Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research by Stanislav Grof

Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research Reviews

• 
  Justin

  Maybe we have to be born with an interest in the origin of consciousness, where it resides and how it operates, I’m one of those people. No explanation garnered by science, religion, mystics, or from indigenous wisdom has ever fully approximated what I’ve seen in the world. Transpersonal psychologist Stanislov Grof’s first book, Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research (Dutton, 1976) reveals many fascinating accounts relayed from his personal experience while conducting hundreds of LSD sessions with patients. Grof offers his comments on what the trends of these experiences hint at, frankly admitting in the epilogue that such outlandish comments will draw harsh commentary from peers, but is wise in saying that omitting them will only continue the retardation of humanity’s ability to understand the final frontier: the human mind.
  
  Grof discovered from working with patients suffering particular neuroses that a condensed experience brought about by ingesting a few hundred micrograms of lysergic acid diethylamide can induce profound healing experiences allowing people to transcend even lifelong problems. Many of the accounts are quite gruesome as Grof is working with some particularly psychotic people, he spares no details and I felt my gut wrench as descriptions of rapes, abuse, war scenes poured from the pages. However hard these accounts were to read, it was the very ability to relive these experiences (sometimes even from the perspective of others at the scene) that allowed the patients to ultimately improve.
  
  The description of the power and capabilities of this condensed experience (COEX) framework makes up a large portion of the book. Grof notes that these highly symbolic psychodynamic experiences consist of material originating in the human unconscious. However, time after time, Grof wondered about the accuracy of the scenes and situations described by his patients reliving these condensed experiences. In those cases where he could follow up, he did so and confirmed that sometimes the details were quite exact. For example, a patient named Dana described a traumatic event that occurred when she around 12 months of age. Dana drew elaborate images of the room she was in at that time, including the patterns of embroideries. Grof independently followed up with Dana’s mother and learned that the mother found Dana’s description bristling with accuracy. The room was described almost photographically by Dana and was, “unquestionable because of the very unusual character of the furniture and some of the objects involved.” There was no way Dana could have known this because before Dana was two years old, the family moved and the house was condemned, torn down and the furniture and objects weren’t retained. There were no photographs of the room and the mother didn’t recall ever mentioning anything from that room to Dana.
  
  Another interesting observation Grof passes on is that repeated LSD sessions almost always led to the patient reliving his or her birth and various trauma associated with the birthing process. Patients would describe thoughts, feelings, and toxins that were passed to them by their mother while in the womb and in rare cases described exact scenarios their mother faced. Grof is highly skeptical (as I think we all should be) that the perinatal experience can pass on such a multitude of information to the eventual individual, forming the bases for neuroses and locking in patterns of life however there is a significant amount of evidence that (at the least) should amplify the significance of a birth.
  
  The transpersonal, mystical and multidimensional experiences patients faced with quite regularity after reliving a birth experience were highly interesting. Grof breaks these phenomena into multiple categories: ancestral experiences, collective and racial experiences, past incarnation experiences, procognition/time travel, out of body experiences, ego transcendence, space travels, telepathy, animal/plant/planetary/extraplanetary consciousness, encounters with extradimensional intelligences/entities, intuitive understandings of universal symbols and consciousness of the universal mind. He then proceeds by laying out accounts describing these particular scenarios. The final two chapters which include these accounts are sometimes shocking but thoroughly mind blowing. One example: the ability for a patient to assume specific advanced yogic poses despite not even knowing what yoga is. To summarize these experiences would be to completely strip them of any comprehension so its best to watch Grof’s videos on YouTube. I was continually amazed by the ability of patients to describe complex mythological sequences from obscure religions (ex. ahura mazda v ahriman from Zoroastrianism) or when patients described traumatic experiences from their parent’s early childhood they had no way of knowing (but that Grof could confirm through follow-up with parents). Reading over these accounts seems to point to some sort of collective mind, encoded in our DNA or accessible in altered states of consciousness, something like the morphic fields Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has been working on. Equally amazing were the detailed accounts of alternate universes and the beings within.
  
  Realms of the Human Unconscious indicates that the human mind is not only our most powerful asset but also our most underused asset as we rarely develop it. Perhaps consciousness is like a radio station we’ve tuned into for the time being, by modifying the receptors in our brains we can temporarily turn the dial on the radio hardware, allowing us to pick up a different signal. As Grof states early in the book, “It does not seem inappropriate and exaggerated to compare their [psychoactive drugs:] potential significance for psychiatry and psychology to that of the microscope for medicine or the telescope for astronomy.” I find it deplorable that society has been unable to build much on Grof’s work in the last 33 years and this inability to accept responsibility for our unconscious is clearly leading to global complexity our current technology can no longer handle.
• 
  Thomas Armstrong

  One of the greatest psychological works of the 20th century. Up there with Interpretations of Dreams (Freud) Man and His Symbols (Jung), and Beyond Freedom and Dignity (Skinner). Actually better than any of these. He lays out a view of human experience that is breath-taking in its grandeur. And what makes this so compelling is that it is built, not on human intellect (as with Ken Wilber), but directly from human experience culled from thousands of LSD psychotherapy sessions. His tripartite model: COEX systems (individual ego-based Freudian experience), Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPMs) (Rankian - the birth trauma etc.), and transpersonal (Jung, Maslow, etc.), is a wonderfully simple way to encompass an incredibly complex range of human experience. I took LSD once when I was 19 and had a bad trip (4 days in a mental hospital that did nothing to enhance the experience!). Nevertheless it gave me an appreciation for how this chemical can upend our cherished notions of consensual reality, objective time and space, a scientific worldview, and other sacred cows of this age. This book deserves a greater reading audience than it has been given -- it should be a classic and required by anyone who practices psychotherapy.
• 
  Jackson Childs

  At the time this book was published Grof had spent more than a decade studying the use of LSD in controlled, therapeutic settings. This book is based on his enormous experience with the effects of the drug in thousands of trials with hundreds of different patients, and also his careful study of the structure of those effects. For readers who are unfamiliar with the effects of LSD, this is an excellent introduction. Grof explains how the medical community's understanding of LSD evolved, and how his own view of the psychedelic drug changed over time.
  
  Grof argues that LSD has no specific or mandatory physiological response, but that it instead acts a generalized amplifier of conscious and unconscious processes. As such, he argues that the drug is a very valuable tool for studying the human mind, and deserves more attention for this purpose. He classifies the human response to LSD into four broad categories. While he is careful to point out that the LSD experience is always multi-level and complex, he argues that in repeated exposures to the drug, users generally progress from one category of experience to the next. The first category could be called the aesthetic stage, characterized by perceptual distortions or hallucinations, distortions of the sense of time and space, vivid sensory experiences, insight into creative arts, etc. The second stage is defined by what Grof calls COEX systems, that is systems of condensed experience. These are relatively autonomous systems of beliefs, feelings, memories etc., usually defined by traumatic experiences, sometimes by positive experiences. A COEX system is created by traumas in early life but later comes to control a person's personality, and new life experiences are then understood in terms of these systems. This is the well-known level of individual conflicts, neurosis, insecurity. As the patient works through these painful memories, often repressed, she comes to the third stage, which is the experience of the birth process. Here (and with the fourth stage) Grof's presentation obviously becomes rather controversial. It should be noted that Grof doesn't claim that these experiences are necessarily actual memories of the womb and birth. He presents his observations as deserving further study. Grof divides the birth experience into four stages, which he calls Perinatal Birth Matrices, corresponding to four stages of the birth process: stage 1 is the stasis in the womb, stage 2 is the beginning of labor when the womb contracts, stage 3 is active labor as the infant passes through the birth canal, and stage 4 is actual birth and separation from the mother. In Grof's view the traumas experienced in these stages, primarily in stages 2 and 3, serve as the core around which traumatic COEX systems later form.
  
  Grof calls the ultimate phase of the LSD experience the transpersonal. Here the individual has experiences that transcend the normal boundaries of human life: identification with ancestors, whether human or animal, acute consciousness of biological, geological, or cosmic processes, extra-sensory perception, "time-travel", collective consciousness, encounter with divine beings, archetypal experiences, and mystical consciousness of or unity with the totality of existence.
  
  Grof is a superb writer. His style is erudite, direct, and clear, and he presents his observations in a very well-organized way. His descriptions of various extraordinary experiences are brief but highly illuminating and worth revisiting. He manages to pack a huge amount of insight into the 240 easily read pages of this book. He is aware of the enormous relevance and interest of the connections suggested by LSD users between various aspects of human experience, and he is able to give the reader a sense of this excitement without getting lost down any seductive trail of speculation. As a scientist Grof is aware that his observations are controversial. He frankly admits his own resistance to seeing what was happening. He doesn't pretend to offer a decision about the objective status of various experiences, although he suggests that in many cases LSD users appear to have access to verifiable information that they could not have accessed otherwise. This seems to be particularly the case with archetypal experiences relating to various myths and religions. But he is willing to present his observations as areas in need of more research.
  
  I have only two criticisms of this book. One is that Grof's theorized map of LSD experiences could have benefited from more documentation or quantification. That is, it would have been useful if Grof had at some point during his research, or after the fact using the relevant documents, attempted to produce some kind of statistical analysis of the record experiences. This book was not intended as research per se, but it could have been interesting and persuasive to see some preliminary date, for instance what percentage of LSD sessions included each type of experience and how that make up changed as patients had more sessions. A related criticism is that I would like to have learned a little more about Grof's theory of progression across LSD sessions. He tells us for instance that after the birth/death experiences are "worked through," they cease to appear in subsequent sessions. Grof is primarily giving the reader a descriptive classification of these experiences, but I was curious to learn more of his thoughts about why there would be such a progression of material in these sessions.
• 
  Vahid Abdollahi

  I started reading this book out of curiosity to learn more about the transpersonal experiences associated with LSD, but I ended up enjoying the prenatal experiences the most. The book summarizes and categorizes many years of psychedelic therapy sessions, mainly in Czechoslovakia during the 60s and 70s. It provides examples of how LSD has been helpful in treating patients and, occasionally, how it has opened up access to normally-unaccessible parts of the unconscious. However, by no means, these examples provide full proof for these ideas. And to be fair, this is not claimed either by the author. Even if many of the concepts described in this book end up being pure hallucination and have nothing to do with the unconscious, it's still a very interesting read for a non-expert in the field. The minimum takeaway message from the book is if you want to get high on LSD, you should close your eyes!
• 
  Giordano Margaglio

  Where psychology meets spirituality, science-based evidence lays the foundation to explore the unknown and the big questions about consciousness find new meaning. What a compelling and fascinating read!
• 
  Richard Wu

  Eagerly, eagerly do I await the day when what is to be contemporary science will vindicate the psychoanalytic theories of yore from their ignominious casting down by the replication-crazed, self-survey-obsessed "cognitive psychology" of current contemporary science, currently, thankfully, crumbling as we speak under the rot of its own pillars: its preening reductionism, its notions of significance… Bare emperors de facto—and soon de jure.
  
  What this heralds is a "Tat Tvam Asi" increasingly "As above, so below," in which hermeneutic levels previously at war will reconcile their differences in terms perfectly legible within the parlance of each. Yes, that neuroscience and psychology will undergo a unio mystica is what I'm insinuating; and even if we mortals are not to grasp the full mechanics of their hierogamy (as our descriptive language today fails even to abstract the logic of an AlphaGo), we will be satisfied to leave it at that (or else become something altogether unrecognizable).
  
  Intimations of this prophecy may be found by linking Grof's theoretical frameworks with relatively recent studies. For instance, the transmutation of unbearable, blinding pain into ecstatic outbursts of bliss common to what he calls "BPM III" reactions has a biological basis in the proximity and similarity of the
  neural clusters responsible for both, and I've become more amenable to the idea of lifelong behavioral patterns (both beneficial and detrimental) emerging and solidifying in childhood, or even infancy, after
  learning that the LSD-induced brain state bears an uncanny resemblance to that which babies manifest throughout infancy: radically interconnected and malleable relative to that of the adult waking state. So is it any surprise that a single LSD-guided session can amount to years of sober therapy?
  
  But I didn't expect the extent and number of sessions some patients would sit through (sometimes in the dozens, and of up to 1500μg in a dose) before considered cured; Grof's case studies are worth reviewing if for no other reason than to humanize their subjects, and the at-times unfathomable burdens of which they are dying—in some cases almost literally—to be relieved. That is, to be relived, as from a narratological perspective, closure is precisely revolution; to experience an event of significant symmetricality to the one which got the cycle spinning; the second point on the spiral speared through by the axis of time. Now if only there were an accelerant…

  …LSD can be used as a kind of “inner radar” that scans the unconscious, identifies the areas of high affective tension, and brings them to the open. (216)

  You may assess this claim, of course, by poring over the case evidence Grof presents in his book and matching them against your criteria for validity; if the patient reports are taken at face then his conclusion seems to me well justified (albeit selection bias is the cheap catch-all counter). Alternatively you could take the stuff yourself, be a gonzo scientist direct and experiential—the flaw being a high likelihood of becoming, in at least what can feel a literal sense, what you behold (and there are better things to become). A last suggestion would be to match it against your past trips and see how well it holds (when I try this, I find myself unable to distinguish between what is properly cause and what effect).
  
  Regardless, I applaud Grof for really putting himself out there, you know, for recognizing when the territory calls for new cartography and then trying to make the maps while blazing trails himself, experimentally speaking, not in the "name of Science" per se but in effect as much… I have the perfect song:
  Frontier Psychiatrist.
• 
  Ashley

  Demonstrates the therapeutic potential of entheogens which was, of course, quickly stanched and invalidated by government. Dr. Grof was a Czech doctor who developed a fascinating four-tier hierarchy of LSD experiences that he believed linked to pre- and perinatal memories. This book includes a broad swathe of experiences from his patients. Anyone who's been there will identify...
• 
  Piotr

  I liked it as an insight into psychedelic research, while it was easy and possible.
  
  (Personally, I think that the effective ban on psychedelic research is a crime against science and mental healthcare - given its immense potential. Sure, there are risks, but we routinely use drugs (as in: medications) of far worse side effects! For some reason, reading Grof felt like reading "Solaris" by Lem - on forsaken, unreal research.)
  
  For many aspects, it is... humbling. It seems that visions/senses/experiences of cosmic unity, or unspoken dread, or going beyond the physical world is more of a common theme of LSD.
  
  I am torn, when it comes to its lack of skepticism. On one hand side, he hints that some aspects of extrasensory perception (e.g. clear visions of spermatozoid entering an ovum, visions of one's ancestors, etc) can be real, without noting some typical biases (e.g. people reporting coincidences only when they happen). Same, he seems to accept a lot of Freudian stuff uncritically.
  
  On the other, I am really happy he didn't censor the stories (or himself!) and share both processed and raw experiences. The overall narration is in the tone of a curious researcher knowing that he may get answers he is not looking for.
  
  Overall, I recommend it a lot, keeping in mind that you don't take too religiously his mentions of Freud, Jung, birth matrices and extrasensory perception too literally. But... as a lens/perspective, that (though flawed/simplified) can yet be fertile.
• 
  Dominika Raciborska

  Excellent insight into how one could approach human consciousness. Grof shows how little of our consciousness is readily available to us and how LSD may open a new way of uncovering some of its, deeply buried and tangled with traumatic or ecstatic memories, essential pieces of puzzle.
  Before last year's revelations of prof. Nutt and Robin Carhart-Harris (brain imaging showing the multitude of synaptic connections whilst on LSD as compared to normal state), Grof captures the intrinsic complexity of the 'Human Unconscious'. A must-read for everyone interested not only in psychedelics but neurology, neuroscience and the issues surrounding consciousness.
• 
  Matthew Ford

  One of the best psychology books I have ever read. Grof lays the foundations for a vitally important conversation that has already had a huge impact on the human species. A must read for anyone interested in the human experience.
• 
  Laura

  Very in-depth writing but Grof writes very informatively so his work can be easily understood. I read this over summer and it did take a little while but it was so enlightening. I would definitely recommend to any Psychology lovers.
• 
  Mick D

  case studies and psychodynamic and blah blah, but fucking wow.
• 
  Dylan Clarke

  An absolutely fascinating look into the unconscious frontiers of the mind through analysis of altered states. A real contribution to an area of research which has been neglected for far to long. Grof is humble and poses his findings as he experienced them in thousands of clinical LSD sessions which he participated in. The frameworks which he developed are far reaching and help to place these ineffable experiences within a cohesive system. Drawing upon a pleathora of disparate disciplines such as psychology, mythology, comparative religion, and biology, Grof takes us on a journey to discovering the truly unique insights and healing potential of psychedelic substances. A must read for any psychonaut, student of psychology and religion, or anyone intrigued by the prospect of higher consciousness.
• 
  Willm Wilkens

  This book is just absolutely one of a kind and probably not comparable with any other book on the topic of psychedelics because of the immense practical experience that Grof has had over decades of research and LSD sessions. He describes the experiences and psychological backgrounds of his patients and tries to link everything together, but he still remains critical and rational about wether the Connection between the backgrounds and the experienced symbolism in the sessions make sense or not.
  As with most of the books on the topic, I think it’s easier to understand when you have had some experiences with psychedelics on your own, otherwise you might not be able to fully grasp what he’s writing about.
• 
  Jason

  Fascinating. This is squarely a book about research— not about drug experiences. Any critique of the research should consider the decade when this was written. Scientific research yes, but I certainly am not convinced about the connection of LSD exposed trauma to the birth experience. That aside Grav does invite critique and in his last statement invites scientists to examine his data. So from a validity standpoint this is super interesting. The phenomenal experiences described are compelling. Worth a read if you’re interested in the science of consciousnesses.
• 
  Tyler Fitt

  Written by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof. He was one of the individuals during the 1960s that was able to properly experiment with LSD, using it in multiple sessions on patients to cure various types of mental illnesses. It was quite shocking to see the vast range of possible experiences under the drug. Grof mentions COEX systems which are systems of similar memories or experiences, he then goes on to say that LSD is like a rewind button and each session you will start with the most recent of that COEX system and go back to a previous one until you get to the original source. It is once you get to this original source and relive that experience, that the COEX system dissolves and you are able to move on.
  
  He also mentions the Basic perinatal matrix (BPM) and suggests that the 4 stages of the birth process can have an effect on developing mental illnesses, anxiety etc. A big part in fixing whatever mental illness you have is to go through the rebirth process which can be done with use of LSD.
  
  Overall really eye opening to the vast uses and experiences this drug has. Maybe the world will soon free up, hopefully.
• 
  Rizwan Khan

  This was quite the interesting book, well written and Dr Grof has a way of explaining complex concepts in layman terms with rich stories. The chapter on perinatal trauma was difficult to grasp but suspect with further re-readings will become clearer. I will definitely get more of Dr Grofs books!
  
• 
  SAT CHIT ANANDA

  A tremendously interesting book that should be a staple for all individuals interested in psychology, psychiatry, entheogens, or consciousness. It is mind boggling that this was published in 1975. The current culture still has a lot of warming up to do!
• 
  C

  Fascinating!
• 
  Jate

  Отлично! Сначала решила, что непременно обязательно надо принять лсд, а под конец книги поняла, что совершенно не нужно его принимать :) Рекомендую прочитать эту книгу.
• 
  Carlos Gameiro

  Some strange and weird clinical stories here that make you wonder, as expected, about our unconscious and our memories and how that is all tied up.
• 
  Austin

  Some of those anecdotal stories are ... far out man!
• 
  Erlend Thonstad

  Anbefales.
• 
  Jordan

  Fascinating, clear, and somehow grounded in the midst of what could seem like mysticism or madness. One could only image what this man could have produced if he was allowed to continue his research.
• 
  Christopher

  An Amazing book on the effects that LSD has on the realms of unconscious mind. The author described stories where on LSD people have felt the pain of every soldier that ever died in battle or the pain of every mother giving birth. There were also descriptions of perinatal memories where in one case the individual could hear his heart beat as well as his mothers, he then described feeling his mothers love and remembers sensing excitement and lots of music. His mother verified that weeks before he was born she went to an annual festival where there was a great deal of excitement and music. This was a fact that the mother had never discussed with the adult subject. Other subjects saw demons and had horrible experiences the origin of these were often determined in followup therapy sessions. A fascinating read!