Psychedelic Drugs and the Awakening of Kundalini Donald J. DeGracia, Ph.D. Copyright 1997. All rights reserved worldwide. TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Information About Psychedelic Drugs ....................................................................... 44 About Kundalini............................................................................................................................ 1010 Summary of Effects of Awakened Kundalini......................................................................... 1414 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1616 Methods......................................................................................................................................... 1717 Hallucinogenic Drug User Survey.......................................................................................... 1818 Results: Overview......................................................................................................................... 2222 Detailed Results Respondent's Demographic Profile......................................................................................... 2525 Ss Hallucinogenic Usage ........................................................................................................ 2727 Ss Use of Other Drugs and Comparison to Hallucinogens..................................................... 3030 Motor and Autonomic Effects ................................................................................................. 3939 Spontaneous Laughter............................................................................................................. 4242 Auditory Hallucination Data................................................................................................... 4343 Sensations of Chills and Vibrations........................................................................................ 4747 Psychedelic Induced Synesthesia............................................................................................ 5151 Visual Hallucination - Text Responces................................................................................... 5555 Visual Hallucination - Raw Data ............................................................................................ 6161 Psychdelic Induced Emotional Changes................................................................................. 6464 Psychdelic Induced Changes in Empathy............................................................................... 6969 Psychdelic Induced Changes in Identity................................................................................. 7272 Changes in Cognition: Concentration..................................................................................... 7777 Psychedelic Induced Changes in Thought .............................................................................. 8282 Long-term Effects of Psychedelics on SsSs ............................................................................... 8989 Ss General Comments on Psychedelics .................................................................................. 9595 Psychedelic Drug-induced Religious and Psychic Experiences ........................................... 102 Effects of Psychedelics on Ss Spirituality ............................................................................ 110 Discussion................................................................................................................................... 113 1. 1. Numerical Data ................................................................................................................. 115 2. 2. Hallucinogenic Effects: Textual Analysis. ....................................................................... 117 3. Implications of Sensory Alterations.................................................................................. 125 4. 4. Common Mechanisms?..................................................................................................... 128 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 130 A Depiction of a Visual Hallucination........................................................................................ 131 Links to other sources of Information......................................................................................... 133 22 Introduction The purpose of this document is to compare the effects of psychedelic drugs to the effects of what is called in the Tantric and Occult literature "awakening of the kundalini". The comparison will be carried out in two ways. First, an abbreviated review of the literature on both psychedelic drugs and kundalini awakening will be presented. When these two literatures are placed side by side, it becomes much more apparent that there is a significant overlap between the effects of psychedelic drugs and the effects of awakened kundalini. Second, I will present results from a survey I performed designed to compare the effects of psychedelic drugs and kundalini awakening. The survey questioned psychedelic drug users about the nature of their psychedelic drug experiences. The complete results of the survey are presented in the Results Section of this site. It is very instructive to read the responces given to the survey questions and recognize that descriptions of psychedelic drug experiences are, in many respects, indistinquishable from reports of kundalini awakening. I invite any comments, questions and correspondence. Don DeGracia, Ph.D. April, 1997 33 Background Information About Psychedelic Drugs The hallucinogens are a class of molecules which, when orally ingested, create tremendous alterations in human consciousness. Some members of this family of compounds include: d- lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, psylocybin, peyote, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Most hallucinogens are naturally occurring substances which can be isolated from biological sources[1] . Our present understanding of hallucinogenic drugs is both complicated and confusing. This is due largely to the turbulent history of these drugs. Originally, they were greeted by the psychological community as a means of chemically inducing schizophrenia [2], a notion that still persists (c.f. [3] ). During this initial period, these drugs were called "psychomimetic" drugs, indicating their presumed ability to induces psychosis. However, the writings of avante garde intellectuals in the late 1950s and early 1960s painted a significantly different picture of hallucinogens, seeing in them a key to expanded states of consciousness and leading to experiences similar, if not identical to the teachings of ancient Eastern philosophy [4]. During this era, these drugs became known as "psychedelic" which literally means "mind manifesting"; in other words, the effects of psychedelics manifest through changes in the mind. Some psychologists were beginning to accept such a viewpoint as further work on human subjects progressed, revealing flaws in the logic of the psychomimetic paradigm, while simultaneously, the therapeutic uses of hallucinogens in a number of clinical psychiatric settings showed great promise [5]. Such a view, coupled with broad, positive media exposure by Timothy Leary and others led to a popular interest in hallucinogens in the mid to late 1960s, the so-called "psychedelic 60s", leading to wide spread use of hallucinogens. However, views of these drugs became ever more polarized as negative reports of LSD effects also emerged. Popular usage was met with alarmist reactions by mainstream medical and legal authorities due to exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims of dangers associated with LSD use [6]. By October of 1966, these drugs were made illegal in the United States. At present these drugs are still illegal in Western industrial nations and this has severely curtailed the scientific investigation of this class of compounds. According to Tart (1990), "basic research virtually stopped in this area in the early 1960s" [7]. This is true regarding the effects of these drugs on humans. Some animal research has continued to the present on the pharmacology and neurophysiology of these drugs. However, as of 1994, there is some good news; the FDA has approved the use of psychedelics in two human studies: one characterizing the effects of DMT, the other characterizing the effects of MDMA. There is today a large, complex, and often contradictory, literature on hallucinogenic drugs. In this article I will try only to present a brief and highly abbreviated overview of our current knowledge about these compounds. There are two factors relevant to the current discussion: 1. conceptualizing the effects of hallucinogenic drugs and 2. understanding the mode of action of hallucinogens on the central nervous system (CNS). In general, it is reasonable to say, based on current evidence, that neither the effects of these drugs nor their mode of action has been successfully characterized. Let us look at each in turn. The phenomenology of the hallucinogenic experience is extremely complex, operating, again, at physiological, sensory, emotional, cognitive, and we could say, spiritual, levels. Hallucinogenic 4 induced alterations are so drastic from our normal states of consciousness, that, again, we may call the state induced by hallucinogens an ASC. The physiological effects of