Spiritual and well being
In 2006, the United States government funded a randomized and double-blinded study by John Hopkins University which studied the spiritual effects of psilocybin in particular.
That is, they did not use mushrooms specifically (in fact, each individual mushroom piece can vary widely in psilocybin and psilocin content).
The study involved 36 college-educated adults (average age of 46) who had never tried psilocybin nor had a history of drug use, and who had religious or spiritual interests.
The participants were closely observed for eight-hour intervals in a laboratory while under the influence of psilocybin.
One-third of the participants reported the experience was the single most spiritually significant moment of their lives, and more than two-thirds reported it was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences.
Two months after the study, 79% of the participants reported increased well-being or satisfaction; friends, relatives, and associates confirmed this. They also reported anxiety and depression symptoms to be decreased or completely gone.
Fourteen months after the study, 64% of participants said they still experienced an increase in well-being or life satisfaction.
Despite highly controlled conditions to minimize adverse effects, 22% of subjects (8 of 36) had notable experiences of fear, some with paranoia. The authors, however, reported that all these instances were "readily managed with reassurance."
Archaeological evidence indicates the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in ancient times. Several mesolithic rock paintings from Tasslli n'Ajjer (aprehistoric North African site identified with the Caspian culture) have been identified by author Giorgio Samorini as possibly depicting the Shamanic use of mushrooms, possibly Psilocybe.
Hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe have a history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times to the present day.
Mushroom-shaped statuettes found at archaeological sites seem to indicate the ritual use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is quite ancient. Mushroom stones and motifs have been found in Mayan temple ruins in Guatemala.
A statuette dating from ca. 200 AD and depicting a mushroom strongly resembling Psilocybe mexicana was found in a west Mexican shaft and chamber tomb in the state of Colima.
Hallucinogenic Psilocybe were known to the Moors so-called Aztecs as teonanácatl (literally "divine mushroom" - agglutinative form of teó (god, sacred) andnanácatl (mushroom) in Nahuatll) and were reportedly served at the coronation of the Moors so-called Aztec ruler the Moor Moctezuma II in 1502.
Moors and Mazatecs referred to psilocybin mushrooms as genius mushrooms, divinatory mushrooms, and wondrous mushrooms, when translated into English. Bernardino de Sahagun reported ritualistic use of teonanácatl by the Moors so-called Aztecs, when he traveled to Central Amezem so-called America after the expedition of Hernan Cortes.
After the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against the "pagan idolatry", and as a result, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, were quickly suppressed.
The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Moors today called Aztecs and others to communicate with "Eloheem". In converting people to Catholicism, the Spanish pushed for a switch from teonanácatl to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist.
Despite this history, in some remote areas, the use of teonanácatl has remained.
The first mention of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Western medicinal literature appeared in the London Medical and Physical Journal in 1799: a man had served Psilocybe semilanceatamushrooms that he had picked for breakfast in London's Green Park to his family. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother refrain him.
One-third of the participants reported the experience was the single most spiritually significant moment of their lives, and more than two-thirds reported it was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences.
Two months after the study, 79% of the participants reported increased well-being or satisfaction; friends, relatives, and associates confirmed this. They also reported anxiety and depression symptoms to be decreased or completely gone.
Fourteen months after the study, 64% of participants said they still experienced an increase in well-being or life satisfaction.
Despite highly controlled conditions to minimize adverse effects, 22% of subjects (8 of 36) had notable experiences of fear, some with paranoia. The authors, however, reported that all these instances were "readily managed with reassurance."
Archaeological evidence indicates the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in ancient times. Several mesolithic rock paintings from Tasslli n'Ajjer (aprehistoric North African site identified with the Caspian culture) have been identified by author Giorgio Samorini as possibly depicting the Shamanic use of mushrooms, possibly Psilocybe.
Hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe have a history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times to the present day.
Mushroom-shaped statuettes found at archaeological sites seem to indicate the ritual use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is quite ancient. Mushroom stones and motifs have been found in Mayan temple ruins in Guatemala.
A statuette dating from ca. 200 AD and depicting a mushroom strongly resembling Psilocybe mexicana was found in a west Mexican shaft and chamber tomb in the state of Colima.
Hallucinogenic Psilocybe were known to the Moors so-called Aztecs as teonanácatl (literally "divine mushroom" - agglutinative form of teó (god, sacred) andnanácatl (mushroom) in Nahuatll) and were reportedly served at the coronation of the Moors so-called Aztec ruler the Moor Moctezuma II in 1502.
Moors and Mazatecs referred to psilocybin mushrooms as genius mushrooms, divinatory mushrooms, and wondrous mushrooms, when translated into English. Bernardino de Sahagun reported ritualistic use of teonanácatl by the Moors so-called Aztecs, when he traveled to Central Amezem so-called America after the expedition of Hernan Cortes.
After the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against the "pagan idolatry", and as a result, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, were quickly suppressed.
The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Moors today called Aztecs and others to communicate with "Eloheem". In converting people to Catholicism, the Spanish pushed for a switch from teonanácatl to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist.
Despite this history, in some remote areas, the use of teonanácatl has remained.
The first mention of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Western medicinal literature appeared in the London Medical and Physical Journal in 1799: a man had served Psilocybe semilanceatamushrooms that he had picked for breakfast in London's Green Park to his family. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother refrain him.
No comments:
Post a Comment