An important issue I’ve yet to discuss at SoulLaboratory.com is the idea of spiritual technology. If our understanding of psychology is sufficiently detailed to incorporate spiritual aspects of the human experience, than it is also reasonable to discuss the brain correlates of the spiritual experience. The trick is to do it without being reductionist and dismissive of the spiritual experience. Once we understand that everything has a material basis, then we can start to understand that we can affect our spiritual experience through physical actions. This is what I refer to as spiritual technology. This technology can include prayer, kabbalistic tools, and psychedelic drugs – all ancient techniques for achieving spiritual aims through physical action.
…And before you ask, no, not all such things are spiritual technology. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, making space for spirituality in our personal experience doesn’t mean abandoning cause and effect. We have to prove to ourselves, and if possible, others, that these things work.
Towards that end, scientists are now finally starting to overcome the anti-drug biases of the post-1960’s generation and taking a look at the effects of psychedelic drugs. Among the world’s oldest and most common spiritual technologies is the use of magic mushrooms – various species of Amanita and Psilocybin. Check out this report of a new scientific study of their effects. Note especially how the scientists constrain their questions to a few specific points about memory and brain function.
