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Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

nytimes.com

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Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#41

Post by DenisM »

goodroot wrote: post #25
DenisM wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How bad are the bad trips? And how often they appear?

Trips often elevate beyond dualistic thinking. Common dualistic spectrums include good and bad, light and dark, heaven and hell, wet or dry, dead or alive, human and non-human, space or time... The experiences are ineffable and unlike anything perceived by prior physical sense. The integrative aspect - taking the ecstatic vision and letting it into daily life - is an ongoing process which often takes up to a year. An…

When I say bad trip I mean a psychotic breakdown, new acute/persistent anxiety, PTSD, this kind of thing.

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#42

Post by cypherpunks01 »

semireg wrote: post #19
psythrow wrote: post #12

I have a friend who used to be quite involved in the ayahuasca church. He now knows five people from the church who have committed suicide. The fifth just hung himself last weekend. He was 25, and was the son of one of the priestesses in the church. Spent his childhood in the church, being fed ayahuasca regularly. One of them was also a friend of mine. By the time he killed himself he was clinically insane and should…

What is the ayahuasca church? I’m not familiar.

In the USA, it might refer to UDV (União do Vegetal) http://udvusa.org/

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#43

Post by toomanybeersies »

psythrow wrote: post #12

I have a friend who used to be quite involved in the ayahuasca church. He now knows five people from the church who have committed suicide. The fifth just hung himself last weekend. He was 25, and was the son of one of the priestesses in the church. Spent his childhood in the church, being fed ayahuasca regularly. One of them was also a friend of mine. By the time he killed himself he was clinically insane and should…

Do you think that heavy psychedelic use is what caused them to commit suicide, or do you think that these people had their own inner demons, which they tried to combat with psychedelics?

In my experience a lot of people with their own issues are drawn to psychedelics as a means managing their demons. In the right setting, they can be incredibly healing. However, for some people, psychedelics become a means of coping, tripping becomes their default state and reality becomes too much for them.

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#44

Post by toomanybeersies »

goodroot wrote: post #14

Psychedelic mushrooms are powerful medicine. They have a psychoactive effect which alters brain chemistry and helps neurological disorder. We can see that in the paper. But then so do anti-depressants. I believe the key difference between plant medicines like mushrooms, Peyote, Ayahuasca and others and clinical mood altering medicine is within the ecstatic experience. It is one to thing to have a pill lead you to an…

I've used an array of psychedelics for spiritual experiences and would be really keen to try Ayahuasca when I'm in Peru later this year. Do you have any pointers on how to find a place to have a Ayahuasca ceremony in Peru? Can I send you an email about it?

I firmly believe that psychedelics were possibly what laid the foundations for humans forming society. They were what helped us to form the abstract thought of working together towards a greater goal than simply survival. I've never felt more at one with humanity than after smoking changa with a group of friends and just standing there silently in a group hug for the trip. It was an incredible experience and really helped me come to terms with myself.

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#45

Post by KennyCason »

goodroot wrote: post #25
DenisM wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How bad are the bad trips? And how often they appear?

Trips often elevate beyond dualistic thinking. Common dualistic spectrums include good and bad, light and dark, heaven and hell, wet or dry, dead or alive, human and non-human, space or time... The experiences are ineffable and unlike anything perceived by prior physical sense. The integrative aspect - taking the ecstatic vision and letting it into daily life - is an ongoing process which often takes up to a year. An…

Your first two paragraphs really stand out to me. It can be very difficult to piece these experiences into tangible sentences. It truly is ineffable. Yet, when you’re there it’s so trivially effable. It’s at times comical and yet sad when you become aware you are experiencing something ineffable and won’t be able to bring it back to convey to the world. It can only be experienced.

Once back, it can easily take a year to unpack the experience, and find the right metaphors to attempt to, almost, but not quite really, slightly describe an infinitesimal part of the experience, maybe. :)

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#46

Post by goodroot »

DenisM wrote: post #41
goodroot wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trips often elevate beyond dualistic thinking. Common dualistic spectrums include good and bad, light and dark, heaven and hell, wet or dry, dead or alive, human and non-human, space or time... The experiences are ineffable and unlike anything perceived by prior physical sense. The integrative aspect - taking the ecstatic vision and letting it into daily life - is an ongoing process which often takes up to a year. An…

When I say bad trip I mean a psychotic breakdown, new acute/persistent anxiety, PTSD, this kind of thing.

The team that I work with is very diligent. No one has ever had a breakdown, acute/persistent anxiety, PTSD, or anything similar as a result of what has happened in the ceremonies. We are careful with screening candidates that might be susceptible to these issues.

However, there have been very nasty experiences that have happened as a result of not following the very strict guidelines of pre and post ceremony care. It is recommended that you abstain from alcohol, sugar, sexual conduct for varying time periods. It is also required that all medication - within reason and with a long list of disallowed contraindications - be weened off of prior to partaking.

The medicine is serious stuff. It is beautiful stuff. And it should be approached with great care. If you take it with a reputable group, prepare appropriately, and follow the post-ceremony guidelines, there is a high likely hood of a net positive experience. If you do not, well...

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#47

Post by goodroot »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #44
goodroot wrote: post #14

Psychedelic mushrooms are powerful medicine. They have a psychoactive effect which alters brain chemistry and helps neurological disorder. We can see that in the paper. But then so do anti-depressants. I believe the key difference between plant medicines like mushrooms, Peyote, Ayahuasca and others and clinical mood altering medicine is within the ecstatic experience. It is one to thing to have a pill lead you to an…

I've used an array of psychedelics for spiritual experiences and would be really keen to try Ayahuasca when I'm in Peru later this year. Do you have any pointers on how to find a place to have a Ayahuasca ceremony in Peru? Can I send you an email about it? I firmly believe that psychedelics were possibly what laid the foundations for humans forming society. They were what helped us to form the abstract thought of wor…

Please do - public[at]goodroot.ca.

Re: Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer to Medicinal Use

#50

Post by WalterSear »

goodroot wrote: post #14

Psychedelic mushrooms are powerful medicine. They have a psychoactive effect which alters brain chemistry and helps neurological disorder. We can see that in the paper. But then so do anti-depressants. I believe the key difference between plant medicines like mushrooms, Peyote, Ayahuasca and others and clinical mood altering medicine is within the ecstatic experience. It is one to thing to have a pill lead you to an…

I have extensive experience with pharmaceutical anti-depressants and with psilocybin.

It's not the introspection that causes psilocybin's anti-depressant quality. Mood and improves, and phantom pain diminishes by about 12-24 hours, regardless of the qualities of the trip, and continues to rise for a couple of days. Even if the trip is relatively non-descript, or is difficult, the internal change is still very clear.

A euphoric trip overshadows this change, obviously.

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