Sacred Knowledge, Psychedelics and Religious Experiences
Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences
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Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences Hardcover – 8 December 2015
by William Richards (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 231 ratings
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Sacred Knowledge is the first well-documented, sophisticated account of the effect of psychedelics on biological processes, human consciousness, and revelatory religious experiences. Based on nearly three decades of legal research with volunteers, William A. Richards argues that, if used responsibly and legally, psychedelics have the potential to assuage suffering and constructively affect the quality of human life.
Richards's analysis contributes to social and political debates over the responsible integration of psychedelic substances into modern society. His book serves as an invaluable resource for readers who, whether spontaneously or with the facilitation of psychedelics, have encountered meaningful, inspiring, or even disturbing states of consciousness and seek clarity about their experiences. Testing the limits of language and conceptual frameworks, Richards makes the most of experiential phenomena that stretch our understanding of reality, advancing new frontiers in the study of belief, spiritual awakening, psychiatric treatment, and social well-being. His findings enrich humanities and scientific scholarship, expanding work in philosophy, anthropology, theology, and religious studies and bringing depth to research in mental health, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology.
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A practitioner and professor, Richards writes as a guide into the depths of psychedelic spirituality in an attempt to bring entheogens--substances that 'generate the divine within'--back into the mainstream.--Publishers Weekly
A valuable work and a real treat to read.... Few people could have written Sacred Knowledge and even fewer people could have done it so eloquently.--OPEN Foundation
Richards is a generous and gregarious writer, who avoids platitudes for a mix of hard evidence, anecdotal stories, and memoir-like ruminations... Timely.--Baltimore City Paper
In Sacred Knowledge, Richards . . . distills his years of thinking about psychedelics' psychotherapeutic and spiritual uses into a book that is readable for educated general readers, intellectually firm enough for scholars, and flavored by his personal experiences.--Tom Roberts, Erowid
Part memoir, part manifesto, Sacred Knowledge charts the birth, death, and resurrection of psychedelic research. . . . The conclusion to be drawn from this book is that it's time--in a safe setting and with careful guidance--that we started taking our miracles in tablet form.--Charles Gilmour "Independent "
Sacred Knowledge is not only timely and relevant to a whole host of current social/legal issues but also addresses, with seemingly effortless ease, many of the deeper/subtler metaphysical implications of psychedelics--their therapeutic and spiritual potential. Richards's clear prose makes articulating such difficult topics look easy.--G. William Barnard, Southern Methodist University
Sacred Knowledge provides the most comprehensive overview of the actual use of psychedelics in psychotherapy and of the transformative power of mystical experiences.--Torsten Passie, Hannover Medical School
A seminal work that will become required reading for anyone seriously interested in either religious experience or psychedelic research. There has not been a book in this area as valuable since William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience, more than a century ago.--James Fadiman, author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys
An inspiring testament to half a century of scientific research and personal exploration into the responsible, beneficial use of psychedelic substances. William A. Richards's work is visionary, personal, and transpersonal, instilled with kindness, deep humanity, and quiet wisdom.--Don Lattin, author of The Harvard Psychedelic Club
In this wonderfully sensitive, critical, and confessional history one of the foremost clinicians and scholars of presents his own experience with psychedelics and with guiding others in studies to occasion mystical experiences using entheogens. Neither addictive nor toxic, these drugs whatever called surely can under the right set and setting reveal the God within us all. This book is the best accessible overview by someone who knows by experience, and can guide others whether they choose to be involved with entheogens personally or seek to simply to understand others who do. Regardless of choice, this loving man should be your guide.--Ralph W. Hood Jr., University of Tennessee
Richards' Sacred Knowledge is not a tome but rather a concise work rich with personal stories, observations, and insights into a compelling topic long ignored and now garnering the attention it has long deserved.--Charles S. Grob, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine
This is a great book which I highly recommend. It is an immersive experience, which provides an opportunity for those unfamiliar with nonordinary states of consciousness to catch a glimpse of their beauty and power. William A. Richards seamlessly weaves together his extensive understanding of spirituality on the one hand and academic and clinical science on the other - a rare combination. His humour, insights, and empathy shine through on every page. The topic is timely and a manifestation of the fact that the intellectual battle regarding the potential of nonordinary states of consciousness (as, in this case, facilitated by psychedelics) has been won.--Amanda Feilding, director, Beckley Foundation
This is a wonderful book and couldn't have been launched at a more auspicious time. As William A. Richards has portrayed so beautifully, psychedelics provide an experience of total sanity and give a glimpse of a deeper, more heart-centred, and universal spiritual reality. In my opinion everyone should read this book, not just researchers, theologians, and philosophers but also the ordinary person in society. As society becomes more and more degraded, the planet more and more polluted, and the natural world destroyed, the truth of what the great mystic Krishnamurthy said, 'It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society, ' will become ever more apparent. Increasingly I find more and more people are asking at a deeper level 'why am I here? 'What is this life about? What is it all for'? The sane answer to many of these questions is to be found in this book.--Ivor Browne, University College Dublin
About the Author
William A. Richards is a clinical psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center with formal training in theology and comparative religion. Earlier in his career, he pursued psychedelic research at Spring Grove Hospital Center and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore. His graduate education included studies at Yale University, Brandeis University, Catholic University, the Andover-Newton Theological School, and the University of Göttingen.
Product details
ASIN : 0231174063
Publisher : *Columbia University Press; 1st edition (8 December 2015)
Language : English
Hardcover : 280 pages
ISBN-10 : 0231162154
ISBN-13 : 978-0231162159
Dimensions : 16 x 2.79 x 23.37 cm
Best Sellers Rank: 206,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
65 in Psychopharmacology (Books)
140 in Experimental Psychology (Books)
573 in Religious Mysticism
Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 231 ratings
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LAURIE FAEN
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating subject.
Reviewed in Australia on 29 July 2018
Full of information and well researched.
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Jensen
5.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging Read on the Mystery of the Mind & Existence Itself
Reviewed in the United States on 25 January 2021
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Well before Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind, Dr. Bill Richards was investigating the effect of psychedelics on the human psyche. What’s distinct about Dr. Richards’ experience is that he can speak openly about his own personal psychedelic journeys (which were undertaken in above ground legal contexts) as well as his research into psychedelic psychotherapy that spans the original decades of work (his being mostly in the 60’s) to the current renaissance. Sacred Knowledge is a mix of memoir, scholarship, and open wonder about the mysterious experiences psychedelics can elicit when taken with respect and in the optimal setting.
Some of the more disgruntled reviewers, in my reading, actually mischaracterize Dr. Richards as being overly narrow or confident in discussing some of the spiritual and mystical-like experiences psychedelics can produce. Having seen him speak on multiple occasions and even the pleasure of knowing him personally, I can attest that Dr. Richards indeed embodies a rare mix of intelligence, heart, and authenticity. His decades of life experiences, psychedelic and otherwise, have left him with a genuine playfulness and curiosity into his older years mixed with well-earned wisdom. He remains down to Earth, deeply compassionate, and eager to support his clients, students, and colleagues as they undertake their own life journeys.
In Sacred Knowledge, I especially appreciated his willingness to ponder openly many of the mysteries that people can confront while experiencing psychedelic states of consciousness. Not everyone will be convinced that psychedelic experiences reveal a genuine sacred nature behind our everyday reality. Nor need they be. But by offering his own take on these questions and possibilities, Dr. Richards offers one voice among many in support of the growing psychedelic renaissance. As long as we can foster a similar sense of care and deep respect of these substances, we have much to learn and explore in the coming years about the potential for psychedelics to heal and transform.
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John A. Randolph
5.0 out of 5 stars Consider What An Expert Knows
Reviewed in the United States on 27 April 2023
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Reaffirming many of my experiences with psychedelics. Thank you🙏❤️
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Ubaldo Morales-Ramos
5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Sacred Knowledge by William A. Richards
Reviewed in the United States on 22 December 2015
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Books about sacredness (enlightenment) and psychedelics have been and will continue to be published. Very interesting net site discussions will continue to emerge regarding the same subject matter. At the present time, this book is among the most significant. Among other things, it contains the latest information about an historic research with the terminally ill started in Maryland by Stanislav Grof and if the important "midterm dormant years" are included, it covers about 50 years of the most interesting research done within the field of consciousness.
Richards keeps theory aptly simple but tight and real. A paradigm shift, writes Richards and he brings another way into clinical research that takes the field of consciousness to its proper home-base. Richard incorporates Pahnke's 1963 characters of mystical experiences using classical Jungian ideas and the concept of affirmative experiential intuitive knowledge within a world view (Weltanschauung) comprehensive of equal intelligent spiritual sacredness at the core of all religions, among other thoughts.
It is a way (theory) about transpersonal unity and love, yes, but also about human compassion and other important indescribable states of consciousness. It is about something increasingly ignored today by our modern DSM mental health way.
That it is a way; is, and if ignored by any traditional field of study because it creates too much emotional controversy, then it may just be that the study of the ineffable doesn't belong to that field. Richard opens the narrow professional window by suggesting a formal experientially based training available to a wider range of fields: religious professionals, interested informed researchers and those within the mental health field.
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Rick J. Strassman
2.0 out of 5 stars The new psychedelic religion of mystical consciousness. Bill Richards unbound.
Reviewed in the United States on 21 January 2018
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I can't imagine the Hopkins group is happy to see this book in print. But now that the cat is out of the bag, Richards has provided clarity to the underlying religious and theological assumptions of the Baltimore group's model. Those assumptions ought to arouse concern among serious researchers and students of the field.
I would give Sacred Knowledge one star--one more entry into the crowded "this is what I think about psychedelics because of my own drug experiences--" if Richards' model's weren't gaining such unquestioning traction. While the success of this psychotherapy model is undeniable, that success doesn't qualify it as a new religion. And a new religion is what Richards is articulating in this book. He is the founder, he describes his revelation at the age of 23, the catechism (13 precepts, out-doing Moses' by three) which has devolved from it, how it explains nearly everything about nearly everything, and can solve nearly every problem facing us. In fact, the messianic utopia is just around the corner if people only would take psychedelics in this context. As the religion's founder, prophet, spokesman, and missionary, he takes a dim view of any other non-unitive spiritual state. Especially that of the Jews--whose members in his clinical vignettes seem somehow immune to its effects--and Judaism--whose "visionary experiences" Richards regards as the "foothills," which he views with a bemused pity from the "mountain peaks" of his own experiences. Rather, the "mystical unitive" experience is "the core of all organized religion," "the primary religious experience"--despite no such thing existing in the Hebrew Bible.
NIMH funding for the Spring Grove projects dried up in the 1960s because they "got religion" (as I learned from one of the site reviewers from those days). They believed that their new paradigm (developed by Grof, Richards, Pahnke, and others) was situated outside of the world of clinical research--nothing more needed to be done other than to spread it. Now, the current incarnation of this model camouflages its messianism by a juggernaut of data presented through a lens of verbal obfuscation: psilocybin no longer causes drug effects, but "occasions" them; the experiences are not "mystical, "mysticomimetic" (more accurate)," or "peak" (the most sensible and secular psychological term), but "mystical-like," negative reactions are "challenging experiences." The new paradigm is making impressive headway, as none of the terms would normally appear in the respectable peer-reviewed world of psychopharmacology or psychotherapy research literature.
The positive results of this model appear to provide Richards with the vindication he's sought since the loss of NIMH funding of the Spring Grove projects. As in, "See, I told you it worked." However, the results of those studies never needed vindication, because they were relatively solid, if not preliminary. Richards is conflating the success of the model with his justification for creating his new religion.
I'll be writing more in a full-length article this year, but this ought to suffice to express my alarm at the theological zealotry and prejudice that underlies the Hopkins model. Let me repeat that this does nothing to militate against its success, but a successful psychotherapy is not a new religion. The model's religious/theological bases must be understood before its further diffusion into the secular psychedelic research world. Other models certainly exist, both psychotherapeutic and religious. The Richards/Hopkins model is faith-based dressed in psychological garb, a New Age melange of Vedanta, "transpersonal" psychology, and "Christ consciousness."
We already have plenty of religions. However, we lack effective psychotherapies for a number of conditions for which psychedelics combined with Richards' psychotherapeutic model show promise. It would be a shame to hamstring this effective model right out of the gate by opening it to the inevitable controversies associated with religious and theological matters. Is this really where we want clinical research with the drugs to take us?
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KTH
5.0 out of 5 stars The book I've been waiting for
Reviewed in the United States on 5 April 2016
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Based upon decades of rigorous scientific research and careful consideration of how to safely approach the use of entheogens in the study of consciousness, William Richards summarizes a path forward that is at once intensely bold and deeply responsible. Richards refuses to use hyperbole when discussing the promises of this research or devaluation when discussing the policies that currently stand in the way of these promises. This capacity for deep respect is, in itself, a testament to the learning he describes through his own journey of the past five decades.
This is the book I've been waiting for - a concise summary of research and new options that I hope will become required reading in the field of psychology and the study of religion. His even-handed approach is precisely what is needed to diffuse the hysteria currently surrounding the consideration of entheogens. Richards clearly believes a door is available for yet another significant paradigm shift akin to the dawning recognition that the earth isn't flat. His contention, throughout the book, is that ways now exist for the responsible study of that doorway and safe protocols are fully available for our entering and returning through it. As he makes clear, the danger considering this journey isn't that we would risk taking it, but rather that - as a culture - we might refuse to adequately consider it.
With huge respect and gratitude for this author and his colleagues. I can only hope this book will find the wide readership it deserves.
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BOOK REVIEW: SACRED KNOWLEDGE: PSYCHEDELICS AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES
ByBret McCabe / PublishedSpring 2016
William A. Richards may be one of the few scientists to write, "In case you had any doubts, God (or whatever your favorite noun for ultimate reality may be) is," and not inspire an immediate eye roll. That sentence appears on a list of topics to consider in his new book, Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences (Columbia University Press), and would not be unexpected in something like Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums, but in a scholarly work by a clinical psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center?
Credit Richards for showing why he considers such a new-agey claim worthy of scientific reflection. Over the past 16 years, Richards and a handful of other researchers at Johns Hopkins and around the country have explored the role of entheogens—Richards' preferred term for psychoactive substances such as ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin—in treating patients dealing with addiction and terminal illness. Richards initially became interested in such work in the 1960s following his own experience under the influence of psilocybin in a clinical setting in Germany. For the remainder of the '60s, Richards continued his psychology education, eventually landing at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore, where from 1967 to 1977 he investigated the role of entheogens in the psychotherapy of addiction and distress in terminal cancer patients. Between 1977 and 1999, financial and institutional support for research involving entheogens was all but suspended in the United States, as the substances were politically and culturally stigmatized.
Sacred is Richards' illuminating and empathetic argument that entheogens, when administered in a controlled setting and with proper clinical support, consistently produce positive results in addicts and patients facing end-of-life unrest—and that the 22-year gap in entheogen research means we're dramatically unaware of their potential uses. Part memoir, part history of entheogen research, and part philosophical meditation, Sacred isn't a humble call for science and medicine to take God seriously but for practitioners to consider that what their patients say following psychedelic treatment can offer insight into studying the complex psychology and science of the mind.
Posted in Politics+Society
Tagged psychology, religion, psychedelics, psilocybin
ByBret McCabe / PublishedSpring 2016
William A. Richards may be one of the few scientists to write, "In case you had any doubts, God (or whatever your favorite noun for ultimate reality may be) is," and not inspire an immediate eye roll. That sentence appears on a list of topics to consider in his new book, Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences (Columbia University Press), and would not be unexpected in something like Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums, but in a scholarly work by a clinical psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center?
Credit Richards for showing why he considers such a new-agey claim worthy of scientific reflection. Over the past 16 years, Richards and a handful of other researchers at Johns Hopkins and around the country have explored the role of entheogens—Richards' preferred term for psychoactive substances such as ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin—in treating patients dealing with addiction and terminal illness. Richards initially became interested in such work in the 1960s following his own experience under the influence of psilocybin in a clinical setting in Germany. For the remainder of the '60s, Richards continued his psychology education, eventually landing at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore, where from 1967 to 1977 he investigated the role of entheogens in the psychotherapy of addiction and distress in terminal cancer patients. Between 1977 and 1999, financial and institutional support for research involving entheogens was all but suspended in the United States, as the substances were politically and culturally stigmatized.
Sacred is Richards' illuminating and empathetic argument that entheogens, when administered in a controlled setting and with proper clinical support, consistently produce positive results in addicts and patients facing end-of-life unrest—and that the 22-year gap in entheogen research means we're dramatically unaware of their potential uses. Part memoir, part history of entheogen research, and part philosophical meditation, Sacred isn't a humble call for science and medicine to take God seriously but for practitioners to consider that what their patients say following psychedelic treatment can offer insight into studying the complex psychology and science of the mind.
Posted in Politics+Society
Tagged psychology, religion, psychedelics, psilocybin
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Jake
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May 4, 2017
I had the good fortune to meet Bill Richards while attending his workshop at MAPS 2017. It was a happy moment for me and now a great memory. To be honest about my 5 star rating, I was already biased towards Bill after watching him in the fantastic documentary called, Psilocybin: A New Understanding. Meeting him and briefly studying under him only reinforced my sense of how important this guy is. His therapeutic finesse and regard for others is so inspiring. His work spans decades, both before and after the psychedelic prohibition. Together with his colleagues, their work at Johns Hopkins is cutting edge and helping to drive forward what is being called the "psychedelic renaissance."
In my eyes, Bill is one of the wisest living voices within the psychedelic community. As I read this thoughtful and unique book I couldn't help but wish I could have had access to it back in my early twenties. As far as I'm concerned this piece is required reading on these topics, and I will recommend it to anyone with an interest in entheogens.
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Sally
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June 17, 2016
A gentle manifesto for the value of psychedelics, both for medical and psychological research and for the expansion of consciousness in members of the general public. The author, a psychologist and seminary graduate, took part in psychedelic research in the 1960s and 70s, until all possession and research with these substances were outlawed, and he has now resumed research since it has again been permitted in the late 1990s. There were sections of the book with insights or information that made reading it worthwhile to me; but Richards' deistic language and the value he placed on organized religion - though he was never militant or intolerant - grated on me. He made a strong case for legalizing use in controlled therapeutic settings. His experience with these substances have clearly been central to his sense of himself and his view of the cosmos and life. He is not an impartial pleader and his speculations on entheogens' potential for transforming society and people's consciousness and psychology widely struck me as naive. The book has a good bibliography.
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Denis Mcgrath
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December 16, 2015
Richards, a now retired professor, has written his vade mecum on psychedelics, chemical stimulants and the history of a variety of psychological-social experiments, some of which hold hope for curative sessions with the psychically wounded. The field is not without its doubters and government intervention (for government’s purposes) is not particularly laudatory. He writes from the background of psychotherapy, theology and comparative religion…a broad range indeed. To those who are caregivers this is a good book to keep on your reference shelf. He writes clearly, dispassionately (some may dispute this) and appears to have no hidden agenda.
I received an electronic copy in return for an honest review.
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Jason Cihelka
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July 31, 2018
This book was very psychedelic
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April 13, 2021
2 stars
I guess by the title I assumed this book would be more of a collection of different experiences by different people. Perhaps a look into how psychedelics have been used throughout history in religion. Aside from some short uninformative mentions here and there, this was not the case. This was just an autobiographical account of one man's experiences with psychedelics and how they were sacred religious experiences that shaped his life. And in that sense it was a perfectly fine book, just not what I expected.
The problems I had with this book is that it was incredibly biased and presented information is a dishonest way to make his argument seem stronger. If you're argument is actually good, you shouldn't have to misrepresent the counter arguments. First off, I work in both neurosicence and psychological research. I support further research on the medicinal use of psychedelics and don't see strong arguments for illegalizing them. When he mocked scientific approaches by saying 'correlation isn't causation' I almost laughed out loud in disbelief. Yes, that is true. It's also the mantra of the scientific approach. It's a mentality science is literally based on... He then proceeded to mention areas where promising research was being done including work by two Norwegian researchers. I happen to know the exact paper he was talking about (which was a review paper, not original research since research on psychedelics is not legal here) because it was quite the scandal because the researchers published under false affiliations with our university (and she happened to have the same first name as me, which was fun!). He then admitted that religious experiences were not an ubiquitous occurrence, but with proper guidance and informing people of what to expect they could be more common. So... you have to be primed to get the religious experience. Like how on his first experience he began by thinking about god, being that he was already a religious person.
After several of these statements, it was hard to take much of his other arguments seriously. Especially when towards the end he concluded that research with psychedelics has unarguably shown that god exists and that this is a means to connect with that (talk about drawing causative conclusions without proper causative evidence!) Overall, this book read like someone who was an addict (but they aren't addictive! Maybe not physiologically, but psychologically any experience an be addictive) trying to argue for something he likes without properly and thoroughly researching both sides of the argument. He is dismissive of all science that might explain these experiences as a physiological reaction (and doesn't even mention any research showing that inducing activity in particular brain regions does indeed illicit the same thoughts/feeling/experiences across individuals - though these studies are severely limited given the ethical concerns related to placing electrodes in living human brains) but then is suddenly very supportive of science when it being used to show how psychedelics are non-toxic, non-addictive and could be used medicinally.
Overall, this book is a good personal account of one persons experience and his personal interpretations. The 'science' here is debatable. There are huge gaps in the arguments and the conclusions are unfounded.
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Darcia Helle
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December 30, 2015
Many people associate the term 'psychedelics' with LSD, hippies, and the sixties. But these drugs have a long and controversial history outside of that context, including the MK-Ultra secret government mind control experiments. This class of drugs' history fascinates me, and so I was looking forward to reading about the religious and ceremonial uses throughout history.
The author has worked in research for many years, directly with psychedelics. He has also taken psychedelics on several occasions, experiencing the trip for himself. He clearly knows his topic. In this book, he shares many stories from his research. We meet the people, who are all quite ordinary, and we learn about what the psychedelic trips were like for them, as well as how the experience impacted their lives.
I was a little disappointed that Richards didn't cover more of the history of using psychedelics for religious purposes. Instead, his approach here mostly concerns modern use, as a method of religious or spiritual enlightenment. He also touches on research for using psychedelics in the treatment of medical issues such as alcoholism and depression.
At times Richard's exuberance is a little much, as if psychedelics are the ultimate panacea. Still, he does not advocate going out to your neighborhood drug dealer and buying a bunch for personal use. He advises caution, emphasizing the right state of mind, setting, and a trusted escort for your psychedelic journey.
This book offers some fascinating insight into a class of drugs that has yet to give up all of its secrets.
*I was provided with an ebook copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*
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Michele
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December 3, 2015
Instead of Tuning In and Dropping Out, SacredKnowledge by Williams takes a good long look at Tuning In and Staying In by riding the wave of a serious mushroom trip. Decades ago, when such study was possible, he began to study of the healing aspects of psychedelics, mostly the active ingredient in ‘shooms, but also other similar drugs. He advocates further study in how these chemicals can aid in mental illness, addiction and spiritual growth and exploration. He isn’t suggesting a weekend high, but a guided trip through he conscious with the goal of working with and through the images and sensations presented in the presence of a trainer guide.
The intersection of faith and the sacred, psychedelics, science and psychology is fascinating. I really enjoyed the book and have already recommended it to several people. It is well annotated and there is a fine endnotes sections. Publish date 12/8/15
An honest review in exchange for an ARC via netgalley.com 12/3/15
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Lou
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March 31, 2016
This book is an awesome introduction and overview of what has and is currently going on in terms of psychedelic research. A great read if you are as passionate as I am on the subject, or, have had personal experiences with psychedelics that you would like some more information on. Great read! Loved every page, the writing is on point as well!
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Interview
Sacred Knowledge: how psychedelics shaped an academic's life
Noah Berlatsky
William Richards’ new memoir focuses on the way psychedelics have enriched his life and fuelled his own work on ‘entheogens’ and spiritual experiences
Tue 8 Dec 2015 04.19 AEDT
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In 1963, then-psychology grad student William A Richards was studying in Germany when he volunteered to take part in an experiment with psychedelics. The result was transformative. He saw an “exquisitely beautiful, multidimensional network of intricate, neon-like patterns”. Then, as he tells us in his new book, Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences, felt he then fused with them until, “My awareness was flooded with love, beauty, and peace beyond anything I ever had known or wildly imagined to be possible.”
Richards’s experience sparked a lifelong interest in psychedelics (which Richards calls “entheogens”), spirituality, and the interconnection of the two. Sacred Knowledge, newly out from Columbia University Press, is part memoir, part philosophical treatise and part examination of the state of psychedelic research today, touching on Timothy Leary, the death of Richards’ wife, cross-cultural mystical traditions, and possible directions for medical research. I spoke to Richards, a clinical psychologist, by phone about his book and entheogens.
What has led you to the conclusion that entheogens are linked to sacred experiences?
From the experience of hundreds of people, literally.
And it’s important to make clear that even the word “entheogen”– all psychedelic experiences are not entheogenic experiences. If “entheogen” means a sacred experience of spiritual or religious meaning, only certain experiences approached the right way with the right dosage, etc, are likely to be of that profundity. I mean, a lot of people take psychedelics and see some pretty colors and giggle or get a little paranoid, and that’s not what we’re talking about.
So what makes an experience entheogenic in your view?
Well, in the book, I make the distinction between archetypal or visionary experiences, and then what we call the unitive/mystical consciousness. And people who have either or both usually view them as profoundly meaningful and personally transformative in some sense.
The difference is that the visionary archetypal experiences, there still is the sense of yourself as the observer. So I’m here looking at something there – Moses’s burning bush, or a vision of the Christ, or of precious gemstones. It may be very awesome, but there still is the everyday personality, there is the observer. And in what we call mystical consciousness, it’s like that observer kind of melts into the experience. The Hindu image is of the drop of water merging with the ocean. So that when it’s over, there’s memory of the experience, but you don’t name it as your experience necessarily.
Couldn’t these experiences be explained as a physical/chemical process rather than as a spiritual one?
Sure. There are many different hypotheses to try to explain them, and I think there’s a biochemical substrate to probably everything we experience. But to what extent that substrate is correlative as opposed to causative, is a philosophical question.
If you dissected your television set and looked in the transistors to try to find the woman who delivered the news last night, you wouldn’t find her. And yet, the television set was a part of the experience. It was integral to seeing the news. Henri Bergson, the French philosopher, posited the same model of the brain. The brain may receive and process information rather than cause it.
But when these experiences occur, people will testify that there’s a great big mystery there. And it’s incredibly beautiful and incredibly meaningful. And it seems to have life transformative effects for many people regardless of their history of mystical or philosophical beliefs.
In your book you said there might be medical uses. Has it been difficult to figure out if there are because the research has been restricted?
In the 60s, we were very excited about their promise in treatment of addictions: narcotic addiction and alcoholism. We were using them back then in helping terminally ill people live the end of their lives more fully, with less anxiety and less depression, less preoccupation with pain, more closeness to family members. These are very promising medical uses that are just beginning to be reexamined now, as the research has started to come alive again in the last 15 years. There was a 22-year period before that where absolutely nothing was going on in the United States or most of western Europe mainly because of the drug policy and the demonization of psychedelics. Technically I think I have the dubious distinction of giving psilocybin to the last person before it got totally dormant; that was in 1977. But for all practical purposes around 1973 the research was pretty dormant.
Entheogens in the US are mostly very closely regulated. So what would the benefits be of making them more widely available or easier to access?
Well I hope they will gradually become more widely available, but it has to be done in a very thoughtful and sane way. There should probably be centers with specially trained personnel, where people who want this form of experience can obtain it legally. But also with responsible medical screening and good preparation and skillful support in the experience, and some help in initially integrating the insights that occur.
Sacred Knowledge is out now on Columbia University Press.
