Mystics and Muons

This is the reading of a written piece making a case for increasing entropy as an artifact of the way conscious agents apply serial lossy downsampling of an infinitely complex reality, rather than as a trait inherent in the universe.

Essentially, entropy is a measure about the information we have about a system, which is always subject to the bandwidth constraints of consciousness. These bandwidth constraints result in continual downsampling or compression of reality from moment to moment, resulting in a compounding loss of information. This results in the perception of increasing entropy as experienced by the observer. This perception is largely consistent between observers, since we as observers are part of the system being observed, and therefore experience a certain measure of consensus reality. I then argue that entropy actually decreases for the observer with injections of information about the system, which appears as increasing the bandwidth which is dictating the downsampling or compression of reality. This occurs through evolution, as well as through the arc of one's life from newborn to adult, but can also occur by increasing one's state of awareness through practices like meditation. I argue that within idealism, there is no such thing as a closed system.

Link:

Substack Link - https://mormonsmysticsandmuons.substack.com/p/entropy-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder

Essentia Article - https://www.essentiafoundation.org/entropy-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/

Please leave a review, share with a friend, and get in touch at [email protected] with feedback or topics you'd like to see us cover.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:31 Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

04:18 Objections to the Second Law

05:17 Sabine Hossenfelder's Perspective on the Second Law

08:21 Stephen Wolfram's Cellular Automata

10:24 Stephen Wolfram's Ruliad

11:39 Stephen Wolfram's Perspective on the Second Law

15:25 Stephen Wolfram's Perspective on Quantum Physics and Consciousness

16:30 Donald Hoffman's Interface Theory of Perception

18:30 Donald Hoffman's Model of Conscious Agents

20:23 Donald Hoffman's Markovian Dynamics and Entropy

22:28 Intersubjectivity

24:07 Bernardo Kastrup's Analytical Idealism as a Model for Intersubjectivity

27:00 QBism as a Model for Intersubjectivity

28:26 Overcoming Entropy

32:28 Conclusion

During this episode we listen to a portion of a lecture by Terence McKenna and provide commentary. We discuss the impact of the Judeo-Christian belief that man is fallen. McKenna discusses how this contrasts with esoteric teachings that we are co-creators of reality with the divine.

He also discusses how bizarre of a case John Dee was, though it will be quite familiar for Mormons. John Dee was an educated individual in the late 1500's who claimed an angel appeared to him, giving him a “shew stone” in which messages appeared. A man named Edward Kelley then shows up on the scene and uses the shew-stone to receive messages in reversed Latin, which were transcribed by John Dee. Ultimately the angels command John Dee to share his wife with Edward Kelley. We also discuss the impact psychedelics may have had on esotericism, but highlight McKenna's point that they needn't be involved in explaining all mystical experiences that contributed to esotericism.

The full McKenna lecture is available at https://youtu.be/6pvAhssEmVo?si=WjeI7MTAklD-5Z2S

Links:

Becoming Michelangelo: Apprenticing to the Master and Discovering the Artist through His Drawings - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1956763473

Silence: A Novel - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSNZ7BFK

The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004M8RUF4

Please leave a review, share with a friend, and get in touch at [email protected] with feedback or topics you'd like to see us cover.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Recap of Sunstone Sessions

02:02 Exploring the Connection Between Mormonism and Freemasonry

08:08 Terence McKenna and the Mystical Origins of Mormonism

12:30 Magic, Hermeticism, and Christianity

13:41 The Christian View of Fallen Man

16:35 False Dichotomy of Good and Evil

20:34 Christ as an Archetype Instead of a Savior

23:31 Freud's Superego, Ego, Id

28:46 The Hermetic View of Humanity as Co-Partners in Creation

32:55 Dangers of Anthropocentrism

37:52 Morals Outside of Religion

46:59 The Historicity of Hermes Trismegistus

52:01 Hermetic Philosophy

56:36 Gods in Embryo

01:01:04 Enoch and Moses's Vision, and Mystical Experiences

01:03:02 Religion versus Spirituality

00:51 LSD and the Mind of the Universe

03:44 The Absence of Sin in Hermeticism

06:37 Similarities with the Book of Abraham and the Second Comforter

10:04 Reevaluating Damnation and Sin within Idealism

13:39 Psychedelics and other Methods for Mystical Experiences

19:39 Reconciling Spiritual Experiences after Mormonism

24:23 Western Europe's Shift towards Religion

36:39 Giordano Bruno

38:46 John Dee

41:10 John Dee's Shew-Stone and Edward Kelly

46:00 Similarities Between John Dee and Joseph Smith

55:44 Integrating Truths and the Evolution of Religion

01:01:27 The Challenge of Reconciling Religion Without Dichotomies

01:03:11 The Battle Between Religion and Spirituality

01:08:51 LSD and the Mind of the Universe

01:11:44 The Absence of Sin in Hermeticism

01:14:37 Similarities with the Book of Abraham and the Second Comforter

01:18:04 Reevaluating Damnation and Sin within Idealism

01:21:39 Psychedelics and other Methods for Mystical Experiences

01:27:39 Reconciling Spiritual Experiences after Mormonism

01:32:23 Western Europe's Shift towards Religion

01:44:39 Giordano Bruno

01:46:46 John Dee

01:49:10 John Dee's Shew-Stone and Edward Kelly

01:54:00 Similarities Between John Dee and Joseph Smith

02:03:44 Integrating Truths and the Evolution of Religion

02:09:27 The Challenge of Reconciling Religion Without Dichotomies

02:11:11 The Battle Between Religion and Spirituality

Glenn Ostlund of Infants on Thrones joins us for a wide-ranging discussion. We cover psychology, attachment theory, complex trauma, neuroscience, and how understanding our brain helps us heal. Glenn has a long history in podcasting and overlaps with many of the topics we feature on Mormons, Mystics, and Muons. He also shares our perspective of claiming the positive truths in Mormonism while growing from the flaws.

Links

Therapist Uncensored Podcast - The Amygdala Unpacked with Dr. Joseph LeDoux (174): https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/amygdala-joseph-e-ledoux-174/ Discussing how protein synthesis is not only part of memory consolidation or formation, but is also involved in memory retrieval and then being put back away, or memory reconsolidation. Discussion of the experiment with the rats starts at 20:00.

Therapist Uncensored Podcast - The Neurobiology of Threat Impacts Your Relationships, Ann and Sue Update You on the Latest (173): https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/neurobiology-impacts-relationships-173/

Therapist Uncensored Podcast - The Life-Changing Science of Memory Reconsolidation with Guests Bruce Ecker & Tori Olds: https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/tu112-the-life-changing-science-of-memory-reconsolidation-with-guests-bruce-ecker-tori-olds/

Big Think - Is the universe controlled by gigantic structures?: https://bigthink.com/hard-science/large-scale-structures/

Tripping Through Time: How Psychedelic Drugs Reopen the Brain’s Learning Window: https://scitechdaily.com/tripping-through-time-how-psychedelic-drugs-reopen-the-brains-learning-window/ This article references the study showing the time windows of neuroplasticity that psychedelics reopen, and talk about how those are sort of super-learning periods, with growth dependent on what happens during those windows.

Attachment Disturbances in Adults by Daniel Brown and David Elliott: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016APOD0G I can't recommend this enough. It is a thick book at 700 some pages, and written for clinicians. My favorite part of the book was transcripts they included of a patient who the therapist was able to reintegrate all her dissociative alter egos into one cohesive ego, which became a model for my view of the "purpose of life," essentially that cosmic parts work I talked about.

Mindset - The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345472322

Infants on Thrones: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Z6HKLDRPEeW7QM9n5WjLS

Glenn Ostlund: https://dowofhealing.com

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mormons, Mystics, and Muons Podcast

04:37 Introduction to Infants on Thrones Podcast

04:52 Infants on Thrones Podcast

07:01 Attachment Theory

17:28 Childhood Experiences

25:01 Finding Order in the Chaos of your Past

27:34 Coherence Therapy and Memory Consolidation

35:41 The Malleability of the Brain and Growth Mindset

41:33 Therapy and Medications

46:13 Psychedelics and Windows of Neuroplasticity

48:33 Mirror Neurons

56:28 Idealism and the Nature of Reality

01:03:15 The Consciousness of Neurons

01:06:59 Rupert Spira and Awareness

01:08:09 Are we Living in "Horton Hears a Who"?

01:10:46 The Creation of the Earth

01:13:45 Schrodinger Equation Applies to Space

01:15:44 Are Humans just the Neurons of AI?

01:17:23 Channeling and Automatic Writing

01:29:47 Brain Science

01:40:02 Mormonism

01:41:38 Finding Meaning in Polarity

01:47:50 Humans as the Neurons of the Planet

01:52:05 Recognizing and Changing Unconscious Programming

01:54:02 Finding Meaning Through the Oneness of Idealism

01:59:28 The Maturation of Solar Systems

02:02:00 Mormonism and the End Times

02:04:41 Channeling

On this episode we talk about Yuval Noah Harari's popular book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. This book has become somewhat of a guide for many seeking meaning in an agnostic or atheist framework. We discuss its focus on the myths that unite us as well as society's trend towards unity. We also discuss its shortcomings, which include a lack of discussion of materialism and idealism, philosophy, consciousness, psychedelics, mystical experiences, and quantum physics. Can you accurately tell such a comprehensive history while leaving out these topics? After all, each of these topics have profound implications on reality, the stage on which humankind is playing out.

Links:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Herari - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICN066A

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:58 The Meaning Crisis after Leaving Mormonism

05:37 The Importance of Myth

15:33 Defining Knowledge and Understanding Frameworks

17:26 Monism

19:38 Different Ways of Describing Reality

21:20 Subjects Sapiens Fails to Address

24:36 History as an Interpretation

28:14 Utility of Different Frameworks

33:55 Anthropocentrism

35:56 Mystical Experiences

38:58 Oneness

42:25 Homo Sapiens as a Collective Consciousness

44:01 Interdependence

47:58 Objective, Subjective, and Intersubjective Realities

53:57 DNA, Culture, and Language

58:22 Progress Towards Unity

59:46 AI as a Force for Unity

01:02:47 Recognizing Interconnectedness

01:04:45 Foundations for Morality Beyond Religion

01:08:07 Morality and Idealism

01:10:54 Nature of Reality

01:13:31 Science's Blind Spot

01:15:32 Happiness and the Hedonic Treadmill

01:23:14 Happiness and Non-attachment

01:26:04 DNA vs Culture

01:27:59 The Challenge of Defining Consciousness

01:29:38 Psychedelics

01:30:10 Closing Thoughts

Professional Mormon historian Alex Criddle brings his background with psychedelics as a researcher, psychonaut, and integration guide, to discuss the role substances and non-ordinary states of consciousness played in early Mormonism. We also discuss the light and dark sides of Joseph Smith, analyzing him as a multidimensional character shaped by trauma, unintegrated shadow, and mystical experiences very likely occasioned by psychedelic substances. Understanding the nature of non-ordinary states of consciousness undermines the simplistic narrative of prophet or fraud. We go beyond simply making a case for psychedelic use in early Mormonism, and discuss the philosophical, scientific, and spiritual implications of psychedelics, as well as the many mystical experiences that others were reporting in the Second Great Awakening, and continue to do so today. He also discusses the group starting at Harvard Divinity School researching psychedelics and Mormonism, which is giving a presentation at this year's Sunstone Symposium.

Links:

Michael Ferguson's TEDx Talk - This Is Your Brain On God

Alex Criddle's website

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Alex Criddle's Background

02:19 Research on Psychedelics and Mormonism

03:07 Neural Correlates of Feeling the Spirit

04:17 Spectrum of Belief Involved in Research into Mormonism and Psychedelics

05:29 Mormonism's Contemporary Influences

07:19 Possible Osychedelic Influences on the Second Great Awakening

08:46 Variety of Modalities to Access Mystical States

14:46 Psychedelics and the Stigma of "Drugs"

16:26 The Difficulty of Describing Mystical Experiences

19:14 Types of Altered States of Consciousness and Experiences

21:58 Alex's Personal Journey and Cosmology

23:56 "Joseph was on drugs" and Alex's Start into Psychedelics

25:25 Alex Being Honorably Excused from a Mission

27:05 Alex Finds the Remnant Movement and Denver Snuffer

28:49 Alex's Journey Through Atheism, Agnosticism, and then Polytheism

29:29 Polytheism from the Perspective of Idealism

33:30 The Validity of Mormonism within Idealism

34:03 Polytheism and the Universal Unconscious

36:19 Indra's Net of Jewels

38:15 Joseph Smith's Pursuit of Oneness

38:48 The Case for Joseph Smith having had Geneuine Mystical Experiences

41:25 Joseph's Ability to Induce Mystical Experiences in Others

43:04 Joseph's Potential Access to Altered States Through Trauma

45:55 How Much Did Joseph Believe?

47:30 Denver Snuffer and the Second Comforter

52:13 Joseph Smith's Ritual Genius

56:12 Interpretation and Integration of Psychedelic Experiences

01:03:57 Stan Grof and Joseph Smith's Failed Shamanic Initiation Crisis

01:06:52 Joseph Smith's Conflicted Nature

01:10:15 Understanding Joseph Smith's Complex Personality

01:12:56 Joseph Smith's Difficulty Integrating his Experience

01:15:28 Exploring Joseph Smith's Shadow Side in the Book of Mormon

01:17:35 Sexuality, Polygamy, and Taboos

01:20:24 Carl Jung's Two Personalities and Joseph Smith's Shadow

01:22:11 Psychedelic Experiences being Mapped onto God and Satan

01:24:22 Reconciling Psychedelics with Feelings of the Spirit

01:29:22 The Potential Impact of Psychedelics on the Church

01:34:18 Any Smoking Gun for Psychedelics in Mormonism's History?

01:35:43 Conclusion

Gabe dives into how we never arrive at Truth, but approach it asymptotically, due to the limitations of the constructs of language. He discusses idealism versus materialism. While materialism has not made progress on the hard problem of consciousness, this problem doesn't exist within idealism. Using the framework of dreams, its relatively simple to conceptualize how matter is created from consciousness. Occam's Razor and Gödel's incompleteness theorem are discussed in relation to meaning making. The Simulation Hypothesis, while an interesting and accessible thought experiment, fails to take a stand on materialism or idealism, defining consciousness, and ultimately doesn't stand up to other frameworks according to Occam's Razor.

Please leave a review, share with a friend, and get in touch at [email protected] with feedback or topics you'd like to see us cover.

Bill Reel and I continue our conversation on reality, consciousness, and what that has to do with Mormonism's origins. We discuss Donald Hoffman, Carl Jung, the filter theory of consciousness, psychedelics, and mystical states of consciousness as defined by research. We also discuss automatic writing and its similarities to AI.

With the groundwork finally set, I review some of the evidences that Joseph Smith's cosmology was formed from his own interest in consciousness and reality, through direct exploration, as well as adaptation from estoteric traditions like freemasonry, and folk magic. These evidences includes Joseph Smith's teaching of reincarnation, correlations between the temple endowment and the Apocalypse of James from the Nag Hammadi library discovered in the 1940's, the similarities between some of Joseph Smith's theophanies and criteria in research used to define mystical states, as well as indications that psychedelics were used in the early church. I also discuss the Zionitic Brethren, a group four miles from Peter Whitmer in the 1700's that practiced baptism for the dead, claimed the Melchizedek Priesthood, and used psychedelics. Finally, I review some parallels between Mormon theology and what has evolved into what you might call New Age spiritual beliefs, such as those between the priesthood and Reiki, between Kolob and the star system Sirius, and between Abraham 3 and the New Age concept of Starseeds.

Links:

Bill Reel and Mormon Discussions Podcast - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0lEZJF0ZH6ccoteUP9Z4Fu?si=5777d26b633c4501⁠

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Recap

01:58 Donald Hoffman's Interface Theory of Perception

07:47 Space and Time as Constructs

15:36 Integrating Science and Spirituality

18:06 Consciousness

20:33 Defining God

21:53 Headset Analogy of the Nature of Reality

23:16 Understanding Reality as a Choose Your Own Adventure Book

24:36 Dreams as a Model for Reality

27:04 Hinduism

28:38 Photogrammetry as a Model for Knowledge and Collapsing Paradoxes

34:38 Carl Jung

36:48 Idealism and Oneness - The Antidote to Duality

39:46 Psychedelics and Mystical Experiences

44:07 Bill's Experience with Mushrooms and Ayahuasca

47:33 What is Real?

50:49 The Immortality Key - Religion's History of Psychedelics

54:13 Understanding Mystical States and Different Modalities to Access Them

01:01:38 Gabe's Endogenous Mystical States during his Kundalini Awakening

01:05:47 The Profundity of Mystical States and the Implications

01:07:25 Internal Family Systems Therapy

01:11:03 Idealism's Morality

01:12:59 Idealism as the Antidote to Nihilism

01:16:51 Automatic Writing and Channeling

01:31:11 Mormonism's Connection with Esoteric and Gnostic Traditions

01:40:17 Joseph Smith and Reincarnation

01:42:32 Gnostic Text: Apocalypse of James, and Similarities to the Endowment

01:43:49 Parallels Between Reiki and the Priesthood

01:44:40 Zionitic Brethren in Ephrata, PA

01:45:53 Kolob, Sirius, and the New Age Concept of Starseeds

01:48:09 Psychedelics and Early Mormonism

01:50:34 Conclusion

Bill Reel and I discuss the fractal nature of reality, and how we speak in myths and constructs. We talk about how to define truth, and how science and spirituality interpret truth. Then we explore how to define consciousness and whether science supports idealism or materialism. We discuss Donald Hoffman and Bernardo Kastrup's theories of reality, and how dreams, dissociative identity disorder, Tibetan Buddhism, and quantum physics serve as frameworks for understanding reality. We touch a little on altered states of consciousness, entheogens, and how esoteric traditions like the Eleusinian Mysteries overlap with Mormonism, but we'll dive more into those topics when Bill and I have a chance to meet up again.

Links:

Bill Reel and Mormon Discussions Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/0lEZJF0ZH6ccoteUP9Z4Fu?si=5777d26b633c4501

Lex Fridman and Donald Hoffman - https://youtu.be/reYdQYZ9Rj4

ZDoggMD and Bernardo Kastrup - https://youtu.be/BZWp0bnMBbM

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:57 Mormonism's Growing Schism

06:56 Mormonism has Lost Touch with its Esoteric Roots

10:08 Mormonism as a Case Study for the Hypothesis of Psychedelics' Role in Religion

19:54 Mormonism's Parallels to the Eleusinian Mysteries

23:18 Mormonism's Overlap with Other Esoteric Traditions

24:32 Folk Magic

27:20 Eleusinian Mysteries

28:45 Zionitic Brotherhood in the Ephrata Cloister

30:20 Bill's Experience with Ayahuasca

33:15 High Strangeness

37:03 The Dangers of Poorly Integrated Experiences in Altered States of Consciousness

38:44 Validating Metaphysical Experiences of Others Doesn't Require Agreeing with Their Intepretation

41:31 The Nature of Reality

48:18 Myths and Constructs

52:06 Photogrammetry as a Metaphor for Understanding Reality

53:29 Defining Truth and Knowledge

58:41 Religion's Problem of Authority

59:52 Meaning-Making

01:03:07 Monism

01:06:42 If You Could High to Kolob

01:09:46 Idealism vs Materialism

01:14:21 Scientists Telling Us Reality is Weirder than We Could Imagine

01:15:42 We Are the Universe

01:19:10 Reality is about Perspective

01:22:52 Bernardo Kastrup, Idealism, and Dissociation

01:28:42 The Fractal Nature of Consciousness

01:31:11 Dreams as a Model to Understand Reality

01:35:55 Dissociative Identity Disorder as a Model for Understanding Reality

01:42:48 Shared Consciousness

01:44:22 Lucid Dreaming

01:47:44 Do We Create Reality?

01:50:55 Idealism's Implications for Evil, Morality, and Meaning

01:55:18 The Paradox of Free Will

01:59:33 Situationism vs Dispositionism

02:02:25 Idealism Resolves so many Unsolvable Issues in Materialism

02:06:59 The Seeming Bizarreness of Quantum Physics

02:17:45 Evaluating Reality and Mormonism with the Possibilities Idealism makes Possible

02:20:12 The Rules of Reality and the Implications of Intention and Collective Consciousness

02:26:37 New Perspectives on how much Joseph Smith Believed

02:30:15 Conclusion

In this episode we review a study published in Frontiers in Psychology about the phenomenon of Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings and Spontaneous Kundalini Awakenings and hear about Gabe's experience of the latter. This is a cross-cultural phenomenon involving a period of spontaneous altered states of consciousness mirroring psychedelic experiences and those of religious mystics. As it is not easily explained by traditional scientific materialism, does not fit into traditional psychology, and is not prominently featured in Judeo-Christian religions (although the atonement experience and Mount of Transfiguration bear striking similarities to this phenomenon), there is very little awareness regarding this phenomenon in western culture.

Links:

Have You Had a Drug-Free "Psychedelic" Experience? - Psychology Today

Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings: Phenomenology, Altered States, Individual Differences, and Well-Being - Frontiers in Psychology

Gnostic Mormonism - YouTube video describing breakoff groups often associated with a visionary experience

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:00 Western Culture, Religion, and Psychology's Inability to Address Kundalini and Spiritual Awakenings

04:24 Current Shift in Understanding and Openness Towards Mystical Experiences

07:49 The Correlation between Trauma or Significant Shifts in Identity, and Spiritual Awakenings

11:05 The Study Investigator's Spiritual Awakening

11:56 Defining Spiritual and Kundalini Awakenings

14:48 What is Non-Duality?

17:25 Gabe's Kundalini Awakening

23:10 Gabe's Experience - Involuntary Kriyas

25:57 Gabe's Experience - Expansive Thoughts and Bliss States

29:28 Gabe's Experience - Synchronicities

30:26 Gabe's Experience - High Definition Visuals

32:57 Gabe's Experience - Finding The Lower Lights Wisdom Group

36:14 Ineffability of Mystical Experiences

40:07 The Relationship of Suffering and Pain with Spiritual Awakenings

43:04 Witness Perspective, Deja Vu, Synchronicities, and Causality

45:02 Gabe's Experience - Shifts in and out of Expanded States of Awareness

51:12 Kundalini Awakenings

53:40 Gabe's Experience - Reduced Need for Sleep

56:57 Differences between a Kundalini Awakening and a Spontaneous Spiritual Awakening

01:06:45 Triggers of Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings

01:08:08 How Common are Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings?

01:10:06 The Uniqueness of a Spontaneous Spiritual Awakening and Difficulty in Integration

01:13:34 The Impact of Religion on an Individual's Spiritual Awakening via our Brain's Filtering Mechanisms

01:17:09 Joseph Smith's Spiritual Awakening or Spiritual Emergency

01:20:10 Shifts Associated with Spiritual Awakenings

01:20:34 Healing and Transformation

01:27:33 Paradoxes of a Spiritual Awakening Contrasted to Mormonism

01:29:35 Challenges and Spiritual Emergencies or Crises

01:41:39 Spiritual Emergencies and Psychopathology

01:49:14 The Power of Perspective and Meaning-Making

01:58:03 Idealism

02:04:10 Neurology of Spiritual Awakenings and Predilections towards Spiritual Experiences

02:11:50 Comparing Spiritual Awakenings to Psychedelic-Induced Experiences

02:12:48 Different Modalities of Accessing Mystical States

02:22:19 Study Findings

02:34:09 Comparing Endogenous Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings to Exogenous Psychedelic Experiences

02:37:23 Effects on Well-Being

02:41:28 The Spiritual Awakening that is Recontextualizing Mormonism

02:45:08 Conclusion

We discuss the phenomena of paranormal encounters from the lens of consciousness and idealism as well, whether aliens are allowed to drink coffee, and whether "God" would be bound by space/time as he appears to be within Mormon cosmology. We dive into Joseph Smith teaching reincarnation at the end of the Nauvoo period due to influence from Kabbalah, and how Heber C Kimball and Orson Pratt continued to teach the principle for decades. We draw comparisons between the concept of the veil in Mormonism, near death experiences, and New Age beliefs. The concept of Starseeds are compared to Abraham 3's account of the noble and great ones in the council in heaven, and Kolob's location is finally revealed.

Links:

Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D Michael Quinn - https://amzn.to/3Oz0VHv

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links, so purchases help support the channel.

Gabe discusses how an elder on his mission later started a cult, and gives his thoughts on criticism of new age spirituality. We continue analyzing the Plan of Salvation from an esoteric perspective. We explore Joseph Smith's use of the Kabbalah in formulating his view of the nature of God, how eternal progression compares to Tibetan Buddhism and the movie Inception, as well as how the premortal life starts to look like reincarnation and karma.

Links:

Knights of the Crystal Blade cult - https://kutv.com/news/local/knights-of-the-crystal-blade-cultists-used-social-media-to-spread-doomsday-revelations

The True Nature Of Reality (w/Dr. Bernardo Kastrup) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWp0bnMBbM

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Knights of the Crystal Blade Cult

09:18 How Guilt and Shame, Good and Evil, Complicate Integrating Mystical Experiences

10:58 Why Does Woo Trigger People?

20:40 Lucid Dreaming

23:48 Changing Others' Opinions vs. Catalyzing Change

28:55 Dreams

31:15 Why Some are Drawn to Doomsday Scenarios

37:48 The Plan of Salvation and Kabbalah

44:17 Polytheism vs Monotheism, The Rise of Yahweh, Eternal Progression

48:36 The Monotheism of Christianity vs Eastern Conceptualizations of God

50:54 Tibetan Buddhism, Stacked Dreams, Inception

54:19 Dream Yoga and Lucid Dreaming

56:55 Bernardo Kastrup, Dreams, Dissociation as a Model of Reality

01:01:31 The Buddha's Insight on Consciousness

01:04:09 The Fractal Nature of Consciousness

01:05:19 The False Distinction of Dreams as Fake and Waking Life as "Real"

01:08:56 Symbolism in Dreams and Reality

01:10:51 The Interconnectedness of Reality

01:18:24 Contextualizing Rather than Abandoning Frameworks and Perspectives

01:23:15 The Hubris of Thinking You've Arrived at Truth Instead of Pointers to it

01:26:00 Photogrammetry, Paradoxes, Relativism vs Absolutism

01:29:09 The Pursuit of Truth is the Integration of Perspectives

01:34:32 In Some Sense, Everything is Already Perfect

01:35:58 The Nature of God and the War in Heaven

01:38:26 Reincarnation or Multiple Mortal Probations and the Plan of Salvation

01:41:40 Saturday's Warrior and Mormonism's Overlap with New Age

01:44:01 The Recirculation and Refinement of Myths

01:48:04 Paradoxes

01:50:03 Myths on the Purpose of Existence

01:52:02 William Hamblin's Attack of Brent Metcalfe

01:53:38 Council of the Gods and Kabbalah

01:55:58 Non-Uniqueness of Mormon Concepts

01:56:47 Joseph Smith's Motivations

01:59:25 Closing Thoughts

In this episode we start to tackle the Plan of Salvation from an esoteric and Jungian-informed perspective. We discuss the correlation between Gnostic and Mormon views on the fall, Gnosticism's interpretation of this physical incarnation as the Matrix, the fall as an allegory for both psychedelics and Jung's concept of individuation, and the idea of Satan as our shadow self.

Link:

Adam and Eve and the mushroom - https://aworkstation.com/a-hallucinogenic-mushroom-in-the-garden-of-eden/

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 The Plan of Salvation

03:17 Parallels with Esoteric Traditions

04:42 Gnosticism, Creation, and the Fall of Adam and Eve

07:20 The Demiurge and the Material Realm

09:13 The Serpent in the Garden of Eden

10:39 Gnosticism and Early Christianity

12:05 The Restorationist Movement's Fraught Relationship between Continuing Revelation and Claiming the Fullness of Truth

14:03 The Apocalypse of James and the Temple Endowment

14:57 The Gospel of Judas

18:26 The Fall as Jung's Individuation

22:50 The Fall as an Allegory for Psychedelics

28:24 The Matrix and the Fall From Paradise

31:12 Fig Leaves, the Atonement, and Spiritual Sovereignty

38:54 Conclusion

This episode is a reading of the initial post from the Mormons, Mystics, and Muons' Substack which gives a comprehensive overview of a new narrative on Mormonism's origins. It integrates consciousness, philosophy, psychedelics, and quantum physics to show how Mormonism arose out of an amalgamation of esoteric traditions and expanded or altered states of consciousness, and how science integrates with spirituality. While many truth claims of Mormonism are problematic, the argument over whether the religion is "true" or "false" presents a false dichotomy. Esoteric traditions captured fundamental truths owing to their reliance on states of consciousness and an emphasis on gnosis, or personal experience of truth. As an evolution of esoteric traditions, New Age Spirituality contains surprising parallels to Mormonism, of which many are entirely unaware, including Kolob, reincarnation, pansycheism, and more.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:08 Updating Frameworks

08:57 Overview

14:26 Disclaimer

17:46 Consciousness

34:49 Quantum Physics

36:55 Scientific Revolutions and Models of Understanding

39:11 The Double-Slit Experiment

42:25 The Many Worlds Interpretation

46:18 Entanglement

48:55 Quantum Field Theory

50:20 New Age Spirituality

52:23 Mormonism's Connections with New Age and Esoteric Traditions

53:53 The Eleusinian Mysteries

59:45 Mormonism's Connections with New Age

01:00:31 Reincarnation or Multiple Mortal Probations

01:01:38 Apocalypse of James - Gnostic Text with Similarities to the Endowment

01:02:15 The Book of Mormon, Automatic Writing, and Channeling

01:04:10 Mormonism's Gnostic View of The Fall

01:05:10 The Priesthood's Similarities to Reiki, a Form of Energy Healing

01:06:06 Eternal Progression, Becoming Gods, and Similarities to Esotericism

01:06:33 Kolob and Similarities to Sirius

01:08:03 A Celestial Earth and Similarities to New Age's 5D Transition

01:08:40 Noble and Great Ones and Similarities to Starseeds

01:09:24 Pre-Earth Life, Saturday's Warrier, the Veil, Soul Contracts, and Karma

01:10:40 Likely Use of Psychedelics in Early Mormonism

01:13:43 Temple Sealings and New Age Concepts of Oneness

01:14:14 The Adamic Language and New Age Light Language

01:14:39 Joseph's Translation of Scripture and Similarities to Contemporary Esoteric Texts

01:15:58 The Lost 10 Tribes and Hollow Earth

01:16:20 Polygamy and Polyamory

01:17:01 Zion, Being of One Heart and One Mind, and Oneness

01:17:16 The Word of Wisdom

01:17:23 Heavenly Mother, Shakti, Kundalini, and the Divine Feminine

01:17:33 Panentheism and Gaia

01:18:52 Family History and Ancestral Healing

01:19:06 Freemasonry

01:19:34 Melchezidek and Enoch

01:19:45 Degrees of Glory

01:20:43 First Vision Accounts and Joseph's Evolving God

01:21:52 Patriarchal Blessings and the Akashic Records

01:22:46 Priesthood Blessings and Channeling

01:23:50 Burning in the Bosom, Kundalini Energy, or Other Somatic Feelings of Energy

01:24:06 The Second Comforter

01:24:40 The Laws of Justice and Mercy, and the Hermetic Laws of the Universe

01:25:13 Mormonism and New Age Interest in Egyptians

01:25:51 Temple Work, Baptism for the Dead, Psychedelics, and the Zionitic Brethren of the Ephrata Cloister

01:26:47 Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible and Channeling

01:27:12 Joseph's Teaching on Light, Intelligence, and the Correlation to Idealism

01:27:36 Transfiguration and Mystical Experiences

01:28:00 Joseph's Monism vs Idealism

01:28:13 Brigham Young's Teachings on the Origins on Adam and Eve, the Ra Material, and New Age Starseeds

01:28:59 Increasing in Brightness vs Raising One's Vibration

01:29:25 Mystical Experiences in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire

01:30:26 Conclusion

In this episode, Gabe and Elden embark on a profound exploration of mystical experiences and their intersection with Mormonism, psychedelics, and altered states of consciousness. They delve into the psychological definition of mystical experiences and discuss Joseph Smith's experiences, highlighting the potential connection to psychedelic experiences and automatic writing. The conversation extends into the integration of religion with science, examining Joseph Smith's life, including the role of trauma and the representation of religion as an evolutionary stage of human consciousness. They draw parallels between Mormonism and other religions, emphasizing the historical role of psychedelic sacraments and altered states in religious traditions. The hosts advocate for a growth mindset and open-mindedness, stressing the importance of exploring expanded states of awareness and the potential for personal transformation. They discuss reconstructing beliefs by integrating science, spirituality, and philosophy, offering a middle way beyond deconstruction that provides a positive and hopeful perspective on spiritual journeys. Elden shares his personal journey beyond Mormonism, discussing the shift in understanding personal revelation and the integration of philosophy, quantum physics, and spirituality. The episode concludes by stressing the need for adaptability and diverse perspectives in a changing world.

Links

Roland Griffiths TEDX talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKm_mnbN9JY

Psychology Today Article on Endogenous Mystical Experiences - https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/social-instincts/202301/have-you-had-a-drug-free-psychedelic-experience

The Psychedelic History of Mormonism, Magic, and Drugs by Cody Noconi - https://a.co/d/12MJlPl

Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn - https://a.co/d/ckebGw5

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mormons, Mystics, and Muons

01:56 The Psychedelic Hypothesis of Mormonism

03:04 Mystical Experiences

06:03 False Dichotomies

08:02 Psychedelic Research and the Good Friday Experiment

10:35 Creating a More Integrative Holistic Narrative

14:30 Different Modalities for Accessing Mystical Experiences

16:19 Transcending False Dichotomies

18:09 The Book of Mormon

20:18 Different States of Consciousness

27:18 Pious Fraud Hypothesis and the Evidences Joseph Believed

36:16 Joseph's Struggle with his Shadow

43:20 Evolution of Religion and Science

49:35 The Eleusinian Mysteries and the Psychedelic Roots of Religion

55:38 The Likelihood of Psychedelics in Early Mormonism

57:18 The Zionitic Brethren and the Ephrata Cloister

59:29 Mormonism and Gnosticism

01:01:16 The Implications of Mormonism's Overlap with Esoteric Traditions

01:04:05 Idealism

01:08:54 The Pursuit of Truth

01:15:04 Moving Beyond Deconstruction to Recontextualization

01:21:15 Leaving the Church

01:28:03 Purpose of the Podcast

01:35:54 Gabe's Journey

01:41:35 Elden's Journey

01:48:35 How Gabe and Elden Met and Plans for the Podcast