To: K-list
Recieved: 1999/09/15 06:08
Subject: Re: [K-list] Drugs vs. Breath??
From: Gcwein1111
On 1999/09/15 06:08, Gcwein1111 posted thus to the K-list:
In a message dated 9/15/99 6:58:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
vvainioATnospamtp.spt.fi writes:
<<
In TV I saw a documentary about a healing center that mainly treated drug
addicts. The center was found by Stanislav Grof, and it teached
"holotropic breathing". It seemed to consist of short, rapid breathing
with eyes closed, with new age music playing in the background all the
time. The people were lying on matresses, and they were completely out of
it. In fact, I have never seen people being so out of it even after taking
large doses of psychedelics. They made weird noises, and kept turning
around. They were tripping alright. >>
)))))) Yes, it's true. l did a week long workshop on holotropic
breathing with the Grofs several years ago, before k started for me. lt was
clear that many participants were in altered states, although l don't know
how these states would compare to psychedelic experiences. Certainly the
states wouldn't come as quickly or as easily. Stan Grof, who was a pioneer in
working with psychedelics in earlier days, stated during a roundtable
discussion that he felt one could experience everything with this technique
that could be experienced with drugs and that considering all the problems
involved with drugs, he felt holotropic breathwork was a far better choice.
We know that a great many of our
western spiritual teachers got started with drugs in the 60's. Ram Dass is
the most well known , and one of his favorite stories about his guru, Neem
Karoli Baba, is how Baba ingested a huge portion of Ram Dass' psychedelics in
one swoop and wasn't affected at all. Another example is Ole Nydahl, a Danish
hippie who was enamored of psychedelics before his encounter with the Karmapa
in Nepal in the 60's. Nydahl has gone on to become a leading teaching lama in
the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. What all these teachers seem to
share is a feeling that their early drug experiences were useful as an
introduction to the reality of altered states of consciousness, but at the
same time could not lead to a state of mature spirituality.
jerry
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