Timothy Leary

[Yellowraven]

I would like to make a correction to Through a Glass Darkly. In Chapter 1 it is stated that Timothy Leary died of a brain tumor and then went on to mention the symbolic meaning of this fact. Well the only problem is that it is not a fact, the fact is the Tim Leary died of Prostrate Cancer. I see the point that was being made, with which I do not really agree. A quick check of the facts about the man's death would seem to have been in order... http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/l/Timothy%20Leary/timothy_leary.htm With the emphasis on checking and cross checking the validity of the Cassiopaean transmission, to make this sort of statement to emphasize a point, seems a bit of an oversight, and a bit heavy handed.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

I would like to make a correction to Through a Glass Darkly. In Chapter 1 it is stated that Timothy Leary died of a brain tumor and then went on to mention the symbolic meaning of this fact. Well the only problem is that it is not a fact, the fact is the Tim Leary died of Prostrate Cancer. I see the point that was being made, with which I do not really agree. A quick check of the facts about the man's death would seem to have been in order... http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/l/Timothy%20Leary/timothy_leary.htm With the emphasis on checking and cross checking the validity of the Cassiopaean transmission, to make this sort of statement to emphasize a point, seems a bit of an oversight, and a bit heavy handed.

Laura probably just confused Leary with Terence McKenna, another proponent of psychedelics, who did in fact die of a brain tumor.

 

[Yellowraven]

Death of Terence McKenna

A longtime sufferer of migraines, in mid-1999 McKenna returned to his home on the big island of Hawaii after a long lecturing tour. He began to suffer from increasingly painful headaches. This culminated in three brain seizures in one night, which he claimed were the most powerful psychedelic experiences he had ever known. Upon his emergency trip to the hospital on Oahu, Terence was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. For the next several months he underwent various treatments, including experimental gamma knife radiation treatment. According to Wired magazine, McKenna was worried that his tumour was caused by his 35-years of smoking cannabis; though his doctors assured him there was no causal relation

In late 1999, Erik Davis conducted what would be the last interview of McKenna. During the interview McKenna also talked about the announcement of his death:


"I always thought death would come on the freeway in a few horrifying moments, so you'd have no time to sort it out. Having months and months to look at it and think about it and talk to people and hear what they have to say, it's a kind of blessing. It's certainly an opportunity to grow up and get a grip and sort it all out. Just being told by an unsmiling guy in a white coat that you're going to be dead in four months definitely turns on the lights. ... It makes life rich and poignant. When it first happened, and I got these diagnoses, I could see the light of eternity, a la William Blake, shining through every leaf. I mean, a bug walking across the ground moved me to tears."

 

[Approaching Infinity]

Death of Terence McKenna

A longtime sufferer of migraines, in mid-1999 McKenna returned to his home on the big island of Hawaii after a long lecturing tour. He began to suffer from increasingly painful headaches. This culminated in three brain seizures in one night, which he claimed were the most powerful psychedelic experiences he had ever known. Upon his emergency trip to the hospital on Oahu, Terence was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. For the next several months he underwent various treatments, including experimental gamma knife radiation treatment. According to Wired magazine, McKenna was worried that his tumour was caused by his 35-years of smoking cannabis; though his doctors assured him there was no causal relation

I'm not sure of your point. Laura didn't suggest cannabis caused his tumor; she pointed out the symbolism of his brain essentially frying. Symbolism needs no direct causal relation.