"Who looks outside, dreams;
who looks inside, awakes."
-Carl Jung
Psilocybin therapy sparked considerable interest last week thanks to a touching piece on 60 Minutes.
But even with the recent surge in media coverage, it's tough for most to imagine what these experiences are like.
Part of the difficulty in describing psychedelic trips is their ineffable nature – words can only touch the edge of what we see and feel on these journeys. Even for those with extensive recreational experience, the therapeutic setting is a whole new ballgame.
And the major difference is the role of internal versus external stimuli.
Like many, my first engagement with "magic mushrooms" was in college with friends – and all my early trips took place at concerts, parties or campouts. I learned the importance of set, setting and dose – had a mix of fun, frightening and profound moments – and enjoyed belly laughs over infinite Natty Lights, Marlboros and whatever weed was around.
And while I had some glimpses of the vast world inside on these nights, my thoughts were largely led by information from outside. The music, lights, conversation and energy all around dominated my mind, and defined the experience.
It wasn't until I put on an eye mask and laid down during my first psilocybin therapy session that I truly understood what the fuss is all about.
Please note – you absolutely do not need psychedelics to explore the depths of your consciousness. Meditation masters have been teaching the path to inner enlightenment for thousands of years, and all the major religions are centered around prayer and contemplative practices aimed at accessing the divine within. But these routes take discipline and decades, and sometimes even dedication to a monastic life, in order to approach nirvana.
Psychedelics, when used properly, can be like a cheat code to reach places inside that would otherwise take years of stillness to enter.
It's like the old Mike Tyson Punch-Out!! video game. To reach the ultimate level, it takes months of mastering the game, and hours to go through in one sitting; or you can just enter 007-373-5963 upon startup to skip straight to the finale. Punch in that code before you’re ready, or when you're out of practice, and you'll have to peel yourself off the mat.
But for those who are prepared for the jump, it can be an ecstatic experience going toe-to-toe with the champ. When you have the right approach, and you enter the ring in a calm state of flow, it can be an electric dance that ends in celebration.
So too, when you take a therapeutic dose of psilocybin mushrooms and spend four-plus hours in grounded stillness – with eyes closed and heart open – you launch yourself to a new level, deep inside, where you see and feel things that stretch the limits of your imagination and vocabulary.
It's a place that's both familiar and foreign, full of paradoxical insights and elemental truths. Sometimes it's a circus of light and sometimes it's a tussle with your shadow. Sometimes it's both.
But when the round ends and you take off your mask, it's a treasure to open your eyes and see a trusted guide in your corner. And when you have the right tools to integrate your epiphanies into life outside the ring, it's a gift that keeps on giving.
And it was all right inside, all along.
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