Meditation: The Controlled Psychophysical Self-Regulation Process That Works

Jump to Section

Jump to Section

The sense of spiritual consciousness, connecting to something greater than oneself, is one of the most intoxicating realms a human can enter. Across the millennia such experiences have shaped the lives of individuals and, upon occasion, whole cultures. The experiences and their effects are historical fact. The question for science is not to deny them, but to seek to understand the processes by which they occur, and the domain into which they lead us. Central to these true stories is a special state of mindfulness, what the psychologist Charles Tart described in his classic 1972 Science paper as a state of consciousness.1

Whether it is a physicist achieving understanding of a physical principle, a spiritual pilgrim having an epiphany, a great painter or composer creating a masterpiece, or a remote viewer describing a teacup hidden in a closet, all report that when the experience is happening, when they feel that they are “in the zone” they are in a state of nonlocal consciousness. They experience themselves as being in a domain in which space and time are just informational enrichers, not limitations. They all report a timeless spaceless connection to something greater. For each the experience is modulated by their context and their intention, but regardless of whether they are physicists, painters, or meditators, it is essentially the same.

Although such experiences occur spontaneously only once or a few times in an individual life, almost every human culture has discovered they can be evoked and has developed practices, usually in a spiritual or religious context, for attaining this state. Similarly, all the martial arts have this component of mindful discipline, a practice of focusing intentioned awareness. Collectively, we have come to call these practices meditation.

This ability to open to nonlocal consciousness is a function of coherence, that is, intentioned awareness, and the ability to focus. There are two ways people achieve this state on a regular basis — one negative, the other positive — and the outcomes are quite different. The negative way is through the development of neurotic obsessions that compel us to such focus — this is, the realm of psychiatry. It can cause great pain and dysfunctionality. The positive way is the kind of training that comes from the consistent practice of meditation.

Of all the things that you can do to come to know yourself, nothing will serve you as well as developing the practice of meditation. Although meditation is often associated with Asian cultures, it is not Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Satanic, or any faith at all. It can be done in the name of any of these faiths, or without faith in a religion — as distinct from a spiritual sense. It is a single term defining many practices, some of which have no spiritual component whatever.

The purpose these paths — whether Christian, Muslim, or something else — all share is they are designed to give practitioners a measure of focused control over mind and body. Inevitably the paths incorporate some model of nonlocal consciousness, because the experience of mind connected to a greater whole is virtually universal among long-time meditators. Empirical observation across millennia has vouchsafed this effect. One ancient source of particular interest is the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, which date at least to the second century BCE. The Sutras speak at length about moving into nonlocal awareness through meditation.

Psychologist William Braud, who has made a particular study of this, notes: “The sixth, seventh, and eight ‘limbs’ of ashtanga Yoga are dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (profound absorption), respectively.”2

The Patanjali source refines this further, Braud explains. “The repeated continuation, or uninterrupted stream of that one point of focus is called absorption in meditation (dhyana), and is the seventh of the eight steps (tatra pratyaya ekatanata dhyanam).” When these three are practiced together, the composite process is called samyama.

Samyama might be translated as constraint; thorough, complete, or perfect restraint; or full control; it might also be translated as communion or mind-poise. Samyama conveys a sense of knowing through being or awareness through becoming what is to be known. Through mastery of samyama comes insight (prajna), and through its progressive application, in stages, come knowledge of the Self and of the various principles of reality (tattvas). With increasing yogic practice come a variety of mystical, unitive experiences, states, conditions, or fulfillments — the various samadhis-along with the attainments or powers (siddhis).”2

Although couched in Buddhist terms the Putanjali Sutras describe the same insights and processes concerning nonlocal functioning that modern research has discovered. For the first time in what I believe will be seen as one of history’s great confluences, the practices of the spiritual and martial traditions and the practices of science have found common ground, and reached the same conclusions.

The Physical Effects of Meditation on the Brain

Over 1,000 papers have been published on Meditation in the peer-reviewed literature between 2006 and 2009. There is not one meditation literature, but multiple branches in several disciplines, from physics to pastoral, concentrating on everything from using meditation to end addiction,3 to symptom reduction in Fibromyalgia.4 Much of the research particularly focuses on stress reduction, sleep problems, and attention issues. But I want to concentrate in this essay principally on the emerging evidence on the lasting effects meditation has on our neuroanatomy, particularly our brains.

By 2004 it was already well established that electroencephalogram patterns of meditators were different than nonmeditators. But the question was, did this mean there was enduring fundamental change in the brains of meditators? To answer this question a team at the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, headed by Sara Lazar used MRI to scan the brains of long-term meditators to see if the physical structure of their brains really were different. In 2005, they reported their findings in Neuroreport:5

Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Between-group differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning. Finally, the thickness of two regions correlated with meditation experience. These data provide the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.

In 2009, at the Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, at Denmark’s Aarhus University Peter Vestergaard-Pulsen led a team seeking to explore the effects of long-term meditation on brain structure. They found, as they reported in their paper in Neuroreport:6

Using magnetic resonance imaging, we observed higher gray matter density in lower brain stem regions of experienced meditators compared with age-matched nonmeditators. Our findings show that long-term practitioners of meditation have structural differences in brainstem regions concerned with cardiorespiratory control. This could account for some of the cardiorespiratory parasympathetic effects and traits, as well as the cognitive, emotional, and immunoreactive impact reported in several studies of different meditation practices.

Half a world away and a few months later that same year a research team at the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine publishing in Neuroimage reported:7

. . . meditation practice has been shown not only to benefit higher-order cognitive functions but also to alter brain activity. Nevertheless, little is known about possible links to brain structure. Using high-resolution MRI data of 44 subjects, we set out to examine the underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation with different regional specificity (i.e., global, regional, and local). For this purpose, we applied voxelbased morphometry in association with a recently validated automated parcellation approach. We detected significantly larger gray matter volumes in meditators in the right orbito-frontal cortex (as well as in the right thalamus and left inferior temporal gyrus when co-varying for age and/or lowering applied statistical thresholds). In addition, meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the right hippocampus. Both orbito-frontal and hippocampal regions have been implicated in emotional regulation and response control. Thus, larger volumes in these regions might account for meditators’ singular abilities and habits to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in mindful behavior. We further suggest that these regional alterations in brain structures constitute part of the underlying neurological correlate of long-term meditation independent of a specific style and practice.

The work of Yi-Yuan Tang of Dalian University of Technology in China and Michael Posner of the University of Oregon will end my short survey. Their work confirmed once again that meditation literally changes one’s brain. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science in August 2010 at the University of Oregon 45 volunteers were assigned to either an integrative body-mind training (IBMT) for meditation or a control group that did only a relaxation program.8 In scanning the brains of both groups after training they found that the brains of those individuals who engaged in the IBMT form of meditation showed greater change than those who just used a relaxation technique and that:8

. . . 11 h(ours) of IBMT increases fractional anisotropy (FA), an index indicating the integrity and efficiency of white matter in the corona radiata, an important white-matter tract connecting the ACC to other structures. Thus IBMT could provide a means for improving self-regulation and perhaps reducing or preventing various mental disorders.

Note the time for changes in brain structure to occur — only 11 hours.


Meditation, Pain, Stress Reduction, and Memory

In June 2010, writing in Brain, Christopher Brown and Arthur Jones of the Human Pain Research Group at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, reported the results of a study designed to assess what they called “affective appraisal of pain.” They did this by inflicting pain produced by a laser on a control group as well as an experienced meditator group. They found:9

More experienced meditators perceived the pain as less unpleasant relative to controls, with meditation experience correlating inversely with unpleasantness ratings. ERP source data for anticipation showed that in meditators, lower activity in mid-cingulate cortex relative to controls was related to the lower unpleasantness ratings, and was predicted by lifetime meditation experience. Meditators also reversed the normal positive correlation between medial prefrontal cortical activity and pain unpleasantness during anticipation. Meditation was also associated with lower activity in S2 and insula during the painevoked response, although the experiment could not disambiguate this activity from the preceding anticipation response.

The Human Pain Research Group reflects the sentiment of a growing number of researchers exploring the mind-body relationship when Dr. Brown says, “Meditation is becoming increasingly popular as a way to treat chronic illness such as the pain caused by arthritis. Recently, a mental health charity called for meditation to be routinely available on the NHS to treat depression, which occurs in up to 50% of people with chronic pain. However, scientists have only just started to look into how meditation might reduce the emotional impact of pain.”10

This issue of pain control through psychophysical self-regulation is far from an academic consideration. In the United Kingdom, 40% of the people with chronic pain report they get inadequate support for the management of their pain, and the treatments offered do not work.3 In the United States, it is not so very different. Pain management is a multibillion dollar business with problematic outcomes. Meditation can make a difference.

The role of meditation in stress reduction is so well described that I will do no more than mention the general effect, and focus on what may be meditation’s greatest gift to this generation: its effectiveness in helping troops cope with the horrors of modern asymmetrical warfare, and to recover from the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which afflicts so many thousands of them.

Vanessa Gregory, writing in Men’s Journal, paints a picture of how meditation has entered the Marine Corps:11

Two summers ago at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, a group of reservists prepared for a tour of duty in Iraq. Twelve-hour days were jammed with rifle qualifications, counterinsurgency training, emergency medical courses, and — last but not least — moments spent in total silence. “You’d see men sitting in the lotus position in their field uniforms with rifles across their backs,” recalls Major Jason Spitaletta. The Marines were part of a study, partially funded by the Department of Defense, testing what’s best described to the layperson as meditation’s potential to increase the mind’s performance under the duress of war.

The kind of meditation the Marines are taught, a nonsectarian focusing, has been confirmed in other research to make a significant difference in lowering stress, improving one’s capacity for empathy — empathy is much more natural when one has experienced all life as interconnected and interdependent — and to increase the power of one’s memory.

Sara Lazar’s group at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program continues to probe the effects of mediation on the brain structure, and they have discovered that “Participating in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.12

Lazar says, “Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day. This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”12

Meditation and Mysticism

Meditation is definitely associated with mysticism, the inner path to experiencing transcendence. It is a foundation of most spiritual paths of Asian origin, and with good reason. The same rational empirical basis by which these cultures developed acupuncture and the martial arts led them also to develop inner-listening practices. They observed over generations that there is a positive benefit to developing such inward-looking skills. But it is equally true that meditation lies at the heart of the inner-wisdom of both Judaism — particularly the cabalistic practices — and Christianity.

Psalm 19:14: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord.
Psalm 49:3: My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

The practice of meditation is also at the core of the Sufi schools of Islam, to non-Moslems the best known adherents of which are the dervishes. It is part of the traditions of pre-Columbian American cultures as well. The extended awareness of the Vision Quest is one example of it use, and it goes on and on across the rainbow of human culture. It is notable how similar so many of these rituals are: the use of repetition — saying aloud, or in one’s mind, sounds or words or phrases. Sometimes it is not even a word, just the sibilant sound of the breath as it moves in and out of one’s lungs. It is this focus on a repetitive sound that helps produce the effect.

A decade ago it was already clear to Harvard researcher physician Herbert Benson, MD, who has conducted studies seeking to understand how the mind affects the body during meditation and prayer for over 40 years, that for “For Buddhists, prayer is meditation. For Catholics, it’s the rosary. For Jews, it’s called dovening. For Protestants, it’s centering prayer. Every single religion has its own way of doing it.”13 Whatever it is called, and however it is done, meditation almost inevitably produces the sense of connection with a greater whole, and often very clear experiences of nonlocal consciousness.

Neurologist Olaf Blanke of the University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland, for instance, published a paper in Brain describing how the brain generates out-of body experiences.14
All of it, collectively, presents us with a picture of the complex brain activity associated with meditation. As meditators go deeper and deeper into their discipline, although the body calms, intense activity occurs in the parietal lobe of the brain. This portion of your brain controls your physical orientation in space and is responsible for making the distinction between your sense of “self” and the outer world, that which is other than “you.” Dr. Blanke argues that all the lobes of the brain play a part in something as complex as religious experience, but that the temporoparietal junction is a prime node of that network.

Symbols, Mantras, and Numinosity

This all-brain experience is stimulated by sense impressions we have, and the meanings we associate with them. Perhaps this explains the widespread use, throughout human history, of the use of symbols and phrases such as mantras or set prayers.

Meditation research over the past four decades has documented a kind of deep “stillness” that affects the entire brain. When this occurs, the frontal and temporal lobe circuits — which track time and create self-awareness — seemingly disengage. The mind-body connection dissolves. The limbic system is responsible for assigning emotional values to persons, places, everything in our total life experience. This assignment is based on a complex set of stimulus responses that collectively give something the quality I call numinous, using it in the sense Swiss psychoanalytical pioneer Carl Jung used it, “We should not be in the least surprised if the empirical manifestations of unconscious contents bear all the marks of something illimitable, something not determined by space time. This quality is numinous … numina are psychic entia …15

Because the limbic system, among other things, regulates relaxation and ultimately controls the autonomic nervous system, heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism, it produces both emotional and physiological effects when you react to the numinous quality of a specific object, person, or place. These reactions produce real emotional and physiological states. This is why your hair “stands on end,” your skin “crawls,” your stomach “lurches,” or your heart “beats faster.”

Our responses are more complex than they may first appear. For instance, one might react not only to a single example of a category but the category itself, because memory also interacts with the limbic system. For example, if you are an avid baseball fan you might react to the specific baseball you caught at a big league game when you were a child. But you might also have a reaction, although perhaps not as strong, to any baseball. Or, if you were arrested as a youth, you may react to any picture of any policeman. If you were frightened by a graveyard as a child, a picture of a cemetery could evoke a response. Because meditation affects the limbic system, developing the discipline allows one to become more volitionally in control of these responses. The practice has a calming effect that leaves us relaxed and physiologically more evenly regulated. This, in turn, allows us to be coherently focused because we are less distracted by our inner dialogue and emotions, as well as our physiological responses.

Meditation Techniques

The physical, emotional, and mental benefits reported for those who meditate, in comparison with control populations who do not, make developing the practice an important positive life decision. But how to do it? There are literally hundreds of techniques.

I do have to proffer one warning. People who use any meditation technique tend, over time, to change their world view. They come to feel they are not alone, that all life is interconnected and interdependent, and that this life network, including themselves, is connected to something profoundly good that is greater than themselves. If it is important to you to remain a materialist, and/or an atheist, meditation may be something you do not want to undertake.

I should also say that meditation is at once the simplest and hardest thing you will ever do. It is simple to do it a single time, or even for a week or two, but it is hard to do as a regular practice. Research has shown that most of what we do during our waking hours is unconscious reactive behavior. Presented with a person of a different race, or religion, or ethnic background, or sexual orientation, or social status, or economic group, we immediately have an entire set of programs that kick in to tell us how to react. What passes for thought about this person is really, upon closer examination, little more than running the program until you fit them into the appropriate category so that a judgment can be made as to how to react to them. It is the same with food, or clothes, or music, or pets, or cars. We each have thousands of these little subroutines, little bots that run our lives down to the smallest detail. The energy they have to do this comes from ourselves, and they are defensive of their prerogatives. When you try to reclaim this delegated autonomy, and to integrate yourself so that your choices are made consciously and not by the bots, they will fiercely resist.

Like the story of the Golem, a creature of legend said to be created by mystical Jewish alchemists to defend their community, the bots live only to serve as programmed. The reality is, however, that there is a price for their service: resistance to reasserting your core autonomy. Meditation focuses you, independent of your religious or spiritual views. It reclaims autonomy and allows you to live in what most spiritual traditions call the “now,” by which is meant you make a decision freed from the drag of biases derived from the past, or in anticipation of a particular future. However you choose to practice it, meditation will subtly but unquestionably change you and make you feel more in control of your life, and will help you make choices that are actually what you want and not what the bots want. On the basis of the evidence accumulated through research to date, the practice of meditation will also make it easier for you to be consciously aware of the nonlocal linkage that lies at the core of your beingness.

Here is the technique that I have developed and personally used for almost four decades. It imposes no beliefs, it offends the tenets of no religion, and one need not be religious to use it. I want to be clear here. This is but one technique of the many available. If you find something else that works better, do it. The important point is to develop the habit of daily meditation.

1. Choose a regular time: Select a time each day when you can sit undisturbed for 20 minutes. No phones. No interruptions. No unnecessary stimulus from radio or television. You will probably find that this becomes the busiest time of the day. After a few weeks you will suddenly have any number of things that your mind tells you must be done only during those 20 minutes. Do not give way. Persevere.

2. Select a spot: Select a spot in your house or office that you use for your meditation session. You are creating your own sacred space. Doing so in conscious awareness that this is what you are doing, is part of the process.

3. Find a Central Phrase: There is some phrase or sentence you have heard or read that has deeply impressed you, or with which you resonate or wish to align yourself. It might be something from the Bible, or a favorite book. Or a verse in a song, or poem. It should be something that has a strong positive association in your mind, whether or not it would make sense to another person.

4. Keep your phrase a secret: If you tell others about this they will say your word, and share with you their attitude about your choice. When you go to say it their words, their views, may intrude into your mind. Their pronunciation, their intonation may be what you hear. By choosing your phrase you empower it as a goal to which you aspire; keep it a secret.

5. Examine your life: Consider where you are, and where you aspire to be. Consider this from the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Look for patterns. In considering the physical, let’s say you overeat. It has been a life-long problem. This is the negative. The positive is you wish to eat consciously only foods that are good for you and in appropriate amounts. Reduce the pattern of behavior or response you have identified in yourself, and wish to change, to a word or a phrase. Pick words or phrases fitting each of the levels.

6. Draw a bulls-eye: Draw a bulls-eye with four concentric circles of increasing diameter. Label in the innermost circle “spiritual,” the next “emotional,” next “mental” and finally, “physical.” I have split the emotional and the mental because research suggests, and my own experience confirms, that they are often confused. When people are asked how they feel, they often respond by saying what they think. “How do you feel about what your friend just did?” “I don’t think she should have said that to me.” That’s thinking. “I feel surprised and hurt that she has never told me this before.” That’s feeling.

7. Choose four words of intentioned purpose: Reduce those patterns to four words or phrases. Words or phrases that embody all the energy you have invested in these patterns, and your aspirations to make their positive aspects the reality of your life. In their appropriate circle write in the words of intentioned purpose you have chosen. An emotional pattern might be that you feel you allow your partners to disregard your feelings, and then you feel angry. The positive of this might be that you will say what your feelings are, and choose only to be involved with people who will acknowledge them. Your word might be “feelings.” Be as honest as you can, and don’t tell anyone about it, or you will lie to yourself. A mental pattern might be your sense that you do not think clearly enough about some task you have set yourself, so your word might be “clarity.”

A spiritual pattern might be your sense of separation. An existential sense of alienation. In this case your word might be “oneness. When you have carefully chosen your words or phrases expressing your intentioned purpose-and this may take you days, or even weeks to work them all out-keep them secret.” For this technique to work you must be absolutely as honest as you can be, and I have found this is hard for most people to do when others know these things about them.

8. Once a day in your chosen place, at your chosen time, be present to meditate for 20 minutes: Sit comfortably. Loosen collars, belts, or shoe laces; anything that constricts.

9. Look at a watch or clock: Visualize the hands as they will be in 20 minutes: you will be surprised at how accurate you become, and this time estimating skill will carry over to other aspects of your life. Many meditators regularly give themselves the suggestion to awaken at a certain time, and need no alarm clock.

10. Say your Central Phrase in your mind: Repeat it. Repeat it again. Wait. For awhile there will be nothing. Then you will find thoughts bubbling up. If the thoughts pertain to your phrase — whether anyone else would think they did or not does not matter — think them. After awhile you will find your thoughts wandering to matters that do not, in your estimation, have anything to do with your Central Phrase. When this happens, stop. Clear your mind. Take a deep breath. Say your Central Phrase again. Then again. Then stop. There will be nothing for awhile. After a bit thoughts will bubble up. If the thoughts pertain to your Central Phrase, think them. After awhile they will wander to other topics. When that happens repeat the process again. In the course of a single session you may have to do this several times but, over time, you will find you need to do it less and less often.
Your thoughts may give you great insight into something going on in your life, or about which you are thinking. But it is in the periods of “silence” that the really interesting events in meditation occur. It is here that the transcendent experiences that change people’s lives take place. When these experiences will happen cannot be predicted, but they will happen. What happens has to be experienced to be understood.

11. Close with your words of intentioned purpose: At the end of your session slowly say in your mind your “physical” word or phrase of power. Pause a moment. Then say your “emotional” word or phrase. Then your “mental” one and, finally, your spiritual word or phrase. It might help to visualize the words going out like arcs of light, or that you are plugging into a greater whole. Whatever works best, do that. Over time you will find that one or the other of your words or phrases will go “flat,” as if the energy has gone out of it. Some words and phrases will go flat in weeks, others may take years before they need to be retired. It depends on you and the dance of your life. When this happens examine your life again. You may find that the goal you sought with that word has been attained. The change is usually subtle, and the transformation so gradual you have hardly noticed. But now you are there. When this happens select a new word or phrase in the same way as the earlier one, and begin again. Using this technique you can transform your life.
There will come a time when even your Central Phrase goes “flat.” When this happens consider what has changed. Really come to understand it. Make it part of your conscious life. Then select a new Central Phrase, and begin the process again.

Conclusion

There are a lot of things one might say about what is happening to you physiologically during meditation, but this can be summed up by saying that your brain changes, your blood chemistry changes, your stress level goes down, your muscles relax, your heart beat slows, your blood pressure decreases, and your sense of well-being increases. Not bad for 20 minutes.

Meditation gives you the ability to focus. Its reward is a kind of mental coherence that is hard to achieve in other ways, and it is this coherence that seems to bestow spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health on long-time meditators. If you will commit to a daily practice for just 90 days, I believe you will find good reasons for continuing.

References

1.    Tart C. States of consciousness and state-specific sciences. Science. 1972;176:1203-1210

2.    Schwartz S, Dossey L. Nonlocality, intention, and observer effects in healing studies. September/October 2010, 6:295-305 doi:10.1016/j.explore.2010.06.011. Also in Miller, L., ed. Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2012 (in press)

3.    Priester PE, Scherer J, Steinfeldt JA, et al. The frequency of prayer, meditation and holistic interventions in addictions treatment: a national survey. Pastoral Psychol. 2009;58:1-8

4.    Lush E, Salmon P, Floyd A, Studts JL, Weissbecker I, Sephton SE. Mindfulness meditation for symptom reduction in fibromyalgia: psychophysiological correlates. J Clin Psychol Med Set. 2009;16:200-207

5.    Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, et al. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005;16:1893-1897

6.    Vestergaard-Poulsen P, van Beek M, Skewes J, et al. Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem. Neuroreport. 2009;20:170-174

7.    Luders E, Toga AW, Lepore N, Gaser C. The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. Neuroimage. 2009;45:672-678

8.    Tang Y-Y, Lu Q, Geng X, Stein E, Yang Y, Posner M. Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010;107:15649-15652

9.    Brown CA, Jones AK. Meditation experience predicts less negative appraisal of pain: electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of anticipatory neural responses. Pain. 2010;150:428-438

10.    Meditation reduces the emotional impact of pain, study finds (Sci Daily). http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100602091315.htmAccessed June 2, 2010

11.    Gregory V. Meditation fit for a Marine. Men’s J. 11 Nov 2010;http://www.mensjournal.com/meditation-fit-for-a-marineAccessed November 11, 2011

12.    McGreevy S. Mindfulness meditation training changes brain structure in 8 weeks. Massachusetts General Hospital http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/mgh-mmt012111.phpAccessed January 21, 2011

13.    Davis J. Does prayer have the power to heal? (Scientists have some surprising answers). WebMD Med News http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1756.50703Accessed July 23, 2001

14.    Blanke O, Ortigue S, Landis T, Seeck M. Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions (The part of the brain that can induce out-of-body experiences has been located). Nature. 2002;419:269-270

15.    Jung CG. Dreams II. Hull RFC, trans. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1974;

This article previously appeared in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing? Volume 7, Issue 6 , Pages 348-353, November 2011

Image by JoreJj Z.Elprehzleinn, courtesy of Creative Commons license.

Psychedelic Resources

A Foraging Trip: Where Do Magic Mushrooms Grow?
Eager to learn more about the origin of psilocybin species? Read this article to find out where magic mushrooms grow and more!

How to Make Shroom Tea: Best Recipe and Dosage
A step by step guide on how to brew shroom tea, and why entheogenic psilocybin tea is a preferred method for psychedelic connoisseurs.

R. Gordon Wasson: Author and Mushroom Expert
Learn about R. Gordon Wasson, the “legendary mushroom expert” and popular figure within the psychonaut community.

Shrooms vs Acid: Differences and Similarities Explained
Ever wondered what the differences are between shrooms vs acid, or if you can take both together? This guide explains what you need to know.

Quantum Mechanics, Reality, and Magic Mushrooms
Scientist and author Dr. Chris Becker takes an in-depth approach in understanding how we perceive reality through magic mushrooms and quantum mechanics.

Psilocybin Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to Psilocybin has everything you want to know about this psychedelic fungi from its uses to its legal status.

The Psilocybin Experience: What’s the Deal With Magic Mushrooms?
From microdoses to macrodoses, the psilocybin experience has been sought after both medicinally and recreationally for millennia.

Psilocybin and Magic Mushroom Resources
Curious to learn more about psilocybin? This guide is a comprehensive psilocybin resource containing books, therapeutic studies, and more.

Paul Stamets Profile: Mushroom Guru, Filmmaker, Nutritionist, Scientist
Learn about Paul Stamets, read his thoughts on psilocybin mircodosing, the future of psilocybin, and his recent film “Fantastic Fungi”.

Microdosing Psilocybin & Common Dosage Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivably, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing psilocybin.

Psilocybin Nasal Spray: Relief for Anxiety, PTSD, and Depression
Microdosing nasal spray with psilocybin, is that possible?! Oregan a start-up Silo Wellness believes so and has created this new option for PTSD treatment.

Mazatec Mushroom Usage: Notes on Approach, Setting and Species for Curious Psilonauts
A look at traditional Mazatec psilocybin mushroom usage, and a comparison to the cliniical therapeutic approach, with an examination of the Mazatec setting and species used in veladas.

María Sabina: The Mazatec Magic Mushroom Woman
Magic mushrooms are incredibly popular today. How they became introduced to into American culture isn’t usually a topic discussed while tripping on psilocybin fungi. We all may have María Sabina to thank for exposing the Western world to the healing properties of the psilocybin mushroom.

Guide to Magic Mushroom Strains
Are there different types of psilocybin? Read our guide to learn about the different magic mushroom strains and their individual effects.

Kilindi Iyi: Mycologist, Traveler, Teacher
Learn about traveler and mycologist Kilindi Iyi known in the psychedelic community for his research and exploration of psilocybin.

How to Store Shrooms: Best Practices
How do you store shrooms for optimal shelf life? Learn how and why the proper storage method is so important.

Shroom Chocolate Recipes: How to Make Magic Mushroom Chocolates
This recipe provides step by step directions on how you can make mushroom chocolates with the necessary ingredients. Read to learn more!

Why Do People Use Psilocybin? New Johns Hopkins Study
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicines has just published a new study on psychoactive effects of psilocybin. Read here to learn more.

How-To Lemon Tek: Ultimate Guide and Recipe
This master guide will teach you how to lemon tek, preventing the onset of negative effects after consuming psilocybin. Read to learn more!

How to Intensify a Mushroom Trip
Learn about techniques like Lemon tekking, or discover the right time to consume cannabis if you are looking to intensify a mushroom trip.

How to Grow Magic Mushrooms: Step-by-Step
This step-by-step guide will show you how to grow magic mushrooms at home. Read this guide before trying it on your own.

How to Dry Magic Mushrooms: Best Practices
Read to learn more about specifics for the best practices on how to dry magic mushrooms after harvesting season.

How to Buy Psilocybin Spores
Interested in psilocybin mushrooms? We’ll walk you through all you need to know to obtain mushroom spores. Nosh on this delish How To guide.

Hippie Flipping: When Shrooms and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Explore the mechanics of hippie flipping and how to safely experiment.

Having Sex on Shrooms: Good or Bad Idea?
Is having sex on shrooms a good idea or an accident waiting to happen? Find out in our guide to sex on magic mushrooms.

Gold Cap Shrooms Guide: Spores, Effects, Identification
Read this guide to learn more about the different characteristics of gold cap mushrooms, and how they differ from other psilocybin species.

Guide to Cooking with Magic Mushrooms
From cookies to smoothies and sandwiches, we cover various methods of cooking with magic mushrooms for the ultimate snack.

2020 Election: The Decriminalize Psilocybin Movement
Are you curious if mushrooms will follow in marijuana’s footsteps? Read to learn about how the U.S. is moving to decriminalize psilocybin.

Oregon’s Initiative to Legalize Mushrooms | Initiative Petition 34
Oregon continues to push ahead with their initiative to legalize Psilocybin in 2020. The measure received its official title and now needs signatures.

Canada Approves Psilocybin Treatment for Terminally-Ill Cancer Patients
Canada’s Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu approved the use of psilocybin to help ease anxiety and depression of four terminal cancer patients.

Mapping the DMT Experience
With only firsthand experiences to share, how can we fully map the DMT experience? Let’s explore what we know about this powerful psychedelic.

Guide to Machine Elves and Other DMT Entities
This guide discusses machine elves, clockwork elves, and other common DMT entities that people experience during a DMT trip.

Is the DMT Experience a Hallucination? 
What if the DMT realm was the real world, and our everyday lives were merely a game we had chosen to play?

How to Store DMT
Not sure how to store DMT? Read this piece to learn the best practices and elements of advice to keep your stuff fresh.

What Does 5-MeO-DMT Show Us About Consciousness?
How does our brain differentiate between what’s real and what’s not? Read to learn what can 5-MeO-DMT show us about consciousness.

How to Smoke DMT: Processes Explained
There are many ways to smoke DMT and we’ve outlined some of the best processes to consider before embarking on your journey.

How to Ground After DMT
Knowing what to expect from a DMT comedown can help you integrate the experience to gain as much value as possible from your journey.

How To Get DMT
What kind of plants contain DMT? Are there other ways to access this psychedelic? Read on to learn more about how to get DMT.

How DMT is Made: Everything You Need to Know
Ever wonder how to make DMT? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how DMT is made.

Having Sex on DMT: What You Need to Know
Have you ever wondered about sex on DMT? Learn how the God Molecule can influence your intimate experiences.

Does the Human Brain Make DMT? 
With scientific evidence showing us DMT in the brain, what can we conclude it is there for? Read on to learn more.

How to Use DMT Vape Pens
Read to learn all about DMT vape pens including: what to know when vaping, what to expect when purchasing a DMT cartridge, and vaping safely.

DMT Resources
This article is a comprehensive DMT resource providing extensive information from studies, books, documentaries, and more. Check it out!

Differentiating DMT and Near-Death Experiences
Some say there are similarities between a DMT trip and death. Read our guide on differentiating DMT and near-death experiences to find out.

DMT Research from 1956 to the Edge of Time
From a representative sample of a suitably psychedelic crowd, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t tell you all about Albert Hofmann’s enchanted bicycle ride after swallowing what turned out to be a massive dose of LSD. Far fewer, however, could tell you much about the world’s first DMT trip.

The Ultimate Guide to DMT Pricing
Check out our ultimate guide on DMT pricing to learn what to expect when purchasing DMT for your first time.

DMT Milking | Reality Sandwich
Indigenous cultures have used 5-MeO-DMT for centuries. With the surge in demand for psychedelic toad milk, is DMT Milking harming the frogs?

Why Does DMT Pervade Nature?
With the presence of DMT in nature everywhere – including human brains – why does it continue to baffle science?

DMT Substance Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to DMT has everything you want to know about this powerful psychedelic referred to as “the spirit molecule”.

DMT for Depression: Paving the Way for New Medicine
We’ve been waiting for an effective depression treatment. Studies show DMT for depression works even for treatment resistant patients.

Beating Addiction with DMT
Psychedelics have been studied for their help overcoming addiction. Read how DMT is helping addicts beat their substance abuse issues.

DMT Extraction: Behind the Scientific Process
Take a look at DMT extraction and the scientific process involved. Learn all you need to know including procedures and safety.

Microdosing DMT & Common Dosages Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing DMT.

DMT Art: A Look Behind Visionary Creations
An entire genre of artwork is inspired by psychedelic trips with DMT. Read to learn about the entities and visions behind DMT art.

Changa vs. DMT: What You Need to Know
While similar (changa contains DMT), each drug has its own unique effect and feeling. Let’s compare and contrast changa vs DMT.

5-MeO-DMT Guide: Effects, Benefits, Safety, and Legality
5-Meo-DMT comes from the Sonora Desert toad. Here is everything you want to know about 5-Meo-DMT and how it compares to 4-AcO-DMT.

4-AcO-DMT Guide: Benefits, Effects, Safety, and Legality
This guide tells you everything about 4 AcO DMT & 5 MeO DMT, that belong to the tryptamine class, and are similar but slightly different to DMT.

How Much Does LSD Cost? When shopping around for that magical psychedelic substance, there can be many uncertainties when new to buying LSD. You may be wondering how much does LSD cost? In this article, we will discuss what to expect when purchasing LSD on the black market, what forms LSD is sold in, and the standard breakdown of buying LSD in quantity.   Navy Use of LSD on the Dark Web The dark web is increasingly popular for purchasing illegal substances. The US Navy has now noticed this trend with their staff. Read to learn more.   Having Sex on LSD: What You Need to Know Can you have sex on LSD? Read our guide to learn everything about sex on acid, from lowered inhibitions to LSD users quotes on sex while tripping.   A Drug That Switches off an LSD Trip A pharmaceutical company is developing an “off-switch” drug for an LSD trip, in the case that a bad trip can happen. Some would say there is no such thing.   Queen of Hearts: An Interview with Liz Elliot on Tim Leary and LSD The history of psychedelia, particularly the British experience, has been almost totally written by men. Of the women involved, especially those who were in the thick of it, little has been written either by or about them. A notable exception is Liz Elliot.   LSD Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety LSD, Lysergic acid diethylamide, or just acid is one of the most important psychedelics ever discovered. What did history teach us?   Microdosing LSD & Common Dosage Explained Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing LSD.   LSD Resources Curious to learn more about LSD? This guide includes comprehensive LSD resources containing books, studies and more.   LSD as a Spiritual Aid There is common consent that the evolution of mankind is paralleled by the increase and expansion of consciousness. From the described process of how consciousness originates and develops, it becomes evident that its growth depends on its faculty of perception. Therefore every means of improving this faculty should be used.   Legendary LSD Blotter Art: A Hidden Craftsmanship Have you ever heard of LSD blotter art? Explore the trippy world of LSD art and some of the top artists of LSD blotter art.   LSD and Exercise: Does it Work? LSD and exercise? Learn why high-performing athletes are taking hits of LSD to improve their overall potential.   Jan Bastiaans Treated Holocaust Survivors with LSD Dutch psychiatrist, Jan Bastiaans administered LSD-assisted therapy to survivors of the Holocaust. A true war hero and pioneer of psychedelic-therapy.   LSD and Spiritual Awakening I give thanks for LSD, which provided the opening that led me to India in 1971 and brought me to Neem Karoli Baba, known as Maharajji. Maharajji is described by the Indians as a “knower of hearts.”   How LSD is Made: Everything You Need to Know Ever wonder how to make LSD? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how LSD is made.   How to Store LSD: Best Practices Learn the best way to store LSD, including the proper temperature and conditions to maximize how long LSD lasts when stored.   Bicycle Day: The Discovery of LSD Every year on April 19th, psychonauts join forces to celebrate Bicycle Day. Learn about the famous day when Albert Hoffman first discovered the effects of LSD.   Cary Grant: A Hollywood Legend On LSD Cary Grant was a famous actor during the 1930’s-60’s But did you know Grant experimented with LSD? Read our guide to learn more.   Albert Hofmann: LSD — My Problem Child Learn about Albert Hofmann and his discovery of LSD, along with the story of Bicycle Day and why it marks a historic milestone.   Babies are High: What Does LSD Do To Your Brain What do LSD and babies have in common? Researchers at the Imperial College in London discover that an adult’s brain on LSD looks like a baby’s brain.   1P LSD: Effects, Benefits, Safety Explained 1P LSD is an analogue of LSD and homologue of ALD-25. Here is everything you want to know about 1P LSD and how it compares to LSD.   Francis Crick, DNA & LSD Type ‘Francis Crick LSD’ into Google, and the result will be 30,000 links. Many sites claim that Crick (one of the two men responsible for discovering the structure of DNA), was either under the influence of LSD at the time of his revelation or used the drug to help with his thought processes during his research. Is this true?   What Happens If You Overdose on LSD? A recent article presented three individuals who overdosed on LSD. Though the experience was unpleasant, the outcomes were remarkably positive.

The Ayahuasca Experience
Ayahuasca is both a medicine and a visionary aid. You can employ ayahuasca for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual repair, and you can engage with the power of ayahuasca for deeper insight and realization. If you consider attainment of knowledge in the broadest perspective, you can say that at all times, ayahuasca heals.

 

Trippy Talk: Meet Ayahuasca with Sitaramaya Sita and PlantTeachers
Sitaramaya Sita is a spiritual herbalist, pusangera, and plant wisdom practitioner formally trained in the Shipibo ayahuasca tradition.

 

The Therapeutic Value of Ayahuasca
My best description of the impact of ayahuasca is that it’s a rocket boost to psychospiritual growth and unfolding, my professional specialty during my thirty-five years of private practice.

 

Microdosing Ayahuasca: Common Dosage Explained
What is ayahuasca made of and what is considered a microdose? Explore insights with an experienced Peruvian brewmaster and learn more about this practice.

 

Ayahuasca Makes Neuron Babies in Your Brain
Researchers from Beckley/Sant Pau Research Program have shared the latest findings in their study on the effects of ayahuasca on neurogenesis.

 

The Fatimiya Sufi Order and Ayahuasca
In this interview, the founder of the Fatimiya Sufi Order,  N. Wahid Azal, discusses the history and uses of plant medicines in Islamic and pre-Islamic mystery schools.

 

Consideration Ayahuasca for Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Research indicates that ayahuasca mimics mechanisms of currently accepted treatments for PTSD. In order to understand the implications of ayahuasca treatment, we need to understand how PTSD develops.

 

Brainwaves on Ayahuasca: A Waking Dream State
In a study researchers shared discoveries showing ingredients found in Ayahuasca impact the brainwaves causing a “waking dream” state.

 

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a pro cannabis Peruvian Shaman.

 

Ayahuasca Retreat 101: Everything You Need to Know to Brave the Brew
Ayahuasca has been known to be a powerful medicinal substance for millennia. However, until recently, it was only found in the jungle. Word of its deeply healing and cleansing properties has begun to spread across the world as many modern, Western individuals are seeking spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. More ayahuasca retreat centers are emerging in the Amazon and worldwide to meet the demand.

 

Ayahuasca Helps with Grief
A new study published in psychopharmacology found that ayahuasca helped those suffering from the loss of a loved one up to a year after treatment.

 

Ayahuasca Benefits: Clinical Improvements for Six Months
Ayahuasca benefits can last six months according to studies. Read here to learn about the clinical improvements from drinking the brew.

 

Ayahuasca Culture: Indigenous, Western, And The Future
Ayahuasca has been use for generations in the Amazon. With the rise of retreats and the brew leaving the rainforest how is ayahuasca culture changing?

 

Ayahuasca Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
The Amazonian brew, Ayahuasca has a long history and wide use. Read our guide to learn all about the tea from its beginnings up to modern-day interest.

 

Ayahuasca and the Godhead: An Interview with Wahid Azal of the Fatimiya Sufi Order
Wahid Azal, a Sufi mystic of The Fatimiya Sufi Order and an Islamic scholar, talks about entheogens, Sufism, mythology, and metaphysics.

 

Ayahuasca and the Feminine: Women’s Roles, Healing, Retreats, and More
Ayahuasca is lovingly called “grandmother” or “mother” by many. Just how feminine is the brew? Read to learn all about women and ayahuasca.

What Is the Standard of Care for Ketamine Treatments?
Ketamine therapy is on the rise in light of its powerful results for treatment-resistant depression. But, what is the current standard of care for ketamine? Read to find out.

What Is Dissociation and How Does Ketamine Create It?
Dissociation can take on multiple forms. So, what is dissociation like and how does ketamine create it? Read to find out.

Having Sex on Ketamine: Getting Physical on a Dissociative
Curious about what it could feel like to have sex on a dissociate? Find out all the answers in our guide to sex on ketamine.

Special K: The Party Drug
Special K refers to Ketamine when used recreationally. Learn the trends as well as safety information around this substance.

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

Ketamine vs. Esketamine: 3 Important Differences Explained
Ketamine and esketamine are used to treat depression. But what’s the difference between them? Read to learn which one is right for you: ketamine vs. esketamine.

Guide to Ketamine Treatments: Understanding the New Approach
Ketamine is becoming more popular as more people are seeing its benefits. Is ketamine a fit? Read our guide for all you need to know about ketamine treatments.

Ketamine Treatment for Eating Disorders
Ketamine is becoming a promising treatment for various mental health conditions. Read to learn how individuals can use ketamine treatment for eating disorders.

Ketamine Resources, Studies, and Trusted Information
Curious to learn more about ketamine? This guide includes comprehensive ketamine resources containing books, studies and more.

Ketamine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to ketamine has everything you need to know about this “dissociative anesthetic” and how it is being studied for depression treatment.

Ketamine for Depression: A Mental Health Breakthrough
While antidepressants work for some, many others find no relief. Read to learn about the therapeutic uses of ketamine for depression.

Ketamine for Addiction: Treatments Offering Hope
New treatments are offering hope to individuals suffering from addiction diseases. Read to learn how ketamine for addiction is providing breakthrough results.

Microdosing Ketamine & Common Dosages Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing ketamine.

How to Ease a Ketamine Comedown
Knowing what to expect when you come down from ketamine can help integrate the experience to gain as much value as possible.

How to Store Ketamine: Best Practices
Learn the best ways how to store ketamine, including the proper temperature and conditions to maximize how long ketamine lasts when stored.

How To Buy Ketamine: Is There Legal Ketamine Online?
Learn exactly where it’s legal to buy ketamine, and if it’s possible to purchase legal ketamine on the internet.

How Long Does Ketamine Stay in Your System?
How long does ketamine stay in your system? Are there lasting effects on your body? Read to discover the answers!

How Ketamine is Made: Everything You Need to Know
Ever wonder how to make Ketamine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how Ketamine is made.

Colorado on Ketamine: First Responders Waiver Programs
Fallout continues after Elijah McClain. Despite opposing recommendations from some city council, Colorado State Health panel recommends the continued use of ketamine by medics for those demonstrating “excited delirium” or “extreme agitation”.

Types of Ketamine: Learn the Differences & Uses for Each
Learn about the different types of ketamine and what they are used for—and what type might be right for you. Read now to find out!

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

MDMA & Ecstasy Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to MDMA has everything you want to know about Ecstasy from how it was developed in 1912 to why it’s being studied today.

How To Get the Most out of Taking MDMA as a Couple
Taking MDMA as a couple can lead to exciting experiences. Read here to learn how to get the most of of this love drug in your relationship.

Common MDMA Dosage & Microdosing Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing MDMA.

Having Sex on MDMA: What You Need to Know
MDMA is known as the love drug… Read our guide to learn all about sex on MDMA and why it is beginning to makes its way into couple’s therapy.

How MDMA is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make MDMA? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how MDMA is made.

Hippie Flipping: When Shrooms and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Explore the mechanics of hippie flipping and how to safely experiment.

How Cocaine is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make cocaine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how cocaine is made.

A Christmas Sweater with Santa and Cocaine
This week, Walmart came under fire for a “Let it Snow” Christmas sweater depicting Santa with lines of cocaine. Columbia is not merry about it.

Ultimate Cocaine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
This guide covers what you need to know about Cocaine, including common effects and uses, legality, safety precautions and top trends today.

NEWS: An FDA-Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray
The FDA approved a cocaine nasal spray called Numbrino, which has raised suspicions that the pharmaceutical company, Lannett Company Inc., paid off the FDA..

The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Bioavailability
What is bioavailability and how can it affect the overall efficacy of a psychedelic substance? Read to learn more.

Cannabis Research Explains Sociability Behaviors
New research by Dr. Giovanni Marsicano shows social behavioral changes occur as a result of less energy available to the neurons. Read here to learn more.

The Cannabis Shaman
If recreational and medical use of marijuana is becoming accepted, can the spiritual use as well? Experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews Hamilton Souther, founder of the 420 Cannabis Shamanism movement…

Cannabis Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to Cannabis has everything you want to know about this popular substances that has psychedelic properties.

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a procannabis Peruvian Shaman.

CBD-Rich Cannabis Versus Single-Molecule CBD
A ground-breaking study has documented the superior therapeutic properties of whole plant Cannabis extract as compared to synthetic cannabidiol (CBD), challenging the medical-industrial complex’s notion that “crude” botanical preparations are less effective than single-molecule compounds.

Cannabis Has Always Been a Medicine
Modern science has already confirmed the efficacy of cannabis for most uses described in the ancient medical texts, but prohibitionists still claim that medical cannabis is “just a ruse.”

Related Posts

Ready to explore the frontiers of consciousness?

Sign up for the Reality Bites newsletter and embark on a journey into the world of psychedelics, mindfulness, and transformation. It’s where the curious minds gather.

Become a conscious agent with us.

Featured Partner

Cosmic Melts

Cosmic Melts are the latest mushroom gummies we’ve been munching on. Choose from five fruity flavors, each gummy containing 350mg of Amanita muscaria.
 
Amanita muscaria offers a unique (and totally legal!) mushroom experience, and Cosmic Melts is an ideal entry point for the curious consumer.
Featured Partner

Lab Link Supply

Our go-to source for spores so you can grow your own shrooms right at home. Carrying several of our favorite species including B+, Golden Teacher, Jedi Mind F*ck, Blue Meanie and more. Browse their selection of spores and get started with your home grow.

Our Partners

Welcome to Reality Sandwich. Please verify that you are over 18 years of age below.

Reality Sandwich uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By entering Reality Sandwich, you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.