Ask anyone experimenting with psychedelics in the 1960s and they would tell you about the mystical experiences associated with tripping. Urban legends circulated, claiming that psychedelics could allow intrepid trippers to meet spirit guides, to travel to other dimensions, and even to know God. Now, modern medicine is getting on board with the potential medical applications of psilocybin. 

Researchers began experimenting with hallucinogens in 1962 with the Miracle of Marsh Chapel Experiment (also called the “Good Friday Experiment”). Two groups were given either psilocybin or a placebo with the group receiving psilocybin reporting profound mystical experiences and persistent positive changes in their attitude and behavior even months afterward. 

A 25 year follow up investigation demonstrated the long term efficacy of the treatment with participants still considering the experience to have made a valuable contribution to their personal lives. A third study, 40 years after the original, conducted more experiments and confirmed the findings yet again. 

Since 2006, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has been conducting extensive studies into the use of psilocybin for treating depression and anxiety with promising results, specifically in cancer patients. Some 70 percent of the cancer patients rated the high-dose psilocybin sessions as among the top five “most meaningful” and “spiritually significant” life experiences. Julie M. Brown, the co-author of the more extensive article shared below, specializes in using guided imagery psychotherapy to promote self-healing. These images include “healing gardens” and “warrior self” and help patients visualize emotional wellbeing.

Brown and co-author Jerry B. Brown write, “Mystical experiences arise when the doors of perception are flung wide open so that the spiritual self can emerge from the depths of the psyche.” 

We at The Optimist Daily have shared the many benefits of mushrooms before in our Ode to Marvelous Mushrooms. Read the full article below to learn more about how psilocybin could potentially revolutionize therapeutic treatment and achieve meaningful long term healing.