I don’t know if this was a true situation, the story itself
was fictional. My first reaction was
that it was cheap to rely on chemicals for special effects to enhance a
spiritual ritual. But then I began
questioning my reaction.
In primal days, the shamans or magicians in the tribes would
have used chemicals, herbs as part of the mystical experience. Does that make their spiritual experiences
invalid? Does it make them nothing more
than a drugged-out trip? Modern day
nuns, Buddhist monks and other spiritualists have gone in MRI machines and invoked
spiritual trances by repetitive chanting and it’s been shown that specific
centers of the brain light up. Centers
associated with significance, memory and euphoria. Are their trances nothing more than random
brain firings?
I believe there is more to existence than physical
existence. I believe in a spiritual side
to life. I believe that people can
connect with that spiritual side in a meaningful and inspirational way. The question is how to reconcile the physical
evidence with spiritual experience?
Another book I’ve read asks the question: are you a shaman
or a showman? And the answer was
yes. Because every showman must imitate
the genuine, therefore they must understand at least a little of the
genuine. And every shaman must have some
of the showman because special effects make it easier for people to
accept. People need a little bit of help
to get out of their comfort zone.
It would be comforting if life was an either/or
proposition. Either something is false
or it is true. But that’s not the way it
works. Things are often intermingled and
complicated. We crave simple answers and
simple solutions despite all the evidence of history. Humans are incredibly good at patterning and
categorizing. We like things to fit into
nice little niches. It makes our lives
easier to understand. But not necessarily better.
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