The fallacy of believing psychedelics aren't "natural"

Just as I hoped, my previous blog post, "Psilocybin could be in my future, thanks to Oregon's legalization," elicited some thought-provoking comments. 

(Note: by legalization I meant that psilocybin is available through licensed service centers, where it has to be consumed. So it isn't legal in the same sense that marijuana is legal in Oregon, capable of being bought in licensed stores and then taken home to be used however you want.)

One commenter's point is easily dismissed. They said that because I was initiated by a Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) guru in 1971, 53 years ago, I should stick with the RSSB teachings for my entire life, not explore other possibilities such as psychedelics. 

That's ridiculous. I was devoted to RSSB for 35 years. That's plenty of time to determine whether a religion or spiritual practice is a good fit for me. I came to decide that it wasn't, just as I've changed in so many other ways over years and decades.

Different political views. Different jobs. Different wives. Different homes. Lots of differences, including my philosophy of life.

Another commenter made a reasonable point, but one which I also disagree with. They said:

But I find it strange that for the averagely healthy person with the ability to immerse themselves in the wonders of the world that we inhabit, why the need or desire to alter or escape the reality of just this.

Well, because there is no such thing as "just this," other than a subjective reality unique to each person. This is an obvious truth stressed by neuroscientist Christof Koch in his new book, Then I Am Myself the World: What Consciousness Is and How to Expand It. He writes:

Brain scientists frequently refer to a mythical creature, the neurotypical. This individual of unspecified sex stands in for the typical member of Homo sapiens, born with a full complement of eyes, ears, and other sense organs and a "normal" brain.

The last chapter described the experiences of such a neurotypical person. However, in contrast to the "standard kilogram" -- a cylinder of platinum-iridium hidden away in a vacuum chamber in Paris that once defined a mass of one kilogram -- there is no "standard" human brain.

Instead, there is vast genetic and developmental diversity among the eight billion people living on planet Earth, reflected in the astonishing diversity of their brains and their ways of experiencing the world.

We humans are limited to knowing only how reality appears to members of our species. Other creatures know reality quite differently. And within humankind, each person has a different understanding of what "just this" (a Buddhist term) is for them. 

For example, the commenter spoke of enjoying a runner's high. When I used to jog, in the 1980s, I'd feel this occasionally. I feel it now to some extent when I lift weights. However, this form of "high" isn't any more or less natural than a psychedelic high.

And it certainly isn't more or less physical. Every experience we have, without exception, is present to our consciousness because of a certain brain state. Often serotonin is involved in pleasurable experiences. I'm guessing it is involved in a runner's high, just as I know that serotonin is involved in a psychedelic high.

Meditators are experiencing changes in the brain when they sit with closed or open eyes on a cushion or chair. Coffee drinkers are experiencing changes in the brain when they ingest caffeine. And people who enjoy psychedelics are experiencing changes in the brain when they take a dose of psilocybin. 

All of this is natural. In fact, it's hard for me to think of anything that isn't natural. To do that, I'd have to make an artificial divide that doesn't exist in reality. Is LSD unnatural because a scientist discovered it in a lab? What makes that unnatural? Aren't we humans part of nature, along with what we do and create?

But even if someone wants to divide our world into natural and unnatural, psilocybin, coming from a mushroom, would be decidedly in the natural camp. So would marijuana, a plant that grows wild. (The mother of a friend of mind would talk about how they had to keep their horses from eating "loco weed" that used to grow along the side of the road in Oklahoma. That was marijuana.)

Koch speaks about transforming the brain through psychedelics in several chapters. Here's excerpts from his "Transforming lives by transformative experiences" chapter. This helps explain why I want to use psilocybin again after a 55 year hiatus.

Best studied is psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, a large and diverse group of fungi. Psilocybin's effects can be remarkable -- one or two consecutive psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions in patients with serious depression improved their well-being and depression scores for months.

A single high dose of psilocybin in patients with life-threatening cancer triggers large decreases in depression, anxiety, and mood disturbances, with concomitant increases in quality of life and ability to find meaning in life and acceptance of death.

Furthermore, patients who have full-blown mystical experiences are more likely to enjoy these benefits that those who do not. Michael Pollan evocatively described, in a famous New Yorker essay, how even for those patients who did succumb to their cancer, the treatment had an extraordinarily positive outcome for their way of living and of dying.

This is astounding and defies belief: well-entrenched attitudes and beliefs are so difficult to modify that conventional psychotherapy, a.k.a. the talking cure, takes years of weekly sessions with uncertain outcomes. The results are equally astonishing next to the results of more conventional psychopharmacology.

One study directly compared two doses of psilocybin over six weeks to a daily pill of escitalopram, a common selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment for depression. It found that patients taking the psychedelic had reduced rumination, "sticky" negative thoughts about their self and their situation, and thought suppression, compared to their peers given the standard treatment. 

...One study estimates thirty million people in the United States, about one tenth of the population, have used these [psychedelic] molecules at least once. Their physiological toxicity is low, and they do not damage organs or cause neuropsychological deficits.

The risk of lethal overdosing or fatal accidents is small. Importantly, psychedelics are nonaddictive (they do not target the dopamine system) and engender neither cravings nor compulsive drug seeking. There are no drug cartels trafficking in psychedelics.

Comments

[sant64]

I don't completely agree with the guy who said "You've got Nam, so wtfard." but I think he does have a point. If chasing after unreal altered states is one of the key reasons for leaving Sant Mat, then what's hoped to be gained from trying to achieve the same thing with drugs?

The article says the target population was people with severe depression from cancer. I guess it does make for people with intractable depression to try psychedelics. But for those not in that cohort, then what's the goal?

For those who don't believe in God or Gurus, but do believe in a better life through chemistry, it would make more sense to invest one's money in hormone replacement therapy. Most male problems, including depression, are due to low testosterone. Adding testosterone (I have done it) will make everything better in one's life.

[James]

Brian,
I've gotten into psychedelics, (chocolate mushrooms), late in life. 30 some odd years after initiation. And I got to say, it's been a blast. I take them to see/feel more within. I don't go for the outward colors and perception changes. I like to take 3-4 pieces, (approx 1.6-1.8 grams), be in very comfortable clothes, play some sound bath music videos, close my eyes and enjoy the show going on within. 2.5-3 hrs of amazement. Set and setting is everything. If done with right intention, you may ask them (the mushrooms), questions, and you will get a response. On the come down, I'll watch a light comedy movie and laugh my ass off. For 1-2 weeks afterwards, I'm lighter, more creative and grounded in great contentment. Weeks after that, I feel my brain has been rewired for more positivity and love. Very blissful. It's been 4 months since my last trip and I'm preparing for my next. (Clean eating, getting sleep, basic workouts), Then set and setting.

I may suggest trying a smaller dose (micro-dose) to start to get a feel for that possibility. Once confident, go for it. I prefer doing with friends (or by myself), rather than in a "clinical" environment. With friends, you may want to talk, paint, walk in nature, meditate, listen to music, etc. Afterwards, eat food(s) you really enjoy. I go for some veggie pizza while watching a movie. It's a celebration. With the right intention, you come out of the experience with more insight of who you are and what you need to do.

Again, after 30 years of meditation (which I feel is good, content, very acceptable RSSB meditation), and now taking mushrooms go nicely together. Some take it for the ego death (4-8 grams). That's a whole different conversation-you can find those on Youtube. I may go for that, but down the road. Rule of thumb, you can always take more-once taken, you can't do less. Unless you have a trip killer with you. (Xanax).

Hope this helps your thinking of moving forward to have this amazing experience.

It's made a difference in my life- no turning back.

Go for it!

Best-

[Brian Hines]

James, thanks for your inspiring comment. I get what you said about a "clinical" environment. But the center where I'll be having my psilocybin experience is set up to be as comfortable and welcoming as possible. Indoors only, unfortunately, due to Oregon regulations.

On the plus side, I'll know that I'm getting a tested high quality magic mushroom dose. I appreciated your description of what you do during an experience. It mostly fits with what I'm planning to do. Of course, plans can change. Since I also am a long-time meditator, I'm leaning toward spending much of the time with eyes closed, experiencing the psilocybin from within, so to speak, rather than its outward perceptual manifestations. But I want to remain flexible.

[Appreciative Reader]

..."psychedelics are nonaddictive (they do not target the dopamine system)"

That's very interesting! I don't know of any other drug that doesn't either directly or indirectly impact the dopamine system --- not even otherwise innocuous coffee.

That makes it so much less risky to try out, at least in terms of the addiction thing.

[Appreciative Reader]

"you can always take more-once taken, you can't do less"

Why is that, James, given that the dopamine thing doesn't come into play?

[Brian Hines]

Appreciative Reader, what James was referring to is the obvious fact that once you've taken a large "hero" dose of psilocybin, like 4-5 grams, and it's in your system, there's no way to lessen the impact of that dose. I suppose you could have your stomach pumped, but that'd be a bad trip probably worse than just letting the dose do its major psychedelic thing.

So the wise advice is to start with a low dose and ramp up from there in fairly small steps to learn how you tolerate and experience various types of doses. This could include taking a small dose, waiting for the activation period to be over, and then taking more psilocybin in the same experience, as James noted. So this isn't an addiction/dopamine thing. It's a don't take a big dose until you know how you handle smaller doses.

[James]

What I've learned as I've read and talked to different people, if you are feeling overwhelmed or feel you're in over your skis (in your head), you can take a "trip killer", or a small Xanax.
Using “trip killers” like benzodiazepines or antipsychotics (under trade names like Xanax, Olanzapine and others) can help reduce the intensity of the trip.

That's why I started tripping small with 1gm of shrooms, moved up to 1.4gm to 1.8gm and the next trip will be 2gm. Each trip I was gaining more and more confidence on the shrooms. Tho I know those who just dive into the deep end on shrooms. 3-4+ gms right out of the box. I did that with DMT and whoa........

The key is when you're on the come up and you're feeling everything, you need to tell yourself to just let go and relax. Breathe. Relax, enjoy. Don't fight the experience, that's when it becomes a difficult trip.

Funny to get into all this in my 60's, but I truly respect the psychedelics and appreciate the opportunity. I don't trip just for the sake of tripping, I do so for the profound experience. Adding ways to know "myself/I" better......

At these doses, (less than ego-death), it's extremely enjoyable and I always get something out of it.

Good luck-can't wait to hear about your experience.

[Appreciative Reader]

Oh, ok, got it. I misunderstood what he was saying to mean that if I take a heroic dose today, then I can't go back to the lesser doses next time I ingest this thing. My bad.

[Ron E.]

@ Brian. “The fallacy of believing psychedelics aren't "natural."

When it comes to what is the natural brain chemistry, my point would be that what the brain produces under certain conditions is a natural process rather than chemicals that are administered – albeit that both are natural.

Of course, everything we know of and encounter is natural. The world, the universe, our thoughts and conscious experience is natural. The only thing that doesn’t fit this criterion is the invention of the so-called supernatural. And yes, human brains do differ along with their particular interpretations of reality.

Joan Tollifson expresses reality so: - “We can’t stand apart from and SEE reality; we can only BE reality—and we can’t ever NOT be reality. Reality is all there is; and all there is, is reality. And actually, EVERYTHING we see (the apparent forms that appear in everyday life, as well as what we see in dreams or on 5-MeO-DMT, LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA or Ayahuasca, or anything we think or imagine) is ALL reality.”

I would add that I believe (think) that we are all capable of seeing or ‘be’ reality; we all see the same flowers, the trees, the traffic, people around etc. The difference probably lies in our interpretations of the perceived reality. Some for example, may see nature as threatening, separate from themselves, perhaps beautiful or something to be used and exploited. It then comes down to how our minds have developed – and by ‘mind’ I mean the brain’s contents derived from our life’s experiences.

Generally, I would say that it is our minds rather than our brains that create our realities. Also, I wonder just how much attention we give to the world around us. It seems as though we live our lives through thoughts and concepts, walking around in a ‘thought bubble’, not really paying attention to what is around us and it is through this constant stream of thought from which we relate to the world. It’s a little like living in an area of natural beauty, after a while it may become mundane and ordinary and not noticed. Perhaps this is the attraction of the various diversions we engage in – to wake ourselves up.

[umami]

I question the morels of fungi-mentalists caught with spore-nography. Their hypocrisy borders on the cremini-l.

[Brian Hines]

umami, I bestow upon you an award for most creative wordplay in a Church of the Churchless comment for a long time, maybe ever. I bow at your mushroomy feet.

[sant64]

One thing you'll never read on this forum is "You make a good point. I hadn't considered that, but I think you're making a valid argument." Nope, it's always just I'm right, you're wrong.

To equate taking hallucinogens with meditation, because "both are natural"....

You're one of the most haughty, stubborn people I've come across, and I'm sure you've heard that before.

[umami]

Thanks, Brian.
You know me, have pun will travel.

Mushrooms reproduce sexually AND asexually. Hey, check out that fruiting body. Corn smut, filthiest of all.