Bøker av Ralph Metzner

Suitable for all subsequent mind-expanding inquiries, this title provides an interpretation of an ancient sacred manuscript, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, from a psychedelic perspective. It describes their discoveries in broadening spiritual consciousness through a combination of Tibetan mediation techniques and psychotropic substances.

A classic guide to expanding perception and consciousness development

These poems were written over a period of about 30 years, in the course of my travels in America and Europe, teaching courses and workshops in consciousness expansion, meditation, psychedelics, shamanism, alchemy and emerging new worldviews.Some of these poems were recorded on a spoken voice CD called Spirit Soundings with sonic and musical accompaniment by Kit Walker and friends.The Song of the Pearl is my adaptation of a 5th century Gnostic hymn describing the soul's journey from incarnation, through birth and growth, and to ultimate return to the origin.Epilog I: Gnostic Themes in The Song of the PearlEpilog II: The Road to Language Epilog III: A Riddle with Six Answers

Domination behavior, using force to control others, is destabilizing and disruptive in families, groups and communities. At the international level, aggressive domination is war - the breakdown of the civilized order. Dr. Metzner tracks the roots of war and domination: in the psychological consequences of violent child abuse; in historical and prehistorical patterns of resource competition; and in mammalian predator behavior gone awry. One can see these ancient predatory patterns operating in the capitalist and imperialist policies of nation states. Seeking still deeper roots, he explores lesser known mythological and esoteric teachings: the Buddhist myths of power-addicted demons; the legend of the corruption of the Atlantean civilization; the Nordic myths of wars among the gods; and the Sumerian myths of dominating extra-terrestrial war-lord colonizers who genetically engineered our human ancestors. Finally, he examines the complex and profound teachings of the mysterious 20th century sage G.I. Gurdjieff, who located the ultimate causes of war in the extra-planetary environment and cosmic history. It is the author's intention and hope that these explorations of this most intractable of humanity's problems may lead others to further discoveries and possible solutions.

Entheogenesis means the growing realization that we human beings and the world around us are much more than simply material organisms living and evolving on a material planetary body. We are multi-dimensional spiritual, cosmic, noetic, psychic and physical beings. The central insight that emerges from entheogenic states and is confirmed by the perennial spiritual traditions of East and West, is that at every level, from macro-cosmic to micro-cosmic, from atoms and animals, to trees and planets and stars, Spirit dwells within created forms and expresses through them. This monograph is based on 50 years of experience as a participant-observer in the international underground sub-culture involved with entheogenic, consciousness-expanding substances. The author discusses the uses and values of such substances when the explicit intention or purpose is for spiritual awakening, psychotherapy, healing, increased understanding and the enhancement of creativity. The intent of this documentation is not to prove or promote any particular method or treatment of any condition. The evaluation of entheogens needs to be in terms of how productive these experiences are of healthier approaches to the issues of living in these times, in this world.

In this monograph, I relate findings from more than 30 years of experiences and observations with this substance, in various user groups and individuals, both in the US and in Europe. I use the term underground in referring to the explorations with these substances, in the sense that they were hidden - out of respect for the restrictions and prohibitions of mainstream culture.These are ethnographic field reports: first-hand observations from an underground sub-culture, accompanied by the experiences of a selected number of participant-observers. It is important to recognize that in research with these and other so-called psychedelic or entheogenic substances, one cannot limit the observations and reflections solely to their physical and psychological effects. As most of the people cited here emphasize, the experiences with these substances at times can go far beyond their physical and psychological effects into the deepest and highest dimensions of our existence, both the cosmic and the spiritual.

Transformational experiences are as unique as they are profound, yet each portrays universal truths of human nature. In The Unfolding Self: Varieties of Transformative Experience,  Ralph Metzner, PhD, unveils common dynamics and archetypes of the transformative experience, offering seekers and those in the throes of personal or societal transformation a reliable guide.Drawing from multiple disciplines ranging across the world’s cultures (beginning with his collaborations with Dr. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert at Harvard University in the early 1960s), Dr. Metzner explores subtle concepts using a tapestry of myth, allegory, and historical context.The Unfolding Self promises to provide its reader with valuable tools to become "wise, impartial judges" in their process of transformation into becoming a more integrated and fulfilled person. Readers who immerse themselves in these masterful descriptions can catalyze their own process of evolution.\No comparable psychology of spirituality exists that draws from such a rich lifework of scholarship, experiment, and spiritual practice. Drawing from multiple disciplines and ranging across the world’s cultures, Dr. Metzner goes beyond his roots in transpersonal psychology to uncover universal structures of spiritual transformation. Readers who immerse themselves in these masterful descriptions can catalyze their own process of evolution.

In his introduction to The Well of Remembrance, author Ralph Metzner provides a telling explanation of the theme of his work: "This book explores some of the mythic roots of the Western worldview, the worldview of the culture that, for better and worse, has come to dominate most of the rest of the world''s peoples. This domination has involved not only economic and political systems but also values, basic attitudes, religious beliefs, language, scientific understanding, and technological applications. Many individuals, tribes, and nations are struggling to free themselves from the residues of the ideological oppression practiced by what they see as Eurocentric culture. They seek to define their own ethnic or national identities by referring to ancestral traditions and mythic patterns of knowledge. At this time, it seems appropriate for Europeans and Euro-Americans likewise to probe their own ancestral mythology for insight and self-understanding." Focusing on the mythology and worldview of the pre-Christian Germanic tribes of Northern Europe, Metzner offers a meaningful exploration of Western ancestry.

SPIRITUALITY / PSYCHOLOGY / ECOLOGY It is becoming more and more apparent that the causes and cures for the current ecological crisis are to be found in the hearts and minds of human beings. For millennia we existed within a religious and psychological framework that honored Earth as a partner and worked to maintain a balance with nature. But somehow a root pathology took hold in Western civilization--the idea of domination over nature--and this led to an alienation of the human spirit that has allowed an unprecedented destruction of the ecosystems that support all life on this planet. In Green Psychology Ralph Metzner explores the history of this global pathology and examines the ways that we can heal this rift and restore a healing relationship with nature. His search for role models takes him from shamanic ceremonies with the Lacandon Maya of Mexico to vision quests in the California desert, from the astonishing nature mysticism of the 11th-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen to the black goddesses and green gods of our pagan ancestors. He examines the historical roots of the split between humans and nature, showing how first sky-god worshiping cultures, then monotheisms, and finally mechanistic science continued to isolate the human psyche from the life-giving Earth. His final chapters present a solution, revealing that many disciplines such as deep ecology and ecofeminism are simultaneously creating a worldview in which the mind of humanity and the health of the planet are harmoniously intertwined. Green Psychology is inspiring reading for all those concerned with the future of the planet and finding their rightful place in it. RALPH METZNER, Ph.D., has been exploring states of consciousness and transformational practices ever since he helped found the Harvard Psilocybin Project in 1960. He is a psychotherapist and professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, and the author of many books, including The Psychedelic Experience (with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert), Maps of Consciousness, Opening to Inner Light, The Well of Remembrance, and The Unfolding Self. He lives in Sonoma, California, with his wife and two children.

Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanacatl describes the experiences of psychoactive mushroom users and how the use of the psilocybe mushroom spread from Mexico to North America, Asia, and Europe. Firsthand accounts of the controversial Harvard Psilocybin Project, the use of psilocybin in psychotherapy, and current studies on the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are provided.