Drugs and Supernormal States
by Vincent H. Gaddis
(Concerning Reprints from Flying Roll: As we have previously informed our readers, Round Robin is making an experimental reprint of various articles from an earlier publication called the Flying Roll. The first issue of this was in March 1946, designated as Alpha I, MCMXLVI; a quarterly, 32 pages; and to give an idea of its contents we quote the 11 titles from the contents page:
Outrider -- Drugs and Supernormal states -- The Deros and the Vau Communications -- Concerning Enochian -- Vitic Experiments -- Text and Pretext -- Fudosi -- Variorum -- Further Note from the Vau -- Congressus Subtilis -- Note to Friends.
This reprinting does not indicate any important change in RR policy, but is merely a response to continued interest by our readers in FR subject matter. Usually only one or two items will be reprinted in any one issue of RR.)
(Note: The Editor has condensed in the first paragraph below, the first paragraphs of Mr. Gaddis's article, due to requirements of space; the following paragraph therefore, is not representative of the author's own style of presentation.)
That we may supplement our normal mental powers with the assistance of chemicals and drugs, is a definite possibility. Behind it lies the fact that certain drugs, and hormones produced within the body, have specific effects on definite glands. Prolactin affects the mammary glands. The iodine compound, thyroxin, produced by the thyroid gland, is the chemical key to intelligence. Calcium metabolism, which relies on secretions of the parathyroid glands, regulates the conductivity of the nerves. Various drugs produce different mental effects, which vary with the individual and often in the same individuals Marijuana may stimulate latent musical ability; mescalin often produces colored visions; cocaine inspires extraordinary happiness; while forms of hashish slow up the sense of time. A classical case is that of a woman who under the influence of morphine read three books of a complex character in one day, and remembered practically every word she had read. All these states are not in the drugs used, but in the mind of the user. The drugs serve to bring the states to the surface. They are like chemical keys, or bullets that strike and affect certain brain centers and bring forth varied mental states.
We know that man has certain powers and abilities that are described as supernormals. If so, there must be a brain center, nerve [5] center or gland that acts as a regulator in producing these phenomena. And if that statement is true, it follows that there must be a drug or chemical compound that would act upon this regulator and thus produce supernormal powers at will.
What organ or gland is the key to these perceptions? Present evidence points to the pineal gland. Known to occult students as the "Third Eye," it is a mass of nerve cells containing gritty particles (brain sand), shaped like a pine-cone and located near the center of the skull directly above the extreme top of the spinal column. It is supposed to be a vestigial organ, once an eye, that has probably taken on new duties, and like the pituitary body, it appears to be connected with both physical and mental growths. It produces a slight secretion which classifies it as a gland. There are many references to the supernormal aspect of the pineal gland (and the pituitary as well) in occult works, but there exists little scientific information.
We know that certain plant chemicals have a profound effect on the subconscious mind. These drug-induced mental states often display supernormal aspects. Many early races made studies in an attempt to obtain supernormal powers. The ancient Incas had special colleges for this study, and it may be observed that they discovered the properties of quinine which they kept a secret for centuries. There is massive evidence that certain primitive peoples can induce extra-sensory powers with the aid of certain drugs.
The effect of drugs upon telepathic and clairvoyant abilities has been studied at Duke University by Dr. J. B. Rhine and his associates. It was found that caffeine had a stimulating effect, while sodium amytal, a sedative, reduced the mental impressions, However, it is pointed out that drugs have no influence on the intensity of the impressions themselves, but rather determine the strength of the impressions that reach the conscious mind. It is apparent that caffeine makes the brain more responsive to receiving the impressions by simply increasing mental alertness.
On the other hand, any stimulant -- caffeine, benzedrine, etc. -- will act against other types of supernormal ability by increasing alertness and physical sensual impressions. We shall find, as we continue, that the real key lies in the sedative rather than the stimulant for reasons that will become evident.
For a discussion of cosmic consciousness induced by nitrous oxide, ether and chloroform, which he termed the "anaesthetic revelation", see Prof. William James' book Varieties of Religious Experience. Fitzhugh Ludlow, author of The Hasheesh Eater, reports a case of drug-induced astral projection. He writes: "This was neither an illusion of the senses or a dream."
Several French scholars have made a study of drug-induced clairvoyance with remarkable success. The former Mexican minister to Paris, Dr. Cabrer, and Prof. Marie, of Bogota, Colombia, assisted these students by sending the plants to Paris by special government permission. The drugs used were peyote and yaye.
One of them, Dr. A. Rouhier, a noted chemist, found that most alkaloid plants induce visions. But he discovered that while Indian hemp and poppy seed induced vivid dreams and odd mental effects, these hallucinations were not to be confused with the visions produced by peyote and yaye. They are in a class by themselves. Peyote, known as the "marvel-showing" plant, produces round discs which are called mescal buttons. Mescalin, one of the alkaloids of peyote, induces colored visions, but the basic principle is anhalonium.
Dr. Rouhier tested the influence of peyote on a number of Europeans. One of his subjects was an engineer in Paris. A woman who was present tried to influence the subject by taking his hands and concentrating her thoughts upon a visit she had made the day before to a sick relative. The subject then proceeded to describe in detail the bedroom, but stated that there was no one in the bed. Dr. Rouhier accompanied the woman that evening to the relative's home. Everything in the bedroom, even the position of a certain bottle of perfume, had been described perfectly by the subject. Inquiry revealed that the ill relative had actually been out of the room at the time of the experiment, the nurse having disobeyed the doctor's orders to keep the patient in bed. Dr. Rouhier published his report in the Revue Metaphysique:
Charles W. Donville-Fife, in his book Among Wild Tribes of The Amazons, states: "Preparations of yaye have . . . the curious effect of placing anyone who takes them in a condition in which full consciousness is lost, and the subconscious mind is thus open to receive telepathic communication!"
Peyote is preferable to yaye, as it leaves the user awake and conscious, but the yaye plant, a native of Colombia, has the same general effect as peyote. Both are hypnotics. Distant scenes can be observed. Savage indian tribes who have never left their native jungles, describe in detail the cities and streets of faraway countries.
A French ex-soldier who had lived in South America for twenty years gave Dr. Rouhier some interesting information on the Indian methods of using yaye. The plant is brewed in water; sugar cane brandy is added to the juice and given to the subject, who is then taken to a place where it is believed treasure is buried. He is asked if he can see the treasure. If so, the Indians start digging -- often with remarkable success.
Capt. Custodic Morales, commander of a military post, volunteered for an experiment with yaye under Dr. Bayon. The captain at once became conscious of the death of his father and the illness of a sister living in a distant part of Colombia. Weeks later letters arrived confirming the death and illness. Colombian missionaries have reported many observations of the powers of yaye. They report that the Indians take the drug in order to "visit" distant places, and they also often predict future events while under its influence.
Dr. W.C. Jaaschke writes: "Many distinguished Europeans have taken yaye out of curiosity, either to see whether lost objects could be found or to get news of relatives at a distance, and they were amazed by the success of their attempts. It seems, accordingly, that the yaye plant excites the nervous system and puts it into a kind of hypnotic condition."
Dr. Nandor Fodor, several years ago, reported that he took an injection of mescalin and saw a "glorious panorama of symbolic visions. There was an intelligent sequence in the presentation and it appeared to me as if I were being taught. I was conscious of a guiding influence . . . but this influence was not a personality." He then pointed out that mescalin does not inhibit the normal consciousness, but causes a disassociation or an awareness of a cosmic plane. This question of invisible mentors or guides or "Dwellers on the Threshold", so common in astral projection experiences, and the matter of whether they are entities or inner mental "censors", is an interesting one that the writer plans to discuss in a later article.
Alcohol and its effect on supernormal abilities is seldom referred to for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, it does have an effect. Horace Leaf, of England, once discussed the matter and stated that one of the best mediums he ever met could only operate with the aid of alcohol. It might be pointed out that the late A.P. Roberts, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the famous "psychic detective" who solved hundreds of mysteries for the police of midwestern cities and left a record of positive results from his mediumship seldom equalled, was a heavy drinker.
The writer has made several experiments on the effect of alcohol on astral projection ability, and he is certain that it is helpful. Alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant; it acts to inhibit the emotions. Fear, one of the greatest barriers to successful projection and often the cause of painful repercussions, is often eliminated, while, in addition, the physical body is placed in a passive state and is easily enabled to pursue the proper mental exercises necessary to projection. This state is attained at the point when one first begins to feel the influence of alcohol on the brain. The drug's action is, of course, limited to the physical brain, and once the two bodies are separated the astonishing mental clarity so evident in conscious projection is achieved.
V. H. Gaddis
References
- James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1902. Print. [Digital: <https://archive.org/details/varietiesofrelig00jameuoft>]
- Ludlow, Fitz H. The Hasheesh Eater: Being Passages from the Life of a Pythagorean. New York: Harper, 1857. Print. [Digital: <https://archive.org/details/66640730R.nlm.nih.gov>]
- Domville-Fife, Charles W. Among Wild Tribes of the Amazons: An Account of Exploration & Adventure on the Mighty Amazon & Its Confluents, with Descriptions of the Savage Head-Hunting & Anthropophagous Tribes Inhabiting Their Banks. London: Seeley, Service & Co, 1924. Print. <http://amzn.to/1wIIC0T>