There are a variety of human emotional experiences and states of consciousness. This wide range of mental activity is one of the things which set humans apart from all other creatures. The interpretation of these experiences, however, is determined by one’s cultural mindset.

Since spirituality is integral to all human cultures it is no wonder that many unusual experiences in altered states of consciousness are attributed to other unseen powers. This cannot prove the existence of God, but only indicate that there is across the board a place, and even a necessity, in the minds of all humans for the existence of a higher state of being than that which is within human capacity.

If humans are to assert any absolute statement concerning this spirituality they must first confess an origin and foundation of their assertion since we have moved out of the realm of scientific observation. If the experiences come from the mind alone, then there are two possibilities: 1, they are mere illusions; or 2, they exist in the human mind for a purpose.

Though the existence of the human mind implies that humans are made to be intelligent, it does not follow that all human mental activity is intelligent. So even though the existence of religious, or spiritual, experiences in all religions indicates an ultimate spiritual being which is the origin of this capacity, it does not follow that all the experiences are effective in connecting with this being. There must be another, absolute source of knowledge.

If it is held that the spiritual experiences, though natural products of the human mind, serve any purpose at all, then in my estimation it must be concluded that there truly exists a spiritual being which created this aspect of the human psyche to ‘hardwire’ itself to it. For the spiritual always points to a greater state of being than the individual.

If we are to give any credit to the mystical and spiritual experiences in all religions of humanity, then we must assert a common source to them: the natural human mind.

The question then becomes: Are then, all religious experiences intended to lead to the same “God”? The answer must be yes if we have posited that they all are a result of a deliberate, creative act of the same spiritual being.

Next question: Are all these religious experiences able to lead to the same God?

If they are mere illusions than they are a disease, unprofitable to humanity. If this is the case, then we are not evolving, for our spiritually inclined minds are thus less attuned to the actual environment in which we live then those of more ‘simple’ minded animals.