LSD and the Astral Experience

[James S]

Hi Armed Response,

I'm probably going to be one of the few that won't give you the verbal tyrade about not doing drugs. I've tripped a few times myself and have basically come to my own conclusion that I'd rather be straight, and I've grown a lot more spiritually as a result.

You have to remember that Robert Bruce is an author who has to maintain his credibility while releasing books on a fringe subject. Of course he's going to take a hard line against drugs as he'll be committing journalistic suicide if he doesn't.

Apart from that, the stance against using drugs is a logical one. To be able to consistently and successfully achieve OBEs you need to be in full control of your consciousness. Any kind of psychoactive drugs, although being able to give you a quick fix solution, will ultimately prevent you from learning how to gain controlled access to the astral. I don't know if you've noticed, but a much as LSD can allow you to quickly reach a projection state, it is the drug that controls the experience, not you. If you've ever had a bad trip you should now exactly what I mean.

I personally don't disagree with the validity of achieving access to the astral while tripping. It is as valid an experience as a straight OBE. Trouble is you either have very limited control, or no control at all, which defeats the purpose of learning AP and will prevent you from gaining any true spiritual growth which, apart from being fun, is what the purpose of astral projection is really all about.

It has been pointed out in another similar topic that Shamanistic practitioners use certain substances to assist their work. Remember though that these are people with a great deal of training in altered conscious states, and have to gain the ability to project reliably without drugs long before they start using them.

James.

[ralphm]

I thought of responses while reading your post, then read Jame's and realized he said what I was gonna. I was also wondering what is in LSD theese days, back in the 70's when I was doing it I remember a friend sitting on the curb with intense stomach pains- I heard that strychnine is a common contaminant and sometimes it is laced with speed. I may be ok to open your eyes but you have to be prepared to do the work over the long haul.

[Tom]

With some minor experimentation, I found that chemicals helped me to confirm some of what I had learned about energy. They helped me to feel the energy much more strongly and enhanced my visualization. They even confirmed for me that breathing exercises really do draw in energy to the body quickly and easily. The only problem was that the chemicals also caused me to lose energy very quickly. When the drugs wore off I found myself unusually drained for several days.

[Armed Response]

I appreciate the responses, it is helping to confirm what I thought was probably the case. I can definately see that introducing chemicals into the body will greatly interfere with energy work. I was just curious to see if anybody may have had any benefits combining energy excercises with psychedelics, but I suppose that is like an oxymoron. I again should mention I have not yet started trying these energy raising or projection tecniques.

BUT (although not completely related)... in response to ralphm, I wanted to offer anybody who may be misinformed as to the chemical makeup of LSD a resource to clarify. Apparently, nobody has ever really been able to prove that there is anything in LSD besides LSD. There is an interesting article at http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_myth5.shtml

[alpha]

hey ya,
If I could get my hands on some real lsd Id probably take a few tabs.But when I hear word of a  run of the mill person making there own.I just shake my head and wonder what kind of chems are they using?


Most of the stuff out there now I think is LSA.I forget about what exactly it is.But it has kind of the same effects.But the awesome visuals just arent there.You may get a few trails and some distortions.But  nothing like the real deal.

Id be very careful and the only way I myself would take it again is if I got it right from the scientists hands.Or somehow I knew for sure without any doubt.Whats the chances of thathttp://www.astralpulse.com/forums/images/icon_Smile_big.gif" border=0>
                                                                                                              ALPHA





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"WAKE UP!WAKEUP!WAKE UP AND LOOK AROUND YOU!WERE LOST IN SPACE AND THE TIME IS OUR HOME"
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[Tom]

LSD is lysergic acid diethylamide. There are two optical isomers, one which rotates polarized light to the left and one which rotates polarized light to the right. It is d-LSD (rotates light to the right) which is active in the body. Biological systems can make d- or l- compounds exclusively, but in the lab a mixture of the two is produced. I don't know the proportions usually produced for LSD, but most of the time a half and half mixture is produced. LSD is an ergot derivative. Lysergic acid is produced by breaking down the mixture of alkaloids in wheat rust (ergot). Then the diethylamide is attached. Most reactions go faster when heated, but I read somewhere that to make LSD the reaction is done with an ice bath. I have looked for recipes for making LSD on the internet but all I can find are ways to extract related compounds from morning glory seeds with things like paint thinner and coffee filters. While I am willing to trust that most people have good intentions, it is hard to imagine that most people can do a good job of something so difficult with such inadequate tools. The dosage for LSD is something like 2 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. Albert Hoffman took something around 250 micrograms, thinking that the dosage was insignificant. It was the 25th in a series of compounds he was testing. He had an interesting ride home on his bicycle that day.

[social]

quote:Originally posted by alpha:


Most of the stuff out there now I think is LSA.

I think the right term is LSDA-111 where as the good stuff is LSD-25.

I expirmented with acid many more times than I can count. Regardless of what anyone says, it changes you. The first dose changes you. For the better or worse who knows. It changed me for the worse. Sure I had fun doing it, but now, looking back if I could change one aspect of my life I'd have never done it.

This is of course not in reference to real LSD-25. I suspect the limited handful of folks with the actual knowledge, materials, and lab space/equpiment, to make it, have no desire to do so. I would feel safe in wagering that 99.99999% of "commercial" LSD isn't LSD-25.

Every drug is different for every person. I'm in no way against drugs. I simply have grown past the phase of them being enjoyable. Maybe if they were cheaper

[Armed Response]

I'm looking for some feedback (I almost typed 'astral feedback', but that isn't funny)...
I have been ingesting LSD as a 'recreational sacrament' for a couple of years now, and always find myself more aware of non-material reality while under its influence. I have never yet attempted to project or utalize the NEW technique before, but I find that it is much easier to slip into my own personal meditations while in this state. I do not believe anything I think or experience while on LSD or like chemicals is completely fake or at all cheap, I just feel more instantly 'tuned in' to things that are actually 'there' during a trip.
A friend of mine once swore he could view the room clearly from behind closed eyelids during the peak of his experience. Neither of us had ever heard of this phenomenon before, but later found an explanation in "Astral Dynamics". Apparently this could have been a very real glimpse into the 'Real-Time Zone'.
Only I was told [didn't read it yet myself] by this friend that Robert Bruce discredits the use of psychedelic drugs in some way. So I am hoping to get your opinion on LSD, LSD's long and short-term affects on aspiring projecters, projecting or using the NEW system under the influence of psychedelics, any info you might have to arm me with....
Thanks