5 ms·

I don't know if my brain is just wired up differently, but I've taken both LSD and Psilocybin many times and I did not find the experiences spiritual at all. I

I don't know if my brain is just wired up differently, but I've taken both LSD and Psilocybin many times and I did not find the experiences spiritual at all. I don't even know what people are talking about when they talk about spiritual experiences.

esseph 1y ago
I know people personally that psilocybin, LSD, and other substances do nothing for. All of them also have existing mental health disorders (extreme generalized anxiety, depression, bipolar, etc.).
- kbenson 1y ago
  Nothing as in there is no outside noticeable change in behavior and they report no change in speaking, or nothing as it relates to the topic of this thread, in that they have no profound or spiritual experiences?
  - esseph 1y ago
    They might get a slight body high even on what would otherwise be considered heroic doses for their weight. Things like lemon-tek to make the psilocybin more bioavailable were also not impactful to them, while being apparently extremely impactful for others.
    - vermilingua 1y ago
      It may be worth noting that antidepressant medication has a strong suppressing effect on psychedelics.
      - ghxst 1y ago
        Depends on the type! Generally might be true for SSRIs but not always for TCAs or lithium which can have the opposite effect. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8788508/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8788508/ (just one example)
      - esseph 1y ago
        Well aware and accounted for.
        dymk 1y ago
        If they’re doing high doses of psychedelics and only experiencing a body high, then they’re either on a drug blocking its effects, or they’re not taking a 5HT2-A agonist. They simply do not just produce a body high at high doses, you will know when you’re tripping.
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 1y ago
        This isn't completely true. Tolerance to psychedelics is a thing, and can often ve extremely long lasting. I have a friend that when given heroic doses of 2C-B(50mg or more, orally), hardly experienced more than threshold level effects. This was 2C-B tested and confirmed to have 95% purity, and it affected me exactly as expected. He was not on any drugs except hash, which is typically synergistic. In his case, according to him he yad used 2C-B very heavily many years previously, and it seems he developed an extremely high level of tolerance which remained unchanged for many years of non-use. In the cases discussed in the thread, it's possible that something similar was happening. Indeed, many antidepressants also alter serotonin receptor expression over time, and it's plausible that in some people, these effects could linger for a long time.
        dymk 1y ago
        I agree in that case, long-term SSRI and psychedelic use complicates things. But in general, I would not say the literature points to tolerance being long lasting. Tolerance is built up quickly, and then quickly lost. There have been many (reproduced) studies on the effects of psychedelics and tolerance build up, and they show it doesn't last for more than a few weeks (psilocybin / LSD).
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 1y ago
        I'd be interested to see those studies. I think there could be a couple different types of tolerance, one of which only occurs with rather heavy use. It's something I've seen reported anecdotally from a number of people who've used psychedelics very heavily. It might not show up in human studies because of ethical concerns. There could be some interesting pharmacological differences too, where this only occurs with specific drugs. The psychedelics are quite varied in terms of pharmacodynamics beyond just the 5-HT-2 receptor subfamily.
- jdenning 1y ago
  Many psych meds diminish/block psychedelic effects.
- tlavoie 1y ago
  That could be an interaction with the meds they take for those conditions, couldn't it? I seem to recall that SSRIs in particular could mitigate the effects of the hallucinogen.
  - esseph 1y ago
    Yes, also that was accounted for with doctors notice and slow tapers off medications over months.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- grigri907 1y ago
  Fwiw I find that, due to my antidepressants, i need 3x the dose to have the equivalent experience as my friends.
- nathan_compton 1y ago
  I find mushrooms in particular delightful, just not deep.
  - esseph 1y ago
    Higher dose.
    - throw-qqqqq 1y ago
      EXACTLY! The same to most of the posters with “meh-effects”: up the dose! LSD and psilocybin can be very psychedelic and hallucinogenic
t-3 1y ago
Agreed. I really enjoy both acid and shrooms, but beyond appreciating the fractal beauty of trees and the patterns in carpets a bit more I wouldn't describe them as anything life-changing, let alone some kind of spiritual awakening. MDMA is similarly hyped up, but no, I never felt "connected to the mass of humanity" or whatever people talk about, I just got high and danced while gritting my teeth and rubbing on my head.
- crtified 1y ago
  Decades ago I had the same type of what are people talking about?!, it's certainly not happening to me! surprise, regarding MDMA and the supposed wonders of dancing the night away. I felt the effects of the substance, but to me, nightclub dancing on MDMA still felt about as awkwardly-conscious, performative and unnecessary as it did without! I suspect it's similar with the spiritual stuff, in principle. That is, if you're typically not a personality who tends towards that stuff - spiritual connections and revelations and such - then perhaps no substance will necessary make you so.
  - globular-toast 1y ago
    Set and setting. None of these drugs are like alcohol that just dulls the brain and lowers your IQ by 30 points. In a way you get what you're prepared to get. It sounds like the nightclubs you were going to weren't a good setting either. A club should never feel self-conscious or performative. You should be able to get lost in there with the music. The dancing shouldn't feel unnecessary but more of an obligation because the music is so good. If you feel its unnecessary and awkward sober then no drug will fix that except maybe alcohol. I to to clubs and dance 100% sober these days.
    - phrotoma 1y ago
      > you get what you're prepared to get For the folks who aren't sure what the rest of us are talking about, this is the important bit.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
sev 1y ago
Dosage might play a factor, I presume.
- timewizard 1y ago
  Impurities as well.
- nathan_compton 1y ago
  I've taken enough to melt into the furniture.
denkmoon 1y ago
are you otherwise spiritual? I think that might be a prerequisite. Outside of spirituality did you have any experiences that were "profound" or "thought provoking"?
- nathan_compton 1y ago
  From my point of view all experiences are more or less equally strange and profound. I would describe the experience as interesting, moderately thought provoking, but not informative about any deep human question. From my point of view most people's "spiritual" musings are like putting a clown mask on the world.
comrade1234 1y ago
Same. The hallucinations are fun and the laughter and joy but at the same time I can tell, even though I'm tripping, that it's just my brain mixing up its wiring and nothing to do with god.
konfusinomicon 1y ago
it is there. in a former life ive only felt it under the spell of either of those substances mixed with others popular with today's party goers, but it is. very fleeting and hard to describe but I have the sparse memories of the feelings during the experiences and once you get there you will know and definitely remember
DontchaKnowit 1y ago
Lsd did it for me. Psilocybin was not spiritual at all. For me the "spiritual exlerience" was just a profound sense of gratefulness. And then the idea that god and objective truth are one and the same. Whatever that means
JesseMReeves 1y ago
I recently talked about LSD to a spiritual person (the western esotericism kind). He accidentally took a very high dose in his 20s and also read a bunch of books on the subject for a while, by Leary and so on. He equated it to a trip to the mirror maze, but nothing more. He doesn’t find it worth it and warns against it since for some people it lingers for too long. He is puzzled about people calling the experience „spiritual“ too.
- jajko 1y ago
  Set and setting can make or break the experience. Alone and -> introspection or in the crowd who will drag you along them? Looking around at patterns emerging or resting with eyes firmly closed letting your mind wander far and high? What kind of soothing music is in the background? And so on. For me and my several mushroom trips in the past (cca 1 standard dose, nothing over that but mixed with lemon which should shorten the trip while making it way more intense) all above made it extremely pleasant, very powerful with lasting effects, and also at the end of each very spiritual (while not changing me being agnostic, rather just confirming it). Once took a milder dose without lemon, and just sat in one of Amsterdam's parcs looking around - felt almost nothing compared to other trips, and dealing with reality, traffic, cyclists etc made it less than pleasant.
  - nathan_compton 1y ago
    I've enjoyed my experiences and find them very interesting, but I just don't feel any like they've revealed anything deep about life or the universe to me. Like from my point of view each moment of consciousness is bizarre, interesting, impossible to describe already. The experience of taking mushrooms or LSD doesn't really enhance or even change that fact.
ttoinou 1y ago
Take twice the dose in a safe environment with only your best friend
aqme28 1y ago
Try it alone, without a phone or a tv or anything particularly distracting.
tech_ken 1y ago
I think it's a mix of set and setting combined with people who have probably never taken any kind of drug aside from alcohol and maybe infrequent cannabis usage. People who take LSD "many times" usually come to it after already being able to handle themselves on some psychedelic substance, so the experience is less all-encompassing and more mundane. Some priest who's never even been contact high, sitting in a room with religious iconography and being prepped to experience something spiritual, seems likely to have a very different experience.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

esseph 1y ago

I know people personally that psilocybin, LSD, and other substances do nothing for. All of them also have existing mental health disorders (extreme generalized anxiety, depression, bipolar, etc.).

kbenson 1y ago
Nothing as in there is no outside noticeable change in behavior and they report no change in speaking, or nothing as it relates to the topic of this thread, in that they have no profound or spiritual experiences?
- esseph 1y ago
  They might get a slight body high even on what would otherwise be considered heroic doses for their weight. Things like lemon-tek to make the psilocybin more bioavailable were also not impactful to them, while being apparently extremely impactful for others.
  - vermilingua 1y ago
    It may be worth noting that antidepressant medication has a strong suppressing effect on psychedelics.
    - ghxst 1y ago
      Depends on the type! Generally might be true for SSRIs but not always for TCAs or lithium which can have the opposite effect. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8788508/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8788508/ (just one example)
    - esseph 1y ago
      Well aware and accounted for.
      - dymk 1y ago
        If they’re doing high doses of psychedelics and only experiencing a body high, then they’re either on a drug blocking its effects, or they’re not taking a 5HT2-A agonist. They simply do not just produce a body high at high doses, you will know when you’re tripping.
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 1y ago
        This isn't completely true. Tolerance to psychedelics is a thing, and can often ve extremely long lasting. I have a friend that when given heroic doses of 2C-B(50mg or more, orally), hardly experienced more than threshold level effects. This was 2C-B tested and confirmed to have 95% purity, and it affected me exactly as expected. He was not on any drugs except hash, which is typically synergistic. In his case, according to him he yad used 2C-B very heavily many years previously, and it seems he developed an extremely high level of tolerance which remained unchanged for many years of non-use. In the cases discussed in the thread, it's possible that something similar was happening. Indeed, many antidepressants also alter serotonin receptor expression over time, and it's plausible that in some people, these effects could linger for a long time.
        dymk 1y ago
        I agree in that case, long-term SSRI and psychedelic use complicates things. But in general, I would not say the literature points to tolerance being long lasting. Tolerance is built up quickly, and then quickly lost. There have been many (reproduced) studies on the effects of psychedelics and tolerance build up, and they show it doesn't last for more than a few weeks (psilocybin / LSD).
        mtlmtlmtlmtl 1y ago
        I'd be interested to see those studies. I think there could be a couple different types of tolerance, one of which only occurs with rather heavy use. It's something I've seen reported anecdotally from a number of people who've used psychedelics very heavily. It might not show up in human studies because of ethical concerns. There could be some interesting pharmacological differences too, where this only occurs with specific drugs. The psychedelics are quite varied in terms of pharmacodynamics beyond just the 5-HT-2 receptor subfamily.
jdenning 1y ago
Many psych meds diminish/block psychedelic effects.
tlavoie 1y ago
That could be an interaction with the meds they take for those conditions, couldn't it? I seem to recall that SSRIs in particular could mitigate the effects of the hallucinogen.
- esseph 1y ago
  Yes, also that was accounted for with doctors notice and slow tapers off medications over months.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
grigri907 1y ago
Fwiw I find that, due to my antidepressants, i need 3x the dose to have the equivalent experience as my friends.
nathan_compton 1y ago
I find mushrooms in particular delightful, just not deep.
- esseph 1y ago
  Higher dose.
  - throw-qqqqq 1y ago
    EXACTLY! The same to most of the posters with “meh-effects”: up the dose! LSD and psilocybin can be very psychedelic and hallucinogenic

t-3 1y ago

Agreed. I really enjoy both acid and shrooms, but beyond appreciating the fractal beauty of trees and the patterns in carpets a bit more I wouldn't describe them as anything life-changing, let alone some kind of spiritual awakening. MDMA is similarly hyped up, but no, I never felt "connected to the mass of humanity" or whatever people talk about, I just got high and danced while gritting my teeth and rubbing on my head.

crtified 1y ago
Decades ago I had the same type of what are people talking about?!, it's certainly not happening to me! surprise, regarding MDMA and the supposed wonders of dancing the night away. I felt the effects of the substance, but to me, nightclub dancing on MDMA still felt about as awkwardly-conscious, performative and unnecessary as it did without! I suspect it's similar with the spiritual stuff, in principle. That is, if you're typically not a personality who tends towards that stuff - spiritual connections and revelations and such - then perhaps no substance will necessary make you so.
- globular-toast 1y ago
  Set and setting. None of these drugs are like alcohol that just dulls the brain and lowers your IQ by 30 points. In a way you get what you're prepared to get. It sounds like the nightclubs you were going to weren't a good setting either. A club should never feel self-conscious or performative. You should be able to get lost in there with the music. The dancing shouldn't feel unnecessary but more of an obligation because the music is so good. If you feel its unnecessary and awkward sober then no drug will fix that except maybe alcohol. I to to clubs and dance 100% sober these days.
  - phrotoma 1y ago
    > you get what you're prepared to get For the folks who aren't sure what the rest of us are talking about, this is the important bit.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]

sev 1y ago

Dosage might play a factor, I presume.

timewizard 1y ago
Impurities as well.
nathan_compton 1y ago
I've taken enough to melt into the furniture.

denkmoon 1y ago

are you otherwise spiritual? I think that might be a prerequisite. Outside of spirituality did you have any experiences that were "profound" or "thought provoking"?

nathan_compton 1y ago
From my point of view all experiences are more or less equally strange and profound. I would describe the experience as interesting, moderately thought provoking, but not informative about any deep human question. From my point of view most people's "spiritual" musings are like putting a clown mask on the world.

comrade1234 1y ago

Same. The hallucinations are fun and the laughter and joy but at the same time I can tell, even though I'm tripping, that it's just my brain mixing up its wiring and nothing to do with god.

konfusinomicon 1y ago

it is there. in a former life ive only felt it under the spell of either of those substances mixed with others popular with today's party goers, but it is. very fleeting and hard to describe but I have the sparse memories of the feelings during the experiences and once you get there you will know and definitely remember

DontchaKnowit 1y ago

Lsd did it for me. Psilocybin was not spiritual at all. For me the "spiritual exlerience" was just a profound sense of gratefulness. And then the idea that god and objective truth are one and the same. Whatever that means

JesseMReeves 1y ago

I recently talked about LSD to a spiritual person (the western esotericism kind). He accidentally took a very high dose in his 20s and also read a bunch of books on the subject for a while, by Leary and so on. He equated it to a trip to the mirror maze, but nothing more. He doesn’t find it worth it and warns against it since for some people it lingers for too long. He is puzzled about people calling the experience „spiritual“ too.

jajko 1y ago
Set and setting can make or break the experience. Alone and -> introspection or in the crowd who will drag you along them? Looking around at patterns emerging or resting with eyes firmly closed letting your mind wander far and high? What kind of soothing music is in the background? And so on. For me and my several mushroom trips in the past (cca 1 standard dose, nothing over that but mixed with lemon which should shorten the trip while making it way more intense) all above made it extremely pleasant, very powerful with lasting effects, and also at the end of each very spiritual (while not changing me being agnostic, rather just confirming it). Once took a milder dose without lemon, and just sat in one of Amsterdam's parcs looking around - felt almost nothing compared to other trips, and dealing with reality, traffic, cyclists etc made it less than pleasant.
- nathan_compton 1y ago
  I've enjoyed my experiences and find them very interesting, but I just don't feel any like they've revealed anything deep about life or the universe to me. Like from my point of view each moment of consciousness is bizarre, interesting, impossible to describe already. The experience of taking mushrooms or LSD doesn't really enhance or even change that fact.

ttoinou 1y ago

Take twice the dose in a safe environment with only your best friend

aqme28 1y ago

Try it alone, without a phone or a tv or anything particularly distracting.

tech_ken 1y ago

I think it's a mix of set and setting combined with people who have probably never taken any kind of drug aside from alcohol and maybe infrequent cannabis usage. People who take LSD "many times" usually come to it after already being able to handle themselves on some psychedelic substance, so the experience is less all-encompassing and more mundane. Some priest who's never even been contact high, sitting in a room with religious iconography and being prepped to experience something spiritual, seems likely to have a very different experience.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]