A bunch of magic mushroom talk is in the news right now. Magic mushrooms hit the God spot Judy Skatssoon ABC Science Online http://abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_1682610.htm Wednesday, 12 July 2006 The active ingredient in magic mushrooms produces spiritual experiences identical to those reported through history (Image: iStockphoto) The active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms produces a spiritual experience that can have lasting positive effects, a trial has shown. The ingredient, psilocybin, increases wellbeing and satisfaction with life two months after being taken, according to the research by scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, which is published online today in the journal Psychopharmacology. Psilocybin is a plant alkaloid that affects the brain's serotonin system, in particular, the 5-HT2A receptor. "Under very defined conditions, with careful preparation, you can safely and fairly reliably occasion what's called a primary mystical experience that may lead to positive changes in a person," study leader Professor Roland Griffiths says. Australian professor of psychopharmacology at the University of Sydney, Ian McGregor, says he isn't surprised that the study confirms the ability of psilocybin to induce a spiritual state. "Psilocybin and related hallucinogens have been used since ancient times in religious rituals and this study is really formalising ... what many people already know," he says. But he says the apparent long-term benefit of the drug is "remarkable". "To see a positive effect two months later is quite striking," he says. However, the study also reports that about a third of the volunteers experienced fear and anxiety after taking the psilocybin and McGregor says it should be avoided by anyone with schizophrenia or other psychotic illnesses. First study of its kind in four decades In what is described as the first scientifically rigorous study of its kind in 40 years, 36 volunteers were given either psilocybin or a comparator drug methylphenidate hydrochloride. Subjects were asked to describe their experiences immediately after the session in a set of detailed psychological questionnaires and at a two-month follow up. More than 60% of subjects (22) described the effects of psilocybin in ways that met criteria for a full mystical experience according to established psychological scales, compared to only 4 of the 36 after the comparator drug. After two months, two-thirds rated the experience as either the singly most spiritually significant in their lives or rated it among their top five. The God spot? Professor John Bradshaw, an Australian neuropsychologist from Monash University, says the brain's medial temporal lobe is rich in serotonin receptors and has previously been described as the 'God spot' because it is active in transcendental states. In a commentary accompanying the article, Professsor David Nichols of the Purdue University school of pharmacy says it's likely that psilocybin triggers the same neurological process that produces religious experiences during fasting, meditation, sleep deprivation or near-death experiences. He says the current research adds to the emerging field known as neurotheology, or the neurology of religious experience, and could shed light on the "molecular alterations in the brain that underlie religious and mystical experiences". Some more news: 'Magic' mushrooms blow many minds: study http://www.theage.com.au/news/World...any-minds-study/2006/07/12/1152637704810.html 'Magic mushrooms can help patients' http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=9870 Psychedelic Mushrooms May Prove Beneficial http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=5135372&nav=3w6o
I know someone who hasn't done illegal drugs in years who claims that mushrooms are the ONLY thing he misses.
I never meant to give you mushrooms girl I never meant to bring you to my world But now your sitting in the corner crying And now it's my fault- my fault
i ate mushrooms for the first time this weekend (1g sprinkled on pizza), expecting to see some cool visuals. after a couple hours of not seeing anything too out of the ordinary, an overwhelming feeling of clear-headedness and understanding came over me, and i couldn't stop looking around and thinking "oh my god, i really do create my own reality." i couldn't get over the absurdity of my lifelong emotional problems and how i've let them control my life. i realized i've focused on my fears and limitations so much that anxiety and depression have become my "normal"...and it doesn't have to be like this. fvck...I laid under the trees and cried for 2 straight hours. i don't need to change anybody or anything around me - all that matters is my perception. it's easy to know i should feel this way, but it's downright flooring to experience actually feeling it. If someone had told me before that I could have such a profound emotional experience and identify faulty thought patterns with a small dose of psilocybin, i probably would not have believed them. but i may have tried it before cycling through eight different antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds over 3 years.
So do you feel better though or just more enlightened? I had a similar experience in amsterdam with the dry kind of mushroom. We ate it with peanut m&ms and suddenly all their faces looked like rotweilers. Had that same contrived ' i made this' and that perception thought you mention. In fact to this day i believe those principles. I established in that religion of 'me' on that fateful day. I believe this is why tom cruise (they call him tc)thinks he can make sh**it happen with moving objects and controlling shi**t. In root they are sorta on to something. So i could create anything. I looked up and created a houston police car right there in amsterdam. Then I had to pee but I realized that was something i had made up too. So I decided really pee was just energy inside the brain that needed to be moved. I basically went pee right there mentally but I didnt (i dont think i did) all i did was move the lever or whatever piece of energy it was that told me I needed to pee. I moved the pee in my brain..And so then i didnt need to pee Its all in your mind. Perception doors of perception far out rah rah kinda stuff. Some of its real but I dont like to think about it too much and consider it all a bit scary. So its just you...Well most of it..im still worried because I stopped putting quarters in the jukebox a long time ago. Now its doing its own thing and I honestly havent tried to contain it since that day. If you offered me some im not sure what i would do it. I dont like having that level of control. Its like the song says ' i dont ever want to feel. Like i did that day.'
i just feel more equipped to deal with my emotions. i've let childhood trauma affect me for 30 years - i've fixated on it, read books about it, gone to therapy for it, spent hours reading about those who have gotten better. i've tried so hard to have compassion for myself and to stop worrying so damn much about other people, but until now it felt impossible. now, my brain is like "dude, what took us so long to see what's so obvious?" i'll give it a while before i declare it a lasting effect, but it truly feels like fundamental patterns of thinking have just somehow...self corrected. like my brain was re-wired. i can honestly say i thought shrooms were just for trippin'.
Its been 16 years and some of those feelings are still with me today. Cliche as it sounds, its what you make of that experience i think. To that extent i failed and the drugs did wear off but yeah..its still there
More power to you. Before having a person close to me deal with depression and anxiety I didn't believe they were real. Glad this helped you with come to a realization about your situation and hope it helps long term.
Take some 'shroms, watch this vid, and get back to me: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...of-the-situation-dont-be-a-boob-video.282284/
On a serious note, I'm glad that (in a way) you found enlightenment. My sister was/has been going through the same issues that have lasted since we were younger due to childhood trauma that have been amplified by the deaths of loved ones close to her (some more recent than other i.e. Dad and Fiance) maybe this could help her out some. She's started to go back to therapy but there's only so much you can talk about your issues to a stranger... while those feelings still stir up inside of you. I deal with them too honestly but handle myself a little bit better than her, probably because I have to stay a little more grounded than her with a wife and kids. I hope this keeps you level headed going forward and with a clear train of mind. Good luck finals.
there is no hang-over or recovery time after doing mushrooms. i will only do them if im out in nature...the two best psychedelic experiences i have ever had were away from civilization with nobody else around. it allows your mind to go where it wants and you dont have to worry about "keeping it together" infront of others. you can truly disconnect from reality and let the mushrooms do their thing. the single best experience was 15 years ago on the 2nd day of hiking the south rim at big bend. we got to our campsite early afternoon and it started snowing. after setting up i ate about 5 grams and also about a gram of mescaline. in about 10 minutes i was laying flat on my back on a trail, unable to move. i literally saw the hand of god as a lightning bolt come down from the sky and pin me down by the neck. for about 5 minutes i could not move. it was scary at first. we were miles and miles from the parking lot and i was having a minor freak-out. i felt an electrical charge throughout my entire body...i could literally feel my bodys electricity. i could feel it coalescing in my center, gathering up and flowing out my arms and leaving my body through my fingernails. ive heard people talk about how when they get shocked by electricity they can feel it in their fingernails. it was the same thing for me. as soon as it all left me i jumped up and told my friends i was good to go. in an instant the whole world changed...everything was technicolor and breathing. the cool mountain wind blowing around us. i felt a connection with the earth and my place in it. i went from being scared and anxious to having total serene calmness. after doing psychedelics for over a decade i finally got where i always wanted. i was with two of my best friends and we were all experiencing the same thing. it was so peaceful and there was this aura of positivity we all felt. we spent the next 8 hours hiking and exploring. we sat on the south rim and just watched the world go by for what seemed like hours. the shadows of the clouds drifting over the rolling ocean of hills 1000' below us. the sun glistening off the ribbon-like rio grande as it slithered through the desert. the pinkish-purple mountains in mexico. and that sunset. the vibrant explosion of colors was like nothing i had ever seen or seen since. and like others have described, the feeling of peace and connection to the world. you realize that you are at one with all other people and the earth. there is no you...all your b.s. is self-induced and something you can control. it was an amazing, 3rd-eye opening experience that i will remember for the rest of my life. i actually stopped doing psychedellics as frequently as i used to after that b/c i felt like i finally got to where i had been trying to get with them. in the last 15 years i think ive only done them 3 times.
the main thing people do wrong with psychedelics is treating like a social-party drug. thats not what they are for. you need to get out in nature and just be with others who are tripping too...only then can you release its full potential.
