The Magic of Magic Mushrooms

Psilocybin, colloquially known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, has undergone a renaissance of late. New York Times bestsellers are writing about it. Studies abound about its incredible effects on major depression, PTSD, death and dying, ADHD, and more. As a mental health practitioner, I am all for this. In fact, a few of my patients have microdosed LSD or shrooms to great effect on their mental health conditions, especially depression. Anything that can help people alleviate suffering and live meaningful, content lives feels worthwhile.

But as an individual, my interests in psychedelics lie more in the religious. I’ve used shrooms or LSD probably about 10 times in my life, all at high doses, and each experience has been enlightening in some way. Some experiences have been similar to a very intense therapy session. I’ve spent hours contemplating and healing from past traumas and felt refreshed by my experience. One experience made me realize how much I loved my wife. Other experiences have been almost stereotypically “psychedelic.” Those experiences let me enter the deep recesses of my unconscious brain and see visions of the world. In some of those experiences, I felt in touch with a numinosity I had only felt in deep meditation experiences. At moments I thought I knew the divine, not as a person, but a spirit, as the buddha-nature that imbues everything and everyone.