Reading “Proof of Spiritual Phenomena”

So her whole "I really wanted to believe but found no evidence" marketing strategy is bunk. That said I'm sure this tale of crocodile tears has and will get her continued bookings at BBC and other places where they have a dedication to pseudo-skeptical bias...

Absolutely, Sci. Her alleged OBE (I personally don't believe one word of it) makes no sense. She said she was convinced by it initially (I personally believe this was just one of her deceitful attempts to bestow on herself the same credibility as a genuine experiencer) but sometime later (weeks/months later) decided to go outside and actually check the gutters that she'd seen in her OBE. 

They weren't metal (as she'd seen in her OBE), they were plastic, hence she then realised it was just a trick of her brain, and therefore everyone else's experience must also be a trick of the brain, it stands to reason. Three cheers for Sue Blackmore, the darling saviour of materialist academia who's credibility is beyond reproach. 

I actually don't think Blackmore ever experienced anything. I think she concocted the story in order to give herself the credibility needed to challenge those that did have genuine NDE's (OBE's). A puff of weed does not cause an OBE, not a chance of that, and certainly not the long story that she presented. 

Just to add, I contacted her and told her (years ago). She accused me of being rude but said she could no longer remember why it had taken so long for her to go outside to check the gutters.  I'm disappointed but not surprised that people quote her. I mean, why would she tell fibs. 

Another one of her urban myths was that she'd tried to contact Kimberley Clark Sharp about the shoe on the ledge. She said she'd written letters and never once got a reply. Therefore, it was all just fiction etc...and many people believed her.

Yeah ultimately I think it is very hard, based on personal experience, to capture that proof for one's self.

It happens or doesn't happen based on factors we don't seem to understand. That said, pursuit of this proof seems more worthwhile than hoping the next paper will convince you.

OTOH I am wary of, say, taking psychedelics in desperation. My experience with drugs like weed are quite limited, but it was more than enough to convince me that pursuing that path was quite dangerous for the layperson compared to those who grow up in a shamanic culture.

OTH some people who meditate a lot can get pushed into deep depression. Even just using websites such as this can leave one wondering if reality exists, and that can be disorienting! I'm not sure there is a completely safe way to explore these questions.

Like you, I have only done weed (by mouth because I don't smoke). Oral cannabis seemed potentially interesting because it stays in the body longer, but I only did it about 3 times.

I'd like to try psilocybin mushrooms, but I probably never will!

Clearly there is the set and setting issue, so taking anything while desperate would be a terrible option.

I tend to feel that there is plenty of evidence that certain anomalous things happen which cannot validly be explained away.

I often wonder why these drugs are illegal for personal use. Could it be that in some combination these drugs give people access to the Akashic records? I can think of many reasons why the authorities might wish to prevent us doing that!

David

I often wonder why these drugs are illegal for personal use. Could it be that in some combination these drugs give people access to the Akashic records? I can think of many reasons why the authorities might wish to prevent us doing that!

David

The drugs are very, very dangerous. I had a college roommate take LSD and run wild in the neighborhood after forcing the door open despite me blocking it. (He was twice my size, glad he didn't punch me in the face!)

It took several policemen to hold him down and cuff him to the stretcher that took him to the hospital. He said he thought he had gone to Hell, and the more he tried to escape his damnation the deeper into the Pit he went...

That said, I do think that in certain therapeutic settings there is potential value for psychedelics. But just as it is foolish to "mess around" with the occult if one genuinely thinks there are spirits, cultures with actual shamanic practices seem to provide a natural training course for the mind to deal with potential "bad trips".

I still post a decent amount [about] psychedelics on here because the science is not going away and is important to the study of consciousness. But I do not advocate for careless layperson use, especially since drug dealers are not one's friends and procuring drugs from them leaves you vulnerable to whatever they cut the drugs with to save money. Just look up the people who thought they were buying ecstasy but instead got "bath salts".

Also as always recommend What's in My Baggie? ->

In 2013, five friends with no documentary experience embarked on a journey to expose the rise of dangerous substance adulteration, and provide a well-rounded critique of ineffective drug policy.

“Whats In My Baggie” Documentary Shows Us Why We Need Drug Testing Kits

The Bunk Police operate in this clandestine manner since the festival promoters can’t allow them to be there even though they are not bringing in anything that is illegal. They also have to hide their identities because of the backlash from drug dealers. Just imagine trying to help people and not be able to have any protection from law enforcement. They use test kits similar to the ones that Ankors uses at the Shambahla Music Festival in Canada.

The documentary paints a picture of the unregulated black market drug scene and the dangers that exist because of it. The absolute terror of watching these kids unwittingly buying drugs and finding out that the drugs were in fact research chemicals, PMMA, Methlydone, or bath salts would make anyone take a step back.

My sights are set on trying to figure out, to the extent that I can, the nature of this reality...

As @Typoz says, that's the important point... when you find it, you'll know it.

The drugs are very, very dangerous. I had a college roommate take LSD and run wild in the neighborhood after forcing the door open despite me blocking it. (He was twice my size, glad he didn't punch me in the face!)

This reminds me of an incident from my undergraduate days. I discovered a pill taped to the inside of my desk draw - presumably by the previous occupant. Several of us were drinking coffee, and we discussed what it was. Inevitably someone said they would like to try it. I agreed rather uncertainly, and he very solemnly swallowed the thing at the sink with a glass of water (or so I thought). We also agreed to restrain him if necessary for his own safety.

He did a brilliant act of slowly getting high, and then he shot out of my room. I started searching the college grounds looking for the guy. The others seemed much less concerned and went back to their rooms. When I finally found him, he laughed, and told me he threw the pill down the sink!

Obviously, I felt greatly relieved and we all had a good laugh.

David

The drugs are very, very dangerous.

Thank you.  Was a rather obvious answer to the question posed.

Thank you.  Was a rather obvious answer to the question posed.

To be fair to David, I do think there is some truth to why some drugs are regulated and some aren't...and it partly does have to do with consciousness alteration/expansion vs compliance to certain authority.

My concern is it's easy to paint drug dealers as rebels fighting "the Man" and while in isolated cases there could be some truth to this...in my experience + research it's not the case. Drug dealers are predators preying on their own community as well as deceiving the buyers, and even buyers can be quite dangerous no matter how "New Age" or "hippy" they may seem.

Even therapists are potentially dangerous (I believe this story was posted before but from a different site):

Psychedelic therapy has a sexual abuse problem

and it partly does have to do with consciousness alteration/expansion

I'm open to this.  Any evidence?

I'm open to this.  Any evidence?

The War on Drugs Halted Research Into the Potential Benefits of Psychedelics

By the end of the decade, LSD and other psychedelic drugs, along with marijuana, were linked in the public imagination with the 1960s counterculture, the antiwar movement, the crusade for sexual liberation, and the rising popularity of Eastern mysticism, yoga, and meditation. It was the decade of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. President Richard Nixon called Timothy Leary “the most dangerous man in America.” His administration’s crackdown on psychoactive drugs became part of a broader political reaction against the liberation movements on the 1960s. Leary’s mantra of “turn on, tune in, drop out” was seen as a direct threat to the corporate establishment and the consumerist, materialist mindset.

In the 1970s news of the destructive, sinister research conducted in secret by the Army and the CIA began to get out. Back then, one of my first major stories as a young San Francisco journalist detailed how one of these tests, dubbed Operation Third Chance, destroyed the life of a U.S. solider who was falsely accused by being a spy, given massive doses of LSD, and “interrogated in a hostile environment.” One Army scientist who specialized in biological warfare, Frank Olson, killed himself (or according to some conspiracy theorists, was murdered) following a psychotic incident that may have been exacerbated by LSD.

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/5/1968
This study is pretty recent. They had a negative OBE which according to them vindicates the view that consciousness is a product of the brain, but at the same time make the philosophical statement about being unable to prove definitively this.
Edit: It seems as if the experience happened post CA, with a low Greyson score. Could it not be a "True" NDE/RED?