Institutional Religion Has Failed Us

There are many people who want to be good, who look to institutional religion as a template for morality and meaning. They want to believe in G-d, but maybe they haven’t had direct encounter themselves— so they turn toward the structured framework provided by the guidance of the village. Perhaps they find some solace and community in doing so. But what happens when these religions have forgotten, or even turned away from, the essence of what they once pointed to— direct mystical experience? Civilization certainly rises and falls, and on the down turn, forgets the true nature of the Divine, as ideologies obscure direct mystical experience. When you have generation after generation of the uninitiated posing as religious leaders, then nobody knows any better. It becomes the blind leading the blind. In the absence of direct experience, ideology takes hold of the village mind, and when ideology replaces and persecutes the direct experience, the village becomes insane.

Religion, in its purest essence, should be a portal to direct mystical experience. Yet, far too often, it has fallen into the trap of replacing these profound encounters with dogmas, doctrines, and rituals that offer little more than a semblance of spirituality. As people forget direct mystical experience, they follow ideologies that cause division and confusion. How are you supposed to see your neighbor as yourself if you’ve forgotten that they’re you?

In the words of Terence McKenna, "Culture is not your friend." And in many ways, institutional religion has become a custodian of culture rather than a gateway to the numinous. It has stifled the seeker's quest for personal revelation, replacing the psychedelic experience of direct connection with the divine with mundane prescriptions for living, their interpretations of the ancient texts are just best guesses.

We've seen the suppression of mysticism and Kabbalah in favor of ideology and conformity. We've witnessed the stifling of individual spiritual exploration in favor of prescribed belief systems that suppress the boundless human spirit. For too many, the ecstatic visions of prophets and mystics have been replaced by blasphemous interpretations of clerics and religious institutions.

In the midst of this spiritual wilderness, there are those who seek to rekindle the flame of direct mystical experience. There are those who embrace the Messianic psychedelic renaissance, the resurgence of prophetic wisdom, and the rediscovery of ancient practices that invite us to commune with the divine directly.

Where do you stand?

It is time to abandon the rigid, dead stale skeletons of exoteric unliving religion; culture vultures have picked all the meat from the bones. It is time to reclaim our birthright—of direct mystical experience, where the boundaries of the lower self dissolve, and we transcend the limitations of the physical realm.