Journeys into the bright world

At this stage we were fascinated with the esthetic implications of the low-dose trips and excited about their potential human benefits. If more people could be sensitized to the Venusian realm of the arts how much more pleasing a place this world might be! It was becoming increasingly clear that beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder; it is an inherent quality of a meaningful and sentient universe. I was, therefore, curious to see where this magic potion would take us next.

Session 9

December 10, 1977   7:30 pm   Alderwood Manor   25 mg

Marcia. Oh, this is beautiful. I'm well into it now. Really grooving on this candle. I went too far under before. I may do it this time also. It's so hard to link these two worlds. Before I couldn't even see the candle. And it's so beautiful. And now I feel Egypt.

Howard. Why do you love Egypt so much? You're so into Egypt… Your pulse is definitely faster.

Marcia. Oh, wow; I'm the high priestess. I'm in Egypt. That place, that light…the scarab. (Long silence. Whispering.) God, Egypt!

Howard. Well, there's no question you have tachycardia. (Tachycardia is over 120 heartbeats per minute. Ordinarily my pulse is between sixty and seventy beats per minute.)

Marcia. Oh, Egypt.

Howard. I don't know whether its tachycardia or not. I'll have to count…

Marcia. Oh, it's very far out.

Howard. I told you. Listen to the doctor. The doctor knows. Dr. Neptune. Wouldn't that be a good name for me. Dr. Neptune. (Laughing). Are you still with me?

Marcia. Yes.

Howard. OK, I just wanted to make sure. (Very long pause.) Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen,…Ah, it's 108-approaching tachycardia. It certainly accelerates your body. (Long pause.) Where are you now, dear?

Marcia. Oh, it's glorious.

Howard. It's the best trip you've had, isn't it?

Marcia. The very best.

Howard. You didn't know you were getting Dr. Neptune, did you? You've got to remember all this. Can you remember this? Marcia? Are you dizzy? (Still no response.) Where are you now, dear? (Very long pause. Inaudible mumbling.) Can you say that louder? (Long pause.) Can you talk? Say something.

Marcia. I understand about the archetypes. But I can't communicate. Astrology is the golden key. Truly, it's the language of the gods. I can't bring it through. I just can't bring it through. I can't… Now I'm at the portal. Oooops, there we go again.

Howard. Coming back?

Marcia. Coming back through that portal. Oh dear, I don't want to go through the portal. It looks so grim-like the devil. No, I don't want to go, don't want to go through the portal. The devil. I don't want to go, don't want to go…through that portal. Now I've done it. It's not pure any more. Oh…the music is fantastic!

Howard. What does the candle look like?

Marcia. Oh, the music and the candle. It's so important. So very important. Oh, dear. (Sighing.) It's so important to link the portal. Each time I lose it, I'm sad. I'm going to lose it.

Howard. You want to bring it into your world all the time, don't you.

Marcia. The bright world, yes. Right now I'm seeing two bright worlds. That is, I'm looking at the candle and seeing double. Oh,dear, I so much don't want to come back. (At this point I heard my voice repeating those words over and over but had no idea what the sounds meant.) My goodness, this is a strange in-between place. I don't know whether I'm going to remember this.

Howard. Yeah, you will because we're getting it on tape.

Marcia. This is amazing. That music goes on and on. What I usually don't like about this experience is that it's too short. But now it's going on and on. The music: it's so great, I don't want to come back. I have no idea what those sounds mean. I don't want to come back.

Howard. It means that you want to stay in that other place. (At this point I was still repeating "I don't want to come back." But I wasn't thinking of the present situation. Rather, it was as though I had regressed to the time of my birth in this body and was protesting the thought of having to incarnate again.)

Marcia. It's so beautiful. Duality. Gemini.

Howard. Wow, I've got a contact high from you; you know that! Marcia. I see two candles-you and me. Do you see two candles? Howard. No, I see only one. It was quite a trip. Marcia. I wish I knew what those words meant. "I don't want to come back." They look like saw teeth, all jagged edges. It looks so beautiful now; I'm seeing a whole mountain range of candles. Hmmmm, Everest, Kanchenjunga, the Himalayas…the thing I like best in the whole world is mountains. The world is a mountain. (Pleading.) Oh, please don't make me come back! The music is so perfect. Why should it be just my music at this time?

Howard. It's on stereo.

Marcia. I'm seeing two candle flames. And they're you and me.

Howard. (Laughing.) You always see you and me.

Marcia. It's that Playboy bunny. There's always a Howard in there.

Howard. (Laughing.) In every trip there's a Howard. The other turn of the spiral.