Ralph Metzner – Toad and Jaguar

Ralph Metzner – Toad and Jaguar

Field report on unofficial research of visionary medicine Bufo alvarius and 5-MEO-DMT with introduction by Stanislav Grof, Charles Gro-ba and afterword by Stanislav Grof and Michael Vančura.

What Ralph Metzner says about the book:
"In this monograph, I put into context my findings from experiences and observations gathered in sessions with this substance conducted with various groups of users and individuals in the United States and Europe over a period of more than 30 years. I use the term "unofficial" to refer to experiments with these substances in the sense that they were conducted covertly, without regard to the restrictions and prohibitions of the official mainstream culture. These are ethnographic field reports: unmediated observations from an unofficial subculture, supplemented by descriptions of experiences from a large number of participants and observers. It is important to consider that in researching these so-called psychedelic or entheogenic substances, observations and subsequent reflections cannot be limited to their physical and psychological effects. As most of the people quoted here point out, their experiences with these substances often go far beyond the physical and psychological dimensions and bring them into the deepest and highest dimensions of our existence on the cosmic and spiritual levels."

What Stanislav Grof has to say about the book:
"This book provides detailed information regarding the phenomenology of the experience, therapeutic effects, methods of administration, dose-effect relationships, the influence of diverse environmental arrangements, combining sessions with entheogens with various forms of spiritual practices, and a comparison of 5-methoxy DMT with its cousins DMT and bufotenin. The potential of 5-methoxy DMT as a therapeutic agent of the future seems ob-particularly intriguing, as this substance is potent enough to elicit therapeutic and transformative effects over a period of time that does not place unrealistic demands on the therapist's schedule by its length, making it easier to provide such an experience. The Toad and the Jaguar is an extraordinary contribution to works of psychedelic literature that will be considered a classic in the future. The information it contains is compelling enough to stimulate clinical research on 5-methoxy-DMT. What one immediately thinks of is a study that would investigate the effects of this substance in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans, which, because of the enormous range of problems in this diagnostic category, would have the best chance of approval."

Excerpts from the book:
I felt like I was at the core of my soul. I was aware of "everything about everything" and at the same time aware of "this is IT". Vedanta teaches that at the highest level of consciousness there is only being (sat), awareness (chit) and bliss (ananda). In my experience there was no subject, body, time or space, but there was being. There was also consciousness: after the effects wore off, I remembered everything. Although "I" was not there, self-reflection and zapa-matting continued. And certainly there was unimaginable bliss, joy and ecstasy. I felt like I was right on the edge between moving in and out. I could let go, dive deep inside and open to the vast inner spaces, or I could let the energy manifest and express itself through bodily movements and voice.
...
As I mentioned earlier, I have come to believe that the three-dimensional geometric grid, extending in all directions, which you first "see" before your eyes and then perceive as all-pervading, in and out, is the molecular level of physical reality. The molecules of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and various other elements and compounds do not "know" or care whether they are inside or outside your body, or whether they are part of some object or form in the external world. At this level there are no objects or bodies or boundaries - there is only an absolutely impersonal, ever-changing network structure or web, a crystalline grid of repeating patterns. The image of the jewel-encrusted web of the god Indra from Mahayana Buddhism comes to mind, symbolizing a universe shaped by the infinite mirroring of interconnections between things and beings.

ISBN: 9788027069187
publisher: Asaya productions