Summary of the Egodeath Theory

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Michael Hoffman, October 7, 2016

Contents:

Summary 1

Religious mythology describes visionary plants loosening the mind, giving the experience of one’s stream of thoughts across time as a snake-shaped worldline embedded in a frozen, rock-like block universe.

Near-future thoughts are seen as pre-existing, giving an experience of non-control and dependence on a hidden thought-source.

The mental model of time and control transforms from a branching-possibilities model, like a king steering in a tree, to a non-branching model, like a snake embedded in a rock.

Summary 2

Religious mythology describes by analogy and metaphor, visionary plants that induce the mystic altered state. Ingesting visionary-plant wine or potion induces the mystic state, which is loose cognitive association binding.

Loose cognitive binding produces an experience of being frozen in a snake-shaped worldline within the pre-existing block universe. Experiencing the frozen block universe changes the mental worldmodel of control and time.

The mental worldmodel of control and time changes, transforming from the branching possibilities tree model, to the linear frozen model, with a snake-shaped worldline of future thoughts frozen into the rock-like block universe.

Experiencing personal control as being pre-set in a worldline in the block universe, shaped like a snake frozen in rock, is a threatening experience of personal non-control, with awareness of vulnerable, helpless dependence on pre-existing thoughts.

While pursuing the greatest treasure, of transcendent knowledge, the personal control agent in the loose cognitive state now sees the threatening dragon that is uncovered in the mind. The control-agent perceives the threat of control instability due to lack of control over the source of pre-existing thoughts.

Personal control is fastened helplessly to the block universe, with the control system stabbed and penetrated in its vulnerable spot. Control is overthrown at the wellspring, which is the source of personal control-thoughts.

To pass through the gateway to attain the treasure of highest knowledge, requires the sacrifice overthrow of a king steering through the branching possibility tree, repudiating freewill-premised control power and consciously, profoundly depending instead, on a hidden, uncontrollable source of thoughts.

1-Sentence Summary with Technical Terms

Religious mythology describes experiential transformation of the mental worldmodel from Literalist Ordinary-state Possibilism to Analogical Psychedelic Eternalism.

Possibilism vs. Eternalism: Two Models of Time and Control
https://egodeaththeory.wordpress.com/2020/11/12/possibilism-vs-eternalism-2-models-of-time-and-control/

Mythemes in a Narrative Sequence Describing Ego Death Initiation

{wine cup with apprehension, speared dead king fastened to tree, lifted up like healing snake, reborn from rock tomb}

{man rides without steering-reins, carried by donkey/horse along path to see debranched tree trunk with snake winding up it, carved on on rock sarcophagus}

{king steering in a tree, drinks wine, becomes snake in rock}

{take fruit from snake-shaped vine, mushroom-shaped grape bunch, mix-in mushrooms, experience worldline snake petrified embedded into block-universe rock of marble, panic, frenzy, un-bind hair, grab thrysus spear that penetrates wound rebirth opening, sacrifice branching possibility-thinking on rock altar, burn away perishable aspects, become imperishable with the gods}

Overview from the 2006 Main Article

The Entheogen Theory of Religion and Ego Death
http://www.egodeath.com/EntheogenTheoryOfReligion.htm

The Entheogen Theory of Religion and Ego Death explains what is revealed in religious revelation and in enlightenment, including the nature of personal control agency.

The essence and origin of religion is the use of visionary plants to routinely trigger the intense mystic altered state, producing loose binding of cognitive associations. This loose cognitive binding then produces an experience of being controlled by frozen block-universe determinism with a single, pre-existing, ever-existing future.

Experiencing this model of control and time initially destabilizes self-control power, and amounts to the death of the self that was conceived of as an autonomous control-agent. Self-control stability is restored upon transforming one’s mental model to take into account the dependence of personal control on a hidden, separate thought-source, such as Necessity or a divine level that transcends Necessity.

Myth describes this mystic-state experiential insight and transformation. Religious initiation teaches and causes this transformation of the self considered as a control-agent, through a series of visionary-plant sessions, interspersed with study of perennial philosophy. Most modern-era religion has been a distortion of this standard initiation system, reducing these concepts to a weak interpretation that is based in the ordinary state of consciousness.

Summary 2 with Highlighting

Religious mythology describes by analogy and metaphor, visionary plants that induce the mystic altered state. Ingesting visionary-plant {wine} or {potion} induces the mystic state, which is loose cognitive association binding.

Loose cognitive binding produces an experience of being frozen in a {snake}-shaped worldline within the pre-existing block universe. Experiencing the frozen block universe changes the mental worldmodel of control and time.

The mental worldmodel of control and time changes, transforming from the branching possibilities {tree} model, to the linear frozen model, with a {snake}-shaped worldline of future thoughts frozen into the {rock}-like block universe.

Experiencing personal control as being pre-set in a worldline in the block universe, shaped like a {snake} frozen in {rock}, is a threatening experience of personal non-control, with awareness of vulnerable, helpless dependence on pre-existing thoughts.

While pursuing the greatest {treasure}, of transcendent knowledge, the personal control agent in the loose cognitive state now sees the threatening {dragon} that is {uncovered} in the mind. The control-agent perceives the threat of control instability due to lack of control over the source of pre-existing thoughts.

Personal control is {fastened} helplessly to the block universe, with the control system {stabbed} and {penetrated} in its vulnerable spot. Control is overthrown at the {wellspring}, which is the source of personal control-thoughts.

To pass through the {gateway} to attain the treasure of highest knoweldge, requires the {sacrifice} overthrow of a {king} {steering} through the branching possibility {tree}, repudiating freewill-premised control power and consciously, profoundly depending instead, on a hidden, uncontrollable source of thoughts.

The Block Universe and Worldlines, in Terms of the Egodeath Theory

from article: Minkowski’s Block Universe
https://egodeaththeory.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/minkowskis-block-universe-computational-framework/ —

The 4D-spacetime block universe is rock-like, containing frozen embedded worm- or snake-shaped worldlines. The block universe contains all time and change, so the block universe is frozen and does not itself change.

A worldline is your linear stream of subjective mental content, including your personal control-thoughts, spread across time from the past into a single, pre-existing future.

The future is single, pre-existing, and non-branching, even though in the ordinary state of consciousness, it feels like we are steering through a tree of branching possibilities.

Your pre-existing, non-changing worldline is like a dark vein that runs through a white marble slab. The vein in the marble slab may “change” in a certain sense — it might “become” wider at one spot than another — yet the vein overall doesn’t change.

Per the Egodeath theory, in the mystic altered state from visionary plants, the mind has the capacity to experience the frozen block universe, along with experiencing a kind of non-control. There’s always control, but the mind experiences control differently, in the mystic altered state.

Religious mythology describes, using analogy, ingesting visionary plants and then experiencing the block universe and non-control.

Experiencing the block universe and the accompanying type of non-control causes transformation of the mental model of time and control, described by key analogies such as {wine, king, tree, death, snake, dragon, treasure, rock, sacrifice, and rebirth}.

Key mythological analogies that describe the block universe experience and concept are: {snake} = worldline, and {rock} = block universe, as contrasted with the ordinary-state experience of being like a {king} {steering} in a {tree}.

See Also

History of Developing the Egodeath Theory
https://egodeaththeory.wordpress.com/2020/11/12/history-of-developing-the-egodeath-theory/