OPEN Foundation

Day: 26 August 2014

By its fruits? Mystical and visionary states of consciousness occasioned by entheogens

August 26, 2014 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Papers, Personality, Publications, Religious studies, Safety, Spirituality / By /

Abstract

A new era has emerged in research on entheogens largely due to clinical trials conducted at Johns Hopkins University and similar studies sponsored by the Council for Spiritual Practices. In these notes and queries, I reflect on implications of these developments for psychological studies of religion and on what this research may mean for Christian churches in the United States. I conclude that the aims and methods of this research fit well within Jamesian efforts of contemporary psychology of religion to assess religious practices by their fruits for life. Furthermore, some communitarian religious concerns that religious experiences occasioned by entheogens pose risks to the integrity of religious community are shown to be largely unfounded. However, it is suggested that certain risks for religious life posed by all investigations/interventions by knowledge experts—in particular, the colonization of the religious life world and the commodification of its practices—also attend these developments for Christian churches. Additionally, risks of individual harm in the use of entheogens appear to be significant and, therefore, warrant earnest ethical study.

Hummel, L. (2014). By its fruits? Mystical and visionary states of consciousness occasioned by entheogens. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 685-695. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12112
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Entheogens in a religious context: The case of the Santo Daime religious tradition

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Mystical experiences, Papers, Publications, Religious studies, Spirituality / By /

Abstract

This essay first draws upon the work of William James and others to propose a nonphysicalistic understanding of the relationship between the brain and consciousness in order to articulate a philosophical perspective that can understand entheogenic visionary/mystical experiences as something other than hallucinations. It then focuses on the Santo Daime tradition, a religious movement that began in Brazil in the early part of the twentieth century, to provide an example of the personal and social ramifications of taking an entheogen (ayahuasca) within a disciplined religious context. The essay claims that the Santo Daime is one example of a contemporary mystery school; gives a brief history of the development of this religion; discusses the key theological assumptions of this movement; investigates the important role played by visionary/mystical experiences within this religion; underscores the centrality of healing and spiritual transformation for members of this tradition; and ends with an examination of the crucial significance of spiritual discipline within this entheogenically based religion.

Barnard, G. W. (2014). Entheogens in a religious context: The case of the Santo Daime religious tradition. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 666-684. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12109
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Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, Consciousness, DMT, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Papers, Publications, Religious studies, Spirituality / By /

Abstract

Renewed research with entheogens (psychedelic substances) has been able to facilitate the occurrence of mystical forms of consciousness in healthy volunteers with a high degree of reliability. This article explores the potential significance of this development for religious scholars, especially those interested in the study of mysticism. The definition of “mystical consciousness” employed in this research is presented and differentiated from visionary/archetypal and other types of alternative mental states. The ways in which entheogens may be employed with skill and maximum safety are discussed. Implications for clarifying confusion in the study of mysticism are considered, along with suggestions for future religious research on this frontier of knowledge.

Richards, W.  A. (2014). Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 652-665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12108
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Entheogens, Mysticism, and Neuroscience

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Neuroscience, Papers, Phenomenology, Psychology, Publications, Religious studies, Spirituality / By /

Abstract

Entheogens or psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin are associated with mystical states of experience. Drug laws currently limit research, but important new work is under way at major biomedical research facilities showing that entheogens reliably occasion mystical experiences and thereby allow research into brain states during these experiences. Are drug-occasioned mystical experiences neurologically the same as more traditional mystical states? Are there phenomenological and theological differences? As this research goes forward and the public becomes more widely aware of its achievements, religious scholars and experts in science and religion will be called upon to interpret the philosophical and theological presuppositions that underpin this research and the significance of the findings that flow from it.

Cole-Turner, R. (2014). Entheogens, Mysticism, and Neuroscience. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 642-651. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12110
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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