Psychedelics Could Trigger A 'Paradigm Shift' In Mental Health Care

At the very least psychedelics should be a legitimate subject of serious inquiry in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry.

There is evidence that does not agree with (edit: support) this statement: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130819185302.ht...

They can trigger a paradigm shift in many other areas, not just mental health care. Except it's so hard to explain this to a 'normal' person, who's never taken any.

"If God were to permit you a brief voyage into the divine process, let you whirl for a second into the atomic nucleus or spin you out on a light-year trip through the galaxies, how on earth would you describe what you saw when you got back, breathless, to your office? This metaphor may sound farfetched or irrelevant, but just ask someone who has taken a heavy dose of LSD." - Tim Leary, The politics of ecstasy, 1968

It's similar to the 'overview effect' reported by astronauts who've been to space. Of course it triggers a paradigm shift and 'cures' depression or other mind-loops that we find ourselves in so often.

It's good to see that there are more discussions about psychedelics in the scientific community. I suspect there are many (more and more) scientists and academics who use psychedelics so I think we will see more and more material published on this subject, apart from the huge amount of anecdotal material available online.

I also suspect that people use more psychedelics now than ever in our history. And it's happening globally. And it's a good thing.

Because I believe psychedelics are the mythical 'love bomb' which can stop wars and bring peace to people and other species on Earth. And they could, in theory, cure cancer - certainly the psychological and spiritual effects of the disease, which could bring remission to it's physical manifestation.

So yeah, there's lots of research still to be done.

So... have you known people who've undergone this chemical love carpet-bombing who are tremendously peaceful, between themselves or with people who were not similarly treated?

Because I've known a lot of people who used a variety of drugs and many who swore by LSD, mushrooms, ecstasy or a combination, and they weren't a teeny bit less likely to start petty fights over pretty much nothing than the rest of us, nor were they more free from prejudice towards specific groups of people, etc.

A spiritual effect of cancer is it reminds the organism of its impermanence. We walk on earth without acknowledging the true significance of impermanence, but of course, it does not necessarily need to take to something as earth shattering as cancer to remind oneself of impermanence. As far as remission, OP could be alluding to 'mind over matter', etc. I could say more, but skeptics gonna skeptic. In these matters there are usually opposing sides which never meet in the middle. One side emphasizing the importance of direct experience and the other side first demanding proofs of that experience before themselves exploring (as if certainty is communicable), a fear based reaction to not simply plunge into the unknown and see beyond recurrent thinking.