Psilocybin & Mysticism: Timothy Leary’s 1963 Prison Rehabilitation Study (Leary & Clark, 1963)

Описание: This study explores Timothy Leary & Wolter Houston Clark's pivotal 1963 publication "Religious Implications of Consciousness Expanding Drugs."

I. Historical Context Of Visionary Plants
Recorded history shows men eating vegetables for religious visions.
Scholars suggest religion may stem from sacramental food experiences.
Sacred foods like peyote and soma are linked to spiritual ecstasy.
Divine mushrooms were known in Aztec dialects as God's flesh.
Modern philosophers have speculated on the insights from mescaline.

II. The Harvard Psilocybin Pilot Study
Harvard psychologists initiated a pilot study on psilocybin in 1960.
The study administered the substance to over 400 volunteers.
Participants included professors, graduate students, and artists.
No adverse physiological reactions were observed in the subjects.
Most subjects claimed the experience changed their lives for the better.
Over half reported learning a great deal or gaining dramatic insights.
Religious terminology was frequently used to describe the effects.
Even non-believers used terms like divine and meeting the infinite.
Trust and openness were better predictors of success than the drug.

III. The Concord Prison Rehabilitation Project
Researchers launched a project to test rehabilitation in prison.
Recidivism rates provided an objective measure for mental health.
Six maximum security inmates were selected for the initial group.
Harvard personnel and inmates took the substance together.
The setting was a grim hospital room with barred windows.
Initial anxiety gave way to laughter and relaxation.
The barrier between researcher and criminal dissolved during the session.
Shared experience created a deep empathetic rapport.

IV. Mystical Experiences And Ego Dissolution
The experience often stripped away ego protection and social roles.
Participants realized they had been living in a narrow reality.
Inmates described the sudden insight that life is a game.
The realization that we are all one resolved the group's paradox.
Hardened cynics reported classic mystical conversion reactions.
One inmate described it as the awakening to what life is all about.
Many subjects felt a sense of death and rebirth during the session.

V. Recidivism Results And Social Implications
Psychological tests showed significant increases in socialization.
There were significant decreases in hostility and cynicism.
Prison officers rated the inmates as having improved adjustment.
Early results showed no convictions for new crimes among those released.
Seventy-five percent of the group held their own after release.
The results were comparable to religious conversions in groups like AA.
Success depended heavily on follow-up and the nature of the person.

VI. Religious Implications And Future Potential
The psilocybin experience is indistinguishable from true mysticism.
The drug may release latent religious sensitivities in subjects.
It offers a potential tool for the study of religious experiences.
Experts suggest it could aid in moral regeneration and reform.
The experience requires discipline to make the results permanent.
Researchers warn against using these substances for thoughtless fun.
Skilled supervision and preparation are necessary for safety.
Religious groups could form to support the insights gained.

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#psychedelicresearch #psychedelicscience #psychedelictherapy #psilocybin #timothyleary #psychologyhistory #criminaljustice #rehabilitation #mysticism #religiouseducation #concordprisonexperiment #consciousness #alteredstates #mysticalexperiences #setandsetting

Source:
Leary, T., & Clark, W. H. (1963). Religious implications of consciousness expanding drugs. Religious Education, 58(3), 251-256. https://doi.org/10.1080/0034408630580302

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