This article is kind of weird. If you are expecting a nice, normal discussion of faith, I would recommend a different article, or perhaps a different website.

In this article, I want to talk about my perspective on spiritual experiences in modern Christianity. First, I will explain what I mean. Second, I will attempt to communicate the nature of these spiritual experiences in words. Thirdly, and with great caution, I will propose a theory for how this sensation fits into the broader context of human experience. Fourthly, I will talk about the dangers of relying on this sensation.

I am going to step on a lot of toes in the writing of this article, so I want to make sure I am stepping on the toes I want to be stepping on, and no one else's. The term “spiritual experience” is very subjective, because as humans, we are always having experiences, and spiritual people may interpret any experience through the lens of spirituality. This is amplified if you happen to believe that everything happens for a reason. If you believe that, all experiences become meaningful.

No, in this article I am referring to a very specific type of experience. These experiences:

• Are outside of “normal” human experience.
• Are entirely personal, though an external event may trigger it.
• Manifest themselves in the form of intense emotions.

Note that I am not talking about a set of different experiences. I am talking about “the one” experience. This experience may be attributed to a movement of the Holy Spirit within a persons soul. It has been called by teenagers the “Camp High”, although church camps are hardly the only place where these experiences occur.

If the previous section didn't make any sense to you, it probably means you haven't experienced this. Christians will usually say that it is indescribable. Or, better yet, they will contextualize it within their belief system, which hardly does outsiders much good. This is fine, of course, unless you want to get to the bottom of what they are experiencing.

I have experienced this quite a bit in my life. And, I do have to say that it is very hard to explain, so your Christian friends aren't just being obtuse. It is a truly incredible feeling, and completely outside of normal emotional or mental experience. I would describe it as:

• Frission
• Enlightenment
• Love
• Peace

You may see where this is going.

This is the part of the article where things get weird.

I need to clarify that I have never done LSD. In fact, I have never done any drug. I have never entered into any chemically-induced altered state of consciousness for recreational purposes. This includes drunkenness, which, for some reason, gets a pass in everyone's book.

In 1962, a (possibly unethical) experiment was done on a congregation of churchgoers. Timothy Leary, a true wild child who was deemed by President Nixon as “the most dangerous man in America”, had the ingenious idea of giving LSD to a congregation at a Good Friday service. (Remember kids, the difference between science and messing around is writing down what happens.) This experiment came to be known as the Marsh Chapel Experiment.

The results were, to put it lightly, spectacular. Almost all of the people given LSD reported having a “profound religious experience”. The results were not temporal, either. The participants, 25 years after the fact, generally said it was one of the most profound spiritual experiences of their lives.

This experiment solidified LSD's membership in a category of drugs known as Entheogens. An entheogen is a drug that, for lack of better word, enhances a spiritual experience. Examples of entheogens include peyote and ayahuasca (the tea form of DMT, Joe Rogan's favorite drug).

These drugs cause an altered state of consciousness known as ego dissolution, or ego death.