Hehe, to me your reasoning seems all fine =)

So, for the sake of simplicity, let's look at things from the evolutionary perspective. I don't know for sure, but I'd guess every organism with some sort of nervous system comes with a built-in ability to experience kind of Bliss state Jill describes. That state serves an evolutionary purpose - for example, it gets triggered by a sudden, severe, life-threatening situation, where fight or flight aren't options. Otherwise the pain would be too much to bear, so it is easier just to flip into unreasoned happiness. In most of the situations, you probably die happy. But in case the extreme shock didn't kill you, you go through the worst phase in a pleasant euphoria, and only when the acute threat is over, you regain your rational mind and resume your fight for survival. Sounds like a good tactics to deal with extreme situations like brain injury, a car accident, or severe poisoning - states where you anyway can't fight nor flee - you only can wait and see if you are going to survive or not.

Also, Jill describes how the impressiveness of the bliss state pumped new motivation into her system, and helped her go through the recovery process. It has been mostly the same with me. And this is where we come to the question "apart from unreasoned escapism, what are the possible beneficial effects of a bliss state? And what makes the difference, when does it just spiral one deeper into a psychosis, and when does it help one the regain and to rebuild a meaningful healthy practical daily life?"

What little I know, when LSD was discovered, it yielded some pretty amazing and promising results when used as a medication for people suffering from mental disorders. And there are recent studies where people suffering from chronic depression which has not responded to any previous therapy, and then they are guided to take a good dose of psilocybin mushroom - majority of the test participants report significant and long-term improvement in their emotional well-being. So, I think that the medical use is one of the areas which would benefit the entire mankind, if there was wider and deeper scientific understanding on how these stuff work.

But - as you say - we have to be honest and careful with these ideas. A nirvana state is not automatically a good thing. Some people might find the bliss state so comforting that they don't want to face the practical reality any more, and they only seek for any possibility to escape back into the bliss - that's the addict way of losing your life and dignity. In many cases, a dose of hallucinogenic substance triggers just a funny trip which might be interesting and entertaining, but doesn't yield any long-lasting spiritual insight. Or, when it comes to real-life near-death experiences, it seems that pretty often it confirms the pre-existing religious beliefs of a person. I mean, I don't believe that what happens is just a simple non-personal chemical effect of a chemical compound. Any experience - even the deep nirvana state - is interpreted and understood according to the stories, metaphors and models a person has. Although, in some cases, it can also be an experience of discovery and insight, opening up new meanings and new metaphors.

Also, I think you are exactly on-spot with why I feel slightly reserved about the right/left metaphor of brain. It comes with the idea that "in order to experience nirvana, you have to (momentarily) abandon all of your rational thought. And vice versa, as soon as you resume your rationality, only a faint memory of nirvana is left." It reminds me of my University years. Our lecturer in environmental philosophy told that when he was younger, he always sought pristine wilderness, willing to wander in nature untouched by human hand. But then, at some point, he realized that instead of answering the main question, that is more like trying to avoid the question. And for him, the question was "Is human action necessarily destructive and bad, or can there be a harmonious and balanced human-nature relationship?". And so he went on studying different ways of organizing human thought and activity. Like, beavers build dams and birds build nests - every animal species alters their environment in some ways to better suit their own needs. There is nothing inherently bad in doing so, and the question is how to alter your environment so that you don't run the risk of destroying anything vital? - I mean, I think there is a similar metaphor regarding our practical Rationality and spiritual Nirvana. It is not either / or, it is a question of relation and interaction between these two.

And, as said, I certainly don't think that any kind of nirvana experience would be necessary. Maybe not even a goal worth to be pursued for. But, I do understand that for people who have experienced such a state, it is interesting to make some sense of it - try to understand what it is about. And, also, I do think that there would be a lot of therapeutic applications if there was a better scientific understanding of brain chemistry involved - So I wish that the research on that field will go on.

Finally, one more example; I'd guess because Jill is trained in brain anatomy, she uses a brain anatomy metaphor to make sense of the bliss experience. Someone with a religious set of beliefs would probably use such an experience as a proof that his / her religion is true, and that there actually is the god and the afterlife just the way described in their own religious tradition. I think this is the way it goes - we use concepts we are familiar with, when we try to make sense of extraordinary experiences. And, for me, the philosophical path has been reflecting on the concepts and metaphors I've used to make sense of my experiences - both my daily normal consciousness, and those more rare states of altered consciousness. Indeed, to evaluate the spiritual ideals.

Hehe, a lengthy comment, so let's try to summarize it all: the way I see it, I've sought to re-arrange and to re-learn both my daily practical life and my habits of rational thinking so that they don't feel like contradicting the spiritual experience of blissful oneness. Less hectic stressful performing aimed at egoistic goals - more freedom and benevolent creativity to celebrate the mysterious beauty of existence =) Instead of occasional escape into the La La Land, I've sought to create my tiny personal semi-hermit world which could combine a sense of beauty and mystery with the practical chores of daily life in a sustainable way.