Hoffman's 100 Years: Report

Luc Dala just sent this report to me. It's heartfelt. I too ask myself where are our modern day psychedelic warriors and what happened to that crazy widsom we so desperately need today? Indeed! Here it is:

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Albert Hofmann: 100 years

Basel was the place where lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) was first extracted and synthesized (with Dr. W. A. Stoll) from ergot in 1938, where Albert Hofmann had his first experience with it on April 16th 1943 and his famous Bicycle ride on April 19th, and although Dr. Hofmann now lives in his beautiful Rittimatte in Burg, Basel was the right place for this conference, subtitled “the spirit of Basel”. Albert Hofmann turned 100 years old on January 11, 2006 and after a more intimate party on his birthday the conference “LSD: Problem child and wonder drug” on January 13-15 brought more than a thousand participants to the modern conference centre of Basel. In fact, so many more visitors showed up during the weekend, that the organization spoke of close to 2000 attendants.

The reason I went there was first of all to see and congratulate Albert, whom I had met a couple of times before, in Amsterdam and Heidelberg and I spent a beautiful day with him and his wife Anita in Rittimatte in December 2002. Especially that last visit, he was already 96 at the time, was one of the most splendid days of my life. There was such a kindness and tolerance in this somewhat stiff looking Swiss man and his wife, such genuine wisdom, I then realised that Albert Hofmann was more than a renowned chemist, more than an icon of the psychedelic tribe, he was a true master of life, a sage and someone who stood out from the crowd of would-be hippies, psychedilicists, psychonauts and know-it-all scientists as a humble but passionate “Mensch”. I had noted his energy before, he danced into the night at the Melkweg in Amsterdam when he was well over ninety, but at Rittimatte I became aware that his energy was the logical effect of an intimate connection with the source of all energy, with nature, with the people around him. I wanted to see this man again, and what better place and time than his 100th birthday. Of course, there was an impressive, if not slightly overloaded conference program, with many friends to meet again and some people I would like to hear lecture and connect with. This would be a historical opportunity to see the psychedelic tribe together, meet them, listen to them and film them. I had already interviewed many of the speakers. Since my association with the Mondo 2000 magazine (around 1989) I have written and televised hundreds of articles, programs about consciousness, religion, psychedelics and transpersonal psychology, but what an opportunity to see them again and maybe discuss their work and see if they would be interested in my psi-matrix, a comparision chart of psychedelic substances (www.net.info.nl/hoenu/psimatrix.htm).

Looking through the program I was sure to meet many of those old friends, but I expected that there would be many more, attracted by the same vibe that made me go to Basel. Our party, we drove by car from Amsterdam, consisted of myself (56 and writer/journalist/entrepreneur) , my ladyfriend Stefani (34, therapist) and my son Michiel (26, game designer). Maybe by chance we kind of represented the three main groups of attendants of the conference. Those who knew Albert Hofmann personally, those who were interested in LSD and its effects and those who came because this would be an historical event, a chance to see and hear a generation and a culture slowly vanishing.

Now that sounds a bit pessimistic, but most of the people with serious expertise in the field are pensioners, most of the lectures were about the past and really new understandings of what psychedelics could mean were rare. LSD is an illegal substance, no self respecting university or institution dares to touch it, funding research is difficult, most governments are dead against it and the few exceptions and projects now under way have not yet yielded substantial results. There is hope, there are anecdotal stories and miracle treatments, scores of books about the potential of these substances, some religious use is tolerated, but we are far from having psychedelic research accepted as a mainstream scientific subject.

I realize the organizers and most of the participants had hope for a rebirth of the movement, a new wave of research into the effects of psychedelic substances, a new spark to revive the psychedelic revolution, but was that realistic? I have emailed most of the Dutch media with information about the event and Albert’s birthday, but the response was minimal. LSD is still seen as an evil substance, research into therapeutic or medical use of psychedelic substances seen as promoting drug use. Being among those who have personally experienced the debunking effects of Lucy in de Sky with Diamonds, feeling part of the psychedelic tribe, the “movement” of course changes one’s perspective. In a way this was a religious event, a bit cult-like, and that of course gives social cohesion, we were all one and with Albert as the Grand Master of this cabal we all felt pretty good. A certain “us and them” feeling, and when the Narconon people (the Scientology folks who condemn psychiatry and drugs) were protesting outside they were seen as enemies. I did interview them and will make that part of the story. They have their truth and reality perception too and deserve to be heard, isn’t tolerance one of the great lessons we can take home from visiting the realms of multiple realities?

Media attention

Although there were 150 or more journalists or those pretending to be, scores of documentary makers, and about every third participant had written at least one book, the interest of the mainstream media in the event was low. No serious big camera’s with a CNN, ZDF or BBC logo, a serious interview in the New York Times was the peak in media exposure. The hope, that this was the beginning of a second wind for Albert’s Wunderkind did not materialise in widespread publicity about its discoverer and this unique event. But so what; could one seriously expect the Fox, MSNBC, NewsCorp media to report truthfully about a serious conference concerning an illegal drug and its potential as a mind and consciousness enhancing tool.

Maybe it is better this way, having two thousand people going home with a heart-felt message, a sense of connectedness and esteem for those present, certainly for dear Albert himself. In the Basel Conference Centre one could clearly feel that something holy, sacred, important was given to us, in those April-days of 1943. Hofmann himself remarked, that it was LSD itself, that had chosen him to bring its message to the world. And what a messenger, esteemed as a scientist, clearly loved as a truly human soul, a friend, a beacon of loving kindness. The people who came to celebrate his 100th birthday were his closest friends or became at his his admirers at this event. For that stands out in my mind and even more in my heart, this small, neatly dressed man, this epitome of Swiss correctness, he was the centre, the juice, the spirit, the object of such veneration, such love, such esteem, that words are not enough to describe what I felt and feel. Albert Hofmann, that humble servant of science and nature, he rose to be a giant, a hero of kindness and understanding. Frail of body, obviously a hundred years are beyond the design lifespan of the average human being, but clear of mind and intention, addressing the thousands with a clear voice, giving thanks to all, and bowing to the divine spark with such intensity, giving credit to sacral substance, thereby making clear that his message of a conscious creation went beyond the flowers and butterflies he loves so much, he admitted it was the LSD itself that found him, charged him with the task to make it known and what a job he did. For behinds the attendant at this conference were the thousands, the millions that experienced LSD as a life changing experience, a step into the realm of wonder, the hidden dimensions of the mind and consciousness. And strange dimensions they are, the far reaches of our imagination, the wondrous land of trippy constructions, the exhibits of psychedelic art illustrated the kaleidoscopic quality of our inner worlds. Whether these inner worlds have any relationship with actual realities or dimensions or are just the product of our minds going berserk did not really matter at this conference. Madness or miracle, wonderdrug or problem child, devil or touching the divine, in Albert Hofmann everybody recognized the synthesis, both sides are there.

I must confess that I have only participated in a few of the lectures, I was present at the opening sessions, the press conference with Albert and the impressive closing ceremony and else walked in and out of a number of the podia and lecture sessions. It was grand, so many esteemed speakers, so much stories, so much to do, and also so many to meet, to see, to hug and to greet. Knowing that all lectures and forums would be available as DVD’s, I didn’t care too much about attending, I did buy some 25 DVD’s and will take time to watch those 40 or more hours of conference material. My interest was in the people, old friends, new friends, a meeting of minds and hearts. Of course there were interesting new views, some of the new research with modern brain scan techniques yielded interesting pictures, insights in where and how the brain functions, what chemical connections happen, the dirty pictures (chemical formulas) Sasja Shulgin talks about. I was fascinated by the new perspectives on the Eleusian mysteries, the role of the internet in making information about these substances available, the computer art as an extension of the more traditional psychedelic art forms, the musical developments resonating with fundamental frequencies, the integration of shamanic practice and lore into the psychedelic culture, the terrible side-effects and victims of the war on drugs, the acceptance of the psychedelic churches, of course there was ample material to make one think, discuss and take home to digest.

On the other hand, having been at a number of these conferences, it was more of the same, more data but not necessarily more information, more knowledge but not more wisdom. There are more books, more libraries, more research, but most of it is about the history of the movement, about details and sideshows. The bold visions, the great vista’s are lacking. I know and appreciate the deep messages, Albert’s gospel about how psychedelics opens us up to nature and the deep force of creation has been heard, but what is new? Who dares make the link between homeopathy and psychedelics, who talks about radionics, who defines the subpersonality processes in our culture, who suggest that Holy Mass was or is a re-enactment of a psychedelic ritual, who claims a right to LSD for the dying, who looks into the deep reason in Islam to forbid drugs and magic, where are the political statements, the hero’s, the slogans that wake us up like Leary’s “Turn on, tune in, drop out.". Everybody there agrees the world is in a sorry state as far as freedom goes, that we are sacrificing civil liberties in the name of security, that the environment is at risk, that independent thinking and acting is suppressed. But there were no bold banners, flags, touching poems, politically this conference came no further than asking for more research and legalization (not liberalization) of LSD. Of course, don’t rock the boat, be good citizens, obedient academia, operate under the radar, but at the same time, what a shame. The movement has become a vessel of convenience, an excuse for smoking too much hash, recreational use, hiding behind empty rituals, engaging in self-serving research, it has lost much of its pioneering spirit. Albert himself, lovely man, has now become our symbol, our idol, our loving godfather, but where are the warriors, the martyrs, how do we connect back to the crazy wisdom.

We have engaging performers, Christian Rätsch and Hans Cousto among them, Simon Vinkenoog, but I missed the strange ramblings of Terence McKenna, the hyper presence and ranting of Tim Leary. Ram Dass sent a telegram, so did Robert Anton Wilson, but we all knew that the pioneers of the movement are now old men or dead, their ideas old hat. I missed Houston Smith, where were the Grateful Dead, I missed you, brother David, as you are the most clear witness of the divine in the movement.

There are clearly a few schools or subgroups in the psychedelic movement. There are the medical and psychiatric researchers, there are the therapists who (legally or illicit) use these substances to work with, there are artists like Alex Grey, the (mostly younger) multimedia artists who make animations and computer art, there are the musicians, the scientists who are into knowledge, a few individuals who bring wisdom, and then a score of people who have become in a way economically and/or emotionally dependent on the movement, as speakers, writers, publishers. I have a hard time with the scientists and writers who sit on their pile of knowledge, high and dry, and with those who have become the clowns of the movement, the stage-performers addicted to the admiration of ever new groups of psychedelic neophytes. Business as usual: selling books, selling conferences, workshops, substances or websites, money did play a role at this conference. The event itself was well organized, but rather expensive, many people could not afford the fee, especially the younger generation. And many of those who came had to find a way to make some money to cover their expenses, too many people with camera’s and the hope of shooting the documentary of a lifetime, too many interviews, too much would-be press. Understandably, but there was this subtle undertone of commercialization that I felt. The contrast with Albert was so clear, his humbleness so distinct. But then, does not every movement need its pushers, its clowns, its producers and is not friction and controversy the fuel of growth? I don’t know, I have to admit that my frustration about the sincerity of some of the “personalities” of the movement might be my personal frustration, my wounded ego and not theirs. So, praise to all, let’s hope that their intentions were pure and their work worthwhile, that beautiful books and documentaries will result from this event. And of course, I am guilty too, I shot some 6 hours of material, mostly short anecdotes and stories about how people met Albert. I will produce a nice DVD for him, and probably also a number of television programs. I was very glad that many of the camera-teams stretched out their hands, helped each other and promised to exchange the material. Mine is available and I hope that we, together, can create the material and programs that will spread the light of love and hope that so clearly illuminated the conference centre this weekend.

For me, there were so many meetings, so many familiar faces, so many encounters, nice dinners, amazing resonances, it was a wonderful and very satisfying weekend. We never made it to the late night parties, the days were so full, so tiring, there was no energy left to go partying. We met new people, made new friends, everybody was approachable, everybody interested, that was an amazing quality of this conference. There was resonance, and I must admit that Albert himself was the one who exemplified that resonance. Not only with his cronies, his old friends, but with everybody. His talent and mastership is that he respects, listens and thus resonates with everybody. I remember the amazed and proud face of the security guard protecting Albert from the sometimes too pushy media people. He had no connection with the subject of the conference, but you could feel him being respected, appreciated, loved by that little man he kind of protected. That is where Albert Hofmann touched my soul, where I can learn from him, where he taught by example, by being.

The general mood of the conference was upbeat, although the middle part of it was a bit heavy, there were just too many lectures, people, forums, meetings. The finale, however, with Albert on the podium with all the presenters, Ralph Metzner making us sing and dance, will be a treasured memory. Albert’s words made it all well rounded and perfect.

I was glad I was there, they did a great job making this happen (see www.lsd.info). It took a while to digest what happened, there was so much. There were very good things, but also some observations that need to be made. It was a white event, for sure, very few woman presenters, a rare Japanese or African face, this was a tribal meeting of the aging and would-be hippies, the sixties reverberating, a trip down memory lane. What is happening in China, in Africa, does psychedelics play a role in shaping culture there? And where was the Law, I would have appreciated to know how “the other side” sees things, now we could only suspect that some of the attendants were hiding their badges.

My son, less familiar with the faces, differently impressed by the academic titles and scores of publications, but keen on meeting all those famous people, came home with a new sense of wonder. Proud to have been present at what was clearly an historical event, he had a Bicycle Ride patch sewn to his trousers. He and I have attended, some years ago, the Big Ride Home, 100 year Harley Davidson in Milwaukee, but this was different, here he met the giants of mind, not the giants of steel. My ladyfriend Stefani, with a little experience of psychedelics, came back with a very different view of the psychedelic movement. Her upbringing and education had planted the impression, that such things as LSD were dangerous, illicit and people involved in it shady types. In Basel she understood that psychedelics are a legitimate part of our culture, with historical roots but above all dedicated and sincere people that try to understand what these substances can do for us.

For myself, I came a step further on my path, which is to try to understand the relationship between data and information. I added a few lines to the punch line of my life:

a bit is only information if it bytes

a thought is only information if it matters

consciousness does

and love

Luc Sala

Amsterdam

Posted by paul at January 21, 2006 10:29 AM