Psychedelics
The use of psychedelics in spiritual [1] and therapeutic settings if finally starting to gain the recognition it once had, shortly after the discovery of LSD. This is detailed in the popular book How to Change Your Mind, which is a good starting point if you are interested but new to psychedelics, or want to learn more about the scientific research and therapeutic techniques being developed.
This page details the history and various forms of modern psychedelic use, and how it has helped reveal universal truth to spiritual seekers throughout the ages.
The Subjective Experience of Entheogens
There are several aspects to the effects of hallucinogens on our subjective experience of consciousness that makes them entheogenic, or "god-inducing."
- Ego dissolution: the feeling of merging/oneness with the universe and the loss of separation between the self, other people, and the outside world in general.
- Increased neuroplasticity: the ability to break out of habitual patterns of behavior and create alternative neural pathways. Seeing the world through the eyes a child, where everything is new and wonderous again.
- Emotional amplification: all senses and emotional responses, especially empathy, are heightened to the point that subtle things that often go unnoticed become like an elephant in the room. This gives a keen awareness of how people's words, attitudes, and actions impact our psyche, and how we impact others.
Since spirituality is intricately linked to the subjective experience of being human and living in a society, the amplification of that experience to the point where you feel a complete oneness with the other members of that society is inherently spiritual. Independently of any supernatural interpretations, the natural response to this experiences is "this is what all the mystics must have been talking about!" This may or may not lead to religious or supernatural belief, depending on existing beliefs and how the new experiences are integrated into that framework. But regardless of whether you "find god" on psychedelics, you will at least "get it" on a whole new level.
That Hallucination is a Fractal
Most depictions of psychedelic and spiritual hallucinations take the shape of fractal patterns. This is most likely due to the inherent fractal structure of our self-organized neural networks. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
We see fractals because our brains and minds are organized using fractal structures. They are the thumbprint of the universe made visible through psychedelic amplification.
Eyes and faces are also really common, since facial recognition is one of our most important brain functions. But even those are often arranged in fractal patterns.
The subject of Sacred Geometry is focused on this topic, though a lot of it crosses over into pseudoscientific fractal woo.
High Weirdness and Rational Psychonautics
In this insightful article, Aaron Rabinowitz deftly describes the phenomenon of "High Weirdness" how it has led many psychonauts down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, contrarianism, and pseudoscience. The influences of High Weirdness cited in the article, from the Church of the SubGenius, to the Illuminatus Trilogy, to Phillip K. Dick, have all provided inspiration for this wiki project. So what leads some to become untethered from reality while others see their critical thinking reinforced? And is there something we can do to encourage the better outcome?
Psychonauts and Rational Psychonauts
The difference between these groups is apparent when you look at the posts from the Psychonaut subreddit and compare them to RationalPsychonaut. The first often contains unhinged rants about aliens, god, and machine elves, existential crises and simulations, while the other is full of scientific studies, therapeutic advice, and even some halfway decent takes on philosophy. What determines which path you will follow on your psychedelic journey?
There is No Information in Psychedelics
People often take psychedelics expecting to find some revelation. Many end up having them. However, these can only represent the synthesis of existing information already present in the brain. Those who have a magical or mythical interpretation of reality will interpret their experiences through that lens. Those with a scientific education and well developed rationality will tend to explain their experiences using psychology.
Sometimes the experience can cause a reversal, where a spiritual person sees chemically induced visions of angels and demons and realizes these things are all products of the mind. Sometimes a scientific mind can see the same things and start to believe they are real. The experience itself is technically new information that must be interpreted, but it doesn't come with a guidebook
Psychedelic substances are often referred to as "teachers" but that is the exact thing that they lack. Most trips are not supervised by experts that can offer insight and guidance. This means that for most people, how they integrate their experience is strongly influenced by the media and their peer groups.
Peer to Peer Integration
Many of the most popular figures in the media who promote psychedelics (like Joe Rogan) are terrible mentors who encourage contrarian and conspiratorial interpretations of their experiences, priming their millions of listeners to do the same. In our disconnected and anti-social culture, many more people are trying psychedelics alone rather than with their peers, compounding the influence of influencers on those experiences.
Those who are tripping with their peer groups will also get vastly different interpretations of their shared experiences depending on their level of education, scientific background, critical thinking skills, knowledge of psychology, religion, and other factors. This is why people who drop acid at Harvard and Stanford often become major innovators in science and technology, while the high-school dropout following Phish is likely to end up in a yoga cult.
Shamanistic and Therapeutic Integration
Many psychedelic guides and facilitators come from native shamanistic traditions. More often than not, they are white people with dreads who are appropriating them. In both cases, there is a tendency towards the mythological interpretation of spiritual psychedelic experience over the rational.
Facilitators and guides that don't come from shamanism are usually therapists with a psychology background. However, many of these practice a more Jungian woo-based forms of therapy similar to dream interpretation, rather than seeking to ground the experiences in a scientific or rational faming. Since psychedelics still exist in a legal gray-area and outside of the mainstream, those attracted to it often represent fringe elements of the psychology community.
Facilitators from both camps are usually taught not to try and impose their own judgements or worldview on the integration process. Their focus is on creating a setting that is conducive to a positive experience, helping people out of negative thought loops, and encouraging reflection and integration after the experience. While this approach is very open-minded and non-judgmental, it does little to prevent "high weirdness" and the descent into conspiracy theories, contrarianism, pseudoscience, and supernatural magical thinking. Many of these fringe facilitators even encourage it.
Rational Integration
In order to promote rational interpretations of the psychedelic experience, it is necessary for knowledgeable teachers with backgrounds in psychology, therapy, neuroscience, and philosophy to reach out and offer their mentorship and advice to young people. If they don't, the void will be filled by grifters, cults, and conspiracy theorists eager to take advantage of their vulnerable and open states of mind.
The mainstream psychology community is unfortunately hampered by research methods, ethical and legal constraints. It is not possible, or even desirable, for every trip to have a professional facilitator. People are going to be out there tripping, so if the solution to "high weirdness" requires a therapeutic environment it just simply isn't practical. It must take place on the peer to peer, grassroots level to be able to have a significant impact on aggregate trip interpretations.
The ISNESS project provides a model for how this can work. By creating fun and interesting communities and events centered around science-based integration of the psychedelic experience, it should be possible to promote rational interpretations within the broader psychedelic community. Even if only a small percentage of users would be interested in such a group, each of them is also a member of their own peer group and will become an influence on their future trips as they share the knowledge they gain in the rational integration circles.
By using an Interfaith model for community organizing, ISNESS can provide a vehicle for both progressive religious institutions and the secular community to interface with the psychedelic community. These people are spiritual seekers who are looking for meaning and community. If mainstream institutions refuse to acknowledge the importance of the psychedelic experience, how can you blame users for developing contrarian, anti-authority, anti-institutional opinions? If mainstream science and religion can embrace the psychedelic experience, it will significantly hamper the ability for fringe pseudoscience grifters and cults to take advantage of high weirdness.
Conclusion
The legal status of psychedelics has led to a wild west free-for-all of fringe thinking. It has prevented mainstream institutions from embracing psychedelics, which exacerbates the distrust of those institutions among those who are having one of the most significant experiences of their life under their influence. As the legality of psychedelics and support within the cultural mainstream grows, we finally have an opportunity to promote rational, scientific psychonautics in a way that allows people to enjoy "high weirdness" without being lost to the fringe.
Historic Spiritual Uses
Detail the history of psychedelic use in different cultures and religious contexts.
This museum explores the art and culture surrounding psychedelics.
Modern Therapeutic Uses
Current therapeutic uses of psychedelics, research showing its effectiveness at treating various disorders, structure of a guided session.
The focus on therapeutic uses is necessary to open the door to legalization, since recreation is not a good enough reason to do something according to ascetic religious traditions that dominate mainstream politics. If you need a therapeutic breakthrough then a guided trip offers a lot of potential benefit.
If you're still not convinced that psychedelic therapy is ready to go mainstream, here are 18 articles with supporting evidence that will change your mind about how to change your mind.
Although Huberman has since taken a turn towards the grift, his earlier videos offer some very good conversations and advice, and this is one of the more nuanced discussions of set and setting. Just don't buy any dietary supplements he sponsors or take relationship advice from him.
Best Recreational Uses
How to create a set and setting that will bring joy, friendship, ecstasy, wonder, revelation, inner peace, and/or total ego destruction.
Sometimes, as humans in the pursuit of happiness, we just need to have a really, really, really good time. Recreational psychedelics may or may not offer that, depending on the set and setting. Protip: it's hard to go wrong at a music festival.
If you really want to go down the rabbit hole and experience the effects of deep meditation without the years of practice, or get therapy without hiring a therapist, just sit in a dark room for several hours with some spacey tunes. In this setting, it is recommended that a trusted sober friend be on call from another room.
Psychedelic Music
Some of the greatest music ever made has been inspired by psychedelics. Here is some of it.