EXPLORING INNER SPACE

by Jane Dunlap ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 1961

These Personal Experiences Under LSD-25 a powerful hallucinogenic drug, bring to mind inevitably other records of this kind- whether the dream painting of De Quincey's Confessions or more recently Huxley's mescaline-induced Doors of Perception. LSD-25 is being studied by psychologists- for its powers to release the ""potentials of the human mind"" (or in a therapy situation, blocked or repressed material) or to stimulate creativity in professional artists. However a Robert Davidson (who worked with Mrs. Dunlap) more sharply circumscribes its suggested uses in the appendix. Mrs. Dunlap volunteered as an experimental subject- and was given the drug five times. The next day she wrote down the visualizations and insights it stimulated. One experience was evolutionary- she assumed many forms of plant and animal life, endured multiple deaths; in another, she became Pegasus, traveled through centuries and cultures; always there is a sense of brilliant color, sometimes there is terror, and in all she underwent a strongly religious and mystical experience which she now values highly. She also feels that the drug has changed some of her attitudes and approaches to life.... Whatever limited scientific value this may have- it is a purely personal record- still it is a curious and speculative sounding of new spheres of awareness.

Pub Date: April 12, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1961

Categories: NONFICTION