Chase Hughes A neuroscience paper published in Cell just days ago answers a question researchers have been trying to solve for years: what actually changes in the brain during a psilocybin experience—and why those changes can last. Using a genetically modified rabies virus as a neural tracer, researchers were able to map—cell by cell—how psilocybin […]
By McKenzie Prillaman Psychedelics go beneath the cell surface to unleash their potential therapeutic effects. These drugs are showing promise in clinical trials as treatments for mental health disorders (SN: 12/3/21). Now, scientists might know why. These substances can get inside nerve cells in the cortex — the brain region important for consciousness — and tell the neurons to grow, […]
The peyote cactus is central to many of the rituals of the indigenous Huichol tribe of Mexico. The bright colors and dreamy symbols of their yarn paintings are said to be inspired by the hallucinations experienced by ingesting the mescaline-rich plant in shamanic rituals. “They do these beautiful creations with beads, paint and sculpture. [By […]
Researchers suspect that psilocybin — the psychedelic compound that puts the “magic” in magic mushrooms — could prove useful for treating a host of mental health problems, from depression to anorexia. If that proves to be the case, though, there’s no easy way to mass produce the compound. Growing enough of the mushrooms that make […]
By Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution Psilocybin — or magic mushrooms — have been used in traditional healing rituals for hundreds, even thousands, of years; for more than 40 years, the drug has been illegal in the U.S.. But recent findings could tear down the taboo surrounding the drug, as they found it has the […]
art by Crassus Since 2010 I have been exploring what it means to cultivate a spiritual practice with psilocybin, otherwise known as “magic mushrooms.” I have since written two full-length books—Decomposing The Shadow (2013) and The True Light Of Darkness (2015)—and given several public presentations on the subject. The primary lesson I have gained through my […]
“I am old, older than thought in your species, which is itself fifty times older than your history. Though I have been on earth for ages, I am from the stars. My home is no one planet, for many worlds scattered through the shining disk of the galaxy have conditions which allow my spores […]
Magic mushrooms have been used ritually by the native people of Mesoamerica for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In the 1950s, R. Gordon Wasson and his wife traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico and participated in a mushroom ritual. That experience led to a 1957 Life magazine article titled “Seeking the Magic Mushroom.” The following […]
By Michael Forrester, Prevent Disease, Waking Times, December 17, 2015 Psychoactive plants and hallucinogens have given us the opportunity to see life through different perspectives for thousands of years. Many of these plants, which can only be defined as gifts from nature, have unfortunately been declared illegal in many parts of the world due […]
By James W. Jesso, Collective Evolution, November 29, 2015 Since 2010 I have been exploring what it means to cultivate a spiritual practice with psilocybin, otherwise known as “magic mushrooms.” I have since written two full-length books—Decomposing The Shadow (2013) and The True Light Of Darkness (2015)—and given several public presentations on the subject. […]
by Tia Ghose Magic mushrooms may give users trippy experiences by creating a hyperconnected brain. The active ingredient in the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, seems to completely disrupt the normal communication networks in the brain, by connecting “brain regions that don’t normally talk together,” said study co-author Paul Expert, a physicist at King’s College […]