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Hello Skeptik:
After reading through your post I think you would enjoy the work of psychiatrist, Stanislav Grof. Here's a video that can serve as an introduction:

You may also enjoy this post: Psychosis & Ego Collapse as well as this one: How to Produce an Acute Schizophrenic Break.

You can find more information on Stan Grof's work via the internet.

Enjoy.