Harney Peak

After one experiences holotropic states [a nonordinary state of consciousness that moves one toward wholeness], there is a tendency for one’s boundaries to dissolve, whether they are boundaries of race, gender, culture, politics, or religion. People tend to move from organized religions to a more mystical, universal view. In my opinion organized religions are more of a problem than a solution in today’s world. The differences among them lead to much hostility and violence, and the same is true even for differences within religions, like the centuries of bloodshed between Protestants and Catholics or Sunni and Shiites. We don’t really need religions, with their internecine conflicts; we need spirituality that transcends them.

. . . The useful God is a God that doesn’t have any shape but that has the potential to create all shapes and forms. As soon as you get stuck on specific images, symbols, and rituals and want to impose them on others, you have a dangerous religion. People who experience holotropic states under good circumstances — and we strive for a loving environment in our sessions — develop a spirituality that is all-encompassing, and their primary commitment is planetary and not related to any specific group or country. As Buckminster Fuller said, this is “Spaceship Earth,” and we are all on board it together.~Stanislav Grof On Nonordinary States of Consciousness