I have a daily meditation practice, every morning upon rising I sit in half-lotus for 30 minutes and concentrate on my breathing.
Tryptamines often put me into a trance state that is close to what some forms of deep meditation are like.
Meditation is linked to alpha waves in the brain. I theorize psychedelic trance states encourage alpha wave rhythm also.
Have you heard about the theory of synchronization that (re)solves the binding problem of the brain. The binding problem is the problem of how, if there are individual and small groups of neurons that react to highly specific stimuli (such as certain colors, or certain shapes), can all these groups of neurons ‘bind’ together to present each feature as part of ONE object. In other words, how is it that neurons that respond to diagonal lines, straight lines, the color blue, bind together to present a blue triangle as ONE thing rather than simply features ‘floating’ around in the brain.
The theory goes (very simply) that neurons are synchronized together across brain regions by oscillating at similar frequencies (around 40-50hz). The neurons, in a sense, recognize the other neurons that are vibrating similarly and ‘bind’ the features together into one whole (i.e. one object).
Alpha waves are oscillations of (iirc) 8-12hz and they actually have the opposite 'job' as the 40-50hz oscillations. That is, they actually inhibit synchronization and binding of one's surroundings (and I theorize something similar is happening to higher cognitive functions such as one's Self-concept and other higher forms of conceptualization).
So, during deep psychedelic trance states, it is not surprising that there is a realization of unity, of indivisibility...when one is staring down at one's legs or one's hands while tripping hard on a tryptamine one cannot individuate the body from the Earth...they appear as if they are One thing (which they ARE under this conceptual framework with the concomitant feature inhibition by alpha wave rhythm).
I am not surprised (but delighted still) that there are so many similarities to deep meditation states to psychedelic states. I believe they can provide similar stimulus that elicits similar response, not only on a macro-psychological level, but also looking at things on a micro-neurophysiological level.
So, in a sense when one is in a psychedelic trance one is very close to deep meditation. Is there a point to the psychedelic state or to meditation? If there is, and I think there is, then one is in very similar cognitive and neurophysiological states (even though the behavior may be wildly different – in one you are formally still, in ancient yoga positions and in the other you may be crawling through the leaves babbling in gibberish and rubbing your body and the dirt, river rocks, and leaves).
So much to think about.
.
).