Magic Mushrooms, Spirituality, and the Right to Die

This is the third of a three-part series on psilocybin. As Judith Gordon wrote in the first part of this series, psychedelic or magic mushrooms have been used for thousands of years “to enhance spiritual experiences.” In fact, cave paintings in Algeria indicate the use of mushrooms was an important cultural element as early as 5000 B.C., although it’s unknown what their purpose might have been. The oldest known spiritual or religious references to mushrooms are from the 13^th century A.D. by the Mixtecs, who were predecessors of the Aztecs. One of the many gods worshipped by the Mixtecs was Piltzintecuhtli, who was the god of hallucinogenic plants and often depicted holding mushrooms. The Aztecs are known to have used mushrooms as part of ritualistic human sacrifices to please and commune with their gods.

After the defeat of the Aztecs by Cortez in the 16^th century, magic mushrooms were forbidden by European settlers, although indigenous peoples continued to use them in secret. In the early 20^th century, the very existence of psychedelic mushrooms was disputed among western academics until it was confirmed by investigations in the late 1930s.

Further studies were interrupted by Word War II but continued in the 1950s. Most notably, R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Povlovna made several trips to Mexico and eventually met Mazatec curandera Maria Sabina, who invited Wasson and his companion photographer Allan Richardson to participate in a Velada (mushroom ceremony). Wasson and botanist Roger Heim published the first widely distributed article about psychoactive mushrooms in the May 13, 1957 issue of Life Magazine.

Then came the counterculture of 1960s. One of that era’s more famous proponents of magic mushrooms for spiritual purposes was Richard Alpert, who, along with fellow Harvard professor Timothy Leary, conducted research on various psychedelic drugs. Their work included supervising a Harvard Divinity School student in the Marsh Chapel Experiment (also known as the Good Friday Experiment), which was the first controlled, double-blind study of whether drugs can influence religious experiences. Ten graduate students received psilocybin and ten received a placebo. Nine of the ten who received psilocybin reported having a profound religious or spiritual experience, with one of the participants describing it years later as “the most powerful cosmic homecoming I have ever experienced.”

News of the Marsh Chapel Experiment spread throughout academia and beyond, and psychedelics soon became known as aids for attaining spiritual enlightenment or enhancing a spiritual experience. Psilocybin mushrooms were also non-toxic and non-addictive relative to other hallucinogens such as LSD, so their recreational use became widespread, hence the “psychedelic 60s.”

Although “shrooms” continued to be used recreationally, academic and medical research was virtually halted by strict government regulations enacted in the 1970s. A resurgence began in the 1990s and there are now research facilities dedicated to psychedelics at U.C. Berkley, Johns Hopkins, and several other academic institutions. Consistent with earlier research, recent studies have shown that psilocybin is effective in treating general anxiety and also induces spiritual or mystical experiences, often expressed as seeing the Divine/God or having a profound sense of oneness.

Specific to end-of-life care, someone diagnosed with a terminal illness will typically spend significant time reflecting on their values and life choices. Broken relationships are mended as forgiveness is requested and freely offered. But that reflection can be inhibited by psychological and emotional barriers created and fortified by denial and anger. Psilocybin has been effective in helping to overcome those barriers, but that means also exposing the wounds in the psyche that those barriers are protecting. The potential for patients to experience “existential angst” (also known as existential anxiety, panic, or dread), is one of the reasons that psilocybin therapy requires the presence of a facilitator with specialized training, such as a professional chaplain.

As a hospice chaplain, I support the use of magic mushrooms as part of end-of-life care. As noted in the second part of this series, Oregon and Washington have made significant strides in making psilocybin therapy available to residents of those states. It should be noted, however, that psilocybin therapy is so named partly due to restricting its use to a therapeutic setting. It must be obtained from a licensed source and administered by a licensed facilitator. In contrast with cannabis, the Oregon and Washington models do not include magic mushroom dispensaries.

As a mental health chaplain, I must add three cautionary notes. First, psilocybin has been shown to increase activity in certain parts of the brain that are already overactive among those who suffer from bipolar disorder (schizophrenia) or psychosis. In those cases, psilocybin is most likely to be very harmful.

Second, although psilocybin is non-toxic and not physically addictive, it can still be psychologically addictive, as can many substances or compulsive behaviors, such as caffeine, chocolate, or gambling. In my view, the potential for addiction is not a concern for end-of-life care, but I do not recommend psilocybin for anyone who is not terminally ill and whose personal or family history includes substance abuse or any kind of addiction.

My third cautionary note is a personal one that requires more explanation. Early in the psychedelic 60s, Leary and Alpert were fired from Harvard. Alpert traveled to India in 1967 and eventually became a disciple of Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him the name Ram Dass, or Servant of God. As part of his spiritual journey, Alpert/Dass gave up psychedelics completely in favor of meditation. In his seminal book, Be Here Now, Dass explained that the roller-coaster of ecstatic high followed by devastating low can lead to clinical depression or even suicidal ideation. After his experiments at Harvard and then practicing meditation without any aids, he was adamant that using mushrooms or any other substance is a distraction.

I understand Dass’ decision. I dabbled in meditation for many years, starting around 1991, usually in the form of a guided meditation, so-named because a facilitator provided spoken guidance throughout. Ethereal music was often softly playing in the background, which made sense to me as a church musician. Occasionally, the experience was enhanced with incense carefully placed on a homemade altar. Like most people, I thought the point of meditation was to “clear one’s mind” but that never seemed to happen.

In 2007, I attended a weekend meditation retreat led by a Buddhist monk from Thailand. I then spent every Sunday afternoon at the monk’s temple and tried to meditate on a daily basis during the week. There was no music or incense. There wasn’t even an altar. According to the monk, such things are crutches that might make it easier for a beginner to learn meditation but could then prevent someone from being able to meditate without them.

It took me six months to have what I considered a “successful” meditation experience. Since then, I have been able achieve a meditative state within a few minutes if not immediately. Oh, and the purpose of meditation is not to clear your mind.

In summary, I highly recommend silent meditation for anyone interested in a safe, healthy, long-term spiritual practice that can be done anywhere at any time. It might take you six months to achieve a truly mystical experience, but it will be worth it. I can direct you to an instructor if you don’t want to go to a Buddhist temple.

In my opinion, meditation works better than magic mushrooms. But if you don’t have six months because you’re terminally ill, and you don’t have a history of bipolar disorder or psychosis, ‘shrooms might be for you. But don’t do it alone and make sure your companion is trained in the process.