I'm very interested in the concept of religious experiences induced through mind-altering substances. What is it about that altered state that makes a person so clearly susceptible to experiencing 'the divine?' Is it merely that a person associates such strange new experiences with something magical, and associates the magical with the divine? Or is there really something in there at the base of human consciousness that's easier to 'tap into' while in an altered state?
How would anybody be able to know the difference between a real vision and a trip, if there is one? Don't visions feature prominently in religions even as mainstream as Christianity? What makes those visions 'more valid' than others, according to critics? I don't think God dwells in some sort of hallucinogenic higher dimension, but it's fun to contemplate the possibilities. (For legal and academic purposes, of course, my interest in this is purely hypothetical, and I've no real intent of experiencing this personally.)
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