Did a big crunch predate the big bang?

Let's speculate on what happened before everything expanded.

>>6

I was just high out of my mind and hallucinating hardcore

The "hallucinations" aren't the point. Our brains really do discard the vast majority of stimuli (both from the body and externally) to keep our world coherent and give relevant sensations more impact. Acid, mushrooms, etc. break up this routine discarding of sensation, leading to fresh perceptions. This can and often does have the effect of disrupting negative thought patterns and assumptions you have grown so used to you don't realize are influencing your mind. These are SUBTLE effects, but they are very real and life-changing at times.

I used to be like you, and was disappointed by lsd and the rest because the visuals and feelings could be so easily tied back to certain brain processes being messed with rather than anything mystical (example: the light trails you see are simply your eyelashes not being ignored because your brain is impaired). But after taking hallucinogens a few more times I realized I felt a lot more confident and at ease with the world - like my brain was untying knots while I was tripping.

The point is, hallucinogens are a form of therapy, and that is why they are held in such high regard by so many - it can cure depression and other reactive mental illnesses. However, many druggies don't want to admit they are riddled with mental problems like depression and anxiety so they pretend there is something "mystical" rather than therapeutic to the experience.