Theos-Talk Archives (January 2007 Message tt00127)

I recently attended a theosophical service that addressed the usage of 
psychedelic drugs for purposes of consciousness expansion.  Although 
the class did not suggest to people that they should use psychedelic 
drugs, it discussed medically licensed experiments with psychedelic 
drugs as practiced upon patients by the psychologist/psychiatrist 
guest speakers.  The class was held on December 14th at the Wheaton 
headquarters:

http://www.theosophical.org/programs/nationalprograms/index.html

I personally don't believe in drug usage, because drugs are damaging 
to the body, and therefore typically constitute an act against nature 
and oneself.  I view natural (drug-free) methods of trance and 
meditation as superior to drug usage.  Yet I seem to find that many 
metaphysical thinkers have an unfortunate history of drug usage in 
their background.

For example, here is a natural (drug-free) trance method that I have 
utilized to merge the waking and sleeping states for short time 
periods (lasting about a week after training), thereby allowing me to 
have direct dialogues with spirits and also dream while I'm physically 
awake.

Firstly, the average person sleep 8 hours per night and is awake for 
16 hours per day.  But I will sometimes split my 8-hour sleep block 
into two 4-hour sleep blocks, thus sleeping for 4 hours and awaking 
for 8 hours, then sleeping another 4 hours and awaking for another 8 
hours, etc.  Afterwhich I split the sleep blocks again, thus sleeping 
for 2 hours and then waking for 4 hours, then sleeping another 2 hours 
and awaking for another 4 hours, etc.  Then I split it again, thus 
sleeping for 1 hour and awaking for 2 hours, then sleeping another 1 
hour and awaking for 2 hours, etc, etc, etc.  Then I split it again 
and again.

What effectively happens is a type of merger of the waking and 
sleeping states, wherein I am awake and asleep simultaneously (no 
drugs or bad drug side effects necessary).  This way, I can dialogue 
directly with spirits, and dream when I am physically awake.  If I 
should happen to have a bad experience, I just go back to sleeping in 
the more common eight hour blocks.  I'm not locked into a bad drug 
experience like some, and the overall effects of my natural (drug-
free) method wear off in about a week.

Vince