@Felinae I am a fan, indeed! “Food of the Gods” is my favorite book, ironically enough.

@Felinae I have only recently read excerpts and quotes attributed to Campbell, as well as watched some of his interviews on YouTube. And while this sampling is far from thorough, I have heard / read enough to know that Joseph Campbell was not an atheist, and approached his subjects from a perspecitve of belief, as opposed to non belief. Perhaps you can assist in distilling Campbell's crucial arguments, which evidently prompted you to recommend his material?

@p-nullifidian Interestingly enough, it’s more about the use of psychedelics to attain a higher level of understanding, and discusses the ways traditional and small-scale societies view religion. I am totally fascinated by this, especially in cultures that still use religion to explain science.

@Felinae With all respect, I have read Moyers' writings, listened to his many interviews, including the one way back with Joseph Campbell. And having read excerpts of Campbell's work, as well as hearing his interviews, I am inclined to regard much of what he's said as pure--to quote Michael Shermer--'woo woo.' Whether it's Campbell or Sheldrake or Chopra, et al, while they may have something to say, they lack the objective, material and scientific rigor to back it up.

@ChiquitaSrta Well, we all must admit that those who ingest psychedelics inevitably refer to their experience as 'higher.' But as a skeptic I must ask, 'higher than what?' Seriously, what is the scientific / clinical baseline here?

I reject any claims of 'higher consciousness,' no matter what the source, without scientifically demonstrable evidence. To me, people who resort to using the term 'higher consciousness' belong with the 'new agers' who claim healing from rocks and crystals and view Deepak Chopra as their guru. We can no more use drugs to explain reality than we can our dreams. And please, let's not go there!