Many of you probably know already that Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, was an avid supporter of the use of LSD to treat alcoholism. I found this biographical article online (in
Modern Drunkard magazine, "Standing Up For Your Right to Get Falling Down Drunk Since 1996", which I have never heard of before now but which seems quite relevant itself) which is brief, catchy and fascinating. It reminds me of several interesting and widely applicable points, not the least of which is that the popularity and longevity of
any movement, whether a cult, a philosophy, or a therapeutic technique, ultimately depends as much on the charisma of the initial promoters as it does on any qualities of the core idea. Just think what the world of addiction treatment would be like today if Bill Wilson hadn't been such a character!
This is my favorite part of the article:
One of his therapeutic journeys lead him to Trabuco College in California, and the friendship of the college’s founder, Aldous Huxley. The author of Brave New World and The Doors of Perception introduced Wilson to LSD-25. The drug rocked Wilson’s world. He thought of it as something of a miracle substance and continued taking it well into the ‘60s. As he approached his 70th birthday, he developed a plan to have LSD distributed at all AA meetings nationwide. The plan was eventually quashed by more rational voices, and a few years later the Federal government made the point moot by making the drug illegal. (That Wilson’s plan was shot down is probably fortunate. LSD is a beautiful thing, but nothing sounds more horrifying to me than a roomful of chain-smoking, frightened, needy drunks tripping their heads off in the basement of the local Y.)
Just want to point out here is some proof Bill tried acid as an experiment to get sober. That is awesome he was willing to try to reach a sort of spiritual awareness with drugs to help quit alcohol. In his day, that probably was not looked down upon the way some see it now. Kids abuse psychedelics and burn the f* out, o well. Others take them an expand, learn, see, and move forward. I have done everything I needed to do, played with my experimental, 25 years old, 5 months sober from all substances even ciggs. What a gift.
I had my spiritual awakening from practicing the steps in all my affairs, and now I am available to help other alcoholics and addicts. It is amazing.
Good for bill, We all did it, drugs, alcohol, some of us are sober, so what how we got here, the point is , this is where we are, this is safe, so lets stay here and help others who want to be here with us.
This is not a cult, we do not worship. We pray for others, we meditate, we are friendly. If you want what we got, come to our meetings. If you are one of them who talk sh*t about AA, you have resentments and should seek ways of letting them go. RESENTMENTS TAKE UP NEGATIVE ROOM INSIDE OF YOU. YOU CAN NOT GAIN POSITIVITY UNTIL THE NEGATIVE IS RELEASED. SO FORGIVE, MAKE AMENDS, LET GO, LET GOD (OR YOUR HIGHER POWER, OR YOUR DOG)
Here is proof if Bills LSD experiment from wiki...IF YOU WANT PROOF I DID ACID JUST LET ME KNOW ILL SEND YOU A PIC WITH A TAB ON MY TONGUE.(from before i got sobeR) Bill W.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an international mutual aid fellowship with over two million members belonging to 100,800 groups of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. [1] Following AA's Twelfth Tradition of anonymity, Wilson is commonly known as "Bill W." or "Bill." After Wilson's death in 1971 his full name was included in obituaries.[citation needed]
Wilson's lifelong sobriety began December 11, 1934. Wilson suffered from episodes of depression, the most serious of these between 1944 and 1955. In 1955 Wilson turned over control of AA to a board of trustees. Wilson experimented with other possible cures for alcoholism including LSD,[2] niacin (vitamin B3) and parapsychology as a means of inducing spiritual change.[3] Wilson died of emphysema complicated by pneumonia in 1971. In 1999 Time Magazine listed Wilson in the top 20 of the Time 100: Heroes and Icons of the 20th century.[4]
You speak out of ignorance. Or listening to Sheen too much.
Why desparage something that works for those who want it?
A program that helps people make better choices and turn their lives around. What does it matter to you?
And why the hate?
I just recently came up on 2 years sober and almost had a heart attack reading that Bill W did LSD... I think I'm going to do some more research on this. Even if the founder of the program that saved my life did LSD I'm not going anywhere....
mrchris202003@yahoo.com
Valerie J.
I would drink alcohol several times a week. I would blackout sometimes, become violent sometimes, and learned how to cheat and lie like it was my job.
I sniffed heroin 3 or 4 times, never liked it, I dont want to ever use it again. If I sniffed a line tomorrow I would not even consider it a relapse - Why? I never was a Dope Fiend.
I sniffed too many lines of coke, I became unmanageable with my money it all went to the product instead of more important things like paying the light bill. If I sniff a line of coke tomorrow, I just had a relapse.
I smoked DMT 2 times in my life about a year apart. I would not mind trying it again and I would not consider this a relapse I see no problem.
I used MDMA/MOLLY/XTC way to much, it messed my brain up, abused it, sniffed it, smoked it this is a bad drug for me I cant even achieve the same type of high any more from it. I crossed the line long time ago with this one and have had several relapses in the last few years. At least I recognized my X relapse, since I already knew this was a bad one for me, and I do not use this any more.
I eat mushrooms from time to time. I never ate so much I couldnt handle it. I dont see a problem with eating or making tea with the magic fungus.
I tried mescaline one time - I enojyed it and never had a chance to try it again. I wouldnt mind eating mescaline or peyote a couple times before I die.
I smoked salvia a few times. Very powerful and short experience, similar to smoking DMT but not as visual. No problems here.
I smoked weed every day of my life for 10 years. I thought it would cure my ADHD. I guess I crossed the line with this one because it was an alternative to doing something productive...sitting on a couch smoking weed and listening to cypress hill always seemed more fun than work. If I smoke weed, it could easily gateway me back into my addictive side and trick me to think its ok to have a drink, or a line of coke, but certainly a ciggy.
Nicotine, smoked a pack a day, unhealthy, I want to live a good life so I quit. A cigarette would be a relapse for me.
If you have not crossed the line with LSD, what is the harm to use it again? I have been on good trips, bad trips, wtf trips and so on. Mixed with other drugs trip, and when I look back at it, I see no harm, just an openly expanded mind that has not been stretch out to the point of retardation. I believe using LSD is like blowing up balloon...[" the first exhale (1st dose) is tough to get thru because it is a new, tight balloon (virgin brain to LSD), but if you keep trying (keep trippin), you will eventually get it to inflate (expand the mind). One breath (one drop) will make the balloon round (expand), a second breath (2nd dose) will make the balloon bigger (more expansion), and so on. After a few breaths (usually up to 7 doses), it is fun to let it go (deflate which takes time to heal), as it makes funny sound (share your experience) and moves all over the place until it lands. You can not catch the balloon and blow it up again before it is done deflating (you need to land first before tripping again). Put the balloon in your pocket, bring it home, and keep it in a safe place until it is time to blow it up again and watch it fly. Too much air (acid) will cause the balloon to pop (brain fry) and this is when you have gone to far and there is no way of going back, not possible to repair that balloon. So play with your balloon, and only you can know the maximum size of it before it pops. Yo only have 1 brain and whats its gone its curtains. "] -theLSD Moral: Even though I popped my Coke balloon, Alcohol balloon, Weed balloon, Ecstasy balloon, the party is not over and I have taught my self some wisdom with my experiments. It works if you work it, so work it - your worth it. Sincerely,
G-Hood aka theLSD aka Hurricane Bill aka LSD Anonymous
1. Discovery of the Problem
2. The Solution to the Problem (Spiritual in Nature)
3. The Path I had three weeks into the program when a good friend of mine suggested to me that “It was time to fall off the wagon.” The cue registered, and I was Pavlov’s dog until I lit up….. And a realization occurred. It didn’t work anymore. It took a lot to have that realization. I like Bill Wilson, am an enthusiast in regards to the healing potential of psychedelics, but I am not in favor of LSD, but of a small subset of psychedelics that have a history of being healing / personal change catalysts which are i. Psilocybin, ii. DMT, iii. Ayahuasca, iv. Ibogaine, and v. Salvia Divinorum). When the use of psychedelics for healing are referenced, the terms Set and Setting should go hand-in-hand. Before entering the rooms of AA, I would often say “quote G O D quote” instead of God because I am aware of the physiological reaction it gives to myself and others. It seems to me that the majority of AA members in rooms that I have spent time in are Christians (or Agnostics or Atheists who were raised Christian) who have had limited to no exposure to other religions or spiritual schools. This does cause a certain uneasiness in myself, in how quickly the program goes from “choosing a higher power of your understanding” to hearing God out of most lips. It is my opinion, only, but that most are unaware of the trappings of language and the power of words to define reality. Defining the aspects of my thoughts and internal dialogue that I do not like as “my disease” is not at this time beneficial to me. What defined my use of alcohol, pot, and adderall was an automatic retreat from fear. As I open up my awareness to the truth that the retreat either i) is the fear itself or ii) only increases the fear I become more open to what is. Step 11 is on meditation and prayer. A few powerful meditations for me are:
1. I am not my internal dialogue
2. I am not this internal conflict
3. [Insert Individual’s Name] wants to be unconditional happy I heard a AA speaker once say, “AA is not a program for people who want it, or need it. It is a program for people who do it.” Find a program that you will do. AA and all 12-step programs have no monopoly on recovery.
So, I will take AA and I will take it my way. "My way got me into trouble ..." Say a lot of AA's but they still do it their way. I do to and have had unsafe results surrendering to some sponsor. Getting a sponsor is in many cases an exercise in selecting somebody who acts like they've known you for centuries, and it is an uncomfortable gamble one does not have to venture forth on.
I do not talk like this at AA meetings and have been able to get what I need and move on. Years ago, there were more individualistic critical thinkers in AA. It seems that more and more as the world turns more people are like young robotons, unable to properly understand what is controlling and what is not.
There is a lot of hidden controversy and violations of avoiding controversy. There is a religious right type of vanity displayed before meetings and disapproval of possible opponents of their White Flight Patriotism.
Based on research studies and years of personal experiences (to those that get confused, facts are evidence,)
it is determined that more people get and stay clean and sober in spite of recovery programs rather than because of them.
12 steppers are in denial to the fact that 12 step programs have become their own false religions. The proof is studied when viewing the programs with a detached, open mind as from an above satellite view, there, a reasonable mind, (not clouded by hokus-pokus and superstition that 12 step programs and cults use to hold on to members)will clearly see what brand of religion 12 step programs are selling.
12 step programs work for people that buy the snake oil, drink the kool-ade and have become "churched"
"come in, sit down, shut up,
Drink the coffee
drink the coffee
drink the coffee
drink the coffee...
Oh, by the way,
dont worry if you are a skeptic,
people can and do stop drinking and using without god.
Many thousands of xsteppers find sobriety after leaving 12 steps and taking god out of the equation.
I, and many, many of my friends are proof. It is enjoyable reading the canned, predicted responses from 12 steppers.
My father passed away from all sorts of side effects from over consumption of alcohol.
All I can contribute to this article is my experience and feelings about psychedelics. Mostly Psilocybin Mushrooms, and 8 trips of LSD.
They helped me remember integral morals, and possibly showed me new morals, it's hard to tell, but it basically showed me what I was doing wrong or disfunctional in my life. That even is down to drinking soda, eating bad meat, some social issues, repetetive habits, repressed feelings. It helped me cope and configure them, and I remember everything to this day for reflection. Alan Watts said something like this (on the level you don't have to keep taking psychedelics) "once you get the message, you can hang up the phone"
I have far too much to lose by attempting to embark on a social drinking/recreational drug use career.
This is pure logic for me and I am aware of research that says I may be able to do this sobel and sobel among many who claim that this would be possilble.
I work my own programme and it is of pure logic i dont do what is going to make me feel like shit and i try to do what is going to make me feel better over a long period.I try to work on my executive functions as I believe that this is where my problems lie.
I take with a pinch of salt the programme bangers who try to tell me how to live my life and quote bill W at every turn.The man was taking LSD for goodness sake when he had this spiritual awakening.We paddle our own canoes but get out to help those who are ploughing a lonely furrow.Best Wishes.X
The goal of AA's are to overcome our dependence on alcohol, understand the true reasons we became alcoholic, fix those defects, and become wholly functioning members of society.
Ours is not to judge others, but to have love, patience, and tolerance for others.
I for one, cannot afford to get into an argument, use profanity, or bear resentful and hateful feelings towards others.
If I allow people, places, or things to impinge on my sobriety, then I am placing my life in perilous danger.
I also agree the acid in the 70's was mostly speed. I know I drank even more when tripping. The 60's 'cid was clean and did open some surprising doors. Alas I became a drunk, a sot, a wino, the old guy at the end of the bar huddled over my shot and beer chase.
Today I am clean and sober. I will not forget my past and every day I work the AA program found in the first 164 pages.
He took it in a controlled setting, a garden, there were experienced friends present and his wife dosed too.
He describes "seeing" a bush for the first time ever, noticing the detail right down to the fine pores on the leaves.
The interesting part - his wife who was a naturalist did not see plants any differently - she was already trained to notice the details.
LSD acts to shut down the normal controls of incoming sensory signals. Many of us are entirely self-absorbed and see only a fraction of what is really going on around us. This spiritual death occurs as the wide-eyed child grows into a good minion of the state - a perfect consumer rat.
And good consumer rats consume - alcohol.
the word was the Bill W. was given LSD in a clinical setting as
a possible cure for alcoholism. My experience is that all approaches to rcovery w/ the exception of some minor psycopharmacology administeed by a competant physician were
useless to me except the spiritual tools outlined in the 12 steps having been down the road with nutritional diet, excercise, yoga, church. If there would have been a way to stay sober
like most alcohics I would have found it before becoming one. In my opinion with more scientific information under my belt these days I am still
powerless over alcohol. I cannot breakdown, digest and metabolize alcohol like biochemicaly normal peaple.
Thank God for Alcoholics Anonomous. Sorry about how I spell.
"Then, on December 11th, 1934, after five years on the bum, something happened. No one, and especially not Wilson himself, was ever able to adequately articulate what occurred, but according to the standard tale it went something like this: After repeatedly failing to get his drinking under control, Wilson, trembling on the brink of insanity, called up into the sky, “If there be a God, let Him show Himself now!” Suddenly, a warm bright light filled the room and Wilson found himself standing atop a mighty mountain. A wind came to him, surrounding his body and moving through it. With its departure, Wilson fell back into himself and never touched another drop of alcohol..." While essentially true, the author leaves out one important, universally known fact: This episode occurred in a hospital, where Bill was being treated for alcoholism with belladonna, a hallucinogen, and it was while "tripping" that Bill had this revelatory episode. Also from the article: "It’s never been entirely clear, however, how AA tallies sober members from the non-sober ones... [the numbers tallied of sober members] ultimately depend upon the truthfulness of information given by members of an organization who have been told that drinking is a source of deep personal shame."
Nowhere in AA, that I know of, are members told to be ashamed of their drinking. Nor, as the author implies, do members believe such a thing due to being told so by someone in AA. AA members aren't "tricked" into believing drinking is a source of shame. AA doesn't recruit, preach, reach out for members, or promote itself in any way. You have to seek it out. People seek out AA because, for them and them alone, alcohol has ruined their lives. It's not a judgment call, or a moral decision. It has nothing to do with "good" or "bad" -- some people are unable, once they have tasted a drop of alcohol, to stop drinking it until they pass out. It is impossible to have a beer for lunch with coworkers, because an alcoholic cannot detach from the beer and will just as likely stay behind to continue drinking. Once this has destroyed aspects of your life, it is not a matter of AA convincing you that alcohol is something to be ashamed of, it's quite beside the point.
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Thomson
Alcohol">[link] Rehab
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