Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences

By William A. Richards

Categories: Medical Books, Religion & Spirituality

Sacred Knowledge (Columbia University Press) is psychologist William A. Richards's account of psychedelics and mystical experience, drawn from research he began in the 1960s. Richards worked on psychedelic therapy at Spring Grove Hospital and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center before joining the psilocybin studies at Johns Hopkins. Describing carefully prepared, supported sessions, he explores experiences of unity, sacredness and insight, their possible value in treating addiction, depression and the distress of people with cancer, and what they suggest for religion and education.