“How many of my readers are going to be interested in something that’s kind of fringy?” Micheal Pollan says from his office at Harvard, where he teaches nonfiction. “As it turned out, a lot of people interested in food were interested in psychedelics. They saw a common denominator that I hadn’t seen which was health. They trusted me to write about nutritional health, and that translated, in their minds, to being trusted to write about mental health,” is what the answer came to be in reference to a published article for Northeastern University by Ian Thomsen.
There is a stigma surrounding mental health and we need to shatter it. Spiritual health is closely related to your mental and physical health. Psychedelics are open users to natural and supernatural visions and experiences that can help people who are dealing with addictions and terminal diseases. The influence of psychedelics can connect them to a larger world that transcends the five senses, enabling them to see their place in it. So basically, it helps you in finding a path for yourself.
While using LSD, toad venom, and psilocybin mushrooms, he experienced three very different kinds of visions or dreams which helped him in reliving some of his pleasant as well as unpleasant experiences, without any fear. While he is not advocating legalisation of such drugs, Pollan is advocating for more research on these drugs. They can, if taken in administered doses, help with their mental and spiritual well-being.
“The recall is remarkable. It’s really vivid,” Pollan says. “I used to think the opposite of spiritual was material. And I realise that’s not really right. The opposite of spiritual is egotistical. To the extent that you can diminish the role of the ego, you become a more spiritual person—more connected, less defended.”
There are always some very obvious down-sides to the usage of psychedelics, but they can prove to be a breakthrough in the field of medicine.
Anushka Singh