8-Circuit AscensionA Guide to Metaprogramming the Multidimensional Self

Preface

“Think for yourself. Question authority.” This is the iconic mantra that most people associate with Dr. Timothy Leary (1920–1996). Leary was infamous for his controversial advocacy of free thought, and his flamboyant counterculture escapades, including psychedelic research and advocacy. Leary’s potential threat to the Establishment was so influential that President Richard Nixon and his administration dubbed Leary, “the most dangerous man in America.” In response to this threat, the Nixon administration set out to arrest him, damage his reputation, and criminalize psychedelics; they were successful on all counts. Leary spent three years in prison from 1973–1976. Psychedelics were then classified as Schedule I drugs, (which the U.S. government considers the most dangerous, allegedly having no medical or therapeutic value, and a high potential for abuse) under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under this classification, psychedelics were stigmatized, and became increasingly difficult to study. Moreover, Nixon-era propaganda and fallacious studies were reported in the media regarding the adverse and dangerous effects of psychedelics. Unfortunately, this did damage Leary’s reputation and legacy, and to this day, his notoriety often obscures his genius and his many great intellectual contributions outside of the aforementioned counterculture dynamic.

One such contribution was his development of the 8-Circuit Model of Consciousness (8-CM)—an adaptable “meta-model” into which myriad other models can be plugged into and organized in a meaningful way. This framework can be used as an effective tool to understand the many diverse facets of consciousness, including but not limited to:

• the developmental history of consciousness encoded in the DNA of all life, and its increasing complexity as it evolved into the nervous systems of invertebrate reptiles, vertebrate mammals, and through to modern humans

• its application in understanding historic and contemporary individual and cultural/collective psychology

• personality development throughout the human lifespan

• intergenerational/transgenerational trauma

• psychological, psychospiritual, and psychosomatic healing practices (Western, Eastern, indigenous, etc.)

• the use of psychedelics, meditation, and other mind-altering techniques to initiate a change in consciousness

• the future evolution of human consciousness

• spiritual, mystical, and parapsychological experiences

This meta-model influenced a lineage of great thinkers who expanded upon it, including Robert Anton Wilson (Cosmic Trigger; Prometheus Rising) and Antero Alli (Angel Tech; The Eight-Circuit Brain), and several other more recent authors, including one of the authors of this book, Dr. Douglas Wingate (2016), James Heffernan (2017), Laurent Huguelit (2013), and Mike Gathers (2020). This model has a subculture following outside of mainstream academia (e.g., self-proclaimed psychonauts, occultists, metaprogrammers, and others who have stumbled upon this gem); however, with so many applications on both professional and personal levels, this model deserves proper recognition and use in the mainstream, which brings us to the story of how this book came to be.

Dr. Rachel Turetzky has been studying and practicing various forms of witchcraft, magick, and other esoterica for over 30 years, and discovered the 8-Circuit Model in her early exploration of occult literature. She had the good fortune to participate in a course on the model, and study it under the guidance of Antero Alli. While pursuing her graduate studies in the field of psychology—during which she was able to get involved in psychedelic research—she observed the lack of an adequate framework that could bridge conventional, contemporary psychology with what, at the time, was considered more fringe and “woo-woo” ideas relating to non-ordinary states of consciousness. As psychedelics became increasingly mainstream (starting around 2017), she recognized the 8-Circuit Model of Consciousness as this bridge, and resolved to write a book on this topic. She shared this vision with friend and author, David Jay Brown (who was a good friend of both Leary and Wilson, and who has shared many inspiring stories and memories about them both) upon their first in-person meeting in March 2020, and he enthusiastically shared this vision. (Although David has been limited in his capacity to co-author this book due to time constraints, he is still very much a part of this vision as a colleague and consultant.) They began brainstorming ideas for this book and thoroughly researched other works already written on the 8-Circuit Model. This led them to the work of Dr. Douglas Wingate, and upon connecting, 8-Circuit Ascension was formed.

Dr. Wingate has been meditating and studying Eastern philosophy and medicine for many years in addition to Eastern and Western esoteric practices and traditions. He was introduced to the 8-Circuit Model in his teens upon discovering Robert Anton Wilson’s book Prometheus Rising, and later studied the model directly from him and Antero Alli through Wilson’s Maybe Logic Academy. In 2016, he published his first book, Circuits & Shen: Models of the Evolution of Consciousness & Chinese Medicine, in which he explores how the model has been applied and integrated into his Chinese Medicine practice. Dr. Wingate is also among the first cohort of licensed psilocybin facilitators in the state of Oregon. As Dr. Turetzky is also trained in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, together Drs. Wingate and Turetzky have developed a protocol to utilize the 8-Circuit Model of Consciousness in various applications, including: psychotherapy; life-coaching; acupuncture and other somatic body/energy work; and psychonautic/psychospiritual guidance, healing, and development.

With the so-called “psychedelic renaissance” upon us, we feel the time is right for this model to be brought out of the fringes, back into academia, and even into the mainstream where it can be of great benefit to many. In Book I: Absorb, we explicate Leary/Wilson’s 8-Circuit Model. Further, we provide evidence for the model as it correlates to neuroanatomy, and we discuss various applications related to psychology (e.g., evolutionary development, lifespan development, transpersonal psychology, and parapsychological phenomena); non-ordinary states of consciousness (e.g., psychedelics, meditation, lucid dreaming, and psi); psychotherapy (with emphasis on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy); metaprogramming, and hedonic engineering. (Metaprogramming is the intentional programming or re-programming of beliefs, habits, and thought patterns through the action of applied metacognition—thinking about or reflecting on how and why one has certain thought or behavior patterns and the development of the ability to consciously alter these for one’s benefit. Hedonic engineering refers to methods of using incoming sensory signals and somatic sensations as a means of experiencing heightened pleasure for pleasure’s own sake.) At the end of each chapter we provide metaprogramming exercises for developing and balancing each circuit. In Book II: Integrate, we offer a guide for practitioners and psychonauts who wish to utilize this model in their psychospiritual healing and development work. In the final section of this book, Book III: Transmit, we share our vision of how the widespread application of this model can potentially facilitate individual and collective human evolution. Lastly, as some terms may be unfamiliar or unclear in their specific uses throughout this text, we provide a Glossary of terms in the back of this book.