Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science (Article Debate Series)

Michael Hoffman, May 14, 2025

Contents:

Drugs and Mysticism: An Analysis of the Relationship between Psychedelic Drug Experience and the Mystical State of Consciousness (Pahnke, 1963)

Drugs and Mysticism: An Analysis of the Relationship between Psychedelic Drug Experience and the Mystical State of Consciousness
Walter Pahnke, June 1963, PhD thesis
http://en.psilosophy.info/drugs_and_mysticism.html

How the swans came to the lake (Rick Fields, 1986)

How the swans came to the lake (Rick Fields, 1986)

40th anniv edition book. pending, ancient computer reboot time

Oriental Verities on the American Frontier: The 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions and the Thought of Masao Abe (McRae, 1991)

Oriental Verities on the American Frontier: The 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions and the Thought of Masao Abe
John McRae, 1991
Journal: Buddhist-Christian Studies
Volume v.11, pp. 7 – 36
Publisher University of Hawai’i Press
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/t3-buddhist-christian-studies.aspx

Contents:

  • I. AN IRENIC DIALOGUE AND ITS ROUGH-EDGED ANCESTOR 7
  • II. THE WORLD’S PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS OF 1893 9
    • A. The Context and Meaning of the Columbian Exposition 9
    • B. The World’s Parliament as an Event in International Religious History 13
    • C. Asian Religions at the Parliament 14
  • III. TURNING THE MESSAGE AROUND I: INDIAN REPRESENTATIVES SPEAK OUT AT THE WORLD’S PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS 15
    • A. Vivekananda (1863-1902) and the Eternal Truth of Indian Religions
    • B. Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933) and Buddhism as the “Light of Asia” 18
  • IV. TURNING THE MESSAGE AROUND 2: CHINESE AND JAPANESE 23
    • A. Shaku Soyen (1859-1919) and Japanese Zen as the Law of Cause and Effect 23
    • B. Pung Kwang Yu, Government Official and Confucian Scholar, and the Evils of Religion Itself 27
  • V. THE IMPACT AND MEANING OF THE WORLD’S PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS IN ASIA AND AMERICA 29
    • A. The Asian Representatives and Their Messages
    • B. Lessons to Be Drawn Concerning the Buddhist-Christian Dialogue 31
  • NOTES 33

The article was inspired by the book How the swans came to the lake (Rick Fields, 1986).

The Psychedelic Religion of Mystical Consciousness (Rick Strassman, Jul. 2018)

The Psychedelic Religion of Mystical Consciousness
Rick Strassman 2018
https://www.rickstrassman.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/JPS_Strassman.pdf

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Psychedelic-Religion-of-Mystical-Consciousness

Gnostic Psychedelia (Erik Davis, Apr. 2020)

Tangential to the Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science debate. Favorably links to the 2018 Strassman article.

Gnostic Psychedelia
Erik Davis, April 2020
Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies
https://techgnosis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Davis-Gnosis-5.1.pdf

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Gnostic-Psychedelia

Post: Gnostic Psychedelia and the Archetype of the Archons (Erik Davis, Apr. 2020)

Tangential to the Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science debate. Favorably links to the 2018 Strassman article.

A post about the article Gnostic Psychedelia:
Gnostic Psychedelia and the Archetype of the Archons
Erik Davis, April 14, 2020
https://techgnosis.com/gnostic-psychedelia/

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#post-gnostic-psychedelia-and-the-archetype-of-the-archons-davis-apr.-2020

Crop by Michael Hoffman
Crop by Michael Hoffman

Mystical and Other Alterations in Sense of Self: An Expanded Framework for Studying Nonordinary Experiences (Ann Taves, May 2020)

Debunks the “Positive Unity Experience” Model of Mysticism.

Mystical and Other Alterations in Sense of Self: An Expanded Framework for Studying Nonordinary Experiences
Ann Taves, 2020
Perspect Psychol Sci
2020 May;15(3):669-690
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32053465/
doi: 10.1177/1745691619895047. Epub 2020 Feb 13.
PMID: 32053465 DOI: 10.1177/1745691619895047
Free article at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/86r3f75j

Erratum in: Corrigendum: Mystical and Other Alterations in Sense of Self: An Expanded Framework for Studying Nonordinary Experiences.
Perspect Psychol Sci. 2022 Mar;17(2):614. doi: 10.1177/17456916221076158. Epub 2022 Jan 24.
PMID: 35073216

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/05/07/idea-development-page-29/#mystical-and-other-alterations-in-sense-of-self-an-expanded-framework-for-studying-nonordinary-experiences-taves-2020 – at top of page, Find “Taves”.

Search site for Taves:
https://egodeaththeory.org/?s=taves

High Mysticism: On the interplay between the psychedelic movement and academic study of mysticism (Karl Baier, 2021)

High Mysticism: On the interplay between the psychedelic movement and academic study of mysticism
Karl Baier, 2021
https://www.academia.edu/30979148/High_Mysticism_On_the_interplay_between_the_psychedelic_movement_and_academic_study_of_mysticism?email_work_card=interaction-paper
in book:
Constructions of Mysticism as a Universal: Roots and Interactions across Borders
2021, Annette Wilke, Robert Stephanus and Robert Suckro (eds.)

Consciousness, Religion, and Gurus: Pitfalls of Psychedelic Medicine (Matthew Johnson, Apr. 2021)

Consciousness, Religion, and Gurus: Pitfalls of Psychedelic Medicine
Matthew Johnson
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00198
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 2021 4 (2), 578-581
DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00198

Matthew Johnson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore

Photo: Michael Hoffman

I GOT TO TELL YOU NOW THE SHIP IS READY
WAITING ON THE SHELF.

Photo: Michael Hoffman

Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science (James Sanders & Josjan Zijlmans, May 2021)

Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science
Sanders and Zijlmans, May 2021
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsptsci.1c00097

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Moving-Past-Mysticism-in-Psychedelic-Science

Reconciling Mystical Experiences with Naturalistic Psychedelic Science: Reply to Sanders and Zijlmans (Jussi Jylkkä, Jun. 2021)

Reconciling Mystical Experiences with Naturalistic Psychedelic Science: Reply to Sanders and Zijlmans
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsptsci.1c00137
Jussi Jylkkä (2021)
June 8, 2021
Published by American Chemical Society

Working with Weirdness: A Response to “Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science” (Joost Breeksema & Michiel van Eck, Jul. 2021)

Working with Weirdness: A Response to “Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science”
Joost Breeksema and Michiel van Eck
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsptsci.1c00149
ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. 2021, 4, 4, 1471–1474
July 16, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.1c00149
American Chemical Society

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Working-with-Weirdness

Researchers Debate the Role of Mysticism in Psychedelic Science (Don Lattin, Sep. 2021)

Researchers Debate the Role of Mysticism in Psychedelic Science
DON LATTIN, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
https://www.lucid.news/researchers-debate-the-role-of-mysticism-in-psychedelic-science/

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Debate-Mysticism-in-Psychedelic-Science

Mystical Experience Defines Psychedelics (Chris Kilham, Oct. 2021)

Mystical Experience Defines Psychedelics
BY CHRIS KILHAM, OCTOBER 1, 2021
https://www.lucid.news/the-mystical-experience-defines-psychedelics/

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Mystical-Experience-Defines-Psychedelics

Mystical experiences without mysticism: An argument for mystical fictionalism in psychedelics (Garb & Earleywine, Jun. 2022)

Mystical experiences without mysticism: An argument for mystical fictionalism in psychedelics
Garb, B. A., & Earleywine, M. (June 2022)
https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/6/1/article-p48.xml
Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 6(1), 48-53
https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2022.00207

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#Mystical-experiences-without-mysticism

A Channel for Magic: Ralph Hood’s Mysticism Scale and the Occult Roots of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Program (Travis Kitchens, Sep. 2022)

“A Channel for Magic: Ralph Hood’s Mysticism Scale and the Occult Roots of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Program
Psychologist Ralph Hood’s study of serpent handling and mysticism helped legitimize the study of psychedelics. So why doesn’t he want them approved for medical use?
Travis Kitchens, September 9, 2022
https://www.psymposia.com/magazine/a-channel-for-magic-ralph-hoods-mysticism-scale-and-the-occult-roots-of-the-johns-hopkins-psychedelic-research-program/

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/04/21/idea-development-page-28/#a-channel-for-magic-ralph-hoods-mysticism-scale-and-the-occult-roots-of-the-johns-hopkins-psychedelic-research-program-kitchens-2022 – at top of page, Find “Kitchens”.

Search site for Kitchens:
https://egodeaththeory.org/?s=kitchens

The M-Scale and the Occult Roots of the JHU Psychedelic Research Program (Travis Kitchens video, Feb. 2023)

Video title:
The M-Scale and the Occult Roots of the JHU Psychedelic Research Program | Plus Three #56
YouTUbe channel: Psymposia
Feb. 15, 2023
Show: Plus Three podcast

“In this episode, the Psymposia team speaks with writer Travis Kitchens about his recent piece “A Channel for Magic: Ralph Hood’s Mysticism Scale and the Occult Roots of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Program”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ued8NNIraFs —

The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins (Joe Welker, Aug. 2023)

6 part series

  1. The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins
    https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins – Aug. 12, 2023
  2. The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: Spiritual Direction
    https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-4cd
  3. The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: The Power of Suggestion
    https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-bfc
  4. The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: Clergy Ambassadors
    https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-079
  5. The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: The Silence and the Smile
    https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-9dd
  6. The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: In the Name of the Holy Spirit
    https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-7b6 – Aug. 17, 2023

Includes read aloud voice recordings by the author.

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/04/21/idea-development-page-28/#The-Religious-Science-of-Johns-Hopkins

Crop by Michael Hoffman

Psychometric brahman, psychedelic science: Walter Stace, transnational Vedanta, and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (Breau & Gillis-Smith, Nov. 2023)

https://www.google.com/search?q=psychometric+brahman+breau

Psychometric brahman, psychedelic science: Walter Stace, transnational Vedanta, and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire
Jeffrey A. BreauORCID Icon &Paul Gillis-Smith
Pages 788-806 | Published online: 13 Nov 2023
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03080188.2023.2266322

My notes:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/06/11/idea-development-page-30/#psychometric-brahman-psychedelic-science-walter-stace-transnational-vedanta-and-the-mystical-experience-questionnaire-breau-gillis-smith-nov.-2023
Slightly below that is:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/06/11/idea-development-page-30/#staces-covert-advaita-model-of-mysticism-is-presented-as-the-scientific-basis-of-psychedelic-science

The Pseudo-Religion of Psychedelics (Kitchens, Dec. 2023)

The Pseudo-Religion of Psychedelics
Travis Kitchens, Dec. 18, 2023
https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-pseudo-religion-of-psychedelics/ todo: read

todo: read the links Travis emailed Aug 20, 2025

How to End the Mysticism Wars in Psychedelic Science (Chris Letheby, Jaipreet Mattu, Eric Hochstein, 2024)

How to End the Mysticism Wars in Psychedelic Science
Chris Letheby, Jaipreet Mattu, and Eric Hochstein
2024
Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Psychoactive Drug Use
https://www.academia.edu/124791282/How_to_End_the_Mysticism_Wars_in_Psychedelic_Science
https://www.amazon.com/Palgrave-Handbook-Philosophy-Psychoactive-Drug/dp/3031657896/ —

The Psychedelic Evangelist (Brendan Borrell, Mar. 2024)

The Psychedelic Evangelist
A Johns Hopkins scientist was known for rigorous studies of psychedelics. Was he a true believer?
by Brendan Borrell, March 21, 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/health/psychedelics-roland-griffiths-johns-hopkins.html

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/04/21/idea-development-page-28/#The-Psychedelic-Evangelist-Borrell-March-2024-NYT

What We Do Is Secret: Part One: The Night Watchman (Travis Kitchens, Jan. 2025)

What We Do Is Secret: Part One: The Night Watchman
Travis Kitchens, Jan. 2, 2025
https://vegetabletelevision.substack.com/p/what-we-do-is-secret

What We Do Is Secret: Part Two: There Must Be a Way Out (Travis Kitchens, Jan. 2025)

What We Do Is Secret: Part Two: There Must Be a Way Out
Travis Kitchens, Jan. 2, 2025
https://substack.com/home/post/p-153869153

Billionaires are Secretly Funding a Psychedelic Holy War | Travis Kitchens (Danny Jones video, Feb. 2025)

Video title:
Billionaires are Secretly Funding a Psychedelic Holy War | Travis Kitchens
YT ch: Danny Jones
Feb 10, 2025
Show name: Danny Jones Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jksrbKGGSM&t=940s —

Desc:

“Travis Kitchens was a psychedelic research subject for Johns Hopkins University who eventually uncovered a secret plan to revive religion with drugs. Travis writes on the history and philosophy of psychedelic research.”

Outline:

  • 00:00 – Johns Hopkins’ psychedelic study
  • 08:22 – ‘Robo-tripping’
  • 17:00 – The Council on Spiritual Practices
  • 25:30 – Can humans summon aliens?
  • 43:33 – How the psychedelic renaissance started
  • 56:11 – Did ancient mystery cults start Christianity?
  • 01:01:25 – Graham Hancock vs Academia
  • 01:11:30 – The fall of Christianity
  • 01:20:47 – What happens to the brain on psychedelics
  • 01:25:34 – MAPS
  • 01:33:22 – The Catholic church is pushing drugs
  • 01:38:10 – The Immortality Key: A New Reformation
  • 01:42:59 – DARPA: Psychedelics on the battlefield
  • 01:48:38 – Travis’ weird email from Roland Griffiths
  • 01:52:49 – MKUltra 2.0
  • 01:57:36 – Reviving religion with Psychedelic drugs
  • 02:15:16 – Secret unreleased psychedelic paper
  • 02:24:33 – Who is funding psychedelic medicine research?

Some Very Strange Enchanted Boys: The Curious Science of Roland R. Griffiths (Kitchens, Feb. 2025)

Some Very Strange Enchanted Boys: The Curious Science of Roland R. Griffiths
Travis Kitchens, Feb. 14, 2025
https://vegetabletelevision.substack.com/p/some-very-strange-enchanted-boys

todo: read & comment probably at idea development page 31. paste text into Word, del junk, paste to 31.

The Most Controversial Paper in the History of Psychedelic Research May Never See the Light of Day: Was the Psychedelic Renaissance Led by Science or Faith? (Travis Kitchens, Mar. 2025)

March 2025 issue of Reason: by Travis Kitchens: The Most Controversial Paper in the History of Psychedelic Research May Never See the Light of Day: Was the Psychedelic Renaissance Led by Science or Faith?
https://reason.com/2025/03/01/the-most-controversial-paper-in-the-history-of-psychedelic-research-may-never-see-the-light-of-day/

The Strange Case of The Immortality Key (Travis Kitchens, Mar. 2025)

Somewhat tangential to the debate, “Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science”.

The Strange Case of The Immortality Key
Travis Kitchens
Reason, March 2025
https://reason.com/2025/03/01/the-strange-case-of-the-immortality-key/

Brave New World- The Psychedelic Renaissance is a Social Engineering Project (Travis Kitchens video, Apr. 2025)

Video title:
#60 Brave New World- The Psychedelic Renaissance is a Social Engineering Project. Travis Kitchens
YouTube channel: AWONDERJUNKIE
Apr 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZWsLluqU3Y —

Desc:

“Travis Kitchens was a psychedelic research subject in the Johns Hopkins study in 2014.

“Travis and Ryan explore the history of the current psychedelic movement, focusing on the Johns Hopkins studies, the Council on Spiritual Practices, and the implications of psychedelics in social engineering.

“Travis critiques the psychedelic movement, highlighting the influence of key figures and the commercialization of psychedelics, while questioning the narrative that psychedelics universally improve individuals and society.

“Travis and Ryan delve into the complexities surrounding psychedelics, discussing their potential benefits and the authoritarian elements that often accompany their use.

“They explore the dangers of addiction and escapism, the importance of cultural context, and the need for critical examination of psychedelic literature.

“The dialogue emphasizes the mystery of existence and the limits of knowledge, advocating for a humble approach to understanding consciousness and the human experience.

Chapters:

  • 00:00 Introduction to Psychedelics and Personal Journey
  • 09:58 The Johns Hopkins Study and Its Impact
  • 19:57 The Council on Spiritual Practices and the Psychedelic Renaissance
  • 30:05 Social Engineering and the Role of Psychedelics
  • 32:26 Narrowing Down the Focus
  • 34:01 The Psychedelic Renaissance and Its Critics
  • 36:31 Journalism and the Psychedelic Movement
  • 38:55 Transhumanism and Psychedelics
  • 42:18 Rick Doblin and the MAPS Controversy
  • 49:19 Whistleblowers and Hidden Research
  • 55:35 The Oversimplification of Psychedelic Benefits
  • 01:02:32 Psychedelics and the Military
  • 01:06:47 The Future of Psychedelics in Medicine
  • 01:11:56 Cultural Context and Individual Healing
  • 01:17:34 The Dangers of Escapism and Addiction
  • 01:24:38 Integration and the Mystical Experience
  • 01:35:45 The Mystery Cult of Psychedelics
  • 01:37:36 The Role of Subtlety in Psychedelic Experiences
  • 01:38:06 Exploring Richard Noll’s Controversial Work on Jung
  • 01:40:38 Understanding Jung’s Influence on the Psychedelic Renaissance
  • 01:42:05 Debunking the Cult of Personality in Psychedelia
  • 01:44:32 The Importance of Questioning Authority
  • 01:47:30 Psychedelics as a Tool for Humility
  • 01:49:49 The Need for Critical Examination in Psychedelic Literature
  • 01:52:43 The Dangers of Suggestibility in the Psychedelic Movement
  • 01:55:40 The Artistic Value of Controversial Figures
  • 02:01:36 Final Thoughts on Mystery and Skepticism Travis Kitchens

Publish or Perish (Joe Welker, May 2025)

Channel? PSYCHEDELIC CANDOR
Article title: Publish or Perish
Joe Welker
May 10, 2025
https://substack.com/home/post/p-162917659

Desc:
“Despite failing human subjects protections, a Johns Hopkins psychedelic clergy study driven to influence the public appears set to be published.”

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/05/07/idea-development-page-29/#Publish-or-Perish [todo: move that content from Idea Development page 29 to the verbose orig. page Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science instead?]
Verbose original version of the present page, with commentary:
Moving Past Mysticism: Theory of Psychedelic Eternalism Provides Scientific Basis, Superseding “Mysticism, Meditation, & Psychotherapy” Framework
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/

This Is Your Priest on Drugs (Michael Pollan, May 2025)

This Is Your Priest on Drugs
Michael Pollan, May 19, 2025
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/05/26/this-is-your-priest-on-drugs [subscribers] – If you are able to view entire article, you might want to Save As, Print (try 75% size), or Save As PDF – if you go in again, d/k if you have access to it.

I was able to access the full article and Save and Print it.

My commentary: https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/#This-Is-Your-Priest-on-Drugs

Crop and Annotations by Michael Hoffman, Jan. 13, 2025

Effects of Psilocybin on Religious and Spiritual Attitudes and Behaviors in Clergy from Various Major World Religions (May 2025)

The long-awaited “Religious Leaders Study”.

Effects of Psilocybin on Religious and Spiritual Attitudes and Behaviors in Clergy from Various Major World Religions
Roland R. Griffiths, Robert Jesse, William A. Richards, Matthew W. Johnson, Nathan D. Sepeda, Anthony P. Bossis, Stephen Ross
May 30, 2025
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/psymed.2023.0044
Psychedelic Medicine (journal)

web search:
“Religious Leaders Study” Hopkins “Psychedelic Medicine” journal
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Religious+Leaders+Study%22+Hopkins+%22Psychedelic+Medicine%22+journal

Abstract

Background: 

“Although historical writings, anthropological accounts, and experimental studies document associations between psilocybin use and religion, no prospective experimental study has investigated how the effects of psilocybin are experienced and interpreted by religious clergy.

“This exploratory study evaluated the overall safety and the acute and enduring effects of psilocybin in clergy.

Methods:

“Participants were psychedelic-naïve clergy from various major world religions.

“A randomized, parallel group, waitlist control design was used to assess the effects of two supported psilocybin sessions, with participants receiving 20 and then 20 or 30 mg/70 kg about 1 month later.

“Outcomes were compared between the Immediate Group (n = 13) and the Delayed Group (n = 16) at 6 months after screening using self-report measures.

“The effects of psilocybin were also assessed on session days and 4 and 16 months after the second psilocybin session in the 24 participants who completed both sessions.

Results:

“The primary outcome assessment at 6 months after screening showed that, compared with the delayed control group, participants who had received psilocybin reported significantly greater positive changes in their religious practices, attitudes about their religion, and effectiveness as a religious leader, as well as in their non-religious attitudes, moods, and behavior.

“Follow-up assessments showed that positive changes in religious and non-religious attitudes and behavior were sustained through 16 months after the second psilocybin session.

“At that time, participants rated at least one of their psilocybin experiences to be among the top five most spiritually significant (96%), profoundly sacred (92%), psychologically insightful (83%), and psychologically meaningful (79%) of their lives.

“Furthermore, 42% rated one of their experiences to be the single most profound of their lifetime.

“At 16-months follow-up, most (79%) strongly endorsed that the experiences had positive effects on their religious practices (e.g., prayer or meditation) and their daily sense of the sacred, and most (71%) reported positive changes in  their appreciation of religious traditions other than their own.

“Although no serious adverse events were reported, 46% rated a psilocybin experience as among the top five most psychologically challenging of their lives.

Conclusions:

“In this population of clergy, psilocybin administration was safe and increased multiple domains of overall psychological well-being including positive changes in religious attitudes and behavior as well as their vocation as a religious leader.

“The study was limited by a waitlist control design, homogenous sample, and the use of some unvalidated outcome measures. Further research with more rigorous control conditions and diverse samples is needed.”

/ end Abstract

todo: move out to Commentary page:

Find “conflicts of interest” in the article:

The section is restrictive-sounding. Will that reduce how often the article is cited?

“the following must be reported to all journals and disclosed in all publications where data related to this study may be published”

How often would people want to publish data related to this study?

With or without the violations that taint & invalidate this entire study.

What impact the requirement of disclosure of taintedness?

UNCLEAN study

You cannot build evidence-based Science with unclean studies. That’s the simplified idea. Practical is more nuanced: It is not bad that they attempted a study in this pioneering area.

After Controversy, the Psilocybin & Religious Leaders Study Is Finally Published (Psychedelic Alpha, May 2025)

Post at X by Psychedelic Alpha, about Religious Clergy Study (May 30, 2025)
https://x.com/Psyched_Alpha/status/1928507396067864624

“After Controversy, the Psilocybin & Religious Leaders Study Is Finally Published“

The Published “Effects” and the Unpublished Effects (Welker, June 2025)

The Published “Effects” and the Unpublished Effects
Joe Welker
June 2, 2025
https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-published-effects-and-the-unpublished

“After late-stage drama, one of two papers in the psychedelic clergy study is published. Other things weren’t.”

Psychedelics and Spirituality in Light of the Religious Leaders Study (Livestream, June 11, 2025) – Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley

Psychedelics and Spirituality in Light of the Religious Leaders Study (Livestream)
https://events.gtu.edu/event/gtu.events.1016144
Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley
Wed., June 11, 2025, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM, PST
Pollan, etc. on the panel

Video title:
Psychedelics and Spirituality in Light of the Religious Leaders Study
YouTube channel: Graduate Theological Union
Streamed live on Jun 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwXbPfx1vAI —

Desc:

“Entanglements between psychedelics and religion are nothing new.

Such intersections span countless cultures across millennia, presumably ever since humans started gathering to ingest psychoactive plants and fungi.

This fact has both enchanted and tormented modern researchers who wish to study these substances within the secular frameworks of scientific materialism.

We now find ourselves at an intriguing moment in the history of psychedelics and religion.

Nearly a decade ago, a team of scientists from Johns Hopkins and NYU observed the effects of psilocybin on dozens of religious leaders from various traditions.

The researchers sought to replicate and improve upon the groundbreaking “Good Friday Experiment” of 1962, conducted beneath Howard Thurman’s Marsh Chapel by a Harvard PhD candidate who sought to measure the impact of psilocybin on local divinity students in a devotional setting.

Central questions underlying both studies were:

Given the tendencies of psychedelics to induce “mystical” or “spiritual” states typically associated with religions, what happens when you administer them to seasoned religious practitioners from traditions that do not normally incorporate psychedelics?

Are these individuals somehow primed for the psycho-spiritual terrain?

Do psychedelic experiences change their religious identities or outlooks?

For a variety of reasons, publication of the scientific article from the Hopkins/NYU study was stalled for years.

Just recently, on May 19th, Michael Pollan published his own article in The New Yorker about the study, its contexts, and its controversies.

Then, the scientific article finally appeared on May 30th in the journal Psychedelic Medicine.

During a panel discussion we are hosting at the Graduate Theological Union and via livestream on June 11,

  • Pollan will engage in discussion with
  • Rabbi Zac Kamenetz, who participated in the Hopkins/NYU study;
  • Aidan Seale-Feldman, an anthropologist researching contemporary psychedelic “churches” with an eye toward secularism;
  • Bia Labate, an anthropologist who has published extensively on Indigenous plant medicine traditions, as well as other marginalized psychedelic cultures; and
  • Michael Silver, a neuroscientist and co-director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
  • Sam Shonkoff, a scholar of religion at the Graduate Theological Union, will moderate.

Together, these speakers will shed light on the cultural significance of the Hopkins/NYU study and how its results and reception ought to inform perspectives on psychedelics, religions, and the entanglements between them.

To learn more about earning a Master of Arts in Psychedelics and Spirituality from the GTU, visit https://www.gtu.edu/academics/ma-program “

Video: “Erica Rex – Science and Religion”: Summary of Hopkins’ “Religious Leaders Study” Fiasco (June 30, 2025)

Video title: Erica Rex – Science and Religion
YouTube Channel: Psychedelics Today
Streamed live on Jun 30, 2025, I was there live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_TYKKU-2MI –

Good summary of Religious Leaders Study fiasco.

Award-winning science writer Erica Rex, conversation about the recent Hopkins religious study.

My Notes:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/06/11/idea-development-page-30/#video-erica-rex-science-and-religion

John Allegro and the Psychedelic Mysteries Hypothesis (Ascough, 2025/08)

https://www.google.com/search?q=richard+ascough+the+psychedelic+mysteries+hypothesis
There are reviews of the article.

John Allegro and the Psychedelic Mysteries Hypothesis
Richard Ascough
2025/08/08
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/8/1029
John_Allegro_and_the_Psychedelic_Mysteries_Hypothe.pdf

Psychedelic Priest Deposed by the Episcopal Church (Welker, Aug. 8, 2025)

Psychedelic Priest Deposed by the Episcopal Church
JOE WELKER
AUG 08, 2025
https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/psychedelic-priest-deposed-by-the

My commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2025/06/11/idea-development-page-30/#The-Fall-of-McPriest

Episcopal Church removes priest who founded Christian psychedelic society (K. Post, Aug. 20, 2025)

Episcopal Church removes priest who founded Christian psychedelic society
Kathryn Post, Aug. 20, 2025, has audio read-aloud avail.
https://religionnews.com/2025/08/20/episcopal-church-removes-priest-who-founded-christian-psychedelic-society/
“Hunt Priest was removed from ministry nearly a decade after participating in a controversial study on clergy and psychedelics.”

Chris White at Vassar re: James & Starbuck: A Measured Faith

https://www.google.com/search?q=Chris+White+Vassar+James+Starbuck+A+Measured+Faith

Motivation for this Page

Crop by Michael Hoffman

To Correct Psychedelic Pseudo Science

Why this topic is relevant, for what field of concern:

I found illegitimate the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), then found illegitimate Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ).

I then said: psychedelic pseudo science.

I traced the fiasco of errors to help whitewash and cover-up the risk, in how the 11-Factors questionnaire was created and documented, and then how the the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) was created and doc’d.

The result was, most notably and significantly, Item 54 “I was afraid to lose my self-control” from OAV 1994 went missing, and wasn’t even included by Dittrich in the APZ from 1975, until 1994.

See my corrective ECQ, which addresses the biggest factor blocking Psilocybin usage:
ECQ – “Eternalism and Control Questionnaire” (Hoffman 2022)
https://egodeaththeory.org/2022/12/23/eternalism-and-control-transformation-effects-in-the-psychedelics-effects-questionnaires/

Crop by Michael Hoffman. From lower left to upper right.

To Switch from “Pleasant, Boundaryless Unity” to “Challenging, Cybernetic Eternalism”

Motivation for this page: To switch from the Weak, Fool’s Gold “Pleasant, Boundaryless Unity” Model to the Classic, Ultimate “Challenging, Cybernetic Eternalism” Model of Climactic Mystical Experience Transformative Apocalyptic Revelation

Two Conflicting Models of Mystical Experience: “Positive Unity” vs. “Challenging Dependent Control”

Historically, there are two competing conceptions of Transcendent Knowledge or mystic knowledge revelation; two conflicting models of mystical experience:

  1. Beginner, positive unity. Suspension of constructing the self/other boundary sensation. Origin: Swami Vivekananda, 1893, for the reductionist/distorting purpose of international political unity. A one-sided, lopsided, “positive-balanced” (as Griff told Stang in Harvard video) model eagerly taken up by Wm James, Walter Stace, Walter Pahnke/ Tim Leary, Wm Richards, Ralph Hood, & Roland Griffiths group.
  2. Advanced, challenging dependent control. Omitted from Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), by omitting challenging experiences as “unpleasant therefore unmystical”. Omitted from the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) by omitting 18 of 21 negative effects from OAV 1994, to (motivation:) deliver a generic, forced-familiarized “Grief challenges” factor instead of a psychedelic-specific, unfamiliar & mysterious “Control challenges” factor.

Pleasant, Boundaryless Unity; the “Positive Unity” Model of Mystical Experience

False, incomplete model of mystical experience, as basis for “Psychedelic Science”:

Feeble version of “mystical experience”: The quintessential common core of mystical experience is pleasant, boundaryless unity. aka: positive unity.

Weak, beginner, shallow, popular, substitute, dabblers, for avoidance. Focused on by:

  • Swami Vivekananda’s Advaita Vedanta 1893.
  • William James 1902.
  • Walter Stace 1960.
  • Timothy Leary/ Walter Pahnke 1962 Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ).
  • William Richards 1975/2015.
  • Ralph Hood’s Mysticism Scale (M Scale) 1975.
  • Roland Griffiths 2006.

Challenging, Cybernetic Eternalism; the “Challenging Dependent Control” Model of Mystical Experience

Full-strength version: The quintessential common core of mystical experience is challenging, cybernetic eternalism.

Intense, advanced, shattering, deep, hardcore, ultimate transformative test. Focused on by:

  • Acid Metal Lyrics: The most revelatory or exclamatory Rock Lyrics. Help; Heaven Can Wait; S.A.T.O., Right the Lightning, No One at the Bridge. Album art treats non-boundary unity like mere perceptual distortion; commonplace, entry-level beginner effect: Thee Hypnotics: Come Down Heavy.
  • Myth: doesn’t depict non-boundary unity; emphasis is snake not rock, in {snake frozen in rock}. {shadow dragon monster} guarded transformation gate.
  • The medieval art genre of {mushroom-trees}, including {mushrooms}, {branching}, {handedness}, and {stability} motifs.
  • Astral ascent mysticism re: heimarmene & transcending it. End up above heimarmene and at One/Source/Pege, but central focus is reaching heimarmene and transcending heimarmene, in awesome fear & trembling.
  • The Egodeath theory.
  • The Way of Zen by Alan Watts w/ focus on switching to a 2nd model of self-control cybernetics. Summarized in “Zen and the Problem of Control” in This Is It.
  • Quote from Pankhe: 9 guys had pleasant, boundaryless unity; 1 guy had challenging cybernetic eternalism; threat of catastrophic loss of control.

The Original, Verbose Page with Commentary

I created the present, condensed page, because I need a page that’s:

  • Clearly titled.
    • A clear link, to help people follow this debate in psychedelic science.
  • Clean, organized by date.
    • Listing the articles in order.
  • Separating commentary from citation info.
    • Without uneven-length commentary.

Verbose original version of the present page, with commentary:
Moving Past Mysticism: Theory of Psychedelic Eternalism Provides Scientific Basis, Superseding “Mysticism, Meditation, & Psychotherapy” Framework
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/

Come Down Heavy (Thee Hypnotics, 1990)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZIuhCxXN5E —

https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+thee+hypnotics+come+down+heavy

No lyrics for this song, on the web! I have to transcribe (quick/rough start):

When you’re down on your bended knees
And evil hoodoo gonna make you aggrieved
Well there ain’t no need to feel uptight, no
Just let it come down heavy tonight

When you can’t seem to get it on
Every minute gonna last too long
If your blues gonna gone aground
That’s when you just got to let em calm down

Bias Against ‘Religion’, for ‘Spirituality’ Revealed by Bob Jesse Talk

todo: move this section out eg to idea development page 30

Bob Jesse seems worth watching.

He showed the bias:

pleasant, good words/ideas/ associations = spirituality = stuff i like

unpleasant, bad words/ideas/ associations = religion = stuff i don’t like

See Also

Verbose original version of the present page, with commentary:
https://egodeaththeory.org/2023/01/15/the-theory-of-psychedelic-eternalism-provides-a-scientific-explanatory-basis-for-mystic-state-experiencing/

Crop by Michael Hoffman – YI tree; more branching on L than R
Crop by Michael Hoffman – YI tree; {cut right trunk}
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Author: egodeaththeory

http://egodeath.com

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