8: Bill Reel - Donald Hoffman, Psychedelics, Mysticism, Automatic Writing, and Esotericism (Part 2)

Bill Reel and I continue our conversation on reality, consciousness, and what that has to do with Mormonism's origins. We discuss Donald Hoffman, Carl Jung, the filter theory of consciousness, psychedelics, and mystical states of consciousness as defined by research. We also discuss automatic writing and its similarities to AI. With the groundwork finally set, I review some of the evidences that Joseph Smith's cosmology was formed from his own interest in consciousness and reality, through direct exploration, as well as adaptation from estoteric traditions like freemasonry, and folk magic. These evidences includes Joseph Smith's teaching of reincarnation, correlations between the temple endowment and the Apocalypse of James from the Nag Hammadi library discovered in the 1940's, the similarities between some of Joseph Smith's theophanies and criteria in research used to define mystical states, as well as indications that psychedelics were used in the early church. I also discuss the Zionitic Brethren, a group four miles from Peter Whitmer in the 1700's that practiced baptism for the dead, claimed the Melchizedek Priesthood, and used psychedelics. Finally, I review some parallels between Mormon theology and what has evolved into what you might call New Age spiritual beliefs, such as those between the priesthood and Reiki, between Kolob and the star system Sirius, and between Abraham 3 and the New Age concept of Starseeds. Links: Bill Reel and Mormon Discussions Podcast - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0lEZJF0ZH6ccoteUP9Z4Fu?si=5777d26b633c4501⁠ New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins: https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics Please rate, share, and get in touch at [email protected]! Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Recap 01:58 Donald Hoffman's Interface Theory of Perception 07:47 Space and Time as Constructs 15:36 Integrating Science and Spirituality 18:06 Consciousness 20:33 Defining God 21:53 Headset Analogy of the Nature of Reality 23:16 Understanding Reality as a Choose Your Own Adventure Book 24:36 Dreams as a Model for Reality 27:04 Hinduism 28:38 Photogrammetry as a Model for Knowledge and Collapsing Paradoxes 34:38 Carl Jung 36:48 Idealism and Oneness - The Antidote to Duality 39:46 Psychedelics and Mystical Experiences 44:07 Bill's Experience with Mushrooms and Ayahuasca 47:33 What is Real? 50:49 The Immortality Key - Religion's History of Psychedelics 54:13 Understanding Mystical States and Different Modalities to Access Them 01:01:38 Gabe's Endogenous Mystical States during his Kundalini Awakening 01:05:47 The Profundity of Mystical States and the Implications 01:07:25 Internal Family Systems Therapy 01:11:03 Idealism's Morality 01:12:59 Idealism as the Antidote to Nihilism 01:16:51 Automatic Writing and Channeling 01:31:11 Mormonism's Connection with Esoteric and Gnostic Traditions 01:40:17 Joseph Smith and Reincarnation 01:42:32 Gnostic Text: Apocalypse of James, and Similarities to the Endowment 01:43:49 Parallels Between Reiki and the Priesthood 01:44:40 Zionitic Brethren in Ephrata, PA 01:45:53 Kolob, Sirius, and the New Age Concept of Starseeds 01:48:09 Psychedelics and Early Mormonism 01:50:34 Conclusion