The capstone project is meant to be a passion project. A project where you can choose to learn about any topic that you are fully passionate about. Not only as an indecisive person but as someone who struggles to know their core interests, picking a topic for this project was hard. I went through four different topics before finally finding something I was genuinely interested in. I decided to do my capstone project on Psychedelics. Now, I know what you are all thinking. The minute you hear Psychedelics, or drugs for that matter, your first reaction is how could this be academic? Should drugs be a topic appropriate for school? The paper below, however, does not talk about the recreational uses of the drug. I am in no way promoting the use of these drugs for people who are not using them for the right purposes. My capstone project dives into two possible positive uses for psychedelics: to incite spiritual awakenings and for the possible treatment of addiction and other mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. When I started my research, I was overwhelmed by the amount of research and writing done by scholars on this topic, but once I started ferreting through all of the articles I had found, it started to become clear that the two main points I make in the essay below were what grabbed my attention. I had less time to work on this project as I had hoped due to my constant indecisiveness in picking a topic, but in the end, I am glad I settled on a topic that I was interested in researching. I hope you enjoy it.
A Look Into the Possibilities of Psychedelics
There are many forms of illicit drugs that are considered to be psychedelic or hallucinogenic such as: LSD, Psilocybin, Mescaline, Peyote, ayahuasca, DMT, MDMA, and more. As of right now, psychedelics are illegal substances, so they are primarily used recreationally. However, they have positive capabilities when used in a legal setting. Our views about the ill effects of psychedelics on the brain have only been created by the circumstances in which people utilized the substance, not in the substance itself. When used recreationally people tend to take dosages that may be hurtful to their mind and body, while also having the mindset of simply wanting to get high. However, when taken for reasons of enlightenment and spiritual awakenings or when taken under medical supervision hallucinogenic drugs can be quite useful.
Alan Watts, who is known for adapting Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism for Western audiences, searches for what he calls the “essential and active ingredients of the mystical experience” (Watts 75). He was unsatisfied by the descriptions given by traditional masters of zen when asked about why certain practices would likely lead to a mystical experience. until the thought occurred to him that maybe he could use psychedelic substances to help him study and describe the mystical experience he found so compelling. He theorized that scientists using microscopes to aid in bacteriology work is no different than using psychedelic substances to study the basics of how mystical experiences come about. He reasoned that the microscope would be considered an "artificial and unnatural contrivance which might be said to distort the vision of the naked eye." This is the same as using psychedelics to uncover the truth about spiritual and mystical experiences (75). Watts was still, however, wary about the fact that a chemical could create a genuine mystical experience. His first experimentation with psychedelics (LSD-25) was done at the Neuropsychiatric Clinic at UCLA Medical school. Watts stated that this experience was not mystical, but was instead an "intensely interesting aesthetic and intellectual experience which challenged [his] powers of analysis" (75). The second time Watts experimented with LSD-25 in 1959 he remarked that the experience coincided with "every description of major mystical experiences that [he] had ever read" (76).
Watts is not interested in the visual and hallucination aspect of psychedelics, but instead focuses on an idea that is often a considerable part of psychedelics. The concept he is fascinated by is the problem of the self versus the whole and how we view ourselves as a functioning part of this world. When looking at the metaphysical side of tripping on LSD, four main characteristics present themselves: the slowing down of time, awareness of polarity, awareness of relativity, and awareness of eternal energy. The thought that time slows down when high on LSD seems like it would be scary or stressful, but what it allows users to do is become fully immersed in the present moment and entirely aware of life as it happens. LSD decreases one's obsession with the future, allowing them to "study the colors in a glass of water" or be able to notice the shapes and colors of sounds and music. Awareness of polarity is the second main characteristic. "By polar awareness, one sees, that things which are explicitly different are implicitly one" (77). Awareness of polarity gives you a heightened sense of how everything in the world goes together. More specifically, how some things can not exist without another, eventually leading to the realization that "you yourself are polarized with the external universe in such a way that you imply each other" without you, there is no universe, and without the universe, there is no you” (77). The third characteristic, awareness of relativity, in a sense, shows people the connection they have with all other life forms and how we are all one 'self.' Watts explains the awareness of relativity by stating that, "from this, it is but a short step to the realization that all forms of life and being are simply variations on a single theme: we are all, in fact, one being doing the same thing in as many different ways as possible" (78). The final characteristic, awareness of eternal energy, allows one to understand the idea that there is one single energy that unites us all. This idea of having an energy that flows through all of us is seen in the Eastern world—where the practice of mystical experiences is quite common without the reliance of psychedelics—known as qi or aura.
The psychedelic mystical experience opposes the religious and secular views of the western world, making many people wary of the use of psychedelics to instigate spiritual and mystical practices. This is because all western religions like Judaism or Christianity, which rely on a monarchical image of God, are threatened by any mystical experience in which people feel that they are one with God or the universe. However, Watts argues that denying mystic experiences will lead to our downfall, or it is within mystic experiences that we can start to understand "the basic unity of organism and environment" (82). This ignorance will lead to a separation between man and nature. In a world like ours, where humans hold "immense technological power," the need to conquer nature will rampage through our society. Mystic experiences, however, show us that it is necessary to cooperate rather than fight nature. This concept has become incredibly relevant in today's world. The race against climate change continues to progress with the odds against us, and it seems as though no amount of scare tactics will push society to make the changes that need to be made in order to save the planet that so graciously bears our race. Understanding that we are not separated individuals but are one collective will be crucial to reversing the "self-destroying course of industrial civilization."
Psychedelics, however, are not only used to become one with the earth or to get high: in the 1950s and ‘60s researchers started dipping their toes into the idea of using psychedelics as a medical treatment, but right as it was hitting “peak medical acceptance” all research and exploration into psychedelics was abruptly put on hold (Novak 99). Now, just over half a century later, research has begun picking up again due to “their unmatched ability to alter the way the brain processes signals” (Kupferschmidt 19). Research is now being conducted on LSD again as well as Psilocybin, the chemical found in magic mushrooms, Ecstasy, and even a drug from African plants called ibogaine. Each drug is being studied for different possible medical benefits. LSD is being looked into to treat anxiety and cluster headaches, Psilocybin to treat depression, OCD, and to help people quit addictive substances like alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine, Ecstacy to treat PTSD, and ibogaine to treat withdrawal from an opium addiction. Two different types of psychedelic therapy have emerged; the first explores “psychodynamic unconscious” while the other takes advantage of the “mystical or conversion experience” many undergo when under the influence of psychedelics. The first type is a part of a new movement called microdosing where you take a small dose of LSD, Mescaline, or Psilocybin which, when properly dosed, will skip the hallucinations but will still trigger the serotonin receptors in a less intense way which helps with anxiety and depression. Microdosing is also known for boosting your productivity and creativity levels; therefore, it has become popular among people who have very demanding jobs to microdose LSD or Psilocybin. Contrastingly, The second type of therapy relies very heavily on the hallucination aspect of psychedelics as it is thought “to be potentially helpful in reforming alcoholics and criminals as well as improving the lives of normal people” (Grinspoon and Doblin 680). This type of therapy is generally only prescribed once since the patient takes a full dose of acid. It uses the hallucinations to help patients explore other pathways in life that do not include their current addiction. In todays society people often use staying constantly busy as a crutch for avoiding feelings of suffering or pain. However, when using psychedelics as a medical treatment, people who are suffering can face those feelings head on and not be afraid to work through them. While research on these drugs is still very new, it looks as though our future maybe seeing an increase in the use of psychedelics in the medical community as well as those seeking personal enlightenment.
Bibliography:
Works cited
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