Interesting conversation -- will check out Andrew's work. Listening to this, I wondered if either of you guys have tried ayahuasca? If you get a deep trip from it, you often see a giant snake, which is considered the "spirit" of the ayahuasca vine -- a female, "mother", spirit. It's incredible (I've seen her). Some interpret certain Bible stories (e.g. Moses and the burning bush) as being about some sort of ayahuasca trip. (There's even a fringe belief that Jesus is actually a metaphor for magic mushrooms, which I doubt, but I can believe he and his cult were tripping on them or other psychedelics, and there's evidence that early Christian cults did use mind-altering substances, see the book The Immortality Key).
I believe the stoned ape theory -- it makes sense to me that the story of Adam and Even (and Pandora's Box) could be the story of how human brains evolved with the use of psychedelics. For example, childbirth being painful as the punishment could be interpreted as our heads / brains becoming bigger, causing pain in childbirth.
Regarding Ancient Greece and the Hebrews and turning the snake (historically associated with the Goddess) into a villain, Leonard Shlain argues in The Alphabet Versus the Goddess that this had to do with alphabet literacy being introduced into civilizations. I have issues with his theory, but I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in that history, and I summarize it briefly in this essay (and explain why I think Shlain's theory in the book is incorrect).
Haha, I'm a big fan of magic mushrooms, they can heal a lot of stuff if used carefully. Ayahuasca is insanely powerful, you only want to do it if you're in a ceremony setting with someone who knows what they're doing. It actually feels like a snake is slithering through your body when you're on it, searching for damage and healing it. It's very intense.
It's hard to stay an atheist after a big dose of magic mushrooms or ayahuasca.
Ernst Juenger supposedly started experimenting with psychedelics in his 80s or 90s, so if I make it that long and I still haven't found a good cult leader, I'll give it a shot.
Interesting conversation -- will check out Andrew's work. Listening to this, I wondered if either of you guys have tried ayahuasca? If you get a deep trip from it, you often see a giant snake, which is considered the "spirit" of the ayahuasca vine -- a female, "mother", spirit. It's incredible (I've seen her). Some interpret certain Bible stories (e.g. Moses and the burning bush) as being about some sort of ayahuasca trip. (There's even a fringe belief that Jesus is actually a metaphor for magic mushrooms, which I doubt, but I can believe he and his cult were tripping on them or other psychedelics, and there's evidence that early Christian cults did use mind-altering substances, see the book The Immortality Key).
I believe the stoned ape theory -- it makes sense to me that the story of Adam and Even (and Pandora's Box) could be the story of how human brains evolved with the use of psychedelics. For example, childbirth being painful as the punishment could be interpreted as our heads / brains becoming bigger, causing pain in childbirth.
Regarding Ancient Greece and the Hebrews and turning the snake (historically associated with the Goddess) into a villain, Leonard Shlain argues in The Alphabet Versus the Goddess that this had to do with alphabet literacy being introduced into civilizations. I have issues with his theory, but I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in that history, and I summarize it briefly in this essay (and explain why I think Shlain's theory in the book is incorrect).
https://thecassandracomplex.substack.com/p/the-androgynous-mind
I have not tried any drugs. I've been waiting for a cult leader to initiate me!
Haha, I'm a big fan of magic mushrooms, they can heal a lot of stuff if used carefully. Ayahuasca is insanely powerful, you only want to do it if you're in a ceremony setting with someone who knows what they're doing. It actually feels like a snake is slithering through your body when you're on it, searching for damage and healing it. It's very intense.
It's hard to stay an atheist after a big dose of magic mushrooms or ayahuasca.
Ernst Juenger supposedly started experimenting with psychedelics in his 80s or 90s, so if I make it that long and I still haven't found a good cult leader, I'll give it a shot.