Psychedelics

Humans have held a deep reverence for the wisdom of psychedelic plants since ancient times. Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin mushrooms have played an essential role in our progression as a species and yet the world of academia continuously undermines their significance. We often examine plant life through an overly inanimate lens. What if the life force inhabiting plants is much more complex and conscious than mainstream science leads on? Many cultures and spiritual practices around the globe hold a sacred connection to plant life, especially psychedelic plants. They believe psychedelic plants are capable of healing us by interfacing with our consciousness. This concept is at the heart of all shamanistic practices and a wave of recent scientific discoveries has lent credibility to these ancient beliefs.

One research study recently proved that around 90% of all land plants are in a mutually beneficial with fungi. While the signature mushroom shape might be the most familiar part of a fungus, most of the fungal bodies are made up of a mass of thin threads, known as a mycelium. We now know that these threads act as a kind of underground internet, linking the roots of different plants. That tree in your lawn is connected to the tomatoes in your garden and your neighbors weeds, thanks to mycelia. The more we learn about these underground networks, the more our ideas about fungal life must be reworked. By linking through the network of mycelium, fungal life is capable of helping it's neighboring plant species by sharing nutrients and information. Fungus have also been known to sabotage unwelcome plants by spreading toxic chemicals through the network. That demonstrates remarkable intelligence. This fungal network has its own method of sustaining ecosystems and maintaining the balance of life.

This concept is alluded to in many cultures and has even found its way to the big screen. Avatar is one movie that actually references the research being done on the role of plants in connecting all life. In this magical world occupied by blue humanoids, all the organisms are connected by a conscious network. They can communicate and collectively manage resources, thanks to "some kind of electrochemical communication between the roots of trees". This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from professor Terrence McKenna who stated that "Nature is alive and it is talking to us. This is not a metaphor." 

Many plant and fungus species are also renowned for their healing properties. Dating back to the Stone Age, human cultures have utilized a wide array of plants in their spiritual, cultural, and medical practices. These ancient beliefs state that the beginnings of disease originates from an imbalance or disharmony in our emotional and spiritual bodes and that plants are effective in healing these bodies (2). While modern society moved away from these practices to embrace western medicine, many are beginning to question whether pharmaceutical drugs are really the best solution to improving health and wellbeing. One such person is Mark Pischea, a 42-year-old political consultant and father of five from Williamston, Michigan. Ten years ago Mark was rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pain. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic autoimmune condition that can cause extreme abdominal discomfort, weight loss, fatigue and fevers. For the next decade of his life, the formerly healthy husband and father lived in a constant cycle of flare-ups, surgery and recovery. 

At his wife’s insistence, Pischea made his way down to a rustic healing center in San Roque de Cumbasa, a tiny village in the Peruvian Amazon. 

Pischea spent most of the next three weeks in solitude, following a strict dieta of rice, plantains and specially prepared plant teas. Several times a day, he met with a shaman named Antonio, who prescribed him local plants known to induce vomiting, as a way to cleanse the body and “reboot” the immune system. The shaman’s recommendations also included ayahuasca, a potent hallucinogenic brew, and kambo, the venom of a rain forest tree frog. Four months later, Pischea was freed of not only his Crohn’s symptoms, but also the depression that had developed. Pischea remarked that, “I went to the top Crohn’s clinics in the world and saw the top doctors in the world, and none of them could help me. There is a curative quality to the plants in the jungle that you really need to be there in that environment to experience. I think it really does work.”  

Mark's recovery led him from skepticism to an outspoken proponent for alternative holistic healing practices and many scientific research groups are following suit. One such scientist is Dr. Mark Plotkin, an Amazonian ethnobotanist, conservationist and author of the 1994 book Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice. Plotkin recognizes the benefits of wester medicine but believes there are many instances in which the holistic approach is the healthier option. “All you’ve got to do is look at pancreatic cancer, insomnia, acid reflux, stress — all these things that Western medicine can’t cure — to realize we need alternatives or additions,” Plotkin told HuffPost. “As Westerners, we’re taught that anything that isn’t done by a white guy in a lab coat isn’t science, but that obviously isn’t true.” (3)