EPILEPSY ~ ENTHEOGENS ~ CONSCIOUSNESS

De Ory offers a thoroughly researched treatise on epilepsy and its alternative treatments.

This hefty tome is much more than a clinical handbook: Each section begins with a personal memory that helped shape the author’s life, beginning with his diagnosis of generalized epilepsy as a child. Part I traces epilepsy’s history, from it being considered a spiritual and/or supernatural affliction in many cultures to the acknowledgment of its medical origins, beginning in ancient Greece. Part II covers the author’s deep dive into the world of entheogens (more popularly known as “psychedelics”). While cannabis has been scientifically shown to help prevent seizures, de Ory also makes a connection between “the altered states of consciousness triggered by mind-manifesting substances and those triggered by the post-ictal epileptic seizure.” That finding ushers in Part III, in which he discusses humanity’s ability to tap into the “psychic nature of the collective unconscious” as a way of coping with not just epilepsy, but with the ills of the world as a whole. The sheer amount of research included is impressive—the guide is over 400 pages long, not including nine pages of references and a 37-page bibliography. While the author does his best to break his subject down for readers, the terms and concepts he tackles may prove difficult: “To be born and to die is perhaps the quintessential paradox of a predicament that ushers us in and out of our material existence whilst safeguarding our transcendence throughout the trials of our corporality.” His writing remains eloquent throughout, alternating between scientific reporting and novelistic personal anecdotes: “As I was walking away from the University campus with my girlfriend on a gray winter afternoon, I swallowed a tiny white piece of blotting paper impregnated with LSD…suddenly, the familiar world around me collapsed while a dazzling reality surged from within.” While there is plenty of fascinating history and spiritual theory included, readers who don’t approve of illegal drug use will likely want to skip all of Part II.

An enlightening read for those looking to buck traditional epilepsy treatments in favor of plant-based, spiritual therapies.