Unfortunately I'm in the midst of a migraine, and a bit whacked-out on my meds, but I hope I can start a coherent discussion.
Kenneth, I'm posting this on your turf because I gather that you are able to access altered states pretty easily, and you seem to have your head screwed on straight, so I'm interested in your input.
Something universal to most (all?) systems of spirituality is the existence of "psychic powers." The importance of these powers varies across systems, but their existence is acknowledged all the same. This is interesting in Buddhism, because the powers range from very important in Tibetan strains, to interesting but unimportant in Theravada, to downright undesirable in Zen.
In any case, there seems to be a consensus across the board: if you have strong concentration and set your intention just right, crazy shit happens. It would seem reasonable, at least at first, to regard such experiences as carefully-controlled hallucinations in our cultural context. But when you have other people witnessing these experiences, it really throws a spoke in the works. Is there real psychic stuff happening? Some kind of trickery? This brings me to my next point...
(Sorry, it's taking me a long time to type, I'm having some really nasty word-salad going on, but I've really wanted to discuss this)
In the western world, most people are vaguely spiritual, but the general consensus seems to be that consciousness is a byproduct of the functioning of the brain, which ceases at death. Seems pretty reasonable at first. Neurochemistry is just huge when it comes to experiencing reality. You can be a macho meditator all you want, but if I slip lorazepam in your tea, you are going to zonk out. Neurochemistry wins the day. Even in my case right now, this migraine is altering my reality in all kinds of involuntary and unpleasant ways. Furthermore, it seems that a lot of these "psychic" types are more interested in having T.V. shows and making money than rendering altruistic service. And no one seems to be able to put on a public display of power, or pass whatever the hell that Randi test is.
So here's our working hypothesis is this: consciousness is a byproduct of neurons firing. The world is composed of matter, ruled by basic physics, and is thus incapable of being influenced by "mind power" or anything like that.
In the face of certain meditation experiences, this hypothesis seems to break down pretty quickly. There are reports of meditators altering candle flames with their minds, having out-of-body experiences (which may just be a trick of the mind, but I digress), being able to read minds, and all kinds of odd cookery that seems more at home in fiction than reality.
So, let's modify our hypothesis: consciousness is still a byproduct of the brain and all that. But it is possible to alter one's experience of reality with strong concentration. So one can "hallucinate" all these things, but there is no basis in reality.
This new hypothesis looks reasonable, and I'd wager it's widely held by most western meditators who have dealt with these things. But it doesn't really hold up in my experience. I will try to cut to the chase: I have had profound experiences that seem to be legitimately "psychic." Not all have been in the context of meditation. I will try to explain...
I don't like to talk about this but I guess it plays into the discussion.
At one point, during a sit, I was drifting a bit an idly pondered the concept of past lives. I was immediately hit with a series of images-- an army uniform, a ceremonial sword, and a very specific and unusual name. It lasted only a few seconds, and my sit promptly returned to normal. Hum, that was weird, I thought to myself.
A couple of days later I found myself wondering about it, and decided to plug the unusual name into the ol' google machine and see what came up. It was harmless curiosity, I never expected it to produce anything meaningful.
Well, the first hit was a man with that very unusual name, who was an officer in a time period that matched that uniform, and that sword. I was... floored, I guess. It was probably one of the biggest wtf moments of my entire life. The odds of that name and the images matching up with a real historical figure must be incredibly low.
That's one of many experiences that I've had, I can post more if it contributes to the discussion. My point is, I'm comfortable with the idea that neurochemistry and matter are all there is to the universe, but I have experiences that seem to contradict that.
Again, the powers are acknowledged in Buddhism. Dipa Ma was apparently very good at it. Bill Hamilton and Sharon Salzberg both talk about some of the crazy stuff she was supposedly able to do, and I think Jack Kornfield mentions her baking a potato in her hands using only her mind. Why are these otherwise intelligent and down-to-earth western dharma teachers talking about this stuff? I think it's very worth considering.
We also have NDE's, one of which I had as a very small child, and things like the placebo effect, the double slit experiment, shared dreaming, etc etc. I will go into more detail on these things when my brain stops rebelling.
I was going to post my personal hypothesis that would tie all this together, but I'd be interested in hearing what you all have to say first. What are your takes on the powers?
I seem to bel osing the ability to comprehend words so I guess I'm stopping here. I'll be back tomorrow.