THE PRIVATE SEA: An Inquiry into the Religious Implications of LSD

by William Braden ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1967

It is significant as indicated here, that an increasing number of drug-user groups are incorporating as churches. Mr. Braden believes that this is the fulfillment of a prophecy to the effect that the immanent God of the Orient would confront the transcendent God of the Occident in a shoot-out at a cosmic OK Corral. Now, for the first time in the West, man seeks a being from within himself not from without, and by means of chemical reaction rather than through an elaborate discipline. This is the challenge of LSD to the organized religions of the West; it is a competitor and moreover a competitor which promises and seems to deliver spectacular, instantaneous results with no effort on the part of the user. This book is concerned with that aspect of drug-using and the author makes an unusual case for his thesis, adducing in evidence gathered on ""trips,"" and speculating, not without style, on all the implications of such ""tripping."" The book is unquestionably badly organized, superficial, and incomplete; but it is also provocative and informative and can be recommended to anyone interested in the phenomena of consciousness-expanding drugs.

Pub Date: March 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Quadrangle

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION