All the people saw the sounds/thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance.
וכל העם רואים את הקולות. וכבר פירשתי טעם רואים את הקולות. כי כל ההרגשות מתחברות אל מקום אחד.
AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAW THE SOUNDS: I have already explained the meaning of “saw the thunderings.” Scripture says the aforementioned because all the senses are perceived as joining at one point.
ואמר רבי יהושע בן לוי כל דיבור ודיבור שיצא מפי הקדוש ברוך הוא יצתה נשמתן של ישראל שנאמר נפשי יצאה בדברו ומאחר שמדיבור ראשון יצתה נשמתן דיבור שני היאך קיבלו הוריד טל שעתיד להחיות בו מתים והחיה אותם שנאמר גשם נדבות תניף אלקים נחלתך ונלאה אתה כוננתה ואמר רבי יהושע בן לוי כל דיבור ודיבור שיצא מפי הקדוש ברוך הוא חזרו ישראל לאחוריהן שנים עשר מיל והיו מלאכי השרת מדדין אותן שנאמר מלאכי צבאות ידדון ידדון אל תיקרי ידדון אלא ידדון:
And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: From each and every utterance that emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, the souls of the Jewish people left their bodies... And since their souls left their bodies from the first utterance, how did they receive the second utterance? Rather, God rained the dew upon them that, in the future, will revive the dead, and He revived them...
And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: With each and every utterance that emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Jewish people retreated in fear twelve mil, and the ministering angels walked them back toward the mountain...
Comparison of psychedelic and near-death or other non-ordinary experiences in changing attitudes about death and dying
(Mary M. Sweeney, Johns Hopkins)
"Acute, time-limited experiences that fundamentally alter perspectives of death and dying can also occur spontaneously in the absence of any drug, as with near-death experiences or related phenomena such as out-of-body experiences ... Prominent features of the near-death experience assessed by the Greyson Near-Death Experience Scale include feelings of altered time perception, seeing scenes from the past or the future, joy and peace, unity with the world, feeling separated from the physical body, and seeming to encounter mystical beings, deceased spirits, or religious figures. Like psychedelic experiences, near-death experiences can be characterized using the mystical experience framework and are reported to result in persisting positive changes in attitudes and behaviors such as increased spiritual practices and improved self-esteem . Near-death experiences are generally understood to result in decreases in fear of death, though limited quantitative data are currently available."
"Compared to the psychedelic groups, the non-drug group was more likely to report being unconscious, clinically dead, and that their life was in imminent danger. The groups were remarkably similar in the reported changes in death attitudes attributed to the experience, including a reduced fear of death and high ratings of positive persisting effects and personal meaning, spiritual significance, and psychological insight."
Rabbi Abbahu ate fruits of Genosar until the sweet, lush fruits made his skin so slippery that a fly would slip from his forehead. And Rav Ami and Rav Asi would eat them until their hair fell out. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish would eat them until he became confused. And then Rabbi Yoḥanan would tell the household of the Nasi about his condition and Rabbi Yehuda Nesia would send the authorities after him and they would take him to his house.