Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) had his spiritual awakening while undergoing this treatment. He never drank again.
Wilson's description of his experience: "All at once I found myself crying out, "If there is a God, let Him show himself! I am ready to do anything, anything! Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. I was caught up in an ecstasy which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me in my mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. And then it burst upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I lay there on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness... and I thought to myself, "So this is the God of the preachers!" A great peace stole over me."
http://www.amazon.com/Alcoholics-Anonymous-Comes-Age-History/dp/091685602X
The Belladonna Cure:
The formula for Towns-Lambert cure was the deliriant, Atropa belladonna, also called deadly nightshade. The effects of belladonna include delirium, hallucinations, light sensitivity, confusion, and dry mouth. The second ingredient in the mixture was another deliriant, Hyoscyamus niger, also known as henbane, hog's bean, or insane root. It contained two alkaloids, hyoscyamine and hyoscine.
Wilson's description of his experience: "All at once I found myself crying out, "If there is a God, let Him show himself! I am ready to do anything, anything! Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. I was caught up in an ecstasy which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me in my mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. And then it burst upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I lay there on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness... and I thought to myself, "So this is the God of the preachers!" A great peace stole over me."
http://www.amazon.com/Alcoholics-Anonymous-Comes-Age-History/dp/091685602X
The Belladonna Cure:
The formula for Towns-Lambert cure was the deliriant, Atropa belladonna, also called deadly nightshade. The effects of belladonna include delirium, hallucinations, light sensitivity, confusion, and dry mouth. The second ingredient in the mixture was another deliriant, Hyoscyamus niger, also known as henbane, hog's bean, or insane root. It contained two alkaloids, hyoscyamine and hyoscine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B._Towns
Bill Wilson, Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous was VERY Excited about the use of LSD in treating Alcoholism... Then he had Second Thoughts...
He started AA because of a Psychedelic Experience where he met GOD personally by taking Belladonna and Henbane on a five day guided Trip... He saw a Mystical White Light and was given the Fundamental Idea of AA...in 1935... Then 20 Years Later... He tried LSD and thought it would be really great if everyone met GOD personally...
In 1955, came to believe that LSD was a way to allow that meeting to happen... Many AA members were having trouble with the step where you needed to believe that a "Higher Power" could restore your Sanity. Especially members that did not believe in God... Bill felt that LSD could introduce people to a Higher Power DIRECTLY...
Sort of like having God's Phone Number, Dialing the Phone and Handing it to the AA member...
Then on second thought... Bill realized that the AA program was working just fine as it was and there was NO NEED TO FIX SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT BROKEN.
In 1955, came to believe that LSD was a way to allow that meeting to happen... Many AA members were having trouble with the step where you needed to believe that a "Higher Power" could restore your Sanity. Especially members that did not believe in God... Bill felt that LSD could introduce people to a Higher Power DIRECTLY...
Sort of like having God's Phone Number, Dialing the Phone and Handing it to the AA member...
Then on second thought... Bill realized that the AA program was working just fine as it was and there was NO NEED TO FIX SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT BROKEN.
Then use of LSD became just another "Outside Issue" that AA had no opinion on... [Tradition 10]
And this turned out to be a wise choice...
https://aaagnostica.org/2015/05/10/bill-wilsons-experience-with-lsd/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/23/lsd-help-alcoholics-theory
And this turned out to be a wise choice...
https://aaagnostica.org/2015/05/10/bill-wilsons-experience-with-lsd/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/23/lsd-help-alcoholics-theory
One Great Idea at AA is You CHOOSE YOUR OWN GOD... OR... Lack of God...
So Many Different Gods... and So Many Believers Loudly Proclaim that THEIR God is the One True God. That's Absurd! I, like 100% of the people on Earth HAVE NO CLUE if God is real or not.
Some people state that they know... but they are just deluding themselves... I don't mind them deluding themselves, but if they Kill people that are of different Religions... They are Crazy and Dangerous.
I do pray... I may not believe in God but what if God believes in me? I often send prayers for good health to the people who are sick. If God is Real, he reads my email... and the people who get the email feel better...
I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior in 1976. If Christianity turns out to be the correct Religion, I'm Saved! I was living with my first ex-wife and she was interested in me becoming a Baptist and I was interested in sex with her so... I went forward at a meeting, accepted Christ, joined the choir and then got bored with it all... we rarely attended. I did like Communion... It's a make believe Vampire, Cannibal Cult! Pretend to drink a persons BLOOD and Eat a persons BODY... OOOH! That's Creepy! But FUN!
Here is An Examination of My Beliefs...
GOD = Group of Drunks
I do pray... I may not believe in God but what if God believes in me? I often send prayers for good health to the people who are sick. If God is Real, he reads my email... and the people who get the email feel better...
I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior in 1976. If Christianity turns out to be the correct Religion, I'm Saved! I was living with my first ex-wife and she was interested in me becoming a Baptist and I was interested in sex with her so... I went forward at a meeting, accepted Christ, joined the choir and then got bored with it all... we rarely attended. I did like Communion... It's a make believe Vampire, Cannibal Cult! Pretend to drink a persons BLOOD and Eat a persons BODY... OOOH! That's Creepy! But FUN!
However, I much later I did become addicted to crack cocaine and when I wanted to stop I went to a Baptist Church and gave my addiction to Jesus, and never smoked crack again. That evening I went to the Pink Floyd "concert" called "Welcome to the Machine" and that helped also because it gave me something to distract my attention while I was suffering thru the withdrawal symptoms. Another time I went to the Presbyterian Church founded by Annie Bidwell in Chico and prayed that God would find my friends a JOB... and later that week both Manuel and Victoria were employed. A miracle... Not only that but if I ever stub my toe or hit my thumb with a hammer I shout out JESUS!
When I joined Alcoholics Anonymous I was introduced to the concept of a "Higher Power" helping me with my addiction. The "Higher Power" that worked for me was The "Group of Drunks" an acronym GOD... We were supposed to seek guidance thru prayer and meditation. However I always got Nothing from Prayer or Meditation. ZERO. The Group did help and I stopped drinking alcohol. Remember, Bill Wilson invented Alcoholics Anonymous while tripping on Belladonna and Henbane. Both POWERFUL Hallucinogens. He saw the "White Light" and had a vision of God. Me TOO! Me TOO! LSD, DMT, Peyote and Magic Mushrooms all give you a vision of God. I do like AA so Bill's Trip was a great help to mankind.
When I joined Alcoholics Anonymous I was introduced to the concept of a "Higher Power" helping me with my addiction. The "Higher Power" that worked for me was The "Group of Drunks" an acronym GOD... We were supposed to seek guidance thru prayer and meditation. However I always got Nothing from Prayer or Meditation. ZERO. The Group did help and I stopped drinking alcohol. Remember, Bill Wilson invented Alcoholics Anonymous while tripping on Belladonna and Henbane. Both POWERFUL Hallucinogens. He saw the "White Light" and had a vision of God. Me TOO! Me TOO! LSD, DMT, Peyote and Magic Mushrooms all give you a vision of God. I do like AA so Bill's Trip was a great help to mankind.
If the Hindus or Buddhists are right I'm set to reincarnate as a human or better because I've lead a good life. I have NOT killed any people but have eaten a few hamburgers... I love Bacon too... Oh Well... Maybe I'll come back as a Cow... and then a Hamburger myself...
If the Mormons are right, I'm not in luck. I liked meeting the Mormon people in Utah, they were very friendly and helpful but I just can't believe that God is an Extraterrestrial... Moroni from a star in the constellation Orion... Not very likely to be true.
However, maybe the "Ancient Alien" theorists are right. There sure is a lot of really strange evidence of Alien Visitation... For Example: Why did Mexicans, Cambodians and Egyptians all build Pyramids? What is their purpose? Did they have Alien Help?
If Islam is correct I'm screwed... But then, their Religion JUST SUCKS.
I like THOR... Valhalla I am coming. Led Zeppelin "Immigrant Song"
https://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/vikingkittens
I have a few members of my family that are Jewish and I think that on Judgement day they will let me in. I've been nice to them and that's important in a world where some people put them in gas chambers and kill them.
If the Mormons are right, I'm not in luck. I liked meeting the Mormon people in Utah, they were very friendly and helpful but I just can't believe that God is an Extraterrestrial... Moroni from a star in the constellation Orion... Not very likely to be true.
However, maybe the "Ancient Alien" theorists are right. There sure is a lot of really strange evidence of Alien Visitation... For Example: Why did Mexicans, Cambodians and Egyptians all build Pyramids? What is their purpose? Did they have Alien Help?
If Islam is correct I'm screwed... But then, their Religion JUST SUCKS.
I like THOR... Valhalla I am coming. Led Zeppelin "Immigrant Song"
https://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/vikingkittens
Of COURSE, Gaia makes a lot of sense. I can really relate to the fact that all plants and animals are brothers and sisters... I really GROK this idea when I'm in a Redwood Forest. I lived on the edge of a second growth forest for 15 years and I "owned" a specific tree in Eureka. I sat on it daily and smoked cigarettes... I sat on it more often that anyone else so it's MY TREE and I'm It's Human. I will share that tree with our cat Meadow as she liked it too.
Then there are the Goddess Religions... Thankfully, I've met a couple of Goddesses and I sure am glad. One was nicknamed "Nature Nurse". She became my Second Ex-Wife.
Another was Ja-Kay R. from Chico. We played the drums in a band in Paradise, California and performed "Miserlou" at the Farmers market in downtown Chico. A beautiful Blond Nordic Goddess.
Another was a GURU/Teacher named Sonya Sophia who lead a group healing seminar at the Utah Rainbow Gathering. I also bought admission to her weekly internet sessions where we studied "Tapping" a self-help Acupressure technique... I did that for about a year and learned as much as she could teach. "I Love and Accept Myself"
Rastafarians? Sure, I've smoked a lot of reefer... I can play reggae music... it's got ONE CHORD! Easy but I find it boring even when I'm stoned. Cannabis Psychosis is REAL. If you smoke every day you remain stoned even if you don't smoke... You stay stoned for about a month... and I saw things that were not there but I believed that they were... Difficult to take care of business when I'm THAT Stoned...
Then there are the Goddess Religions... Thankfully, I've met a couple of Goddesses and I sure am glad. One was nicknamed "Nature Nurse". She became my Second Ex-Wife.
Another was Ja-Kay R. from Chico. We played the drums in a band in Paradise, California and performed "Miserlou" at the Farmers market in downtown Chico. A beautiful Blond Nordic Goddess.
Another was a GURU/Teacher named Sonya Sophia who lead a group healing seminar at the Utah Rainbow Gathering. I also bought admission to her weekly internet sessions where we studied "Tapping" a self-help Acupressure technique... I did that for about a year and learned as much as she could teach. "I Love and Accept Myself"
Rastafarians? Sure, I've smoked a lot of reefer... I can play reggae music... it's got ONE CHORD! Easy but I find it boring even when I'm stoned. Cannabis Psychosis is REAL. If you smoke every day you remain stoned even if you don't smoke... You stay stoned for about a month... and I saw things that were not there but I believed that they were... Difficult to take care of business when I'm THAT Stoned...
Pastafarians? - The Flying Spaghetti monster is a good joke.
The Church of the Subgenius? OK, another good joke.
I'm a registered Minister in the Universal Life Church. Why Not?
Scientology? No thanks, that "E-Meter" is BOGUS science and I know enough about electrical engineering to see that the great OZ is just a man behind a curtain... It's a GREAT religion for L. Ron Hubbard but not for any of the followers.
Timothy Leary and LSD? Ultimately it was disappointing and just an amusing ride... No more meaning than a good roller coaster...
Ram Dass? He took a lot of LSD and then went all the way to India to find a GURU... Then he learned to "BE HERE NOW" from a 6 foot 7 inch surfer from Laguna Beach. He could have saved a lot of time wasted on air travel if he had just gone surfing in California FIRST and Ignored the Indians... but he writes great books...
Ken Kesey and the Grateful Dead... Fun to dance to rock music on LSD. However it all has the creepy feeling that it was just an experiment in the CIA Project MKULTRA. What IF we dosed millions of people Nationwide? Would that be useful as a Weapon of War? Make the enemy too stoned to fight?
Surfing as a religion? Yes, that makes sense. Or to put it more simply, doing what you love to do as a way of life... Playing the ukulele or throwing pottery or oil painting or computer programming or dancing or bicycle riding or snow skiing or camping or taking photographs or ... etc etc etc... Yes there is a bliss when a person is doing something they love and are totally focused... TIME itself seems to pass more rapidly... I have experience this myself while programming graphic arts... Suddenly hours have passed while I was "in the zone".
A Christian fellow was giving a lecture at Humboldt State University one time and he said that there was only ONE WAY to go to Heaven, Jesus. He said that you couldn't find God by Mountain Climbing OR Drugs... What he forgot to mention was finding God by Mountain Climbing AND Drugs. BOTH! at the same time! It's not an either/or question... I have hiked to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite on LSD and I"m really glad I did... He also said that Premarital Sex was a SIN. Like, BAD and you shouldn't do it. What an Idiot. I bet that attitude prevented him from getting laid.
Once I read a book called "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz and there was a lot of Toltec Wisdom there.
Another Book Series: "The Teachings of Don Juan" by Carlos Castaneda... Yaqui Indian Brujo Wisdom
I've played the Father Drum with Native Americans and THAT was "Big Medicine"...
"The Temple of the Screaming Electron" and Digital Immortality. Ray Kurzweil plans to upload your entire Brain to the Internet and Living forever in the cloud. I'm working on that too with my Blog by typing almost every event in my entire life and every opinion I've ever held...
So, if you don't like your God simply FIRE him and Write your own Religion!
Read more of my Autobiography at: http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html
The Church of the Subgenius? OK, another good joke.
I'm a registered Minister in the Universal Life Church. Why Not?
Scientology? No thanks, that "E-Meter" is BOGUS science and I know enough about electrical engineering to see that the great OZ is just a man behind a curtain... It's a GREAT religion for L. Ron Hubbard but not for any of the followers.
Timothy Leary and LSD? Ultimately it was disappointing and just an amusing ride... No more meaning than a good roller coaster...
Ram Dass? He took a lot of LSD and then went all the way to India to find a GURU... Then he learned to "BE HERE NOW" from a 6 foot 7 inch surfer from Laguna Beach. He could have saved a lot of time wasted on air travel if he had just gone surfing in California FIRST and Ignored the Indians... but he writes great books...
Ken Kesey and the Grateful Dead... Fun to dance to rock music on LSD. However it all has the creepy feeling that it was just an experiment in the CIA Project MKULTRA. What IF we dosed millions of people Nationwide? Would that be useful as a Weapon of War? Make the enemy too stoned to fight?
Surfing as a religion? Yes, that makes sense. Or to put it more simply, doing what you love to do as a way of life... Playing the ukulele or throwing pottery or oil painting or computer programming or dancing or bicycle riding or snow skiing or camping or taking photographs or ... etc etc etc... Yes there is a bliss when a person is doing something they love and are totally focused... TIME itself seems to pass more rapidly... I have experience this myself while programming graphic arts... Suddenly hours have passed while I was "in the zone".
A Christian fellow was giving a lecture at Humboldt State University one time and he said that there was only ONE WAY to go to Heaven, Jesus. He said that you couldn't find God by Mountain Climbing OR Drugs... What he forgot to mention was finding God by Mountain Climbing AND Drugs. BOTH! at the same time! It's not an either/or question... I have hiked to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite on LSD and I"m really glad I did... He also said that Premarital Sex was a SIN. Like, BAD and you shouldn't do it. What an Idiot. I bet that attitude prevented him from getting laid.
Once I read a book called "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz and there was a lot of Toltec Wisdom there.
Another Book Series: "The Teachings of Don Juan" by Carlos Castaneda... Yaqui Indian Brujo Wisdom
I've played the Father Drum with Native Americans and THAT was "Big Medicine"...
"The Temple of the Screaming Electron" and Digital Immortality. Ray Kurzweil plans to upload your entire Brain to the Internet and Living forever in the cloud. I'm working on that too with my Blog by typing almost every event in my entire life and every opinion I've ever held...
So, if you don't like your God simply FIRE him and Write your own Religion!
Read more of my Autobiography at: http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html
"Art in the Time of Covid-19"
Shirt For Sale.
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