I'm reading Supernatural by Graham Hancock right now. I just got done with Part I a few moments ago. While reading the section Scientific Sacrilege a thought suddenly hit, please forgive me if there is any lack of sense in this, I have an inconsolable headache but I wanted to write before I forgot my thought completely.
Is the War on Drugs, in part, a (Western) conspiracy to keep people from learning/studying about hallucinations: What they portray, why they exist, how they may change us?
"But to understand what hallucinations really are, and what part they play in an overall spectrum of human perceptions, is another thing altogether, and neither Lewis-Williams nor any other scientist can yet claim to possess such knowledge, or to be anywhere near acquiring it. Gifted and experienced shamans the world over really do know more - much more - than they do. So if we were smart, we would listen to what the shamans have to say about the true character and complexity of reality, instead of basking mindlessly in the over-weening one-dimensional arrogance of the Western technological mindset."
So are hallucinations just the modern day "the sun orbits the earth." Did fanatical religious leaders put pressure on banning hallucinogens because of the fear of the unknown, or the fear of losing control? Is it too "pagan" to go into a trance? Are "western" religions fearful of hallucinations because of the shamans use and understanding of them are far greater. Did the lack of physical evidence and understanding cause us to reject our brains ability to hallucinate as something worth delving into? With people from different walks of life from all over the world having "what appear to have been the same intelligent, communicative, non-physical "entities" encountered on their trance journeys" how can educated people say that hallucinations are just a trick of the brain.
No this is not a campaign promoting drugs. It's just a provoked thought popping out of my brain while reading. I do agree with Mr Hancock; what makes us think we know so much when we won't even open our eyes to thousands of years of knowledge shamans have about this "trick of the brain."
