THE ALBERT HOFMANN FOUNDATION
International Library for the Study of Consciousness

The Hofmann Report

Throughout history people have used mind expanding substances to explore consciousness and enhance their lives. Our purpose at the Albert Hofmann Foundation is to gather the records of these endeavors and to further the understanding and responsible application of psychedelic substances in the investigation of both individual and collective consciousness.

TO OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS:

During this past year, a fellow advisor and board director, Myron Stolaroff, together with myself and my close companion Stacey Zee, traveled to Basel, Switzerland to take possession of one of the most important archives in the history of d-lysergic acid diethylamide, and to meet with Dr. Albert Hofmann. We made arrangements to acquire 93 volumes of invaluable psychedelic research, consisting of more than 3,500 papers of the published scientific literature for the period 1947-1988. Because of a merger underway at Sandoz, the material was scheduled to be destroyed after the merger was consummated. With the help of Dr. Hofmann, arrangements were made to transfer the entire collection to the Albert Hofmann Foundation.

This acquisition for the Foundation was particularly important as it also represents a cornerstone for our newest endeavor, The Albert Hofmann Museum and Library. The museum concept is to collect and gather all historical psychedelic memorabilia, historical letters, articles and physical items for public viewing and appreciation, and provide permanent housing. If this is not pursued, the works of many important researchers and shamans could be lost and/or scattered amongst private collectors or even destroyed for a lack of proper care. John Beresford, an advisor of the Foundation, is the curator for this new Museum. He has done an excellent job of setting up an exhibit of many museum items that are currently on hand in our present (and temporary) Pasadena facility. John continues to work at identifying other suitable collections, networking with other organizations of similar interests, and evaluating possible donations and collections in hope of acquiring additions that will add richness to the evolution of the psychedelic movement.

We are currently in a free standing, two story historical building in Pasadena in the "Old Town District." We have space for offices, equipment, social gatherings and gallery space for The Albert Hofmann Museum in its present form. Arrangements to see the Museum must be made through John. If you or someone you know has materials you wish to donate, please contact us. We will arrange for a tax donation under our 501 (c)(3) non profit corporation status. In addition, until such time as a building is secured by the Foundation, we can discuss a vehicle whereby your museum donation would be held in trust by the Foundation or third party pursuant to your instructions. John may be reached at (213) 380-5557.

News from a Longtime Psychedelic Elder

"My initial introduction to LSD had been a transformative experience. I would never be the same again. I was radically changed and the world of men was changed not in its practices but in its potential. What made the world of men go 'round was still fear, not love; but now there was light at the end of the tunnel. First prophetic outlines of a vast transition filled me with high elation. Chronic discontent was replaced with great expectations."

Ted reminisces: "Experiences that with hindsight, seem to have been most significant: Of these, of course, my introduction to LSD is foremost. I learned more in the blaze of the few blessed hours than in all of my life until then. And I was to find that the high level of enlightenment was to continue through the next couple of years of sitting for sessions as a member of the Vancouver team and beyond for the remainder of my life. One of the most exciting features of this period of learning was the realization that there WAS a way for anyone with the will, to deliberately choose and have direct and personal experience of divinity. It seemed to me that this was the fabled Elixir of Life, El Dorado and the Holy Grail that the alchemists and other visionaries had been intuitively seeking for centuries all rolled into one. "

To me, the advent of LSD was the long awaited Great Event that would be the saving grace of the human race. It was like being in attendance at the second coming. But gradually, starting with the world of peyote and psilocybe mushrooms, I became aware that the promise implicit in LSD was not unique but had been in the world and actively in use as a sacrament from time beyond memory... I now realized that I had been inducted into a very ancient, sacred Order that I have since come to think of and speak of as the Beloved Brotherhood. I recognized that I would be obliged for the rest of my life to spread the good news and when appropriate, to provide the sacramental experience to candidates for enlightenment."

After the close of the Vancouver Clinic, Ted and his wife visited Mexico, returning in time to America and Canada. He discovered that his exposure to the unlettered, rural people of Mexico inflamed a long time sense of shame and guilt about the unbroken record of dishonor immigrant Europeans have amassed in dealings with resident Americans. This led Ted to calling on Native communities in Canada to offer a personal apology. "The unfailing grace and warmth with which I was received was humbling and very moving." This led to writing articles, which obtained spreading circulation, and brought him into touch with young activist natives. He ultimately became associated as a consultant with the Institute for Indian Studies with an all-Indian approach to education. In 1968 an 18-storey building designed to accomodate Rochdale College, a radical educational venture, opened its doors in downtown Toronto. For office space and limited living accommodations, the Institute rented the entire 17th floor. Below them, a sixteen floor highrise of hippies, including a sprinkling of American draft dodgers, bubbled and boiled with volcanic energy.

This brought him into touch with people venturing into the possibilities of consciousness alteration, but with a very different setting. "My first reaction was one of shock. My notions of responsible use were being violated by the aimless experimentation I saw going on around me and my sense of the sacred was being outraged. There was so much to be critical of: the complete disregard for setting, the devil may care negligence of set, the assumption that the chemical involved was in fact LSD (an assumption shared by dealers, police and medical personnel as well); the jargon of "trips" good and bad, "freaking out," "dropping acid," and "turning on." The popular notion that bad trips could be avoided by staying active, staying on one's feet, keeping busy, led me to the incredulous conclusion that the street definition of a bad trip was synonymous with any work of inward exploration.

"Since my past experience with LSD was no secret, it wasn't long before I was being called upon, often in an emergency capacity, to sit with people in apparent difficulty... My experience as a sitter stood me in good stead. All that was needed in most cases was a calm, assured presence, a reference point, solid and sure as Gibraltar." With the advent of illegalization of psychedelics, Ted was able to make a firm decision: "that for the rest of my life I would continue regardless of legal considerations to sit with people in their quest for enlightenment... Then suddenly, I found myself deeply involved with these kids who, in their groping quest for self actualization had chosen to leave home and go where? They didn't seem to know or care... It was in the midst of this setting that it finally dawned on me: a major movement was underway. The change I had longed for all my life was under way. The kids were doing it! I was reminded of the 11th century Children's Crusade, a spontaneous spiritual phenomenon that flared like a brief beacon in a dark Age. It seemed to me that the same, clear, innocent energy was at work here; the same irrational but joyful dedication. But within its aimless appearing thrust it carried the seeds of such liberating changes as black liberation, feminist freedom, respect for homosexuals and responsible use of the environment.

"Throughout the sixties I became a sort of ambassador at large for what I had come to think of as "agents of enlightenment." The War on Drugs was heating up and salvos of designed misinformation were being fired from bureaucratic redoubts and law enforcement agencies with particular interest in targeting children. I was always only too happy to talk without bias about "drugs" without suggesting that one should use them or leave them alone, but being meticulous about the truth and speaking wherever possible from experience rather than abstract theory." Ted kept busy at this work for some time. The problem became one of getting good materials, as good LSD and mescaline became scarce. He was able to locate peyote, and psilocybe mushrooms were abundant in his locality. Amanita muscaria was also indigenous to his area. "As a result, my appreciation of the sublimity of these also grew from the sensational discovery of a Swiss research chemist to a world-wide sacrament benevolently provided in great variety by a loving Creator, with no strings attached.

"God, in his mercy, made provision for a liberal entheogenic sprinkling through the natural world of plants that man might wake from the dream of good and evil into the promise of full consciousness. They are as keys to the prison of selfness. And now man, within his own nature, has found the power to synthesize these, and more: the power to create "designer" substitutes. This knowledge fills me with gratitude and optimism."

Myron Stolaroff, Editor
1278 Glenneyre Street, Suite 173
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Tel: (310) 281-8110
Fax: (714) 497-0463