Peak-experience and the entheogenic use of cannabis in world religions

Summary

Cannabis can induce 'peak-experiences,' which are moments of expanded perception linked to self-transcendence, especially when used with traditional religious practices like meditation and prayer. These experiences evoke feelings of ecstasy and wonder, helping individuals resolve life's conflicts. Historically, cannabis has served as a mild entheogen in various cultures to facilitate spiritual revelations and mystical insights.

Study at a glance

Abstract

AbstractThis paper demonstrates that cannabis can evoke “peak-experiences”—the name psychologist Abraham Maslow gave to fleeting moments of expanded perception indicative of self-transcendence—when used alongside more traditional religious practices such as meditation, fasting, contemplative prayer, and sacramental ritual. For that reason, religious seekers around the globe have deployed cannabis as a deliberate psychoactive to trigger the peak-experiences that stir feelings of ecstasy, wonder, and awe and resolve the “dichotomies, polarities, and conflicts of life.” As such, peak-experiences exemplify a form of spiritual revelation that has played a pivotal role in the history of religion, and because of its ability to elicit unitive consciousness at the heart of mystical insight, cannabis has been utilized as a mild entheogen across culture and tradition for millennia.