Extract from In Search of the Ultimate High by Nicholas Saunders, Anja Saunders, Michelle Pauli. Published by Random House. Copyright Anja Saunders 2000. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the copyrightholder.
Conversion
One of the ways in which the alliance of drugs and spirituality has most strongly challenged the mainstream faiths is through people who convert as a result of their drug experiences. This has been more of an issue for some religions than for others.
In January 1996 the Buddhist magazine Tricycle published a special issue called Psychedelics: help or hindrance?. In a survey included in the magazine over 40% of readers said that their interest in Buddhism was sparked off by psychedelics; 59% thought that psychedelics and Buddhism do mix, while 41% disagreed; 71% believed that "psychedelics are not a path, but can provide a glimpse of the reality to which Buddhist practice points". The age of the respondents was significant, with more using psychedelics over fifty or under thirty than those aged between thirty and fifty, the latter category being the most against the use of drugs.
Hinduism has also attracted many followers as a result of drug experiences. In the 1960s and 1970s ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), in particular, benefited from the growing interest in both eastern religions and psychoactive drugs. A follower in the London temple, however, said that anybody who came to them after a drug-induced experience would be treated in the same way as any other seeker. Their experience would be examined to see how far it matched what the scriptures say, they would be warned that drug-induced visions are likely to be illusory, and they would be encouraged to follow the devotional path of chanting, reading the scriptures, and purifying their material existence.
The Eastern religions certainly benefited disproportionately from an influx of converts in the 1960s who were seeking answers to spiritual questions following drug experiences. Since most Hindu teachings, particularly, are quite strict on the use of mind-altering substances, it might seem unusual that they attracted such a number of these seekers. However, awareness of the eastern mystical traditions was very high at the time. The hippy era popularised Eastern-style clothes, music and religion. Writers such as Ram Dass and Alan Watts, an ex-Anglican priest turned Zen Buddhist, were influential. Timothy Leary, the high priest of the LSD movement, wrote (along with Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert/Ram Dass) a manual for psychedelic use based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The arrival of cheap, mass, air travel meant that seekers could quite easily go to India to find out for themselves about yoga, meditation and chanting. In addition, during that period the Christian church was at the peak of its liberal phase, and much more concerned with wider social issues than with mysticism or contemplation. For those who had had a great mystical feeling of unity on LSD or mescaline it seemed completely natural to turn eastwards. The nature of the experiences themselves also have to be considered. It has been argued that where there are no strong pre-existing beliefs or leanings, a spiritual experience on psychoactives will tend to turn one towards pantheistic faiths.
Questions raised by a drug experience can spark off a spiritual quest which leads the seeker to explore a variety of paths to find that which best matches their values, beliefs and background. In this way John, an English man, became a Quaker after an LSD trip.
"Before I had the experience (on LSD), I was in a really negative state of mind. I was suffering from clinical depression, and I was prescribed various antidepressants. There were many factors contributing to my depression, one major factor being an incredible, and often overwhelming, fear of death. This often resulted in quite severe panic attacks. I think this is because I had always taken a highly logical/scientific view of things. Death, for me, was a biological process... All brain activity would cease and I would stop thinking. I guess I didn't ever want to stop thinking. These thoughts occupied my mind far too much of the time, leaving daily life somewhat difficult to cope with.
The experience itself is very difficult to describe. I was having intense feelings of infinite knowledge... It was as if I had discovered the true nature of the universe. There was a great sense of unity. I knew that I had died, or at least that I was no longer human, but that brought with it some kind of ecstatic freedom. It was as if I was one with the universe, or one with God (personally, I don't differentiate between the two).
The trip did turn sour though. I think it was because it had been challenging all my previous thoughts about spirituality, and maybe as I was coming down, my rational mind was taking over again. I had some really frightening hallucinations... I heard voices shouting at me. I Sometimes I felt that the voices were punishing me. I could feel entities trying to take away my life energy. I saw visions of myself as an old man, lying dead on the floor. I looked in the mirror and saw my face as if I were a hundred years old.
I have tried to interpret this experience many times, and failed to draw any satisfactory conclusions. What it did do, was to give me a new perspective on my own spirituality. It gave me confidence that there is, or at least there might be, something out there. That something is binding us, and our universe together that defies the laws of science. Maybe not God in the biblical sense, but I suppose God is as good a word as any. It was this that prompted me to become a Quaker.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), unlike many other religons, have no set laws or beliefs. Most of us are Christians, but this is by no means mandatory. In Quaker meeting, we sit for the majority of the time in silent contemplation. If someone feels moved to speak, they may do so. People say anything, from a short story, to something that happened to them on their way to work. In this way, we can help guide each other's thoughts, or we can choose not to be guided if we so desire. Afterwards most of us stay and talk. It's a great opportunity to learn from each other, and share thoughts.
My experience was the first step in helping me form my own spiritual
beliefs. I became a Quaker because I wanted to share my thoughts and meditation
with others, and yet my spiritual beliefs did not conform to those outlined
by other religions."
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