In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on the effects of starvation on human beings. We discuss the Minnesota Starvation Experiment of the 1940s, which leads into the aggregated data and meta-analysis of altered states of consciousness available through the Altered States Database (alteredstatesdb.org). Both sources report that mystical experiences arise spontaneously in subjects who are deprived of food for extended periods of time. From here we turn to a survey of world religions, which describe spiritual revelation elicited through the practice of fasting. The central question being: Is starvation the origin of human spirituality and ultimately religion?
Enjoy ;)
