Howard Rheingold

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LSD and the Mind of the Universe (Part Two)

August 14, 2025 · Post

(PART ONE)

've read Huxley, Watts, Leary, Alpert, McKenna, and Pollan. While each of these authors have valuable insights, Bache demonstrates a kind of phenomenological depth (phenomenology="the study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view") that these other writers lack. By following a strict protocol of describing as best he could the cognitive, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of each session after the session, incorproating his wife's notes, and eventually grasping how each session built on previous sessions, Bache accomplished an unparalleled, decades long psychedelic exploration. I experienced this work as an audiobook read by the author, and the author's vibe -- his pacing, intonation, emphasis -- created for me a kind of Bache-like field around his descriptions.

Bache's trips were ecstatic and transcendent, but not necessarily always pleasant. He recounts eternity-long sojourns in myriad hells, which he attributes to perinatal and other personal traumas, which he re-experienced, integrated, moved through, and shed. (Reminded me of the Tibetan Book of the Dead's illusory hell-worlds in the after-death plane.) Here is where he first gets woo-woo (if you regard Jung as woo-woo, which I don't): he also recounts experiencing collective trauma from the collective unconscious and even previous incarnations (further into the woo-woo). Although he does not espouse a particular theology, I think he would agree that the closest theology to his philosophy is panpsychism, "the view that the mind or a mind-like aspect is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality". Ultimately, through years of peeling away trauma and opening himself, going directly into and through his fears and pains, to perceiving the psychospiritual messages he felt the ongoing exploration was transmitting to him, Bache came to believe he was experiencing -- to the degree that it is possible for humans -- the "mind of the universe."

Keep in mind that Bache is neither neuroscientist nor theologian, but a philosphy professor, well versed in the methods of inquiry into both ontology and epistemology. He brought the thinking tools of his profession into his inquiry, and despite his initial disclaimers regarding his own attitudes regarding religion, he clearly states that the further reaches of his exploration led him to directly experience what he called "the divine" (and also distinguishing his experience from earthly definitions of deity.) The entire universe, Bache claims, is an intelligence.

I don't know how much of this to believe. I'm agnostic about panpsychism, but my own experiences -- and I believe many people who have explored psychedelic medicine would agree -- lead me to not rule it out. I feel the same about reincarnation. However, Bache's phenomenological evidence and presentation definitely moved me from the skeptical to the "maybe there is something there" end of the agnostic spectrum. I do believe Bache's claimed spiritual discoveries are consistent with my belief that, as the British scientist Haldane, put it, the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose. Bache's 20 year journey peeled back, at least for him, the layers of trauma, ego-protection, self-deception that prevent most humans from diving too deeply into the psychedelic ocean.

Forgive me, but summary is one of the things chatGPT does best:

  • Core Premise
    Bache’s work illustrates a progressive deepening of consciousness—from ego dissolution to communion with a cosmic, unified field. His sessions took him through stages of death and rebirth, touching collective and archetypal consciousness, and culminating in experiences of non-duality and "Diamond Luminosity"—a metaphysical state beyond cyclic existencePsychedelics Today+4Simon & Schuster+4Google Books+4.

Spiritual and Philosophical Insights

Integration & Caution

  • Integration Challenges
    The intense nature of his work exacted an emotional and physical toll. It took him a decade to reintegrate and feel grounded in everyday reality againPsychedelics Today.

  • Heed Caution
    Both Bache and commentators strongly warn against replicating these high-dose methods. They emphasize supportive context, moderation, and careful integrationSimon & Schuster+7Psychedelics Today+7Nautilus+7.

Significance & Impact

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Part One