Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences
Written by William A. Richards
Narrated by River Kanoff
5/5
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About this audiobook
Richards’s analysis contributes to social and political debates over the responsible integration of psychedelic substances into modern society. His book serves as an invaluable resource for readers who, whether spontaneously or with the facilitation of psychedelics, have encountered meaningful, inspiring, or even disturbing states of consciousness and seek clarity about their experiences. Testing the limits of language and conceptual frameworks, Richards makes the most of experiential phenomena that stretch our conception of reality, advancing new frontiers in the study of belief, spiritual awakening, psychiatric treatment, and social well-being. His findings enrich humanities and scientific scholarship, expanding work in philosophy, anthropology, theology, and religious studies and bringing depth to research in mental health, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology.
William A. Richards
William A. Richards (Bill) is a psychologist in the Psychiatry Department of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a consultant/trainer at sites of psychedelic research internationally, a teacher in the Program of Psychedelic Therapy and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a clinician in private practice in Baltimore. From 1967 to 1977, he pursued psychotherapy research with LSD, DPT, MDA and psilocybin at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, including protocols designed to investigate the promise of psychedelic substances in the treatment of alcoholism, depression, narcotic addiction and the psychological distress associated with terminal cancer including their use in the training of religious and mental-health professionals. He is the author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences released in 2015.
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Reviews for Sacred Knowledge
44 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bill Richards may get a little spacey at times and, as is true of most psychonauts, he may get caught up in the sense of truth occasioned by those lovely molecules that love that 5HT2A site, but the science when presented is sound, the conclusions, even when spacey, are tempered, and the anecdotes are something you will only get from the preeminent psychedelic psychotherapist and lay mystic, Bill Richards. If you're interested in the current state-of-the-art and state-of-the-science in the broad fields of application of psychedelic substances, this is a must-read. This book will only be more important as the psychedelic renaissance continues. Cheers!
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It’s a very helpful overview of psychedelics and religious experiences, combining academic, experiential, and cultural insights!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The author puts many important personal into words that I’ve struggled to articulate.