the extraordinary powers of these alkaloids to the greater population – though a bit one-percentee – actually make a better case for changing the collective mind than the exuberant plans of , say , better known characters like Timothy Leary . Not to mention the more sinister ideas of using said entheogens ( or psychedelics ) by our country ’ s military department as a method of manipulation and control ( the MK-Ultra project ) that contributed to funding said research that very few of us are privy too .
But what may be even more fascinating and mind changing are the sections covering the results and accounts of those participants who volunteered for these former studies , ranging in areas of death-anxiety , addiction and trauma recovery . While most are aware that the main goal of psychotherapy and psychiatry is to help the individual break out of well-worn patterns of self-centered , painful ruminations , it may not be widely known that at the core of such therapies is the goal to break the individual out of the idea of “ self ” and into awareness of the wider interdependence of the human organism . While years and years of such therapy proves successful in a many number of cases , the use of entheogens has proven to break down those mind-created barriers in such a way that surpasses our ability to express in our language and grasp through our cultural understanding , and doing so through just a single treatment . These are accounts recalled from participants in a variety of backgrounds and spiritual / philosophical beliefs , providing evidence that these entheogens have the ability to unite the divided .
Pollan then goes into the science of how these alkaloids effect the brain and what it looks like in terms that those outside of the medical community can understand . The image of the connections the mind makes during a “ trip ” on these fungi is a jaw-dropping and quite envy-inducing . But Pollan makes a point during this section , and throughout the whole book , that such mind-expansion is not a novel finding – it has been discovered in research of various monks who practice meditation ; a practice of alternative consciousness that has been a tenet of various Buddhist belief systems and often hard to grasp in Western culture . Being that Americans exist in such a culture , this section of scientific findings and research is significant in assisting us to getting the whole picture ( not to mention , giving more rational validity to the “ counter-culture ” viewpoint ).
We are often told that we cannot truly understand a person until we “ walk a mile in their shoes ”, but Pollan brings up a great point during this book . If we were to be thrust into the mind of another , someone with their own set of beliefs , morals and well-worn patterns of creating sense in a world of chaos , such a consciousness would be completely foreign and “ out-there ” to us . It would seem mystical and make-believe . Pollan makes a strong case on how the ability of these alkaloids can truly change our minds , not to mention dramatically disrupt a culture who possesses a mode of thinking limited to a socially accepted form of reality .
As the scandal epitomized by Timothy Leary has so clearly shown , an alkaloid that can open the mind to a reality that lies outside the limits of our language to convey really can be quite dangerous . But not in the way that it has been diminished in the mass media of past and present . Pollan shows that it is dangerous in a way that can and will disrupt the status quo if not blended into the culture in a more careful manner . In such de-stabling and uncertain times , I find that the time may be ripe for just such a careful integration . Such a merger of alternative consciousness may just help our species from slipping into our well-worn patterns of repeated history . After reading this book , I can definitely say that my mind has successfully been changed . Are you willing to try ?
... Pollan continues to travel down his well-worn path of providing a different and thoroughly researched perspective on the organisms that humans have developed a tendency to dismiss as insentient beings . This time , he tackles fungus .
Thomasville Scene February | March 2023 67