Michael Pollan

Yeah, I think a key word for what psychedelics do is connect you. And for me, it's about connecting to nature. It was connecting to people. And the reason that happens, I think is that psychedelics soften your ego. And the ego is, you know, ego is a walled structure, right? It's a barrier. It's a defensive structure.

That's right. They feel they're identical to their ego. But you're not. You're not. It's just one voice and it can get quiet. And one of the things that happens on psychedelics And we understand this neuroscientifically. There's a structure and a network in the brain called- You're not the voice, you're actually the observer.

That's right. They feel they're identical to their ego. But you're not. You're not. It's just one voice and it can get quiet. And one of the things that happens on psychedelics And we understand this neuroscientifically. There's a structure and a network in the brain called- You're not the voice, you're actually the observer.

That's right. They feel they're identical to their ego. But you're not. You're not. It's just one voice and it can get quiet. And one of the things that happens on psychedelics And we understand this neuroscientifically. There's a structure and a network in the brain called- You're not the voice, you're actually the observer.

There's a lot in common actually.

There's a lot in common actually.

There's a lot in common actually.

Yeah, but having done psychedelics, I became a better meditator because I understood, oh, this is where I'm trying to go. But this sense of, you know, your ego softening and in one case I had completely disappearing. I had a ego death experience, which I can tell you about.

Yeah, but having done psychedelics, I became a better meditator because I understood, oh, this is where I'm trying to go. But this sense of, you know, your ego softening and in one case I had completely disappearing. I had a ego death experience, which I can tell you about.

Yeah, but having done psychedelics, I became a better meditator because I understood, oh, this is where I'm trying to go. But this sense of, you know, your ego softening and in one case I had completely disappearing. I had a ego death experience, which I can tell you about.

When the ego goes down, there's nothing between you and nature or you and other people or you and the universe, and you feel like the sense of oneness.

When the ego goes down, there's nothing between you and nature or you and other people or you and the universe, and you feel like the sense of oneness.

When the ego goes down, there's nothing between you and nature or you and other people or you and the universe, and you feel like the sense of oneness.

Yeah, I mean, we wanna control ourselves and our environment. And if we're not completely, if we don't feel completely safe, we're not gonna let our minds travel. And the guide is looking out for your body. Roland Griffith used to say, you're going out to outer space, don't worry, we're right here, we're mission control. We'll keep an eye on your body. Yeah. So your mind can travel.

Yeah, I mean, we wanna control ourselves and our environment. And if we're not completely, if we don't feel completely safe, we're not gonna let our minds travel. And the guide is looking out for your body. Roland Griffith used to say, you're going out to outer space, don't worry, we're right here, we're mission control. We'll keep an eye on your body. Yeah. So your mind can travel.

Yeah, I mean, we wanna control ourselves and our environment. And if we're not completely, if we don't feel completely safe, we're not gonna let our minds travel. And the guide is looking out for your body. Roland Griffith used to say, you're going out to outer space, don't worry, we're right here, we're mission control. We'll keep an eye on your body. Yeah. So your mind can travel.

Yeah, I'm very hopeful that that is happening. We have a lot of research. We need more. But all the treatments we have, SSRIs, et cetera, really only deal with symptoms. They don't deal with causes. We have no drugs that deal with causes of mental illness and actually provide cures. And this, at least in these initial studies, And these are trials with a couple hundred people.

Yeah, I'm very hopeful that that is happening. We have a lot of research. We need more. But all the treatments we have, SSRIs, et cetera, really only deal with symptoms. They don't deal with causes. We have no drugs that deal with causes of mental illness and actually provide cures. And this, at least in these initial studies, And these are trials with a couple hundred people.

Yeah, I'm very hopeful that that is happening. We have a lot of research. We need more. But all the treatments we have, SSRIs, et cetera, really only deal with symptoms. They don't deal with causes. We have no drugs that deal with causes of mental illness and actually provide cures. And this, at least in these initial studies, And these are trials with a couple hundred people.

They're not huge yet. We're seeing positive and lasting results. You asked about OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. There was a trial at Yale using psilocybin and people had permanent relief. You know, one of the questions that I had myself is, wait a minute, this is a little suspicious. This one substance works on OCD and anxiety and depression and addiction and anorexia.