Many or most have us have never thought twice about psychedelics. They have a horrible, scary history, demonized by the government when the LSD-inspired "hippies" rebelled against the Vietnam War and preached "love not war." Publicizing some bad trips was just the fuel the government needed to put the lid back on Pandora's box for decades when they listed it as a "Schedule 1 drug" with "no medical benefits and strong potential for addiction." Interestingly, this wasn't the first time Authorities were threatened by and attempted to stomp out the power of psychedelics. This has happened repeatedly over the last 5,000 years including the Catholic Church and Spanish governments performed inquisitions and suppression of their use within native Central American religious ceremonies, so they went underground until brought back to light in the 1950's. Now, with the successful campaign of "medical marijuana" back to the mainstream, the door for psychedelics is cracking open. We are starting to see mainstream news articles such as helping Vets overcome PTSD via therapy with as little as one session with MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly). Work on bringing psychedelics back to the mainstream never really stopped. We learn that these compounds are actually NOT addictive, but rather can cure additions, and have a host of medical benefits, not the least of which is medicine for our Souls!
"Mysticism is the antidote to Fundamentalism" is one of many thought-provoking quotes in this comprehensive compilation of investigative journalism. In the 13.5 hour Audible edition, Michael is revealing the natural, cultural, research, and political history of psychedelics from so many relevant angles and explaining their stories from so many different perspectives and lens we really get a dimensional understanding. The stories are fascinating. The public has a very limited understanding of the quick rise and fall of the psychedelics in American culture. This book sheds light on the breadth and depth of a history that goes back to the dawn of man. Michael interviews so many key players to reveal the behind-the-scenes events and milestones that it would have dizzying to try to piece this clear of a picture together on our own through the internet. He has done a huge public service.
- Psilocybin Research on "Healthy Normals"
- Incredible results as SEVENTY PERCENT of research participants report "one of/most MEANINGFUL experiences of their lives. And this meaningfulness does not diminish over time!!! They refer to the John Hopkins lab as a "transformation factory!"
- Looking back over 5,000 of human societal development, some postulate that the beginning of most world religions started with insight from a psychedelic experience. Many cultures’ rituals used psychedelics to give lay people direct contact with God, which is why later governments like Spain and the Catholic Church would use inquisitions in Central (and South?) America to stifle this practice from threatening their authority (using priests as middle man with God).
- Stoned Ape Theory - McKenna's hypothesis concerning the influence of psylocibin mushrooms on human evolution. He believed that psilocybin mushrooms were the "evolutionary catalyst" from which language, projective imagination, the arts, religion, philosophy, science, and all of human culture sprang.
- Most big human break-throughs are proposed as because the altered state of consciousness appears to be tapping into universal consciousness that gives us expanded view that very few would have access to via meditation. We can thank the LSD evangelism of this one "Johnny Appleseed" figure for the massive burst of CREATIVITY and development of early computers and circuit boards. One inventor had thought of mouse and interactive graphics and Virtual a Reality etc in the 60's. Apparently Steve Jobs said that Bill Gates didn’t do enough acid! MICRO-dosing FRIDAYS is still “a thing” at some Silicon Valley companies today!!!
- This research lays the ground work for what is precedent-setting (?) methodology of using ESTABLISHED SCIENTIFIC methodology to glimpse MYSTICAL experiences. This pushes the science of mind research on consciousness to an uncomfortable place to have to consider consciousness as likely Outside the Mind, making the mind simply a WiFi/TV/Radio-like receiver.
- We are examining are these experiences REAL vs. Drug induced hallucinations, and the evidence points to REAL because of the long-term staying power. One argument made that effects are similar to toxicity of kidney/liver, are quickly doused by the fact that people experiencing this toxicity don't report amazing transformations of personality (also evaluated and measured in the research).
- The experiences of participants are very much aligned with the concepts in the Grief book by Francis Weller discussed recently where the human experience in modern culture is one of Amnesia and Anesthesia. We are in a sleeping state, forgetting our true souls, but we know we are in pain because of what we can't remember (our primary satisfactions come from soul-based satisfaction), so we numb ourselves via constant distractions (TV, news, sports, drugs, alcohol, drama, shopping, etc. etc. = secondary satisfactions) that prove to be hollow and meaningless and drive us into unprecedented rates of Depression, Suicide, Anxiety, mass shootings, loneliness, addiction, culture wars, feeling of mass separation, etc. etc.
- Definition of mystical experiences: http://www.bodysoulandspirit.net/mystical_experiences/learn/experts_define/james.shtml
- As an added bonus, his interview conducted over an actual "mushroom hunting" weekend with Paul Stamets leaves the reader with a new profound appreciation for the fascinating world of fungi. Mr. Stamets is a world-renown expert in mushrooms and his passion is exceptional, to the point he literally feels he is actually connected to their massive mycelial network (mushrooms version of the world wide web). Even more importantly, he has applied his knowledge of work to literally help save the planet with some absolutely ingenious applications of fungi including bioremediation of oil spills and a fungi pesticide for ants that literally has spores exploding from the ants brains (yikes!??!!). He goes so far to say that fungi has an intelligence of their own!
- Paul Stamets' Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world?language=en
- Paul Stamets' Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Stamets/e/B001JS0KV6
- The fungal communication network is supported by new research and is also discussed in this calming and fascinating book that has given me a new appreciation for trees and forests: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World
The number one New York Times best seller
A brilliant and brave investigation by Michael Pollan, author of five New York Times best sellers, into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs - and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences
When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction, and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into the experience of various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research.
A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both struggle and beauty, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.
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