NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/alt/drugs/20237

Text File | 1992-12-25 | 58.2 KB | 1,016 lines

Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!fuug!anon
From: [e-mail]
Subject: ~ The Psychedelic Experience ~ [3/4]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (The Anon Administrator)
Organization: Anonymous contact service
X-Anonymously-To: alt.drugs
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 11:48:34 GMT
Lines: 1004



                                              THIRD BARDO:

                                     THE PERIOD OF RE-ENTRY
                                              (Sidpa Bardo)

                                               Introduction

If, in the second Bardo, the voyager is incapable of holding on to the
knowledge that the peaceful and wrathful visions were projections of his
own mind, but became attracted to or frightened by one or more of them, he
will enter the Third Bardo. In this period he struggles to regain routine
reality and his ego; the Tibetans call it the Bardo of "seeking rebirth." It is
the period in which the consciousness makes the transition from
transcendent reality to the reality of ordinary waking life. The teachings of
this manual are of the utmost importance if one wishes to make a peaceful
and enlightened re-entry and avoid a violent or unpleasant one.

In the original Bardo Thodol the aim of the teachings is "liberation," i.e.,
release from the cycle of birth and death. Interpreted esoterically, this
means that the aim is to remain at the stage of perfect illumination and not
to return to social game reality.

Only persons of extremely advanced spiritual development are able to
accomplish this, by exercising the Transference Principle at the moment of
ego-death. For average persons who undertake a psychedelic voyage, the
return to game reality is inevitable. Such persons can and should use this
part of the manual for the following purposes:

(1) to free themselves from Third Bardo traps;
(2) to prolong the session, thus assuring a maximum degree of illumination;
(3) to select a favorable re-entry, i.e., to return to a wiser and more
peaceful
post-session personality.

Although no definite time estimates can be given, the Tibetans estimate
that about 50% of the entire psychedelic experience is spent in the Third
Bardo by most normal people. At times, as indicated in the Introduction,
someone may move straight to the re-entry period if he is unprepared for or
frightened by the ego-loss experiences of the first two Bardos.

The types of re-entry made can profoundly color the person's subsequent
attitudes and feelings about himself and the world, for weeks or even
months afterwards. A session which has been predominantly negative and
fearful can still be turned to great advantage and much can be learned from
it, provided the re-entry is positive and highly conscious. Conversely, a
happy and revelatory experience can be made valueless by a fearful or
negative re-entry.

The key instructions of the Third Bardo are: (1) do nothing, stay calm,
passive and relaxed, no matter what happens; and (2) recognize where you
are. If you do not recognize you will be driven by fear to make a premature
and unfavorable re-entry. Only by recognizing can you maintain that state of
calm, passive concentration necessary for a favorable re-entry. That is why
so many recognition-points are given. If you fail on one, it is always
possible, up to the very end, to succeed on another. Hence these teachings
should be read carefully and remembered well.

In the following sections some of the characteristic Third Bardo
experiences are described. In Part IV instructions are given appropriate to
each section. At this stage in a psychedelic session the voyager is usually
capable of telling the guide verbally what he is experiencing, so that the
appropriate sections can be read. A wise guide can often sense the precise
nature of the ego's struggle without words. The voyager will usually not
experience all of these states, but only one or some of them; or sometimes
the return to reality can take completely new and unusual turns. In such a
case the general instructions for the Third Bardo should be emphasized
==|==>> THIRD BARDO: PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS.


                          I.  General Description of the Third Bardo

Normally, the person descends, step by step, into lower (more constricted)
states of consciousness. Each step downwards may be preceded by a
swooning into unconsciousness. Occasionally the descent may be sudden, and
the person will find himself jolted back to a vision of reality which by
contrast with the preceding phases seems dull, static, hard, angular, ugly
and puppet-like. Such changes can induce fear and horror and he may struggle
desperately to regain familiar reality. He may get trapped into irrational or
even bestial perspectives which then dominate his entire consciousness.
These narrow primitive elements stem from aspects of his personal history
which are usually repressed. The more enlightened consciousness of the
first two Bardos and the civilized elements of ordinary waking life are
shelved in favor of powerful, obsessive primitive impulses, which in fact
are merely faded and incoherent instinctual parts of the voyager's total
personality. The suggestibility of Bardo consciousness makes them seem
all-powerful and overwhelming.

On the other hand, the voyager may also feel that he possesses supernormal
powers of perception and movement, that he can perform miracles,
extraordinary feats of bodily control etc. The Tibetan book definitely
attributes paranormal faculties to the consciousness of the Bardo voyager
and explains it as due to the fact that the Bardo-consciousness encompasses
future elements as well as past. Hence clairvoyance, telepathy, ESP, etc. are
said to be possible. Objective evidence does not indicate whether this sense
of increased perceptiveness is real or illusory. We therefore leave this as an
open question, to be decided by empirical evidence.

This then is the first recognition point of the Third Bardo. The feeling of
supernormal perception and performance. Assuming that it is valid, the
manual warns the voyager not to be fascinated by his heightened powers,
and not to exercise them. In yogic practice, the most advanced of the lamas
teach the disciple not to strive after psychic powers of this nature for their
own sake; for until the disciple is morally fit to use them wisely, they
become a serious impediment to his higher spiritual development. Not until
the selfish, game-involved nature of man is completely mastered is he safe
in using them.

A second sign of Third Bardo existence are experiences of panic, torture and
persecution. They are distinguished from the wrathful visions fo the Second
Bardo in that they definitely seem to involve the person's own "skin-
encapsulated ego." Mind-controlling manipulative figures and demons of
hideous aspects may be hallucinated. The form that these torturing demons
take will depend on the person's cultural background. Where Tibetans saw
demons and beasts of prey, a Westerner may see impersonal machinery
grinding, or depersonalizing and controlling devices of different futuristic
varieties. Visions of world destruction, dying in space-fiction modes, and
hallucinations of being engulfed by destructive powers will likewise come;
and sounds of the mind-controlling apparatus, of the "combine's fog
machinery," of the gears which move the scenery of the puppet show, of
angry overflowing seas, and of the roaring fire and of fierce winds springing
up, and of mocking laughter.

When these sounds and visions come, the first impulse will be to flee from
them in panic and terror, not caring where one goes, so long as one goes out.
In psychedelic drug experiences, the person may at this time plead or
demand to be brought "out of it" through antidotes and tranquillizers. The
person may see himself as about to fall down deep, terrifying precipices.
These symbolize the so-called evil passions which, like narcotic drugs,
enslave and bind mankind to existence in game-networks (sangsara): anger,
lust, stupidity, pride or egoism, jealousy, and control-power. Such
experiences, just as the previous one of enhanced power, should be regarded
as recognizing features of the Third Bardo. One should neither flee the pain
nor pursue the pleasure. Recognition is all that is necessary - and
recognition depends upon preparation.

A third sign is a kind of restless, unhappy wandering which may be purely
mental or may involve actual physical movement. The person feels as if
driven by winds (winds of karma) or shunted around mechanically. There
may be brief respites at certain places or scenes in the "ordinary" human
world. Like a person travelling alone at night along a highway, having his
attention arrested by prominent landmarks, great isolated trees, houses,
bridgeheads, temples, hot-dog stands, etc., the person in the re-entry period
has similar experiences. He may demand to return to familiar haunts in the
human world. But any such external placation is temporary and soon the
restless wandering will recommence. There may come a desperate desire to
phone or otherwise contact your family, your doctor, your friends and appeal
to them to pull you out of the state. This desire should be resisted. The guide
and the fellow voyagers can be of best assistance. One should not try to
involve others in one's hallucinatory world. The attempt will fail anyway
since outsiders are usually unable to understand what is happening. Again,
merely to recognize these desires as Third Bardo manifestations is already
the first step toward liberation.

A fourth, rather common experience is the following: the person may feel
stupid and full of incoherent thoughts, whereas everyone else seems to be
perfectly knowing and wise. This leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacy
and in extreme from to the Judgment Vision, to be described below. This
feeling of stupidity is merely the natural result of the limited perspective
under which the consciousness is operating in this Bardo. Calm, relaxed
acceptance and trust will enable the voyager to win liberation at this point

Another experience, the fifth recognizing feature, which is especially
impressive when it occurs suddenly, is the feeling of being dead, cut off
from surrounding life, and full of misery. The person may with a jolt awake
from some trance-like swoon and experience himself and the others as
lifeless robots, performing wooden meaningless gestures. He may feel that
he will never come back and will lament his miserable state.

Again, such fantasies are to be recognized as the attempts of the ego to
regain control. In the true state of ego-death, as it occurs in the First or
Second Bardos, such complaints are never uttered.

Sixth, one may have the feeling of being oppressed or crushed or squeezed
into cracks and crevices amidst rocks and boulders. Or the person may feel
that a kind of metallic net or cage may encompass him. This symbolizes the
attempt prematurely to enter an ego-robot which is unfitting or unequipped
to deal with the expanded consciousness. Therefore one should relax the
panicky desire to regain an ego.

A Seventh aspect is a kind of grey twilight-like light suffusing everything,
which is in marked contrast to the brilliantly radiating lights and colors of
the earlier stages of the voyage. Objects, instead of shining, glowing and
vibrating, are now dully colored, shabby and angular.

The passages ==|==>> THIRD BARDO:  PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS contain
general instructions for the Third Bardo state and its recognizable features.
Any or all of the passages may be read when the guide senses that the
voyager is beginning to return to the ego.


                                         II.  Re-entry Visions

In the preceding section the symptoms of re-entry were described, the signs
that the voyager is tryihng to regain his ego. In this section are described
visions of the types of re-entry one can make.

The Tibetan manual conceives of the voyager as returning eventually to one
of six worlds of game existence (sangsara). That is, the re-entry to the ego
can take place on one of six levels, or as one of six personality types. Two of
these are higher than the normal human, three are lower. The highest, most
illuminated, level is that of the devas, who are what Westerners would call
saints, sages or divine teachers. They are the most enlightened people
walking the earth. Gautama Buddha, Lao Tse, Christ. The second level is that
of the asuras, who may be called titans or heroes, people with a more than
human degree of power and vision. The third level is that of most normal
human beings, struggling through game-networks, occasionally breaking
free. The fourth level is that of primitive and animalistic incarnations. In
this category we have the dog and the cock, symbolic of hyper-sexuality
concomitant with jealousy; the pig, symbolizing lustful stupidity and
uncleanliness; the industrious, hoarding ant; the insect or worm signifying
an earthy or grovelling disposition; the snake, flashing in anger; the ape, full
of rampaging primitive power; the snarling "wolf of the steppes;" the bird,
soaring freely. Many more could be enumerated. In all cultures of the world
people have adopted identities in the image of animals. In childhood and in
dreams it is a process familiar to all. The fifth level is that of neurotics,
frustrated lifeless spirits forever pursuing unsatisfied desires; the sixth
and lowest level is hell or psychosis. Less than one percent of ego-
transcendent experiences end in sainthood or psychosis. Most persons return
to the normal human level.

According to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, each of the six game worlds or
levels of existence is associated with a characteristic sort of thraldom,
from which non-game experiences give temporary freedom: (1) existence as
a deva, or saint, although more desirable than the others, is concomitant
with an ever-recurring round of pleasure, free game ecstasy; (2) existence
as an asura, or titan, is concomitant with incessant heroic warfare; (3)
helplessness and slavery are characteristic of animal existence; (4)
torments of unsatisfied needs and wants are characteristic of the existence
of pretas, or unhappy spirits; (5) the characteristic impediments of human
existence are inertia, smug ignorance, physical or psychological handicaps
or various sorts.

According to the Bardo Thodol, the level one is detined for is determined by
one's karma. During the period of the Third Bardo premonitory signs and
visions of the different levels appear, that for which one is heading
appearing most clearly. For example, the voyager may feel full of godlike
power (asuras), or he may feel himself stirred by primitive or bestial
impulses, or he may experience that all-pervasive frustration of the
unhappy neurotics, or shudder at the tortures of a self-created hell.

The chances of making a favorable re-entry are increased if the process is
allowed to take its own natural course, without effort or struggle. One
should avoid pursuing or fleeing any of the visions, but meditate calmly on
the knowledge that all levels exist in the Buddha also.

One can recognize and examine the signs as they appear and learn a great
deal about oneself in a very short time. Although it is unwise to struggle
against or flee the visions that come in this period, the ==|==>>
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RE-ENTRY VISIONS  are designed to help the voyager
regain First Bardo transcendence. In this way, if the person finds himself
about to return to a personality or ego which he finds inappropriate to his
new knowledge about himself, he can, by following the instructions, prevent
this and make a fresh re-entry.


                      III. The All-Determining Influence of Thought

Liberation may be obtained, by such confrontation, even though previously
it was not. If, however, liberation is not obtained even after these
confrontations, further earnest and continued application is essential.

Should you feel attachment to material possessions, to old games and
activities, or if you get any because other people are still involved in
pursuits that you have renounced, this will affect the psychological balance
in such a way that even if destined to return at a higher level, you will
actually re-enter on a lower level in the world of unsatisfied spirits
(neurosis). On the other hand, even if you do feel attached to worldly games
that you have renounced, you will not be able to play them, and they will be
of no use to you. Therefore abandon weakness and attachment to them; cast
them away wholly; renounce them from your heart. No matter who may be
enjoying your possessions, or taking your role, have no feelings of
miserliness or jealousy, but be prepared to renounce them willingly. Think
that you are offering them to your internal freedom and to your expaned
consciousness. Abide in the feeling of non-attachment, devoid of weakness
and craving.

Again, when the activities of the other members of the session are wrong,
careless, inattentive or distracting, when the agreement or contract is
broken, and when purity of intention is lost by any participant, and frivolity
and laxness take over (all of which can clearly be seen by the Bardo
voyager) you may feel lack of faith and begin to doubt your beliefs. You will
be able to perceive any anxiety or fear, any selfish actions, ego-centric
conduct and manipulative behavior. You may think: "Alas! they are playing
me false, they have cheated and deceived." If you think thus, you will
become extremely depressed, and through great resentment you will acquire
disbelief and loss of faith, instead of affection and humble trust. Since this
affects the psychological balance, re-entry will certainly be made on an
unpleasant level.

Such thinking will not only be of no use, but it will do great harm. However
improper the behavior of other, think thus: "What? How can the words of a
Buddha be inappropriate? It is like the reflection of blemishes on my own
face which I see in a mirror; my own thoughts must be impure. As for these
others, they are noble in body, holy in speech, and the Buddha is within
them: their actions are lessons for me."

Thus thinking, put your trust in your companions and exercise sincere love
towards them. Then whatever they do will be to your benefit. The exercise
of that love is very important; do not forget this!

Again, even if you were destined to return to a lower level and are already
going into that existence, yet through the good deeds of friends, relatives,
participants, learned teachers who devote themselves wholeheartedly to the
correct performance of beneficent rituals, the delight from your feeling
greatly cheered at seeing them will, by its own virtue, so affect the
psychological balance that even though heading downwards, you may yet
rise to a higher and happier level. Therefore you should not create selfish
thoughts, but exercise pure affection and humble faith towards all,
impartially. This is highly important. Hence be extremely careful.

The ==|==>> INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ALL-DETERMING INFLUENCE OF
THOUGHT are useful in any phase of the Third Bardo, but particularly if the
voyager is reacting with suspicion or resentment to other members of the
group, or to his own friends and relatives.


                                        IV.  Judgment Visions

The judgment vision may come: the Third Bardo blame game. "Your good
genius will count up your good deeds with white pebbles, the evil genius the
evil deeds with black pebbles." A judgment scene is a central part of many
religious systems, and the vision can assume various forms. Westerners are
most likely to see it in the well-known Christian version. The Tibetans give
a psychological interpretation to thisas to all the other visions. The Judge,
or Lord of Death, symbolizes conscience itself in its stern aspect of
impartiality and love of righteousness. The "Mirror of Karma" (the Christian
Judgment Book), consulted by the Judge, is memory. Different parts of the
ego will come forward, some offering lame excuses to meet accusations,
others ascribing baser motives to various deeds, counting apparently neutral
deeds among the black ones; still others offering justifications or requests
for pardon. The mirror of memory reflects clearly; lying and subterfuge will
be of no avail. Be not frightened, tell no lies, face truch fearlessly.

No you may imagine yourself surrounded by figures who wish to torment,
torture or ridicule you (the "Executive Furies of the Robot Lord of Death").
These merciless figures may be internal or they may involve the people
around you, seen as pitiless, mocking, superior. Remember that fear and
guilt and persecuting, mocking figures are your own hallucinations. Your own
guilt machine. Your personality is a collection of thought-patterns and void.
It cannot be harmed or injured. "Swords cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it."
Free yourself from your own hallucinations. In reality there is no such thing
as the Lord of Death, or a justice-dispensing god or demon or spirit. Act so
as to recognize this.

Recognize that you are in the Third Bardo. Meditate upon your ideal symbol.
If you do not know how to meditate, then merely analyze with great care the
real nature of that which is frightening you: "Reality" is nothing but a
voidness (Dharma-Kaya). That voidness is not of the voidness of nothingness,
but a voidness at the true nature of which you feel awed, and before which
your consciousness shines more clearly and lucidly. [That is the state of
mind known as "Sambhoga-Kaya." In that state, you experience, with
unbearable intensity, Voidness and Brightness inseparable - the Voidness
bright by nature and the Brightness inseparable from the Voidness - a state
of the primordial or unmodified consciousness, which is the Adi-Kaya. And
the power of this, shining unobstructedly, will radiate everywhere; it is the
Nirmana-Kaya.

These refer to the fundamental Wisdom Teachings of the Bardo Thodol. In all
Tibetan systems of yoga, realization of the Voidness is the one great aim. To
realize it is to attain the unconditioned Dharma-Kaya, or "Divine Body of
Truth," the primordial state of uncreatedness, of the supra-mundane All-
Consciousness. The Dharma-Kaya is the highest of the three bodies of the
Buddha and of all Buddhas and beings who have perfect enlightenment. The
other two bodies are the Sambhoga-Kaya or "Divine Body of Perfect
Endowment" and the Nirmana-Kaya or "Divine Body of Incarnation." Adi-
Kaya is synonymous with Dharma-Kaya. The Dharma-Kaya is primordial,
formless Essential Wisdom; it is true experience freed from all error or
inherent or accidental obscuration. It includes both Nirvana and Sangsara,
which are polar states of consciousness, but in the realm of pure
consciousness identical. The Sambhoga-Kaya embodies, as in the five Dhyani
Buddhas, Reflected or Modified Wisdom; and the Nirmana-Kaya embodies, as
in the Human Buddhas, Practical or Incarnate Widom. All enlightened beings
who are reborn in this or any other world with full consciousness, as
workers for the betterment of their fellow creatures, are said to be
Nirmana-Kaya incarnates. Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup, the translator of the
Bardo Thodol, held that the Adi-Buddha, and all deities associated with the
Dharma-Kaya, are not to be regarded as personal deities, but as
personifications of primordial and universal forces, laws or spiritual
influences. "In the boundless panorama of the existing and visible universe,
whatever shapes appear, whatever sounds vibrate, whatever radiances
illuminate, or whatever consciousnesses cognize, all are the play of
manifestation in the Tri-Kaya, the Three-fold Principle of the Cause of All
Causes, the Primordial Trinity. Impenetrating all, is the All-Pervading
Essence of Spirit, which is Mind. It is uncreated, impersonal, self-existing,
immaterial and indestructible." The Tri-Kaya is the esoteric trinity and
corresponds to the exoteric trinity of Buddha, the Scriptures and the
Priesthood (or your own divinity, this manual and your companions).

If the voyager is struggling with guilt and penance hallucinations, the
==|==>> INSTRUCTIONS FOR JUDGMENT VISIONS may be read.


                                            V.  Sexual Visions

Sexual visions are extremely frequent during the Third Bardo. You may see
or imagine males and females copulating. [According to Jung. ("Psychological
Commentary" to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Evans-Wentz edition, p. xiii),
"Freud's theory is the first attempt made in the West to investigate, as if
from below, from the animal sphere of instinct the psychic territory that
corresponds in Tantric Lamaism to the Sidpa Bardo." The vision described
here, in which the person sees mother and father in sexual intercourse,
corresponds to the "primal scene" in psychoanalysis. At this level, then, we
begin to see a remarkable convergence of Eastern and Western psychology.
Note also the exact correspondence to the psychoanalytic theory of the
Oedipus Complex.] This vision may be internal or it may involve the people
around you. You may hallucinate multi-person orgies and experience both
desire and shame, attraction and disgust. You may wonder what sexual
performance is expected of you and have doubts about your ability to
perform at this time.

When these visons occur, remember to withhod yourself from action or
attachment. Have faith and float gently with the stream. Trust in the unity
of life and in your companions.

If you attempt to enter into your old ego because you are attracted or
repulsed, if you try to join or excape from the orgy you are hallucinating,
you will re-enter on an animal or neurotic level. If you become conscious of
"malness," hatred of the father together with jealousy and attraction
towards the mother will be experienced; if you become conscious of
"femaleness," hatred of the mother together with attraction and fondness
for the father is experienced.

It is perhaps needless to say that this kind of self-centered sexuality has
little in common with the sexuality of transpersonal experiences. Physical
union can be one expression or manifestation of cosmic union.

Visions of sexual union may sometimes be followed by visions of conception
- you may actually visualize the sperm uniting with the ovum - , of intra-
uterine life and birth through the womb. Some people claim to have re-lived
their own physical birth in psychedelic sessions and occasionally confirming
evidence for such claims has been put forward. Whether this is so or not may
be left as a question to be decided by empirical evidence. Sometimes the
birth visions will be clearly symbolic - e.g., emergence from a cocoon,
breaking out of a shell, etc.

Whether the birth vision is constructed from memory or fantasy, the
psychedelic voyager should try to recognize the signs indicating the type of
personality that is being reborn.

The ==|==>> INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEXUAL VISIONS may be read to the voyager
who is struggling with sexual hallucinations.


                          VI.  Methods for Preventing the Re-Entry

Although many confrontations and recognition points have been given, the
person may be ill-prepared and still be wandering back to game reality. It is
of advantage to postpone the return for as long as possible, thus maximizing
the degree of enlightenment in the subsequent personality. For this reason
four meditative methods are given for prolonging the ego-loss state. They
are (1) meditation on the Buddha or guide; (2) concentration on good games;
(3) meditation on illusion; and (4) meditation on the void. See the ==|==>>
FOUR METHODS OF PREVENTING RE-ENTRY. Each one attempts to lead the
voyager back to the First Bardo central stream of energy from which he has
been separated by game involvements. One may ask how these meditative
methods, which seem difficult for the ordinary person, can be effective. The
answer given in the Tibetan Bardo Thodol is that due to the increased
suggestibility and openness of the mind in the psychedelic state these
methods can be used by anyone, regardless of intellectual capacity, or
proficiency in meditation.


                VII.  Methods of Choosing the Post-Session Personality

Choosing the post-session ego is an extremely profound art and should not
be undertaken carelessly or hastily. One should not return fleeing from
hallucinated tormentors. Such re-entry will tend to bring the person to one
of the three lower levels. One should first banish the fear by visualizing
one's protective figure or the Buddha; then choose calmly and impartially.

The limited foreknowledge available to the voyager should be used to make
a wise choice. In the Tibetan tradition each of the levels of game-existence
is associated with a particular color and also certain geographical symbols.
These may be different for twentieth-century Westerners. Each person has
to learn to decode his own internal road map. The Tibetan indicators may be
used as a starting point. The purpose is clear: one should follow the signs of
the three higher types and shun those of the three lower. One should follow
light and pleasant visions and shun dark and dreary ones.

The world of saints (devas) is said to shine with a white light and to be
preceded by visions of delightful temples and jewelled mansions. The world
of heroes (asuras) has a green light and is signalled by magical forests and
fire images. The ordinary human world has a yellow light. Animal existence
is foreshadowed by a blue light and images of caves and deep holes in the
earth. The world of neurotics or unsatisfied spirits has a red light and
visions of desolate plains and forest wastes. The hell world emits a smoke-
colored light and is preceded by sounds of wailing, visions of gloomy lands,
black and white houses and black roads along which you have to travel.

Use your foresight to choose a good post-session robot. Do not be attracted
to your old ego. Whether you choose to pursue power, or status, or wisdom,
or learning, or servitude, or whatever, choose impartially, without being
attracted or repelled. Enter into game existence with good grace, voluntarily
and freely. Visualize it as a celestial mansion, i.e., as an opportunity to
exercise game-ecstasy. Have faith in the protection of the deities and
choose. The mood of complete impartiality is important since you may be in
error. A game that appears good may later turn out to be bad. Complete
impartiality, freedom from want or fear, ensure that a maximally wise
choice is made.

As you return you see spread out before you the world, your former life, a
planet full of fascinating objects and events. Each aspect of the return trip
can be a delightful discovery. Soon you will be descending to take your place
in worldly events. The key to this return voyage is simply this: take it easy,
slowly, naturally. Enjoy every second. Don't rush. Don't be attached to your
old games. Recognize that you are in the re-entry period. Do not return with
any emotional pressure. Everything you see and touch can glow with
radiance. Each moment can be a joyous discovery.

                                        Here end the Third Bardo,
                                          The Period of Re-Entry


                                          GENERAL CONCLUSION

Well-prepared students with advanced spiritual understanding can use the
"Transference" principle at the moment of ego-death and need not traverse
subsequent Bardo states. They will rise to a state of illumination and
remain there throughout the entire period. Others, who are a little less
experienced in spiritual discipline, will recognize the Clear Light in the
second stage of the First Bardo and will then win liberation. Others, at a
still less advanced level, may be liberated while experiencing one of the
positive or negative visions of the Second Bardo. Since there are several
turning points, liberation can be obtained at one or the other through
recognition at moments of confrontation. Those of very weak karmic
connection, i.e., those who have been involved in heavy ego-dominated game-
playing, will have to wander downwards to the Third Bardo. Again, many
points for liberation have been charted. The weakest persons will fall under
the influence of guilt and terror. For weaker persons there are various
graded teachings for preventing the return to routine-reality, or at least for
choosing it wisely. Through applying the methods of visualization described,
they should be able to experience the benefits of the session. Even those
persons whose familiar routines are primitive and egocentric can be
prevented from entering into misery. Once they have experienced, for
however short a period, the great beauty and power of free awareness, they
may, in the next period, meet with a guide or friend who will initiate them
further into the way.

The way in which this teaching is effective, even for a voyager already in
the Sidpa Bardo, is as follows: each person has some positive and some
negative game-residues (karma). The continuity of consciousness has been
broken by an ego-death for which the person was not prepared. The teachings
are like a trough in a broken water drain, temporarily restoring the
continuity with positive karma. As stated before, the extreme suggestibility
or detached quality of consciousness in this state ensures the efficacy of
listening to the doctrine. The teaching embedded in this Manual may be
compared to a catapult which can direct the person towards the goal of
liberation. Or like the moving of a big wooden beam, which is so heavy that a
hundred men cannot carry it, but by being floated on water it can be easily
moved. Or it is like controlling a horse's bit and course by the use of a
bridle.

Therefore, these teachings should be vividly impressed on the voyager, again
and again. This Manual may also be used more generally. It should be
recited as often as possible and committed to memory as far as possible.
When ego-death or final death comes, recognize the symptoms, recite the
Manual to yourself, and reflect upon the meaning. If you cannot do it
yourself, ask a friend to read it to you. There is no doubt as to its liberative
power.

It liberates by being seen or heard, without need of ritual or complex
meditation. This Profound Teaching liberates those of great evil karma
through the Secret Pathway. One should not forget its meaning and the
words, even though pursued by seven mastiffs. By this Select Teaching, one
obtains Buddhahood at the moment of ego-loss. Were the Buddhas of past,
present and future to seek, they could not find any doctrine transcending
this.

                            Here ends the Bardo Thodol, known as
                                    The Tibetan Book of the Dead


                                                       III.

                                  SOME TECHNICAL COMMENTS
                                 ABOUT PSYCHEDELIC SESSIONS

                                        1. Use of This Manual
J
The most important use of this manual is for preparatory reading. Having
read the Tibetan Manual, one can immediately recognize symptoms and
experiences which might otherwise be terrifying, only because of lack of
understanding as to what was happening. Recognition is the key word.

Secondly, this guidebook may be used to avoid paranoid traps or to regain
the First Bardo transcendence if it has been lost. If the experience starts
with light, peace, mystic unity, understanding, and if it continues along this
path, then there is no need to remember this manual of have this manual re-
read to you. Like a road map, we consult it only when lost, or when we wish
to change course. Usually, however, the ego clings to its old games. There
may be momentary discomfort or confusion. If this happens, the others
present should not be sympathetic or show alarm. They should be prepared to
stay calm and restrain their "helping games." In particular, the "doctor" role
should be avoided.

If at any time you find yourself struggling to get back to routine reality, you
can (by pre-arrangement) have a more experienced person, a fellow-
voyager, or a trusted observer read parts of this manual to you.

Passages suitable for reading during the session are given in Part IV below.
Each major descriptive section of the Tibetan Book has an appropriate
instruction text. One may want to pre-record selected passages and simply
flick on the recorder when desired. The aim of these instruction texts is
always to lead the voyager back to the original First Bardo transcendence
and to help maintain that as long as possible.

A third use would be to construct a "program" for a session using passages
from the text. The aim would be to lead the voyager to one of the visions
deliberately, or through a sequence of visions. The guide or friend could read
the relevant passages, show slides or pictures or symbolic figures of
processes, play carefully selected music, etc. One can envision a high art of
programming psychedelic sessions, in which symbolic manipulations and
presentations would lead the voyager through ecstatic visionary Bead
Games.


                                         2. Planning a Session

In planning a session, the first question to be decided is "what is the goal?"
Classic Hinduism suggest four possibilities:

(1) For increased personal power, intellectual understanding, sharpened
insight into self and culture, improvement of life situation, accelerated
learning, professional growth.

(2) For duty, help of others, providing care, rehabilitation, rebirth for fellow
men.

(3) For fun, sensuous enjoyment, aesthetic pleasure, interpersonal
closeness,
pure experience.

(4) For transcendence, liberation from ego and space-time limits;
attainment
of mystical union.

This manual aims primarily at the latter goal - that of liberation-
enlightenment. This emphasis does not preclude attainment of the other
goals - in fact, it guarantees their attainment because illumination requires
that the person be able to step out beyond game problems of personality,
role, and professional status. The initiate can decide beforehand to devote
the psychedelic experience to any of the four goals. The manual will be of
assistance in any event.

If there are several people having a session together they should either
agree collaboratively on a goal, or at least be aware of each other's goals. If
the session is to be "programmed" then the participants should either agree
on or design a program collaboratively, or they should agree to let one
member of the group do the programming. Unexpected or undesired
manipulations by one of the participants can easily "trap the other voyagers
into paranoid Third Bardo delusions.

The voyager, especially in an individual session, may also wish to have
either an extroverted or an introverted experience. In the extroverted
transcendent experience, the self is ecstatically fused with external
objects (e.g. flowers, or other people). In the introverted state, the self is
ecstatically fused with internal life processes (lights, energy-waves, bodily
events, biological forms, etc.). Of course, either the extroverted or the
introverted state may be negative rather than positive, depending on the
attitude of the voyager. Also it may be primarily conceptual or primarily
emotional. The eight types of experience thus derived (four positive and four
negative) have been described more fully in Visions 2 to 5 of the Second
Bardo.

For the extroverted mystic experience one would bring to the session
objects or symbols to guide the awareness in the desired direction. Candles,
pictures,books, incense, music or recorded passages. An introverted mystic
experience requires the elimination of all stimulation; no light, no sound, no
smell, no movement.

The mode of communication with the other participants should also be
agreed on beforehand. You may agree on certain signals, silently indicating
companionship. You may arrange for physical contact - clasping hands,
embracing. These means of communication should be pre-arranged to avoid
game-misinterpretations that may develop during the heightened sensitivity
of ego-transcendence.


                                           3. Drugs and Dosages

A wide variety of chemicals and plants have psychedelic ("mind
manifesting") effects. The most widely used substances are listed here
together with dosages adequate for a normal adult of average size. The
dosage to be taken depends, of course, on the goal of the session. Two
figures are therefore given. The first column indicates a dosage which
should be sufficient for an inexperienced person to enter the transcendental
worlds described in this manual. The second column gives a smaller dosage
figure, which may be used by more experienced persons or by participants in
a group session.

LSD-25 (lysergic acid diethylamide) 200-500  micrograms 100-200
micrograms
Mescaline                                         600-800 mg                 300-500 mg
Psilocybin                                            40-60  mg                    20-30  mg

The time of onset, when the drugs are taken orally on an empty stomach, is
approximately 20-30 minutes for LSD and psilocybin, and one to two hours
for mescaline. The duration of the session is usually eight to ten hours for
LSD and mescaline, and five to six hours for psilocybin. DMT
(dimethyltryptamine), when injected intramuscularly in dosages of 50-60
mg, gives an experience approximately equivalent to 500 micrograms of LSD,
but which lasts only 30 minutes.

Some person have found it useful to take other drugs before the session. A
very anxious person, for example, may take 30 to 40 mg of Librium about on
hour earlier, to calm and relax himself. Methedrine has also been used to
induced a pleasant, euphoric mood prior to the session. Sometimes, with
excessively nervous persons, it is advisable to stagger the drug
administration: for example, 200 micrograms of LSD may be taken initially,
and a "booster" of another 200 micrograms may be taken after the person
has become familiar with some of the effects of the psychedelic state.
Nausea may sometimes occur. Usually this is a mental symptom, indicating
fear, and should be regarded as such. Sometimes, however, particularly with
the use of morning-glory seeds and peyote, the nausea can have a
physiological cause. Anti-nauseant drugs such as Marezine, Bonamine,
Dramamine or Tigan, may be taken beforehand to prevent this.

If a person becomes trapped in a repetitive game-routine during a session, it
is sometimes possible to "break the set" by administering 50 mg of DMT, or
even 25 mg of Dexedrine or Methedrine. Such additional dosages, of course,
should only be given with the person's own knowledge and consent.

Should external emergencies call for it, Thorazine (100-200 mg, i.m.) or
other phenothiazine-type tranquilizers will terminate the effects of
psychedelic drugs. Antidotes should not be used simply because the voyager
or the guide is frightened. Instead, the appropriate sections of the Third
Bardo should be read. [Further, more detailed suggestions concerning dosage
may be found in a paper by Gary M. Fisher: "Some Comments Concerning
Dosage Levels of Psychedelic Compounds for Psychotherapeutic
Experiences." Psychedelic Review, I, no.2, pp. 208-218, 1963.]


                                                4. Preparation

Psychedelic chemicals are not drugs in the usual sense of the word. There is
no specific reaction, no expected sequence of events, somatic or
psychological.

The specific reaction has little to do with the chemical and is chiefly a
function of set and setting; preparation and environment. The better the
preparation, the more ecstatic and revelatory the session. In initial sessions
and with unprepared persons, setting - particularly the actions of others -
is most important. With persons who have prepared thoughtfully and
seriously, the setting is less important.

There are two aspects of set: long-range and immediate.

Long-range set refers to the personal history, the enduring personality. The
kind of person you are - your fears, desires, conflicts, guilts, secret
passions - determines how you interpret and manage any situation you enter,
including a psychedelic session. Perhaps more important are the reflex
mechanisms used when dealing with anxiety - the defenses, the protective
maneuvers typically employed. Flexibility, basic trust, religious faith,
human openness, courage, interpersonal warmth, creativity, are
characteristics which allow for fun and easy learning. Rigidity, desire to
control, distrust, cynicism, narrowness, cowardice, coldness, are
characteristics which make any new situation threatening. Most important
is insight. No matter how many cracks in the record, the person who has
some understanding of his own recording machinery, who can recognize when
he is not functioning as he would wish, is better able to adapt to any
challenge - even the sudden collapse of his ego.

The most careful preparation would include some discussion of the
personality characteristics and some planning with the guide as to how to
handle expected emotional reactions when they occur.

Immediate set refers to the expectations about the session itself. Session
preparation is of critical importance in determining how the experience
unfolds. People tend naturally to impose their personal and social game
perspectives on any new situation. Careful thought should precede the
session to prevent narrow sets being imposed.

Medical expectations.  Some ill-prepared subjects unconsciously impose a
medical model on the experience. They look for symptoms, interpret each
new sensation in terms of sickness/health, place the guide in a doctor-role,
and, if anxiety develops, demand chemical rebirth - i.e., tranquilizers.
Occasionally one hears of casual, ill-planned, non-guided sessions which end
in the subject demanding to be hospitalized, etc. It is even more problem-
provoking if the guide employs a medical model, watches for symptoms, and
keeps hospitalization in mind to fall back on, as protection for himself.

Rebellion against convention may be the motive of some people who take the
drug. The idea of doing something "far out" or vaguely naughty is a naive set
which can color the experience.

Intellectual expectations are appropriate when subjects have had much
psychedelic experience. Indeed, LSD offers vast possibilities for accelerated
learning and scientific-scholarly research. But for initial sessions,
intellectual reactions can become traps. The Tibetan Manual never tires of
warning about the dangers of rationalization. "Turn you mind off" is the best
advice for novitiates. Control of your consciousness is like flight
instruction. After you have learned how to move your consciousness around -
into ego-loss and back, at will - then intellectual exercises can be
incorporated into the psychedelic experience. The last stage of the session
is the best time to examine concepts. The objective of this particular
manual is to free you from you verbal mind for as long as possible.

Religious expectations invite the same advice as intellectual set. Again, the
subject in early sessions is best advised to float with the stream, stay "up"
as long as possible, and postpone theological interpretations until the end of
the session, or to later sessions.

Recreational and aesthetic expectations are natural. The psychedelic
experience, without question, provides ecstatic moments which dwarf any
personal or cultural game. Pure sensation can capture awareness.
Interpersonal intimacy reaches Himalayan heights. Aesthetic delights -
musical, artistic, botanical, natural - are raised to the millionth power. But
all these reactions can be Third Bardo ego games: "I am having this ecstasy.
How lucky I am!" Such reactions can become tender traps, preventing the
subject from reaching pure ego-loss (First Bardo) or the glories of Second
Bardo creativity.

Planned expectations.  This manual prepares the person for a mystical
experience according to the Tibetan model. The Sages of the Snowy Ranges
have developed a most sophisticated and precise understanding of human
psychology, and the student who studies this manual will become oriented
for a voyage which is much richer in scope and meaning than any Western
psychological theory. We remain aware, however, that the Bardo Thodol
model of consciousness is a human artifact, a Second Bardo hallucination,
however grand its scope.

Some practical recommendations. The subject should set aside at least
three days for his experience; a day before, the session day, and a follow-up
day. This scheduling guarantees a reduction in external pressure and a more
sober commitment to the voyage.

Talking to others who have taken the voyage is excellent preparation,
although the Second Bardo hallucinatory quality of all descriptions should be
recognized. Observing a session is another valuable preliminary. The
opportunity to see others during and after a session shapes expectations.

Reading books about mystical experience is a standard orientation
procedure. Reading the accounts of others' experiences is another possibility
(Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, and Gordon Wasson have written powerful
accounts).

Meditation is probably the best preparation for a psychedelic session. Those
who have spent time in the solitary attempt to manage the mind, to
eliminate thought and to reach higher stages of concentration, are the best
candidates for a psychedelic session. When the ego-loss state occurs, they
are ready. They recognize the process as an end eagerly awaited, rather than
a strange event ill-understood.


                                              5. The Setting

The first and most important thing to remember, in the preparation for a
psychedelic session, is to provide a setting which is removed from one's
usual social and interpersonal games and which is as free as possible from
unforeseen distractions and intrusions. The voyager should make sure that
he will not be disturbed by visitors or telephone calls, since these will
often jar him into hallucinatory activity. Trust in the surroundings and
privacy are necessary.

A period of time (usually at least three days) should be set aside in which
the experience will run its natural course and there will be sufficient time
for reflections and meditation. It is important to keep schedules open for
three days and to make these arrangements beforehand. A too-hasty return
to game-involvements will blur the clarity of the vision and reduce the
potential for learning. If the experience was with a group, it is very useful
to stay together after the session in order to share and exchange
experiences.

There are differences between night sessions and day sessions. Many people
report that they are more comfortable in the evening and consequently that
their experiences are deeper and richer. The person should choose the time
of day that seems right according to his own temperament at first. Later, he
may wish to experience the difference between night and day sessions.

Similarly, there are differences between sessions out-of-doors and indoors.
Natural settings such as gardens, beaches, forests, and open country have
specific influences which one may or may not wish to incur. The essential
thing is to feel as comfortable as possible in the surroundings, whether in
one's living room or under the night sky. A familiarity with the surroundings
may help one to feel confident in hallucinatory periods. If the session is held
indoors, one must consider the arrangement of the room and the specific
objects one may wish to see and hear during the experience.

Music, lighting, the availability of food and drink, should be considered
beforehand. Most people report no desire for food during the height of the
experience, and then, later on, prefer to have simple, ancient foods like
bread, cheese, wine, and fresh fruit. Hunger is usually not the issue. The
senses are wide open, and the taste and smell of a fresh orange are
unforgettable.

In group sessions, the arrangement of the room is quite important. People
usually will not feel like walking or moving very much for a long period, and
either beds or mattresses should be provided. The arrangement of the beds
or mattresses can vary. One suggestion is to place the heads of the beds
together to form a star pattern. Perhaps one may want to place a few beds
together and keep one or two some distance apart for anyone who wishes to
remain aside for some time. Often, the availability of an extra room is
desirable for someone who wishes to be in seclusion for a period.

If it is desired to listen to music or to reflect on paintings or religious
objects, one should arrange these so that everyone in the group feels
comfortable with what they are hearing or seeing. In a group session, all
decisions about goals, setting, etc. should be made with collaboration and
openness.

                                  6. The Psychedelic Guide

For initial sessions, the attitude and behavior of the guide are critical
factors. He possesses enormous power to shape the experience. With the
cognitive mind suspended, the subject is in a heightened state of
suggestibility. The guide can move consciousness with the slightest gesture
or reaction.

The key issue here is the guide's ability to turn off his own ego and social
games - in particular, to muffle his own power needs and his fears. To be
there relaxed, solid, accepting, secure. The Tao wisdom of creative quietism.
To sense all and do nothing except to let the subject know your wise
presence.

A psychedelic session lasts up to twelve hours and produces moments of
intense, intense, INTENSE reactivity. The guide must never be bored,
talkative, intellectualizing. He must remain calm during the long periods of
swirling mindlessness.

He is the ground control in the airport tower. Always there to receive
messages and queries from high-flying aircraft. Always ready to help
navigate their course, to help them reach their destination. An airport-
tower-operator who imposes his own personality, his own games upon the
pilot is unheard of. The pilots have their own flight plan, their own goals,
and ground control is there, ever waiting to be of service.

The pilot is reassured to know that an expert who has guided thousands of
flights is down there, available for help. But suppose the flier has reason to
suspect that ground control is harboring his own motives and might be
manipulating the plane toward selfish goals. The bond of security and
confidence would crumble.

It goes without saying, then, that the guide should have had considerable
experience in psychedelic sessions himself and in guiding others. To
administer psychedelics without personal experience is unethical and
dangerous.

The greatest problem faced by human beings in general, and the psychedelic
guide in particular, is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing control. Fear
of trusting the genetic process and your companions. From our own research
studies and our investigations into sessions run by others - serious
professionals or adventurous bohemians - we have been led to the
conclusion that almost every negative LSD reaction has been caused by fear
on the part of the guide which has augmented the transient fear of the
subject. When the guide acts to protect himself, he communicates his
concern to the subject.

The guide must remain passively sensitive and intuitively relaxed for
several hours. This is a difficult assignment for most Westerners. For this
reason, we have sought ways to assist the guide in maintaining a state of
alert quietism in which he is poised with ready flexibility. The most certain
way to achieve this state is for the guide to take a low dose of the
psychedelic with the subject. Routine procedure is to have one trained
person participate in the experience and one staff member present in ground
control without psychedelic aid.

The knowledge that one experienced guide is "up" and keeping the subject
company, is of inestimable value; intimacy and communication; cosmic
companionship; the security of having a trained pilot flying at your wing tip;
the scuba diver's security in the presence of an expert comrade in the deep.

It is not recommended that guides take large doses during sessions for new
subjects. The less experienced he is, the more likely will the subject impose
Second and Third Bardo hallucinations. These intense games affect the
experienced guide, who is likely to be in a state of mindless void. The guide
is then pulled into the hallucinatory field of the subject, and may have
difficulty orienting himself. During the First Bardo there are no familiar
fixed landmarks, no place to put your foot, no solid concept upon which to
base your thinking. All is flux. Decisive Second Bardo action on the part of
the subject can structure the guide's flow if he has taken a heavy dose.

The role of the psychedelic guide is perhaps the most exciting and inspiring
role in society. He is literally a liberator, one who provides illumination,
one who frees men from their life-long internal bondage. To be present at
the moment of awakening, to share the ecstatic revelation when the voyager
discovers the wonder and awe of the divine life-process, is for many the
most gratifying part to play in the evolutionary drama. The role of the
psychedelic guide has a built-in protection against professionalism and
didactic oneupmanship. The psychedelic liberation is so powerful that it far
outstrips earthly game ambitions. Awe and gratitude - rather than pride -
are the rewards of this new profession.


                                   7. Composition of the Group

The most effective use of this manual will be for the experience of one
person with a guide. However, the manual will be useful in a group also.
When used in a group session, the following suggestions will be most helpful
in planning.

The important thing to remember in organizing a group session is to have
knowledge of and trust in the fellow voyagers. Trust in oneself and in one's
companions is essential. If preparing for an experience with strangers, it is
very important to share as much time and space as possible with them prior
to the session. The participants should set collaborative goals and explore
mutually their expectations and feelings and past experiences.

[End of part 3/4]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to [e-mail].
Due to the double-blind system, any replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.