The Importance of Ecstatic States
There are many different states of being a human can encounter. We have all experienced a wide spectrum of negative. positive, and neutral experiences. Different states have different effects on our biology. The stronger the emotion we feel from any experience, the more it alters our biology. The stronger an emotion is, the further it goes in either negative or positive. So a powerfully terrifying experience would be considered trauma, and a powerful numinous experience would be considered positive. When we have an ecstatic experience it alters us in a way that serves the health of the individual and the whole.
There are latent systems in our brain and body to activate what is called the enlightenment network. The enlightenment network consists of circuitry in our brain and body that serve higher states of consciousness which allow us to dwell in states of awe, bliss, oneness, etc. It also enhances our higher sensory perception which allows us to perceive a broader spectrum of reality than the default of only perceiving what is necessary for survival. The enlightenment network basically runs contrary to what is called the default mode network which is always trying to optimize for survival by focusing on worst possible scenario. The default mode network is basically the wandering mind that is constantly fixating on events from the past or imagined events in the future. An important point is that we are hardwired for states of ecstasy and it is extremely unfortunate that in today’s modern world such a small percentage of humans reliably and responsibly experience these states that have the capacity to immensely change one’s quality of life. Throughout antiquity humans have ritualized states of ecstasy for purposes of healing, finding connection to a higher power, and bonding deeply with one another. I believe these states are where we get the insights and ideas that advance evolution.
Achieving these profound states of consciousness will cocktail the endogenous chemical version of our favorite drugs. Not only do we get a supercharged combination of all of them to make us feel god, but the biochemistry in our body is actually causing dramatic changes in our biology to improve health. We are accessing the latent parts of our biology that are designed to support enlightenment. The brain of an enlightened person will show a specific blend of neurotransmitters and signature brainwave states that are correlated with balance. It is a signal of enormous regulation for the nervous system. We are quite literally healing things like trauma, apathy, physical disease, and chronic pain since these are symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system. The experience of ecstasy is an emotion with such intensity that it leaves a lasting effect on the baseline of our nervous system. During an ecstatic experience our nervous system becomes much more plastic which allows for a dramatic amount of change to take place in a very short amount of time. It is very quantum. It restores order and equilibrium to our being. The more time you log in ecstatic states, the easier it is to return to them as well as shifting your default states of being from stress to bliss. You are actually turning the tides so that your subconscious is working for you and serving the ability to be present and happy instead of hyper focusing on the myriad made up stressors of the modern world. The more you access these states through spiritual practices, the more they will start to translate to other areas of your life when you aren’t engaged in a spiritual practice. For example instead of reflexively reacting while in traffic you will have the awareness to self regulate and remain calm. This is an example of a shift in your subconscious that serves a healthier and happier life.
It is important to talk about what psychology calls the negativity bias or survival bias. This states that if everything is going good in your life but 1 thing goes wrong, we will focus on the bad thing because we are prioritizing survival. There are no sunsets to enjoy if you get eaten by the tiger. It proved adaptive to our ancestors' brains to prioritize the saber toothed tiger sneaking up on us over the beauty of the night sky. So to translate this to today, we are constantly hyper focused on all the stressors the modern world has afforded us. So we are hardwired to constantly scan our environments for potential threats to our survival. The ecstatic moments start to transition us from the default mode network to the enlightenment network.
Having authentic access to ecstasy will leave you naturally more loving, compassionate, forgiving, accepting, grateful etc. By the same token you will naturally be less irritable, upset, anxious, resentful, worrisome, victimized etc. The more we connect to the Divine, the more its nature becomes our nature.
The architecture of your brain will literally change including areas correlated with stress getting smaller, and areas associated with bliss getting bigger. Neural pathways for healthy function will become more hardwired while pathways for dysregulation will become pruned. Areas responsible for suffering will shrink while areas responsible for joy will grow. There is already circuitry in place to support more enlightened states of consciousness. Systems which allow us to transcend thousands of years of default genetic programming. This programming is responsible for so much suffering, but we must also acknowledge that without it we wouldn’t have survived thus far. In a sense we owe it to our ancestors who fought hard to pass on their genes so that we now have the opportunity to spend time exploring our human potential.
Reliable access to ecstasy can make us more virtuous if done in ethical ways. It can be a major component of what humanity so desperately needs at this point in time. Group enlightenment can help us cooperate and become a more evolved species. Entering the Sacred together can be the ticket to becoming truly hive minded and hive hearted to start behaving as a world-centric species.
Reaching these states are quite literally an antidote to a miserable life and also the key to the kingdom of heaven. They are essential to unlocking higher potentials of our nature and can guide us to living a life of richness, wonder, and profound connectedness.
