The How and Why of all things, past,

And present, and forevermore.

The Universe; cleft to the core,

Lay open to my probing sense

That, sick'ning, I would fain pluck

Thence but could not, --Nay!"

From the poem--Renascence

By: Edna St. Vincent Millay

The word, hallucination, echoed in my mind from the conversation of just a moment before. If I woke up, how would I describe my hallucinations of the twenty second century to my friends?

This train of thought had gradually led me back to some experiences with psychedelic drugs which had interested me during the years just preceding my long sleep. Psychedelics like peyote cactus, psilocybin from the mushrooms, the ubiquitous cannabis sativa known popularly as marijuana, LSD or d-lysergic acid diethylamide which was first derived from a fungus that grows on wheat and rye, the wild herb henbane, the seeds of the morning glory, thornapple, and many of the others came into my thoughts.

The comments by Dr. Karoll about words having shapes and colors reminded me of my study of hallucinogens. I thought about an article written by a psychical researcher who had used peyote cactus juice to investigate its potential to awaken psychic faculties or possibly duplicate mystical religious visions. He described how, during his experience, an array of three dimensional curvilinear and many sided geometrical patterns rose before his vision when words were spoken, either by himself or by others. The shape and color of the three dimensional word figures conveyed far more of their meaning to him than the spoken sound of the words. The figures he saw seemed to be created by the sounds. Besides containing elaborate meanings, these figures also had certain peculiarities that identified them by some unique characteristic with each individual speaker's voice. In addition to all this, he saw other forms which seemed to be related thoughts arising from the mind of the speaker and, also, some opposing thoughts emanating from other minds, which attached those issuing from the speaker. A very thought provoking article this had been, to say the least. Hallucinogen was a good word for the psychedelic drugs.

"Dr. Karoll," I said, breaking a silence of thirty minutes or so, "do you know about the hallucinogenic drugs and the way they swept across America like wild fire in the 1960's?"

"I have been expecting you to bring up this question, David," said Dr. Karoll. "There was nothing new about psychedelics for they are mentioned in ancient records. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, possibly the oldest written words known, contain a mention of their use to achieve astral powers. Patanjali warned disciples of Yoga that this was the dark path. William James and S. Weir Mitchell took cognizance of them and did penetrating research on their effects some seventy five years before the general public learned about them in the 1960's."

"Dr. Karoll," I said, "how can you possibly have this kind of historical data on an obscure subject so readily available?"

"You are not aware that psychedelic drugs in the hands of the masses are considered to have precipitated cataclysmic changes in society. This subject has been spotlighted because of its significance in world history. However, you already know that our learning techniques enable the unconscious mind to absorb volumes of subject matter in a few hours and recall specific data to the conscious mind at will."

"It is hard for me to realize how you can do this," I said. "I'm constantly being distracted from any subject I ask about by your phenomenal ability to answer me in such detail. Please go on and tell me how and why the psychedelic drugs influenced history?"

"They furnished evidence concerning other levels of consciousness and they compelled the recognition of psychic forces. This brought scientific minds into serious research upon the subject."

"How could the half-crazed, emotionally confused and shattered psychedelic drug users accomplish anything like that?" I wondered.

"Had you stayed conscious for another twenty years, you would know. After the first few years, during which so many persons using drugs damaged their nervous systems and minds, some discovered they were in possession of one of the tools used by magicians and sorcerers," answered Dr. Karoll.

"Are you saying that the medieval magicians used psychedelics...that their magic potions were the same as our psychedelic drugs?" I asked thoughtfully.

"Precisely, David," said Dr. Karoll. "Not only the magicians of medieval Europe but also the Magi of Persia and India. These ancient wise men who were true Initiates of the Mystery School sometimes made use of them."

"That seems to ring a bell," I said. "I remember how often in fairy tales that feats of magic followed the drinking of a strange brew. But acid heads just entertained themselves with fantasy, or took the psychedelics for aphrodisiacs, since they had such an effect if the mind was turned in that direction. It's hard to imagine that they were capable of producing magical effects. How could they do that?"

"Psychedelics, David, trigger the endocrine system to release secretions which affect the electrical conductivity of the network of nerve channels in a way that makes more refined senses available to the conscious mind and gives it access to data ordinarily restricted to the unconscious. They have a unique quality about them which enables the conscious mind to continue to function while the vast powers of the unconscious mind are brought gradually into play. The conscious mind can retain control and direct its own unconscious mind like a hypnotist. In other words, temporary command of the ordinarily inaccessible soul faculties can be assumed by the conscious mind. As you are well aware, this can enable one to exercise phenomenal powers. Psychedelic drugs users of the earlier years had no idea this was possible. They were limited to the states of consciousness and capacities they believed possible by the very nature of the psychedelics. Mostly they experienced only a heightened awareness of sound, color, smell, and other sensations and fantasies because they were conditioned to expect only phenomena of sense experiences."

"Do you mean the acid heads could have accomplished healing miracles or committed mysterious crimes like black magicians had they known they were possible?" I asked with renewed interest.

"Yes," answered Dr. Karoll, "but there was more to it than just knowing the possibilities. The magicians and medicine men had developed the ability to focus their attention, visualizing their objective powerfully and distinctly for a period of time. They held the visualization clearly until they knew the required thought forms had been created. This ability required extensive self-discipline and training to develop. It was undeveloped in ordinary drug users. Lacking knowledge of these possibilities and lacking mind control, there was not the least chance that the ordinary user of psychedelic drugs could accomplish such things."

"Then what happened to make psychedelics have an effect on history?" I questioned.

"In the years that followed the 1960's knowledge of how psychedelics could enhance mind power began to be applied by materialistic but intelligent and disciplined groups. The supernatural powers available through these drugs soon made mankind aware of the reality of the black arts and introduced a form of crime which could not be dealt with by conventional methods."

"Please explain what you mean and how this was accomplished?"

"When such a group, or even just two persons, were able to agree upon a particular objective, the mind forces generated were able to move out into the atmosphere and take possession of persons who were susceptible, such as those who had damaged their own normal resistance to possession by a thought form or discarnate by excesses of alcohol or drugs. These people could be animated to commit bizarre crimes."

"That seems to fit a widely publicized murder of an actress and her friends, a mysterious crime of the 70's which I well remember," I said.

"There were other techniques which enabled them to steal by teleportation, to produce mental and moral aberrations in selected individuals, to cause accidents, to influence decisions of political figures, and to bring financial successes. Even some elements of the government's espionage bureau began to practice these black arts."

"What a terrifying situation!" I said, "How did society deal with such insidious forms of crime?"

"Constructive application of the same forces, when generated through prayer and fasting and selfless dedication to serve mankind, would have been successful. There were too few who understood and practiced these things. The people failed to do this and thus it came about that the forces of nature lashed out to bring things into balance. Those whose purposes were out of harmony with the establishment of spiritually oriented world government were carried away by the swirling waters during the shift of the poles. Some may not be back until thousands of years hence when circumstances are again suitable to allow them to meet the disharmony they chose to create."

"You make it sound like a natural disaster occurred which was selective about whom it affected. Surely, I am misunderstanding you," I said.

"Apparently you did not fully understand the role played by the celestial ships. Warnings of the coming shift of the poles were going out even in your time. Just a short while before the actual disaster took place, a great host of space ships descended to earth and offered to pick up all who wished their protection," said Dr. Karoll.

"But how did this sort the sheep from the goats?" I asked.

"Human nature took care of it, David," said Dr. Karoll. "Those who devise evil against others are suspicious. They were the ones who couldn't trust the celestial visitors. They assumed the dire warnings only a trick to persuade them to board the spacecraft."

"That was convenient," I said, solemnly, as I thought about the gigantic catastrophe.

Again, we lapsed into a thoughtful silence. During this silence of an hour or more, some unanswered questions about psychedelic drugs kept going through my mind. I found myself reviewing all the facts I knew that could lend credence to what Dr. Karoll had said. A personal friend, who had been the foster son of an Indian chief in Iowa, once gave me an interesting description of the way some of the American Indians used peyote to leave their physical bodies and visit far off relatives to learn how they were getting along. Fifteen or twenty of them sat in a circle inside a ceremonial tent, took the peyote buttons and then, as a drummer beat a monotonous rhythm they gradually went into a kind of stupor. After several hours, they regained consciousness believing they had been unseen visitors in the tepees of friends and relatives, perhaps hundreds of miles away. When news came by ordinary means later on, it usually confirmed the reality of their clairvoyant experiences.

I remembered another firsthand account of his about a different kind of phenomenon. His interest in the peyote cactus had taken him deep into Mexico where he saw a miraculous healing take place. The healing ceremony was simple but its success hinged upon the religious fervor which was stimulated by using peyote. Several peyote buttons each were eaten by a small group of friends, the sick person and the tribal medicine man. After several hours of prayer, healing from serious illness to normal health took place right before his eyes. Also, he learned that peyote was used by the Indians when they needed extrasensory perception, such as for locating lost horses. The Indians who had made the use of peyote a part of their religious ceremonies were, he felt, the most mature individuals he had encountered in any society.

Dr. Karoll's comments introduced a particularly interesting new question on this subject. "What did you mean, Dr. Karoll, by making reference to the Initiates of the Mysteries in the same breath that you mentioned black magicians and psychedelic drugs?"

"In some of the Mystery Schools, the psychedelics were used to initiate disciples into the spiritual world. The mind expanding potion was used only once for each individual and the experience either made a Master of the student or broke his spirit. Novitiates were chosen with great care, and then only took the drugs after two years of spiritual, mental, and physical preparation. The relationship between the endocrine system, blood chemistry, the nervous system and the exercise of psychic powers was intuitively understood by mystics. Christian mystics and Hindu Masters gave practical instructions for developing spiritual faculties in their Holy Scriptures. They defined the kingdom of heaven as a state of mind. They taught that the Holy Temple is the threefold body of man and that when a human being is able to meet the necessary conditions of inner purity on physical, mental, and spiritual levels, he can control the endocrine glands and cause them to secrete mind expanding hormones. These ancient masters used psychedelic drugs as a helpful crutch. Of course, the psychic powers will develop naturally in anyone who actually lives the teachings of Jesus. This is why Jesus said, `the things that I do shall ye do also.'"

"Dr. Karoll," I interrupted, feeling frustrated, "you have mentioned Biblical insights before. So much of the Bible is contradictory and so much of it offends my powers of reason that my mind is not receptive to it. Can you use a different approach?"

"It is difficult to find a better one," said Dr. Karoll. "The knowledge possessed by the Hebrew mystics embraced the whole range of the understanding of man's potential, both the possibilities for making his physical body subject to his mind, even invulnerable, and the capability to direct the very forces of nature. Jesus demonstrated these again and again, including the teleportation of his body and the precipitation of tons of food from other levels of matter."

"Well," I said, thinking how to lead the conversation away from the Bible, "since you relate conditions existing in the physical body to psychic powers, you might give me a specific example from some other source."

"Why, yes, of course," said Dr. Karoll. "There are many. In your times, Peter Hurkos illustrated, from the physical standpoint, how the practice of yoga may develop psychic powers."

"Dr. Karoll," I said, "Peter Hurkos was famous in America in the 50's and 60's and many articles and books were written about him. In all that I read about him, including his autobiography, I recall no mention whatsoever of a connection between his psychic ability and the practice of yoga."

"It was often mentioned, David," said Dr. Karoll, "but you didn't recognize it. Tell me, David, do you remember how Peter Hurkos first came by his psychic ability?"

"Why, of course," I said. "Everyone who took an interest in him knew that story. He was up on a ladder doing some painting, suffered a bad fall, and was unconscious for some time. When he regained consciousness in the hospital, he found that he could read the minds of the nurses and see details of their personal lives."

"In other words, David, a physical injury that jarred his spine and neck made him a psychic," said Dr. Karoll.

"You mean that yoga can alter the spinal column to cause one to become psychic?" I asked.

"That's right," said Dr. Karoll.

"I never thought of that," I mused. "I do remember hearing about people who were confined in mental institutions after a bad fall because they began to hear voices. If psychiatrists could not talk them out of this, they would be confined in mental hospitals. Does this mean osteopathic treatments should have been used to correct a spinal condition in order to stop the voices?"

"Don't you think that is a reasonable surmise, David?" said Dr. Karoll.

"Hmmm...then practice of yoga positions can develop psychic powers," I said slowly, "by altering conditions in the vertebrae."

"Yes," said Dr. Karoll.

"Then it isn't necessary to develop a saintly character to gain psychic powers but there are chemical and mechanical short cuts, psychedelic drugs and possible operations on the physical body?"

"Yes, David," said Dr. Karoll. "This information wasn't freely available to the public until the last part of the twentieth century. It was released to the masses of an impure society at a time when its disintegration was progressing rapidly. The reality of the psychic powers became commonly known. It was a necessary time for testing and purifying which sorted out from the masses a remnant of people who were to participate in developing a new and more spiritually enlightened society after the shift of the poles."

"That's a familiar train of thought from Christianity," I commented. "But what about the Catholic mystics? Did they use a short cut to gain access to these psychic powers and spiritual experiences?"

"The records of Catholicism include such a varied array of visions and psychic experiences that the answer must be `yes and no,'" said Dr. Karoll. "The Catholic Church had a profound understanding of spiritual laws. The beauty of their saints has provided a guiding Light for the earth. But there were those who looked for ways which did not require so much self discipline."

"Did they know about using the sacred mushroom?" I asked.

"The Church had the information in their archives which came from their missionaries who worked among primitive tribes in Mexico and South America. It was carefully hidden and only a handful of scholarly monks were familiar with it but they did not relate it to true mystical experiences. The use of psychedelics by the monks and nuns would have wrecked havoc in the Church."

"Then how did the monks do it?" I asked.

"The method the monks used to have a mystical experience was different. They beat their bodies with whips made of many strands with tiny sharp objects tied to them. This treatment caused numerous small sores and the secretions and infection that occurred brought them to a feverish state, bordering upon death. During this time of weakness and fever, they sometimes experienced mystical visions like the psychedelic drug users."

"Now that rings a bell," I said. "I remember a friend who told me how he experienced a state of elevated consciousness during a high fever. He moved into another level of consciousness in which he was able to visit in spirit with others and have direct mind to mind communication. This one experience gave him a new understanding and changed his attitude toward his relatives and all the people he knew closely. It made him almost saintly in his tolerance toward everyone. I can see why this method practiced by the monks could transform character to make a saintly religious person."

"If it didn't kill him," said Dr. Karoll with a wry smile.

"Are there are any other ways to have psychic experiences without applying oneself to spiritual disciplines," I asked.

"A number of ways," said Dr. Karoll. "A unique way to achieve astral travel was practiced by Tibetan monks. They had special chambers prepared so that they could be isolated in utter darkness and silence for a year at a time. The entry was plastered over. An attendant furnished the monk his food, a small dish of cooked barley meal, which was placed through a small opening every other day and his empty dish removed. Other needed facilities were provided in the darkened chamber. When the monk asked to be placed in this chamber he knew that he would not hear a sound or see a glimmer of light for a full year. There was no way for him to shorten his stay except by dying, once he entered this chamber."

"Self imposed solitary confinement," I said in awe. "Wouldn't he go mad?"

"The monk had been conditioned to believe and accept his capacity for astral travel, although he had not been able to achieve it. During the ensuing time, a great inner struggle for the retention of sanity took place. Finally, the psychic nature would come to the fore to free him from the prison of his physical body and he would begin to consciously experience astral travel. Once this break through occurred, the monk found himself able to visit any place on earth at will. He returned to his body every other day just long enough to refresh himself and take the nourishment provided. This is an example of how psychic ability can be a forced development. It could be a selfish kind of diversion for the monk, merely a sensual experience on the astral level of consciousness. When acquired this way, it obviously did not hinge upon virtue or character development. It was so satisfying to the Tibetan monks that it was not unusual for them to spend several years this way, not consecutively, of course. The faculties developed by this means were intended to have been dedicated to serve humanity during his astral travels."

"It would seem that the human body and mind could not stand that kind of an ordeal," I said with feeling.

"Few Westerners could, David," said Dr. Karoll. "These monks trained and prepared themselves physically and mentally in anticipation of the strain. Even then, it was not uncommon for one to die before his year was up."

"The way a subject broadens out when you discuss it to interrelate data from all over the world is a never ending wonder to me, Dr. Karoll," I said in admiration.

"There was yet another widely publicized event revealing how certain conditions may produce heightened awareness. You possibly remember the details," said Dr. Karoll.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Do you remember something in the reports from the first American and Russian astronauts which raised the question that they were temporarily hallucinating?" asked Dr. Karoll.

"Why, yes," I said. "I recall a ridiculous claim by the Russian astronauts that they were able to see the smiling faces of the peasants as they sailed over their homeland. In fact, I had an extended conversation on this question with a remarkable little old lady who was over eighty but still mentally alert and keen. Apparently, some of the details of the report from the American astronauts looked equally as ridiculous as the Russian accounts. The story she told me was this: She said the first news stories about the experiences of the astronaut Glenn gave her the impression he had actually had a psychic experience. This little lady, Miss Barr, had distinguished herself nationally as a fingerprint expert and had been interested in parapsychology for years. She was able to have access to the confidential report made by Captain Glenn because she was cleared to see secret government documents and, also, because she was a next door neighbor of the Kennedy family. Captain Glenn's written report said that he was able to see smoke coming from the chimneys of houses as he passed over the plains of America. He knew that he was at an altitude from which it was humanly impossible to even see houses but was conscientious about making this report. Miss Barr postulated that Captain Glenn unwittingly projected himself out of his body down to the altitude where he was able to see the things he claimed he did."

"This was a genuine insight, David," said Dr. Karoll. "The partial release of the inner body from the pressure of earth's ether allowed this experience to take place. The very existence of ether was then still being denied in scientific circles but this was the reason."

"Then the government withheld information on the subject?" I asked.

"Those responsible didn't want the public to become confused or raise questions which couldn't be answered," said Dr. Karoll.

Mrs. Karoll had quietly prepared a lunch for the family while the doctor and myself had been engrossed in conversation.

"Will you join us for refreshments?" she said lightly, "or has all that food for thought taken away your appetite for food for the body."

For the moment I had to admit that it had. Mrs. Karoll suggested that we all take a little red wine that Dr. Karoll had made from grapes grown on the sunny slope behind their mountain and relax for ten or fifteen minutes.