Why Am I Not Surprised?

"High" on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week.

Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.

"As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics," Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday.

Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the "burning bush," suggested Shanon, who said he himself has dabbled with such substances.

"The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a classic phenomenon," he said citing the example of religious ceremonies in the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to "see music."

He mentioned his own experience when he used ayahuasca, a powerful psychotropic plant, during a religious ceremony in Brazil's Amazon forest in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," Shanon said.

He said the psychedelic effects of ayahuasca were comparable to those produced by concoctions based on bark of the acacia tree, that is frequently mentioned in the Bible.

****** whoops. I posted this because I find things like this funny. But Dr. Datanah took the opportunity to make some interesting counter-points so I'm adding them here:

I read your latest post on biblical drug shenanigans, and I want to comment on the many and varied types of mystical experiences. (see below a brief look at some of them)

At the outset I want to take task with the inherent criticism of the Israeli cognitive psychologist who, coming from his empiricist position, turns out to be an intellectual reductionist who dismisses the power and consciousness-expanding properties of the true mystical experience.

I concede that the problem with many drug induced experiences is that they are transitory and do not promote genuine shifts in consciousness, but that is often the problem with the intention and consciousness of the people going into the experience, and not with the mystical experiences themselves. And in defense of the indigenous traditions that use and honor ayahuasca and other plant "teachers" in controlled sacred ceremony, mystical experiences induced this way can, and have through the centuries, had profound wonderful lasting effects on the consciousness of the people involved. Please note too that the "religious" interpretation of Judaism is worlds away from the deeply spiritual experiences of the Jewish mystics ....and that is true of all traditions.

As for the drug criticism, we have to question whether it really matters whether an experience is mediated or not (e.g. drug or trance induced.) Surely it is the wonder of the experience itself, and the beauty of the connections and interrelationships and understanding that come as a result of the experience that are important?

I am convinced that as we come to know the richness of life through our understanding and acceptance of the gift of the experiences and perspectives of others, we shall come to an honoring place. We are all, in all our varied and complex experiences of the world, intimate and ongoing participants in the creation of the universe. When we remember who we are, however we get there, we will meet each other from the beauty of the wider place, and create a greater society.

“In this is the lovingness of the spiritual family.” (Ibn Arabi)

Mystical experiences Explored

Many mystics, when they relate their experience, talk in terms of having a direct experience of Ultimate reality.

Its important to note that many traditions acknowledge an ontological creation in the spontaneity of diversity. This ontological slant has shaped large portions of the world’s mystical literature. In the Judeo Christian religions, God is seen as the Ultimate Reality, the uncaused creator, ground of all existence, excellence and goodness. God is experienced as a personal force in the world and in human life, but is also felt to be ultimately beyond human comprehension.

Many mystics describe their experience of Oneness in terms of a perennial philosophy which is a term coined after a book by Aldous Huxley, and is used to define the One Essential Unity behind the diversity of life.

When mystics subscribe to the idea of a perennial philosophy, they experience their union with the same Absolute, whatever their religion. For example, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Head of the Sufi Order of the West Sufi, is talking about the One Absolute God when he speaks of “That which transpires behind That which appears." In the Sufi experience of “fana al fana” all contradictions disappear.

For Advaita Vedantans, God, Ishvara, Brahman is also non-dual unity. It is the substratum of all phenomena, the Self, or Atman that is Brahman. It is not to be mistaken for that which changes in this time/space dimension, and neither is it separate from it, much as the wave is not separate from the ocean. The reality of Self is the reality of all Being-ness. It is the substratum of existence that gives the ever-changing world its reality. It is experienced as solid, calm, loving, expansive, balanced, benign, ultimate and intimately familiar.

There have been Christian mystics who know Christ as themselves. The Christian mystic Meister Eckhart experienced himself in a state of pure consciousness or transparency as the transcendent. Eckhart returned from a state of pure consciousness or transparency-as-the-Transcendent, “as a translucent medium of expression for that Transcendent.” It was from this place that he could express his life in terms of the creativity, compassion and justice that is the very nature of the Ultimate Transcendent.

Buber spoke of the community in-between as being the true place of spiritual realization. Some scholars state that the type of mysticism that a mystic experiences is dependant on the religious or cultural context of the mystic. They feel that religious communities exert a powerful influence on the kind of mystical experience that a mystic has, as well as a way in which the mystic responds to that experience. They insist that it is a mistake to see the mystic’s experience as disconnected from his particular culture and history, but rather suggests that the type of experience will be contingent on it.

Others suggest however, that the mystical drive to live in the presence of God is in fact to be found at the core of all religions. They note doctrinal differences as well as differences in symbolism in the experience of mystics of the differing religions, but, nevertheless suggest that there is an identifying moment in which all differences converge. They suggest that to the extent that mystical states are all described as ecstatic, and transitory, they are all identical, but that they differ only in the interpretation of the experience.

And what of those mystical traditions that do not find an essence that exists independently of this immanent world? Madyamaka Buddhism, for example, promotes the knowing of no-self. Reality is seen to be ultimately processive, non-static, non-stable, non-substantiative, and not fixed. Nothing can be found that is ultimate in the flux of things. What is important in Buddhism, and in the training of the Buddhist mystic is not the search for the ultimate reality but for the relief of suffering. Both Madhyamaka and Yogacara Buddhism state that there is nothing that is not empty and therefore there cannot be any underlying reality that is fixed. Yogacarans do acknowledge the quasi-substantial reality that is seen by the ignorant self, and the Madhyamaka insists that one should abandon the quest for ultimately reality including the idea of Dharma and enlightenment. And then what you are left with is the changing nature of things, and the pragmatism and compassion with which one engages a life well lived.

Ken Wilber in his Spectrum of Consciousness creates a hierarchical map of mystical experience. According to him there are different levels of psychological and spiritual development. He calls the different levels holons, which are levels that are both whole entities unto themselves and that also incorporate lower levels, much as nested boxes include smaller boxes. He sees the ultimate stage of mystical realization as non-dual mysticism that includes all other stages. For Wilber mysticism therefore is an evolutionary process. He notes at least four different stages of transpersonal evolution. These he calls the psychic, the subtle, causal and no-dual stages. Each stage, or fulcrum as he calls them, has a corresponding form of mysticism – nature mysticism, deity mysticism, formless mysticism and non-dual mysticism. An important part of his theory is that each fulcrum has different cognitions that support different moral stances and different senses of the self. Wilber sees the great wisdom traditions of the world as providing a map for the different stages of growth.

• In the psychic stage there may be an increase in paranormal experiences, such as transcendental phenomena including shamanic visions and voyages, the disclosure of subtle energies in the body, and spontaneous spiritual awakenings, but the defining characteristic of this stage is awareness beyond that of the individual ego. There may be identification with the natural world, where there is a profound experience of a union with nature that Wilber calls the eco-noetic self. According to Wilber at this stage, one does not identify oneself as a strand in the web of life, but one experiences oneself as the entire web.
  
• In the subtle stage, mystical perceptions may include interior luminosities and sounds, the experience of archetypal seed forms, subtle bliss currents, and expansive affective states of love and compassion. It is here that Wilber finds that individuals experience archetypal forms that correspond with their culture for example a Christian might experience an encounter with Christ, and a Buddhist with the bliss body of the Buddha. Wilber sees these archetypal figures as the first forms to emerge out of emptiness.
• In the Causal stage as the Witness touches the very source of being, no objects arise in consciousness at all. This, Wilber says, is not a state of mere blank, but a fullness of Being that is both empty and full. In this state the mystic experiences freedom from identification with time and space. There is no separation at all between the Witness and that which is witnessed. The seer can’t see the seen. It is in this state that Wilber suggests there is total union with the ground or essence of Being.
• The final non-dual stage is not technically a separate stage, but rather the reality of all states. It includes and transcends all states of being. Here consciousness and its display are one.

It is important to note that experiences of so called lower levels after a person has experienced higher levels are not only common occurrences, but in fact are important for spiritual transformation. The spiraling path leads the ego to meet and integrate lower repressed material in the psyche that is important for spiritual growth.

Mysticism can be said to consist of two domains. One domain of phenomena that can be caused by human effort, such as drug inducement or trance dancing, and one that cannot be caused by human effort.

Whatever the circumstances that engender the mystical experience, one should note that mystical experience is at heart one of pure receptivity and the perfect correspondence with the essence of things.

Interesting points, no? Does it matter that drugs can induce what people interpret as religious experiences? For that matter, does it matter that scientists can now stimulate certain areas of the brain and trigger a religious experience? They are still our experiences. Subjective, yes, but what else are we to go on? And is it all part of a beautiful and complex creation? Does the fact that there may be biological reasons for a transcendent experience make them any less valid or beautiful? Does knowing that it is a bio-chemical reaction in your body make you love your partner any less? Should it?

I think at this point, for me, it is like watching a beautiful sunset. Because I know the tricks of refraction and diffusion of light in the atmosphere, do I enjoy it any more than someone that just 'thinks it is pretty?' If not, then who cares? At some point, you've just got to enjoy the beauty.

A Trained Professional Sees a Pattern Here

I received an email from Dr. Datanah that may help some of you in processing your experience:

I have been reading the stories you are posting on the website, and I know I have already sent you information on both schitzophrenia and the pre/trans fallacy ( where subconscious motivations are confused with integrative and mystical structures....where because mystical states and psychosis can have similar syptoms, many people do not know how to discriminate between whether the state is one of pre-egoic fantasy, pre-conceptual feelings and pre-personal desires, or whether the experience is genuinely one of trans-egoic liberation.)

This study has been part of the focus of my Doctoral studies and as I read more of people's experiences of "Angelo's " story I have become more convinced that we have been dealing not only with his painful childhood, and confused desperate attempt to earn a living but also with pretty severe mental illness.

I sent you the information on schizophrenia a couple of weeks ago after I became concerned by the content of some of the descriptions of his behavior ( paranoia, violence, appalling lack of hygiene, delusions, of grandeur, etc.) in the interviews, and after a conversation I had with Frolic -- during which he told me that Angelo was starting to idealize the experience of the sanyasin, romanticizing the homeless people walking the beaches of Hawaii.

I read people's constant questioning about things that just did not seem rational and consistent to them, and I really think it would be most helpful if people could understand that it is most likely that we were, in fact, dealing with mental illness. I know many people would like to hold on to their hurt and anger, and also to the idea that Angelo was originally truly inspired and did not start out trying to be hurtful, but if they understood that much of his behavior is consistent with pretty severe mental illness, they will not only have a context for their confusion, but also, I hope, allow for some compassion.

I know you mentioned that you would probably post the information on schizophrenia at some point. I personally think that doing it sooner rather than later would be helpful.

Dr Datanah refers to an email she sent me a week or so prior to this email which I am posting here:

I was reading through your site and was struck by the 9-11 piece. It occurred to me that some of Angelo's symptoms are consistent with Paranoid Schizophrenia. Significantly:

Symptoms may include:

Delusions, feelings of persecution; delusions of grandeur, in which a person may believe he or she is a famous or important figure; depression; excessive sleep, insomnia, or both; hyperactivity and/or inactivity; an inability to concentrate or cope; extreme religiousness or an obsession with the occult; unexpected hostility; ; frequent loss of possessions; inability to maintain normal hygiene; rapid weight loss; extreme reactions to criticism; escape attempts manifested in frequent moves or hitchhiking; inability to cry or excessive crying; early signs of migraines; an unusual sensitivity to stimuli; an inability to express joy or inappropriate laughter; bizarre behavior; a refusal to touch people or objects, a decision to shave one's head or body hair; self-mutilation; excessive blinking or staring without blinking; and/or rigid stubbornness; attributing special significance to numbers or letters; Hallucinations and Illusions.

Interesting, and somewhat disturbing, many people with sociopathic tendencies also tend to be highly magnetic personalities.

In my professional opinion, so many of Angelo's symptoms are classically psychotic, that I think that the elevation to an "enlightened state" is an uneducated pre/trans fallacy mistake.

Read here for further information.

For myself, I find this very interesting and insightful. And I hope it is helpful (as intended).

Note: The article linked to is available through a subscription, but you can also Google information about the Pre/Trans fallacy to which Dr. Datanah refers.

Dr. Datanah and the Guru

I thought you and your readers might find it helpful to read the perspectives of some leading teachers and psychologists, who have immersed themselves in the study of healthy Student/Guru relationships. They give some key insights into what defines a healthy relationship with a Guru (versus an unhealthy relationship.)

John Welwood

When John Welwood, the psychologist, speaks of the psychology of the teacher/student relationship, his most salient point is that the whole of the success and validity of the relationship depends on who the teachers and who the students are, and on what each of them is willing to bring into the relationship. He notes that the difficulty in the West for such a paradigm is compounded by the fact that we are encouraged to be highly individualistic, and we do not have a paradigm for systems of authority that we trust. Besides authority figures who are not to be trusted, very often we have had spiritual leaders who are distant and disconnected from our lives, if not downright abusive. Therefore, as Westerners, if we decide to accept a teacher or guru to lead us along a spiritual path, we are inclined to initiate that relationship from a guarded position.

Welwood talks of the role of a good spiritual teacher or guru as that of a clear mirror, that should hold up and reflect the true nature of Awareness. Looking into a clear mirror, the student should be able to see his Essential Self. As Welwood so eloquently said, our egos live in a samsaric mind of constriction, limitation, inflation and pain, but our souls, crave the freedom of the awake mind.

It is the love for the guru and the freedom that he/she represents, that triggers the unfolding of the spiritual journey. Welwood characterizes that love as being one of openness and warmth. These characteristics are important as the student undergoes the onslaught to the ego that is the work of the spiritual journey. Initially in the journey, the neurosis of the ego is heightened. This is important because the ego needs to be seen, in order to be purified. In these moments we see the worst aspects of ourselves. We see the places that are closed to love and those that crave it. We see the nature of our defenses that arose due to our early wounding. And it is the unconditional loving of the guru that allows us to be truly seen, and that enables us to. As Welwood sees it, this relationship is much like the therapeutic relationship, and provides recompense for the inadequacies of our primary relationships as young children with our early caregivers. As this neurosis is allowed to come to light, and hopefully be released, there arises what the Tibetan Guru Chogyum Trungpa called, “co-emergent wisdom”. The soul needs unconditional love in order to unfold. The teacher, in Welwood’s words, “melts us because of the possibility of openness.”

Of course one of the difficulties we experience in the student/teacher relationship is that we project onto the teacher the parent or authority figure that was responsible for our early wounding. Some of the ways we do that are by trying to please or seduce them, or by rebelling against them. We do this because we don’t believe that we are lovable just as we are. If this is the case we try to be more of what we think we should be. Initially we may project the good parent on them, and if they disappoint us, we see them as manipulative or abusive. Of course there is a chance that they are, but it is the characteristic of the judging mind that engages in splitting defenses. Welwood notes that the mind that judges is constantly flipping between what it likes and does not like.

This prevents a person from truly being present to reality.

Another issue that may arise is the confusion between submission to a teacher and surrender to a teaching. Submission, Welwood says, is the response of an ego that feels a lack of self-worth. It operates from a place of weakness and fear, and depends on the teacher for its sense of self worth. Surrender on the other hand, involves allowing oneself to be really seen with all the frailties of being human. Spiritual teachers are meant to represent the Absolute Truth. It is said that they take on the karma of the students, and by extension the world, which is a tremendous responsibility. Of course it is important to be aware of the fact, as Welwood points out, that it is the student who grants permission for the teacher to act as an authority on their behalf. Naturally it is hoped that the student has a strong enough sense of self to be aware of what it is that they want in a teacher. This is not always the case however, and I shall discuss a little further on the pitfalls and problems which can arise if the sense of self is deficient or compromised.

Angeles Ariens

Angeles Ariens also talks of the psychology of the teacher/student relationship, although she uses archetypal metaphors to describe the relationship. She has studied the relationship cross culturally and talks of the role of the teacher as an important part of the wisdom transmission of the cultures. She described the relationship between student and teacher as an important “ crucible of learning”. The crucible, she said, should be one of mutual recognition and equity that also embodies the qualities of respect, honesty, vulnerability, curiosity, openness and trust. This, she contends, allows the intimacy of the relationship to foster the best possible growth. She describes the relationship as a “mandorla”, that is, the transpersonal ‘between’ that is created when two people come together in a way that allows them both to go beyond perception, projections and transference. The self worth in the student needs to be stronger than the self-critic for work to be possible.

I think it is imperative that a teacher recognize when the student needs the developmental work of ego strengthening in order to be able to integrate the teachings into their lives in a practical way. The old cliché, ‘you need to have an ego to lose an ego’, has a lot of wisdom to it. When a person has not the inner strength of a well-grounded psyche, and embarks on spiritual work, there is a tendency towards spiritual bypassing. I see spiritual work as a psycho/spiritual continuum, and it is very important that there is a healthy ego structure that can support the deconstruction of the false ego self without further defensive splitting taking place. Ariens talks of the importance of walking the “ mystical path with practical feet.”

Ariens also talks about the four taboos that are found cross culturally and their corresponding values. Because spiritual work involves leaving behind what is comfortable and familiar, adherence to these taboos are imperative in order to maintain a relationship of trust and safety. The taboos are against murder, stealing, lying and incest. Their corresponding values are of valuing the gift of life, respecting what people have created for themselves, respecting integrity and authenticity, and respecting emotionally bonded kinship ties. Work with spiritual teachers, she said, should be life affirming.

Work should ideally be engaged with the student who does not idealize the teacher, as idealization constricts the energy. It is best engaged in a spirit of awe, curiosity, innocence, humility and wonder with an allowing for the primordial terrors that often surface as part of the process. Work should be able to contain the student’s feelings of being stuck, resistant, righteous, struggling over power and their judgments, with the recognition that they are part of the process.

Ariens also mentioned the clarity that is necessary in order to recognize when it is time to leave the teacher. A good teacher never creates dependency, as the teaching should be about freedom. When students are ready to be individuated away from the teacher, they should be able to reflect upon the teachings with gratitude, track their growth through the process, have awareness of the places they had been most challenged, and make reparations to themselves and others for anything that still needs to be mended.

Lee Lozowick

Lee Lozowick embodies the power of the guru. Using humor as a tool, and going for the ego jugular, he modeled the teaching of shocking people out of their conditioned minds. He feels that it is precisely because we operate from our conditioned mind, that people need teachers.

Lozowick notes that confusion arises when we reference what we don’t understand out of the place of our neurosis. He also talks about the importance of being aware of transference and counter-transference issues between student and teacher, and stressed the qualities of discipline, and perspective, and the willingness to do the difficult work. Most emotional pain, he said, is self-created. The answers to our anguish and questions can come through us when we are free of our neurosis. A good guru, or teacher should be the catalyst for this to happen.

Robert Sveboda

Robert Sveboda talks about the qualities that are important of a good guru. These are the ability to lead by example, and the capacity to admit it when making mistakes. The guru’s purpose is to enhance the training of the student with appropriate commentary, offer knowledge and wisdom, hold disciples through lifetimes of learning, and ultimately, through love, teach the student to fall in love with the Ultimate Reality that the student sees mirrored in the guru.

Lama Palden

The Tibetan Lama, Lama Palden sees the guru in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition as someone who has a profound love and trust of the Dharma, and whose path it is to empower the student to individuate. A good teacher, she said, is a “stepping stone or doorway towards realization that the guru is within”.

She talked about the problem with gurus who are not still working on their own development. The false guru maintains the dynamic of parent/child projection. She too notes that it’s very important for the teacher to love and honor the teachings, and not get trapped in issues of power and sex, or to be too isolated.

Ford Green

Ford Green, a lawyer involved with anti-cult litigation, speaks primarily about the dynamics that can go wrong in unhealthy guru/student relationships. Very often he contends, this relationship is marred by both the unhealthy projections of the student and the unhealthy narcissism of the guru. Students come to the relationship with a deep sense of inadequacy, a feeling that something is missing in their lives, and desire that the guru help them. Unhealthy gurus are looking for ego gratification and often have power issues. They prey on the vulnerability of their students and are consequently destructive both to themselves and their students.

Some warning signs that the relationship is unhealthy are:

1. Whether the guru misleads the student about the group’ s purpose
2. Whether the guru interprets what the student thinks
3. Whether the guru denigrates the student’s interpretations;
4. Whether students are segregated within the community; Isolation, removes a person from their normal reference points and puts them in an environment that is controlled by the group.
   
5. Whether they are isolated from society and deprived of sleep and protein
6. Whether they are allowed dissension
   
7. Whether they are subjected to peer pressure.
8. In unhealthy groups, reinforcement to group norms and behaviors are stressed,
9. Fear and guilt are used as manipulative tools to get a student to adhere to the group ideals. Students who find themselves in this environment and are coming from a deep neediness for external validation are easily manipulated and brainwashed.

Andrew Harvey and the Direct Path

It is from the place of pain and disappointment experienced with the guru whom he had adored as an incarnation of the Divine Mother, and whom he felt betrayed the love and trust he put in her, that Andrew Harvey came to his chosen spiritual path. This path, which is the path that he passionately expounds as the only healthy one to take, is the inner or direct path sans guru. He equates gurus with narcissism, manipulation, dogma and self- serving shenanigans.

Harvey sees the guru/student relationship as a crutch that stops the student from discovering his own truth. For Harvey, the whole guru system is an outdated patriarchal one that he derides as “ dazzlingly, baroquely hypocritical.” In rebuttal to the argument that gurus have an objectivity that allows them a clear perspective from which to point out a student’s ego defenses, he contends that life, in its profound wisdom, will bring ego lessons anyway. As to the idea of having a tried and true spiritual path to follow, Harvey says that the spiritual journey “ is a pathless land, and therefore there is no path one can take to get there. “

Harvey does however acknowledge that there are wonderful teachers that can illuminate the way, without taking upon themselves the grandiose role of savior. One of the people that Harvey sees as a genuine teacher was Father Bede Griffiths, the Benedictine monk, who warned him about the flaws he saw in the guru system. Griffiths warned of gurus who take credit for the projection placed upon them by the souls in longing, and he warned of the manipulations by black magicians and occultists who abuse the siddhis that are a natural part of the process of spiritual awakening, for the purpose their own ego gain. Harvey contends that it is all too common for gurus to get tempted by the telepathic powers and manipulative capacities that arise as one awakens to a wider, deeper consciousness.

The beauty of the direct path, as Harvey defines it, is that if one takes it in the spirit of awe and humility, seeing divinity in every shape and form, practicing daily an awareness of one’s projections and one’s shadow side, knowing that enlightenment is an ongoing never-ending process in an infinite universe, then one can bring in the glory of an unmediated experience of God.