Sacred Knowledge

William Richards holds a rare combination of credentials — a clinical psychologist at Johns Hopkins with formal training in theology from the University of Göttingen and Andover Newton Theological School. He participated in the original wave of legal psychedelic research in the 1960s–70s and then the modern renaissance at Hopkins. This breadth of experience makes Sacred Knowledge uniquely authoritative.

The book covers psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences, their therapeutic applications, and detailed integration practices. Richards draws on extensive clinical data while maintaining deep respect for the ineffable nature of these experiences. James Fadiman called it "a seminal work… There has not been a book in this area as valuable since William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience."

While not specifically about microdosing, Sacred Knowledge provides the spiritual and integrative framework that many microdosers seek. It addresses how to make meaning of psychedelic experiences, integrate insights into daily life, and understand the relationship between altered states and personal growth — exactly the "what comes after" questions that practitioners frequently encounter.