Psychedelics II

 

Psychedelics:

 

One prevalent ‘mystic’ experience expressed by drug takers and ‘traditional mystics’ is that they feel ‘at one’ with the universe; that everything in the universe is connected and that includes their own sense of being. Books and poems have been written trying to express this sensation; I trust that you, dear reader will accept this fuzzy reference to that. The experience – the feeling of being a part of the ‘big picture’, connected to all of the natural world - might bring a sense of peace or intellectual agitation. To my mind it is a wonderful observation that affirms the natural world and our species place within it. The mistake is to then leap-frog from the natural physical world to claiming the experience affirms a ‘super-natural’, mystical, deistic world.

 

A joke is called to mind: the Buddhist monk orders a hot dog saying, ‘Make me one with everything’. When the monk pays with a large bill, and waits to be reimbursed, the vendor quips, ‘Change comes from within.’

 

Let me state that far too often, the hallucinations – which are the result of ingesting psychedelic/psychotropic chemicals - are interpreted as personal ‘revelation’ of some sort. This leap of ‘faith’, this erroneous interpretation of one’s experience must be discouraged; even though such erroneous interpretation will inevitably happen during the temporary ‘psychotic episode’ while one is under the influence. It must be remembered that in cultures throughout the world in ancient and modern times, those who experience ‘visions (i.e. hallucinations) are often revered as ‘holy’ and in touch with the ‘Great Spirit’, a god or the ‘God’. The hallucinatory state might be brought on by psychotropic substances but might also be induced by fasting, chanting, dance, stress, sensory deprivation or sleep deprivation, as well as.

 

Personal interpretation of disparate and unassociated mundane events on the television or in a song, (for example) are far too often taken as ‘secret messages’. These ‘messages from the universe’ are part of the hallucination. They might be both auditory and visual but the messages are mental constructs fabricated by the mind to explain the hallucination. There is a ‘feed-back loop’ between the hallucinations and the rationalization of that false sensory input (hallucinations) which the altered conscious mind then attempts to form into a pattern which fits an established criteria or story. The basis of the story - psychological priming - might be a legend, myth or religious tenet. It might also be a personal experience which is used as the foundation to explain or rationalize the hallucination by the chemically altered conscious.

 

There has been a tendency for ‘truth-seekers’ to interpret their hallucinations as having ‘deeper meaning’; a ‘deeper truth’ that is transcendent and revelatory.  Their experience is not in question here. It is the interpretation of the ‘visions’ which must be disabused and discouraged. As an example, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’ are remarkable tales; they may be taken as allegory or simply as fantasy bedtime stories. Here, too, there has been a tendency for ‘truth-seekers’ to interpret these stories as having ‘deeper meaning’, a ‘deeper truth’ that is transcendent and revelatory often asserting the use of psilocybin or other hallucinogen by Lewis Carroll (author, poet and mathematician, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). Such ‘depth’ is an interpretation of the written word and is to be expected and anticipated but not sanctified.

 

Such false interpretation of hallucination – the vision, translated by awe, ignorance, cognitive bias – is one explanation for the personal revelations of god claimed by Believers as the basis for their Faith. Lest the reader feel that I have strayed from rationality, allow a quote from Valerie Terico, Ph.D. who cites the ‘transcendence hallucination’ as the likely psychological source of mystical and religious experiences. “Transcendence hallucination can be triggered by neurological events (lie seizure, stroke, or migraine aura) or by a drug (such as psilocybin)…” Dr. Terico goes on to list medieval mystic, Hildegard of Bingen and author, Karen Armstrong as examples of transcendence hallucination.  It may also explain the ‘Saul of Tarsus’ Road to Damascus’ incident, however, Dr Terico determines his mystical, life-changing experience to be the possible effect of a temporal lobe seizure. 

To be certain, a very serious error is made by the mental adventurer who takes to heart the visions, the ‘insights’ and revelations experienced under the influence of psychoactive substances, migraine aura or seizure. While there may be much to be gained by having psychotropic experiences, the specious interpretation by the altered mind (secret messages, revelations, cosmic insights, etc) must not be taken ‘on faith’ as being a path to truth. 

 

In mystical experiences, the expectation that there will be an accompanying hallucination is prevalent. That accompanying hallucination might be visual, auditory or olfactory. It might be a combination of two or more of these. The vison of a celestial beings may speak or be accompanied by a fragrance. For instance, in the 1996 film, ‘Michael’ the presence of the archangel Michael (played by John Travolta) is accompanied by a pleasing aroma which triggers personal memories. It matters not that the premise of film is preposterous, the notion that the appearance of a celestial being is accompanied by an olfactory hallucination is indicative of the expected nature of such ‘miraculous revelations’.