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quality. THE FUTURES OF PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH «+ 341 need to improve our imaginative abilities. Psychedelics may provide a powerful tool for doing so. I've mentioned previously Harman's and Fadiman's 1960s studies of psychedelics' positive effects on problem solving. Research subjects, all professionals in their fields, found that many of these psychedelically enhanced solutions were quite effective. There currently are many well- characterized ways of measuring creativity, including artistic, scientific, psychological, spiritual, and emotional. It would be relatively straightfor- ward to renew research into psychedelics' effects on this crucial human Many definitions of imagination refer to the divine nature of this at- tribute. To conceive of and produce something new allows us to share in some of God's creative power. Our imagination extends us by thought into places where nothing previously existed. We therefore return to the role of psychedelics in spirituality. As I suggested in chapter 20, "Stepping on Holy Toes," there is a rational course of action for melding psychedelics within a spiritual dis- cipline. If a religious aspirant lacks firsthand knowledge of the sublime states that trickle down through scripture, ritual, and discipleship, care- fully guided, supervised, and followed-up psychedelic sessions may spur him or her on within the chosen faith. This type of work also may help develop a more broad-minded and universal approach to the spiritual. We may quibble about what is biological, psychological, or spiritual. Re- solving inner conflicts, ending damaging relationships with people or sub- stances, and stimulating the imagination all can be held and supported using these three models. However, we are pressed far beyond our com- fort zone as clinician-researchers when dealing with psychedelic sub- jects who return telling tales of contact and interactions with seemingly autonomous nonmaterial entities. How, then, do we study these "trans- dimensional" properties of DMT? We must begin by assuming that these types of experiences are "possibly real." In other words, they may indicate "what it's like" in alternate realities. The earliest attempts at systematically investigating these contacts should