Do All Religions Practice Altered States of Mind


When I was a mayor, a steady stream of people called, stopped by or wrote letters (in pre email days) passing along their experiences or information they had heard. I miss being tuned in to so many different parts of a community.

I remember hearing that a group belonging to one prominent Pentecostal church in the city engaged in sleep deprivation. By not sleeping on weekends they would arrive at some kind of delirious state of mind and closeness to their deity they could not attain otherwise. I also heard of less extreme versions of what I would call "mood alteration" like burning incense. More common is "mood" music dialed up at crucial moments in a service like the closing prayer. I once went to a Native American "sweat" in which you get uncomfortably hot, maybe light headed, while the leader asks you to be introspective about your life and shortcomings. Native use of peyote is considered a religious experience.

From what I gather, none of these tricks to play on emotions is like the substances labeled in the 1960's as psychedelics. I was amazed to learn use of at least one psychedelic substance is making a big come back and is being served up in what are called churches. The psychedelic experience is treated as a religious experience.

The substance is called ayahuasca. It is consumed as a tea. Afterward, one's mind and behavior take different and unexpected directions. Many throw up. That can be followed by periods of euphoric happiness and well being. Those anxious to try the experience include people with seemingly incurable depression and anxiety. Many report a "spiritual" experience.

Ayahuasca comes from Peru and is widely sold in Mexico. The demand for it has gone through the roof and it is reported many new "churches" have started in large cities. 

The question, of course, is whether this is a new religion, a new branch of Christianity or something entirely different. Sleep deprivation is not as extreme but it is not altogether different either.  

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