Are the benefits of ketamine therapy related to the mystical experience they produce? An anesthesiologist offers some thoughts.
Tag: entheogens
#47 Jordan Bates’ “First Vision” Account
He has a mystical experience in which he sees "Pure White Light" and feels an "All-Embracing Love."
#46 Josh Radnor’s “First Vision” Account
The sitcom celebrity of How I Met Your Mother had an entheogenic "First Vision" experience of "Christ," and lives to tell about it.
Derren Brown: “Faith Healing” as Psychospiritual Transformation
Are faith healings real? If so, how might they work deep in our psyche?
#44 Julie M. Brown’s “First Vision” Account
A psychotherapist tells of her most sacred visionary experience she had back in 1969.
The “Ahman Prayer”: Toward a Mormon Contemplative Practice
There is no genuine contemplative practice in Mormonism, an inner meditative gaze deep in consciousness. I offer a possible format for a uniquely Mormon practice.
Why Does Meditation Take so Long to see Results, to Awaken?
It seems that many people may give up on meditation or other contemplative practices because they do not provide quick results, particularly in our instant gratification culture today. It can take significant dedication and discipline in practice before we see any fruits. But there are other possibilities on the horizon that may help us along [...]
Christians are Made Christs by Anointing
The ritual practice of anointing makes the person that is anointed an "Anointed One," which is what the word Christ literally means, and by derivation is what being a Christian means. Cyril of Jerusalem in the fourth century noted of those who had been baptized and anointed, "You have been made Christs, by receiving the anti-type [symbol] of the Holy Spirit [the oil]" (Catecheses 21.1). Receiving the chrism they are ritualistically made Christs, being clothed in that Name and Identity, taking it upon themselves in actual fact as their own Eternal Identity, their True Name/Self.
Sam Harris talks with Michael Pollan about Psychedelics and Mystical-Spiritual Experience
This morning I listened to a podcast conversation between neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris and bestselling journalist and author Michael Pollan about Pollan's new book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.
The Neuroscience of Ego Dissolution and Transcendence
"To me, mystical or spiritual experience is what happens when your ego is put aside. Spiritual experience is about a sense of merging with something larger than you. And it's your ego that stands in the way. To the extent that you can subdue it, or just put it off to the side for a few hours, amazing things happen, and you realize that you are part of a larger energy..."