Yes, but couldn't you then apply the same materialistic approach also to pain for example and explain it away as just some brain activity? Yet people live as if the experience of pain is real and modify their behaviour to avoid it. No one thinks their own pain isn't real.
But also yes, psychotic people too feel like they are really being followed by CIA which an outside observer can recognize as a delusion.
But why should this even be either-or? Why couldn't it be that the brain is tripping and the supernatural is also happening? I think mushrooms probably can trigger the brain into a state that can happen other ways too (fasting, long meditations, experiences of supreme beauty, the overview effect, near-death experiences etc.) These brain states are probably what religions are on about and why they have even appeared in the first place.
My experience was that the brain state I was in was very unusual and made me more humbly appreciate more the mystery of all being and in that state disproving the existence of god through logical arguments seemed like such a silly human endeavour, as if a termite is trying to gnaw on a temple. Like, "Sure, go ahead?" (and I'm not bashing logic, I too rely on it every day)
I ate mushrooms 10 years ago and it made me realize how little humans really know about existence, despite how confidently some people assert that there's no god. I didn't directly communicate with god or anything, but in some way the experience broadened my mind to be less dismissive about the idea of a higher power.
There's also the 1,5h documentary Rise of the Warrior Apes which is sort of a "prequel" to Chimp Empire. It was filmed over a period of 20 years in the same location and documents how the researches originally came upon this unusual chimpanzee tribe. The production values are not nearly as polished as in Chimp Empire but in my opinion it was still an interesting watch if you find this kind of stuff fascinating. The researchers themselves talk a lot in this.
Well, the Hebrew word for adversary or opponent is satan. Regardless of whether you actually believe in satan or god(s), I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to point out that there are lots of adversarial things happening in the world at the moment. All sorts of things in opposition to peace, to harmony, to human flourishing, etc., which are the good things any sane human would pursue.
I think the main goal of an opponent, concrete or imaginary, is to leave you in a discouraged state. When you get discouraged, you start to lose your momentum and your will to live. You become anxious, paralyzed and confused, which is to say: easy to defeat. This is exactly what an adversary would want you to do.
So, to answer the question: I do everything in my power to not get discouraged. I keep on trucking, being productive, helping out people, taking care of my loved ones and maintaining a positive, lighthearted mindset. I am hitting back by the sheer audacity of staying cheerful in these times, because that would absolutely enrage an enemy that wants to see me discouraged and defeated.
Make a habit of spotting things in your life that you can say you are grateful for. A lot of good things in life are taken for granted and you only realize you had them when you lose them. It takes some practice and effort to start noticing these, but when you do, it enhances your enjoyment of the present moment.
> And how exactly would non-linguistic animals suddenly gain linguistic ability? They better hope everyone around them is tripping on the perfect dose too otherwise they’re just gonna perceive it as meaningless babblimg
I don't think this has to be an sudden event? Apes are already communicating with each other and have the relevant structures for communication in place. It isn't impossible for me to imagine that mushrooms with their creativity-heightening effects might offer insights to an ape on how to improve the utilization of that which is already there, making their communication more refined, precise and expressive. It also isn't impossible to imagine that in a group of social animals better communication would likely increase the probability of survival and leaving offspring, thus influencing evolution.
But also yes, psychotic people too feel like they are really being followed by CIA which an outside observer can recognize as a delusion.
But why should this even be either-or? Why couldn't it be that the brain is tripping and the supernatural is also happening? I think mushrooms probably can trigger the brain into a state that can happen other ways too (fasting, long meditations, experiences of supreme beauty, the overview effect, near-death experiences etc.) These brain states are probably what religions are on about and why they have even appeared in the first place.
My experience was that the brain state I was in was very unusual and made me more humbly appreciate more the mystery of all being and in that state disproving the existence of god through logical arguments seemed like such a silly human endeavour, as if a termite is trying to gnaw on a temple. Like, "Sure, go ahead?" (and I'm not bashing logic, I too rely on it every day)