Ethnobotanicals Are mushrooms necessarily a "spiritual" high?

[JackARoe]

You just become “crazy” for 6 hours. If you believe what you think at this time and what you see then yeah they can become spiritual, they’re pretty convincing also after all that’s why it’s a trip because you believe your mind and your eyes.

Not really a good analogy. More like a lens. Like the lens of a microscope. But for consciousness. Someone interested in consciousness should learn about them in the same way a microbiologist learns to use a microscope. Or an astronomy with a telescope. Then a person may interpret through their own belief system. I believe this so much that I like the phrase from years ago from one of the larger than life figures. LSD causes "craziness" in people that have not taken it. But caution is needed, much more than looking through a telescope. The mind lens can go to a lot of places.

Every curious human should take psychedelics at least a few times. It may not be up your street and then again it may be the most important thing you've ever experienced in life - certainly is for me.

Agreed. I always go back to Richard Dawkins. He stated he was intrigued by Aldous Huxley's experiences and said he may try one day. Not sure he has yet. He owes us (if you are reading Richard.... lol) But imagine if we had Carl Sagan take acid? He smoked weed and look what we got. Most should at least try once, but I say a minimum of 5 mushroom trips before going to the grave will help a person.

 

[cnnka]

What else can it be if it's happening to me and other people can get the same effect by taking it? Like Wilko Johnson once said "I always thought reality was what you experience on LSD - the rest is the fantasy"

Certainly there can be no reality to any story made up by religious people - by definition it's a madeup fantasy. "God" needs middlemen to tell you what he thinks. Psychedelics work with your own mind - no need for priests or other bullshitters.

How are you defining “reality” though?

Because if “reality” just means whatever you personally experience, then dreams, psychosis, hallucinations and drug-induced states are all equally “real” and the whole idea of objective reality kind of collapses.

Yes, psychedelics produce real experiences. No one disputes that. But the fact that other people can take the same substance and get similar effects doesn’t prove it’s revealing some deeper external truth it just proves brains react in similar ways to the same chemical.

Same with alcohol: if we all get drunk and perceive the world differently, that doesn’t mean drunk perception is more real than sober perception.

Also calling religion “made up” while treating LSD as some truth machine is just bias. Both are interpretations filtered through the mind.

So yeah what’s your actual standard for objective reality, beyond “it feels real to me”?

 

[Ismene2]

Reality as in something that my brain can directly experience. Not a religion - religions need someone to tell you a story and then you have to "believe" or take on faith their story. No-one has to tell me some story about LSD - I can experience it myself.

How can there be a bias? The LSD experience can be recreated at any time by anyone. Religious stories are by definition made-up by someone else. If we could all go and see someone turn water into wine any day we want then religion would have some reality to it too - but of course we cant.

A chemical acting on your brain is reality isnt it? In what sense is a story made up by tribesmen ignorant of science 2000 years ago reality?

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

I'm very much a non-spiritual person. I don't subscribe to religion and I try to take a grounded, practical approach to most things.

I've heard stories of people changing their religious beliefs after getting high.

Psilocybin is laughably accessible where I live.

I don't know if it's something I'll do. I would need to prep a lot first, at the very least. The mind is a fragile thing.
But it does make me curious about people's experiences.

Does a mushroom high necessarily feel spiritual? Do those feelings last past the high? How much do your beliefs change, if they change at all?

The one thing that mushrooms definitely do is separate 'spirituality' from 'religion'.

You can be a staunch atheist (such as myself), then find your inner spirituality after taking psilocbin.

Conversely, if you're already religious, then it's more likely to enlighten you as to the lies and hypocrisy of organised religion, and make you seriously question your beliefs.

For a good six hours or so, YOU become the centre of the universe. How you interpret that is down to you, not god.

 

[soulless_curiousity]

The one thing that mushrooms definitely do is separate 'spirituality' from 'religion'.

You can be a staunch atheist (such as myself), then find your inner spirituality after taking psilocbin.

Conversely, if you're already religious, then it's more likely to enlighten you as to the lies and hypocrisy of organised religion, and make you seriously question your beliefs.

For a good six hours or so, YOU become the centre of the universe. How you interpret that is down to you, not god.

This is a strange and enlightening response. Thanks.