People who use psychedelics do so to improve their mental health and boost their overall well-being. They use a technique called microdosing. Taking micro doses of a psychedelic drug means taking only a fraction of a dose that is required to have a full-blown of psychedelic experiences.

When consuming a micro dose, the effect is sub-perceptual or subtle but can have a noticeable influence on an individual’s life. The microdosers integrate the sub-perceptual doses in their weekly routine.

There is enough evidence around the microdosing, for example psilocybin, that on August 22, 2018, London-based Compass Pathways received Food and Drug Administration approval for a Phase 2B clinical trial of psilocybin (in larger-than-microdoses) for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Psilocybin is illegal almost everywhere, so it’s been nearly impossible to study scientifically. That is changing however, as the Netherlands and other countries effectively decriminalize it and scientists in places where it remains illegal obtain government permission to study it.

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Beliefs

A belief is an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof. They are inward convictions, a feeling of certainty about what something means. They are rooted deeply within our psyche. A belief is both mental and emotional.

A personal belief is something you personally hold to be true. You can acquire a belief that is based on scientific facts, personal experience, what you heard from others or what you think is true because it is convenient or makes you feel better.

Our beliefs create our own reality. They create our thoughts and activate our emotions. They influence our behaviors in our daily life. They also create our expectations. What we believe strongly can even affect our bodies’ wellbeing.

Mass beliefs can create world events this refers to norms, attitudes, and opinions held by the general public. For example, political beliefs or cultural beliefs.

Our beliefs are basically the guiding principles in life that provide direction and meaning in life. They are a preset, organized filters to our perceptions of the world either external or internal.

Negative beliefs

I have discovered that our beliefs create intricate thought and emotional patterns. According to the estimates from the University of Michigan, the average person has over 40 000 thoughts a day and 70% of those thoughts are negative and repetitive. Those repetitive thoughts have a specific thinking pattern that is unique to each individual since we are unique. This negative “chit-chat” is destructive to our self-worth and prohibits us to love ourselves completely. More often than not, we tend to avoid self-reflection because of the unpleasant feelings we are harboring. Since we believe in our negative thoughts, we feel confronted in acknowledging them. We fear to get “stuck” in the negative feelings therefore, we create defense mechanisms protecting us from feeling them. Even though we try to protect ourselves, these negative thoughts and emotions do not disappear. They are ever-present within our psyche causing havoc. They can cause mental illnesses, diseases, relationship problems, addictions, etc.

Epigenetics

The new science of epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than the alteration of the genetic code itself.  The biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off. The cells in our body are fundamental working units of every human being. All the instructions required to direct their activities are contained within the chemical deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA. In human DNA there are four fundamental types of bases that comprise DNA-adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. The order of these bases is what determines our life instructions. Within the 3 billion bases, there are about 20,000 genes. Genes are specific sequences of bases that provide instructions on how to make important proteins-complex molecules that trigger various biological actions to carry out life functions. What this means is that DNA gives important instructions for various functional proteins to be produced inside the cell.

Epigenetics affects how genes are read by cells, and subsequently whether the cell should produce relevant proteins. Epigenetics is what determines a cell’s specialization (skin cell, blood cell, hair cell, etc.) as a fetus develops into a baby through gene expression (active) or silencing (dormant); and nurture: environmental stimuli can also cause genes to be turned off or turned on.

Our environmental stimuli are created by our beliefs. What we eat, where we live, who we interact with, when we sleep, how we exercise, who we love, even aging. Every choice we make about our life is influenced by our belief system. These choices can eventually cause chemical modifications around the genes that will turn those genes on or off over time.  

We are all unique individuals with each of our own preferences and characteristics. The different combinations of genes that are turned on or off is what makes each one of us unique. Furthermore, there have been indications that some epigenetics changes can be inherited. Since beliefs are choices, we can theoretically influence our genes towards a healthy state.

In conclusion, the science has shattered the Central Dogma of molecular biology, proving that determinism- the belief that your genes control your health- is false. We actually have a great amount of control over how our genetic traits are expressed, by changing our thoughts and altering our diet and our environment. In 1988, the experiments of John Cairns demonstrated even primitive organisms can evolve “consciously”, as DNA changes in response to its environment. The cells “consciousness” lies in its membrane, which contains receptors that pick up various environmental signals. This mechanism controls the “reading” of the genes inside the cell. The work of Dr. Bruce Lipton and other epigenetics researchers show that the “environmental signals” also include thoughts and emotions- both of which have been shown to directly affect DNA expression. Epigenetics science reveals that you are an extension of your environment, which includes everything from your thoughts and belief systems. We have tremendous power to shape and direct our physical health. 

The Science of the Heart

The HeartMath Institute has conducted research on how our heart influences our brain. Most of us have been taught in school that the heart is constantly responding to “orders” sent by the brain in the form of neural signals. However, it is not as commonly know that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain that the brain sends to the heart! These heart signals have a significant effect on the brain function- influencing emotional processing as well as higher cognitive faculties such as attention, perception, memory, and problem-solving.

HeartMath research has demonstrated that different patterns of heart activity (which accompany different emotional states) have distinct effects on cognitive and emotional function. During stress and negative emotions, when the heart rhythm pattern is erratic and disordered, the corresponding pattern of neural signals traveling from the heart to the brain inhibits higher cognitive functions. This limits our ability to think clearly, remember, learn, reason, and make effective decisions. Research at the institute has shown that one of the most powerful factors that affect our heart’s changing rhythm is our feelings and emotions.

In contrast, the more ordered and stable the pattern of the heart’s input to the brain during positive emotional states has the opposite effect- it facilitates cognitive function and reinforces positive feelings and emotional stability. This means that learning to generate increased heart rhythm coherence, by sustaining positive emotions, not only benefits the entire body, but also profoundly affects how we perceive, think, feel and perform.

The Science of Emotions

A new study from a team of Finnish researchers has mapped emotions to where most people feel them in their own bodies. What turned out is that most of us feel our emotions in similar places. Feelings are a funny thing. Love and heartache both happen inside our heads, but they’re felt in very different places. Excitement and fear are two very different emotions, but they feel nearly identical. What is complicated is that feelings are subjective- it’s hard to know if other people feel things the same way we do.

Neuroscientist Lauri Nummenmaa of the University of Turku in Finland and a team of three other Finnish researchers have been working on the science of emotions since at least 2014 when they published a smaller body map showing where 14 “basic” and “nonbasic” emotions were felt in the body. In their new study in 2015, they examined 100 different feelings. Those feelings fell into seven categories: cognition, like thinking and reasoning; sensation and perception, like seeing and hearing; homeostatic states, meaning bodily functions like hunger and thirst; physiological processes, like sleeping and breathing; feelings associated with illnesses, likes coughing and fever; and feelings associated with psychiatric disorders, like depression and anxiety.  

Some of the locations were unsurprising: hunger was felt in the stomach, thirst in the throat, reasoning and recollection in the head. But others were more surprising, even if they made sense intuitively. The positive emotions of gratefulness and togetherness and the negative emotions of guilt and despair all looked remarkably similar, with feelings mapped primarily in the heart, followed by the head and stomach. Still, even when some feeling appeared similar, each one was unique when it came to precisely where and how intensely they happened. Most importantly, even those feelings we think are all in our head still create sensations in the rest of our body. Our human mind is strongly embodied.

Neuroplasticity (brain rewiring)

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change continuously. Our brain can reorganize itself, both physically and functionally, throughout our life due to our environment, behavior, thinking, and emotions.

Dr. Sarah McKay, neuroscientist, say: “Plasticity dial back ‘ON’ in adulthood when specific conditions that enable or trigger plasticity are met. ‘What recent research has shown is that under the right circumstances, the power of brain plasticity can help adults minds grow. Although certain brain machinery tends to decline with age, there are steps people can take to tap into plasticity and reinvigorate that machinery,’ explains Merzenich. These circumstances include focused attention, determination, hard work and maintaining overall brain health.”

According to Dr. Michael Merzenich, a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research and co-founder of Posit Science, he lists ten core principles necessary for the remodeling of our brain to take place;

1. Change is mostly limited to those situations in which the brain is in the mood for it. If you are alert, on the ball, engaged, motivated, ready for action, the brain releases the neurochemicals necessary to enable brain change. When disengaged, inattentive, distracted, or doing something without thinking that requires no real effort, your neuroplastic switches are “off.”
2. The harder you try, the more you’re motivated, the more alert you are, and the better the potential outcome, the bigger the brain change.
   
3. What actually changes in the brain are the strengths of the connections of neurons that are engaged together, moment by moment, in time. The more something is practiced, the more connections are changes and made to include all elements of the experience (sensory info, movement, cognitive patterns).
4. Learning-driven changes in connections increase cell-to-cell cooperation which is crucial for increasing reliability. Merzenich explains this by asking you to imagine the sound of a football stadium full of fans all clapping at random versus the same people clapping in unison. He explains, “The more powerfully coordinated your nerve cell teams are, the more powerful and more reliable their behavioral productions.”
5. The brain also strengthens its connections between teams of neurons representing separate moments of successive things that reliably occur in serial time. This allows your brain to predict what happens next and have continuous “associative flow”. Without this ability, your stream of consciousness would be reduced to “a series of separate, stagnations puddles,” explain Merzenich.
6. Initial changes are temporary. Your brain first records the change, then determines whether it should make the change permanent or not. It only becomes permanent if your brain judges the experience to be fascination or novel enough of if the behavior outcome is important, good or bad.
7. The brain is changed by internal rehearsal in the same ways and involving precisely the same processes that control changes achieved through interactions with the external world. According to Merzinech, “You don’t have to move and inch to drive positive plastic change in your brain. Your internal representations of things recalled from memory work just fine for progressive brain plasticity-based learning”.
8. As you learn a new skill, your brain takes note of and remembers the good attempts, while discarding the not-so-good tries. Then, it recalls the last good pass, makes incremental adjustments, and progressively improves.
9. Every movement of learning provides a moment of opportunity for the brain to stabilize- and reduce the disruptive power of- potentially interfering backgrounds or “noise.”
10. Brain plasticity is a two-way street; it is just as easy to generate negative changes as it is positive ones. You have a “use it or lose it” brain. It’s almost as easy to drive changes that impair memory and physical and mental abilities as it is to improve these things. Merzenich says that older people are absolute masters at encouraging plastic brain change in the wrong direction.

When negative beliefs have been identified and understood, it is possible to retrain the brain to think otherwise, towards positive thoughts. The client must first have awareness of their negative thinking patterns and every time they notice their negative “chit-chat” they can focus their attention in a different direction. This is work and it demands that the client take responsibility for their progress. It is their mind after all. Every small step is important. The key is consistency and repetition. The client must value the change for the brain to make those changes.

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In 1938, Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist was attempting to create a stimulant when he synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) instead. He accidentally absorbed a small dose through his fingertips and experienced a radical shift in consciousness. After he experimented further, he concluded the drug would be ideal for psychotherapeutic use. He began sending doses of LSD and other psychedelics, psilocybin (mushrooms and truffles), to clinics and universities across the world.

History

A promising decade of research began, leading to breakthroughs in understanding the brain’s neurochemistry and how the therapist might effectively treat mental illness. More than 40 000 patients were administered LSD alongside therapy between 1950 and 1965, and more than a thousand scientific papers were published. It was considered the “golden age” of psychedelic research. Many studies treating depression, addiction, emotional and physical trauma, and terminal illness, researchers found that LSD proved effective in cases where other drugs and therapy alone were not.

Psychedelic drugs have been consumed throughout history. For indigenous peoples, psychedelics use is considered both a sacred and healing act, that requires the guidance of a highly trained spiritual leader (shaman) and entails psychoactive rituals that bring humans closer to the spiritual world, in an effort to treat both physical and spiritual ills. Before the Europeans’ arrival, indigenous people in the Americas maintained their own holistic system of care consisting of spiritual practices, plant-based medicines, and community involvement. Understanding the roots within the historical origins for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy serves as an important reference point. 

State of consciousness

Psychedelics produce an altered state of consciousness that is often termed the “psychedelic experience.” It can include heightened senses and emotions; awe or terror; the feelings of experiencing birth, death or repressed memories; or a sense of profound insight into the nature of existence. Many researchers feel the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics are undeniable. But the unpredictable nature of psychedelic experience and the stigma of recreational drug use have made incorporating them into Western medicine problematic.

In 1966, the United States and in 1971 the United Nations banned the use and research of psychedelics. During this time in history, it was a time of great social unrest, “acid” escaped from the lab and found its way into unpredictable environments like college campuses and rock concerts. Horror stories emerged often exaggerated by the press. Young people (hippy movement) told their parents they no longer believed in the central institutions undergirding American society, and they certainly did not want to fight in the Vietnam war. President Nixon felt that societal values (cultural beliefs) were being threatened therefore made them illegal. He petitioned the United Nation to do the same.

Terence McKenna an American ethnobotanist and author, made the assumption that psychedelics had been made illegal “not because it troubles anyone that you have visions” but because “there is something about them that casts doubt on the validity of reality.” This makes it difficult for societies to accept them because it puts into question many beliefs (cultural/ political/ religious/ educational, etc.) which they believe could disrupt the status quo. There seems to be a great fear in Western society when we question our beliefs.

How does the psychedelic magic truffles (magic mushrooms) work?

The main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms (or magic truffles) is called psilocybin, which is then broken down by our bodies into a chemical call psilocin. This makes its way into the brain, where it binds itself to the serotonin receptors itself (exciting them), which greatly stimulates the brain, triggering a range of auditory, visual and sensory hallucinations that can last from three to eight hours when ingesting higher doses.

Default Mode Network

Accidentally discovered in 2001, the Default Mode Network (DMN) made its debut when Marcus Raichle, using cutting edge Functional fMRI equipment, imaged the cerebral cortex. That same technology, paired with magnetoencephalography, or MEG imaging, was used by the team at Imperial College on subjects under the influence of psychedelics. It was also used by Judson Brewer at the UMass Medical School to image the brain activity of deep meditation states (focus attention directed inwards). 

Both teams found that when these states were induced, and ego dissolution was experienced, the DMN shut down. The dissolution of the ego (personal belief systems) is a paradigmatic event reported by psychedelic drug users and experienced meditators, so it wasn’t necessarily a surprise when MEG and fMRI scans showed that egoic brain activity correlates directly with DMN activity.

The DMN is the internal chatter that leads our thoughts astray when we try to silence the interminable flow of opinions and thoughts in our head. When the brain has nothing to do the DMN flares up, defaulting to thoughts about a petty argument you had with your significant other a year age.

For many, it takes years, or even decades to silence the inner dialogue, but for those who succeed, the fruits of labor are profound. Recent research has found that the psychedelic experience, under the supervision and the right circumstances, can create the same effect, allowing for new connections to be made within the brain. According to the Carhart-Harris’s theory, our individual mental states fall somewhere along a scale of entropy. Entropy, in this case, is a measure toward a state of randomness or disorganization. On the Carhart-Harris’ scale, high-entropy mental states include those experiences on psychedelics; infant consciousness; and creative or divergent thinking. The low-entropy end included such states as narrow or rigid thinking; addiction; OCD; depression; and coma.

As we age, we tend to accept our personal beliefs as factual or true. Our introspection decreases therefore, our ego (thinking patterns) eventually turns on itself and “gradually shades out reality”. A psychedelic experience increases entropy in the brain (creates new neuropathways and freer communication across networks), loosening those bonds and opening the mind to a deluge of possibilities, many of which can be confusing or bizarre, hence hallucinations and strange thoughts. Therefore, it is important, to begin with therapy to better understand your negative thinking patterns or negative belief system. Afterwards, as the individual experiences a psychedelic “trip”, they better comprehend the information they are experiencing or in other words “it makes more sense”.

In a study with 15 participants, half of the participants received psilocybin while others received a saline placebo. What was remarkable was that the brain re-organized connections and linked previously unconnected regions of the brain.

Beside is the simplified illustration of the connections tracked while receiving the placebo (a) and the psilocybin (b). There seems to have a greater communication across the whole brain.

Psychedelic drugs such as, LSD (acid), psilocin (psilocybin mushrooms or magic mushrooms), mescaline (peyote cactus), and DMT (ayahuasca) are all serotonergic psychedelics. This means that the active ingredients within these psychedelics bind themselves to our serotonin receptors. Serotonergic psychedelics are capable of robustly increasing neurogenesis. In a study in the journal of Cell Reports, the scientist found that psychedelic drugs increase the number of branches and dendritic spines on neurons, and also increase the number of synapses, or connections between neurons.

The changes in a neuron affected by psychedelics

In another recent study, that gained the most traction in its successful treatment with psilocybin for depression. The study found evidence of a reset mechanism in the brain that can have lasting effects, sometimes for up to five weeks. What is the most interesting is that it wasn’t the compound within the psychedelic drug that changed the person’s emotional state, it’s their personal experience during the “psychedelic trip”, especially if they have a “mystical experience” which are feelings of oneness, unconditional love and togetherness.

Magic truffles

Magic truffles are provided by Mother Nature. They are not from a pharmaceutical company. They are safe and non-addictive. All of the studies where altered states of consciousness were studied and observed, the short and long-term safety was evaluated. There was no indication of increased drug abuse, persisting perception disorders, prolonged psychosis, or other long-term deficits in functioning. The number of adverse reactions from psilocybin were few in number, resolved quickly, and was mostly associated with the highest doses of psilocybin. The subjects that were followed for 8 to 16 months post psilocybin administration exhibited no long-term negative side effects. The safety demonstrated in the study opened the door for more research on psilocybin. Furthermore, there was no significant association found between lifetime use of psychedelics and increased mental health treatment or suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts.

Further studies are now ongoing with Psilocybin for depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), alcohol dependence and tobacco cessation.

Depression

• Psilocybin has demonstrated that it can lower suicidal thinking, suicidal planning and distress. It actually improved moods.

Anxiety disorders

• Anxiety significantly decreased. There was a mood improvement for 2 weeks after one treatment and the effects lasted even up to 6 months after treatment.

OCD

• There was a study by Moreno and colleagues that demonstrated patients having a decrease in symptoms.

Alcohol Dependence

• Patients followed a psychosocial treatment with motivational enhancement therapy for 4 weeks and then received two doses, at separate occasions, of psilocybin. Patients all had a significant decrease in alcohol use post psilocybin administration.

Tobacco Cessation

• A study (Roland Griffiths) has shown which included cognitive behavioral therapy and the administration of psilocybin that 80% of the participants remained abstinent at the 6-month follow-up point. What was interesting during this study is that the mystical aspect of the psilocybin experiences seemed to be a requirement for the smokers to quit successfully which suggests that the spiritual experience is a main component for transformation.

Based on the studies undergone thus far, it appears psilocybin shows potential applications to manage mental health conditions. There needs to be further studies demonstrating its efficacity with a larger population.

Set and Setting

The set and setting during a psychedelic ceremony are important factors to consider when experiencing a “psychedelic journey”. The set refers to the intent of the person, their expectations and their beliefs. The setting refers to the physical, social and cultural environment in which the experience takes place.

The indigenous people who introduced the use of psychedelics journeys always had a set and setting to their ceremonies. The tribe shared the same beliefs and expectations about the psychedelic journey. Their setting was in forest, sitting around a fire with the sound of drums to facilitate the trance state. There was a shaman or guide to help the process of those having the journey.

In the Western world, the set and setting must be carefully crafted. Since the person’s senses are enhanced during the ceremony, it renders the psychedelic experience exceptionally sensitive to context.

It’s important to have a discussion about the person’s intent, expectations, and beliefs before they begin the ceremony. When you experience a ceremony, you don’t get what you want but what you need from the experience. Therefore, being self-aware about yourself is an important factor if you wish to have a positive experience.

The setting should be in a comfortable environment. Preferable lying down with blankets to keep the person warm, candles, bathroom nearby and dim lighting. Music is also an important aspect of the ceremony. It enhances the experience. Lastly, when the experience is over, it’s important to have a variety of foods so that the person may replenish themselves. While eating, the guide(s) and the experiencer should discuss the psychedelic journey. This allows the person to integrate the information they have perceived.

When choosing to have a ceremony, the person should make sure the facilitators (guides) are experienced and open to discussing any concerns they may have. Begin ingesting a small amount of the psychedelic drug then gradually ingesting a higher dose after an hour or so. It’s important that the person takes their time and doesn’t feel rushed. It’s their experience therefore they should always feel comfortable during the process.

Conclusion

If an individual is interested in experiencing psychedelic drugs, I recommend reading the book “The Psychedelic Explorer Guide” by James Fadiman Ph.D. Furthermore, it’s important to do your homework. Read the research.

I believe that it is important to first beginning with a few therapy sessions to become more self-aware. This means becoming aware of your beliefs, thoughts, and emotions. Afterwards, when experiencing a ceremony, the individual won’t experience harsh surprises.

Below are a few videos to become more informed about psychedelics.

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The multidimensional Self is limitless. It contains your physical identity, the construct of your reality, your beliefs, your Soul and beyond.

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