The healing properties of magic mushrooms are now being understood by science as a powerful tool for self-actualization and curing psychological disorders.

Hallucinogenic mushrooms appear to have been part of human culture since its very inception. Art dating back to 5,000 B.C. and ranging across multiple continents shows how different cultures across the world venerated the mystical healing powers of the magic mushroom. Starting in the 1960’s and continuing today, scientific studies are being carried out that investigate the short and long term effects of the active ingredient in psychoactive mushrooms- psilocybin- and their results are overwhelmingly positive.

Photo credit: Ian Williams

Life-Changing Experiences

The experience of taking psychedelic mushrooms with appropriate dosage, intention, and setting are profound and often life-changing. Those who have taken psilocybin report feelings of wellbeing, interconnection, mild visual hallucinations, and a renewed appreciation for nature and life itself. Like all psychedelics, intense and sometimes frightening experiences can be part of the visionary journey, but these can be minimized by proper setting and care, and are sometimes a necessary part of the transformative experience.

Johns Hopkins University carried out a study where they administered psilocybin to adult volunteers who had never taken psychedelics before. Of the 36 adults that participated, two-thirds of them reported that their experience was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences of their entire lives, with a dozen of them saying it was the single most profound spiritual experience they ever had[1.Griffiths RR, Richards WA, McCann U, Jesse R. (2006). “Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance” https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/bin/s/m/GriffithsPsilocybin.pdf]. What makes this even more jaw-dropping is that this study was the third independent study of this nature, and all three studies across decades, with different administrators and with slightly different methodologies, received similar results.

The value of a profound and lasting spiritual experience cannot be overstated, both for healthy adults and for those suffering from psychological disorders. A huge array of physical and mental ailments can be traced back to trauma, unhealthy patterns of behavior, stress, and struggling with identity. The power of magic mushrooms to facilitate experiences of bliss, higher understanding, and interconnection with the universe is an incredibly powerful healing tool that can treat many ailments right at their source, and science is now showing that they can be used in a broad range of therapeutic applications.

Psychotherapeutic Applications

Scientific studies over the past 50 years have demonstrated the value of psilocybin for treating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and overcoming addiction to substances like tobacco. Advances in understanding how to use magic mushrooms for these and other disorders can help reduce the need for invasive surgeries and dangerous prescription drugs. Instead of having painful or disrupting side-effects, psilocybin treatment has the side benefit of personal and spiritual revelation.

Along with LSD, psilocybin has also been studied in relation to helping terminal cancer patients deal with the stress and anxiety of their condition. There are few people on the earth that deserve more care and comfort than those who are dying, and the joy and spiritual fearlessness that come with the mushroom experience is the perfect medicine for those on their deathbed, allowing them to live their remaining days to the fullest with dignity and peace.

 

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