Thomas, long
time no hear. I was curious to get your take on something that I'm not sure
what to make of, intellectually and emotionally: the increasingly popular idea
that Western spirituality, but more concretely, Greek spirituality is rooted in
psychedelic experience. It seems that the Eleusinian mysteries in particular are
now being identified as quasi-mushroom cults, while Shamanic transformation is
also more and more considered a product of substance use. Again, not sure what
to make of it. I mean, would there be no Plato, Empedocles or Pythagoras without
mushrooms? Is that the idea? Strange. Anyways, hope all is well.
Johannes
...........,
Sorry for the delay in replying. I don't think that Greek spirituality is rooted in psychedelic experience, though you are right that scholars are trying to identify the opposite to be the case. They've been doing this for years, and particularly since the sixties. That's anthropology for you: just imagine how it must have been, rather than read the texts carefully.
It is true that the ancient Greeks and Romans used drugs as part of religious ritual in some cases (there is a contributed chapter by Robert Graves in William Sargant's 'Battle for the Mind', which is worth a read) But that does not mean that religion or spirituality emerges from the use of psychedelics. The point of using drugs enables those who run the rituals to show that what you think you understand and what you think you see might be quite different. That was the significance of drug use all the way up to the romantic poets and beyond. Trying to understand Plato, Empedocles and Pythagoras as the product of the use of psychedelic mushrooms however is a complete joke.
Hope this is useful.
Best, Thomas
...........,
Sorry for the delay in replying. I don't think that Greek spirituality is rooted in psychedelic experience, though you are right that scholars are trying to identify the opposite to be the case. They've been doing this for years, and particularly since the sixties. That's anthropology for you: just imagine how it must have been, rather than read the texts carefully.
It is true that the ancient Greeks and Romans used drugs as part of religious ritual in some cases (there is a contributed chapter by Robert Graves in William Sargant's 'Battle for the Mind', which is worth a read) But that does not mean that religion or spirituality emerges from the use of psychedelics. The point of using drugs enables those who run the rituals to show that what you think you understand and what you think you see might be quite different. That was the significance of drug use all the way up to the romantic poets and beyond. Trying to understand Plato, Empedocles and Pythagoras as the product of the use of psychedelic mushrooms however is a complete joke.
Hope this is useful.
Best, Thomas
