Psychedelics and Spirituality

Introduction

Spirituality and psychedelic experiences share a close tie. Psychedelic experiences fly in the face of a solely materialistic paradigm, causing us to take a hard look at spirituality and the role that it plays in healing.

To me, spirituality, and science all can be combined to help us find a clear view forward in terms of our paradigm of understanding. We cannot throw one out in favor of the other, nor can we radically choose one (spirituality) as superior or more all-in-compassing than the other (materialism).

Mystical Experiences

We often find the mystical when we engage with a psychedelic with an open mind. People who take psychedelics often report oceanic boundlessness, ego dissolution, and universal interconnectedness.

These mystical experiences also can be associated with rapid and abrupt behavioral and perceptual changes. Additionally, we find an association between having stronger mystical experiences under psilocybin and reduction of anxiety. This suggests a link between this mystical experience and healing of mental dysfunction.

What is a Mystical Experience?

What exactly is a mystical experience, though?

“[Mystical experiences are] those peculiar states of consciousness in which the individual discovers himself to be one continuous process with God, with the Universe, with the Ground of Being, or whatever name he may use by cultural conditioning or personal preference for the ultimate and eternal reality” - Alan Watts, 1970.?

Indeed, that strikes me as quite spiritual!

I found it quite nice that we can blend our materialistic understanding of the world with the metaphysical mysticism of psychedelics.?

Psychedelics and Our Views of Self

For those uninitiated into a spirituality-centric worldview, the notion of taking psychedelics, experiencing God, changing rapidly and getting better may be downright offensive. The science is starting to show that seems to be the case, though.

Psychedelics can take a rigid person, stuck in a worldview that solely accepts what they can see with their own eyes, or what can be observed with the instruments of the scientific institution, and open their mind to a greater understanding.

What does it mean, then, to adopt a spiritual worldview? My descriptions will not do justice to personal experience with psychedelics, as they can open doors of perception that my mere words cannot hope to capture.

In essence, I believe what we find is a deep connection to God, source energy, the Universe, or whatever you may call it. This felt-experience of God is a deep loving energy that brings us great peace and connection.

These realizations can lead us to connect with others more, to put aside our differences, and find the positive. It can also take us out of bad patterns, recognizing what a precious gift that life is, and giving us gratitude for what we have. Of course, this does not necessarily rid anyone of the experience of suffering.

How Psychedelics can Change us for the Better

Suffering is inherent to life, as the Buddhists have long recognized. It is how we handle that suffering that matters. Psychedelics do not simply alleviate our suffering in the way that the pharmaceutical pills that are constantly dolled out claim.?

Instead, they show us the cause of our suffering and how to mitigate it. This helps us to take action, being in charge of our lives, and making positive changes for the better.

For example, psychedelics may show us that the food we eat is full of poison chemicals, or that alcohol is a poison and a draining, low vibration energy. This can cause us to question our relationship to the food and drinks that we consume. This, then, can help us to make dietary changes that can help resolve physical and mental health symptoms.

Addressing Resistance

This may sound strange to someone that is not open to the idea of spirituality, or rejects it due to sounding ‘woo-woo’, or someone who deeply values science as a way of obtaining knowledge. If you feel resistance to this notion, I invite you to go to that place of skepticism, and ask: Why am I skeptical? What am I feeling that makes this uncomfortable, and where is that coming from?

Please let me know what you think and feel free to share any of your own thoughts or experiences in the comments!

About the Author

Cole Butler, LPCC, ADDC, MACP is the Founder of Cole Butler Therapy and Integrative Care Collective (ICC). He writes about issues related to spirituality, health, psychedelic experiences, science, philosophy, and consciousness. In his therapy practice, he offers one-on-one counseling, psychedelic integration therapy, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Additionally, as a community leader at ICC, he helps to build relationships and offer support to other mental health providers. Learn more by checking out his therapy website or the ICC website.