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DMT Is in Your Head, But It May Be Too Weird for the Psychedelic Renaissance

By John Horgan — 2010

I applaud the psychedelic renaissance, with this caveat: Spiritual texts often emphasize the dangers of mystical experiences, whether generated by drugs, fasting, meditation or other means.

Read on blogs.scientificamerican.com

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Psychedelic Therapy Needs to Confront the Mystical

Many people have a spiritual experience on psychedelics. How they make meaning of it could be influenced by the metaphysical beliefs of their therapists.

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A Psychotherapeutic View on the Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Addiction

In an appropriate context, ayahuasca can be a valuable therapeutic tool and can act as a catalyst that can render psychotherapeutic processes more effective in less time, and sometimes allow for critical interventions when several other therapeutic strategies have been unsuccessful.

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Perception and Knowledge

As we search for ways of understanding the possibly infinite resources of human consciousness, I suggest that the potential of psychedelics as tools for learning should not be ignored.

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Rick Strassman on DMT and the Mystical State

Before we claim that spiritual experiences heal, we must agree on what a spiritual experience is.

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Experiences of ‘Ultimate Reality’ or ‘God’ Confer Lasting Benefits to Mental Health

In a survey of thousands of people who reported having experienced personal encounters with God, researchers report that more than two-thirds of self-identified atheists shed that label after their encounter, regardless of whether it was spontaneous or while taking a psychedelic.

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High on Mount Sinai?

Writing in the British journal Time and Mind, Benny Shanon of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University said two plants in the Sinai desert contain the same psychoactive molecules as those found in plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca is prepared.

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The Return of Psychedelics to Counseling: Are We Ready?

Those of us who are professional counselors are perhaps most likely to recognize psychedelic drugs by their recreational or street names — acid, magic mushrooms, ecstasy — and to consider them to be drugs of abuse that may be dangerous to our clients.

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A Nonbeliever Tries to Make Sense of the Visions She Had as a Teen

“People have these unaccountable mystic experiences,” Ehrenreich tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. “Generally they say nothing or they label it as ‘God’ and get on with their lives. I’m saying, ‘Hey, no, let’s figure out what’s going on here.’ ”

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Mystical Experiences Open a ‘Door of Perception’ in the Brain

It turns out, mystical experiences may stem from the brain letting go of inhibitions, opening a “door of perception,” the researchers found.

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Study Suggests Cannabis Can Induce a Psychedelic-Like “Oceanic” Experience

Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD can induce an experience known as oceanic boundlessness, which is characterized by a feeling of oneness with the world and a sense of awe.

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EXPLORE TOPIC

Altered States of Consciousness