Spiritual Growth with Entheogens: Psychoactive Sacramentals - from the Good Friday Experiment to the Direct Experience of the Divine - Tapa blanda

"Tom Roberts is the keeper of the flame for the study of psychedelics, the chief librarian of the entheogenic archive. In this soul-nourishing book he's compiled the wisdom, humanity, and technical expertise the world just might be ready for now in order to provide us legally accessed soul-manifesting sacramental experience via psychedelics."--Charles Hayes, editor of Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures

"This is an invaluable collection of presentations that dispels the fog about the multi-faceted relationships between psychedelic experiences and spiritual experiences, between faith and experience, and the intricate dance still going on between them."--James Fadiman, Ph.D., author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide

"Spiritual Growth with Entheogens is essential reading for people interested in humanity's efforts to experience the divine. This is an outstanding collection of essays and studies on mystical experience."--Michael Nielsen, professor and chair of psychology, Georgia Southern University, and coeditor of Arc

"This essential collection forces a reexamination of the legal status of controlled substances in view of the benefit that mind-altering sacramental entheogens offer for psychotherapy and spiritual growth."--Carl A. P. Ruck, professor of classical studies, Boston University, and author of Mushrooms, Myths,

"If we can encounter God through a sunrise seen from a mountaintop, why not through a mushroom prayerfully ingested."--Brother David Steindl-Rast, from the foreword

"Explains all aspects of the psychedelic experience as a tool for spiritual evolution, from personal accounts to detailed information and practical instructions. A key book."--Dieter Hagenbach, President, Gaia Media Foundation

"Some of the most serious, sustained, thoughtful, and mature voices on the subject of entheogens and religion. The contributors reflect on the historical trajectories of this conversation, address the common stereotypes and misconceptions, and offer new directions of thought and vision, reminding us again of what this conversation has always been about: the extraordinary cosmic being we so casually and carelessly call the human being."--Jeffrey J. Kripal, professor of religious studies, Rice University, and author of Mutants and Mystic

"For those who value profound religious experiences and who wish to become increasingly well informed about how entheogens could become responsibly integrated into meditative practices and the offerings of spiritual retreat centers, there is much to be learned from the well-chosen essays in this book."--William A. Richards, S.T.M., Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Bayview School of Medici

"It is one thing to understand that people can move into altered states of consciousness; it is quite another to understand that this fact is not just a psychological side-show, but deeply, even centrally important for understanding the human mind. Roberts' book argues this point on every page, through riveting accounts retold by pioneers and leaders in the field of transpersonal psychology. This book is mind-altering in the best sense of the word."--Glenn Hartelius, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and editor

"A useful reference work that presents the current state of understanding from the relevant scientific, practical, and judicial perspectives."--Dennis McKenna, Ph.D., founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute and coauthor of The I

Reveals entheogens as catalysts for spiritual development and direct encounters with the sacred

· With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Frances Vaughan, and many others

· Includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants

· Explores protocols for ceremonial use of psychedelics and the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change

Modern organized religion is based predominantly on secondary religious experience--we read about others’ extraordinary direct spiritual encounters in the distant past and have faith that God is out there. Yet what if powerful sacraments existed to help us directly experience the sacred? What if there were ways to seek out the meaning of being human and our place in the universe, to see the sacred in the world that surrounds us?

In this book, more than 25 spiritual leaders, scientists, and psychedelic visionaries examine how we can return to the primary spiritual encounters at the basis of all religions through the guided use of entheogens. With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Frances Vaughan, Myron Stolaroff, and many others, this book explores protocols for ceremonial use of psychedelics, the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change, psychoactive sacraments in the Bible, myths surrounding the use of LSD, and the transformative ayahuasca rituals of Santo Daime. It also includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants. Dispelling fears of inauthentic spirituality, addiction, and ill-prepared encounters with the holy, this book reveals the potential of entheogens as catalysts for spiritual development, a path through which faith can directly encounter God’s power, and the beginning of a new religious era based on personal spiritual experience.