Ananda, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Jen, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly
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| What was the original Rx? DMT? |
REVIEW: It was a cool Sunday night, traffic was light, and we wended our way to the cemetery to be with psychedelic researcher Dr. Charles Grob (UCLA), Trudy Goodman (
Insight LA), Vince Horn (Buddhist Geeks), Spring Washam (shamanic Buddhist and East Bay meditation teacher), and stroke victim Ram Dass (Harvard's Dr. Alpert who coined the phrase "
Be here now").
We were there to learn about mind-expanding substances' role in "waking up," becoming enlightened, attaining
altered states of meditation and understanding to
elevate our consciousness. Dr. Grob had the most interesting things to say about psilocybin (mushrooms), MDMA (pharmaceutical grade ecstasy) and Phase 3 protocols to use entheogens for healing and opening.
FOMO is the "fear of missing out." For those who missed it, we are having it another event to continue the conversation (
$10 on May 31, 2018 in Pasadena,
look below for details). And although the house was at capacity with about 300 in attendance, a lot more people wanted to be there. But we sold it out rather quickly. First Dr. Christiane Wolf came out and said a few niceties introducing the
supposed-moderator Vince Horn.
- Vince made an important point that echoed throughout the night: There is no sense in boosterism or pessimism, people who are all for it no matter what, people who are all against it no matter what. That would be no discussion. Let's meet in the middle. Who can tell an adult what to do or not do? Who can be so foolish to think there is no danger? Mindset and setting are key. In between the extremes are the tolerant Buddhists. They don't say yes, don't say no, but say, "We'll see." They listen to the evidence, consider the potential, assess the risks, and do not fall prey to easy answers or magical thinking. This is about seeing reality, experiencing the fullness of consciousness, not checking out unmindfully. You are responsible for you.
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| We got everyone in who attended with us. |
There was no "discussion" as such, no "conversation," so nothing to moderate. He said his peace, next person (Trudy) said her peace and then sort of took over, and before you knew it, the beloved and respected Ram Dass sucked all the air out of the room.
Yawn. No one dared prompt or curtail him; he's far too old and important for that. Even gentle Trudy didn't dare.
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| Goodman, Salzberg, Kornfied...Ram Dass |
Horn delivered his speech in muted tones admitting his own usage after many years as a sober, somber, straight-edge Theravada practitioner, a self-described "sanctimonious prick" who had a cool wife, who was present and very supportive. She smoked pot to deal with her family. Horn's trips were mostly gentle and opened him up to the possibility that substances might be helpful to the awakening process. They come with danger, he warned
Then Horn brought out "tolerant Buddhist" Trudy Goodman, who talked about taking acid (
LSD) back in the day before finding meditation. She then became a single mother and an avid meditator and left those days behind. Today she's open to the discussion, and this was the official launch of that discussion, though as already said, not a lot of
discussing took place. Her brother's bad acid trip, only his fourth, took him out for ten years. He's okay now. But to reiterate, these substances come with danger.
A return to Buddhist shamanism
Spring Washam, a secret medicinal
ayahuasca enthusiast
(who runs
Buddhist ayahuasca meditation retreats in Peru, where it is legal and used in the traditional method under the safe supervision of a real shaman in the jungle).
She first used it to overcome childhood trauma -- which we bet was sexual, but she did not specify -- after meditating for a long time and realizing that her "stuff" was still with her.
The plant medicine healed her, and right after the event, she got on a plane to return to the jungle for another retreat. She once spent more than a year training to be an
ayahuascera or "
plant shaman" using this
entheogen.
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| Author, Buddhist Shaman Spring Washam |
She has learned her lesson over the years and now carefully screens all participants rather than taking their word for it that they are stable and secure enough to handle the trauma-healing and potentially trauma-inducing experience.
She is only one of two people of color (POC) teaching insight meditation in the Bay Area and is the author of
Fierce Heart:
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| UCLA psychedelic researcher Dr. Grob |
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| I was Dr. Richard Alpert at Harvard U. I took LSD, went to India, and became Ram Dass. |
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| Ram Dass (formerly Dr. Richard Alpert) |
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Then came the most fascinating speaker of the night, psychedelic researcher Dr. Charles S Grob, M.D. He had as much good to say about MDMA as magic mushrooms (psilocybe) and has not studied LSD, as others do. Details below. The published research has been amazing, progressing apace, and confirmed to help with the psychological trait known as "openness." One case dealt with the social anxiety of a high functioning autistic patient, who was relieved of his suffering.
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