I am writing a paper on the neurochemistry behind mystical experiences.

1. Has anybody experienced any mystical experiences that would not mind telling me about? (due to sleep deprivation, acid trips etc.)

2. Does anybody know of any good books on this matter?

There has also been research done regarding a certain type of brain seisure (occipital lobe seisures?) that reproduce the experiences described by some as mystical encounters. These same experiences are also recounted by UFO "abducties", so searching for scientific research pertaining to close encounters should help you find it. In these experiments, brain chemistry is altered by a strong EM field, rather than drugs. UFOlogists think that the energeis involved are most commonly released by seismic stresses in rock, and are therefore more frequent i the days immediately preceeding earthquakes. Indeed, many seismic events are preceeded by a few days of increased reports of sightings and abductions. It might be interesting to see if earthquakes are also preceeded by an increase in "mystical" activity.

One such experience happened when I was under the influence of mushrooms. I had a vision of looking toward the center of the earth. It was actually more like I could see to the center of reality though. I could see everything in our reality, people, things, everything sort of surrounded that center which was sort of like a light. The interesting thing is that every single thing, people, animals, objects, everything had what looked like a single strand of spider silk connected to it going to this center. It was as if everyone and everything, though separate, were connected to this light at the center of the universe. I wouldn't call it a hallucination, I would call it a vision. It has had a profound effect on my personal philosophy.

Of all the things that I have taken, mushrooms and pot are the few I would do again because they aren't harsh or sickening like most of the other things. I don't regret doing any of it except maybe eating peyote, it wasn't worth the puking. In fact, though I am not recommending it, I think my drug experiences have made me smarter. Drug use is a personal thing and, like alchohol, different people handle it differently. Someday I hope to experience the black lotus if it really exists.

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lurch, where can i find resources that discuss what you said?

I couldn't find a reference to the experiment that once saw on television, but the effects of temporal lobe seizures are discussed at:

http://www.pni.org/neuropsychiatry/seizures/ptls.html

There is also a very interesting chart at this site:

http://www.ovnis.atfreeweb.com/synthesis_grid_ufos.htm.

In a laboratory in Canada, Persinger places a helmet on subjects. This helmet project various magnetic fields into the temp oral lobes of the subjects brain. Sure this method, Persinger has produced all sorts of paranormal experiences ranging from the feeling of "a presence" in close proximity to the subject to optical, auditory, olfactory, and even tactile hallucination. Here are some more links:

http://ufos.about.com/library/weekly/aa032999.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~electrikmonk/Neuro/artAlien.htm

http://ebe.allwebco.com/Sections/UFOs/Archive/Zapped.shtml

How is the paper coming along? When is it due?