We are lucky enough to have two tools at our disposal: 1. Cultivating the spirit. This is slow and has a high abandonment rate, but it is second-to-none in t

We are lucky enough to have two tools at our disposal: 1. Cultivating the spirit. This is slow and has a high abandonment rate, but it is second-to-none in terms of living a fulfilling life. It is worth pursuing, but is unfortunately ill-suited for rescuing people who are in the midst of a mental-health emergency. It should be thought of as "prevention". 2. Cultivating psychoactive substances. This is riskier than the first option, but it has two main advantages: (1) with some precautions, it is immensely helpful in connecting people with their spiritual lives and (2) in an emergency, it is reliably effective. This is on par with the discovery of antibiotics, in terms of medical significance. It should be thought of as "intervention". Why anyone would willingly renounce the use of either? On what principle? This is obscurantism.