Journeys into the bright world

In the past, anesthesia has put people to sleep. Now we have discovered that it can also awaken them to their highest human potential. Medicine need no longer be confined to the alleviation of the symptoms of disease; it can help produce radiant health. We do not mean to imply that ketamine is a placebo, a panacea or the ultimate key to the celestial kingdom. There seems good reason to suppose, however, that it can hasten our normal human evolution at a time when, if we do not soon grow up, we may squeeze ourselves right off this planet.

We believe that people have as much right to accelerate their higher mental development as they have to speed their journey toward any goal-within limits, of course. A traveler is justified in exchanging a donkey cart for a car, but this does not give him the right to drive recklessly. Since we are writing for intelligent people, we expect our readers to use as much common sense as they would when driving on a highway. Even though idiots and drunken drivers do abound, mind trips like car trips can take us to many beautiful places.

For the most part, our narrative has focused on the therapeutic and mind-expanding effects of ketamine, assuming from the outset that these two aims are inextricably blended. That is, achieving a broader outlook on life is inherently therapeutic. Hence, one of our purposes in coining the term "samadhi therapy" is to show that experiencing the blissful state that the practitioners of yoga call samadhi can have practical advantages. Real joy-the lift that springs spontaneously from the revelation of the glory of creation- can be physically and psychologically beneficial. However, as any perceptive reader can see, many related issues are involved. The art of correct dying, the study of archetypes, the analysis of the connections among brain, mind and soul, the comprehension of cosmic laws and the meaning of existence are all illumined with the light of a new understanding. Essentially, we are investigating the border zone between science and religion, viewing them as intersecting spheres of endeavor, which year by year are being brought into clearer stereoscopic alinement.

We are well aware of the disputable aspects of our research, but we firmly believe that the importance of this work will eventually be recognized. In the meanwhile, we are accumulating data banks, files of transcripts and all the paraphernalia of modern technology, assuming that time will bring a consensus of first-hand observations to support our conclusions. Positive results will tell the story. For now we offer ourselves and a few others as examples, hoping that this start will stimulate further progress.

Many people are justifiably critical of the "instant ecstasy" promised and sometimes produced by various psychedelic substances, and such criticism is justified, because the long-range effects have so often proved disappointing. Fifteen years ago there were many, including Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) and Tim Leary who believed that LSD might usher in a spiritual renaissance. Their work has borne some fruit. Consciousness expansion has become a household word and the metaphysical movement is burgeoning. But for the most part, their dream of renaissance has dissipated. Why then, should today's drug-sophisticated observer accept the claims of ketamine's advocates, who insist they have found the ultimate high? Obviously, such eulogies sound too good to be true. Like children who know there is no Santa Claus, we have been tuned to spot the worm in the apple, the fly in the ointment, the bluish tinge of rot beneath the bloom on the peach.

To such skeptics we can say only, why not try the substance yourself before passing judgment? Or at least, speak with those who have made the effort to gain such knowledge. People who have adopted this open-minded attitude have not been disappointed.

In the interim, we can assure you that our "samadhi sessions" will be safe and agreeable. Indeed, ketamine is such a well-tested anesthetic that it is commonly prescribed for the fragile patients at both ends of the medical spectrum-for young children and for senior citizens. Even in these cases, the amounts given for anesthesia are six or more times the dosages we have used and are administered intravenously rather than intramuscularly.

The fact that for the most part ketamine has no negative aftereffects has been exhaustively documented over more than a decade of impeccably conducted scientific research. Its demonstrated safety is particularly remarkable, because to date it has been used mainly under distressing hospital conditions in conjunction with narcotics and tranquilizers. By now, enough conscientious and reliable people have taken ketamine "trips" to justify the conclusion that hangovers, depressions, and that "freaked-out" feeling are conspicuously absent.

"Yes," some objectors declare, "I would like to expand my consciousness, but I feel that I must do it for myself."