Discussion 2: Textual Data
To minimize the distortions that arise from asking simple yes/no questions, respondents were allowed to freely comment on a number of questions in a textual format. In particular, questions related to the following hallucinogenic effects were allowed textual responses: changes in thought, changes in emotion, spiritual experiences, nature of sensory mixing, elaboration on visual and auditory hallucinations, alterations in personal identity, and long term effects of using hallucinogens.
Now, it is in this data that the complexity of the hallucinogenic experience and individual differences become apparent. The reader can view individual textual responses at their leisure elsewhere in this file. What will be outlined below is my attempt to find generalizations to the various textual responses. No numerical analysis of textual data will be presented. The reader is invited to attempt to find their own generalizations in the textual data, and these may or may not agree with what I present below. If you are so inclined, please write me to discuss any thoughts you may have about the data or ideas presented in this report.
A. Changes In Thoughts
This was one of the most complex categories in terms of textual analysis. It was discovered that respondent comments could be broken down into four main sub-categories:
1. changes related to how the mind operates,
2. changes in the content of thoughts,
3. changes related to emotion and thought, and finally
4. an 'other' category was devised to account for anything that did not fit the previous three subcategories.
Changes reported in the operation of the mind. This included: increased speed of thought, increased clarity of thought, increased scope or depth of thoughts, increased spontaneous associations or insights, increased complexity of thoughts, onset of what one respondent termed a "meta-sense" which is the ability to "step outside of oneself", inability to hold or recall thoughts of greater complexity, and alterations in patterns of attention.
This data indicates that hallucinogenic drugs can trigger a hyperactive mental state in which many aspects of cognitive function appear to be enhanced. And actually, from the textual analysis it is clear that not only are the normal functions of the mind enhanced but, in this hyperactive state, new properties of the mind emerge such as the "meta-sense".
Changes in the content of thoughts. These were the following: perception of unity, increased insight into the processes of nature, increased self-reflectiveness and self-understanding, realization of the ineffable, realization of the irony/absurdity/meaninglessness of life on a grand scale, disenchantment with conventional values, ideas of the illusory nature of reality. Some respondents reported increased paranoia.
What is interesting here is the general similarity of these thoughts to ideas expressed in Eastern philosophy, especially yoga , Hinduism, Tantra, Buddhism, etc. These respondent comments clearly support the contention of thinkers such as Alan Watts or Timothy Leary and many others who have drawn parallel to the hallucinogenic experience and Eastern philosophies. Thus, the changes in the content of thought appear to be quite similar to those that occur under conditions of enhanced kundalini. For example, in the Table Effects of Kundalini it is said that during kundalini awakening "the hidden meaning behind the (Indian) scriptures are revealed". Clearly we are observing here psychedelic-induced mystical experiences.
Changes related to emotion and thought. What respondents reported here were the following: paranoid thoughts, enhanced sense of significance and importance to thoughts, enhanced empathy (which one respondent called "telepathy"), all of which would direct thought processes. Regarding the idea of enhanced sense of significance or importance of thoughts, it's important to point out that rarely did this involve egoistic or narcissist elements when reported. Instead, the significance of the thoughts tended to result in a humbleness of the person and a sense of the greatness of the world and of existence. In general, emotional effects on thought had to do with the effects of the extreme emotional amplification caused by the hallucinogen (see below) and its subsequent effect on thought processes.
The "other" sub-category. Reported were the following: enhanced creativity, ego-loss or loss of sense of self, the ability to look at situations from multiple perspectives simultaneously, the emergence of novel and alternative perspectives on situations, a sense of abstractness of everyday objects and events, more "open minded", increased questioning, and a greater "direct" apprehension of things, sense that all things - both inanimate and animate - are alive.
In general, it appears that psychedelics can enhance creativity, but not in the conventional sense of artistic creativity, but a type of creativity that allows one to look at things in a new way. One might call this an adaptive creativity; neuropsychologists refer to this as divergent thinking. Also, the diminishing of the sense of one's own self-importance and ego boundaries appears to occur fairly consistently. Both of these observations have been made in connection with psychedelic drugs [1].
We will see that all four of these sub-categories tie in closely with textual reports regarding the other psychedelic effects.
B. Changes In Emotion.
Alterations in emotions reported by respondents include the following: euphoria, paranoia, amplification of emotions, emotional feeling of "openness" to things, loss of emotions, dissociation of thoughts from emotions, enhanced empathy.
Overall, the consensus amongst respondents was that hallucinogenic drugs amplify emotions so that whatever one is feeling at the moment becomes much, much more intense. However, in seeming contradiction to this, many respondents also reported loss or dissociation from emotions, and this appeared to be closely related to the "meta-sense" described above (i.e. the ability to mentally "step outside of oneself" and conceptualize oneself from novel perspectives). Clearly, these emotional changes are similar to those reported by people who have undergone Kundalini awakening.
It appears that there is a synergistic effect occurring during the hallucinogenic experience. Enhanced self-insight reveals deep seated emotional patterns, perhaps unconscious or taken for granted, patterns from which one is dissociated during the drug experience. Because of this dissociation, one can obtain novel perspectives of oneself and obtain new self insight, perhaps overcoming what were previously unconscious hindrances. Clearly this is a therapeutic process. Again, for most average drug users this may be a cathartic process, painful at first, but with repeated drug experiences, and the time in between to integrate whatever insights were retained from the experience, the potential for self growth is very great. And of course, such a process ties into the theories of kundalini in that kundalini is seen as a "fire" which burns away unnecessary residues from consciousness, be these hidden emotional blockages or poor beliefs and attitudes. It appears that hallucinogenic drugs are triggering off a very similar cathartic, transformative phenomena.
C. Spiritual Experiences.
When asked if subjects had ever had anything akin to a religious experience the textual responses, taken in conjunction with the descriptions of changes in thought and emotion begin to reveal a consistent world-view, again, one highly similar to Eastern teachings such as the Upanishads for example. This is a very interesting observation when you consider that the vast majority of survey respondents were from Western industrialized nations (see Subject's Profiles). Is it possible that the roughly 87% of survey respondent reporting explicit spiritual experiences were students of Eastern philosophy? Though the survey design made no attempt to check for this data, it is highly unlikely. It seems more reasonable to believe that whatever psychedelic drugs are doing to the psyche is very similar to the results of Eastern yogic methods, again supporting the contention that hallucinogenic effects may be closely related to kundalini phenomena.
The "spiritual" experiences reported by hallucinogenic users were very similar to changes in thought content described above. These were: realization of the interconnectedness/unity of things, recognition of balance and harmony in nature, realization that absolute truth is ineffable (not expressible in words), identification with and direct apprehension of a transcendental force (which many respondents explicitly refused to call "God" though other were comfortable to use this term), insight into the nature of things, openness to nature, new self-insight, sense of purpose in life, transcending the pressures of society, psychic and occult experiences (seeing past lives, having OBEs, etc.), sense of profundity, apprehension of ephemeralness/illusory quality of existence, sheer bliss, death and rebirth experiences.
Of course, not all respondents reported all of these types of spiritual experiences. Some people reported quite negative experiences, though some considered them spiritual nonetheless. Also, interestingly, a number of respondents explicitly stated that their spiritual experiences had nothing to do with religion and many of the people drew a clear line between religion and spirituality.
Again, the spiritual experiences reported by the survey respondents are incredibly similar to Eastern teachings which see all nature as a unified diversity of living existence, that see reality as illusion (Maya), that teach that supreme truth is ineffable. Again, it is very unlikely that all survey respondents reporting spiritual experiences were students of Eastern thought, especially given the age bracket of the majority of respondents (19-25 years). Only two respondents made any statement about Eastern thought. One referenced Buddhism, saying:
"I had no experience with Buddhist ideas - a complete virgin to that - but came out of the LSD trip with a completely new and deep understanding of the meaning of reality, the "yin yang" of everything. understood why the Buddha laughed and everything - things I had no idea about before."
The other, the only one of all 61 respondents who explicitly stated the ideas underlying the survey, said:
"When I look back on my (LSD) experiences, I now notice quite a few correlations between chakras, OBEs, and other spiritual events. At the time I was using, considering my religious background these things frightened me beyond all comprehension at times. It wasn't until last year that I started reading about chakras, etc. that I recognized all of the sensations."
This person then went on to point out how the hallucinogenic itself becomes immaterial after a point. It serves only to "kick off your brain or whatever" and the rest is up to the individual. This is very similar to the Buddhist idea that Buddhism itself is merely a boat to get from the shores of ignorance (avidya and maya) to the shores of enlightenment (nirvana). Once one reaches the shore of enlightenment, one no longer needs the boat (and to finish the metaphor, once one gets to the shore of enlightenment, the whole notion of the shores and the passage from one to the other becomes meaningless) [9].
D. Alterations In Personal Identity.
Clearly this category ties in both with cognitive changes - for one's identity is a subset of the content of one's mind - and the above mentioned spiritual experiences. The types of changes in identity mentioned by respondents were: detached, as if a witness observing oneself from the "outside", many people spoke of simply feeling more confident of themselves, some described a state of simply being without all the trappings of their everyday life (which is another way of describing the detachment or meta-sense), many saw themselves as a soul quite distinct from their body, some identified with being a transpersonal force operating through the body, others saw how they fit into the larger scheme of life, a few reported the catharsis of critical self-reflection. A passage from one respondent aptly describes the alteration in identity under hallucinogenic drugs:
"This is somewhat difficult to explain accurately so someone else will get it, but I will try. Yes, the sense of self completely changes. Normally, I have a kind of self-image that is "pasted", as it were, over my face and to some degree my entire body and maybe even what I would call my space. I can't seem to separate this image from what I would later (while tripping) call my real self. Acid makes the false image self go away; completely if you take enough. What is left is not a thing or an emotion or an image or a mental picture or a memory or even an idea. It is a function. A process of some sort. An aspect of Life that could be described as a function of something "larger". And therefore, it appears that it is not really "separate" from that something else. Like the function of a knife - cutting something - is not, in fact, separate from the knife itself. The function may or may not be in use at the moment, but it is potentially NEVER separate. See what I mean? The function in this case appears to be simply - awareness. It doesn't have any mass, it doesn't occupy any space, and it's not located in any time frame. And it is aware of being aware. It does seem to have an "apparent" location from which to view things, but that location seems to be arbitrary and to some degree (while tripping) under the awareness function's control. If I had to use other terms to describe it, I would say that I feel like a 360 degree, 3D sphere about the size of a basketball, like a bubble of some sort, except that I'm concave instead of convex (I'm inverted - I stick in "somewhere" instead of sticking out into the physical world), and I'm sucking in the perceptions (all levels of perceptions) all around me. And they feel like they are actually going "through" me (like I'm a portal) and then going somewhere from there. I know it sounds weird, but that's what it feels like. This was always very clear to me every time I tripped."
Clearly, as stated above, the hallucinogenic state is a drastic alteration from ordinary awareness. Again, it appears that latent properties emerge from the experience. In the case of identity a "stripping " of outer thoughts and beliefs seems to occur with concomitant awareness of an essence that is behind or underneath the surface personality. The person relates to this "deeper self " as either a soul or a nonphysical essence. This is very similar to the Eastern equation that Atman (the inner most soul) is Brahman (the transcendental source of creation). Apparently, the direct apprehension of this fact is available under the influence of hallucinogens, similar to the state of awakened kundalini, further reinforcing the similarity of the two states.
E. LongTerm Changes
The category of Long Term Changes was essentially redundant. Textual data stated here only reflected what was described in changes in thought patterns and spiritual experience. However, three different attitudes emerged from this category: 1. Some respondents explicitly stated that hallucinogenic drugs indeed had substantial long term impacts on them, generally making them more open and accepting , more in touch with nature, and less preoccupied with social pressures of status and wealth. 2. Others made the point that they couldn't determine what effects hallucinogens had because they saw whatever changes they had undergone in the long term as part of their maturation process and they did not want to commit to saying to what degree hallucinogens played a part in this. 3. Finally, there were some who said hallucinogens had no effect on long term changes in their life.
F. Elaborations on Visual and Auditory Hallucinations and the Nature of Sensory Mixing.
Respondents were given the opportunity to elaborate on their sensory hallucinations, audio and visual, as well as the mixing of their senses. Regarding audio hallucinations very few respondents reported actually hearing things that were not there (5 out of 61). When they did, these were described as "hearing soft, whispering voices saying unintelligible things ", "hearing the blood rush in my ear ". Much more often, respondents reported distortions of their regular hearing. These may be thought of as auditory illusions, by analogy to visual illusions. One subject described it as a "flanging effect" (which is a sweeping "motion" superimposed over what one is hearing). Others stated that the clarity of their hearing was improved, being able to pinpoint music in a much more precise way. In general, audio hallucinations were not nearly as prominent as visual hallucinations.
In terms of sensory mixing, almost predominately what was reported was the seeing of music. Again though, this was not synesthesia as is normally understood. Only 2 people reported literally seeing music. The rest who commented stated that music seemed to direct what was seen, or that the music and their visual hallucinations were synchronized. On the basis of this textual data, the author presumes there must be occurring a secondary auditory effect following primary visual alterations. Furthermore, somehow, there must be occurring a neurological "locking" of vision and hearing, or a coupling of these systems. It is known that an area of the brainstem called the superior colliculus contains body centered topographical maps of visual, auditory and somatic space. It may be that psychedelics are altering neurotransmission in this brain region leading to a type of synesthesia which locks auditory perceptions to visual sensations. Other sensory mixing reported were tasting sights or touching sounds.
Finally, almost all respondents (96.7 % 3%) reported visual hallucinations. Clearly these drugs have a major effect on visual systems. The textual data asked for elaboration on any other visual hallucinations. Reports ranged from seeing pure white light, to seeing imagery of gothic cathedral like structures, to seeing webbing or highly colored, moving geometric patterns. Two respondents reported seeing the content of their normal vision outlined by green and purple, transparent structures. Others reported perceiving a "bubble" around them as if space itself could be seen, or as if one was moving through some kind of medium. Some respondents reported a circular pulsating motion to their vision.
In terms of reports of kundalini awakening, many of these psychedelic-induced visual hallucinations are very similar. However, to this author's knowledge, no systematic attempt has been made of categorizing the sensory alterations associated with kundalini awakening. Nonetheless, from personal reports of those who have undergone kundalini awakening as shown in the Table Effects of Kundalini, it is clear that the sensory distortions and hallucinations are very similar in both states.
As stated in the Background Discussion about Psychedelics, it is known that psychedelics disrupt visual input pathways. How such a disruption could lead to the visual imagery perceived during psychedelic drug experiences is currently unknown.
Finally, mention should be made of the types of psychic experiences reported by respondents. As stated, OBEs were reported with relatively high frequency, though again, these probably are of a different type from "ordinary" OBEs. Past life visions were described by the subjects and this very effect is described by those undergoing Kundalini awakening. Heightened telepathy was reported, which may be a result of the increased empathy occurring under psychedelic inebriation. Of course, no provisions were made to check the validity of these claims. People were simply taken on their word in the context of the survey and the author has little reason to doubt the veracity of people's reports. It is of interest to note that patients with damage to the right temporal lobe have reported occurrences similar to typical psychic experiences, such as deja vu and the sensing of the presence of others. The existence of "psychic abilities" is not, in general, taken seriously by scientists. However, what is recognized by psychiatrists and medical professionals are a variety of so-called "pathological" psychological states. Again, we run into the problem of paradigmatic differences: what one person calls a "psychic ability" another person calls "mental illness". I would simply like to point out that these are probably both referents to the same phenomena and that much could be gained if all parties involved loosened up their thinking and allowed these various viewpoints to merge.
References for Discussion Section
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