Journey Inside the Mind - Dr. Georges … · Today, ayahuasca retreats are offered in Peru and Brazil, as well as in Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia, with the trend’s epicenter in

JOURNEY INSIDE THE MIND

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Journey Inside the Mind

Georges M. Halpern, MD, PharmScD


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InhisilluminatingbookScale,GeoffreyWestwrites:(Education,researchetal.)failtocome to term with an essential feature of the long-term sustainability, challengeembodied in the paradigm of complex adaptive systems namely, the pervasiveinterconnectedness and interdependency of energy, resources, and environmental,ecological,economic,social,andpoliticalsystems…Whilefocusedstudiesareofobviousimportanceandwheremostofourresearchefforts shouldbedirected, theyarenotsufficient.Thefocusprimarilyonthetreesandriskmissingtheforest.

It’stimetorecognizethatabroad,multidisciplinary,multi-institutional,multinationalinitiative, guided by a broader, more integrated and unified perspective, should beplayingacentralroleinguidingour(educational),scientificagendaaddressingthisissue and informing policy. We need a broad and much more integrated scientificframework…

Wedoownthis framework,eachoneofus. Itsnameis theMind.Although, thesedays,onecouldcastdoubtonsomeworldleaders’ownership…

Ourmindisamysteryinitsmechanismsoffunctioning,and–despitemoderntoolsofexplorationof functioningbrains- itwill remaina “blackbox” for long.Wecanexploreitusingadifferentapproach,wellknownandpracticedforeonsbyhundredsofdifferentethnicgroups:usingpsychedelics.

Onmywebsitewww.drgeorges.net, in theLectures section, youwill finda5-partseriesonPsychoactiveSubstancesthatsummarizeswhatweactuallyknowonthesemind-altering substances;humans–as Ipointout-have, as longaswecanknow,alwaysusedoneor(many)moreofthese,andthereisnoendinsight.


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The Commercial Exploitation of Psychedelics

OnAugust3,2017,BarbaraFraserpublishedinSapiens,amostinterestingmagazine,anarticletitledThePerilsandPrivilegesofanAmazonianHallucinogen,Ayahuasca(Imentioned it in Part 3 of my lecture on Psychoactive Substances -http://drgeorges.net/psychoactive-substances-part-3/-slides21to24.)

ThefollowingtextisaneditedexcerptofBarbaraFraser’slongarticle.

TodaytherearethousandsofpeoplewhotraveltotheAmazoneachyeartosampleayahuasca,ahallucinogenicbrewmadefromAmazonianplants.Someseekphysicalorpsychologicalhealing,andotherswish foraspiritualawakening.Somesay theexperiencegivesthempersonalinsight,helpstohealpasttraumas,orprovidesawaytodealwithaddiction.Othersaredrivenbycuriosityandathirstforadventure.

Once a pastime for young backpackers trekking around the region on the cheap,ayahuascatourismhasrecentlybecomepopularwithupscaletravelers.MostofthempaymorethanUS$100adayforregimesadvertisedastraditionalhealingmethodsthroughplant-baseddiets,tobaccopurges,and,ofcourse,ayahuascaceremonies.

Theboomhasnotonlymetthedemandsoftouristsseekingalternativetherapies;ithasalsoreawakenedinterestintraditionalplant-basedmedicineamongIndigenouspeoples and created jobs in a semiruralAmazonian regionwhere employment isscarce.Butcriticsdecrythefor-profituseoftraditionalmedicineandpractices,thetailoringofwhattheyseeasanancientAmazonianritualtoaccommodatemoderntourists’ expectations, the preponderance of lodges in the hands of foreign-bornowners,andthelaxregulationssurroundingayahuasca’spotentiallydangeroususe.

The potion commonly known as ayahuasca is made from two plants. Thehallucinogeninthebrew—N,N-dimethyltryptamine,orDMT—comesfromabush,Psychotriaviridis,knownaschacruna.DMToccursnaturallyinthehumanbody,andsome researchers wonder if it could play a role in dreaming. When ingested,however,DMTistypicallyinactivatedbyanenzymeinthehumangut.


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TheBanisteriopsiscaapivine—theplantgenerallyknownasayahuasca—containsanalkaloidthatsuppressesthatenzyme.So,whentheayahuascavineandthechacrunaleaf are brewed together and consumedas a tea, theDMThits thebrain and thedrinkermayseevisions:vivid,multicolor,dream-likescenes.

DMT is treated as a controlled substance inmany countries, including Germany,Australia, Brazil, and the United States. In Brazil, several organizations claimayahuascauseasareligioussacramentandhavereceiveddesignationaschurches,which allows them to use it legally. In Peru, the government does not regulateayahuascabecauseofitstraditionaluse.

WhenanthropologistEvgeniaFotiouofKentStateUniversity inKent,Ohio,beganherresearchintoayahuascatourismaroundtheAmazonianportcityofIquitos,Peru,15yearsago,shecouldcountonherfingersthenumberoflodgescateringtotourists.“Itwashardtofindpeopletointerview,”shesays.“Interestwasjuststarting.Peoplewerestilltryingthingsout.”

Today, ayahuasca retreats are offered in Peru and Brazil, as well as in Ecuador,Colombia,andBolivia,withthetrend’sepicenterinIquitos,acityofmorethanhalfa


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million people in the Amazonian lowlands. The city, a vibrant mix of moderncommerce,tourism,andtheraggedremnantsofrubberboomglory,issurroundedby thecountry’s largestexpanseof tropical forest, accessibleonlybyairor river.Localtourismoperatorsestimatethatbetween50and100lodgesintheareacatertotouristsseekingayahuasca.RestaurantsinIquitos’touristzoneevenofferspecialmenusforpeoplewhoareavoidingcertainfoods—suchascuredmeats,spicyfare,fermentedfoods,anddairyproducts—inpreparationforanayahuascaritual.

The industry’sboomhascomewithadarkside.Somewomenhavereportedthatthey were sexually assaulted by shamans, which has led more lodges to offerceremonieswithfemalehealers.Therehavebeenatleastninedeathsatayahuascalodgesinthepastfewyears,accordingtonewsreportsandastafferintheMinistryofCultureofficeinIquitos,althoughitisnotclearwhetheranyweredirectlylinkedtoingestingayahuasca.Somewererelatedtootherplant-basedbrews.TwotravelersdiedatlodgesnearIquitosandPuertoMaldonado,Peru,inrecentyears,reportedlyfromdrinkingapurgativeteamadeofnativetobacco,forexample.AndaCanadianmanstabbedaBritishmanunderconfusingcircumstancesatanayahuasca lodgenearIquitosinDecember2015.

Onepositiveoutcomeoftheayahuascatourismboomisthattheindustryisspurring


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renewed interest in traditional plant medicine among Indigenous young people.Untiltwoorthreedecadesagoshamanismwasdying,becauseit isahardpath.Ittakes a lot of sacrifice to become a shaman. Now, however, the possibility ofemploymentinthetourismindustrymakesthatsacrificemoreattractive.

TheboommightalsoberesponsibleforanincreasedexchangebetweenIndigenousknowledgeandWesternscienceandmedicine,asresearchersinvestigatepossibleusesofayahuascafortreatingproblemssuchasaddictionanddepression.Similarstudiesarebeingdonewithotherpsychedelic substances, suchaspsilocybin, theactivecompoundinmagicmushrooms.“Psychedelicsallowustolookatthehumanmindinawaythatwe’veneverhadthechancetolookatit,”saysDrauliodeAraujo,aprofessorofbrainimagingatBrazil’sFederalUniversityofRioGrandedoNorte.Hisresearchindicatesthatayahuascamayeasedepressionandthattheeffectscanbesimilartothoseofmindfulnessmeditation.

In the end, foreigners who venture into the world where tourism and culturaltraditionsmix can comeawaywithadeeperunderstandingof themselvesandofotherpeople.Butthatisonlypartofaverychallengingissue.


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An Update on Psychedelics Isitacoincidence?ThreedaysafterthearticleinSapiens,a3100wordsarticleonthesamesubject–butmuchmorecomprehensive-waspublishedinAeon,authoredbyPhilipGerransandChrisLetheby,bothfromtheDepartmentofPhilosophyattheUniversityofAdelaide,inAustralia.Hereunderaneditedversionofthisfascinatingessay.

Itturnsoutthatthehippieswereontosomething.There’smountingevidencethatpsychedelic experiences can be genuinely transformative, especially for peoplesuffering from intractable anxiety, depression and addiction. ‘It is simplyunprecedentedinpsychiatrythatasingledoseofamedicineproducesthesekindsofdramatic and enduring results,’ Stephen Ross, the clinical director of the NYULangoneCenterofExcellenceonAddiction,toldScientificAmericanin2016.

Psychedelics reliably induce an altered state of consciousness known as ‘egodissolution’. The term was invented, well before the tools of contemporaryneuroscience became available, to describe sensations of self-transcendence (afeelinginwhichthemindisputintouchmoredirectlyandintenselywiththeworld,producingaprofoundsenseofconnectionandboundlessness).

Butcan,andthenhowdoesthishelppatientswithlong-termpsychiatricdisorders?Weknowquitealotabouttheneurochemistryofpsychedelics.Thesedrugsbindtoa specific type of serotonin receptor in the brain (the 5-HT2A receptor), whichprecipitates a complex cascade of electrochemical signaling. What we don’tunderstand,though,isthemorecomplexrelationshipbetweenthebrain,theselfanditsworld.Wheredoesthesubjectiveexperienceofbeingapersoncomefrom,andhowisitrelatedtothebrutematterthatwe’remadeof?

Hereweencounteralastfrontier,metaphysicallyandmedically.Somethinktheselfisarealentityorphenomenon,implementedinneuralprocesses,whosenatureisgradually being revealed to us. Others say that cognitive science confirms theargumentsofphilosophersEastandWestthattheselfdoesnotexist.Thegoodnewsisthatthemysteriesofpsychedelictherapymightbeahiddenopportunitytofinallystartunravellingthecontroversy.

Thenatureoftheselfhasbeendisputedforaslongaspeoplehavereflectedontheir


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existence.Recentneuroscientific theoriesof selfhoodare recognizablydescendedfromvenerablephilosophicalpositions.Forexample,RenéDescartesarguedthattheself was an immaterial soul whose diversity we encounter as thoughts andsensations. He thought the existence of this enduring selfwas the only certaintydeliveredbyour(otherwiseuntrustworthy)experience.

Fewneuroscientistsstillbelieveinanimmaterialsoul.YetmanyfollowDescartesinclaimingthatconsciousexperienceinvolvesawarenessofa‘thinkingthing’:theself.There is an emerging consensus that such self-awareness is a form of bodilyawareness,produced(atleastinpart)byinteroception,ourabilitytomonitoranddetectautonomicandvisceralprocesses.

David Hume disagreed with Descartes. When he attended closely to his ownsubjectivity, he claimed to find not a self, but amere stream of experiences.Weincorrectlyinfertheexistenceofanunderlyingentityfromthisflowofexperientialmoments,Humesaid.Themodernversionofthisviewisthatwehaveperceptual,cognitive, sensoryand,yes,bodilyexperiences–but that isall.There’sanalmostirresistible temptation to attribute all this to an underlying self. But thissubstantialistinterpretationisaCartesianmistake,accordingtoHume.


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Certainmodernphilosophers,suchasThomasMetzinger,haveendorsedversionsofthis‘no-self’view.Theypointtoconnectionswithnon-Westerntraditions,suchastheconceptofanattaorno-selfinTheravadaBuddhism.Whileothersarguethatthemistakeistothinkthatbecauseweuse‘I’totellastoryaboutexperience,theremustbe a real ‘I’, distinct from and underlying the narrative we use to interpret andcommunicatethestreamofexperience.

Todaythereareneuro-Buddhists,neuro-Cartesiansandneuro-Humeansallovertheworld,fillingPowerPointscreenswithimagesoffMRIscanssupposedlycongenialtotheir theory.Abnormalcognitiveconditions,pathologicalorotherwise, serveasacrucialsourceofevidenceinthesedebates,becausetheyofferthechancetolookatthe self when it is not working ‘properly’. Data floods in but consensus remainselusive.However,theneuroscienceofpsychedelicsmayhelpresolvethisimpasse:scientists cannowwatch the senseof self disintegrate and reintegrate – reliably,repeatedlyandsafely,intheneuroimagingscanner.

Wedonotexperiencetheexternalworlddirectly,butviaourmind’sbestguessastowhatisgoingonoutthere.Thepredictivecodingframeworkrestsontheideathatthere is world out there that our brains need to find a way to track. It is byapproximating the structure of this reality (even if we can’t apprehend itsmetaphysical truthornature) thatourpredictivebrainssaveus fromgettingrunover.

Experienceteachesusthatcertaincombinationsoffeaturesaremorelikelytoco-occurthanothers–andthispredictedcoherenceisincreasedbyattributingthesefeaturestothesamepersistingobject:thereasonthatweseeabusmovingtowardsus,ratherthanamishmashofdisjointedshapesandcolors,isthatthebrainusesamodeltoassignsuchvisualfluctuationstoenduringthings,andpredictsthenatureofexperienceasaresult.

The‘bad’newsisthatyoursenseofselfisnothingmorethanoneoftheserough-and-readymodels.Inotherwords,theselfisasortofmeta-filterforthesignalsyougetfrom the functioning of your whole organism. Our encounters with the world –actual,imaginedorrecalled–makeusfeelhot,cold,happy,sad,anxiousorcalm,andeverygradationandcombinationofexperienceinbetween.Anytimethatthemindencounterssuchaflowoffeelingsandperceptions,itirresistiblyattributesthemtosomeunderlyingentitythataccountsforwhat’sgoingon.Self-modellingissimplyan


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optimizingstrategythatallowsustobindtogethercertainpropertiesoftheworldsothat they’re easier to grasp.By striving tomaximizepredictive success, themindirresistiblysuccumbstothesubstantialisttemptation.

Theself-modelisanintegratedbundleofpredictions–andlotsofthese

predictions,builtupoveralifetimeofexperience,canmakeusdeeplystressedandunhappy. A person with social anxiety expects and experiences the world to behostileanduncontrollablebecauseshefeelsvulnerableandunabletocope.Theself-model that produces these feelings magnifies the adversity of her social world.Similarly,peoplewithdepressionanticipateandrecollectfailureandunhappiness,andattributeittotheirowninadequacy.Theirself-modelmakesithardtoaccesspositiveexperiences,andoftenfeedsonitselfinanegativedownwardspiral.

Because our brains are endlessly trying to predict what’s next and reduce thelikelihoodoferror,it’snowonderthatourexpectationsofourselvestendtobeself-fulfilling.

Theoreticallyweshouldbeabletore-engineerthemechanismsofourself-modelandchangethewayweorganizeandinterpretourexperience.Theproblemisthattheself-model functions inawaythat’squite likethe lensesofoureyes.Weseewiththemandthroughthem,butit’salmostimpossibletoseethelensesthemselves,toappreciatehowtheyaffectthesignalsthatreachus,letalonetakethemoffiftheyareunhelpful.Ingeneral,themindpresentsuswiththefinishedproductintheformofimages,notthemodellingprocessesthemselves.Sotoowiththeself:forbetterorworse,wefeellikeunifiedentities,notcomplicatedandprecarioushappening.

That’sabigpartofwhypsychiatricdisorderssuchasdepressionoranxietyaresohardtoshake.It’salmostimpossibleforthepersontoaccessanalternativewayofbeing in the world. She might know intellectually that certain experiences areaccessible, possible and beneficial, but she can’t identify with those alternativeselves. Her invisible self-model has been rigidly constructed to parse the worldnegatively,andtomakeherfeelaccordingly.Moreover,peopleoftenhaveajustifiedsuspicionthatengagingwithdifferentformsoftherapywillchangewhotheyareinsome fundamental way. They defend the familiar self evenwhen it causes themdistress.


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Thepsychedelicsputa spanner in theworksofmaladaptiveself-models,becausetheyaffecttheneuralmechanismsthatself-awarenessspringsfrom.Atthepointofegodissolution,twothingsseemtohappen.

One, the integrity of the self-model degrades. And two, we no longer take it forgrantedthatourexperiencemustbeinterpretedbythatmodel.Thefirstpointsimplymeansthattheselfdropsawayasthefilterontheworld.Itbecomes‘unbound’astheunit throughwhichweunderstandourexperience.Thisexplainspsychedelicsusers’reportsofthelossofindividuality,andtheirpatternsofintenseabsorptionintheworld.In“TheDoorsofPerception”(1954),AldousHuxleyfamouslydescribedhisexperienceoftakingmescalinelikethis:‘Iwasnotlookingnowatanunusualflowerarrangement.IwasseeingwhatAdamhadseenonthemorningofhiscreation–themiracle,momentbymoment,ofnakedexistence.’

Thesecondeffectissubtler.Itconcernsthewaythatpsychedelicscanenlightenusabout theprocessesbehindourownsubjectivity.When the self falls apart and issubsequently rebuilt, the role of the self-model seems to become visible to itspossessor. This offers a psychological reprieve – butmore importantly, it drawsattentiontothedifferencebetweenaworldseenwithandwithouttheself.Forananxious or depressed person, psychedelics make it possible to appreciate theintermediate, representational role of the self-model. Ego dissolution offers vividexperiential proof, not only that things can be different, but that the self thatconditionsexperienceisjustaheuristic,notanunchangeable,persistingthing.

What do psychedelics reveal about the philosophical and neuroscientificcontroversiesabouttheself?Itseemscleartousthattheselfisnotamerenarrativeposit, as some theorists have suggested. It plays a crucial role in perceptual andemotionalprocessing.Butthisdoesnotmean,asothershaveclaimed,thattheself-modelhastherightattributestoqualifyasaCartesianselfeither.Itmightperformsomeof therightsortsof functions,but it isnot therightkindofentity.Theself-modelplaysanessentialbindingfunctionincognitiveprocessing–buttheselfitselfdoesnotexist,atleastnotintheformofsomepersistent,substantial‘soul’.Bettertosee it as a fundamental cognitive strategy, one which has developed overevolutionarytime.AsthesciencejournalistJamesKingslandputsitinSiddhartha’sBrain(2016):‘Itisdifficulttoescapetheconclusionthatwehaveevolvedintoanapethattakesthingspersonally.’


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Thattheselfisamodel,notathing,doesn’tmeanit’scompletelyfluidandarbitrary.Quitetheopposite:itisconstructedfrombirthovermanydecades.

Particularly at lower levels, the cognitive processes that the self-model bindstogether – perception, interoception, basic regulatory mechanisms – are notespeciallyflexible.That’swhychaoticdevelopmentalenvironmentsaresodamaging.Notonlyaretheystressfulinobviousways,butinitsformativeyearsthemindhasnostablepatternsofexperienceonwhichtomodelaself.

Changecanstillbeveryhard.Psychedelicsallowyoubrieflytohearyourpersonallanguageofsubjectivityassound,notmeaning.

Psychotropic Drugs 2018

Courtesy Wikimedia

Frommedicationtorecreationalandspiritualsubstances,drugsofferusrespitefrom


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pain,openopportunitiesformentalexploration,andescapefrom–orinto–alteredpsychological states. They are our most widely available formal and informalimplementsfortweakingourmentalcondition.Considerthecoldbeerafteraharddayatwork,thejointbeforeputtingtheneedleontherecord,themiddayespresso,the proverbial cigarette break, AdderallÒ during finals week, or painkillers toalleviateundiagnosedorchronicpain.Nottomentionantidepressantstocounterasenseofmeaninglessness,andbenzodiazepinesbecauseeverythingcausesanxiety.Inshort,drugsofferourmostcommonpathtoasenseofpsychologicalhealth.Withamodicumofknowledge,millionsofpeoplemodifytheirmindsthroughchemistryeveryday.Consideringthelimitedresourcesoftime,supportnetworks,moneyandpatience,acceptingthepositivismofdrugsseemsmoreefficientandmorefeasiblethanpsychodynamictherapy.Thisshiftimpliesanexpectationthattherearequickandeasychemicalleversintoawiderangeofmentalstates.

Drugs are favored tools to foster our values and amplify or attenuate ourgregariousnessandproductivity.Theyserveasreleasevalvesfor laborandsocialrelations.Sociallyacceptabledrugssuchasnicotine,caffeineandalcoholare thusembeddedintocommonsocialpracticesinpublicspaces;theyareaidstoefficiencyin coffee-shop work culture and sociability in bars. Accordingly, these practicescoincidewiththemodernstructureoftheworkingweek:inthemorning,webecomealert,andintheevening,werelax.Ineffect,somedrugsaremadehighlyaccessibleas a form of self-medication for the common self-diagnosed emotional states ofstress,boredom,restlessness,anxiety,discomfort,etc.

Psychological medications such as XanaxÒ, RitalinÒ and aspirin help to modifyundesirablebehaviors,thoughtpatternsandtheperceptionofpain.Theypurporttotreat the underlying chemical cause rather than the social, interpersonal orpsychodynamic causes of pathology. Self-knowledge gained by introspection anddialogue areno longerourprimarymeans formodifyingpsychological states.Byprescribingsuchmedication,physiciansareimplicitlyadmittingthatcognitiveandbehavioraltrainingisinsufficientandimpractical,andthat‘thebrain’,ofwhichnon-specialists have little explicit understanding, is in fact the level where errorsoccur.Indeed,drugsarereliableandeffectivebecausetheyimplementthefindingsof neuroscience and supplement (or inmany cases substitute for) our humanistdiscourse about self-development and agency. In using such drugs, we become


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transhuman hybrid beingswho build tools into the regulatory plant of the body.Recreationaldrugs,ontheotherhand,areessentiallyhedonictoolsthatallowforstress-release and the diminishment of inhibition and sense of responsibility.Avenues of escape are reached through derangement of thought and perception;manyfindpleasureinthistranscendenceofquotidianexperienceandtransgressionof social norms. There is also a Dionysian, or spiritual, purpose to recreationalinebriation,whichcanenablerevelationsthatenhanceintimacyandtheemotionalneed for existential reflection.Heredrugs act as portals into spiritual rituals andotherwise restricted metaphysical spaces. The practice of imbibing a sacredsubstanceisasoldasasceticandmindfulnesspracticesbut,inourtimes,drugsareoverwhelmingly themost commonly used tool for tending to this element of thehumancondition.

Inthishistoricalmoment,drugsfuelaculturewherehumannatureisincreasinglyconsideredtobecontrollablethroughtechnology.Buttheessentialquestionisthis:do drugs enhance or diminish human agency, the ability tomodulate one’s ownthought processes? Whether a drug boosts attention,tamps down inhibitions orderangesthesensesinserviceofeuphoria,usecanbecomeingrainedandcanspiraloutof controluntil one canbe said tobeaddicted to theeffectsof thedrug.Theoveruseof recreationaldrugsandsociallyacceptable stimulants seems tonegate,distort or inflate one’s sense of agency, at which point an individual becomesdependent on drugs to cope in professional and social situations. In these cases,drugs, in the long term, are indeed counter-productive tools: they both occludeagencyandcompromiseself-development.

Psychopharmacology implies that distinct mental illnesses are somehow naturalkindsofpersonalityformationsdefinedbyneurochemicalprofiles.Forinstance,inclaiming that I have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) I amcontextualizing all my behaviors within a totalizing abnormality that requires apharmaceuticalcure–a treatmentbeyond thecapacitiesofmy introspectionandsocial support network. Practitioners prescribing such drugs in such a scenarioarede factotechnicians of themind. They are easing our pain, but they are alsodispensingculturaltoolsthatallowustoselectivelyreduceoraugmentoursenseofpersonalagencyandpowertosetourownpath.Onequestiontoaskthenis:Howmany individuals have found, through these tools, a sweet spot that blends


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augmentationofthewillandalleviationofpain?Ifthenumberislarge,thendrugsfallintothesamecategoryascars,electricguitarsandmobilephones;toolsthat,ifusedjudiciously,canameliorateourqualityoflife.Fromthatperspective,drugsarejust oneofmany tools, including the tool of talk therapy, that serve to secure anappropriatesenseofagency.Andyetasomewhatworrisomeconsiderationarises–maybemaintainingasenseofagencyisnotthebestindicatoroftheappropriatenessof a given tool. In our transhuman future, we are likely to abandonthepsychodynamic tools of self-actualization for cocktails offering the illusion ofagencyandescape.


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The Place and Role of Psychedelics Traditional shamanic mythology is animist, implying that animal, plant, andancestralspiritsexistinthisworldalongsidetheliving,notinanidealizeddimensionbeyondourgrasp.Toatraditionalshaman,thepsychedelicmedicinemerelyopensthe eyes to seewhat is alwayspresent, and through thisopeningnewwisdom isrevealed. The modern notion of journeying to a spirit realm to commune withdisembodied entities is a mix of aboriginal archetypes of dreaming and spiritwalking,Westernarchetypesofvisitingafterlivesofheavenandhell,andTibetanarchetypesoftravelingthroughbardosoftheafterlife.Theontologicalsplitbetweenthelandofthelivinganddeadisnotalwaysrecognizedintraditionalshamanism,though it has been readily adopted by modern syncretic churches that blendtraditional peyote and ayahuasca shamanism with themes and iconographyborrowed from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Catholicism. The centralquestionsremain:arepsychedelicspiritsofthisworldorofanontologicallydistinctspirit world; are they from a Christian universe or a Hindu universe or a Paganuniverse;aretheysharedfabricationsofhumanconsciousness;aretheyalloftheabove-ordoesitevenmatter?


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This fluidnatureofpsychedelicmythology and the conflicting culturalnotionsofspiritworldsandtranscendenceindicatesthatpsychedelicspiritualityismalleableandcanbeadaptedtomeetexistingculturalbeliefs:thereisnotonetruepsychedelicspirituality or spirit world. Animist shamanism is just as valid as entheogenictranscendence;ecstaticcelebrationsarejustasvalidashealingritualsandsorcery.At the crux of this debate is the notion ofwhoderives the spiritual benefit frompsychedelicsandwhy.Arepsychedelicsmerelyforhealingthesick,oraretheyalsoforblackmagiciansandpeoplewithamildspiritualcuriosity?Ifweusepsychedelicsforrecreationalorselfishpurposesdowedilutetheirhealingpower,andhowdotheevildeedsofshamanicsorcerymeshwithhippieentheogenicidealsofunity,peace,and love? In truth, it is impossible to reconcile all these conflicting notions ofpsychedelicspirituality,andthusviewingpsychedelicssolelyassacramentsisatbesta stretch and at worst an error ofWestern ethnocentrism. Psychedelics are notsacraments; theyare tools foraccessingawiderangeofhumanabilities, someofwhichhappentobeovertlyspiritual.Psychedelicsarenotofthespiritworld,theyarenotspiritualinorigin,noraretheynecessarilyspiritualforeveryonewhotakesthem.Thus,anyreligionormythologythatclaimstoknowthetruepurposeorsourceofpsychedelicspiritualpowerisobscuringalargerfact;psychedelicsdonotdeliverultimatespiritualtruth,theyamplifyandreinforcewhateverspiritualontologywealreadychoosetobelieve.Andthatcanhelp–andheal-many.


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Acknowledgements Ihaveconfessedmyplundering–mostofitverbatim-inthecoreofthetext.Bettercopythandistortandbetray…

TheillustrationswerefoundonGoogleImages.

This essay was reviewed, edited and formatted by Yves P. Huin, friend andwebmasterparexcellence.

References • http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314049/scale-by-geoffrey-

west/9781594205583/p.412

• https://www.sapiens.org/culture/ayahuasca-tourism-amazon/

• https://aeon.co/essays/psychedelics-work-by-violating-our-models-of-self-and-the-world

• https://aeon.co/essays/religion-has-no-monopoly-on-transcendent-experience

• http://psychedelic-information-theory.com/Why-are-Psychedelics-Spiritual

Illustration Credits • https://journeywithladymaya.com/2016/05/20/astrological-musings-more-127/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branches_of_science

• http://www.spiralnature.com/reviews/ayahuasca-jungle-visions/

• https://lightgrid.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-soul

• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/163185186474121108/

Documents

Journey Inside the Mind - Dr. Georges … · Today, ayahuasca retreats are offered in Peru and Brazil, as well as in Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia, with the trend’s epicenter in