THE ALBERT HOFMANN FOUNDATION
International Library for the Study of Consciousness
The Hofmann Report
Throughout history people have used mind expanding substances to explore
consciousness and enhance their lives. Our purpose at the Albert Hofmann
Foundation is to gather the records of these endeavors and to further the
understanding and responsible application of psychedelic substances in the
investigation of both individual and collective consciousness.
TO OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS:
During this past year, a fellow advisor and board director, Myron
Stolaroff, together with myself and my close companion Stacey Zee,
traveled to Basel, Switzerland to take possession of one of the most
important archives in the history of d-lysergic acid diethylamide, and to
meet with Dr. Albert Hofmann. We made arrangements to acquire 93 volumes
of invaluable psychedelic research, consisting of more than 3,500 papers
of the published scientific literature for the period 1947-1988. Because
of a merger underway at Sandoz, the material was scheduled to be destroyed
after the merger was consummated. With the help of Dr. Hofmann,
arrangements were made to transfer the entire collection to the Albert
Hofmann Foundation.
This acquisition for the Foundation was particularly important as it also
represents a cornerstone for our newest endeavor, The Albert Hofmann
Museum and Library. The museum concept is to collect and gather all
historical psychedelic memorabilia, historical letters, articles and
physical items for public viewing and appreciation, and provide permanent
housing. If this is not pursued, the works of many important researchers
and shamans could be lost and/or scattered amongst private collectors or
even destroyed for a lack of proper care. John Beresford, an advisor of
the Foundation, is the curator for this new Museum. He has done an
excellent job of setting up an exhibit of many museum items that are
currently on hand in our present (and temporary) Pasadena facility. John
continues to work at identifying other suitable collections, networking
with other organizations of similar interests, and evaluating possible
donations and collections in hope of acquiring additions that will add
richness to the evolution of the psychedelic movement.
We are currently in a free standing, two story historical building in
Pasadena in the "Old Town District." We have space for offices, equipment,
social gatherings and gallery space for The Albert Hofmann Museum in its
present form. Arrangements to see the Museum must be made through John. If
you or someone you know has materials you wish to donate, please contact
us. We will arrange for a tax donation under our 501 (c)(3) non profit
corporation status. In addition, until such time as a building is secured
by the Foundation, we can discuss a vehicle whereby your museum donation
would be held in trust by the Foundation or third party pursuant to your
instructions. John may be reached at (213) 380-5557.
News from a Longtime Psychedelic Elder
"My initial introduction to LSD had been a transformative experience.
I would never be the same again. I was
radically changed and the world of men was changed not in its practices
but in its potential. What made the world of men go 'round was still fear,
not love; but now there was light at the end of the tunnel. First
prophetic outlines of a vast transition filled me with high elation.
Chronic discontent was replaced with great expectations."
Ted reminisces:
"Experiences that with hindsight, seem to have been most significant: Of
these, of course, my introduction to LSD is foremost. I learned more in
the blaze of the few blessed hours than in all of my life until then. And
I was to find that the high level of enlightenment was to continue through
the next couple of years of sitting for sessions as a member of the
Vancouver team and beyond for the remainder of my life. One of the most
exciting features of this period of learning was the realization that
there WAS a way for anyone with the will, to deliberately choose and have
direct and personal experience of divinity. It seemed to me that this was
the fabled Elixir of Life, El Dorado and the Holy Grail that the
alchemists and other visionaries had been intuitively seeking for
centuries all rolled into one. "
To me, the advent of LSD was the long
awaited Great Event that would be the saving grace of the human race. It
was like being in attendance at the second coming. But gradually, starting
with the world of peyote and psilocybe mushrooms, I became aware that the
promise implicit in LSD was not unique but had been in the world and
actively in use as a sacrament from time beyond memory... I now realized
that I had been inducted into a very ancient, sacred Order that I have
since come to think of and speak of as the Beloved Brotherhood. I
recognized that I would be obliged for the rest of my life to spread the
good news and when appropriate, to provide the sacramental experience to
candidates for enlightenment."
After the close of the Vancouver Clinic, Ted and his wife visited Mexico,
returning in time to America and Canada. He discovered that his exposure
to the unlettered, rural people of Mexico inflamed a long time sense of
shame and guilt about the unbroken record of dishonor immigrant Europeans
have amassed in dealings with resident Americans. This led Ted to calling
on Native communities in Canada to offer a personal apology. "The
unfailing grace and warmth with which I was received was humbling and very
moving." This led to writing articles, which obtained spreading
circulation, and brought him into touch with young activist natives. He
ultimately became associated as a consultant with the Institute for Indian
Studies with an all-Indian approach to education. In 1968 an 18-storey
building designed to accomodate Rochdale College, a radical educational
venture, opened its doors in downtown Toronto. For office space and
limited living accommodations, the Institute rented the entire 17th floor.
Below them, a sixteen floor highrise of hippies, including a sprinkling of
American draft dodgers, bubbled and boiled with volcanic energy.
This brought him into touch with people venturing into the possibilities
of consciousness alteration, but with a very different setting. "My first
reaction was one of shock. My notions of responsible use were being
violated by the aimless experimentation I saw going on around me and my
sense of the sacred was being outraged. There was so much to be critical
of: the complete disregard for setting, the devil may care negligence of
set, the assumption that the chemical involved was in fact LSD (an
assumption shared by dealers, police and medical personnel as well); the
jargon of "trips" good and bad, "freaking out," "dropping acid," and
"turning on." The popular notion that bad trips could be avoided by
staying active, staying on one's feet, keeping busy, led me to the
incredulous conclusion that the street definition of a bad trip was
synonymous with any work of inward exploration.
"Since my past experience with LSD was no secret, it wasn't long before I
was being called upon, often in an emergency capacity, to sit with people
in apparent difficulty... My experience as a sitter stood me in good
stead. All that was needed in most cases was a calm, assured presence, a
reference point, solid and sure as Gibraltar." With the advent of
illegalization of psychedelics, Ted was able to make a firm decision:
"that for the rest of my life I would continue regardless of legal
considerations to sit with people in their quest for enlightenment... Then
suddenly, I found myself deeply involved with these kids who, in their
groping quest for self actualization had chosen to leave home and go
where? They didn't seem to know or care... It was in the midst of this
setting that it finally dawned on me: a major movement was underway. The
change I had longed for all my life was under way. The kids were doing it!
I was reminded of the 11th century Children's Crusade, a spontaneous
spiritual phenomenon that flared like a brief beacon in a dark Age. It
seemed to me that the same, clear, innocent energy was at work here; the
same irrational but joyful dedication. But within its aimless appearing
thrust it carried the seeds of such liberating changes as black
liberation, feminist freedom, respect for homosexuals and responsible use
of the environment.
"Throughout the sixties I became a sort of ambassador at large for what I
had come to think of as "agents of enlightenment." The War on Drugs was
heating up and salvos of designed misinformation were being fired from
bureaucratic redoubts and law enforcement agencies with particular
interest in targeting children. I was always only too happy to talk
without bias about "drugs" without suggesting that one should use them or
leave them alone, but being meticulous about the truth and speaking
wherever possible from experience rather than abstract theory." Ted kept
busy at this work for some time. The problem became one of getting good
materials, as good LSD and mescaline became scarce. He was able to locate
peyote, and psilocybe mushrooms were abundant in his locality. Amanita
muscaria was also indigenous to his area. "As a result, my appreciation of
the sublimity of these also grew from the sensational discovery of a Swiss
research chemist to a world-wide sacrament benevolently provided in great
variety by a loving Creator, with no strings attached.
"God, in his mercy, made provision for a liberal entheogenic sprinkling
through the natural world of plants that man might wake from the dream of
good and evil into the promise of full consciousness. They are as keys to
the prison of selfness. And now man, within his own nature, has found the
power to synthesize these, and more: the power to create "designer"
substitutes. This knowledge fills me with gratitude and optimism."
Myron Stolaroff, Editor
1278 Glenneyre Street, Suite 173
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Tel: (310) 281-8110
Fax: (714) 497-0463
Board of Directors
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Board of Advisors
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Chairman Oscar Janiger, M.D.
President Ron Brettin
Daniel Bellin
Kathleen Delaney, M.B.A.
Michael Gilbert, M.B.A.
Robith Harman
Myron Stolaroff, M.A.
Donald Wylie, J.D.
Advisor Betty Eisner, Ph.D.
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Frank Barron, Ph.D.
Jan Bastiaans, M.D.*
Peter Baumann, M.D.
John Beresford, M.D.
John Buckman, M.D.
Walter Clark, Ph.D.*
Betty Eisner, Ph.D.
James Fadiman, Ph.D.
Allen Ginsberg*
George Greer, M.D.
Lester Grinspoon, M.D.
Charles Grob, M.D.
Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D.
Willis Harman, Ph.D.*
Milan Hausner, Ph.D.
Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
Albert Hofmann, Ph.D.
Bo Holmstedt, Ph.D.
Jean Houston, Ph.D.
Laura Huxley
Oscar Janiger, M.D.
Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.
Igor Kungurtsev, M.D.
Hanscarl Leuner, M.D.*
John Lilly, M.D.
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Olga Luchakova, M.D., Ph.D.
Arnold Mandell, M.D.
Robert Masters, Ph.D.
Dennis McKenna, Ph.D.
Terence McKenna
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D.
Claudio Naranjo, M.D.
David Nichols, Ph.D.
Humphry Osmond, M.D.
Jonathan Ott
Ram Dass
Christian Ratsch, Ph.D.
Ronald Sandison, M.D.
Michael Schlichting
Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.
Alexander Shulgin, Ph.D.
Ronald Siegel, Ph.D.
David Smith, M.D.
Huston Smith, Ph.D.
Myron Stolaroff, M.A.
Charles Tart, Ph.D.
Thomas Ungerleider, M.D.
Andrew Weil, M.D.
Richard Yensen, Ph.D.
*Deceased
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