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

Cannabis can evoke 'peak-experiences'—brief moments of expanded perception and self-transcendence described by psychologist Abraham Maslow—especially when used alongside traditional religious practices like meditation, fasting, contemplative prayer, and sacramental ritual. Religious seekers worldwide have deliberately used cannabis to trigger these peak-experiences, which stir feelings of ecstasy, wonder, and awe and resolve life's dichotomies and conflicts. Such experiences constitute a form of spiritual revelation central to religious history. Cannabis has thus served as a mild entheogen across cultures and traditions for millennia due to its ability to elicit unitive consciousness at the heart of mystical insight.

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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.