PSYCHEDELICS : THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE AND THE RISKS

By His Grace and blessing I write..

Psychedelics..The Present, The Future and the Risks…

Psychedelics ..why now?  In our last blog we were on a journey into the brief history of psychedelics.  In this blog I will take you through the current developments in psychedelics and why there is a revival of this field of study which has otherwise completely fallen out of favour. I will throw some light into the future promise and associated risks as well.

The 9/11, the world constantly at war with itself, the big corporate scandals , the financial market crash , the concentration of all wealth in the hands of a miniscule minority, the increasing chasms on communal lines, the threat of extinctions through climate change, problems of hunger, poverty and unemployment, surge in epidemics and lifestyle diseases in last 30 years or so , religious extremism and terrorism and violence, the perennial fear of existence and of the other, rise of fascist,  fundamentalist, incompetent, narcissist leaderships around the world and other factors like this have created a state of hopelessness for the majority of the population. Breakdown of all morality and value systems under the onslaught of a consumerist culture and social media and the naked display of the vile maxim… “All for myself and nothing for anyone else’ has created a disconnect within us. Human beings are looking /searching for a meaningful connect but the things they do and are made to believe in don’t seem to work. We are disconnected from earth, from each other, from a purposeful , a meaningful life and a healthy spiritually contended life. All this has created situation of neurotic breakdown. So we are a sick society of intelligent beings who have created conditions for our own self destruction. The problem that we face doesn’t only arise out of materialistic views of life but it seems to be more a result of the egotistical state of mind.

A whole field of psychiatry has also failed to deliver anything fruitful. Modern psychiatry and clinical psychology have been giving theories and applying various psycho analyses and psychiatric drugs to deal with mental sickness for more than a century. The problems are largely unaddressed and the understanding of human brain is still in a very primitive phase of development. Paul Greengard, a Nobel Laureate(in 2000) and best known for his work on “Molecular and Cellular functions of Neurons “ has stated …

” Psychiatrists have no real understanding of how the human brain works. Our weapons, our tools, our therapies, they are so primitive, because of our lack of understanding of how the human brain works”.

Dr Paul seems to be so correct when we look around.  Patients taking say anti depressants have never come out of these treatments. It looks more like a nexus between the big pharma and medical fraternity prescribing these drugs knowing fully well that they don’t work.

All of the above including the inadequacy of tools of modern clinical psychology has brought psychedelics back to the center stage. Research in psychedelics since the beginning of 21st century has yielded very promising results. Although most of this research is controlled and is done for therapeutic purposes, it has immensely benefitted the subjects of the research so far. Various scientific studies in the field of neuro sciences have yielded very positive evidence on efficacy of psychedelic substances. Psychedelic is all about connections. It activates our brains neural networks and forms newer connections with the self, gives us access to our unconscious minds, connects us with each other. Psychedelics like meditation have been found to affect our egotistical state thus relieving us of the false ego identities which is the root cause of all the problems that we face today.

Psychedelics …the future…

So far the recent research on psychedelics has yielded immensely positive results. Therapeutic results have been astonishing and very successful in treatment of many mental disorders. It’s time that we take advantage of, learn from and work with the knowledge that we already have. Psychedelics hold an immensely great potential and could help us mature as a species and may even assist in our survival with the Mother Nature or mother Ayaschua as Shamans call her in the Amazon. It seems that time has come that we once more take psychedelics seriously as an intellectual and aesthetic pursuit that can help us understand not only what consciousness is but what we humans really are and what we can become in our relation to the wonder that is nature.

Risks in the Future….

1. One of the risks involved with further developments in the field of psychedelics research lies in the fact that the number of variables involved is very large not making it very amenable to rigorous scientific experimentation. For every patient who undergoes a psychedelic treatment, experiences are unique. So it’s difficult to form an exact science when there is so much variability.
2. Most of the psychedelic research so far has been done under controlled conditions and under guidance of at least 2 professional guides. The results have been very encouraging. However, once we take these treatments to the street level it will be very difficult to find the trained professionals. That may or may not lead to as encouraging results. So training of medical staff is a prerequisite for any further progress in the field.
3. The most important risk is that there is huge value in this field. Corporates, the big pharma have started taking deep interest and are spending billions in creating artificial psychedelic substances. The whole knowledge will be caught in the patent and intellectual property regimes posing a grave threat to their availability to the common masses at large and also threaten the traditional wisdom conserved over thousands of years ( turmeric is a classic example)
4. Psychedelics are not very effective if the person is not under right framework of mind and is not open in his belief systems. Even if one is benefited, it may be difficult for one to integrate back in the society. Integration after treatment is a very important phase of these treatments and if one is not under proper guidance, he may fall back to the older ways of life and mind.

Conclusion; We are on the cusp of a psychedelic revolution. The present and future of psychedelics looks very bright and promising , if only we can walk this path with more caution and responsibility. It’s time that we as a human race make use of this ancient science revealed to us by  Mother Nature herself. The therapeutic and spiritual benefits of psychedelics are immense and can heal us psychologically and physiologically without any side effects or burden. The only need is to explore honestly and sincerely this ancient wisdom of the ages. The door to an inside journey is open…just show the courage to enter and change the world..

Image : This is an image of Claude Monet’s famous art work” A Field of Poppies” depicting a lady who feels so free in the field as if she is into a psychedelic experience…freedom from egotistical state is bliss.

By His Grace and Blessings I will continue writing ….

Dr. Seema Chaudhary