Psychedelic Plants : Their Role In The Birth Of Human Culture & The Lessons They Can Teach Us Today!

Did psychedelic plants contribute to the birth of our human culture? Are these powerful plants still teaching us today? According to evolutionists we have a far more advanced culture than our biological relatives. Our cultural habits transcend pure animal behaviours. Where did all that religion and art come from?

One strain of interesting thought places psychoactive plants at the birth of culture, religion art and medicine. There are some very compelling concepts which give credence this hypothesis. If these concepts are taken to their extremes they have the potential to correct many of the imbalances we see in our world today. It sounds like a grand claim but it has validity - psychedelics for a better world?

Terence McKenna's Stoned Ape Hypothesis

Terence McKenna's 1993 book Food Of The Gods discussed the impacts of the psilocybin mushroom on ancient hunter and gather tribes. His hypothesis was that communities which encountered any number of the more than 200 species of psychoactive mushrooms benefited from ingesting these fungi.

McKenna believed that low doses of Psilocybin - the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms - increased the ability to hunt and acted as an aphrodisiac. This would mean more food and an increased birthrate. At even higher doses McKenna believes that psychoactive mushrooms may have been responsible for the birth of language, art and religion - culminating in large mushroom orgies! 😉

Psychedelic Plants Are Still Bringing Us Gifts!

An interesting current trend is the growing use of small amounts of psychedelic substances known as microdosing for a variety of benefits. This technique involves taking sub-psychedelic doses of psychoactive substances, including magic mushrooms, to improve a wide range of human functions.

Reports of the benefits of low or microdoses of psilocybin are numerous and seem to add credence to McKenna's hypothesis. Psychedelic mushrooms have been used successfully to:

• Treat depression
• Improve sex drive 😉
• Improve concentration
• Improve physical stamina
• Improve inspiration
• Cope with fear of death

Mushrooms taken at high doses are not for everybody and should always be approached with respect and caution. It is important to note that people with existing psychological conditions should be particularly wary of psychedelic substances. However the growing use of microdosing may offer new therapeutic benefits Psilocybin in the future.

The Birth Of Art & Religion

Inevitably the ingestion of a high dose of psychoactive substances would have had a profound impact on the minds of ancient hunters and gathers. Even with our comparatively advanced chemical understanding, high doses of psychedelics are still mind blowing today. It may well have been that these extreme experiences were the birth of religious experience.

Studies of ancient cave art around the world have lent credence to the belief that psychedelics were being consumed during one of the most important events in our history - the birth of Art! This process may have coincided with the birth of language and in the belief of spirits and gods, as many cave paintings display supernatural beings. If you are interested in this subject Graham Hancock's excellent book Supernatural has a lot of fascinating information.

It seems clear that psychedelics had a massive impact on ancient cultures. The experiences for these tribes would have been extraordinary and coincided with an explosion of cave art!

Psychedelics In Religion

The monotheistic religions may have once used sacred sacraments which included psychedelics but for a long time they have tended to demonise these plants. However there are still fascinating uses of psychedelic plants in religious contexts. Shamanic cultures exist throughout the world and although they are often underground they are still alive today.

The Santo Daime religion which was founded during 1931 in Brazil is a mixture of a variety of religions which includes Folk Catholicism. Santo Daime practice their religious ceremonies while using Ayahuasca which is a powerful psychedelic brew. These ceremonies occur throughout the world and I have personally known several practitioners.

Native shamanic rituals using psychedelic plants occur across the globe. These rituals are used for healing, vision and to learn using a wide variety of powerful plants. Over recent years Ayahuasca has made its way out of the Amazon and has spread the America,s Europe, Australia and the rest of the world. A strong underground scene has developed brining this ancient healing medicine to more people. Although this process has been criticised as an "Ayahuasca industry" I believe the net effect on human consciousness is positive!

The Psychedelic Experience

Although micro-dosing seems to be offering some useful benefits, a full psychedelic experience is not for everyone and should be approached with respect and care. It is powerful stuff. People's experiences of psychedelic plants around the world have some valuable common lessons.

I have spoken with many users of psychoactive plants who have related to me the humbling nature of their psychedelic experiences. The majority report a sense of empathy to others and I have even known those who have changed their diets to vegetarianism because of the heightened awareness induced by these experiences.

A heightened respect for each other and the plants and animals in our world would be revolutionary in achieving a sustainable future. A strong psychedelic experience has the potential to instil in us enormous respect for the living world around us. Sadly this is does not fit in with the corporate world that is destroying our planet but perhaps psychedelics plants can be a catalyst for change! 😉

Are The Plants Still Teaching Us?

Are these psychedelic plants still actively teaching us.? The answer is a resounding yes but two schools of thought diverge on whether the plants are consciously teaching us or if our experiences are purely the results of chemical reactions. My personal intuition is that the plants are conscious and interacting with them is to interact with a consciousness which is vastly different from our own.

The use of psychedelic plants has many important lessons to teach us. In an age of brainwashing and increasing separation from nature and natural processes psychedelics can open our minds by bringing us back to nature. We must only be humble and respectful and an abundance of knowledge is available to us.

Psychedelics Continue To Contribute To Society

There are very valuable contributions that psychoactive plants can continue to make for our world. The phoney war on drugs has greatly reduced these potentially powerful positive impacts but here are just a few:

• Drug Addiction: Some psychedelics such as Ibogaine and Ayahuasca have had powerful positive results dealing with difficult addictions such as heroine and cocaine. Both are powerful medicines which need to be treated with respect but Ibogaine can kill you if not managed correctly.

• Clinical Treatment: Psychedelics have been successfully used by medical practitioners to deal with depression and the fear of death. This can only be positive!

• Improved Empathy: An improved empathy for each other and our natural environment would have an immediate impact on the misery and destruction we see on our planet today. To love our planet more would give us the wisdom to make better decisions. These powerful positive impacts go completely against the drive and direction of our current corporate society.

What do you think - would it be positive to see an increased use of traditional psychoactive plants in our society? Surely it would be better than increased alcohol and cigarettes! 😉

For those of you who wish to know what a powerful psychedelic experience might look like, watch this (but maybe turn the music down):

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Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

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Jockey loves you All! 😉

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