Back

Selected ressource details

-
Back

The Altered State of Consciousness and the Spiritual Experience.

Abstract

Many believe that it is with the use of entheogens that one can reach the deepest levels of consciousness, thus learning new mental capacities of human understanding. All entheogenic forms are found in naturally occurring substances like plants, fungi, and animals. An interesting side note is the relationship between dimethyltryptamine (DMT), possibly the most powerful entheogenic substance, and the dated theories of dualist Rene Descartes. Descartes strongly believed it was the pineal gland that was the centerpiece of interaction between the mental and physical aspects. He believed this gland was the seat of the soul and held the responsibility of connecting the physical and mental aspects that create each individual. It is not the actual entheogenic substance, such as DMT, itself that is the mental event. It is the qualia that the substance helps each individual create that stands as the mental aspect. It is speculated that when at normal waking consciousness, those who have past experience with meditation have higher level of awareness and understanding than those who are unfamiliar with these practices. Meditative techniques and other mind enhancing practices may give one the ability to produce more natural DMT during normal waking consciousness, thus allowing them to have a constant deeper level of understanding, insight, and awareness.