The Psychedelic Path: An Exploration of Shamanic Plants for Spiritual Awakening

I have no experience with psychedelics, though I’ve always been curious. What I found absolutely fascinating about Richard Haight’s journey, were the extraordinary insights into the awakening path. I found myself immersed in the experiences described and discovered parallels to my own journey, which simply serves to reinforce the oneness of all. Highly recommend.

Most of THE PSYCHEDELIC LEAP reads like a charming memoir of the author’s experiences using psychedelics in his quest for awakening. The latter part of the book consists a Q&A that I found quite interesting. In it, Richard Haight says, “The very intention is born of the assumption that there is an ultimate truth—” He mentions the suffering caused by belief and the futility of seeking ultimate truth at several points in the book. I like how he explains that during his psychedelic trips and especially when he thinks about them afterwards, he constantly lets go of belief in ideas that he might hold as true. This letting go of belief is a radical approach that I’ve practiced and written about for some time now, and I find it refreshing to discover others talking about this very thing. I also like what he says about attitude. With the right attitude and intention, any activity, including taking psychedelics, can be beneficial. This is a deep message that, as the author says, has many useful applications in many areas of life. Mr. Haight goes out of his way to be highly responsible when presenting the possibility of using psychedelics as an aid to spiritual awakening, suggesting that readers follow their inner “pull” (which he describes as having nothing to do with desire) and do their research prior. He makes it clear that this isn’t for everyone, and while research shows that psychedelics are generally safe, he offers suggestions for maximizing both the safety and the benefits that can be gained. Mr. Haight doesn’t mention the downside to taking psychedelics because from his perspective (a highly useful one in my opinion), a “bad trip,” is only bad if it is perceived as such. With the love and the intention of unearthing even the deepest underlying darkness, there can be no bad experiences, only deep spiritual lessons that have the potential to free the practitioner from the internal disharmony that is blocking the experience of awakening. Read this book with loving openness, and you will find plenty of treasures that may serve you, whether or not your “pull” leads you to psychedelics.

This book is amazingly accurate regarding the effects of Psychedelic's for unfoldment. Anyone that is wondering whether to use or not needs to explore ALL the research used to achieve a well written analysis. I especially like the "personal experience," laid out in a fashion that clearly respects the readers interpretation and or decision without leading the reader one way or another. A rare quality of writing style. This is a must read if you have ever contemplated the Psychedelic Path. Good luck with whatever path you take.

I had previous exposure to psychedelics when I was 18 in 1969. My experiences basically tracked on the same course as yours. At that time such terms like "default mode network" were not in use. I had forgotten some of the anxiety related side effects that I had but they were not as pronounced as yours. No demon ever pursued me abnd the physical side-effects were not severe but I did become accutely aware of the evil in others around me and within myself. I immediately became aware of the need for universal forgiveness. It can be a startling realization to know there are members of your own family who in the ancient karmic past were participants in witch hunts and that I might have been involved as a victim. To also know that as a warrior before I also have the death of many on my hands was troubling. When Jesus told the woman at the well after he forgave her to "Go and sin no more" I understood its profound implications. Only by forgiveness do we obtain redemption. While my family are generally fundamentalist conservatives, after psychedelics (LSD, psilopsybin and peyote) I was always a free-style spiritual type and buried my anger and rebelliousness. Your book offers insight to others whohave not experienced this and for me it was useful as a refresher reawakening old latent memories.

I expected more from this author. Seems to be a bit preachy but hey, it's his experience. I have read other books about this subject with much more depth. His rendition of mushrooms was totally different than others I have read. I guess it all depends on the viewpoint that grounds the experience, but with his intellectual background I hoped for more.

This book is another insightful and revealing work. I highly recommend to anyone on the path to read this. There is nothing and everything necessary for your advancement on the evolutionary ladder within the pages of this book. I am extremely grateful for being allowed to share this wonderful ride. Be not afraid, for there is nothing to harm you. #wakeupHotep

There is much to admire about this book, and the wisdom if offers. It has teachings from someone who has followed a deep spiritual path and is offering unusually deep teachings. That said, I would not recommend using magic mushrooms and salvia diviinorum as he did. We have learned from hard experience of many people that a sober sitter is very important even for experienced psychonaughts for safety and support in the darker parts of a journey. Also, I was troubled by his lack of integrity in taking his first mushroom journey at home intentionally not telling his wife who was also at home. Entering into a journey with these sacred plants without a basic level of honesty dishonors the plants and open one up to the kinds of paranoia Haight experience. He is clearly a man of extremes and has benefitted from it. In that he is an exception, and I wish he would make clear that what he did was definitely not a recommended path except for a special few. The rest of us, if we chose to follow the psychedelic path, would be wise to follow the well established guidelines to be found in Pollan's How to Change your Mind, and Rachael Harris's Listening to Ayahuasca, both better books on how to use psychedelics. So Haight's book as a book of wisdom gets five stars from me, but as a book abut using psychedelics, it gets two stars. So I compromised on four stars. Thank you, Richard, for your courage, compassion, and wisdom, but please remember the first rule: do no harm.

I think that Richard is doing some of the most important work that been done on the topic of awakening. I recommend his books and his guided meditations to everyone who will listen to me. The courage with which he stepped into each trip in this book is breathtaking. His ability to recount details of his experience is also difficult to comprehend. Truly a great read and in my opinion a must for anyone on the path