Psychedelic Salon 179
Timothy Leary at Cornell in 1989

PROGRAM NOTES:

[NOTE: All of the following quotations are by Timothy Leary.]

Dr. Timothy LearyâThe first very dangerous side effect of psychedelic drugs is long term memory gain. And the second is short term memory loss. And I forget the third.â

âThe time has come for us as a species, and for you all as individuals, to move into the post industrial society.â

âWe all create our own reality.â

[Paraphrasing John Paul Sartre] âYou can make up all the abstract gods or leaders that you want, and theories and so forth, but youâre just whistling in the dark. The existential facts of the matter are that you are in the nose cone of your own time ship, hurtling at the speed of light into a dark future, and you donât have a clue or navigational map. And if youâre scared, well, grow up.â

âThe sillier a religion is the more passionately fanatic people will defend it, if you know what I mean. So youâd better be careful when you buy a god, because it can get you in a lot of shit.â

âQuantum physics is all about loosening up your tight structure.â

âNow think about jazz. Whatâs jazz about? Jazz is about singularity, about creating your own rhythm, improvising, doing your own riffs, innovating. Hey, thatâs exactly what quantum physics is all about.â

âThe fact that you become an individual, and think singular thoughts, doesnât mean you canât be understood.â

âThe function of the government is simply to protect us, not from ourselves, but protect us from bad [impure] products.â

âNo matter how crazy, fucked-up an individual can be, he canât be as fucked up as the Catholic Church.â

âYou know that collectivity lowers intelligence. No matter how dumb the individual is, thereâs no dumb individual that could have caused World War II.â

âColleges, universities, are tax supported, state supported, or financed by wealthy individuals and trusts to prepare you to find your niche, your spot, your cog in the great industrial machine. This is a factory.â

âDonât decide to major until after you graduate. When you get 50 years old, select your major.â

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