PSYCHEDELICS - Sciencemadness.org

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____________________________________________________ Psychedelics
use for religious purposes. My wife and I made two trips to
Los Angeles to discuss this matter with interested friends
there, and it was suggested that our group should incorporate
as a non-profit organization or church, in which the use of
psychedelics as a religious sacrament might be legally continued.
The idea seemed to have merit, and continued to develop.
On October 14, 1963, the Church of the Awakening
was incorporated under the laws of the state of New Mexico
as a non-profit religious organization. The psychedelic experience
was named as a sacrament of the Church, to be available
only to those who have been members of the Church for a
minimum period of three months, and whose readiness for
the sacrament is approved by the Board of Directors. It is
recommended that the experience not be repeated more frequently
than every three months, for it seems to us that frequent
use of these substances is likely to result for some in a
desire for the experience for its own sake, rather than in the
more important application of insights achieved to the development
of a better way of life.
Our limitations on the use of the sacrament were also im-
posed in order to avoid some of the unfortunate results that
were being reported in the news media from frequent and
unsupervised use of large amounts of LSD by those who had
little idea of what might result. When one takes a psyche-
delic "for kicks" and suddenly finds himself confronting what
seems like Ultimate Reality, it is then too late to retreat, and
panic frequently develops. It seems to us highly important to
protect the proper religious use, and also to protect novices
from unnecessary hazards.
Our goal has been to attract members who are interested
primarily in spiritual growth and who are willing to follow
the usual disciplines and practices for such growth both as a
preparation for the sacrament and as a continuing follow-up.
We are well aware of the importance of other methods of
Self-realization. We have found, however, that the psyche-
delic sacrament, when added to the spiritual armamentarium,
can be of great value in the search for meaning.
In our use of the experience as a religious sacrament with
many people, we have seen some unpleasant, but no harmful,