A couple weekends ago an acquaintance was sharing some of his wilder drug experiences from his youth. Talking about the effects of LSD and mushrooms he noted that in large doses one achieves "ego loss", which got me to thinking again about the mind.

There's at least 2 ways to interpret ego loss. Mystical-wise, you could say that it is an instance of your individual consciousness melting back into the universal consciousness (atman, Christ consciousness, whatever). Material-wise, you could say the drug interferes with the network or networks of neurons that create the inner narrative that we experience as I to the point that the narrative shuts down for a while - leaving one ego-less. Either way, it seems that ego loss supports the notion of personal consciousness being something of an illusion. The result of flurrying neural activity, but not an object in its own right.

It seems classical dualism has no adequate explanation for ego loss. If I *am* my soul, my soul is distinct from "my body", and my soul drives my body then how can ego loss occur? The immaterial soul cannot possibly be injured or stunned by chemicals.

Obviously, the mind is not completely shutdown when ego loss occurs because the individual remembers having the experience. The inner dialogue or the ability to distinguish self from ground is shutdown. The sensation is that I have melted into my surroundings. It's the constant presence of the narrative that creates the illusion "I" is continuous or permanent during normal/sober consciousness.

One could argue that since consciousness in maintained throughout ego loss, that this is evidence for the immortal soul, but that ignores the frequent claims that I am my soul. How can the soul be conscious without there being any consciousness of "I"? For the objection to make any sense, you have to presume the existence of an immaterial soul.