X-Ftn-To: Marcus E Engdahl 

mengdahl@cc.hut.fi (Marcus E Engdahl) wrote:
>>Visions carry power and spiritual insight, while hallucinations carry
>>only fear and illusion.
>
>Not true, since many description of psychotic episodes include
>spiritual insight and communication with God. Temporal lobe epilepsy
>(TLE) also creates religious states full of power and meaning.

Every form of spiritual experience goes through the brain. The
connection with the soul is bi-directional. In come cases, and with
some experiences, events that take place in the cerebral
neurochemistry, such as the effects of psychotropic drugs like LSD,
even marijuana, or electric cortical stimulation, or some sorts of
brain damage or electrical activity (such as TLE) can result in some
sort of a religious/spiritual experience, which can be called genuine.
However, since this isn't accompanied with the adequate development of
all aspects of personality, such experiences have limited value.

>>>If you see Gods/angels, so be it. But be careful with the people who
>>>you teach - you may seriously f*ck up people who might already be
>>>fragile. 
>
>>Your advice is worthless since you have no knowledge of the subject.
>
>I was speaking on a general level and not referring to anything you
>teach. Fragile people do get hurt in religions, especially in ones
>that require total devotion.

"Fragile" people never get the chance to become my students.

-- 
Homepage: http://www.danijel.org