I listen to each episode many times. I commented on many episodes in posts at the Egodeath Yahoo Group. I wish to copy some of those commentaries to this WordPress site.
todo: link to the Egodeath Yahoo Group digest pages posts.
Rules for Unruly Guests at Banquet – for the Horses (Bouncers)
You know how academic symposiums are; there has to be guards to kick out the unruly academics who’ve had too much at the wine bar.
Any discussion or speculation about my personal info is out of bounds.
Strap the guest to chair, force-feed the guest selected paragraphs from the main article, with a spoon, when they try to grossly misrepresent the Egodeath theory and lump every philosophical position in the universe into a giant dismissive undifferentiated heap. Discuss SPECIFIC WRITTEN PASSAGES especially from the “official published” articles. (Acknowledgments: wrmspirit’s idea)
Try searching WordPress for “episode 3” or another episode, with quotes; eg this prefab link: https://egodeaththeory.wordpress.com/?s=%22episode+3%22 Be sure to note the date of the podcast, to help pick a search-hit. For example, Episode 3 is:
Date Formats
May 8, 2016 Monthname daynumber, year. YouTube format.
08/05/2016 Digest posting-header format. Within a Digest page.
2016-05-08 Digest page-title format. Returned by WordPress Search.
05/08/2016 – U.S. format, not used. mm/dd/yyyy.
The the Egodeath Yahoo Group thread consistently has subject line “Transcendent Knowledge podcast commentary” so you can try Search at WordPress with quotes around that; the prefab link to issue that search is below:
So far (March 18, 2022) my commentary is in the form of two .mp3 files that were temporarily available (I’m still able to re-upload them): I played the podcast, paused, commented (in my poor, hoarse, weak, evening voice), then resumed.
Then I made a 2nd .mp3 which was only my own speech excerpts from the above recording. I find the 2nd, excerpts-only recording hard to listen to, without the context that I’m commenting on, combined with weak, hoarse evening voice which impedes communication.
I have inserted just a few short comments in the transcription, so far. The transcription lacks timestamps and doesn’t indicate who is speaking, Max or Cyb.
Planning my next podcast, on the confluence of 3 top topics:
Basics of the Phase 1 Core Egodeath theory (not analogical; just Psychedelic Eternalism & Control transformation).
Phase 2 Egodeath theory (metaphor, religious history; especially the “analogical” of APEC’ ie the first component of “Analogical Psychedelic Eternalism & Control-transformation”).
The future of entheogen scholarship.
Check Idea Development page 13.
Episode 27, January 31, 2021 – Mystics
Transcendent Knowledge Podcast, episode 27
The Mystic Episode – Issues that came up after the last podcast with Cyberdisciple and Jimmy. Topics:
The meaning of the word ‘mystic’
Precise definition of mystical transformation
Setting the bar for attaining mystichood
How special are mystics?
Idealisation of mystics
The relevance of mystics to the egodeath theory
Mystics tripping frequently
Comparable concepts such as gnostics, hierophants and prophets
Verbal communication compared to written communication
The relevance of Ramesh Balsekar’s thinking compared to other self-help gurus
Fusing the two states of consciousness; joining vs blending
Hesychasm as a natural means of accessing the altered state
The incompatibility between Jimmy’s book knowledge and his experiential knowledge
My commentary
AGGGHH ~46:20, uses ‘natural’ to mean non-drg. SEE JONATHAN OTT’S BOOK The Angels’ Dictionary. <– Ott defines this as natural. Isn’t this usage, employed by Max, an entheogen diminishment fallacy?
~33:50 “ancient mystics who trip by natural means” <– the word ‘natural’ is highly ambiguous, I don’t know what’s being said, by “NATURAL”. ??? 35:30 contradicts, he says “forest ancients who trip”. is max saying they (Kafei’s fantastical notion of ‘mystics’) are “natural”, or that they “trip”?
The word ‘gnostic’ is recently controverted. April D. DeConick defends its use, in her book The Gnostic New Age. Reclaiming and redefining it better.
Like Max said here, I too have a tepid idea about the usefulness of the term ‘mystics’, it’s kind of a joke, not a respected concept to me.
~”none of them impress me that much. … What’s impressive [re: brands of mysticism] when you’ve got the Egodeath theory ? … Ramesh weak compared to.” 24:44 quotable 24*60 + 44 = 1484s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkmpbFAAJXI&t=1484s
“jimmy is a mega advanced mystic” ~29:00 “but i don’t like the concept of ‘mystic’”
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple conclude their discussion about psychedelic journalist James Kent, in particular the recent ‘Final 10’ DoseNation podcast series.
Western tradition of psychedelic drug use
Mushrooms and religion
Mushrooms as religious sacrament
Minimal, moderate and maximal theories of psychedelic religion
John Allegro and the cult of Amanita Muscaria
Gordon Wasson and the identity of Soma
Amanita mushroom references in Christian art and the ‘where’s Waldo?’ project
James Arthur and Jack Herer’s psychedelic scholarship
Over-emphasis on amanita, under-emphasis on psilocybe in psychedelic scholarship
The unpopularity of amanita mushrooms as a recreational drug
Mono-plant fallacy
Elite priestcraft conspiracy theory of mushrooms in Christianity
Andrew Letcher’s debunking of mushroom Christianity
Irrelevance of identifying a particular plant as religious sacrament
Does anyone really care about amanita mushrooms?
Metaphorical interpretation of the holy grail causing immortality
Rejection of pop-psychedelia
James Kent’s failure to integrate the ego death theory
Realistic expectations of psychedelic drugs
Direction of initiation and psychological progression
Lack of clear initiation ritual context in modern society
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple continue their discussion about psychedelic journalist James Kent, in particular the recent ‘Final 10’ DoseNation podcast series.
Incompatibility between modern culture and psychedelic tripping
Insincerity of prohibitionism
The rhetoric of psychedelic legitimisation
Psychedelic saviour syndrome
Benefits of psychedelic tripping
Egoic and transcendent senses of ‘benefit’
The difference between James Kent’s and Michael Hoffman’s intellectual background
Science mentality vs engineering mentality
Kent’s thinking about Aldous Huxley’s ‘reducing valve’ concept
Kent’s blindness to mystic metaphor
Loosening of cognitive associations as the basic psychedelic mechanism
Ken Wilber’s distinction between states and stages
Permanent and impermanent elements of psychedelic revelation
Episode 20, February 9, 2020 – James Kent (DoseNation) part 4
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple continue their discussion about psychedelic journalist James Kent, in particular the recent ‘Final 10’ DoseNation podcast series.
South American ayahuasca shamanism Shamans, gurus and the master-student relationship The role of the shaman in a psychedelic ceremony mis-placed focus in the psychedelic shamanism scene away from the altered state phenomenology Magical thinking in shamanism, its lack of official accreditation The uncomfortable, non-recreational nature of ayahuasca compared to other psychedelics Shamanism as primitive psychotherapy Ayahuasca as poisonous and hallucination-inducing False promises and inflated expectations of ayahuasca, such as cancer treatment Psychedelics as a treatment for anxiety in terminal illness Fear of death and ego death experience Benny Shanon’s writing about ayahuasca phenomenology Horrific violent occurrences in ayahuasca ceremonies Uncovering the primal, unpredictable nature of the self during intense tripping Kent’s warning about the extreme dangers of taking psychedelics Prohibitionism characterised as ‘safety culture’
Episode 19, Feb 2, 2020 – James Kent (DoseNation) part 3
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple continue their discussion about psychedelic journalist James Kent, in particular the recent ‘Final 10’ DoseNation podcast series.
South American ayahuasca shamanism Shamans, gurus and the master-student relationship The role of the shaman in a psychedelic ceremony mis-placed focus in the psychedelic shamanism scene away from the altered state phenomenology Magical thinking in shamanism, its lack of official accreditation The uncomfortable, non-recreational nature of ayahuasca compared to other psychedelics Shamanism as primitive psychotherapy Ayahuasca as poisonous and hallucination-inducing False promises and inflated expectations of ayahuasca, such as cancer treatment Psychedelics as a treatment for anxiety in terminal illness Fear of death and ego death experience Benny Shanon’s writing about ayahuasca phenomenology Horrific violent occurrences in ayahuasca ceremonies Uncovering the primal, unpredictable nature of the self during intense tripping Kent’s warning about the extreme dangers of taking psychedelics Prohibitionism characterised as ‘safety culture’
Episode 18, Jan 24, 2020 – James Kent (DoseNation) part 2
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple continue their discussion about psychedelic journalist James Kent, in particular the recent ‘Final 10’ DoseNation podcast series.
Tim Leary’s allegorical interpretation of the Tibetan book of the dead Kent’s contradictory attitude towards psychotic bad trips Albert Hofmann’s discovery of LSD and subsequent research into visionary plant based religion Kent’s strikingly vilifying characterisation of Albert Hofmann’s motives during his psychedelic writing career Kent’s insistent use of ‘unpleasant = unmystical’ fallacy Kent’s thinking about the role of cybernetic agency in psychedelic tripping Comparing atheism to the ego death theory Albert Hofmann’s concept of healing collective Western neurosis Interpretations of ‘healing’ in psychedelic shamanism Albert Hofmann’s cognitive phenomenological model of ‘sender receiver’
Episode 17, Jan 14, 2020 – James Kent (DoseNation) part 1
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple talk about psychedelic journalist James Kent, in particular the recent ‘Final 10’ DoseNation podcast series. DoseNation 10 of 10
Kent’s critique of popular psychedelic discourse, especially the strategy of psychedelic drug-legitimization. Kent’s dismissive attitude towards the idea of psychedelic religion. Kent’s uncritical use of ‘unpleasant = unmystical’ fallacy Possible motivations behind Kent’s scorched-earth style thinking. Kent’s alarmist rhetoric about psychotic psychedelic experiences. Kent’s Prohibitionist attitude, the incompatibility of psychedelia with modern western values. Kent’s anthropological theory about evolving societies inevitably abandoning psychedelic ritual. The word ‘hallucinogen’ as de-legitimizing psychedelic drugs. The role of multi-state theorizing. Kent’s attitude towards using psychedelic drugs in psychotherapeutic and ‘party’ contexts. Party drug-use as ideologically pure. Terence Mckenna’s role in psychedelic legitimzation. Kent’s omission of crucial subject of mystic-state allegory in religious mythology and rock music lyrics. Kent’s regrets about his psychedelic career and taking drugs too seriously, instead of going to psychotherapy.
Episode 16 (2019-11-17) Kafei (appearance 3), Max Freakout
Different attitudes towards the historicity of Jesus Christ The Ground of Being (or Philosophical Absolute) The importance of no-freewill for the egodeath theory Problems of talking about personal drug use under prohibition The writing of Paul Tilloch about the Ground of Being Attitudes towards drugs in exoteric and esoteric religion Ramesh Balsekar and Sam Harris on free-will and determinism Ordinary state vs Altered state based perspectives on free-will and determinism Alan Watts’ idea of the skin encapsulated ego Ken Wilber’s book Up From Eden Psychospiritual evolution Linear vs holistic determinism
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple talk about basic techniques in mushroom cultivation.
Creating fungus cakes with rice flour and vermiculite Acquiring Psilocybe Cubensis mushroom spores The importance of cleanliness and sterility, aseptic technique Transference and Incubation How to deal with bacteria and mould contamination
Episode 14, June 18, 2019 – Max Freakout & Cyberdisciple re: Kafei
Max Freakout and Cyberdisciple discuss and analyse the recent dialogue between Max Freakout and Jimmy (Kafei).
Jimmy’s understanding of Transcendent Knowledge Using the Ego Death Theory as a conversionary tool Terence Mckenna’s evolutionary ideas as pseudoscience Exoteric and Esoteric interpretations of religion Atheist thinking style Theories of paradigm conversion and explanatory frameworks
Conversation between Max Freakout and Jimmy (Kafei) about perennialism, psychedelia and ego death theory.
Different interpretations of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Supernaturalist and non-supernaturalist interpretations of bible stories. Psychotherapeutic use of psychedelic drugs to treat anxiety in cancer patients. Theoria in ancient Christian mysticism. The difference between historicist, non-historicist and mythicist interpretations of Jesus. Atheism, theism and agnosticism. Interpreting religion in light of the Ego Death Theory. Metaphysical vs phenomenological treatment of religion. Phenomenology of religious/mystical experience. Perception of frozen time during mystical experience. The effect of intense mystical experience on a person’s thinking. Failure to recognise the significance of mystical experience by atheists. Using analogy to illustrate the difference between exoteric and esoteric religion.
Conversation between Max Freakout and Jimmy (Kafei) about perennialism, psychedelia and ego death theory.
Popular atheist thinking Atheist attitudes to psychedelic tripping Terence Mckenna’s ideas Belief-based religion vs experience-based religion The Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia Her perennialist thinking and her gruesome death at the hands of Christians Modern Christian attitudes towards mystical and psychedelic experiences The possibility of tripping without taking drugs Literal and non-literal interpretations of the crucifixion of Jesus Historicity and ahistoricity Interpretation of mystical writing The writing of Vladimir Lossky Higher truth embedded in religious scripture Universality of mystical experience The meaning of Christianity and being a christian
Max Freakout and Cyber Disciple further discuss Terence Mckenna’s ideas.
The pathway from Mckennaism towards metaphorical psychedelic eternalism Reconciling Terence Mckenna’s ideas with the ego death theory Terence’s understanding of esoteric religion Terence’s tepid defence of free will Different motives for defending free will and determinism Undesirability of the no free will position David Hilman’s problems with official academia when presenting psychedelic theories of ancient Greek culture The process of scientific advancement, Kuhn and Popper versus Feyerabend Michael Hoffman’s engineering background, his focus on model building and practical problem solving Terence Mckenna’s criticism of scientific reasoning and inductivist logic Terence’s status as a radical and critical thinker Exotericism and sober meditation as substitute wish-fulfilment Terence’s attitudes towards sober meditation Michael Hoffman’s characterisation of psychedelic tripping as loosened cognition Max Freakout’s process of intellectual development from Terence Mckenna to Michael Hoffman’s ego death theory Mono-plant fallacy in Terence’s thinking, Terence’s dismissal of LSD The entertaining quality of Terence’s thought Lack of metaphor awareness in Terence’s thought Modifying Terence’s ideas with metaphorical interpretive lense, similarity to Christianity
My Episode 9 Commentary/Transcription/Notes
[podcast 9] The Egodeath theory = Bad News; PR vs. Truth; Hide No-Free-Will
copied this section from page “The Egodeath Theory as a Large Set of Bad News”
38:00 Max: timewave 0 is determinist, McKenna weakly defends freewill thinking – for PR? Give ppl good news about what the psychedelic revelation’s about. That you have no self-control.
40:00
Max: Wanted to give good news, rather than the bad news. Hoffman’s posting “Why pop spirituality tries to say the grand truth is impossible to say, ineffable”, McKenna asserted what’s revealed is beyond words”. McKenna’s motive for claiming that the mystic truth is ineffable, per Hoffman who implies:
40:26
Hoffman says “Here is, a systematic model of what enlightenment spiritual metaphysical understanding is all about.” (Even if negative); the Egodeath theory explicitly talks about what others claim (due to conflict of interest) is “ineffable”; the Egodeath theory says “you might not like it, but this is what it is anyway.”
“Because pop spirituality is motivated by selling things to people … That would be a, provide a motivation for them [Pop Sike advocates such as McKenna] to keep the terrifying truth a secret and to try to claim to the adherents of that worldview that it is actually ineffable and impossible to talk about, it’s because you’re going to end up turning away your audience,
41:14
“Nobody wants to hear that when you become enlightened, you actually find out that you’re a puppet slave of God, and that all your actions are eternally set in stone in the block universe.
“So we see the potential overlap of a motivation between McKenna and Pop Sike, the desire to cast spiritual metaphysical understanding in a positive light, to make people desire it and be attracted towards it, rather than putting people off in the first place by saying,
“Look, there’s this one thing you’re going to discover, which is a horrifying experience of psychotic loss of control, which is then going to permanently, you’re going to permanently realize from this point on, that your free will is essentially some kind of illusion, that it [the experience of freewill] just abides during the duration of the ordinary state of consciousness, but it’s not fixed permanent bedrock of reality, and actually the true face of reality is control loss, ego death.
“… McKenna … tepidly defending freewill, hiding the real truth, hiding the core of esoteric knowledge, which is … no-free-will, eternalistic determinism.”
45:30 Golden Gate stats (distracting; bracket that off)
[podcast 9] Maximal Entheogen Theory Has Narrow & Broad Plants, with Psilocybe as the Ideal (a Matter of Degree)
[podcast 9] The Maximal Entheogen Theory religion has narrow and broad range of plants, a matter of degree, locked to psilocybin as the ideal
The more that a plant is like psilocybin, the more that plant is an entheogen.
[podcast 9] – Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment
Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment (Max says “Leary’s experiment)
wik: “The Marsh Chapel Experiment, also called the “Good Friday Experiment”, was a 1962 experiment conducted on Good Friday at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel.
“Walter N. Pahnke, a graduate student in theology at Harvard Divinity School, designed the experiment under the supervision of Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and the Harvard Psilocybin Project.
Ratsch – Alcohol Used in an Entheogenic Context 10:36
Max: “Sometimes the maximal entheogen theory of religion seems more inclusive toward broad boundary of wide-net plants, Christian Ratsch’s idea that anything can be used in the entheogenic way, the religious or self-control seizure type of dynamic.
“Sometimes the maximal entheogen theory of religion seems to be limiting the potential for full the self-control seizure and full psychedelic ego death and worldmodel transformation to psil & l25.”
How Far Do You Want to Overstretch the Definition of ‘Entheogen’ Until the Word Has No Implication of Efficacy, but Is Pure Placebo?
Do you agree? –
Aspirin can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Tobacco can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Nutmeg can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Alcohol can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Grape juice can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Crackers can be used to simulate psilocybin.
30 years of sitting meditation can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Sitting in a dark cave can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Spinning in circles can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Holding closed your left nostril while breathing hard can be used to simulate psilocybin.
Reading bullsh*t writings that misuse the word ‘can’ to deceive and to cover-up the inefficacy of non-entheogenic entheogens can be used to simulate psilocybin.
[podcast 9] McKenna Is Far from Understanding Metaphorical Entheogenic Eternalism
Max: “the main idea: Religion being a metaphorical description of dissociated cognition and eternalistic control-loss experience. That’s the main point of esotericism. McKenna was far from that. Limitations.
Max is using the ~2016 phrase-pair:
metaphorical entheogenic eternalism
literalist non-drug possibilism
Podcast Episode 9 11:22
5:22 episode 9
Max: “McKenna is guarding the gate into systematic transcendent eternalistic understanding
“McKenna is guarding the gate into metaphorical entheogeniceternalism.”
Max Freakout and Cyber Disciple discuss Terence Mckenna.
Comparison between Terence Mckenna and Tim Leary Tension between metaphorical and literal interpretation of Mckenna’s ideas Mckenna’s ‘Stoned Ape’ theory of human evolution Brian Aker’s Lamarckist criticism of stoned ape theory Differing views of Mckenna’s motivations Mckenna’s criticism of scientism Mckenna’s emphasis on natural drugs and dismissal of LSD Mckenna’s feminist ideals Mckenna’s analogical model of psychedelic cognition (explicit representationalism) Mckenna’s model of time and reverse-causality and its relation to 4D block-universe determinism Mckenna’s ‘timewave zero’ equation 2012 as teleological eschaton Mckenna’s idea of accelerating ingression into novelty Scientistic reliance on inductivist logic Mckenna’s DMT induced ‘Machine Elves’, comparisons with religious myths such as prophet Jacob’s wrestling with an angel Mckenna’s concept of telepathic communication Mckenna’s rejection of psychedelic Christianity via dismissal of John Allegro and Leary’s Good Friday experiment
Transcription, Timestamps, Commentary – Podcast 8
The False Dichotomy and Mis-Centering of the Field of Mushrooms in Western Entheogen Scholarship. McKenna & the Big Bad Omnipotent Prohibitionist Catholic Church
Transcendent Knowledge Podcast episode 8
2:05:00
McKenna says there are two models, “Allegro vs orthodoxy”.
Max: “and then people ask McKenna, So what do you think about psychedelics and the origins of religion?
“McKenna employed a clear strategy, which is very common, we see this in a lot of different writers: a dichotomy between Allegro or Orthodoxy, as if those are the two great [ie, the only options] monolithic interpretations of, two great axiomatic ways, of interpreting Christianity, in particular.”
Cyberdisciple: “By ‘orthodoxy’, do you mean the received idea that there is no drug use in Christianity, there’s no psychedelics in Christianity?”
Max: “Well it’s two things, that’s one of them: that the history of Christianity is 2000 years of absolute drug prohibition. But in addition, the second idea, is historicity, of Jesus in particular, and the orthodox story that Christianity came as a big bang out of the life of this one man, Jesus of Nazareth, who said a load of things and did a load of things, and got crucified, and then somehow this religion came out, this very prohibitionist religion came out of it, and went on to dominate the world for 2000 years.”
2:06:46
Max: “So it’s those two points, that you have Allegro vs. Orthodoxy, on those two points: Allegro thinks that Jesus didn’t exist as a singular historical individual, and Christianity at least in its very early days, its foundational era, it was a hidden drug cult.
“And then the Orthodoxy will say, in counter to that: Don’t be ridiculous, of course Jesus existed, that’s a given, you don’t even need to question whether or not there was a historical person named Jesus, that’s the only possible explanation of Christianity, and Jesus wasn’t into drugs, and Christianity has never been about taking drugs, and the Eucharist is just alcohol and bread, it has nothing to do with mushrooms and Ayahuasca or anything like that, there’s no psychedelic connotation behind the Eucharist.”
Cyberdisciple: “transubstantiation”
Max: “the body and blood of Jesus the historical man. …
“so McKenna stands on the side of Orthodox (as he defined their anti-drug position) rather than with Allegro … Eleusinian Mystery-cult… [todo: should transcribe, substantive]
2:10:03
“that was McKenna’s picture he painted, of Allegro vs. Orthodoxy, McKenna mocks Allegro as childish; of course the orthodox picture of historicity and drug prohibition is the accurate one. …
“McKenna also, re: Good Friday experiment, McKenna emphasizing pure negativity to idea that drugs could have started ORGANIZED religion, doctrinal religion, scripture based religion in the Western tradition.
“McKenna excused Good Friday as forced interpretation from suggestibility, not from the mushrooms.
“Pure blindness to the entheogenic Eucharist.
“McKenna totally missed out on that, both for history retrieval, and for strategy of drug policy reform.”
__
listen to that podcast passage. “Hoffman made all the above points. Terrible strategic error by McKenna.”
2:13:07
Ep. 8 2:25:00 Thread “Decoded: The Forbidden Fruit”
The terrible idea that there’s such a thing as “the Allegro theory”; the terrible field-definition of entheogen scholarship conceptualized as centered exactly on Allegro-Amanita.
How to badly mis-define a field: the mushroom aspect of entheogen scholarship, let’s define that with Allegro-Amamita, or “Amanita per Allegro”, at the exact center.
All topics within entheogen scholarship (specifically, mushroom scholarship), shall be defined in relation to “Amanita per Allegro”.
That is the exact WORST way to define and scope and center the field.
PRINCIPLE: “SCOPING” A FIELD IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN RIGHTLY *CENTERING* A FIELD.
Rightly picking the center of a field (making the single-plant “fallacy” as a strategic move), is more important than circumscribing the scope-boundary edge of a field.
We could do a great job of “entheogen scholarship”, if we greedily throw the net as wide as possible “how to use aspirin as an entheogen”, AS LONG AS we get the center spot-on correct. The center being, psilocybin mushrooms.
I wouldn’t be terribly bothered by such poppycock as “aspirin as entheogen” or Hannegraaffesque lying-through-bafflegab such as “non-drug entheogens”, as long as we commit to defining the dead center of the vaguely named “entheogen scholarship” field as specifically the no-bullsh*t-permitted, “psilocybin mushrooms”. Not centering the field on “Amanita per Allegro“!
The False Dichotomy of Two Options, and the Correct, Third Option
Option 1) The Orthodox theory (reductionist scientism + literalist religionism)
Option 2) “Amanita per Allegro“
Option 3) the 3rd alternative: the Egodeath theory: subtopic/field/position: psilocybin mushrooms in greek & christian religious history. The field of Western “entheogen” scholarship, as specifically centered on psilocybin mushrooms.
Max Freakout and Cyber Disciple discuss subjects for future podcast episodes.
The various modern approaches towards psychedelia Esotericism and exotericism The similarity between plant-spirit shamanism (such as Santo Daime) and esoteric Christianity Entheogenic and placebo eucharist The link between exotericism and prohibitionism The legal position of ayahuasca churches Drug policy reform and prohibition repeal Corrupt dishonest nature of drug prohibition Exotericist drive to perpetually delay control-seizure and transcendent enlightenment Awareness of entheogenic eucharist in modern churches Insidern/Outsider dynamic in Christianity Different attitudes towards conversion among exoteric religions Determinism/free-will contradiction in exoteric religion Terence Mckenna’s psychedelic ideas, his progressive and trippy thinking and his limitations New age attitudes towards psychedelia Quantum woo-woo Psychedelic culture and social tolerance compared to LGBT lifestyle Nese Devenot’s Mckenna-inspired writing Psychedelic psychotherapy and its relevance to the egodeath theory Personal and transpersonal issues Freud’s concept of substitute wish fulfilment and how it can be used to analyse exotericism Freud’s theory of mythological interpretation, Oedipus and Electra
My Commentary on Episode 7
from idea development page 9. [January 8, 2021]
[podcast 7] Spiritual Progeny of Isaac; Spiritual Israel
ep7 45:00 Imperial Context eg Rome. Roman context of New Testament [hellenistic] context.
Being a spiritual offspring of Isaac. Jesus dies w/o children, in contrast with Isaac’s offspring.
The Chrurch becomes the mother of everyone
Jesus is the husband and the Church is the Bride. the borotherhood of Xst. Christ.
Church Fathers context trying to convert pagans in roman empire. contrast the churche’s brotherood with empire’s.
Different slicings of “insider / outsiders”.
52:00
ego vs transcendent controller in loving form loves the ego and isn’t going to destroy it. econ & social arrangements in primitive and early Jerome 5th C AD wealthy old widows, convert & give estate to church.
[podcast 7] Planned Topics for Podcasts
main article 2006 leverage Christianity in this way but limited, context so different. stand up to prohibition, create non-prohibition based social arrangement.
beln blending together , separate out into themes –
drug pol reform – vs prohibition repeal
exoteric/eso contest
connections between that language.
4 ep’s planned
pop sike exposure & critical deconstruction
plan “an entire episode” – prophecy: 2 ep’s to give McFakea a fair hearing.
narrow the entire entheogen theory of religion to “Allegro”.
psychotherapy using entheogens is like coat check and not going into the show.
57:00 Max: “McKenna is the final frontier before you get to the real, core, important stuff of the Egodeath theory.”
Words of folly:
Max: “We’ll do all the other episodes, also quantumFoo, and finally do the entire McKenna episode.”
Cyb says yes we will do one entire episode on McKenna.
FACT-CHECK: BULLSH*T.
They end up covering McKenna in two episodes, soon; not one episode, later.
[podcast 7] Substitution, Atman Project: Pursuing Transcendence in Ways that Prevent Transcendence
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1151103.The_Atman_Project “Jan 25, 1980 · The Atman Project denotes the attempt to find Spirit in ways that prevent it and force substitute gratifications in space and time through grasping and despairing. This book describes awareness beginning at the pre-personal level through the transpersonal state.”
Episode 6, Jul 9, 2016 – Psychedelic Neuroscience, part 2
Max Freakout and Cyber Disciple. Part 2 of a two-part analysis of neuroscience and its metaphysical basis. They discuss the philosophical issue of mind/matter substance dualism.
Dosage levels in Carhart-Harris’ psychedelic neuroscience study Benny Shanon’s research into psychedelic phenomenology The philosophy of mind/body dualism The materialist and ordinary-state basis of the academic worldview Negative academic attitudes towards metaphysical idealism per George Berkeley’s philosophy Descartes’ conception of substance dualism Deliberate ambiguity towards noumenal unreality (immateriality) in Kantian philososphy Egoic self-negation in the intense altered state (ego death experience) Virtual environment and the bubble of simulation Schopenhauer’s idealism Platonic idealism Ordinary-state based category errors in commentaries on ancient philosophers like Plato Donald Davidson’s philosophy of rational agency Psychedelic metaperception and idealism Mediated and unmediated perception, representation and referent Tacit implications of Frank Jackson’s seminal paper ‘What Mary didn’t know’ Incomplete thinking in Andrew Letcher and Frank Jackson Comparing Jackson’s neuroscientist Mary to Robin Carhart-Harris Michael Rinella’s suggestion that Plato held a negative attitude towards altered-state revelation Description of transcendent thought-injection in Plato’s dialogue with Ion Comparing MRI brain scans to Kirlian photography depicting auras
Episode 5, Jun 20, 2016 – Psychedelic Neuroscience, part 1
Max Freakout and Cyber Disciple. This is part 1 of a two-part analysis of neuroscience and its metaphysical basis. They discuss neuroscientific research into psychedelic drugs, in particular the recent research from Robin Carhart-Harris of Imperial College London.
Materialist assumptions behind neuroscience The prominence of materialism Methodological limitations of neuroscience (MRI scanners) in light of the sheer complexity of brain matter Explanatory power of neuroscience – claims vs. reality Neuroscience compared to cognitive science De-emphasis of subjective phenomenology by neuroscience, objectivity of scientific theories Misleading conflation of neurophysics with cognitive phenomenology in Carhart-Harris’ research Comparing blobs of colour on images of brains The explanatory role of the ‘Default-Mode-Network’ in Carhart-Harris research Literal, physical instantiation of cognitive models (materialist literalism) Overlap of neuroscience research with psychotherapeutic concerns (such as treating depression) Negative attitudes towards “recreational” drug use among scientific researchers Amanda Fielding’s involvement with psychedelic research, and her negative attitudes towards Tim Leary and drug users in the 1960’s Professor David Nutt’s role in neuroscience research, and his previous work with the British government Lack of practical (altered-state) relevance of psychedelic neuroscience Static, rudimentary nature of neuroscience research, lack of consideration for transforming mental worldmodels over multiple psychedelic sessions Serotonergism of psychedelic drugs (affinity for 5-HT2 receptors) Complications of legal scientific access to otherwise illegal substances Marketable pop-gloss of current neuroscience research
Max Freakout and Cyber Disciple discuss Martin Ball’s entheological paradigm – his model of entheogenic ego transcendence, and how it relates to the ego death theory.
Review of the various explanatory paradigms in pop-psychedelia Martin Ball’s various activities, and his attitude of public openness towards entheogens Ball’s entheological paradigm, its relation to religion and new age systems of thought Ball’s critiques of entheogen scholars such as Terence Mckenna, his opinions about Mckenna’s 2012 prophecy and reification of DMT machine elves Ball’s concept of spatial non-duality and its relation to block universe determinism/eternalism and cybernetics Ball’s concept of energy and its relation to loosened cognition Ball’s concepts of “ego” Mental representation and perceiving the true nature of reality in the altered state Propositional/epistemological truth compared to accurate modelling Michael Hoffman’s theory of dual mental worldmodels Cultivating mindful states of awareness Martin Ball’s entheogenic yoga postures Ken Wilber’s non-entheogenic model of non-duality Expectations of what enlightenment ought to be Potential for disappointment with altered state eternalistic enlightenment Indigenous shamanistic interpretations of entheogens and their potential to heal or benefit Ego-as-agent and ego-as-awareness Platonist philosophy and its relation to the ego death theory Martin Ball’s treatment of control loss and bad trips Pros and cons of smoking tryptamines instead of oral ingestion Ramifications of Martin Ball’s excessive focus on 5-meo-dmt Inaccuracy of scientific claims about DMT being present in the brain Intellectual commitment to the entheological paradigm Ball’s lack of metaphor-savviness Meaning of letting go or surrendering in the altered state Ball’s hands-on entheogenic therapy sessions
Psychonautica001 – Feb 23, 2007 “Drop your shrooms and fasten your safety belts for a mindblowing ride into the alternative conciousness otherwise known as Psychonautica! In Dopefiend.co.uk’s incredible new series, KMO and Max Freakout introduce you to a parallel world of hallucinogenic delights, discussing the origins of the terms “entheogen” and “psychedelic”, the science of memetics and the internet as a psychedelic tool, and the different benefits of natural substances versus synthetics.”
https://dopecast.libsyn.com/psychonautica12 – jul 27 2007 “In this episode of Psychonautica, entheo-pundit Max Freakout recaps on the last two episodes, dealing with the issues that arose from them, and brings to a close the trip report competition started in episode 10, everyone’s a winner! Max clarifies some points from the ego-death/freewill podcast (episode 11), such as his use of the word ‘religion’ and the concept of affirming and then then transcending ‘no free-will’ in the dissociative cognitive state. Max talks about the controversial debate between psychedelics and meditation/yoga as effective spiritual practises, trying to be as even-handed as possible, then discusses the concept of synergy, and corrects an error he previously made concerning average LSD dosages. The psychedelic properties of cannabis are discussed, then finally Max recommends some psychedelic web-links including a video documenting the Hungarian psychonaut scene, to finish off there’s a public service announcement about medical marijuana from fellow podcaster Zandor and a song about picking mushrooms in the wild.” http://forum.thegrowreport.com/
https://dopecast.libsyn.com/psychonautica013 – Aug 10, 2007 – “In this fortnight’s edition of psychonautica, Max Freakout interviews Michael Hoffman, author of the Egodeath theory and the Entheogen Theory of Religion, and the man behind Egodeath.com. They discuss the nature of free-will and the idea of transcending it, the concept of block-universe determinism and its role for facilitating an understanding of the Egodeath theory, and the role of the shaman as the tribal healer. Also, the controversies concerning Hoffman’s outspoken views on drug-free meditation and drug-war activism are covered. Finer details of the theory are also discussed, including the idea of myth-as-metaphor, and Hoffman’s criticism of Mckenna’s stoned ape theory of evolution.
Finally, Max gives a run-down of the competition winners with their prizes in the post, and a shout to the team at www.realitysandwich.com. … Psychedelic community hanging out at the forum.”
“In this week’s installment of Psychonautica, Max Freakout discusses the philosophical issue of free-will and how it relates to entheogens, with reference to Michael Hoffman’s website, Egodeath.com. This issue broadly involves subjects like the entheogenic origin of world religion, and refutation of the common ‘entheogen diminishment fallacies‘ aimed at downplaying the role of entheogenic experiences in an individual’s spiritual development. Max talks about the hypocrisy involved at the higher levels of the ‘war on drugs’, mass-media doublespeak, and the problems of remaining impartial when considering the pros and cons of psychedelic drugs.”
The show covers the Egodeath theory largely as a whole. It doesn’t mention the following points.
* The theme of *affirming yet transcending* determinism, in religion and myth. Crossing the boundary of the sphere of the fixed stars, into heaven or into the higher level of heaven. …
Psychonautica 100 Jan 17, 2014 (just after 2013 {tree vs. snake} = possibilism vs. eternalism) – “Max Freakout returns to Psychonautica for the 100th episode. Max, KMO and Olga talk about the very temporary demise of Silk Road and how technology and the Dark Web have made psychedelic chemicals more easily available than ever before regardless of the law. They weigh the virtues of traveling to the Amazon to drink…”
Psychonautica082 – Dec 25 2009 “In the Christmas day special episode of Psychonautica, Max Freakout plays the final installment of Stanislav Grof’s seminar ‘Psychospiritual death and rebirth, a visionary journey’ from the World Psychedelic forum. Grof talks about Einstein’s astrological transits and how they correspond to different parts of his scientific career, the importance in astrology of knowing your time of birth accurately, how to construct and interpret a natal chart, how to identify archetypal energies that affect your life from an astrological chart, the meaning of planetary and lunar transits, the eliptical orbit of Pluto, the astrological charts of famous people, the role of non-ordinary states and astrology in the future of psychiatry, the importance of correct diagnosis in medicine for appropriate treatment, the controversial nature of psychiatric diagnosis, psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia and natural kinds, differing opinions among psychiatrists about the correct choice of treatment to use in a given situation, changes in psychiatric diagnosis between subsequent editions of the DSM, diagnosis of hysteria in Freud’s time compared to now, the recent epidemic of multiple-personality disorder, the implications of multiple personality and dissociation for the mind/body problem, the different perspectives of Jung and Freud, and their relation to their astrological charts, different kinds of therapists attracting different kinds of patient, the lack of clearly defined diagnostic categories and universal opinions within psychiatry, a joke about behaviourists having sex, the extreme importance of the death/rebirth experience for the spiritual life of humanity, the occurence of the theme in shamanism and rites of passage, the theme of death and rebirth in world religion and mythology, the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus about the second birth, the theme of the twice-born in Hinduism, the use of perinatal themes in political propaganda, George Bush’s religiosity, the reduction of personal freedoms during the cold war and war on terror, and how to get started training in holotropic breathwork techniques. Afterwards, Max plays a short comedy sketch from Dave Chappelle talking about living with a crack-addict landlord, taking drugs in old-age, weed as a ‘background substance’ and Chappelle’s trip to the barber on mushrooms. A very happy Christmas to everyone, email Max at maxfreakout, and hang out with the friendly psychonauts at http://www.thegrowreport.com.”
Psychonautica080 – nov 13 2009 – In this week’s installment of Psychonautica, Max Freakout plays the seventh part of a day-long seminar by Stanislav Grof, from the world psychedelic forum, entitled ‘psychospiritual death and rebirth, a visionary journey’. Grof talks about choosing between lightness and darkness in altered-states, the role of astrological transits in determining the outcome of a trip, sinking into the depths of hopelessness, the importance of having a sober trip-sitter, psychotic acting-out during trips, experiential features of ego death such as fearing insanity, an experience of seeming to change gender during a trip, combing bodywork and breathwork with tripping, feelings of profound loss during ego death, impermanence and insecurity, the implications of incubators and blood transfusions for the psychology of the baby, the importance for healing of age-regression during trips and resistance to astrology and psychedelics from the scientific community.
Psychonautica067 – Feb 14, 2009 – “Max Freakout talks about a forthcoming float-tank episode with fan5tastic, a Datura trip report and the effects of Datura, the origin of Pilsner beer, Plato’s allegory of the cave and its psychedelic interpretation, Salvia Divinorum trips and shared language, the correct way to dose with amanita Muscaria mushrooms, psychedelic alienation, the war on drugs and bringing up children, taking MDMA to socialise, the popularity of alcohol, the absurdity of illegal plants and the negative effects of drug prohibition.”
Episode – Issues that came up after the last podcast with Cyberdisciple and Jimmy. Topics:
The Egodeath theory 