Fascinating reading, with appropriate cautions against inflationary speculation; here's an appropriately balanced perspective concerning the psychedelic experience, its potential, and some questions about metaphysics, which arise as a consequence of the extra-non-ordinary states of awareness arising from drinking the vine of souls. The ancient metaphysics postulating the World Soul may be instructive here. The World Soul is a mysterious and "perilous realm" (Tolkien's term), that exists between the purely spiritual realm (think of eternal principles like mathematics, which exists in a non-physical mental realm, yet grant tremendous powers to its discoverer/users); and the purely physical/material realm which does not appear to be animated, conscious, nor sentient. In ancient thought, the Earth Globe has a World Soul. Similarly, the human has a human soul. The human soul is like a drop of the World Soul. Like a single drop of ocean water, is to the ocean, the human soul is to the World Soul. Soul is the Divine Feminine principle, which connects, unites, relates things together. In scientific parlance, the human soul is a fractal of the world soul. Soul has three main components that work in tandem: soul involves emotions, instincts, and imagination. The soul is symbolized, in ancient alchemical thought, as a serpent. Wow! Is that illuminating and provocative. Fear can be a strong emotion which causes instinctual reactions in the body, and it ignites the imagination; sometimes to a dangerous degree. Therefore, it is a perilous realm, as fear can lead to collective madness, pogroms and the like. However, if the triad of emotions, instincts, and imagination are trained by conscious awareness, as results from meditation practice, i.e.- paying attention to the body's feelings, while not responding to the consequent emotions pulling us in one direction or another, and simply observing the imagination without impulsively reacting, than the Soul can be tamed, like a puppy. When the soul is tamed it evolves into the greatest faculty of human nature. It changes from the Serpent in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil tempting us to make poor decisions (an alchemical image of the spine and its organs of endocrine secretions producing strong emotional responses) transforming into the Sacred Kundalini- the Mother of Wisdom. The faculty of the imagination, which can reveal other worlds, as well as, siddhis of the mind, which are seemingly supernatural gifts that defy explanation by Modern Western Science. Clairvoyance, clairaudience, mind reading etc. These are all real experiences which are possible for the soul, because the very nature of the soul connects, unites, merges things. The Spirit, the mind, stands in a blind spot, and puzzles over the irrational gifts of the evolved soul. The evolved mind, having gained knowledge, comprehends the nature of soul and attains wisdom, which brings the rational scientific mind into balance with the irrational supernatural soul.
Fascinating reading, with appropriate cautions against inflationary speculation; here's an appropriately balanced perspective concerning the psychedelic experience, its potential, and some questions about metaphysics, which arise as a consequence of the extra-non-ordinary states of awareness arising from drinking the vine of souls. The ancient metaphysics postulating the World Soul may be instructive here. The World Soul is a mysterious and "perilous realm" (Tolkien's term), that exists between the purely spiritual realm (think of eternal principles like mathematics, which exists in a non-physical mental realm, yet grant tremendous powers to its discoverer/users); and the purely physical/material realm which does not appear to be animated, conscious, nor sentient. In ancient thought, the Earth Globe has a World Soul. Similarly, the human has a human soul. The human soul is like a drop of the World Soul. Like a single drop of ocean water, is to the ocean, the human soul is to the World Soul. Soul is the Divine Feminine principle, which connects, unites, relates things together. In scientific parlance, the human soul is a fractal of the world soul. Soul has three main components that work in tandem: soul involves emotions, instincts, and imagination. The soul is symbolized, in ancient alchemical thought, as a serpent. Wow! Is that illuminating and provocative. Fear can be a strong emotion which causes instinctual reactions in the body, and it ignites the imagination; sometimes to a dangerous degree. Therefore, it is a perilous realm, as fear can lead to collective madness, pogroms and the like. However, if the triad of emotions, instincts, and imagination are trained by conscious awareness, as results from meditation practice, i.e.- paying attention to the body's feelings, while not responding to the consequent emotions pulling us in one direction or another, and simply observing the imagination without impulsively reacting, than the Soul can be tamed, like a puppy. When the soul is tamed it evolves into the greatest faculty of human nature. It changes from the Serpent in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil tempting us to make poor decisions (an alchemical image of the spine and its organs of endocrine secretions producing strong emotional responses) transforming into the Sacred Kundalini- the Mother of Wisdom. The faculty of the imagination, which can reveal other worlds, as well as, siddhis of the mind, which are seemingly supernatural gifts that defy explanation by Modern Western Science. Clairvoyance, clairaudience, mind reading etc. These are all real experiences which are possible for the soul, because the very nature of the soul connects, unites, merges things. The Spirit, the mind, stands in a blind spot, and puzzles over the irrational gifts of the evolved soul. The evolved mind, having gained knowledge, comprehends the nature of soul and attains wisdom, which brings the rational scientific mind into balance with the irrational supernatural soul.