After only one dose of the psychedelic psilocybin mushroom (aka Magic Mushrooms) you can experience a lasting personality change that is described by researchers at Johns Hopkins as exhibited more “openness”.
This was the case in a study they conducted on 51 participants where they found that 60% had measurable personality changes after just one session on this hallucinogenic plant.
What Does Openness Mean?
According to the researchers, participants were observed with various personality changes which included aesthetics, feelings, abstract ideas, open-mindedness and even imagination.
These changes were all measured on a scale of scientifically validated personality traits and were found to be much greater in the people who took psilocybin when compared to other healthy adults with many decades of life experience.
The researchers also noted that after the age of 30 people don’t typically demonstrate significant personality changes.
“Normally, if anything, openness tends to decrease as people get older,” says professor of behavioral sciences and psychiatry Roland R. Griffiths, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
So these adults were found to regain some part of our minds which is lost after the age of 30. Continue reading →
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic substance used in entheogenic brews as a traditional spiritual medicine. Indigenous people in the Amazon region of Peru say that the spirits of the plants will guide them in their spiritual practices.
Ayahuasca is inactive if consumed without a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) plant to help it absorb and create the psychedelic experience. The Ayahuasca experience hyperactivates the brain and makes it possible for us to rewrite our old patterns of trauma in order to help us heal issues that are far in our past.
In fact, this plant has also been helpful in recovering old memories and making it easier to understand ourselves and heal from those events.
In the early 1950s Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes was the first to talk about this substance outside of the indigenous communities. These communities were using the plant for both healing and divinatory purposes.
The video below looks into the scientific discoveries about what is going on inside our brain when we are on the shamanic Ayahuasca brew. It also looks at how our brain patterns cling to old traumas causing almost a scar tissue effect in the neurons making it really hard to rewrite our patterns of behavior and healing from trauma.
DMT or Dimethyltryptamine is a chemical compound produced naturally in the pineal gland inside your brain that belongs to the tryptamine family.
This naturally occurring substance is produced and excreted by the pineal gland during sleep and is structurally similar to serotonin. It is found in both animals and plants and is pretty much connected with everything alive on this earth.
The reason this chemical compound gets so much attention is because it is the active component in psychedelic substances such as ayahuasca. Though scientists are still very unsure of its function in the body it is believed to influence our ability to dream visually.
How DMT Works
“DMT binds to serotonin receptors in a manner similar to how psilocin does. This causes neurons that would normally be triggered by the release of serotonin to fire when no actual serotonin is present.
This leads to visual hallucinations and feelings of being separated from reality. Users become more introspective, but also report seeing or “visiting” another reality or dimension, and being completely removed from this one.” -thinkingzygote.com Continue reading →
So here we are on April 20th, national weed day or the international stoner’s day. Where did this tradition come from?
420 is an urban custom that refers to the yearly consumption of marijuana and cannabis and a way to identify with cannabis culture. This is celebrated every year on April 20 and also daily at 4:20 in the afternoon. A group of high school kids in San Rafael California who dubbed themselves the Waldos because of their hangout wall/meeting place outside of their high school used the term back in 1971 for the first time.
The phrase began when the students were looking for a rumored abandoned marijuana crop and they met at the Louis Pasteur statue at 4:20 to try to search for the crop. After several failed attempts to find the crop they just started using the term to describe marijuana smoking events in general. A writer from High Times was responsible for making the story a cult phenomenon. There are also stories about Grateful Dead practice sets in San Rafael that helped spread this like wildfire.
Though the term may only date back to 1971, the use of cannabis in spiritual celebration and ritual does not. In fact, cannabis is known to have been used in India and Nepal in the Vedic period, somewhere between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. There were even references in Greek mythology to a powerful drug that eliminated anguish and sorrow, thought to be cannabis. The herb is also associated with the ancient Norse goddess of love, Freya. Our modern word ‘Friday’ comes from ‘Freya’s Day’, which we still associate with letting loose and enjoying ourselves at the end of a hard work week.
One cannot write on the history of cannabis without mentioning the Rastafarian influence. The Rastafari see the plant as the sacramental and profoundly beneficial medicine that is the Tree of Life depicted in the bible. Peter Tosh referred to it quoting Revelations 22:2, “…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations.”
Today the marijuana laws are becoming a lot more relaxed. There are at least 23 states and the District of Columbia that at this current time have laws legalizing marijuana in some form or fashion. There are also four states including DC that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Marijuana is becoming decriminalized in many more states and I’m sure it is only a matter of time before it will be legal everywhere in this country.
Today we have public and private 420 celebrations all around the country. This may very well be one of the most important holidays of the year for cannabis connoisseurs. Given the herb’s history as a botanical aide for the enlightenment for mankind, it may be a celebration for something more divine. Enjoy today, enjoy the creation, and enjoy the blessed herb.
Cannabis, a word which still gets you in trouble if you speak it around police officers except in specific places on planet earth, is a plant that has been around for longer than we have. There are depictions of ancient people with it, and even more writings supporting its use throughout recorded history. It’s about time things changed, this plant has been described as a powerful healing agent for centuries, and it should be used as such.
Lets look at all of the Ancients with Cannabis, shall we?
The Ancient Egyptians
It was upon seeing these pictures of Shesat below that inspired this article. just have a look at the images. It says everything, I shouldn’t even have to write anymore.
That’s right, by far the very vast majority of modern day Egyptologists agree that Medical Cannabis was used by the ancient Egyptians in their medicines. This viewpoint was highly fought by egyptologists up until the 1930’s, when the evidence was no longer refutable, and historians had no choice but to agree – Yep, it’s weed.
“The papyri contain an extremely rich material medica of which only a fraction has hitherto been identified. This has been done through the patient work of Egyptologists who, by studying finds in graves, hieroglyphic inscriptions where plants figure near their names, and late Coptic texts, have helped considerable in this still unfinished work of identification.”
What they used it for:Uterine Contraction, Sore toe-nail, Irrigating the Rectum (no joke), and general Fevers and Illness.
The Ancient Japanese
The Japanese (among other asian cultures) were into the cultivation of Cannabis, in fact, its said that they were (potentially) doing it before civilization even existed – as far back as 10,000 BC! This time period is called the “Neolithic Jomon Period”, (10k – 300 BC) – Jomon itself actually means “Pattern of Rope”, which was a common rope made from Cannabis Hemp.
These ancient asians lived a civilized, comfortable existence, and used the Marijuana plant in many of their creations – weaving clothing, baskets, and eating the seeds as food. What isn’t clear however, is how the seeds first got to Japan. It is believed that they were imported and adapted from the Chinese, or Korea.
To the left is a Korean pot painting, which shows Korean traders bringing Cannabis to Japan. I know, it’s a little difficult to make out with our modern symbolism, but historians agree – this is what is being depicted.
Surrounding the Cannabis at the top of the staves is a sun-like aura, which is a depiction of the connection between the sun and cannabis in Shinto. It is very similar to hieroglyphic carvings from Mediterranean cultures – which also describe the connection between the plants, and the sun.
Shinto, as we just mentioned, is actually an ancient spiritual practice of the Japanese, about reverence to the “Way of the Gods”, an expression of profound respect to Nature, and through Nature – God. Plants, animals, rocks, trees all possess a spirit or reverence which can be terrifying or peaceful. Purity and fertility are very important to those who practice Shinto, and Cannabis is an essential symbol of both.
In Japan, Cannabis wasn’t just used for basket weaving, it is through the Shinto practice that they would in fact smoke it as well. Here is a painting of a Geisha smoking a bowl with their customers.
At Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, certain objects are symbolically made from hemp. For example, the thick bell-ropes must be hempen, as is the noren, a short curtain which acts as a symbolic purification “veil”, meant to cause evil spirits to flee from the body as the head brushes lightly beneath it.
Cannabis was outlawed in Japan after World War 2, when allied-forces occupied Japan to help rebuild and reshape the nation after all of the destruction of the war…. Wow. In a time when they’d need it more than ever, am I right?
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The Ancient Chinese
Of course, if the Japanese got it from the Chinese, then we need to cover this next!
To be completely truthful: The first recorded use of Marijuana as a medical drug occurred in 2737 BC by the Chinese emperor Shen Nug, who documented the effectiveness of the plant in treating Gout, and Rheumatism. Both Hemp and Marijuana were widely used across ancient China probably long before the Emperor wrote his notes.
They used virtually every part of the Cannabis plant, the Root for medicine, the stem for textiles, rope, and paper making; and of course, the leaves and flowers for getting high, as well as a medicine. They also used the seeds for oil, as well as food.
There is a lot more to learn about the Chinese use of Marijuana! You can read much more about it on Ancient-Origins.net!
Christ
There is ample evidence to suggest that Christ himself used Cannabis in his healing practices. Not necessarily that he “relied” on it, but used it in his practices. Here is a painting called “Jesus Healing the Blind” from the 12th Century, Painted by Basilica Catedrale di Santa Maria Nouva di Monreale in Sicily. (Isn’t that quite a name?)
According to a study of scriptural texts published in 2003, Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the plant.
The study suggests that Christ and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings. The anointing oil used by Jesus and his disciples contained an ingredient called Kaneh-Bosem, which today has been identified as Cannabis extract. You can read about that here, in an article by Chris Bennet.
Christ also used an incense during his ceremonies which also contained this cannabis extract. The scholar who did a lot of this research, Mr. Bennet quotes many scholars, such as Carl Ruck, who writes:
There can be little doubt about a role for cannabis in Judaic religion. […] Obviously the easy availability and long-established tradition of cannabis in early Judaism would inevitably have included it in the [Christian] mixtures.”
-Carl Ruck
But this wasn’t the first, nor the last time that Cannabis was used in these times. In fact, the bible is filled with references to Cannabis! Check this out:
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I have a feeling you’re starting to get the point, so for the sake of brevity, we’re going to go over a bulleted list of a bunch more!
India
Bhang – a drink made from Cannabis and Milk is used as an Anesthetic
The Middle East
In the Venidad, one of the volumes of the Zend-Avesta the ancient Persian texts, describe Bhang from India, as well as lists Cannabis as THE MOST IMPORTANT of 10,000 medicinal plants.
Ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, Cannabis is used as a remedy for earache, edema, and inflammation.
Rome
A Greek Psysician who was a Roman army doctor and travelled on many campaigns throughout the Empire at the time, studied many plants, and published a book called De Materia Medica (On Medical Matters). This book became one of the most important medical tomes for the next 1500 years.
It basically said bluntly, that Cannabis was incredible in treating earaches, and suppress sexual longing. If you were a soldier in the army who left his wife at home, then you need some cannabis while your away!
Shakespeare
In the South African Journal of Science, they published the results of a chemical analysis of the plant residue in many tobacco pipes from the time period of William Shakespeare, including several pipes that came from Shakespeares garden itself.
Results of this study (including 24 pipe fragments) indicated Cannabis in EIGHT samples. It was suggested that Shakespeare liked Cannabis because of its mind expanding properties!
Britain
In 1621 a book was published “The Anatomy of Melancholy”, which suggested Cannabis as a treatment for depression.
It is then used by Queen Victoria for her menstrual cramps.
America
There is nobody more “American” in the modern “United States” sense of the word, than George Washington. Who himself, grew Hemp for about 30 years on his plantation. He has a particular interest in Medical Cannabis, and several of his journal entries describe that he was purposefully growing Cannabis with high levels of THC.
As you can see, Marijuana only really became illegal globally in the last 100 years or so, as the World Wars forced countries into positions of submission to other powers, we saw the global shut-down of Marijuana as any sort of beneficial thing, and it became a cursed plant in the eyes of the masses.
Today, with the powers of information, we can break through that veil and once again open up the world to the curiosity that comes from a stimulated mind on Marijuana, and the healing powers that comes from such a plant when used purposefully as a medicine.
There is no better time for change!
Thank you for reading,
Jordan Pearce
~
For those interested in learning and reading more, here are some of the sites that I referenced in creating this article.
John Hopkins University of Medicine has recently published a study providing insight into the benefits of mediated doses of Psilocybin, the active psychedelic chemical found inside of Magic Mushrooms.
The study came about from the question “What is the Right Dose?”, after observing many unique studies around the world describing the benefits of Psilocybin, and also many accounts of “Bad Trips”. This study goes into the specific dosage which creates lasting spiritual awareness and positive transformation in the user!
During the study, the participants were encouraged to be blindfolded in a laying down position, as well as wearing headphones and being as completely relaxed as possible. None knew how much of a dosage they were getting.
What was discovered was that higher doses correlated with more positive effects and that out of all of the participants, 78% of them reported having experienced one of the top 5 most spiritual experience they ever had in their lives – despite reports that anxiety, fear, and stress also increased six times during the period of ingestion.
The doses then decreased from there, going from 20mg down to 5. At these levels, they only had 1 volunteer reporting any sort of negative experience, and ALL volunteers reporting positive experiences. Even at the lowest level, it was still demonstrated to have noticable, lasting effects – so much so that the family and friends of the participants noticed positive changes in their personality.
“We seem to have found levels of the substance and particular conditions for its use that give a high probability of a profound and beneficial experience, a low enough probability of psychological struggle, and very little risk of any actual harm,”
Roland Griffiths, PhD.
Now, this study has actually been going on for some time, because a followup 14 months afterwards resulted in 94% of everyone who went through this experiment still claiming that this was in their top 5 most spiritual experiences of their lives.
Personally, i’m thrilled that John Hopkins university is continuing to look at and unlock the potential of Psilocybin! There is so much we don’t know about reality, and these seemingly magical hallucinogen has been known to help quit smoking, heal the body, and transcend time and space itself.
Griffiths, Roland R., Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards, Brian D. Richards, Una McCann, and Robert Jesse. “Psilocybin Occasioned Mystical-type Experiences: Immediate and Persist.” Ing Dose-related Effects. Psychopharmacology, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Griffiths, Roland R., William A. Richards, Una McCann, and Robert Jesse. “Psilocybin Occasioned Mystical-type Experiences: Immediate and Persist.” Ing Dose-related Effects. Psychopharmacology, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Ridden, Paul. “Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin Dosage ‘sweet Spot’ for Positive and Lasting Effects.” Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin Dosage ‘sweet Spot’ for Positive and Lasting Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Council on Spiritual Practices: Psilocybin http://csp.org/psilocybin/
