Why Leary Was a Revolutionary

Leary was a rebel because he created a new kind of spirituality for the baby boomer generation. He created a revolutionary practice of consuming psychedelics with his patients. He defied the norm by paving the way for modern medicine.

sources

http://deoxy.org/leary.htm

http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/leary.html

http://www.roninpub.com/TimLea.html

http://www.popsubculture.com/pop/bio_project/timothy_leary.html

quote and response

"None of Dr. Leary's most important studies have either suffered refutation or enjoyed confirmation, because enacted law, statues enacted after and because of Dr. Leary's research - makes it a crime for any other psychologists or psychiatrists to replicate such research. I know you've heard that the Inquisition ended in 1819, but in many areas of psychotherapy and medicine, the U.S. government has taken up where the Vatican left off." Robert Anton Wilson

The U.S. government is responsible for not only stopping many social movements, but has been very proactive in allowing large drug companies to dictate the standard of healing in our country. Leary used a very controversial clinical practice of take hallucinogens with his patients in order to see clearly into the patients reality. Since then, the government has created many institutions that are responsible for shutting down any medical practices outside of the trillion dollar western medical industry. Western medicine has no value in true healing - true healing comes from within. Just like Leary believed that the brain has the ability to create its own reality, I believe that our bodies have enough strength to be its own healer. Western medicine is built on a foundation of 'covering up symptoms' instead of actually curing the illness. The same goes for mental illness. Western medicine prescribes pharmaceuticals when a person has delusions, or depression. Pharmaceutical drugs only cover up the existing condition, and possibly creating a snowball effect, thus the patient develops more ailments. Leary's philosophy included overwhelming a persons mind with information in order to 'reprogram' the brain. Thus
fixing the problem, instead of just covering it up.

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Leary's Beginning

Leary graduated in 1950 from Harvard, receive a P.H.d in psychology. Leary then went on the become director of psychiatric research at the Kaiser Family Foundation from 1950 to 1955. Leary's beginning work in psychology focused on interpersonal exploration, in order to diagnose certain personalities and patterns. Leary went on to develop an well respected diagnostic tool called the interpersonal circumplex - this tool was used in the MMPI survey that many respected psychologists, and social workers use to this day. In 1955 Leary's wife committed suicide - At this point Leary began developing a new outlook on life. Before Leary began experimenting with mushrooms and other hallucinogens he wrote

"an anonymous institutional employee who drove to work each morning in a long line of commuter cars and drove home each night and drank martinis ... like several million middle-class, liberal, intellectual robots."

At this point Leary began searching for more unconventional means of spiritual, and clinical practices.

Leary's wife's death probably shook him up to the point that he felt the need to reconsider his whole life. Some of the internal changes may have included
questioning societal tendencies through his P.H.d mind. This is when Leary started developing his revolutionary state of mind. The quote above proves that his mind is transforming in to a rebellious middle age man!

Intro to Leary

Timothy Leary was a counter culture intellectual, who advocated an alternative life style, and the clinical use of psychedelic substances. Leary's first spiritual practice was bowwowed from the Mazatec people of Mexico was the ritual of consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms.Likewise Leary's early practice included the idea that the guided use of hallucinogenic substances - Variables included, dosage and setting. Eventually Leary's philosophy developed various methods on how to de-program the heavily media influenced mind of western culture. Leary was considered a rebel because he created a revolutionary treatment for multiple mental disorders through the basis of a spirituality and treatment based on the use of psychedelic substances.

"You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind."
---Timothy Leary---

Next post will include Leary's early life, early philosophy, and how some of his first ideas regarding the human mind.

info from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary