So, in the same way that the biological mechanisms underpinning certain non-ordinary states are remarkably consistent, our experiences of these states are, too. To be sure, the actual content will vary wildly across cultures: a Silicon Valley computer coder may experience a midnight epiphany as being in “the zone” and see streaming zeros and ones like the code from The Matrix; a French peasant girl might experience divine inspiration and hear the voice of an angel; an Indian farmer might see a vision of Ganesh in a rice paddy. But once we get past the narrative wrapping paper—what researchers
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