It seems to me that much of this controversy is just people using two separate lexicons to describe the same experiences. I don’t see any insurmountable paradox in having a “spiritual” or “religious” experience while maintaining an essentially materialist worldview. A “spiritual” experience isn’t diminished by the fact that it’s all in your head. Rather, it points to the fact there’s much more going on in your head than you usually give it credit for.
The materialist lexicon is describing what you’re experiencing; the spiritual lexicon is describing how you experience it. Where people get hung up is when they take the spiritual mode of description too literally, as, for example, in the mis/use of the word “energy” to describe various moods and feelings.I prefer to think in the spiritual mode when I’m tripping simply because I find that it’s the best tool for the job.
