Journeys into the bright world

The outcome of this train of thought was that on the twenty-eighth of February I decided to undergo the last personal samadhi session that would be recorded in this book. Henceforth the material received would be funneled into a new folder labeled The Alchemy of the Soul or else fall into a full-scale scientific research program. Lying back in bed I wondered what our bright spirit of ketamine would say to that. What ponderous or portentious "last word" would she have for our readers? In this respect my own mind was a complete blank. The challenge was entirely up to her.

For the first time it seemed as though I were reaching the goddess directly. Veiled in light, her form remained elusive. It could have been an aureole of blonde hair or a flicker of liquified sunbeams that caught my attention. What was clear, however, was the golden effervescence of her presence. Perfumed blossoms were floating down around me while trills of music sounded like birds singing or children playing. If there can be such a thing as a happiness archetype this was it.

As it turned out, the goddess didn't have much to say. Rather, it was evident that she was trying to tune me into a new way of being. I had expected a serious message-perhaps even a final sermon for our readers. Instead I was met with a froth of laughter. Now the words were rippling through my mind as though each bursting bubble was releasing its content of meaning. As nearly as I can transmit it, this is what she said:

"At this time, planet Earth is starved for joy. Not for gaseous hilarity. We need no coarse guffaws nor vaporous giggles. My greatest gift will be the spirit of pure joy. Please, my children, be happy. Rise into the blue like butterflies. Let your hearts take flight; look to the sun-drenched skies where light and love abide. You don't even have to call what you do therapy unless it pleases you to use this term. Just be free, and when you want to fly I will give you wings."

To my surprise, the goddess agreed that the time had come to end this book. "Send it forth," she said. "It's only the beginning. Just the opening of a door. But let them know the way is there-that there is a way up and out. Yes, an entrance into my bright world of love and laughter, light and beauty. Open the door and let them through. Then as they come up to me, I will go back down with them to bless this Earth I love so well with a new springtime of the soul.

8: Coming Together

Ketamine stimulates the central nervous system and at the same time produces a dissociation in the thalamocortical tract which is the main relay center for sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex. Hence it separates the higher nerve centers in the brain from the lower centers in the spinal cord, producing a sense of separation between mind and body.

– Howard Sunny Alltounian, M.D.

We knew from the start that the day would come when we would want to share our adventures into the bright world with our friends. Nevertheless, we proceeded with caution, observing our own reactions over the period extending from late September to February. Finally, in a quiet way, we permitted the word to go out that we were conducting research with a little-known psychedelic agent and would be willing to work with interested volunteers.

Some jumped at the opportunity. The majority hung back or were undecided. Naturally this reticence was to be expected. On the whole, however, the reactions elicited made it clear that quite apart from the natural hesitation that anyone would feel in experimenting with an obscure drug, "consciousness expansion" is not a particularly high priority concern, even among metaphysical students. But of course our background in yoga and hypersentience had long since demonstrated that few people want to be the first to try out a new technique, particularly when it is offered free of charge. Once it becomes "the thing to do" the story is very different.

In allaying people's fears it seemed noteworthy that in numerous cases it was the heavy smokers, compulsive coffee drinkers, pill-poppers and boozers who protested the most vehemently against the idea of taking a mini-dose of a substance routinely administered to children and old people because of its proven reputation for being a completely safe anesthetic. One man who drinks five or six bottles of Coca Cola a day, sips black coffee half the night, and who suffers from advanced emphysema as a result of compulsive chain smoking stated flatly, "It is against my principles."