Delirious: 61

From page 23$()@#g@ of the Codex:

There are some who say that visions are simply neurochemistry, the misfiring of a brain starved of oxygen, water, or entertainment. There are some who say, just as correctly, that this is the voice of the gods speaking the only language we can process. It has been pointed out that the descriptions of visions often bear more than the slightest resemblance to hypnogogic state, of the world between waking and sleep that every human experiences though most only for a fraction of a second in either direction. Visions can even be brought on by temporal lobe epilepsy, delirium tremens, or a sound whack on the head.

Visions are far from a rarity in human religions. Hardly can someone set down the outline of a creed before an adherent is twitching on the floor, stammering glossolalia, or knocked out for day by a communiqué sent from the Powers That Be. It is not for our purposes to presently dissect why the gods would choose to cripple their visionaries, but simply to be content that they do.

It is widely believed that the Native Americans were the first people to perform vision quests, which the Lakota called Hanblecheyapi (literally "crying for a vision"). This depends on one's definition, but it would be easiest to simply assume that this is false and move on. Vision quests are at least as old as man, and much more likely as old as sentience.

The vision quest is seen as a transformative experience. The quest is performed alone in the forest for two to four days and often with the assistance of entheogens to enhance the experience. Entheogens -- whether they are in the form of peyote, absinthe, or simply inert plants - provide the relaxant and psychic lubrication to allow the transition to fully manifest from the world of everyday consciousness to the true sight of reality.

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