MAPS: ASCs and the dying

["Charles T. Tart" <charlestart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob Bridge rightly suggests that psychedelically induced ASCs might be
useful in work with the dying. It's not only a good suggestion, we already
have data to support it - even if the data is largely forgotten now. 

One of the last, legal psychedelic research projects involved a
sophisticated, guided psychedelic session for terminal cancer patients at
the Spring Grove State Hospital in Maryland.  I say "sophisticated"
because it was the ASC induced and the guidance of it that mattered the
most, not just the chemical action of LSD.  Stan Grof was one of the
principal investigators. 

It's been a long time since I looked at that material, but my memory is
that it was immensely helpful in reducing the patients' suffering (I think
they needed less pain killing medication afterwards, as just one
indication), especially their psychological suffering and fear of death. 
It's sad that this kind of help is not widely available because of legal
hysteria.

I believe one of the unexpected findings was that a number of patients
stayed alive long after they were supposed to have died..... 

Perhaps someone on the list who has reviewed this material more recently
would be kind enough to summarize the research for those on the jcs-online
list not familiar with it. 

Charley
-- 
Charles T. Tart, Ph.D. 		
Professor, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo
Alto CA
   ITP Web site: 			www.itp.edu
Professor Emeritus, Psychology, University of
California, Davis 
   e-mail: cttart@xxxxxxxxxxx
Home page & archives:
http://www.paradigm-sys.com/cttart/
Editor, The Archives of Scientists' Transcendent
Experiences
   http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/tart/taste/



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