Psychedelics in the Beehive conference

[Hagoth]

Paul Stamets, who you might know from the Fantastic Fungi documentary, will be the keynote speaker at the Psychedelics in the Beehive conference this Friday at the Grand America Hotel. Paul is a mycologist and one of the biggest names in psychedelics. If you're interested in psychedelics and their fascinating place in Zion, or looking for personal therapeutic services, this is the place to be. I went last year and was amazed that about a third of the participants were mental health professionals. And, of course, almost everyone there is or was Mormon. Interesting stuff is happening, folks.

https://psychedelicsinthebeehive.org/register

Conference tickets are normally $100, but if you use the sacred token MUSHLOVE50 you'll get in for $50.

[Red Ryder]

Sounds interesting.

[Hagoth]

Sounds interesting.

It was. It sold out the huge ballroom at the SLC Grand America. By the raise of hands it was about 75-80% ex/post/inactive Mormon and about 5-10% active Mormon.

Last week I had lunch with a guy who is an active believing Mormon who had reached the end of his rope with treatment resistant depression. Finally, after getting approval from his Elders Quorum President, his Bishop, and his Stake President, he found a psychedelic therapist and did a psilocybin session. It relieved his depression and changed his life so dramatically he is now planning to become a certified therapist himself and offer free therapy to Mormons-only.

For whatever reason, Mormons seem to resonate with this realm more than most groups, once they get past the War on Drugs stigma. At some point I suppose the church is going to have to take a stand one way or the other. I hope they don't, and just trust people to be grown up enough to look out for their own wellbeing. But considering that they are still sending members to Visions of Glory therapists (a friend of mine was referred to Thom Harrison's network just last week) that's probably wishful thinking.

[Cnsl1]

Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing, Hagoth. I wish I lived close enough to attend.

It will be interesting if or how "the brethren" will respond to questions about psilocybin. Surely they've been asked already. Lord knows that many Mormons will not make any kind of a hard decision on their own without asking for counsel. I knew a couple who asked their bishop whether or not they should have more kids.

Anyway, my guess would be that the church will respond as they did with questions about cannabis: If prescribed by a medical doctor, it's acceptable. Which is a nice and deflective way to say, sorry kids. You can't get a real prescription for it since it's federally illegal. Still, that did leave open a possibility, or at least the pretense of a possibility, and it's probably the safest answer they could have given and still hold true to the articles of faith.

Someone might say, well I heard about a guy in Utah who got approval from his EQ pres, Bishop, and stake president to use psilocybin, but their bishop and stake pres might be a little more hard nosed. I think eventually the church will have to come out and make a statement, and it'll probably arrive quietly like the cannabis statement, and might be ignored by some of the more liberal saints but held tightly by the majority.

Many don't realize that Nelson made a statement about green tea. A few years back there was some chatter about maybe opening up coffee as an acceptable Mormon beverage but that was shot down hard taking green tea with it. I knew some folks who felt they had to repent after that. And I know several faithful TBMs who don't read the labels closely and are consuming green tea guilt free on a regular basis. I'm not gonna tell them.

[Hagoth]

A few years back there was some chatter about maybe opening up coffee as an acceptable Mormon beverage but that was shot down hard taking green tea with it. I knew some folks who felt they had to repent after that.

Green tea is probably the healthiest thing you could possibly put in your body. Too bad it's evil.

Meanwhile, shops are popping up all over Utah where you can buy sodas with additional sugar added, because they're just not sweet enough I guess, and the energy drinks continue to fly off the shelves.

Psilocybin is about as toxic and addictive as skim milk.

[Red Ryder]

[moksha]

But considering that they are still sending members to Visions of Glory therapists (a friend of mine was referred to Thom Harrison's network just last week) that's probably wishful thinking.

If the Church had some means of controlling the psychedelic visions to the point that it was assured of regular tithing deposits into its investment account, I think the Brethren would heartily endorse the psychedelic therapy.

The tithing must flow.

[Hermey]

Psilocybin is about as toxic and addictive as skim milk.

Thanks again for reaching out, Hagoth. I'm so glad I went. It was really interesting. The part I enjoyed the most was at the very end when Stamets shared his most meaningful (or whatever) journey. I was just blown away. Any idea if they recorded that or not?

[Hagoth]

Any idea if they recorded that or not?

I think they did. My friend Chad had cameras set up and told me he had been tasked with video recordings. I guess keep and eye on thedivineassembly.org for updates. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

[Ghost]

Looks like you can find the recording here:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheDivineAssembly

[Hermey]

Looks like you can find the recording here:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheDivineAssembly

Yessss!! Hearing his account of that journey was the highlight of the evening for me. Glad I hadn't left early.

[Hagoth]

Looks like you can find the recording here:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheDivineAssembly

Thanks for sharing that, Ghost!

[Angel]

"What the researchers found was significant: The psychedelic led to a major drop in synchronicity in a brain network known as the "default mode network." This circuit of connected brain regions spans structures called the thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum and hippocampus. It's most active when people are self reflecting and letting their minds wander but not engaging in a specific task.

"That was the network that was most altered by psilocybin," Siegel said. "And in fact, that fits with how we think about the psychedelic experience — with this idea of ego dissolution and distortion of the sense of space and time."

https://www.livescience.com/health/neur ... se-of-self

... small # of research subjects, but interesting none the less. I guess I'm independent, only child, value self-reliance and so value self-reflection, am a day dreamer, appreciate reflection.

Such strange things, our minds.

[Hagoth]

"What the researchers found was significant: The psychedelic led to a major drop in synchronicity in a brain network known as the "default mode network." This circuit of connected brain regions spans structures called the thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum and hippocampus. It's most active when people are self reflecting and letting their minds wander but not engaging in a specific task.

"That was the network that was most altered by psilocybin," Siegel said. "And in fact, that fits with how we think about the psychedelic experience — with this idea of ego dissolution and distortion of the sense of space and time."

And parts of your brain that normally don't connect because they don't share the same circuits are suddenly free to talk to each other. But some brain circuits can also be specifically activated by psychedelics. Michael Ferguson of Brigham and Women's Neurospirituality Lab captured images a "spirituality circuit" in the brains of people scanned at the moment of having a spiritual experience. Robin Carhart Harris observed this same circuit activate as a result of psilocybin. It is a real, observable, and measurable neurological event, and psychedelics can create the same spiritual brain activity as prayer, meditation, hymn singing, etc. but more reliably and often much more profoundly.

We are going to see a dramatic rise in the number of psychedelic churches as this becomes more apparent to people and as they leave traditional churches looking for religion that is relevant in the 21st century. The Divine Assembly, the humble little Utah church, has 15,000 members across 7 continents.

[Angel]

Paul Stamets, who you might know from the Fantastic Fungi documentary, will be the keynote speaker at the Psychedelics in the Beehive conference this Friday at the Grand America Hotel. Paul is a mycologist and one of the biggest names in psychedelics. If you're interested in psychedelics and their fascinating place in Zion, or looking for personal therapeutic services, this is the place to be. I went last year and was amazed that about a third of the participants were mental health professionals. And, of course, almost everyone there is or was Mormon. Interesting stuff is happening, folks.

https://psychedelicsinthebeehive.org/register

Conference tickets are normally $100, but if you use the sacred token MUSHLOVE50 you'll get in for $50.

"What the researchers found was significant: The psychedelic led to a major drop in synchronicity in a brain network known as the "default mode network." This circuit of connected brain regions spans structures called the thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum and hippocampus. It's most active when people are self reflecting and letting their minds wander but not engaging in a specific task.

"That was the network that was most altered by psilocybin," Siegel said. "And in fact, that fits with how we think about the psychedelic experience — with this idea of ego dissolution and distortion of the sense of space and time."

And parts of your brain that normally don't connect because they don't share the same circuits are suddenly free to talk to each other. But some brain circuits can also be specifically activated by psychedelics. Michael Ferguson of Brigham and Women's Neurospirituality Lab captured images a "spirituality circuit" in the brains of people scanned at the moment of having a spiritual experience. Robin Carhart Harris observed this same circuit activate as a result of psilocybin. It is a real, observable, and measurable neurological event, and psychedelics can create the same spiritual brain activity as prayer, meditation, hymn singing, etc. but more reliably and often much more profoundly.

We are going to see a dramatic rise in the number of psychedelic churches as this becomes more apparent to people and as they leave traditional churches looking for religion that is relevant in the 21st century. The Divine Assembly, the humble little Utah church, has 15,000 members across 7 continents.

I've experienced it, both in church, and with res frnds.

I guess I'm becoming a bitter militant athiest, see any kind of spiritual experience as grooming, false, abusive.

Shooms- at first, it was fun, felt clairvoyant but then tried to do math hw, couldn't solve a single problem so realized feeling "smart" was false, I wasn't "smart", it robbed me of my mind. Our mind plays tricks on us, makes us trust ppl we should not have trusted, will trick us into believing - really believing- total crap. So many ways to manipulate our mind. Nothing to trust, nothing is believable. I guess the only peace comes through letting go, not believing anything, not attached to anything. Comfortably numb (no drugs needed)