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Mystics and Muons

10: Alex Criddle - Psychedelics in the Restoration and Joseph Smith's Shadow

100 min • 5 juli 2023

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

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