LSD, Adolf Hitler, Captain Alfred, Dr. Groff and Dr. Hoffman: The Nexus
Carefully considering the topics outlined for this assignment, one dominant theme resounds: Drugs and its effects on the mind. And that, from my perception is the nexus between the seven lines of discussion. As far as these lines of discussion are concerned, each helps us to understand the perception of influential people (basically political actors and social and natural scientists) on how psychoactive drugs such as LSD and methamphetamine (also known as crystal meth or meth) influence the mind.
Basically, both drugs create emotions stronger than normal and stimulate the mind to operate on a paranormal plane – incomprehensible for the body under normal conditions. Hence, the after effect of the consumption of either drug brings on fatigue and lethargy, which are quite beneficial for the return of the mind to its normal state. Speaking of lethargy being beneficial however, this is not true of methamphetamine!
On a side note (and since two different yet similar-in-effect kinds of drugs are mentioned here), it would be appropriate to distinguish their basic characteristics. This would help shed more light on the motive for their use and why the various proponents in the topics are fascinated by them.
While LSD is typically taken often only for fun and the effects can be remembered whether the experience was good or bad, crystal meth (or meth) is taken continuously to sustain the focus and energy a person needs. In other words, meth typically has addictive properties, making it impossible for a person to stop taking it until they seek proper rehabilitation to deal with their stress.
Hitler's use of meth began sometime in 1937 and before long, he had become addicted to the drug. Adolf Hitler also used the psychological process of hypnosis to instigate his generals and soldier's unusual loyalty. In the sense that as much as he was successful in using coercion to gain all the loyalty he needed for his reign, he did not fall short of using psychological powers to hypnotize his generals and soldiers. One of his generals, ex-Governor General of Poland Hans Frank noted (possibly in response to why he and others carried out the ruinous orders of Hitler) "I can hardly understand it myself. There must be some basic evil in me. In all men. Mass hypnosis? Hitler cultivated this evil in man. When I saw him in that movie in court, I was swept along again for a moment, in spite of myself. Funny, one sits in court feeling guilt and shame. Then Hitler appears on the screen and you want to stretch out your hand to him . . . . It's not with horns on his head or with a forked tail that the devil comes to us, you know. He comes with a captivating smile, spouting idealistic sentiments, winning one's loyalty. We cannot say that Adolf Hitler violated the German people. He seduced us."
Likewise the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA's) Captain Alfred M. Hubbard fascination and obsession with the LSD and Dr. Stanislav Grof's studies of LSD and its effects on the psyche (the field of psychedelic psychotherapy) point in one direction – drugs and its effects on the mind. Having being introduced to and administered LSD by his friend, Dr. Ronald Sandison of Great Britain, Captain Alfred explained of his experience LSD "It was the deepest mystical thing I've ever seen …. I saw myself as a tiny mite in a big swamp with a spark of intelligence. I saw my mother and father having intercourse. It was all clear." Captain Alfred went as far as proposing that LSD could be used to transform the belief systems of world leaders and thereby further the cause of world peace.
In similar vein Dr. Sanislav Grof confirmed Captain Hubbard's proposition that the LSD was essential to the attainment of higher levels of knowledge.
Grof explains that the use of hallucinogenic drugs could be one sure method to take the mind through a tour of holotropic consciousness: an extraordinary state of consciousness that spurs high-realmed meditative, mystical, or psychedelic experiences. Grof explains of psychoactive drugs, "My later experience with psychedelics only confirmed this initial impression. These substances function as unspecific amplifiers that increase the cathexis (energetic charge) associated with the deep unconscious contents of the psyche and make them available for conscious processing".
How then does the Bumper wheat crops, The Salem Witch Trials, The Russian Revolution, The French Revolution tie into this discourse? First let us make mention of Ergotamin – the a chemical derived by Dr. Arthur Stoll from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye– a hardy annual cereal grass widely cultivated in northern Europe where its grain is the chief ingredient of black bread. Though the rye possesses edible properties, it could become a very dangerous plant when fouled by the ergot, a fungal disease found on the rye. The ergot disease when ingested has been known to cause varying degrees of biopsychosocial dysfunctions including delirium, hallucination, aggression, skin color change and even death in humans.
Back in 1692, in January, during the cold dark Massachusetts winter eight young girls began to take ill, beginning with 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris, as well as his niece, 11-year-old Abigail Williams. But theirs was a strange sickness: the girls suffered from delirium, violent convulsions, incomprehensible speech, trance-like states, and odd skin sensations. There was no scientific explanation to this bewildering phenomenon, the villagers reached a conclusion: the girls were under a spell, bewitched — and, worse yet, by members of their own pious community. By September of that year, the sickness had spread, consequently, the population of "witches" was on the increase, and about 150 arrests had been made. 20 (or 19) of those arrested were in the end put to death under various conditions.
However, researchers have looked into the matter and found out that the supposed witches had only ingested the ergot disease, and were in turn subjected to the unnatural effects of the psychedelic properties of the disease. Two and a half centuries later, Dr. Authur Stoll discovered that LSD could be extracted from ergot.
It is possible that the raw form in which mothers in early 19th century Russia's took in the ergot and passed it on to their babies through breast feeding was responsible for the high infant mortality rate in Russia at that time. Though, LSD on its own is not a killer drug, a wrong form or disproportionate portion when ingested could be lethal. This was proved in Ronald Siegel of UCLA experiment with two elephants, where he proved that a former elephant – Tusko that had died after being administered LSD received a raw form of the drug.
As far as the six degrees of separation is concerned, we can infer from the above discussion that though the personalities mentioned herein might have not met in person or there is tendency that they all have a fanatical factor of commonness, which surely links them together. And if not for the factor of time and events that places them all in different eras, there would have been no difficulty for the Adolf Hitler, Captain Alfred, Dr. Groff and Captain Hoffman to have a get together where they all are administered LSD and travel years ahead into the utopian plane coming back to discuss how each could further his larger than life cause.
The Bumper wheat crops, The Salem Witch Trials, The Russian Revolution, The French Revolution on the other hand offer a historical perspective about the accidental experiment with LSD and its discovery many years ago, before its popularity in the 20th century.
References
Exploring Psychology, Eight Edition in Modules: David G. Meyers
The Top 20 Most Bizarre Experiments of All Timehttp://www.museumofhoaxes.com
A Comparison between LSD and Crystal Methhttp://www.squidoo.com
Carefully considering the topics outlined for this assignment, one dominant theme resounds: Drugs and its effects on the mind. And that, from my perception is the nexus between the seven lines of discussion. As far as these lines of discussion are concerned, each helps us to understand the perception of influential people (basically political actors and social and natural scientists) on how psychoactive drugs such as LSD and methamphetamine (also known as crystal meth or meth) influence the mind.
Basically, both drugs create emotions stronger than normal and stimulate the mind to operate on a paranormal plane – incomprehensible for the body under normal conditions. Hence, the after effect of the consumption of either drug brings on fatigue and lethargy, which are quite beneficial for the return of the mind to its normal state. Speaking of lethargy being beneficial however, this is not true of methamphetamine!
On a side note (and since two different yet similar-in-effect kinds of drugs are mentioned here), it would be appropriate to distinguish their basic characteristics. This would help shed more light on the motive for their use and why the various proponents in the topics are fascinated by them.
While LSD is typically taken often only for fun and the effects can be remembered whether the experience was good or bad, crystal meth (or meth) is taken continuously to sustain the focus and energy a person needs. In other words, meth typically has addictive properties, making it impossible for a person to stop taking it until they seek proper rehabilitation to deal with their stress.
Hitler's use of meth began sometime in 1937 and before long, he had become addicted to the drug. Adolf Hitler also used the psychological process of hypnosis to instigate his generals and soldier's unusual loyalty. In the sense that as much as he was successful in using coercion to gain all the loyalty he needed for his reign, he did not fall short of using psychological powers to hypnotize his generals and soldiers. One of his generals, ex-Governor General of Poland Hans Frank noted (possibly in response to why he and others carried out the ruinous orders of Hitler) "I can hardly understand it myself. There must be some basic evil in me. In all men. Mass hypnosis? Hitler cultivated this evil in man. When I saw him in that movie in court, I was swept along again for a moment, in spite of myself. Funny, one sits in court feeling guilt and shame. Then Hitler appears on the screen and you want to stretch out your hand to him . . . . It's not with horns on his head or with a forked tail that the devil comes to us, you know. He comes with a captivating smile, spouting idealistic sentiments, winning one's loyalty. We cannot say that Adolf Hitler violated the German people. He seduced us."
Likewise the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA's) Captain Alfred M. Hubbard fascination and obsession with the LSD and Dr. Stanislav Grof's studies of LSD and its effects on the psyche (the field of psychedelic psychotherapy) point in one direction – drugs and its effects on the mind. Having being introduced to and administered LSD by his friend, Dr. Ronald Sandison of Great Britain, Captain Alfred explained of his experience LSD "It was the deepest mystical thing I've ever seen …. I saw myself as a tiny mite in a big swamp with a spark of intelligence. I saw my mother and father having intercourse. It was all clear." Captain Alfred went as far as proposing that LSD could be used to transform the belief systems of world leaders and thereby further the cause of world peace.
In similar vein Dr. Sanislav Grof confirmed Captain Hubbard's proposition that the LSD was essential to the attainment of higher levels of knowledge.
Grof explains that the use of hallucinogenic drugs could be one sure method to take the mind through a tour of holotropic consciousness: an extraordinary state of consciousness that spurs high-realmed meditative, mystical, or psychedelic experiences. Grof explains of psychoactive drugs, "My later experience with psychedelics only confirmed this initial impression. These substances function as unspecific amplifiers that increase the cathexis (energetic charge) associated with the deep unconscious contents of the psyche and make them available for conscious processing".
How then does the Bumper wheat crops, The Salem Witch Trials, The Russian Revolution, The French Revolution tie into this discourse? First let us make mention of Ergotamin – the a chemical derived by Dr. Arthur Stoll from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye– a hardy annual cereal grass widely cultivated in northern Europe where its grain is the chief ingredient of black bread. Though the rye possesses edible properties, it could become a very dangerous plant when fouled by the ergot, a fungal disease found on the rye. The ergot disease when ingested has been known to cause varying degrees of biopsychosocial dysfunctions including delirium, hallucination, aggression, skin color change and even death in humans.
Back in 1692, in January, during the cold dark Massachusetts winter eight young girls began to take ill, beginning with 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris, as well as his niece, 11-year-old Abigail Williams. But theirs was a strange sickness: the girls suffered from delirium, violent convulsions, incomprehensible speech, trance-like states, and odd skin sensations. There was no scientific explanation to this bewildering phenomenon, the villagers reached a conclusion: the girls were under a spell, bewitched — and, worse yet, by members of their own pious community. By September of that year, the sickness had spread, consequently, the population of "witches" was on the increase, and about 150 arrests had been made. 20 (or 19) of those arrested were in the end put to death under various conditions.
However, researchers have looked into the matter and found out that the supposed witches had only ingested the ergot disease, and were in turn subjected to the unnatural effects of the psychedelic properties of the disease. Two and a half centuries later, Dr. Authur Stoll discovered that LSD could be extracted from ergot.
It is possible that the raw form in which mothers in early 19th century Russia's took in the ergot and passed it on to their babies through breast feeding was responsible for the high infant mortality rate in Russia at that time. Though, LSD on its own is not a killer drug, a wrong form or disproportionate portion when ingested could be lethal. This was proved in Ronald Siegel of UCLA experiment with two elephants, where he proved that a former elephant – Tusko that had died after being administered LSD received a raw form of the drug.
As far as the six degrees of separation is concerned, we can infer from the above discussion that though the personalities mentioned herein might have not met in person or there is tendency that they all have a fanatical factor of commonness, which surely links them together. And if not for the factor of time and events that places them all in different eras, there would have been no difficulty for the Adolf Hitler, Captain Alfred, Dr. Groff and Captain Hoffman to have a get together where they all are administered LSD and travel years ahead into the utopian plane coming back to discuss how each could further his larger than life cause.
The Bumper wheat crops, The Salem Witch Trials, The Russian Revolution, The French Revolution on the other hand offer a historical perspective about the accidental experiment with LSD and its discovery many years ago, before its popularity in the 20th century.
References
Exploring Psychology, Eight Edition in Modules: David G. Meyers
The Top 20 Most Bizarre Experiments of All Timehttp://www.museumofhoaxes.com
A Comparison between LSD and Crystal Methhttp://www.squidoo.com