Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D.: From the World Psychedelic Forum 2008 in Basel, Switzerland. Session Description: Since time immemorial, violence and greed have been among the most important forces driving human history.
Due to technological progress and exponential population growth in the twentieth century, they have become a threat for survival of life on our planet. It has become imperative to gain a deeper understanding of the roots of these forces in the human psyche and to find ways of reducing their impact in the world.
In this lecture, we will explore the observations from psychedelic research that offer new insights into extreme forms of human violence and social pathology, such as wars, bloody revolutions, terrorism, suicide bombing, concentration camps, and genocide. In a series of slides, we will demonstrate the astonishing similarities between the symbolism of posters and cartoons from the time of wars and the visions accompanying the reliving of birth and the experience of psychospiritual death and rebirth.
