive?The issuehere
isaBernaysian/Koestlertypemarketing strategy.Withaword
likepsychotomimeticthese substances would have never taken hold in
the youth and countercultures. It was fine forunderground LSD
andother studiesby the intelligence community,but for
thenewpurpose,
theydneedanewname.FromHuxleyslettersinabooktitledMoksha,wefind:
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740NorthKingsRoad,LosAngeles46,Cal.30March,1956DearHumphry,Thankyouforyourletter,whichIshallansweronlybriefly,sinceIlookforwardtotalkingto
you at length in New York before very long. About a name for these
drugs what
aproblem!IhavelookedintoLiddellandScottandfindthatthereisaverbphaneroein,"tomakevisibleormanifest,"andanadjectivephaneros,meaning"manifest,opentosight,evident."Thewordisusedinbotanyphanerogamasopposedtocryptogam.Psychodetic(4)issomethingIdon'tquitegetthehangofit.Isitananalogueofgeodetic,geodesy?Ifso,itwouldmeanminddividing,asgeodesymeansearthdividing,
fromgeanddaiein.Couldyou call these drugs psychophans? or
phaneropsychic drugs? Or what aboutphanerothymes?Thymosmeans soul,
in its primaryusage, and is the equivalent of Latinanimus. The word
is euphonious and easy to pronounce; besides it has relatives in
thejargon of psychologye.g. cyclothyme. On the whole I think this
is better thanpsychophanorphaneropsychic.[]
Yours,Aldous
[Phanerothymesubstantive.Phanerothymicadjective.]"Tomakethistrivialworldsublime,Takehalfagramofphanerothyme.
(4) Osmond hadmentioned psychedelics, as a new name
formindchanging drugs to replace theterm psychotomimetics. Huxley
apparently misread the word as "psychodetics," hence
hismystification.Osmondreplied:"TofathomHellorsoarangelic,Justtakeapinchofpsychedelic.Huxleystilldidnotgetthespelling,whichhemadepsychodelic[Smith'snote].Huxleyinvariablyusespsychodelicforpsychedelic,asheandothersthoughtthelattertermincorrect.Huxley'sspellinghasbeen
retained, as thiswasundoubtedlyhispreference. However, it failsone
criterionofOsmond,whichisthatthetermbe"uncontaminatedbyotherassociations."22[emphasisadded]
Why was it important to meet the criterion for the new word to
be uncontaminated by
otherassociations?Theydontsay,butwecansurmisethatitsbecauseofthisremarketingstrategyandtheyneededtobecarefulofthetermchosen.Thewordpsychodeliccontainspsycho,butpsychocarriesnegativeassociations.Thisexplainswhypsychedelic
is theonlyword in theEnglish language
tousepsycheratherthanpsychothecriterionitfailedwascompleteavoidanceofanynamethatcouldimplyanegativeexperience.LeeandShlaininAcidDreamsgivetheirversionofthestorythus:
The twomenhadbeenclose friendseversinceHuxley's
initialmescalineexperience,andtheycarriedonalivelycorrespondence.AtfirstHuxleyproposedthewordphanerothyme,which
derived from roots relating to "spirit" or "soul." A letter to
Osmond included thefollowingcouplet:
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Tomakethistrivialworldsublime,TakehalfaGrammeofphanerothyme.
TowhichOsmondresponded:
TofathomhellorsoarangelicJusttakeapinchofpsychedelic.
Andsoitcametopassthatthewordpsychedelicwascoined.Osmondintroducedittothepsychiatric
establishment in 1957. Addressing a meeting of the New York Academy
ofSciences,hearguedthathallucinogenicdrugsdid"muchmore"thanmimicpsychosis,andthereforeanappropriatenamemust"includeconceptsofenrichingthemindandenlargingthe
vision." He suggested a neutral term to replace psychotomimetic,
and his choice wascertainly vague enough. Literally translated,
psychedelic means "mindmanifesting,"implying thatdrugsof this
categorydonotproduceapredictable sequenceof
eventsbutbringtotheforewhateverislatentwithintheunconscious.AccordinglyOsmondrecognizedthat
LSD could be a valuable tool for psychotherapy. This notion
represented a
markeddeparturefromthemilitarymedicalparadigm,whichheldthateveryLSDexperiencewasautomaticallyanexperimentalpsychosis.23~MartyLee&BruceShlain
Its ironic that they claimed the term psychedelic, for mind
manifesting is neutral. A moreappropriate word to describe it would
be ambiguous. But notice that its gone from mimickingpsychosis to
manifesting the mind. And just months earlier Osmond was promoting
the
wordpsychotomimetic,whichhesaidseemedespeciallyappropriate.HereLeeandShlainadmitthatAlbertHofmannwasinvolvedwiththispublicrelationsscheme:
Dr. Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered LSD, thought
Osmond's choiceappropriate, for it "correspondsbetter to
theeffectsof thesedrugs thanhallucinogenicorpsychotomimetic." The
model psychosis concept was further called into question
bypublished reports demonstrating that in many ways the comparison
between naturallyoccurring and LSDinduced psychosiswas facile.
During themid1950s, researchers
JohnMacDonaldandJamesGalvinpointedoutthatschizophrenicsdidnotexperiencethewealthof
visual hallucinations common with LSD and mescaline but were prone
to
auditoryaberrations,unlikedrugsubjects.Oddlyenough,trueschizophrenicshardlyreactedtoLSDunlessgivenmassivedoses.Asthepsychotomimeticparadigmbegantoweaken,thefocusshiftedtowardinvestigatingthetherapeuticpotentialofLSD.24~MartyLee&BruceShlain
Soweakenedwas the psychotomimeticparadigm, that
in1968Hofmanndecided touse
thewordanywayandpublishedhisessayPsychotomimeticagents.25
IthinkapossibleexplanationisthataftertheCIAdidtheirMKULTRALSDtestsontheFrenchvillageofPontSaintEsprit,theyrealizedthattheirapplicationmethodswerenteffective26,sotheyhadtocome
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upwithawaytogetyoungsterstoselfadministerthedrugs.Whattheycalledthemtoeachother,andtothepublic,aswellseemoreof,wereverydifferentthings.
Aldous Huxley, an MKULTRA architect for the CIA with ties to
British MI6, came up with
theunmarketableterm"phanerothyme"orsoulmanifesterwhichfellondeafears.Butherewebegintoseewheretheyintendedtodirecttheirpublicrelationsremarketingcampaign.Wassonetal.,undertheleadershipofProf.CarlRuck,intheir1979articleonthisverysubject,mentionedthatthewordactuallymeantadrugwhichmadeintenseemotionsmanifest,alsorelatingittoorganofpassion,temperandanger.27
From there they remarketed these substances they renamed them.
AtOsmonds suggestion
theychangedthenameagainfrompsychotomimetictopsychedelic(properlypsychOdelic)tomanifestthemind.Dr.OsmondwasaclosefriendofAldousHuxleyandhispersonaldoctorandanotherwithmanyMKULTRAandCIA/MI6ties.Butnoticetomanifestthemindthequestionoftowhomitmanifestsis
leftopen,or ambiguous.Does thismeanmanifest to theCIAsdoctors?To
thepatient/victim?Ofcoursethelatterwastheintendedtargetofthemarketing.AndtodayweknowthathundredsofdrugswerecreatedoutoftheCIAsMKULTRAstudies.
InTheManWhoTurnedOnTheWorld,MichaelHollingshead,oneofLearysstudentsatHarvard,whoalsoworkedwithhimatMillbrookandhelpedtheBrotherhoodofEternalLove,admitted:
FromwhatIhadheardinlettersandconversations,thepsychedelicmovementinEnglandwassmallandbadlyinformed.ItappearedthatthosewhotookLSDdidsoasaconsciouslydefiantantiauthoritariangesture.The
spiritual contentof
thepsychedelicexperiencewasbeingoverlooked.28~MichaelHollingshead
Howcoulditbethatthespiritualcontentwasbeingoverlooked?HowcouldeveryoneinacountrylikeEngland
just overlook the drugs spirituality and be badly informed? If they
were as spiritual asclaimed,wouldntthisfactbeselfevident?But
instead,LearygaveHollingsheadmarchingorderstogetbacktoLondontosetthingsstraighttogivethemthenewsuggestibilityandsetandsetting:
Tim came to seeme on the day ofmy departure. Hewas going to
joinme in London
inJanuary1966,whichgavemethreemonthstosetthesceneforhisarrival.TheideawastorenttheAlbertHall,or'AlpertHall'asTimcalledit,forapsychedelicjamboree.Wewouldget
the Beatles or the Stones to perform, invite other artists, and, as
the climax of
theevening,introduceTimastheHighPriest.Takingapieceofpaper
fromhispocketTimsaid, 'Theseare yourmarchingorders,
yourinstructions.'WhattheywereIdon'tknowbecausehedecidedtoscrapthemandtookacleansheetofpaperandwrotethefollowingonit:'HOLLINGSHEADEXPEDITIONTOLONDON196566Purpose:SPIRITUALANDEMOTIONALDEVELOPMENT
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TointroducetoLondontheinterpretationandapplicationsandmethodsdevelopedbyandlearnedbyMichaelHollingshead.AYOGAOFEXPRESSIONBYMH.PlanNospecificprogrammeofexpressioncanbespecifiedinadvance.TheYogamayinclude
1.Tranart*gallerybookstore.2.WeeklypsychedelicreviewslecturesquestionsandanswersTranartdemonstrations.3.RadioTVnewspapermagazineeducationalprogramme.4.CentreforrunningLSDsession.'ThusitwasIarrivedinLondoninthefallof1965,withseveralhundredcopiesofThe
Tibetan Book of theDead and thirteen cartons of the Psychedelic
Review ontheirway.29
~MichaelHollingshead
Of courseeveryHarvard studentofpsychedelicshadaccess tobands
likeTheBeatlesorTheRollingStones,andespecially to
radio,TV,newspapersandmagazines inEngland, right?This,
inmymind,raises questions if those who worked in the Harvard Social
Relations Department had possibleconnections to, not only U.S.
intelligence, but also British. We know that at least several in
thedepartment, including Dr. Henry A. Murray, Dr. Thomas Chiu, Dr.
B.F. Skinner, and Dr. GeorgeEstabrooks,were involved
intheCIAsMKULTRAprogram.Others inthissamedepartmentatHarvarddoing
similar work at that time, who also appear to have been MKULTRA
researchers, include Dr.Timothy Leary, Dr. Ralph Metzner, Richard
Price, Dr. James Fadiman, and one of MKULTRAs
mostfamousvictimsDr.TheodoreKaczynski,who,
inretaliationtotheirexperimentsonhim,becametheinfamousUnabomberandtriedtoblowtheotherstosmithereens.IthoughtforabitabouttheideasofthereligiousexperiencewithLSDandthoughtitmightbeagoodidea
forus to goback toAlbertHofmann and check thedescriptionofhis
firstexperience.Doeshementionreligionorspirituality?Thisistheofficialversionofthestory:
Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work
in the laboratory in themiddle of the afternoon and proceed home,
being affected by a remarkable restlessness,combined with a slight
dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not
unpleasantintoxicatedlike condition, characterized by an extremely
stimulated imagination. In adreamlike state, with eyes closed (I
found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring),
Iperceivedanuninterruptedstreamoffantasticpictures,extraordinaryshapeswithintense,kaleidoscopicplayofcolors.Aftersometwohoursthisconditionfadedaway.30~AlbertHofmann
Well,theresnothingthere.LetscheckthesecondinstanceofHofmannsLSDexperiences:
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13
4/19/4316:20:0.5ccof1/2promilaqueoussolutionofdiethylamidetartrateorally=0.25mgtartrate.Takendilutedwithabout10ccwater.Tasteless.17:00:
Beginning dizziness, feeling of anxiety, visual distortions,
symptoms of
paralysis,desiretolaugh.Supplementof4/21:Homebybicycle.From18:00ca.20:00mostseverecrisis.(Seespecialreport.)31~AlbertHofmann
Severecrisisdoesthatsoundlikeaspiritualexperiencetoyou?ThoughImnopsychiatrist,itdoesntto
me. In fact, from Hofmanns description, visual distortions could be
interpreted as, say,hallucinations;andaseverecrisismight
looksomewhat
likeamimickedpsychosis.MaybeHofmannwasjustbadlyinformedastheBritishlaterwere?Ok,nowforthebicycledaystory:
In spite of my delirious, bewildered condition, I had brief
periods of clear and
effectivethinkingandchosemilkasanonspecificantidoteforpoisoning.~AlbertHofmann
Delirious,bewildered,andpoisoning.Doesthatsoundspiritual?Hofmanncontinues:
ThedizzinessandsensationoffaintingbecamesostrongattimesthatIcouldnolongerholdmyself
erect, and had to lie down on a sofa. My surroundings had now
transformedthemselvesinmoreterrifyingways.Everythingintheroomspunaround,andthefamiliarobjects
and pieces of furniture assumed grotesque, threatening forms. They
were incontinuous motion, animated, as if driven by an inner
restlessness. The lady next
door,whomIscarcelyrecognized,broughtmemilk in thecourseof
theevening
Idrankmorethantwoliters.ShewasnolongerMrs.R.,butratheramalevolent,
insidiouswitchwithacoloredmask.Evenworse than thesedemonic
transformations of the outerworld,were the
alterationsthatIperceivedinmyself,inmyinnerbeing.Everyexertionofmywill,everyattempttoputanendtothedisintegrationoftheouterworldandthedissolutionofmyego,seemedtobewastedeffort.Ademonhadinvadedme,hadtakenpossessionofmybody,mind,andsoul.Ijumpedupandscreamed,tryingtofreemyselffromhim,butthensankdownagainandlayhelpless
on the sofa. The substance, with which I had wanted to experiment,
hadvanquishedme. Itwasthedemonthatscornfullytriumphedovermywill.
Iwasseizedbythedreadfulfearofgoinginsane.Iwastakentoanotherworld,anotherplace,anothertime.My
body seemed to be without sensation, lifeless, strange. Was I
dying? Was this
thetransition?AttimesIbelievedmyselftobeoutsidemybody,andthenperceivedclearly,asan
outside observer, the complete tragedy of my situation. [] My fear
and despairintensified, not only because a young family should lose
its father, but also because
Idreadedleavingmychemicalresearchwork,whichmeantsomuchtome,unfinishedinthemidstoffruitful,promisingdevelopment.[]
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14
Late in the evening my wife returned from Lucerne. Someone had
informed her bytelephone that Iwas suffering amysterious breakdown.
She had returned home at
once,leavingthechildrenbehindwithherparents.Bynow,Ihadrecoveredmyselfsufficientlytotellherwhathadhappened.32
Dizziness, fainting, surroundings transformed in terrifying
ways, the room spun, furniture
assumedgrotesque,threateningforms,restlessness,awitch,demonictransformations,alterationsinperception,ademonhad
invaded, fearofgoing insane, thequestionofdying, intensificationof
fearanddespair,andbreakdown.ThesearealltermsthatHofmannusedtodescribehisexperience.Thesedescriptionssound
exactly like hallucinations and having a mimicked psychotic
reaction much more than anightmare. Demonic possession, however,
could be interpreted as spiritual by mental
healthprofessionalssincethesepeoplewouldseedemons,orsocalledspirits,butIdontthinkitsthetypeofspiritualexperiencetowhichisnormallyreferred.Interestinglyenough,onthenextpageHofmann,asiftoanticipatesomeonefiguringouttheirmarketingschemeinthefuture,claims:
I failed, moreover, to recognize themeaningful connection
between LSD inebriation andspontaneousvisionaryexperienceuntilmuch
later,after
furtherexperiments,whichwerecarriedoutwithfarlowerdosesandunderdifferentconditions.33~AlbertHofmann
He admits that he doesnt recognize the meaningful connection to
LSD and spontaneous visionaryexperienceuntilmuch
later,thoughclaimsthiswasafterfurtherexperiments.Thatsbecausethis
ideahadtobemarketed,orsuggested
(ashiscontinueduseofthewordpsychotomimetic
in1968,above,reveals).This isalsoknownasseeding.Andaswillbe
shownbelow,Dr.Louis JolyonWest showeddrugsasa
systemofcontrolbutyouthdont takepsychotomimetics inorder
tobecontrolledbythem.Andas it justsohappens,Hofmannsbook,
translatedby JonathanOtt (hespartofmarketingteam2),waspublished
in1979.1979musthavebeenan importantyear.Well return to
it,andOtt,shortly.
Ironically,GordonWassonlateraccusedHuxley,OsmondandHoffer:
InAntiquitypeoplespokeof theMysteryofEleusis,of
theOrphicMysteries,andofmanyothers.Theseallconcealedasecret,aMystery.ButwecannolongeruseMystery,whichhaslatchedontoitselfothermeanings,andweallknowtheusesandmisusesofthiswordtoday.Moreover,weneedawordthatappliestothepotionstakenintheantiqueMysteries,now
that at last we are learning what they were. Hallucinogen and
psychedelic havecirculated comfortably among the Tim Learys and
their ilk, and uncomfortably
amongothersincludingmeforwantofasuitableword:hallucinogenispatentlyamisnomer,asalie
is of the essence of hallucinogen, and psychedelic is a barbarous
formation. No onewhorespectstheancientMysteriesofEleusis,
theSomaoftheAryans,andthefungalandother potions of the American
natives, no onewho respects the English
language,wouldconsenttoapplyhallucinogentotheseplantsubstances.34~GordonWasson
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15
Apparently, as we saw above, Wasson is saying that Osmond and
Hoffer dont respect the Englishlanguage,and
thatHuxleysandOsmondswordpsychedelic isabarbarous formation,and
likensthemtotheTimLearysandtheir
ilk.IwonderwhyWassonneverdiscussesentertainingLearyathishome?
InamomentwewereheadinguptowntoGordonWassonsapartment.OnthewayTimtoldme
that Wasson had graduated from Columbias School of Journalism, then
worked
fornewspapersasafinancialwriter,andinthethirtieswashiredbytheJ.P.MorganCompany.Sandoz
was a client. Thats how Mr. Wasson became a director, Tim concluded
thebiographical information, then hurried on. I keep him posted on
everything. I want hisguidance onwhat to do next. Sandoz has
invested a lot ofmoney in psilocybin
researchwithoutgettingpennyback.Ofcourse,Mr.Wassonsmoreawareofthisthananyone.Hesabanker.[]35~B.H.FriedmaninadiscussionwithTimothyLeary
SoWassonwasactuallyadirectorofSandozviahistiestoJPMorgan.AndthenLearyrevealsIkeephim
posted on everything. So then Wasson, who, as it turns out, headed
up the CIAs
MKULTRASubproject58programwithJPMorganBank36forwhichhewasthevicepresidentofpropagandaandknewandalsoworkedwithAldousHuxleyviatheCIAsfrontorganizationTheCenturyClub,37,38(theirlibrariansentmeFriedmanscitationwhowasalsoamember)wasbeingkeptpostedoneverythingregardingLearysHarvardstudies.Werealwaysgiventhe
illusionthatWassonhatedLeary,thatLearywas the CIAs guy turned bad,
etc. But in actuality, aswe can see, Learywasworking
closelywithWassonand,aswellreveal
inamoment,Huxley.IfLearywaskeepingtheCIA
informedofhisactionsandworkingwith them on how to create a
psychedelic revolution, as it appears, then it
changeseverythingregardingourperceptionofthehistoricaleventsasrelatedbytheofficialhistory.
Anyway,Idontwanttodigresstoofar.IshouldpointoutherethatIhadmyfirstreligiousexperiencewithpsychedelicsorentheogensontheverynightthatIhadmetTimothyLearyandDennisMcKennaonApril28,1993,after
theGatheringof theMindsconventionatChapmanUniversity
inOrangeCounty,California. It ispossible that itwas at this
conferencewhere these ideaswere
subsequentlysuggestedtomeduringLearyslecture.Ihadtakenpsychedelicsubstancesmanytimespriortothisparticularnightwithouteverhavinghadaspiritualexperience.
The ideahere isthatuntilthe idea issuggestedorseeded
intothepersonsconsciousnesstheyreunaware of it. But by planting or
seeding the ideas, these psychologistswere then able to
directpeoplesexperiences totheconclusionsthat theywanted.
Inotherwords,usingreframing,they
labelyourexperience,tellyouwhatitmeansandyouremainintheirbox.HereLearyandDr.OscarJanigerarebraggingaboutthisfact:
AConversationonLSD,1979
Leary:Yes, right right.Yeah.And,uh, Ivan.Uh,ofcourseuh, then,
thereofcourse,waspart[break
inaudiomicmuffled]coolnessoftheLosAngele[break
inaudiomicmuffled]s,uh,
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16
[break inaudiomicmuffled]cell,whateveryouwant tocall it.But
theykepta,youkepta,uhCohen:Wouldyoumindnotcallingitacell?Let'scallitacluster!Leary:Allright.[Roomlaughs]OurundercoveragentsinLosAngeleswereverycoolabout,uh,andyettheydidmoreinaverylaidbackway,uh,andit'severybitaspublicassomeofthe
other, you know, the buses running around the country [Ken Kesey
and the
Merryprankstershereidentifiedasundercoveragents].Janiger:Yeah,andthenZinnbergsaysthatthevisionaryexperience,andallofthethingshewasdoingatHarvard,andtheothers,hisresidence,andtheresthewasgivingLSDto,theynever
had a visionary, or ecstatic, or mystic experience. That the whole
thing was
aCaliforniainvention,hesaid.Leary:Wonderful!They'reright!Janiger:Theonlytimeithappened,waswhenyoucrosstheColoradoRiver.39
Osmondwasalsoatthesamereunion(AConversationonLSD,1979),whereLearyadmittedheandtheotherswereagentsandaswellseeshortly,OsmondalsoworkedonMKULTRA.FromTheLettersofAldousHuxleyandMoksha,LearysFlashbacks,andAConversationonLSD,wemayflushoutthecluesthatHuxleyandOsmondactuallywenttoCambridge(HarvardUniversity
is located inCambridge,MA)andhiredTimLearyfortheCIA:
HumphryOsmond: Remember the first time wemet, which was in
Cambridge? On
thenightoftheKennedyelection.TimLeary:1960.Osmond:1960.Wewentouttothisplace.AndTimothythenwaswearinghisgrayflannelsuitandhiscrewcut.Andwehadthisveryinterestingdiscussionwithhim.AndwhenwewentandIdontthinkItoldyouthis,Timothy.Butthenightwewentwebothsaidwhatanice
fellowhe
is.Hesayshesaveryniceman,andAldoussaiditsveryverynicetothinkthatthisiswhatsgoingtobedoneatHarvard.Hesaiditwouldbesogoodforit.AndthenIsaidtohim,Ithinkhesanicefellowtoo.Butdontyouthinkhes
justa littlebitsquare? [laughter nomention of too square
forwhat?]Aldoussaidyoumayberight,hesaidbutafterallisntthatwhatwewant?[laughter]Timothy,whenImdiscussingtheneed
forunderstandinghumantemperament this
isthestoryItell.BecauseIsaid,yeahAldousandIweredeeplyinterestedinthenatureofhuman
temperament andwemeet someonewho I think thatwas probably the
leastsatisfactory description of you ever made, Timothy. I think
even your greatest
enemieswouldnevermakethatdescription.Andwemadeit.Wewereveryveryconcernedbecausewe
held that perhaps youwere a bit too unadventurous. [for what?] You
see
whatinsightswehad.AlHubbard:Well,yousureasheckcontributedyourpart,butuh...[8:26]40AConversationonLSD1979.
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17
SoLearywashiredor recruited topopularize
thenewlynamedpsychedelicdrugs.Popularizing led,seemingly
intentionally, to stigmatizing the word psychedelic and the drugs
and resulted in
theiroutlaw.Butaswasnotedabove,inrealityLearywasofthosewhowentbeforeCongressrecommendingregulation
in 1966. Why else would they have asked Leary to do this?
Rebellious teenagers
don'tnormallyretaliatewithlegaldrugsespeciallyonesnamedpsychotomimetics.ObviouslyLearycouldnothave
done this job before the drugs were renamed. If these substances
were still calledpsychotomimetic,hiseffortswouldhavebeenwasted.It
is also a littleknown fact that a close friend of Learys, MKULTRA
author and researcher WalterBowart (OperationMind Control, 1978),
as previouslymentioned,wentwith Leary and Kleps beforeCongress
recommending the regulation of LSD and these substances in 1966.
Though
Bowartstestimonywasdefinitelythemostbalancedofalltheirtestimonies,andthoughtheywerentaskedontherecord,noneofthemadmitinthehearingsthattheywereallpalswhichgivestheimpressionthateachoftheirtestimonieswasplannedandrehearsed.BowartswifewasnoneotherthanPeggyMellonHitchcockoftheMellonbankingandGulfOilempires,and
Peggy and her famous brother Billy provided theMillbrookMansion,
funded IFIF
(InternationalFederationforInternalFreedom),andalsotheGratefulDeadsfirstalbum.ItwasLearywhointroducedWalter
to Peggy.Of course this direct connection from Bowart and his
inlaws to the promotion
ofpsychedelicdrugs,andhisgoingbeforeCongresswithLearyetal.,isentirelyomittedfromhisbook.ThefollowingquotefromtheCIAsownMKULTRAresearcher,Dr.LouisJolyonWest,whowasalsoafriendofAldousHuxley,makesclearthisagenda:
The role of drugs in the exercise of political control is also
coming under increasingdiscussion. Control can be through
prohibition or supply. The total or even
partialprohibitionofdrugsgivesthegovernmentconsiderableleverageforothertypesofcontrol.Anexamplewouldbetheselectiveapplicationofdruglawspermittingimmediatesearch,ornoknockentry,againstselectedcomponentsofthepopulationsuchasmembersofcertainminoritygroupsorpoliticalorganizations.But
a government could also supply drugs to help control a population.
This method,foreseen by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World (1932),
has the governing
elementemployingdrugsselectivelytomanipulatethegovernedinvariousways.Toalargeextentthenumerousruralandurbancommunes,whichprovidegreatfreedomforprivatedruguseandwherehallucinogensarewidelyusedtoday,areactuallysubsidizedbyoursociety.Theirperpetuationisaidedbyparentalorotherfamilyremittances,welfare,and
unemployment payments, and benign neglect by the police. In fact,
it may be moreconvenient and perhaps evenmore economical to keep
the growing numbers of
chronicdrugusers(especiallyofthehallucinogens)fairlyisolatedandalsooutofthelabormarket,with
its millions of unemployed. To society, the communards with their
hallucinogenicdrugsareprobablylessbothersomeandlessexpensiveiftheyarelivingapart,thaniftheyareengaginginalternativemodesofexpressingtheiralienation,suchasactive,organized,vigorouspoliticalprotestanddissent.[]Thehallucinogenspresentlycompriseamoderatebut
significant portion of the total drug problem inWestern society.
The foregoing may
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18
provideacertainframeofreferenceagainstwhichnotonlythesocialbutalsotheclinicalproblemscreatedbythesedrugscanbeconsidered.41~LouisJolyonWest
MarlenedeRios,oneof theonlyearlyethnobotanists tobe seemingly
forthcomingwith these facts,states:
Planthallucinogensappeartohavebeenusedbyregionalreligiousandpoliticalleadersforcontrolofpolitical,psychological,andsocialarenasusingthepowermadepossibleindruginducedalteredstates.42~MarleneDobkindeRios
MoretothisstorycanbefoundinLettersofAldousHuxley43andinHuxleysMoksha,editedbyMichaelHorowitz.
ThesebooksofHuxleyspersonal letters contain additional evidence
thathe andOsmondwent to Cambridge and interviewed Leary for the
position, as well as their involvement with
keyMKULTRAresearchers.Wealsofindmoreinformationabouttheirmarketingofthesesubstances:
1960HuxleyandOsmondvisitedDr.TimothyLearyatHarvard,wherethePsychedelicResearchProjecthadgottenunderway.HereisLearysaccountofhisimpressionsofHuxleyupontheoccasionoftheirfirstmeetingsinCambridge.44~MichaelHorowitzWetalkedabouthowtostudyandusetheconsciousnessexpandingdrugsandweclickedalongagreeablyonthedo'sandthenottodo's.Wewouldavoidthebehavioristapproachtoothers'awareness.Avoidlabelingordepersonalizingthesubject.Weshouldnotimposeourown
jargonorourownexperimental gamesonothers. Wewerenotout
todiscovernewlaws,whichistosay,todiscovertheredundantimplicationsofourownpremises.Wewerenottobelimitedbythepathologicalpointofview.Wewerenottointerpretecstasyasmania,orcalmserenityascatatonia;wewerenottodiagnoseBuddhaasadetachedschizoid;
nor Christ as an exhibitionistic masochist; nor themysticexperience
asasymptom; nor the visionarystate asamodel psychosis.AldousHuxley
chucklingawaywithcompassionatehumorathumanfolly.And with such
erudition! Moving back and forth in history, quoting the
mystics.Wordsworth.Plotinus.TheAreopagite.WilliamJames.45~TimothyLeary
Notice that Leary named Harvards Psychedelic Research Project
afterOsmonds newly
createdterm.ThoughOsmondcoinedthewordin1957,in1960LearyatHarvardhadalreadymadefulluseofit.
In fact, thePsychedelicResearchProjectwouldeventuallyrecruitmore
than40Harvarddoctorsandhundredsofstudents.Learyhadalreadybeentestingthisnewwordandhewassuccessful.Alsoofnoteisthattheyclaimedtheyshouldnotimposetheirownjargon,whilemakingupjargontoconvey
that itwasaspiritualexperience,as theydidwhen theychanged thename
topsychedelic,forcing
itonewayratherthantheother.Duetothesuggestibilityfactor,theywantedtouse
jargon
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19
thatsoundedspiritualratherthanpsychoticitsjustmarketing.Spiritualwassomethingtheycouldmarket.Theycontinued:
Dope...Muruganwastellingmeaboutthefungithatareusedhereasasourceofdope.What'sinaname?...Answer,practicallyeverything.Muruguncallsitdopeandfeelsaboutitallthedisapprovalthat,byconditionedreflex,thedirtywordevokes.Weonthecontrary,givethe
stuffgoodnames themokshamedicine, the reality revealer, the
truthandbeautypill.Andweknow,bydirect experience, that
thegoodnamesaredeserved.Whereasour
youngfriendherehasnofirsthandknowledgeofthestuffandcan'tbepersuadedeventogiveitatry.Forhimit'sdopeanddopeissomethingthat,bydefinition,nodecentpersoneverindulgesin.[]DuringtheweeksofOctoberandNovemberof1960thereweremanymeetingstoplanthe
research. Aldous Huxleywould come and listen and then close his
eyes and
detachhimselffromthesceneandgointohiscontrolledmeditationtrance,whichwasunnervingtosomeoftheHarvardpeoplewhoequateconsciousnesswithtalk,andthenhewouldopenhiseyesandmakeadiamondpurecomment....46~TimothyLearyquotingAldousHuxley
HereweseeHuxley involved
intheresearchatHarvardsPsychedelicResearchProjectandhelpingtoguideit,whilehesthererecruitingLeary,andthisislongbeforethepublichadeverheardofMKULTRA.HuxleywasthefirsttosellthisideaofsomarewardsinhisbookBraveNewWorld.Later,Wasson,whowrote
the book Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality to suggest that the
Amanita
muscariamushroomisSomaoftheRigVeda,wastoparticipateinthenextteamtoremarketpsychedelicsagain.HereMartyLeeandBruceShlainrevealtheunderlyingagendaatHarvard:
Whereas Huxley had suggested turning on opinion leaders,
Ginsberg, the quintessentialegalitarian,wantedeveryoneto have
theopportunityto takemind
expandingdrugs.Hisplanwastotelleverything,todisseminateasmuchinformationaspossible.Thetimewasripe
to launch a psychedelic crusadeand what better place to start than
HarvardUniversity,thealmamaterofpresidentelectJohnF.Kennedy?Learyseemedideallysuitedtoleadsuchacampaign.Arespectedacademic,hehadshorthair,worebuttondownshirts,andtookhisroleasascientistquiteseriously.Howironic,Ginsbergnoted,"thattheverytechnologystereotypingourconsciousnessanddesensitizingourperceptionsshouldthrow
up its own antidote. Given such historic Comedy, who should emerge
fromHarvard University but the one and only Dr. Leary, a
respectable human being,
aworldlymanfacedwiththetaskofaMessiah.47[emphasisadded]~MartyLee&BruceShlain
TheMacyconferences,includingtheControloftheMindconferences,wereCIAresearchprojects.HereweseeHuxleyopenlydiscussingthemeetingwithLearyjustmonthslaterinFebruary1961suggestingthatLearymusthavehadclearancetodiscussthemeetings.ThisisjustoneofmanyofHuxleysletterswhichrevealhis,andalsoLearys,furtherinvolvementwiththeCIAsMKULTRAprogram:
To:LearyDEARTim,
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20
6February,1961Thank youforyourletter of
Jan.23rd,whichcameduringmyabsencefirst
inHawaii,thenatSanFrancisco(wherewehadagoodconferenceonControloftheMind).Alas,Ican'twriteanythingforHarpersamtoodesperatelybusytryingtofinishabook.AtS.F.[SanFrancisco]ImetDr.[Oscar]Janiger,whomIhadnotseenforseveralyears.HetellsmethathehasgivenLSDto100painterswhohavedonepicturesbefore,during&afterthedrug,&whoseeffortsarebeingappraisedbyapanelofartcritics.Thismightbeinteresting.Igavehimyouraddress,&Ithinkyouwillhearfromhim.IalsospokebrieflywithDr.
JolyWest [prof. ofpsychiatry atU. ofOklahoma
MedicalSchoolkilledTuskotheelephantMKULTRA],whotoldmethathehaddonealotof
work in sensory deprivation, using improved versions of John
Lilly's
techniques.InterestingvisionaryresultsbutIdidn'thavetimetohearthedetails.48[emphasisadded]~AldousHuxley
DavidBlackinAcidconfirmsthattheControloftheMindconferenceswereCIAfundedthroughtheMacyFoundation:
ThespeakerwasArthurKoestler,andalsopresentwastheanthropologistFrancisHuxley.KoestlerwasalsoboundforAmerica,foraconferenceonControloftheMindorganizedbytheJoshuaMacyFoundationnowknowntohavebeensecretlysponsoredbyMKULTRA.49~DavidBlack
Eugenics and social control have been Huxley family tradition
for several generations, and we
seeFrancisHuxleysnameshowupatanotherconferencewithArthurKoestlerfromwhomwepreviouslylearned
above about paedomorphosis and juvenilization. Well leave them for
another time. In
thefollowingquotefromBraveNewWorldRevisited,Huxleydiscusseshisideasofhowtorunhisfantasyeugenics:
In the Brave New World of my fantasy eugenics and dysgenics were
practicedsystematically. In one set of bottles biologically
superior ova, fertilized by
biologicallysuperiorsperm,weregiventhebestpossibleprenataltreatmentandwerefinallydecantedas
Betas, Alphas and evenAlpha Pluses. In another,muchmore numerous
set of bottles,biologically inferior ova, fertilized by
biologically inferior sperm, were subjected to
theBokanovskyProcess(ninetysix identical
twinsoutofasingleegg)andtreatedprenatallywith alcohol and other
protein poisons. The creatures finally decanted were
almostsubhuman; but they were capable of performing unskilled work
and, when properlyconditioned, detensioned by free and frequent
access to the opposite sex,
constantlydistractedbygratuitousentertainment and reinforced in
their
goodbehaviorpatternsbydailydosesofsoma,couldbecountedontogivenotroubletotheirsuperiors.50[emphasisadded]~AldousHuxley
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21
Nowthatwehavesomehistoryandcontext,letsreturntothewordhallucinogenyetanotherwordallofthesepsychedelicsocialrelationsexpertswantuserstoleavebehind.
HallucinogensBefore the word psychotomimetic, early marketing
first took place with Dr. Humphry Osmond,
Dr.AbramHoffer,andalsoDr.JohnSmythies,whocreatedthewordhallucinogensometimeinorpriorto1953.
ThesedrugshadearlierbeendesignatedhallucinogensbyD.Johnson(Johnson1953),whoborrowedthetermfromOsmondandAmericansA.HofferandJ.Smythies.51~JonathanOtt
TheOEDstatesthetermwas firstused in1954,citingquotes
fromHofferandAldousHuxleyhimself.ThesecondcitationisfromHuxleysDoorsofPerception:
1954A.Hofferetal.
inJrnl.MentalSci.C.30Whentheliteratureisexaminedtocataloguethese
hallucinatory substances, which for convenience we have called the
hallucinogens,oneisstruckbytheirsmallnumber.1954A.HuxleyDoorsofPerception6Lysergicacid,anextremelypotenthallucinogenderivedfromergot.~OEDhallucinogen
Surprised?
Asitturnsout,Dr.HofferwasaCIAMKULTRAdoctorandworkedwithDr.OsmondperforminghumanexperimentsinSaskatchewan;aswasDr.JohnSmythies,whocontributedtoMKULTRAsubproject8attheWorcesterFoundationforExperimentalBiology.AsaCIAMKULTRAdocumentofMarch25,1964,exposes,OsmondwasfurtherinvolvedwithSubproject47withDr.CarlPfeiffer52,whowrotetheletteronOsmondsletterhead.InhisbookTheC.I.A.Doctors,Dr.ColinRossalsoreveals:
Dr. AbramHoffer describes LSD treatment he conducted in
Saskatchewan in partnershipwith Humphry Osmond before Osmond moved
to Princeton, New Jersey to become
theDirector,BureauofNeurologyandPsychiatry,New
JerseyNeuropsychiatric Institute.TheInstitute was the site of
hallucinogen experiments by Dr. Carl Pfeiffer funded throughMKULTRA
and MKSEARCH. Along with John Smythies, Carl Pfeiffer was the
Editor
ofInternationalReviewofNeurobiology.Dr.SmythieswasfromtheWorcesterFoundationforExperimentalBiology,siteofMKULTRASubproject8.ContributorstothevolumeincludedDr.
Robert Heath, who received CIA and military money for hallucinogen
and brainelectrode
implantresearchatTulaneUniversity.AssociateEditorsof thevolume
includedDr. Hoffer. Dr. Heath and the British psychologist, Dr.
H.J. Eysenck, the contractor
onMKULTRASubproject111.53~Dr.ColinRoss
In this quote the CIAs previously cited Dr. JolyonWest further
discusses Osmond and Hoffershumanexperiments:
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22
Adrenochrome. A trihydroxyindole called adrenochrome (an
oxidation product ofadrenaline) has been reported by some workers
to be hallucinogenic in intravenousdosages of 0.5 mg. Based on
these reports (including the supposed discovery of
thepresenceofincreasedamountsofthisandrelatedmetabolitesinbodyfluidsofpsychiatricpatients),anadrenochrometheoryofschizophreniawasadvancedbyHofferandOsmond(1967).54~LouisJolyonWest
WejustsawhowtheCIAfundedanorganizationcalledtheMacyFoundation,anorganizationthroughwhich
it fundedmuch of theMKULTRA research.Here Jay Stevens
discussesHoffers
andOsmondsmassivedosealcoholictreatmentwithLSDatanotherCIAfundedMacyconference:
Besides introducing theword thatwouldultimately triumph in the
public
consciousness,HofferalsobriefedhiscolleaguesonthestartlingwayinwhichheandOsmondwerenowusingLSD.UnlikemostofthetherapistsattheMacyconference,theywerenotusingsmalldoses
to "liquefy"defenses, thus speedingup the timeneeded for a
successful
treatment.UsingHubbard'scurioustechniques,theyhadbegungivingtheirpatientsmassivedosesandthenguidingthem,if
theycould,intothatpartof
theOtherWorldwhereegosmeltedandsomethingresemblingaspiritualrebirthoccurred.AsHofferdescribedit,therewasscarcelyanypsychotherapyinvolvedatall:"Theycomeinoneday.Theyknowtheyaregoingtotakeatreatment,buttheyknownothingaboutwhatitis.55~JayStevens
SoHoffer,Osmonds close friend and CIA /MKULTRA research buddy,
in 1953, alongwithOsmondhimself and Smythies, created the first
term, hallucinogen.And then in 1957Osmond created
thetermspsychotomimeticandpsychedelic,withHuxleycreatingphanerothyme.
Asifallofthiswerentenough,in1967Hoffer,alongwith(canyouguessit?)Osmond,publishedabooktitled:
THEHALLUCINOGENS.56But by 1957Dr.Osmond andAldousHuxley had already
decided theword hallucinogenwasbad!AndOsmondsnewword
psychedelicwasgood!Buthere,adecadeafterOsmondhimselfcreatedthewordpsychedelic,weseehimrevertingbacktohallucinogenwhichisolderthanhisotherword,psychotomimetic.Couldthisbebecause,asOsmondknows,thesubstancesareactuallypsychotomimeticsandhallucinogensashehadoriginallystated?Andas
itturnsout,HofferwasalsothepresidentoftheHuxley
InstituteofBioSocialResearch(greatname,huh?),andOsmondwasadirector.In1964JulianHuxley,Aldoussbrother,alongwithOsmondandHofferwouldpublishthecontroversialpaperSchizophreniaasaGeneticMorphism.57Psychedelics+paedomorphosis+schizophrenia+geneticmorphism=biosocialcontrol.Ifwe
cant trust them regarding theword hallucinogenbeingbad, thenwhy
shouldwe trust themregarding thewordpsychotomimetic
(oranyother),especiallywhenweseenoneother thanSashaShulgin, above
(who died during the writing of this article) calling ibogaine a
psychotomimetic in
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23
1970? The obvious question is then, are these substances being
suggested as spiritualwhen
theyreallyarehallucinogensandpsychotomimetics?Oristheresomethingadditionalgoingonhere?Andhereagain,Huxleyandhispalscreatethewords,andthenturnandstigmatizethemasifsomeoneelsehadcreatedthem,asiftheyhadnthiredLearytodothejob.Iknow,youcanhardlymaintainyourastonishment.Buttheresmore.Aswellseeinjustamoment,in1979HuxleysfriendR.GordonWasson,alongwithProf.CarlRuckandhisteam,wouldattempttorenamethemyetagaintoentheogens.
EntheogensIn1979Prof.CarlA.P.RuckofBostonUniversity,R.GordonWasson,JonathanOtt,JeremyBigwoodandDanielStaples,inanarticlepublishedinTheJournalofPsychedelicDrugs,Vol.11,attempttorenamethesedrugsasENTHEOGENS,meaninggeneratinggodwithin.SonowletsturntotheoriginalpaperpublishedbyRuckandWassonetal.,introducingtheirwordentheogen,toseewhattheyhavetosayregardingtheabovefacts:
When the recent surge of recreational use of socalled
hallucinogenic or psychedelicdrugs first came to popular attention
in the early 1960s, it was commonly
viewedwithsuspicionandassociatedwiththebehaviorofdeviantorrevolutionarygroups.Apartfromthe
slang of the various subcultures, therewas no adequate terminology
for this class
ofdrugs.Wordsweremanufactured,andintheirmakingtheybetrayedtheincomprehensionorprejudiceofthetimes.Out
of themanywords proposed to describe this unique class of drugs
only a few havesurvived in current usage. It is the contention of
the authorswho have subscribed theirnames to this article that none
of these terms really deserve greater longevity, if
ourlanguageisnottoperpetuatethemisunderstandingofthepast.58~CarlRuck,GordonWasson,etal
Actually,hallucinogenandpsychedelicarestillincommonusagein2014andmanyscholars,duetotheobviousreligiousconnotationsofthewordentheogen,haverefusedtoadoptit.Butsofartheauthorsdontevenmention
these facts.Andeven theabovementioned journalwhichpublished
theirarticle,TheJournalofPsychedelicDrugs,changeditsnamebutchosenottouseentheogenpertheauthorsrecommendation.In1981itbecameinsteadTheJournalofPsychoactiveDrugs.And
just to remind the reader, we saw above that R. Gordon Wasson is
heralded as the socalleddiscovererofmagicmushrooms,andheadedup
theCIAsMKULTRASubproject58programwith
JPMorganBankwhichbecameSeekingtheMagicMushroominLifeMagazineMay13,1957.59Wait,Iknow,
itsacoincidencetheory!TheyalljusthappentoworkfortheCIAsMKULTRAprogramTheresnothingtoseehere,folks.Movealong
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24
Ihavewritten severalarticlesaswellasproduced several
interviewsanddocumentaries thatexposethese facts regardingWasson,
et al., through primary CIA and various university archive
documentswhichanyonemayverify.60Anyway,wellcomeback to
theirentheogenarticle inamoment,but in themeantime,doyou
thinktheylldiscussallthosefactswepresentedabove?In Jonathan Otts
book Pharmacotheon he discusses their creation, as well as his use,
of the wordentheogen:
Asisimmediatelyobviousfrommytitle,Iusetheneologismentheogen(ic)throughoutthisbook,anewwordproposedbyagroupofscholars
includingDr.R.GordonWasson,Prof.CarlA.P.Ruckandme.Asweknowfrompersonalexperiencethatshamanicinebriantsdonotprovoke
hallucinationsor psychosis,and feel it incongruous to refer to
traditionalshamanicuseofpsychedelicplants(thatword,pejorativeformany,referringinvariablytosixtieswesterndruguse),wecoinedthisnewtermby1979(Ott1996A;Rucketal.1979;Wassonetal.1980B).61~JonathanOtt
Thewordpejorative,asdefinedbyOxfordsOED,means:a.a adj. Tending
tomakeworse; depreciatory; applied especially to a derivativeword
inwhichthemeaningoftherootwordisloweredbytheadditionofasuffixorotherwise.
When we see a definition like this, then we must ask: exactly
what was the use of the wordpsychedelicmakingworse? Inwhoseopinion
and forwhatpurpose? I thinkwere able to see
theagendanowofsuggestibilityandtheirmarketingstrategy.WhenweconsidertheseideasintermsofamarketingstrategybyHuxley,OsmondandHoffer,andbyRuck,WassonandOtt,andtheirfriends,topromotetheuseofthesesubstancesasspiritual,thentheagendabeginstocomeclear.ForamomentIwanttoturntoaquotebythefounderofpublicrelations,EdwardBernays.ImentionBernays
here, because, as Ive exposed in two previous articles, he was a
close friend of
GordonWasson.62Inthefollowingquoteregardingfluoride,Bernaysgivesusanexampleofsomeofthemediatacticsheemployed:
We would put out the definition first to the editors of
important newspapers. Then wewould send a letter to publishers of
dictionaries and encyclopedias. After six or
eightmonthswewouldfindthewordfluoridationwaspublishedanddefinedindictionariesandencyclopedias.63~EdwardBernays
Here we see Ott defining the word for himself and his group in
his own dictionary The Age
ofEntheogens&theAngelsDictionary:
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25
Entheogennov.verb.
PlantSacramentsorshamanicinebriantsevokingreligiousEcstasyorvision;
commonlyused in thearchaicworld inDivination for shamanichealing,
and
inHolyCommunion,forexampleduringtheInitiationtotheEleusinianMysteriesortheVedicSoma
sacrifice. Literally: becoming divine within. Hence: Age of
Entheogens nov. verb.,Entheogenic nov. verb. See: Enthusiasm,
Hallucinogen, Phanerothyme,
Phantasica,Pharmacotheon,Psychedelic.1979 Ruck, J.PsychedelicDrugs
11: 145. In Greek theword entheos means literally god(theos) within
In combination with the Greek root gen, which denotes the action
ofbecoming,thiswordresultsinthetermthatweareproposing:entheogen.1980WassonTheWondrousMushroom,xiv.Wearenowrediscoveringthesecretandweshouldtreattheentheogenswithrespecttowhichtheywererichlyentitled.1986WassonPersephonesQuest,31.WemustbreakdowntheDrugsofpopularparlanceand
according to their properties and overcome our ignorance, which in
this field
ismonumental.Entheogenisastepinthatdirection.1993OttPharmacotheon,19.Ihavebeenprivilegedtobeinitiatedintothesacredrealmofthe
entheogens have imbibed the amrta of Indra, the ambrosia of the
Olympian
gods,DemetersPotion;haveforbriefblessedinstantsgazedintoLordShivasblazingthirdeye.64~JonathanOtt
NoticethatOttrefersbacktohimselfandhisowncrewwheneverreferringtothewordentheogen.Thistypeofargumentisknownasbeggingthequestionorcircularreasoning,referringtothemselvestoprove
thewholeof their argument, andwell showmoreproblemswith this in
just amoment.
ThereadermayhavenoticedHuxleyandOsmondusingthissametacticabove.Ottdoesntmentionthatthewordwas
created intentionally inaneffort to remarket these
substances,again, to
teensandyoungadultsbutnowasspiritualtoolstogenerategodwithin.Aswasshownabove,HuxleyandOsmond
(whocreated thewordpsychedelic)had
recruitedTimothyLearyfortheCIA,andweknowthatLearywaspursuingHuxleysandtheCIAsgoalsasshownintheirletterswe
readabovediscussing theCIAsControlof theMindconferences.Wealso
sawabovehowLearyand Janigerbragged, regarding the
spiritualexperience, that thewhole thingwas aCaliforniainventionand
thatnooneatHarvardhadamysticalorreligiousexperienceall through
the1950s.Why is that? Its because, in this authors opinion, these
substances had not yet been
remarketed.Again,thekeyissuewiththesesubstancesissuggestibility.Theyneededanameandpsychotomimeticand
hallucinogen wouldnt create spiritual or mysticaltype experiences.
But we see Leary admit:Wonderful!Theyreright!
Leary, the author of Interpersonal Diagnostic of Personality;
Leary, the
nononsensebehaviorist:Leary,thenumberoneAmericanexpertinpersonalitytesting.65~MichaelHollingshead
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26
Yeah,thatLeary.LearyisalsothesamemanwhocreatedtheCIAsentranceexam,known,fittingly,asTheLeary.Seriously,itsnojoke.Ibetyoumustbethinkinghowserendipitous!ItwasDaveMcGowanwho,
inhisbookWeirdScenes inside theCanyon,showedthatserendipitouscameup
toooftenduringunexplainableeventswritten in
theofficialhistories.Thesame thing isfoundthroughoutpsychedelic
literatureaswell.Sohere Imgoingtouse
itforfun,takingMcGowanslead.
WearesupposedtobelievethatallofthemusicaliconswhosettledinLaurelCanyoninthe1960s
and 1970s just sort of spontaneously came together (one finds the
wordserendipitous sprinkled freely throughout the literature). But
how many peculiarcoincidences do we have to overlook in order to
believe that this was just a chancegathering?66~DaveMcGowan
Coincidently or, I mean, serendipitously, in 1979, the same year
that John Marks (Director for theBureauof
IntelligenceandResearch)publishedhisbookonMKULTRA,TheSearchfortheManchurianCandidate,GordonWasson,Prof.CarlRuckandJonathanOtt,etal.,publishedtheirpaperEntheogensinTheJournalofPsychedelicDrugs,arguingtorenamethesesubstancesyetagain.Wealsosaw,above,thatthiswasthesameyearthatHofmannpublishedLSD:MyProblemChild.Thetimingseemsjustso,well,serendipitous.OrmaybeitsbecauseWassonandHofmannjustsohappen,serendipitously,tobelistedintheintroductiontoMarksbookfortheirassistanceinitswriting:
Mythanks for theirassistance
toAlbertHofmann,TelfordTaylor,LeoAlexander,WalterLanger,JohnStockwell,WilliamHood,SamuelThompson,SidneyCohen,MiltonGreenblatt,Gordon
Wasson, James Moore, Laurence Hinkle, Charles Osgood, John
Gittinger
(forChapter10only),andalltheotherswhoaskednottobeidentified.67[emphasisadded]~JohnMarks
Ibet youreprobably thinking something along these lines right
aboutnow: TheheadofMKULTRASubproject58andthesocalled
inventorofLSDhelpingtheDirectoroftheBureauof
IntelligenceandResearchauthorabookonMKULTRA,andtheychangedthenameproactivelytoavoidthedamagefromexposureIknewit!LetmejustsaythatItotallyagreewithyou.Above
we saw Jonathan Ott create his own dictionary to define these
words, similar to the ideassuggestedbyBernays. Inmy2012article
titledR.GordonWasson:TheMan, theLegend, theMyth,
IrevealedhowWasson,withthehelpofAllanNevins,hadalsousedthesesametacticstocoveruptheHallCarbineAffairforJPMorgan,afterwhichhetitledhisownbook.
August15,1939DearMr.Andrews:
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27
IhastentowriteyoutoassureyouthatAllen[sic]NevinstreatedmymanuscriptexactlyasIwouldvewishedhim
todo.He refersand is taxed toa careful investigationwhich
hasshownthathemustannouncetransactionandwasreallyprudentandcommendable.Inanappendixhesummarizestheepisodeintwoorthreepages.Hedoesntidentifytherecentinvestigation,andforthisIamveryglad.SincehisrevisedLifecameout,heandIhadanexchangeofcordiallettersonthesubject.[emphasismine]~R.GordonWassonOctober28,1941IammostgratefultoyouforyourcommentsontheHallCarbinepaper,andweshallgiveearnestconsiderationtoyouradvice.IhavesentacopyofittoAllanNevins,withwhomIhave
often discussed it, and also to our good friend Steve Benet. We
wish to think
outcarefullyourprocedure,and,fortunately,wecanchooseourowntime.Perhapsafterweletthe
matter simmer for some months we may bring out a second and larger
edition.68[emphasismine]~R.GordonWasson
It should now be coming clear that these same public relations
techniqueswere intentionally
usedagainstthepeopleinthisremarketingofpsychotomimetictopsychedelicandthentoentheogen.JustasOsmondintroducedpsychedelictothepsychiatriccommunity,above,GordonWasson,CarlRuckandJonathanOttwouldintroducetheirnewwordtothepsychedeliccommunity,usingalmostthesamearguments(andtactics),andarguingthattheseolderwordswerenowlegacy,ortaintednomatterifbytheirownagents.
Wecommonlyrefer,forexample,tothealterationofsensoryperceptionsashallucinationandhenceadrugthateffectedsuchachangebecameknownasanhallucinogen.(1)Theverbhallucinate,however,immediatelyimposesavaluejudgmentuponthenatureofthealteredperceptions,foritmeanstobedeceivedorentertainfalsenotions.Itcomesfromthe
Latin (b)al(l)ucinari, to wander mentally or talk nonsensically,
and is synonymouswithverbsmeaningtobedeliriousorinsane.How can such
a term allow one to discuss without bias those transcendent and
beatificstatesofcommunionwithdeitythatnumerouspeoplesbelievetheyortheirshamansattainthrough
the ingestion of whatwe now call hallucinogens? The other terms are
not lessdamning.69~CarlRuck,GordonWasson,etal
Heretheauthorsusealoadedquestion,onewhichwellcoverinjustamoment.Butdamningforwhat?Also
notice their bias to sell them as spiritual rather than
hallucination causing. They appeal
tonumerouspeoplesanonspecificappealtopopularity,whileignoringanyscientificliteraturetothecontrary.Then
the authors continue, making a statement that, from the evidence
already presented, iscompletelyfalse:
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28
DuringthefirstdecadeafterthediscoveryofLSD,scientificinvestigatorsoftheinfluenceofthesedrugsonthementalprocesses(mostofwhom,itisclear,hadnopersonalexperienceof
their effects) had the impression that they seemed to approximate
deranged andpsychoticstates.70~CarlRuck,GordonWasson,etal
Aretheytryingtoclaim
that,ofallpeople,Huxley,HofferandOsmondhadnoexperiencewiththesesubstances?Thats,ofcourse,
ridiculous.Everyoneknows
thatHuxleywroteTheDoorsofPerception,andOsmondgaveHuxleythemescaline!AndHofferworkedwithOsmondandtheHuxleys.Andshouldwebelievethemwhentheysayscientificinvestigators[]hadtheimpressionthattheyseemedtoapproximatederangedandpsychoticstates?Wasitreallyonlyanimpressionthattheyseemedtoapproximate?Atthispointwouldyouprefertocallitincompetence,orlies?Itsobviouslypartoftheirmarketingstrategy.And,
ironically, inan interviewwithProf.CarlRuckathishome
in2008,Ispecificallyaskedhim
ifhedevertriedmushrooms,towhichhesaidno.HealsoadmittedtohavingonlytriedLSDonce
inhis
life.LSDwasmadeinalaboratoryandisnotashamanicsacrament.ItwasRuckwho,asheadmittedinhisinterviewswithme
andwas noted above,was the primary developer of theword entheogen.
Soshouldnthe,byhisownwords,haveexperiencewiththesesubstancesbeforetryingtonamethem?IcanthelpbutwonderifhisoneexperiencewithLSDwasduetotheCIAsrequirementfornewrecruitsmentionedatthestartofthisarticle?HeresmorefromtheirpaperEntheogens:
Psychology, which is etymologically the study of the soul, has
until recently
concerneditselfonlywithmentalillnessandaberrantbehavior,andallofthetermsformedfromthepsychorootsufferfromthisconnotationofsickness:psychotic,forexample,cannotmeansoulful.
Osmond attempted to avoid these adverse associations when he
coinedpsychedelic,(2)theonlywordinEnglishthatemploystheanomalousrootpsycheinsteadof
psycho, in hopes that this term, as distinct from "psychotomimetic,
might
indicatesomethingthatrevealsthesoul.71~CarlRuck,GordonWasson,etal
Noticehow,justaswithphanerothymeandpsychedelic,above,theideaistopromotethesesubstancesasspiritual.NoticealsothatRuckconfirmswhatIvestatedaboutthemarketingstrategy,above,thatOsmonds
rules about the new word were in hopes that this term, as distinct
from"psychotomimetic,mightindicatesomethingthatrevealsthesoul.Someofyoumaybethinkingrightaboutnow,oryouhavebeenforsometime,well,psychedelicsandmushrooms
DO generate religious and spiritual experiences! Well, as weve seen
throughout
thispaper,anditreallyshouldntbeallthatmuchofasurprisebynow,muchofthatassumptionappearstohavebeenpublicrelationstoo.Thetopicofdarkshamanismshouldalsobementioned,butistoovastforthisarticle,soIofferabriefquotefromProf.NeilWhiteheadandDr.RobinWrightinstead:
Amazonianshamanismisnotalovinganimism,asitsmiddleclassurbanvulgatewantustobelieve.Itisbetterunderstoodasapredatoryanimism:subjectivityisattributedtohumanand
nonhuman entities, withwhom some people are capable of interacting
verbally and
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29
establishingrelationshipsofadoptionoralliance,whichpermitthemtoactupontheworldinordertocure,tofertilize,andtokill.[]Whereasneoshamanismisturnedontheremodelingofindividualsubjectivities,indigenousshamanism
is concerned with producing new persons and social relationships
from
thestockofhumanandnonhumansubjectivitiesexistinginthecosmos.72~NeilWhiteheadandRobinWright
To summarize these ideas further, it was weaponized anthropology
being used against us and theMazatecpeoples;
itwaswhatGregoryBatesoncoinedasnativerevivalismbeingremarketedtothepublic
which laterbecame the ArchaicRevival. Prof.David Price
citesBatesonsdeclassifiedOSSmemoonthese
ideas.Unfortunatelywedontknowexactlywhatthissignificantexperimentwas,orwhere
its findingswerepublished.This
issomethingthatanthropologistsseriousaboutgettingto
thetruthneedtoinvestigateandmakepublic:
The most significant experiment which has yet been conducted in
the adjustment
ofrelationsbetweensuperiorandinferiorpeoplesistheRussianhandlingoftheirAsiatictribesinSiberia.Thefindingsofthisexperimentsupportverystronglytheconclusionthatitisveryimportanttofosterspectatorshipamongthesuperiorsandexhibitionismamongtheinferiors.
In outline, what the Russians have done is to stimulate the native
peoples
toundertakeanativerevivalwhiletheythemselvesadmiretheresultingdancefestivalsandother
exhibitions of native culture, literature, poetry, music and so on.
And the
sameattitudeofspectatorshipisthennaturallyextendedtonativeachievementsinproductionororganization.
In contrast to this, where the whiteman thinks of himself as amodel
andencouragesthenativepeopletowatchhiminordertofindouthowthingsshouldbedone,wefindthatintheendnativisticcultsspringupamongthenativepeople.Thesystemgetsoverweighed
until some compensatory machinery is developed and then the revival
ofnativearts,
literature,etc.,becomesaweaponforuseagainstthewhiteman(Phenomena,comparable
toGhandisspinningwheelmaybeobservedin Irelandandelsewhere).
If,onthe other hand, the dominant people themselves stimulate
native revivalism, then thesystem as a whole is much more stable,
and the nativism cannot be used against
thedominantpeople.73[emphasisadded]~GregoryBateson
Foracloser lookatthisnativerevivalismandhow itwasused intheWest,
letsgetbacktoGordonWassonandtheMazatecmushrooms.Although Dr. Andy
Letcher overlooks Wassons ties to public relations and the CIAs
MKULTRASubproject58program,he revealsWassonshypeof
themushroomsasspiritual. InhisbookShroomLetcherstates:
ThatWassonwas captivatedbyher [Sabina] seemsunderstandable,
given thesequalities[charismatic].What is less understandable is
why he dismissed the other curanderos
heencounteredassecondrate,practitionersofadegenerate tradition:
their
standingwasashighasSabinaswithintheirrespectivecommunities.[]
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30
ButIthinkitmostcompellingthatWassonalighteduponSabinaasthearchetypalshamanbecause
she neatly fitted his preconceptions about what a priestess of his
old
religionshouldlooklike.OnfindingSabina,hisheartmusthaveskippedabeat,forinherhesawthemissinglinkforwhichhehadbeenlooking.[]Devout,suffering,compassionate,generous,humble,alovinganddevotedmother,amystic,awomanwithout
stain: shewasamostMarylike figure, andas such she slotted
soveryeasilyintoWassonsHighChurchexpectations.[]Theonlyproblemwithallofthiswasthattheveladaswerenotreligiousceremonies.Thatis,thougheachwasframedwithinauniqueandadaptiveblendofCatholicandpaganritualactions
prayers to Christian saints and Mazatec spirits, for example they
were notperformed as an act of worship, or to induce mystical
experiences of God: they wereperformed for the serious and
pragmatic purposes of healing. Sabina was clear on thematter:
thevigilswerentdone for thesimpledesire to findGod,butweredonewith
thesolepurposeofcuringthesicknessthatourpeoplesufferfrom.TofindGod,SabinalikeallgoodCatholicswenttoMass.[]The
anthropological heresy thatWasson committed, therefore, was that he
forced thesecomplex indigenous healing practices to fit in with his
own preconceptions rather
thanattemptthemoredifficulttaskoftryingtounderstandthemontheirownterms.HewenttoMexico
with his vision of the ancient mushrooming cult fully formed, and
projected
thepriestlyroleontoSabina[].74[emphasisadded]~AndyLetcher
CitingMariaSabinasown1981
interviewandbookwithAlvaroEstrada75,LetcheraccusesWassonofanthropologicalheresy,wordsthatcertainlyringtrueherewithregardtonativerevivalism,andwellseemoreofthisweaponizedanthropologyasweprogress.AnotheraccuratewordthatLetcherusedregardingWassons
selling themushroomsas spiritualwas lies.76Also,did younoticehow
Letcherpointedout thatMariaSabinawasaveryMarylike figure?Sheevenhad
therightnameMaria isSpanish forMary,makinga subtle suggestion toa
religiousexperience.How serendipitous! And
itgetsevenbetter.Mariabelongedtooh,Illjustlethertellyouherself:
Ive belonged to the sisterhoods for thirty years. Now I belong
to the Sisterhood of theSacredHeartof
Jesus.Thesisterhoodiscomposedoftenwomen.[]Eachmemberisalsocalledmother.OurtaskconsistsofmakingcandlesandgatheringmoneytopayforthemassthatisgivenmonthlyinthankstotheSacredHeartofJesus.77~MariaSabina
MariaSabinawasadevoutCatholic.There isnoevidence
thatshehadeverused themushrooms
foranythingotherthanhealing.NearlyallofthelyricsforhersocalledveladasarethenamesofChristiansaints(includingJesuss)mixedwithwordsforhealing.78
DuringmyvigilsIspeaktothesaints:toLordSantiago,toSaintJoseph,andtoMary.Isaythenameofeachoneastheyappear.IknowthatGodisformedbyallthesaints.Justaswe,together,
form humanity, God is formed by all the saints. That is why I dont
have
apreferenceforanysaint.Allthesaintsareequal,onehasthesameforceastheother,nonehasmorepowerthananother.79
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31
~MariaSabina
Mycologist Dr. Brian Akers, who also possesses a Master of Arts
in Anthropology and a degree
inComparativeReligion,andwhosworkedonvariousprojectswithProf.Ruck,inTheSacredMushroomsofMexico,admits:
Themushroomindicateswhatmadethepersonsick,andisabletosaywhatthewitchcraftwas,whodidit,onwhatday,aswellasthemotive,andcanwellindicatewhetheritpertainstoafright(unespanto)orsicknessthatcanbecuredwithothermedicines.80~Dr.BrianAkers
InPersephonesQuest,Wassonhimselfadmitsthesefacts:I have one more
publication to report in the Mexican field. In 1958 I taped a
completeceremony of Maria Sabinas velada, as we have come to call
the customary
nighttimesession.Aboyabout17yearsoldhadcontractedaserious
illnesswhenworkingdowninthehotcountry:somethingwasgravelywrongwithhisliverorkidney.MariaSabinawoulddevoteherhealingveladatoaskingthemushroomswhethertheboywouldliveordie,andifhewastolive,whatheshoulddotorecover.Theverdicthoweverwasthattheboyhadtodie:withinweekshewasdead.81~R.GordonWasson
Wassonadmitsthat
itwasacustomarynighttimesessionandthatMariawashealinga17yearoldboy
who died weeks later. Furthermore, curandero, from cure, means a
healer. And while MariaSabinaappearedasa religious,godly figure
thatWassoncouldmarket to thepublic,
in1953Wassonmetanothercuranderoanddidaveladawithhimaswell.UnfortunatelyforWasson,thiscuranderowas
a oneeyed butcher and didnt fit the saintly image hewould a few
years later play upwithSabina:
The velada was held on the night of Saturday, 15 August 1953
stretching into the
earlyhoursofthefollowingday,inHuautladeJimenez,Oaxaca.WeweretalkingwithoneofourbestinformantsinHuautla,donAurelioCarreras,aoneeyedbutcher.[]Hehadfurnishedus
with entheogenic mushrooms of two species and clearly meant us
well. He had nosuccess in finding shaman [] As we chatted with
Aurelio, quite casually, don
Robertoasked,Andtellus,Aurelio,whenyougivetreatments(hacecuraciones),aretheysuccessful?Always,heanswered.For
days we had been talking to a cotacine (onewhoknows in Mazatec,
shaman) allunawares.82~GordonWasson
So in in 1953Wasson andWeitlaner had alreadymet a
shaman,Aurelio, and had already seen
aveladaanddecidedthatAureliowasntamarketablefigure.Aurelio,theoneeyedMazatecbutcherfromHuautladeJimenezdoesntsoundascharmingasMariaSabina,thesabia,does
it?Infact,he
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32
soundsmore like Jack
theRipper.Furthermore,Aureliosmokedabig,black,strongcigarallnightandsweatedprofusely.83Buttofurtherprovethatthesesubstanceswereusedforhealing,noticeabovethatAureliowouldgivetreatments,whichsoundsstrikinglysimilartosomethingadoctorwoulddo.Furthermore,AureliohadaskedwhatproblemtroubledWassonandWeitlaner,towhichWassonreplied:
WesaidwewishedtohavenewsofoursonPeter,age18,fromwhomwehadnotheardformanydays.(Peterdidnotknowouraddress.)Thisseemedalegitimatereason.84
Later,regardinglostobjects,Wassonadmits:Thenativestoldusofotherwonderswithinthepowerofthemushroom:1)ifayoungwifevanishes,themushroomtellsinavisionwheresheis;2)ifmoneyhasdisappearedfromasecret
place, the mushroom reveals who has it and where it is; 3) if the
burro
hasdisappeared,themushroomssayswhetherheisstolenandtowardwhatmarketheisbeingdrivenforsale,orelsewhetherithasfallenintoabarrancawherehelieswithabrokenleg;4)ifaboyinthefamilyhasgoneawayintotheworld,perhapstotheStates,themushroomwillbringnewsofhim.TheIndiansareagreedonthesematters.85~GordonWasson
Asidefromhealingwehave:findingayoung,cheatingwife,lookingforstolenmoney,findingamissingjackass,andtrackingdownaboyinthefamilywhosgoneintotheworldtheseusesarewhatWassonandRuckseektorenameentheogen.Embellishing
thestoryto its furthestextreme,
inhisbestWassonianprosewhilereferringtoMexicanauthor Fernando
Benitez, Akers states: Benitez was personally referred to the
curandera MariaSabinabyR.GordonWassonandcontinueson,andquitefalsely
Imightadd:BenitezpresentsanaccuratepictureofthesacredmushroomcomplexoftheMazatecs[]butAkersclaimcouldntbefurtherfromthetruth:
Unconstrained by formal stylistic conventions of strictly
scientific or anthropologicalinvestigations,Benitezheregiveshis
sensibilitiesasawriter free reign []. Inparticular,Benitez account
brings out one inescapable feature of the experience brought on
byingestion of the mushrooms, namely its intensely personal
quality. As a result,
Benitezpowerfullydrawsthereaderintohisnarrative,offeringobservationsthatdovetailthoseofauthors
such as [are you ready for it?] Aldous Huxley, AlanWatts, Huston
Smith and R.Gordon Wasson. He paints an especially compelling
portrait of Maria Sabina, whoseessential character seems to
emergeas a sortofnativeMexicanversionof St. TheresaofAvila,humbly
livinga lifeof complete fidelity tohermysticalvisions, recognizing
in
theirinspirationanoverwhelmingrealitybeyondthereachofdoubt.Inthisrespect,thisaccountforeshadowsthebookMariaSabina:HerLifeandChantsbyAlvaroEstrada(1981),whichfirst
appeared in the original Spanish in 1977. Benitez contributions
have been widelyacclaimed. As noted by anthropologist Peter Furst,
a leading expert on the
indigenouscontextofhallucinogens,suchastheritualuseofpeyoteandtheHuichol(1972,1976).86~BrianAkers
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33
Akers states thatBenitez is Unconstrained by formal stylistic
conventions of strictly scientific oranthropological
investigations, which normally translates to youre about to hear a
lot ofpoppycock. Akers thenclaims
thatBenitez:powerfullydrawsthereader
intohisnarrative,andhasobservationsthatdovetailthoseofauthorssuchasAldousHuxley,AlanWatts,HustonSmithand
R. GordonWasson. He paints an especially compelling portrait of
Maria Sabina, the
St.TheresaofAvila,andanoverwhelmingrealitybeyondthereachofdoubt.Wellseeaboutthat.HealsoclaimsthatthisaccountforeshadowsthebookMariaSabina:HerLifeandChantsbyAlvaroEstradabuthedoesntmentionthat,aswellseebelow,SabinaentirelycontradictsBenitezversionofthestory.Andthatsnotall.AstartlingdiscoverybyanthropologistProf.JayCourtneyFikesinhisbookCarlosCastaneda:AcademicOpportunism
and the Psychedelic Sixties, 1993,87 revealed that Prof. Peter T.
Furst, Dr. BarbaraMyerhoff,andDr.CarlosCastanedahadcollaborated
together tomislead their readers regarding
theHuicholfordecadesandhadcommittedacademicfraud.WhenFikes
firstwentpublicwith the information inhisbook,Furst threatened to
suehispublisher.Ratherthanstandingfirm,Fikespublisherpanickedandpulledhisbookfromprint.AndFikesandotheranthropologistshadalreadybroughtchargesofacademicfraudagainstFursttotheEthicsCommitteeoftheAmericanAnthropologicalAssociationin199288,whichalsobackeddownduetoFurststhreats.Dueto
thedepthof this scandalaswevebeen revealinghere,werebeginning
tounderstandwhatwasmostlikelytheunderlyingcausethatgottheAnthropologicalAssociationtobackdown.Furstwillhavenosuch
luckhere. Id love toget thisscandalon theofficialrecord.Attempts to
interviewFursthavefailed.InaJuly2011interviewwithme,Fikesstated:
NeitherFurstorMyerhofforCastanedahadanyfieldnotesortaperecordingsandnobodyelseamongtheHuicholswhohasstudiedthemhasfoundanythinglikethat.It'snotpartofanyHuicholritual.Sothereisnobasisforitatall.It'safabricationandit'safabricationinthatwehavethreepeoplewhokneweachotherverywellCastaneda,FurstandMyerhoffallwritingstrikinglysimilarreportsaboutwaterfalljumping(Fikes1993:7075).~JayCourtneyFikes
Akersclaimsarequiteoverreaching,tosaythevery
least.Fikespublishedhisbook
in1993,andAkerspublishedin2007,sotheresnoreasonforDr.Akers,withaMastersinAnthropology,tonotknowthefactswhenheclaimsPeterFurst,aleadingexpertontheindigenouscontextofhallucinogens,suchastheritualuseofpeyoteandtheHuichol.And(forthisarticle)HuxleysandWassonsintegrityareunderquestion(wellhavetoleaveWattsandSmithforanothertime),andnowweseethatBenitezfitstightlyintotheircamp,as,seemingly,doesAkers.Butagain,wecanseewhatappearstobeAkersand
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34
Benitez steering theconversation inapredetermineddirection
(justasHuxleyandWasson),which isbehaviorunbecomingacademia.Though
Ill let the readerbe the judge, itappears thatBenitez
(andAkersifheknew)havecommittedthesameanthropologicalheresythatWassondid,above.Inthefollowing
Benitez quotes (translated by Akerswe verified his translation and
its accurate) we seeBenitez acting seemingly as a good PR man,
literally taking as much fictional liberty with
theanthropologicalfactsregardingMariaSabinaandtheMazatecashepossiblycould.InthisfirstquoteheadmitsthathecouldntunderstandtheMazateclanguage:
Unfortunately, the fact that Maria speaks Mazatec exclusively
has prevented me
fromknowingherinallherspiritualwealthanddepth.Notwithoutovercominganolddistrust,sheagreedtotellmeher
lifestoryinthreesessions,andalthoughshehadasatranslatorthe
intelligent teacherHerlinda,
anativeofHuautlawhospeaksMazatecperfectly,
itwasquicklyrevealedthatnotonlywassheincapableoftranslatingMariaspoeticthought,butalso
distorted themeaning and originality of her story in passing it
through the filter
ofanothercultureandsensitivity.89~FernandoBenitez
SoBenitezcouldntunderstandasinglewordSabinasaid:Unfortunately,thefactthatMariaspeaksMazatec
exclusively has prevented me from knowing her [...]. He then states
Not
withoutovercominganolddistrust,buthedoesntstateanolddistrustofwhat.WasitWasson?Aswellseeinamoment
it likelywas.Afterall,Wasson senthim there.He then claims that the
translatorwhospeaksMazatecperfectlywas incapableof
translatingMariaspoetic
thought,andthensaysshedistortedthemeaningandoriginalityofherstory.ButhowcouldBenitezpossiblyknowthis
ifhedidntspeakawordofMazatec?And,ironically,BenitezprovidesnodetailednotesorrecordingsofhisconversationwithSabina.Hethenusesassumingwords:
inallherspiritualwealthanddepth.Thequestionthenbecomes:WasBenitezawillful
idiot?Or,
likeFurst,Myerhoff,Castaneda,Wasson,and,apparently,Ruck,awillfulparticipant?AbovewesawAkersstate:Benitezwaspersonallyreferredtothe
curandera Maria Sabina by R. Gordon Wasson. And would you believe
it?
Serendipitously,WassonhadworkedwithFurstandCastaneda.FromTheValleyNews,March27,1970:
The uses of hallucinogenic drugs by other societies will be
investigated by a group ofscholars []. Titled Hallucinogenic
DrugUse inNonWestern Cultures, the series
startsMarch30inWoodlandHills[],andMarch31atUCLA[].Films,Slidesanddiscussionwillsupplementthelectures,andamongthefilmstobeshownwill
be the first documentary on theHuichol Peyote cult ofMexico. []
Coordinating
theprogramwillbePeterT.Furst,researchanthropologistatUCLA.In the
first lecture of the series, Carlos Castanedawill discuss the
concept of a
separaterealitythroughtheuseofhallucinogens,relatinghisexperiencesasanapprenticeshamaninNorthernMexico.[]
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35
PeyoteuseamongtheHuicholsofMexicowillbeseeninafilmandlecturebyPeterT.Furst.TheSacredMushroomofMexicoisthetopicofapresentationbyR.GordonWasson,whobegan
research in 1927 leading to his famous studies of the mushroom and
botanicalidentification of Soma, the sacred substance worshipped by
ancient IndoEuropeans,
onwhichWassonwillgiveasecondlectureforthefinalmeetingoftheseries.90
And although Ive truncated the news article for brevity, other
scholars in the lecture series wereWeston Labarre, Marlene Dobkin
de Rios, James W. Fernandez, Richard Evans Schultes, Michael
J.Harner,andWilliamA.Emboden,Jr.WealsohaveCarlosCastanedameetingupwithWassonattheCenturyClub,aCIAfrontorganizationthat
Ive exposedpreviously,which appears fromdocumentswasheadedby
theDirectorofCentralIntelligence,AllenDulles.JustoneofthelettersbetweenWassonandDullesreleasedtomethroughCIAFreedomofInformationAct(FOIA)requests,states:
3April1957DearGordon:Itwasagreatpleasuretowritealetterofrecommendationonbehalfofmygoodfriend,EllsworthBunker,totheCenturyAssociation.Iencloseacopy.Itwasgoodtohearfromyou.LetmeknowifyouareinWashington.91~AllenDulles
HereisWassonremindingCastanedathatthetwohadmetupattheCenturyClub,aswellasatFurstsconference,above:
10January1976DearMr.Castaneda:AfterthesemanyyearsmayIremindyouofsomeexchanges,mostlyepistolary,thatwehadatthetimeofthepublicationofyourfirstbook.Yousentmewithalongletteradozenpagesofyour
fieldnotes,not thescribblednotes thatyoumade inDon
Juanspresents,but
theonesthatyouwroteoutwithinhoursoftheendofyoursessionwiththem.Then,later,youcame
and had drinks with me at the Century Club in New York, and some
monthsafterwardswesaweachotherbrieflyattheseriesoflecturesthatPeterFurstorganizedatUCLA.92~GordonWasson
ButbeforeIdigresstoofar,letsgetbacktoBenitez.Hecontinues:
Firstwenotethatthecurandero,tocommunewiththesegods,undergoesatransformationbywhichhehimselfbecomesagod.Noeffortisnecessarytodemonstratetheexistenceofthesegods.TothisdayinHuautlaproofthatthemushroomissacredisestablishedbytheincontrovertiblefactthateatingitissufficienttofeelitssupernaturaleffects.93~FernandoBenitez
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36
Benitezlaterclaims:
Onthewhole,themostimportantthinginthisreligiousmixtureistheecstaticexperience,consideredasthereligiousexperienceparexcellence.(17)Thereforetheoneswhodominate
intheSierraarenotthecuranderosorCatholicpriests,but theoneswho
resort to the sacredmushrooms,beingwithina varietyof
techniquespoorlystudiedthespecialistsofatranceduringwhichthesoulisbelievedtoabandonthebodyandundertaketh