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An interesting idea for a topic indeed, now I am not in a situation to post on lengths here, but I will bring forth only one thing that has not been mentioned yet, and I think it's a point to consider.
At least when I think of Tolkien's imagination and what this journey to Elsewhere means for him, if you read his essay On Fairy-Stories, you get a bit different impression: that is, I believe mainly it was human creativity, respectively, human mind's creativity, to carry one to the lands of Elves. So, if I compare it to the abovementioned methods of bringing one into such states, when the point is in fact letting go your conscious self (be it by means of various meditation techniques or by use of narcotics), I believe Tolkien's vision of Faërie depended far more on creative movement of his own mind, not in "extasis". Now, at least to compare with another fantasy (ahem) author, I also now remembered H.P.Lovecraft (and especially his "Ex Oblivione", if anyone had read that) - when in some of his stories people travel to "dreamlands" or face a different reality (such as in the short story "Polaris", where a man sees a strange city in his dreams and eventually becomes confident that he actually lives there), there are the dreams and again people's subconscious or unconscious mind which are the means to get to the "other place and time". Tolkien vehemently protest against dreams having anything to do with fantasy again in "On Fairy-Stories". This is why I believe he would not actually consider the methods of getting in different states of mind as "true way" (or if you wish, "Straight Road") to get to Faërie.
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"Should the story say 'he ate bread,' the dramatic producer can only show 'a piece of bread' according to his taste or fancy, but the hearer of the story will think of bread in general and picture it in some form of his own." -On Fairy-Stories
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