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Question:
my boyfriend told me he experienced a 7-day religious experience where he was told to turn back time.  he is a severe alcoholic. he said he saw God, and more significantly, a man and a woman who were enormous in physical stature.  he believes that he rode a bus to Heaven and was appointed to tell the others on the bus who was to go to Heaven and who was to go to Hell. hesaya he was not allowed to get off the bus and go into Heaven with the others, but remained on the bus, eventually ending up, up north where he works in the oilsands. at this time he was insructed by a voice to turn back time 1000 years, although that time frame changed from 1000 to 100 to 10 years.  when he looked at his watch he saw strange numbers.  e.g.  777:77 or 333:33 representing time on his watch. 

he believes he successfully turned back time, thus saving the world from judgement day (this was a month before the new millenium and lasted for 7 days).  he believed that the singer, Billy Ray Cyrus was to arrive with his tour bus and take him away.  he ended up in a church full of people, on the stage, trying to tell the people he was \"chosen\" to save them all.  the police came and he was brought home, but packed his suitcase and put on lots of layers of clothing, not knowing how to dress to meet God.  after a two-day sleep in a psychiatric ward, he recovered and left to go home. 

he says he has not had an episode like this again, but still truly believes he turned back time.  the doctors were dumbfounded.  What do you think happened there?  please explain in detail.  thank you and God Bless. 

Response:
Hallucinations of a religious nature are not uncommon when one is under the influence of chemicals.  They feel real.  They may last hours or days, depending on the amount of chemicals used. 

The major difference between a hallucination and a true religious experience is the awakening of the soul and a significant change in the quality of life after the experience.  Usually spiritual experiences have a lasting, positive effect on a person.  Most spiritual teachers do not take experiences under the influence of drugs as a true spiritual experience, since the effect is not lasting and does not necessarily change the quality of life.  

Some of the symptoms of hallucinations caused by drugs include a sense of euphoria, sedation, dream states, distorted body perception, internal dialogues, changes in focus and concentration, incoherence and a loss of contact with reality.

Regards
Uzma Mazhar