SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submitted via IRC for soylent_red
Recent years have seen a renewed interest in the clinical application of classic psychedelics in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. Researchers of the University of Zurich have now shown that mindfulness meditation can enhance the positive long-term effects of a single dose of psilocybin, which is found in certain mushrooms.
[...] Researchers at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich have now for the first time examined the potential synergistic effects of combining mindfulness meditation and psilocybin. The scientists recruited 40 meditation experts who were taking part in a five-day mindfulness retreat. In the double-blind study, the participants were administered either a single dose of psilocybin or a placebo on the fourth day of the group retreat. Using various psychometric and neurocognitive measurements, the team of researchers were able to show that mindfulness meditation increased the positive effects of psilocybin, while counteracting possible dysphoric responses to the psychedelic experience. "Psilocybin markedly increased the incidence and intensity of self-transcendence virtually without inducing any anxiety compared to participants who received the placebo," says first author Lukasz Smigielski, who conducted the study directed by UZH professor of psychiatry Franz Vollenweider.
[...] "Our findings shed light on the interplay between pharmacological and extra-pharmacological factors in psychedelic states of mind," says Vollenweider. "They indicate that mindfulness training enhances the positive effects of a single dose of psilocybin, and can increase empathy and permanently reduce ego-centricity. This opens up new therapeutic avenues, for example for the treatment of depression, which is often accompanied by increased self-focus and social deficits."
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191024075003.htm
Journal Reference: Lukasz Smigielski, Michael Kometer, Milan Scheidegger, Rainer Krähenmann, Theo Huber, Franz X. Vollenweider. Characterization and prediction of acute and sustained response to psychedelic psilocybin in a mindfulness group retreat. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50612-3
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @06:04PM (2 children)
Depends on the church!!
This little book seems to have slipped through the cracks, but it's an excellent guide for anyone so inclined, "Start your own religion" by Tim Leary, here's the first link I found with the text, I seem to remember that the printed book had some illustrations(?)
http://www.leary.ru/download/leary/Timothy%20Leary%20-%20Start%20Your%20Own%20Religion.pdf [leary.ru] (pdf)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @06:16PM (1 child)
He was optimistic about that part.
Most people don't have access to LSD, and there are dozens of similar but distinct analogues of the chemical being sold as LSD. Just like with all the fake MDMA and other fake drugs. That's neither tame, socialised, nor routine.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @06:49PM
> That's neither tame, socialised, nor routine.
Wooosh!
You missed the whole point. These days, mindfulness training might well be the sacrament of choice. It's a moving target, as soon as one goes mainstream it loses it's effect (or as you note, poor copies are the only versions available) and you need to find something new.
Met Leary a couple of times in the late 1980s in LA through a friend. He was razor sharp, very much doing his own thinking. At that time he was converting a "personality test" (for lack of a better term) into a computer game...in hopes that it might be the next thing, for awhile.