The mind craves control.

Certainty feels safe. It makes us feel that we are in control. We like to believing that we understand what’s happening and that we know what’s right and wrong. We know where we stand. This is the mind thinking.

When we temporarily loosen that grip with psychedelics — in a safe and intentional setting — new insight becomes possible. The thinking part of the mind turns down the volume of control and the we become observers instead of controllers.

It’s important to say that psychedelic substances are not the only way to access this kind of awareness.
Practices like meditation, breathwork, yoga, and other types of spiritual self-disciplined practices can cultivate similar states.

The big difference is time and speed.

Psychedelics can accelerate the process that might otherwise take years of dedicated practice.
It’s like getting into a high-performance sports car and flooring the gas pedal, compared to riding a bike under your own power along the same road by spending countless hours on spiritual practices.

Some people would say it’s kind of cheating in a way. But our modern stressful way of living makes it difficult to have that amount of time to practice in general life.

My own experience.

Working with psychedelics allowed me to see my life with a level of honesty I hadn’t accessed before. I began to recognize where I was out of alignment with myself. Where I was living according to unconscious behaviors and patterns rather than conscious choice. I saw how much of my identity was shaped by fear in different degree, old programming and conditioning that wasn’t truly mine.

I also experienced something harder to describe: a sense of connection with the Universe, the creation of everything.
Not as a story from any scripture or belief, but as a direct experience in every cell in my body.
A recognition that I am not separate from the larger process of life. The same forces of energy moving through the world move through us all. Through all things, all the time.

In everyday life, it’s easy to lose that perspective. We get caught in distractions, responsibilities and constant stimulation.
Instead of slowing down to examine what’s out of alignment, we often look for quick relief — new achievements, new purchases, new relationships. Things that distract our focus outside of us instead of looking inside.

Substances like alcohol temporarily
numb our discomfort.

For many people, alcohol plays a big role in their lives. It can take the edge off. It can quiet mind and anxiety for a while. I used it myself for most of my grown up life. But eventually I realized I wasn’t really looking for a drink — I was looking for a quick relief. From everything, from the stress of my life and also from myself. When I drank I became someone else for a moment. I enjoyed that feeling a lot and sometimes I still wish I had a glass of of wine or two.

Psychedelics didn’t numb what was uncomfortable. They amplified it — but in a way that allowed me to see clearly what needed change, attention and a new direction of focus.

The real work isn’t the psychedelic experience itself. It was what came afterward: making different choices, adjusting habits, and taking responsibility for my direction in life. That’s an important distinction.

Psychedelics are not meant to be an escape or a permanent state to live in. They can offer a temporary suspension of habitual perception — a chance to reset.

Lasting transformation happens through integration. Through the willingness to examine strengths and weaknesses honestly, and to see the truth. When you have seen, then you are be able to make grounded changes in everyday life.

Modern Science and Spirit.

In recent years it has shown promising results in science and clinical studies around mental health. Particularly in addressing depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. Psychedelics like Psilocybin is considered non-addictive and safe when used responsibly.
The “Set and Setting” play a big role.
I know from my experience that I personally don’t need another trip. It is not addictive. In fact one trip can be so intense and with so much insights that processing and integration can last for months afterwards.

Psilocybin (the chemical found in Magic Mushrooms)
We find psilocybin in many types of mushrooms around the world. But also in certain kind of truffles. Truffles is what we use in the Netherlands in our psychedelic journey’s. They are fully legal there.

What’s interesting with this substance is that you can’t get the same “high-effect” if you take it often. It will eventually not take you “there”.
In a way it’s a mystery in it self. Mother Nature is incredible. Psilocybin is a substance that’s not meant to be abused as an escape. It is here for us to remember who we are.