I generally agree with you, and find myself revolted by pseudo-(or not-pseudo-)-religious tripe of the sort in the OP. But I also don't think that it's unreaso

I generally agree with you, and find myself revolted by pseudo-(or not-pseudo-)-religious tripe of the sort in the OP. But I also don't think that it's unreasonable to say that altering your manner of cognition for a while can cause you to reflect on yourself in a new way and realize something new. In practice, though, I've never really seen this theory come to fruit. Having acid trips was really fun, but my cognition really was more impaired then altered, and I didn't learn or realize anything.