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LSD Doorway to the Numinous – Dr Stanislav Grof

Each system of condensed experience has a basic theme that permeates all its layers and represents their common denominator; the nature of these themes varies considerably from one [set of perceptions] to another.  Various layers of a particular system can, for example, contain all the [perceptions] of the past exposures of an individual to humiliating and degrading situations that have damaged his self esteem.  In other instances, the common element can be the anxiety experienced in regard to shocking and frightening events, claustrophobic and suffocating feelings evoked by various oppressive and restricting circumstances where there was no possibility of fighting back and defending oneself or escaping, as well as an intense sense of guilt and moral failure triggered by a number of specific situations.

The experience of emotional deprivation and rejection in various periods of one’s development is another common motif of many [sets of perceptions].  Equally frequent are basic themes that depict sex as dangerous or disgusting, and those that involve aggression and violence.  Particularly important are [sets of perceptions] that epitomise and condense the individual’s encounters with situations endangering survival, health, and integrity of the body.  The excessive emotional charge that is attached to [sets of perceptions] seems to be a summation of the emotions belonging to all the constituent perceptions of a particular kind….. the new element from the theoretical point of view is the concept of the organising dynamic system integrating the components into a distinct functional unit