Although psychedelic drug experiences can contain features similar to those arising at all levels of meditative states, they manifest in a more ambiguous and disjointed fashion so that their effects create a less consistent and coherent paradigm- Carlos Castaneda, Timothy Leary, et al, notwithstanding. Various entheogenic drugs have played a role in historic shamanic traditions like the soma (mushrooms) of India and when put in context of the classical metaphysical models certainly provide some useful perspectives. See- On Perspectives of Self and No-Self and Maya and Entheogen-Inspired Revelations
My single psychedelic episode happened when around 1985, some friends had collected some psilocybin mushrooms from a Florida cow pasture. My previous experience with drugs had been limited to a once-a-week smoking of grass which aside from having played a major role in triggering my Nirvikalpa Samadhi fifteen years ago, had consistently acted as an aphrodisiac- so in anticipation of the mushrooms having a similar effect, I wanted my present girlfriend to join me. After I ingested the bitter mushroom stew, Chris, who did not try any, and I got into bed but instead of feeling sexually aroused I became overcome with anxiety and quickly felt invaded by a hostile spirit which was intent on sucking out my existence. (In retrospect I think it was that I was simply terrified of being annihilated and rationalized a cause for the effect.) In real panic, I rushed to the bathroom and tried making myself vomit by putting my finger down my throat but that evoked a surreal reality in which my finger was magnified into a hundred-foot-long proboscis probing a gigantic chasm that led into the bowels of my being. In an increasingly panicky state I starting tramping around the house experiencing the rapid dissolution of all my consciousness and sentience until I was left with a single reference to my existence which was the feeling of the bottom of my bare feet impacting on the floor. My vision rapidly became dysfunctional until I stomped about the house with my eyes wide open but no visual signals reached my brain- yet with some mystery faculty which enabled me to keep from colliding with objects. In addition I became aware of the voice of my housemate Robin (who had given me the mushrooms) repeatedly saying..."let go, let go". His voice finally persuaded me to let go of the last vestige of self-identity that I was clinging to- the sensation of ground on the bottom of my feet, sit down on a couch with Chris out on my porch and stare blankly out into my garden- with my entire world utterly invisible. I almost instantly became enveloped in an aura in which my consciousness went through a slow-motion transformation from pure terror, through serenity to pure bliss. As I stared out into a transparent world, my garden- almost imperceptibly at first- started to be revealed- as if multicolored snowflakes were falling on every surface, slowly building up coherent images to reveal the form of each leaf, branch and flower- until everything was revealed in a shimmering, psychedelic colored, incredibly beautiful, splendorous reality. I became transformed to a state of blissful Selfhood (more like a reverie than an ecstasy) which lasted perhaps a few minutes- then gradually subsiding over a period of more minutes to a heightened state well-being. Within an hour or so I was back to normalcy with no traumatic scars. I had, however, no desire for further magic mushroom experiences and at the time had not begun my intense examination (1998) of my samadhi experience (1970) so failed to attach any spiritual significance to this psychedelic episode (or recognize the profundity that I explore in the following update- twenty three years after the fact.)
Update 3 28 08:
A Google search reveals a tantalizing synchronicity that seems to connect the terms hysterical blindness and maya along with other aspects of nondual metaphysical tradition. Could these strange coincidences be the Trickster or Lila at play- the Muse beckoning me to behold aspects of reality my Nirvikalpa Samadhi experience has graced me? Of course this seeming synchronicity might just be an artifact of the google algorithm application which can stumble upon arbitrary connections between any number of terms. The next level of thought is that Google and the Internet is evolving to resemble a virtual cybernetic mind- weakly subject to the same psychic/spiritual influences that act on our biological brains such as Lila- to yield emergent, primitive intuitive information greater than the sum of that which we feed into it.
The WebBot Project suggests that the Internet is already acting as a sort of collective cybermind so it might be expected to evolve psychic qualities of both our conscious and un-conscious collective. This leads to the notion of the inevitability that the InterMind will create a program that incorporates both immanent and spiritual components of our conscious reality and in the distant future will create a program by which we are delivered to the brink of a natural transcendence. See also: Internet World Mind - forum discussion on the consciousness cafe.org about the potential for the Internet creating a virtual collective consciousness.
Popularity of name Maya for Girl Babies- Popularity started to spike around 1990 in synchronicity with mainstreaming of New Age and Non-Dual Spiritual perspectives.
Who Have No Eyes (October 1998, Interzone #145)- Mary, in Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff's novelette, Who Have No Eyes, knows from the age of eight that she will some day go blind and tells herself for 17 years that the reality will not be a tragedy. When the day comes she is, in the author's deliberate irony, playing the blind lead in a production of 'Wait Until Dark'. She welcomes the darkness. But does she welcome it too much? Her doctor tells her nothing organically is wrong, that her blindness is, in the technical term, hysterical. Hysterical is a better word for those around her when they find out, especially her lover and eventual husband, David,who can never come to terms with what is to him the worst of afflictions, and to her the most blessed of gifts. "Who Have No Eyes" is, despite a paragraph at the end, completely mainstream, and it is also completely disturbing. -Steve Carper
MOSAIC book review by Bonnie Toews: Hard-Edged Suspense, August 15, 2002 Gayle Lynd's fascination with psychological conditions--this time hysterical blindness--(conversion disorder), and special talent provides a vulnerable heroine who is a blind concert pianist, and when she digs down, discovers how tough she can be when her mother is murdered beside her in a taxi. Maya Stern is the name of the female assassin.
Uma Karuna Thurman won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002) (TV), directed by Mira Nair. See Plot
She occasionally starred in such films as her role as a martial arts assassin in Tarantino's controversial Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).
Uma Karuna Thurman. The name, inspired by a Hindu goddess, was a ''double whammy'' that her father, Robert, a Buddhist scholar, took infinite delight in inflicting on her, she said. Uma and Ethan Hawke's daughter's name is Maya. The name of the character that Uma played in _Duke of Groove (1995) (TV) was Maya.
Thurman's costar in Hysterical Blindness was Justin Chambers. He married Keisha Chambers in 1993 they had also five children: Isabella, born in 1997, twins Maya and Kaila, born in 1999, Eva, born in 2001 and Jackson.
Uma's mother Nena was once married to LSD proponent Timothy Leary. The marriage lasted less than a year (1964-1965).
Mira Nair’s next film sparked a controversy as well: in Kama Sutra - A Tale of Love (1996) she returned to Indian sources to tell the story of Princess Tara and her servant Maya, who fight for the love of the king Raj Singh in 16th century India.
Jakob Trollbäck and his colleagues created the titles for Hysterical Blindness. Referring to the Software programs for other effects in the film he says: "We use After Effects or Maya for animation."
Clinically Correct term for Hysterical Blindness is Conversion Disorder Blindness
The aspect that could have value in a theory of visual consciousness is- with wide open eyes, why could I "see" nothing and how was I able to navigate in a landscape that appeared totally transparent? Probably relates somehow to the condition of hysterical blindness. See: Conversion Hysteria: Towards a Cognitive Neuropsychological Account Edited by Peter W. Halligan and Anthony S. David.
"In subjects with blindsight, and other preserved `implicit' abilities, we interpret signs of preserved function, in the absence of acknowledged awareness, as evidence for surviving `unconscious' processes. In a patient with hysteria similar evidence of preserved function might easily be interpreted as evidence for deliberate deception. The contrast- and the ambivalence which underlies it- emphasize how imperfectly we understand the processes which generate `awareness'.
In
conversion disorder blindness, for example, patients walk around without collisions or self injury, their pupils react to light and their cortical evoked potentials are normal.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)- site has an open forum on conversion disorder. Conversion disorder and somatization disorder was sub typed in a general term of somatoform disorder.
Visual Symptoms- include monocular diplopia, triplopia, field defects, tunnel vision, and bilateral blindness associated with intact pupillary reflexes.
Tran T. Kim-Trang cut and paste excerpts from an interview with Tran on the KaraGarga website. (registered viewers only and now closed for new members).
[Some initial inspiration} "In 1990 Jacques Derrida helped to curate a show for the Louvre Museum titled Memoirs of the Blind. Even before making ALETHEIA I had an eight-part series investigating blindness and its metaphors mapped out roughly by topics: the introduction, cosmetic surgery, sexuality, surveillance, hysterical blindness, language, actual blindness, and the epilogue. ALETHEIA then became a table of contents, I was keen on the idea of structuring the series like chapters in a book."
Yes, let's talk a bit about EKLEIPSIS. Your use of a diminishing strobe technique to mimic the effect of hysterical blindness was challenging, but by the end, I found that your manipulation of the imagery, especially as it serves the narrative, was quite ingenious, and thoroughly appropriate. Looking back, I feel your work on EKLEIPSIS may in fact have been an aesthetic
breakthrough for you...
Yes, I agree. But I really believed EKLEIPSIS would never see the light of day because no one would be able to watch it. So I was a nervous wreck after finishing it; speaking of, the day I finished the piece was also the day Pol Pot died. Imagine that. Coincidences like that kept popping up throughout the 14 years working on the series.
EKLEIPSIS (Betacam; 22 min; 1998) An experimental documentary about Cambodian women in Long Beach, California, known as the largest group of hysterically blind people in the world. Hysterical blindness is a psychological condition where one is not able to see despite the absence of physical problems. EKLEIPSIS traces two histories: the Cambodian Civil War and hysteria, to speak about pathology and agency. To transcend what has been described as the ‘eye-searing’ horrors of war, these women cried themselves into blindness. Holly Willis and I are currently co-editing a collection of essays, titled MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WRITINGS ON TRAN, T. KIM-TRANG'S BLINDNESS SERIES, with contributions from Laura Marks, Alex Juhasz, Jesse Lerner, Ming Ma, Tracy Maclean, Allan DeSouza, Lynne Sachs, Peter Feng, Michelle Dizon, David Lloyd, and M.A. Greenstein to mark the completion of this body of work. Plans to tour the series nationally and internationally are in the works, so stay tuned. Tran is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Scripps College.
Although I was totally blinded and obsessed with the terror of losing my selfhood- I could still (mysteriously) navigate a route through the rooms however and hear and cognate Robin's voice saying "Let Go".
There is undoubtedly a relationship to the account of my Church Sending a Demon episode for the primacy of Surrender in evoking transcendent equilibrium in the face of psychic terrors.
Do all clinically blind persons have a field of vision that is consistently pitch black or is there a 'vision' field that fills with whatever level of ambient light is present from light to dark? Is it the same with hysterically blind persons? In my case, the episode happened during the day and my field of vision had a constant field of nominal light that seemed to be unaffected by my passage through variously illuminated areas which ranged from a screened porch with a full view of a sunlit garden- to an interior dimly-lit back bedroom.
On Reality of Self and No-Self, Maya and Entheogen-Inspired Revelations
Does my episode of hysterical blindness during my one experience with magic mushrooms illuminate the topic of Maya and provide any useful perspective on the Self-Inquiry of Sri Ramana Maharshi and other jnana yoga practices?
It seems the Buddhist notion of attaining the NO-SELFso that the "ME" IS SEEN- "as the indwelling and transcendent Divine - supreme, omniscient, omnipresent, infinite in power and measureless in virtue and universal Buddhic Mind (is) this One Supreme Reality, this One Without a Second, which has been hidden from our TARNISHED VISION for uncountable millennium, and with whom we now, after eons of searching, joyously connect in fully realized freedom." (caps added by ef)
Now the apparent distinction between Atman Self and Anatta No Self may be simply the result of aspects of specific features of the Advaita tradition so that Ramana's "I (am) I" Self of oneness with Brahman and No Self of the Tathagata vanishes. In some respects the complete body of Ramana's commentaries has the body of the elephant of the perennial non-dual philosophies and devotees who examine it are like the blind trying to permutate a proprietary form out of sometimes contradictory parts. If that is the case, I wonder if all the mystery, and confusion and ambiguity over exactly what "practice" best expresses Ramana's teachings is SIMPLY all of the above so long as it leads to the realization of the Self/NoSelf of Atman/Anatta - Brahman/Bohdi.
Inner Explorations In his autobiography David Loy writes that he came to a similar conclusion- that although there are extraordinary very sharp differences between the Bhagavad-Gita Adviata and Mayhayana Buddhism- in fact, opposed, that the phenomenology of the experience they were trying to describe is, in fact, very, very similar, perhaps identical...
No-self or Not-self? by Thanissaro Bhikkhu 1996 One of the first stumbling blocks that Westerners often encounter when they learn about Buddhism is the teaching on anatta, often translated as no-self. The idea of there being no self doesn't fit well with other Buddhist teachings, such as the doctrine of kamma and rebirth: If there's no self, what experiences the results of kamma and takes rebirth? In one place where the Buddha was asked point-blank whether or not there was a self, he refused to answer. When later asked why, he said that to hold either that there is a self or that there is no self is to fall into extreme forms of wrong view that make the path of Buddhist practice impossible. Thus the question should be put aside. To understand what his silence on this question says about the meaning of anatta, we first have to look at his teachings on how questions should be asked and answered, and how to interpret his answers.
Whether this perennial knowledge comes from jnana or any other form of yoga or practice or direct transcendent experience it's relevancy is only in regards to what happens to consciousness at bodily death. Unless we can found an ashram supported by devotees to spend our lives in contemplation - we must deal with the fact that everything we touch collapses the wave function and so function in the imperative paradigm of the material reality world consensus - yet overlain with the precious knowledge of ultimate freedom.
The resulting effect of my psilocybin-inspired "realization" is SEEING that my selfhood must be surrendered to become aware that "mountains are still mountains" (and gardens are still gardens) but newly recognized as incredibly precious but witnessed via Maya's spell of duality. It appears that until I free-willed to Surrender every vestige of my psychic/phenomenal "selfhood" I would remain in a stasis of terror and dysfunctional, inverted Maya wherein all phenomenal reality was invisible. A moment of quasi-Realization or quasi-Freedom arrived not by self-inquiry or self-discovery but by surrendering all sense of body and mind selfhood- namely to the last cognitive sensation- the feeling of my weight of Being on the bottom of my feet as I stomped around in the invisible world of my apartment.
It should be stressed however, that at the time, my "realization" was a state of conscious duality and certainly was not an Advaita experience of becoming non-dual with that ultimate consciousness nor did it even advance to beholding Gaia reality as manifestation of Buddha/Brahman. It could be described as being in a state of pure blissful Maya since there was definitely an "I" contemplating the "other" objects in the visible "reality" that finally appeared. This may be an example of how "realizations" attained under the influence of more potent entheogens may represent psychic/spiritual hybridized versions of those which are spontaneously graced and have varying degrees of shadow qualities that interfere with a clear insight to Brahman. It is my intuitive opinion that only certain varieties of cannabis have the "good bhakti" qualities to raise ecstatic orgasm (or perhaps other epiphanies) to trigger the transcending grace of an entirely authentic non-dual Brahman/Bodhi consciousness. The implication is that the more potent entheogens incorporate varying degrees of psychic baggage along the entire "transcendent" journey so as to warp full realization of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
For more perspective on Maya see: Maya in Physics by R. Blake Michael, N. C. Panda; Maya in Physics is a synthesis of modern classical physics, thermodynamics, relativity, quantum physics, particles physics, and cosmology and the Advaita Vedanta, with an integral thesis emerging out of the confluence. In the exposition of the Advaita Vedanta, its philosophy has been reinterpreted in the light of modern science. In this process, the Vedanta has been demystified and physics dematerialized instead of being confined to inter-school parallelism only, this book tries to present a total vision of the entire cosmos and its dependence on Brahman, the transcendental being which is the non-dual Reality.
Other Perspectives on the Role of Entheogens and Religious Experiences
Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality By John Horgan 2003. Horgan chronicles the most advanced research into the mechanics--and meaning--of mystical experiences. How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences "work"? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation? Horgan consulted a wide range of experts, including theologian Huston Smith, spiritual heir to Joseph Campbell; Andrew Newberg, the scientist whose quest for the "God module" was the focus of a Newsweek cover story; Ken Wilber, prominent transpersonal psychologist; Alexander Shulgin, legendary psychedelic drug chemist; and Susan Blackmore, Oxford-educated psychologist, parapsychology debunker, and Zen practitioner.
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals (Hardcover) 2003 by Huston Smith. The author's conviction that entheogens make possible ecstatic, mystical states which take one into the heart of cosmic awareness is genuine...and tempting but there comes a time in authentic spiritual life, when this too must be left behind if in fact we truly seek the highest realms of spiritual attainment.
The Entheogen Theory of Religion and Ego Death by advocate Michael Hoffman. An Exhaustive Examination for the Entheogen Imperative in the History of Religion (and non-dual transcendent experience). Also by MH- Entheogen-Diminishing Attitudes: New Age- Against drug-free spirituality; New Age - false history of religion and enlightenment; Shaman's Drum magazine - psychedelics special issue; Endless spirituality research as denial of entheogen solution; Suppression of entheogenic esoteric religion.
Interview with Daniel Pinchbeck by Tim Boucher. Pinchbeck is one of the leading voices in today’s counter-culture, exploring the connections between psychedelics & shamanism and their importance in the modern era. Though he’s published feature articles in the New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Wired, The Village Voice and is a regular columnist in Arthur magazine, it was his 2003 book, Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism, which seems to have really given him a higher profile among those interested in alternative religion and spirituality.
Johns Hopkins Psilocybin Study
Thread on report published in Psychopharmacology, the results of the double-blind study led by psychopharmacologist Roland Griffiths a study by a psychiatric team at preeminent Johns Hopkins School of Medicine revealed that psilocybin, the all-natural ingredient that packs the magic in magic mushrooms, can "occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. (See overview Post # 21 by Heretic.Ape- drug news and policy Moderator (Charles Hayes) 06-02-2007, 09:36 AM)
Psychedelic Experiences in a Rational Spiritual Context by Ian Lawton 2005 Conclusion: To sum up then, in general psychedelics (can) produce...initial glimpses of the true nature of the universe and of its essential unity, which are corroborated by both meditative and spontaneous transcendental illumination, and by modern science. To this extent it appears that they can act as a supreme catalyst for opening the eyes of those who struggle to obtain this experience by more traditional meditative practices. Nevertheless, despite the undoubted importance of both of these findings, it seems to be crucial that we also appreciate that in general psychedelic experiences may not represent a panacea that can reveal all the mysteries of the universe to us. It appears that they are primarily confined to the intermediate rather than light realms, and can also involve large elements of subjective perception and personal psychic projection, which is why they contain such variations in theme. For this reason it would seem to be unwise to imbue their more disparate elements with too much significance, or to take them too literally.
Stanislav Grof One of the least ambiguous anecdotes of potent entheogen episodes triggering what I would describe as a 'peak synopsis' of cosmic consciousness is that of Dr. Stanislav Grof describing his first LSD trip.
Terence Kemp McKenna (1946-2000) was a writer, philosopher, and ethnobotanist. He is noted for his many speculations on the use of psychedelic, plant-based hallucinogens, and subjects ranging from shamanism, the development of human consciousness, and the novelty theory.
Ralph Abraham- Prodigious portfolio of books and articles from a highly evolved mind (initially shaped by several years of habitual use of LSD)- integrating perspectives from direct experience in pan-disciplinary mysticism and physical, mathematical and consciousness sciences. See also Vibrations and Forms - A remarkable biographical account of the author's experiential evolution in formulating concepts about reality as member of the LSD-tripping, mysticism-questing, diaspora of young American intellectuals who like Baba Ram Dass joined satsang with Neem Karoli Baba in India in the 1970s and made the transition of living in a cave as a sadhu to his present position of Professor of Mathematics, U. of CA at Santa Cruz.
Meanwhile- in another Ecstatic dimension- a 21st century version of the "tune in, turn on, drop out" counter culture phenomenon created by LSD guru Timothy Leary has arrived with Guruphiliac Jody Radzik touting the virtues of the drug Ecstasy to reprogram an entire generation to a Gaian consciousness. Having little knowledge of either drug, I can only guess at a comparison from my one episode with magic mushrooms, that psychedelics (now called entheogens) tend to open the lone experiencer directly to transcendent states (albeit with varying degrees of dual/nondual morphing). With ecstasy it appears that experiencers remain in immanent dual state with romantic feelings, along with instincts that connect us holistically to all of nature, dramatically amplified. Thus, allegedly, the Gaian consciousness arises- as does societal criticism to the same degree the LSD craze generated. (Ecstasy may act as a synthetic combination of dopamine and the hormone oxytocin resulting in an emotional compromise of intense energy and exhilaration of the romantic impulse triggered by the former to the connecting, bonding effect of the latter. See video background to story This Thing Called Love- National Geographic Magazine, Feb. 2006.
My main point of contention with Radzik is my perception that he claims that the drug ecstasy can induce an authentic Nirvikalpa Samadhi experience. I maintain that such potent entheogens produce an impure version mixed to varying degrees with psychic baggage - resulting in a frequently inspiring but warped illusion of realization.
Update 11 16 08: Jody Radzik (mg: Jody sent me an Email calling my attention to this statement in his blog- refining his view on psychedelic spirituality and positing that it disclaims my "strong misapprehension" that he advocates the drug ecstasy as a enabler for authentic samadhi. I generalized from the considerable body of Google references to his drift which seemed an enthusiastic advocacy of ecstasy-inspired spirituality. I'd say his challenge is to convert the public impression this body has created with as vigorous a campaign as for example Antony Flew launched when he converted from an advocate of atheism to born again deism.)
In a subsequent Email Jody says: "As far as MDMA (ecstasy) in particular (is concerned)- at best, it cracks the door. I have never associated MDMA with nirvikalpa." and also says he agrees with my caution about potent entheogens and warped illusions.
Some further reading on Self and No Self
Ramana's Self This interpretation brings Ramana Maharshi's method, into sync with Buddhism's No-Self, although it's written in veiled language. The "primeval one" in this verse is Brahman (the Self) and the "cave" is the heart center, so the meaning is: concentrate inwardly (on the feeling of me) until the innermost self is discerned in the heart and recognized as God.
No-Self Experiences in Western Eyes One of the fundamental differences between Christians and Buddhists revolves around the notion of the self. For Christians, the existence of a personal self is not only self-evident, but a vital part of their philosophy and theology. For Buddhists, there is ultimately no self either in human beings or in anything else, either. "There is no flower in the flower," the Dalai Lama once said. See also The Treasures of Simple Living: A Family's Search for a Simpler and More Meaningful Life in the Middle of a Forest - by Tyra and James Arraj (1987) Complete Book Online.
Buddha No-Self Sister Khema, a Buddhist Nun presents a clear synopsis of what the Buddha taught.
Self and No Self The "self" emerges from the synergism (working together) of the 6 senses.
Notself by Thanissaro Bhikkhu ...where the Buddha was asked point-blank whether or not there was a self, he refused to answer. When later asked why, he said that to hold either that there is a self or that there is no self is to fall into extreme forms of wrong view that make the path of Buddhist practice impossible.
What Is Self? A Study of the Spiritual Journey in Terms of Consciousness By Bernadette Roberts: Buddha attained No-Self only after experiencing the (Atman) self.
The Dharma of Non Duality Sankara became the high priest of Advaita and the non-dual reality of Brahman. Between Sankara in the 7th century and Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamali, south India in the 20th century, you can hardly find a single teacher or teaching in India of Advaita.
Get your own Free Home Page