LSD, Spirituality and the Creative Process: Based on the Groundbreaking Research of Oscar Janiger M.D. Paperback - 2003

PSYCHOLOGY / DRUGS "There is no doubt about LSD's enormous impact on creativity. Unfortunately most artists cannot talk openly about LSD use for their artistic creativity and personal spiritual growth because of the overshadowing 'War on Drugs.' This pioneering book shows the value of the psychedelic experience for creativity." --Christian Ratsch, Ph.D., author of Marijuana Medicine and coauthor of Plants of the Gods "With LSD, Spirituality, and the Creative Process Marlene Dobkin de Rios provides a compelling account of the unique research program conducted by Oscar Janiger studying the effects of psychedelics on creativity. This important contribution should stimulate further investigations into this fascinating yet neglected field." --Charles S. Grob, M.D., professor of psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, and author of Hallucinogens: A Reader This book presents for the first time the results of one of the longest clinical studies of LSD ever undertaken and explores their implications regarding LSD's influence on creativity, imagination, and spirituality. In 1954 a Los Angeles psychiatrist began experimenting with a then new chemical discovery known as LSD-25. Over an eight-year period Dr. Oscar Janiger gave LSD-25 to more than 950 men and women, ranging in age from 18 to 81 and coming from all walks of life. In this book, the authors examine the intriguing data collected during those trials, as well as follow-up studies done forty years later. Author Marlene Dobkin de Rios, a medical anthropologist who has studied the use of hallucinogens in tribal and third world societies, considers the spiritual implications of these findings, comparing them with the experiences of indigenous groups that employ psychoactive substances in their religious ceremonies. The book also examines the nature of the creative process as influenced by psychedelics and includes artwork and poetry from the original experiment sessions, allowing the reader to personally witness LSD's impact on creativity. The groundbreaking studies recounted in LSD, Spirituality, and the Creative Process depict an important moment in the history of consciousness and reveal the innate creativity of humanity. OSCAR JANIGER, M.D., (1918-2001) was one of the first American researchers to study the psychedelic drugs LSD and DMT and was the author of A Different Kind of Healing. MARLENE DOBKIN DE RIOS, PH.D., is a medical anthropologist who has conducted fieldwork in the Amazon on the plant hallucinogen ayahuasca. She has written several books, including Visionary Vine and Hallucinogens: Cross Cultural Perspective. She lives in southern California.