By Suzannah Weiss — 2018
The truth behind those pre-Ayahuasca dietary and drug restrictions.
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Once considered the quintessential party drug, MDMA (also known as “ecstasy,” “X,” or “molly”) is now experiencing a surge of interest in a completely different area: psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is a synthetic drug with potent psychedelic properties. Commonly known as acid, it was originally derived from compounds found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye.
In 2014, former British Para Keith Abraham flew to Peru to see if he could cure his post-traumatic stress disorder with a dose of the psychedelic drug, ayahuasca. He returned a changed man and is now on a mission to extend access to other members of the armed forces and beyond
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As is the case with many spiritual or transformational experiences, it’s all too easy to confuse the profound healing la medicina delivers with the shaman who helped deliver it.
The mind-altering drug has been shown to help people suffering from anxiety and depression. But how it helps, who it will serve, and who will profit are open questions.
In the deep space of the psychedelic experience exists a teaching on unity principle and belonging with the earth.
As Western medicine brings psychedelics into mainstream use, a growing movement is innovating new business models grounded in reciprocity and inclusion.
The psychedelic revolution has arrived—yet psychologists still have major gaps in knowledge about going on a shrooms trip in the name of mental health.
Many people have a spiritual experience on psychedelics. How they make meaning of it could be influenced by the metaphysical beliefs of their therapists.
I drank ayahuasca in 1999, in a ceremony led by two scholars with expertise in ayahuasca. What follows is an edited version of what I wrote about the experience in my 2003 book Rational Mysticism.