Be Your Own Shaman: Science, Mysticism and Psilocybin - Paperback

by 333 Publishing (Author)

Religious and scientific research support the revolutionary idea that psilocybin has, can, and should be considered to be a very good thing for human beings, both individually as well as for any society that professes to sanctify Enlightenment Era notions such as liberty, fraternity, and equality. The pages that follow do not contain stories of "psychedelic experiences" from "psychonauts." This publication is broken into two interrelated sections that focus on psilocybin in the context of enduring humanistic concepts, namely science and religion. One of the goals of this text is to erode the duality, this false consciousness, between science and religion. Part one considers psilocybin in the realm of science. It is broken into four small chapters. Chapter one provides a short history of psilocybin as used in scientific research since the nineteenth century. Chapter two provides a concise neurological explanation of what scientists believe happens to the human brain and body when under the influence of psilocybin. Chapter three provides an explication of, based on research to date, the personal benefits of taking psilocybin. The fourth and final chapter in part one of the text provides a concise explication of the apparent societal benefits of taking psilocybin. Part two of the text delves into psilocybin in the realm of metaphysics, which includes a short history of the psilocybin containing mushroom as a sacrament used in ancient religious ceremonies. The second chapter in part two provides an examination of psilocybin as having aided in mystical and religious experiences amongst many who ingested it. These "mystical experiences" can be rather accurately qualified and quantified. The third chapter in part two delves into the legal status of psilocybin around the world, and provides some useful legal precedents that might help one craft a legal defense rooted in freedom of religion supposedly protected by the first amendment to the United States Constitution; a clause that might be of particular importance to anyone wishing to cultivate her own psilocybin for sacramental use. The text concludes with an extensive chapter that includes a step-by-step guide on producing your own psilocybin for sacramental use. These directions are followed by guidelines for usage.