Perhaps I should relate (at long last) how all of my personal experience with hallucinogens matters at all to the matter of atheism. I contend that it does because much of what one who imbibes psychotropic substances experiences is similar to what mystics experience and have attributed to divine revelation.
As quoted at the start of this unit, those who take psychedelics often attribute their hallucinations to supernatural causes; they claim that they’re visited by trans-dimensional beings or spoken to by angels or some other supposedly divine entity. Some even claim that they have witnessed the glory of ‘god’.
My own personal experiences undermine the claim. The reported psychedelic experiences of others – such as those reports that came from the Johns-Hopkins study – further substantiate the undermining of such claims of ‘divine’ interaction. I have also attempted to relate incidences which illustrate that one, who is experiencing the effects of psychedelics, might also maintain the appearance of sobriety. (My encounter with the Park Rangers, for instance.)
Whether one can temporarily rein in the chemically altered brain in order to function normally could perhaps be the subject of further study. It has been my experience that it is possible.
In the following units, it will be suggested that Saul/Paul of Tarsus was one who experienced an hallucination which he mistakenly characterized as a ‘revelation’ or a ‘vision’ of the risen Christ. I further suggest that Saul/Paul and other mystics have also been able to rein in their psychotropic mind-states to function in the ‘normal’ world.
One need only consider that the saints of Patmos (where St John wrote ‘The Book of Revelation’) perhaps consumed psilocybin mushrooms and wrongly attributed their hallucinations with an anticipated and longed for interaction with the divine. One need only consider that the saints, mystics and visionaries may have experienced brain-states akin to the effects of the consumption of psychedelics to see a veracity of my suggestion.
‘Above all, realize that none of this is un-natural and, most importantly, it is NOT supernatural. There is no supernatural element to any of this. It is simply the chemicals in the mushroom (psilocin, also known as 4-hydroxy DMT) changing the normal, natural chemical make-up of the brain. That’s all it is. You will experience hallucinations as a result of the chemical alteration of your brain chemistry.’
Chemical alteration of the brain may also entail alcohol and the various chemicals (such as dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, endorphins, oxytocin, etc.) released by the brain and other bodily organs which effect change in brain-states. At times of stress or elation, the subsequent brain-state interprets ‘perceptory’ input in a way that is similar to the effect which the introduction of the aforementioned mind and mood altering chemicals have but in a more diminished way.
It must be noted that the senses all perceive in the same way as before the introduction of the chemicals; the eyes see in the same spectrum, the ears hear the same frequencies, the skin senses the same levels of pressure and heat, for example. It is the chemically altered brain-state which then interprets the input differently.
That is, for example, the eyes see a palm tree sway. The ears hear the wind through the fronds. The skin feels the pressure of the breeze and the temperature of the air in the same way as before the introduction of the mind-altering chemicals but these sensory signals are interpreted differently due to the presence of the chemicals and the effect of those chemicals on the brain-state.
As to a further example of the bifurcation of the mind; the observer/observed duality, the separating of psychedelic experience from reality and dealing with ‘real’ situations while under the influence of mind-altering chemicals, I offer this further example of personal experience:
One Christmas Eve, several male friends gathered in my ‘Man Cave’ to drink beer, Scotch and cannabis and enjoy each other’s company. As we spoke and joked, one member – a man in his early 30s – lost consciousness and fell from his chair to the floor. In a state of anxiety, I went to check his pulse, to check that he hadn’t swallowed his tongue, and had a clear pathway for breathing. After checking his vital signs (as I’d learned for dealing with seizure) he recovered enough to retake his seat and joke about the experience.
However, in the moment of relief of what appeared to be his recovery, he fainted again and fell from his chair. Citing that once was a concern and twice was potentially a serious emergency, I directed a friend to call an ambulance. I re-checked the vitals of the passed-out friend and got him, shakily, to his feet. The ambulance arrived and we went to hospital to await the results of tests.
This is mentioned as an illustration that intoxication and inebriation was not an impediment to reacting to this situation with cool resolve. No conscious thought was made by me to snap out of an inebriated state.
The friend I’d sent to call an ambulance remarked at the hospital that he was taken aback my cool demeanor. He thought it remarkable that I could act so rationally under the influence of mind-altering substances and the clear anxiety of what we had assumed was our dying friend.
I was stunned to hear this appraisal. I had given no passing thought to what the necessary response to the situation should have been; no reflection clouded by drink, cannabis or stress. I offer no explanation for this other than to cite my earlier experiences under stress and inebriates. I offer this as further evidence that the human mind need not be incapacitated by mind-altering chemicals or musings on spirituality or the supernatural. The situation would not have been precipitously addressed if such musings had predominated.
As I mentioned before; I contend that Saul of Tarsus experienced a similar falsely interpreted vision as a ‘revelation’ upon which he built the Christian Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment