Culture - Drugs and religion...

[dr. swim]

SWIM knows that many people feel more open minded and more skeptical about religion and authority when exposed to certain things like Cannabis and other psychadelics, or pretty much anything that encourages free thought.

For SWIM however, he does not feel this way. In fact, SWIM has a very fond personal love for God, not any God endorsed by any religious organization or culture, but the God that he has met first hand in his dreams and his experiences with mind altering chemicals. For SWIM, since he has been using Cannabis he has never felt more of a connection to not only the people around him, but also his personal God. SWIM occasionally enjoys attending mass while under the influence of cannabis, as SWIM's emotional and spiritual feelings are stimulated when he is high.

SWIM wants to know if anyone else feels that psychadelics strengthen spiritual and religious feelings?

[crackcityrocker]

well, swim was an atheist before he started doing psychedelics. this isnt to say that he feels LSD and such are inherently spiritual or religious in nature, but opens the mind to different possibilities regarding spirituality. i think some people will view certain organized religions and/or authority in a more negative light, but i dont think that necessarily means they will become skeptical of a god existing. just because someone may become disillusioned with certain aspects of human authority doesnt mean they will reject the idea of a higher spiritual authority. swim hopes hes getting his point across right, hes not in his right mind and isnt explaining it to me very well

[SullyGuy]

My old friend and God is back, better than before thanks to weed.

[Shroomtastic]

magic mushrooms convinced swim of a higher being.
swim thinks that these mind altering substances help you perceive the more spiritual aspects of or physical world.

[Nature Boy]

As someone who didn't believe in the supernatural before experimenting with drugs, SWIM can tell you that they have no direct effect whatsoever when it comes to embracing theism. Drugs enhance emotions, whether these emotions pertain to the spiritual is up to the individual. Drug-induced states can often bring about sensations that seem supernatural or other-worldly but these states can all be explained through reason and logic more thoroughly in time.

The general idea, however, seems to be that drugs, psychedelics in particular, open the user's mind towards the universal connectivity we as self-conscious organisms feel. We are indeed intrinsically linked with nature through our DNA. This realisation can be seen as divine revelation or an awe-inspiring experience not necessarily having to do with religions, gods or invisible pink unicorns.