11 Things Psilocybin Can Teach Us
Posted by: Psilocybin Stories
Psilocybin, a natural psychedelic element found in hundreds of fungi, has been used for thousands of years in medicinal and ceremonial settings. The current popularization of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) brings with it an ancient wisdom containing practical life lessons if we’re willing to listen. Here are ten.
1 — How to Change Our Mind
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein
Michael Pollan could not have chosen a better title for his book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.
Pollan’s book title gives insight into the extraordinary potential of psilocybin and other psychedelics which can help us:
Change our mind.
To think more critically.
To alleviate mental illness.
To raise self-awareness.
To take the sting of death away.
To increase compassion.
And much more.
This isn’t an opinion. The research backs it up.(Johnson, M.W., Griffiths, 2017)
2 — To Think Critically
“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”
Charles Addams
Psilocybin serves as a resource to quiet the brain’s Default Mode Network which manages regions of the brain to communicate through diverse neural pathways. Creative solutions to persistent problems often emerge from this state. What if our critical and creative thinking could be positively influenced to reduce the strength of habitual patterns and establish new and healthier ones?
This research study found that psilocybin may increase emotional and brain plasticity. (Barrett, F.S., Doss, M.K., Sepeda, N.D. et al., 2020)
Critical thinking is only one of psilocybin’s many benefits.
3 — To Face Unresolved Trauma and Improve our Mental Health
Psilocybin to treat mental health diseases is one of the most studied psychedelic researches. Check it out:
— “Clinical potential of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health conditions” (Daniel, J., & Haberman, M., 2017)
— Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psilocybin (Johnson, M.W., Griffiths, R.R., 2017)
— The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future (Carhart-Harris, R., Goodwin, G., 2017)
Psilocybin can also be used to help us process trauma stored in the body — the brain does not only respond in the head but as a full bodied experience. For more on somatic methods of healing trauma, see our article about the breakthrough book, The Body Keeps The Score.
4 — To Become more Self-Aware
Self-Awareness in the Oxford Dictionary is defined as “conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.”
“If you don’t have a plan, you become part of somebody else’s plan.”
Terence McKenna
Psilocybin, as discussed in the second teaching (to think critically), increases plasticity in the brain. As more and more neural connections are being made, our consciousness rises, and our ability to act more intentionally occurs. To quote a recent article: “findings provide further insights into the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of the psychedelic state, and importantly, provide a neurochemical basis for how these substances alter individuals’ sense of self, and may be giving rise to therapeutic effects witnessed in ongoing clinical trials.” (Mason, N.L., Kuypers, K.P.C., Müller, F. et al., 2020)
5 — How to take the Sting of Death Away
Psychiatrist and researcher at Harbor-U.C.L.A. Medical Center, Charles Grob, completed a psilocybin study in 2008 (published in 2011) showing that administering psilocybin to terminally ill subjects had significant effects on anxious ego dissolution.
Grob comments:
“It’s a bit of a mystery. I don’t really have altogether a definitive answer as to why the drug (psilocybin) eases the fear of death, but we do know that from time immemorial individuals who have transformative spiritual experiences come to a very different view of themselves and the world around them and thus are able to handle their own deaths differently.” (Slater, 2019)
Dr. Anthony Bossis has also conducted FDA-approved psychedelic research, specifically looking at psilocybin-generated mystical experience’s effect to alleviate end-of-life emotional distress. He shares profound results in this TEDTalk.
6 — To be Compassionate
The Department of Psychiatry in New York completed a study finding subjects experienced a range of positive results:
“Our participants reported experiences rich in self-compassion, love, connection, catharsis, and psychodynamic material, in addition to mystical content.”
(Bogenschutz, M. P., Podrebarac, S. K., Duane, J. H., Amegadzie, S. S., Malone, T. C., Owens, L. T., Mennenga, S. E., 2018)
This compassion can be extended to nature as well.
7 — To Connect with, Appreciate, and Understand Nature
One study found psilocybin induces an increase in nature relatedness.
This understanding and appreciation of all living things brings a positive change in attitude, an open-mind, and a love for everything different from us.
8 — To Rediscover Joy
Life gets monotonous for us all at times. Psilocybin opens us up to new experiences. It creates new neural connections in the brain, opening us to the beauty of life.
As discussed previously, a positive change in attitude results from psilocybin. This positive change helps us recognize the importance in pursuing happiness. Genuine, long-lasting happiness. A huge weight is lifted.
9 — To Recognize Different Dimensions
Research shows Psilocybin can help some people tap into unique dimensions of self-awareness, reminding us that we can experience something different, but also that it’s not for everyone and is mostly illegal and unavailable to the general public at this time.
This study, administering a supportive environment along with psilocybin, found their subjects occasionally experiencing the mystical. (Griffiths, R.R., Richards, W.A., McCann, U. et al., 2006)
Here is an ancient Hindu allegory found on lonerwolf.com giving some insight into the mystical experience:
“Imagine that you are in a completely dark room. You’ve been told that in this room lives a very large snake. As you sit in the room, you can see its silhouette and you feel great fear as you contemplate the potential for it to bite you at any moment. But one day there is a flash of light which illuminates the room and you see that what looked like a snake was, in reality, a rope. Although the flash of light was momentary, it gave you a glimpse of the truth. All of a sudden your long-held fear vanished entirely, and your experience of the room was never the same ever again.”
10 — To Stimulate Creativity
John Hopkins professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences Roland R. Griffiths, explains how personality hardens with age:
“Personality, after the age of 25, is relatively stable, and if anything happens, openness decreases across decades, just very slightly, but generally people become more rigid and less creative, and this (psilocybin) is showing an anti-aging affect if you will, on openness.”
Griffiths, along with colleagues Katherine A. MacLean, and Matthew W. Johnson, found psilocybin participants’ openness levels increased, which includes things like acceptance, creativity, frankness and trust. (MacLean, Johnson, Griffiths, 2011)
Psilocybin can lead us to rejuvenating waters, but we must bring buckets to carry and savor that water for later on.
11 — To be Careful
Psychedelic research is still very much in its beginning phases. Many of these trials are small-scale(<20 participants), have limitations, and extra care should be taken when it comes to personal use, since these are usually patients with serious illnesses and are being treated by well-trained professionals.
Despite psilocybin’s immense potential benefits it’s important to remember that any psychedelic has the possibility of inducing psychosis or a bad trip. We encourage you to speak with a professional for medical advice as well as check out our article on how to prepare a therapeutic psilocybin experience.
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Disclaimer: Mindleap Health is committed to helping people manage their mental and emotional health, and provides access to psychedelic integration specialists through our platform. However, we can’t offer medical advice and we don’t encourage illegal activities. Our community places trust in us — and we view that responsibility with reverence. Please speak to a health care provider if you have any medical concerns and always exercise caution and care.
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References:
Barrett, F. S., Doss, M. K., Sepeda, N. D., Pekar, J. J., & Griffiths, R. R. (2020). Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1–14.
Bogenschutz, M. P., Podrebarac, S. K., Duane, J. H., Amegadzie, S. S., Malone, T. C., Owens, L. T., … & Mennenga, S. E. (2018). Clinical interpretations of patient experience in a trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9, 100.
Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Goodwin, G. M. (2017). The therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs: past, present, and future. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(11), 2105–2113.
Daniel, J., & Haberman, M. (2017). Clinical potential of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health conditions. Mental Health Clinician, 7(1), 24–28.
Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C. R., Halberstadt, A. L., & Greer, G. R. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(1), 71–78.
Griffiths, R. R., Richards, W. A., McCann, U., & Jesse, R. (2006). Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. Psychopharmacology, 187(3), 268-283.
Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2017). Potential therapeutic effects of psilocybin. Neurotherapeutics, 14(3), 734-740.
Mason, N. L., Kuypers, K. P. C., Müller, F., Reckweg, J., Tse, D. H. Y., Toennes, S. W., … & Ramaekers, J. G. (2020). Me, myself, bye: regional alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin. Neuropsychopharmacology, 1-11.
MacLean, Katherine A., Matthew W. Johnson, and Roland R. Griffiths. “Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness.” Journal of Psychopharmacology 25.11 (2011): 1453-1461.
Slater, L. (2019). Blue dreams: The science and the story of the drugs that changed our minds. New York: Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company.
