WiP #44 Write of Passage Commences (Yay!) & Inspires My Critique of the "Psychedelics Insta-Cure Media Machine" 😈

Psychedelics Don't Work the Way You Think

🗂 This Week in Work in Progress

• Status Update:  Write of Passage is on and my writing is laser-focused on psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) for the next few weeks. Woohoo!

• Inspiration:  Hokusai’s creations accompanied me on my healing journey. Here, his visual poetry is transformed into literal verse.

• Lighter Note:  A blatant bribe: You’ll need to read the essay to understand these references!

🔔 Status Update

My beloved writing intensive, Write of Passage (WoP), is back on and it’s officially in full swing. This is a five-week cohort-based course (CBC), offered twice a year. I missed the last round and am thrilled to be back. This is where my tribe lives and it’s a well-spring of creative juice where I revel in a good long dip. 

This round, I’m spilling the beans on one of my most passionate topics: psychedelics and, more specifically, psychedelic-assisted therapy. I’ll be sharing my concerns about the state of the industry alongside descriptions of my personal journey within that context of care.

Some background for the uninitiated…CBCs are time-limited courses that include asynchronous video teachings combined with live (on Zoom) events. In WoP, a cadre of newbies and program elders alike, accompany each other through the journey from ideas to publication, honing their creativity and contemplative skills in the best of company. 

In the past, my WoP essays have meandered amongst topics related to healing and growth– all guiding change and resilience through an inside view of psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness, and community. But now, I’m digging deep into the psychedelics side of things. I’m in early days of a book on the topic, so consider this a preview.

This week’s essay: Psychedelics Don't Work the Way You’ve Been Told: It’s a Long Winding Road, not a Done-for-You Insta-Cure.

In it, I describe the psychedelic mania that’s sweeping the nation and the world. Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), we’re told is the fast, easy cure to all life’s ills. That’s just silly and wrong. 

It’s also understandable. Psychedelics have been demonized and legally off-limits for decades, even though they’d been proven safe, largely non-addictive, and empirically sound treatments for challenges ranging from addiction to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychedelics have been classified as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act since the 1960s in the United States, meaning that they have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. This classification was entirely political and had no basis in truth. So the fight to reclassify them is truly a fight for the lives of everyone suffering – offering real potential to heal.

And yet…I worry about what the backlash will bring. Because media adulation suggests that this is a miracle cure for most when, in fact, psychedelics simply open the door for most people. It’s a long journey of recovery from that threshold forward.

And when I say “most people,” I am the poster child. So, I’m sharing pieces of this journey with y’all at a time when I’ve rounded a bend. 

Here’s an excerpt from the essay:

“In three sessions, I took back my body, broke the chains of trauma secrets, and declared my intention to live the life I was born to lead – a life of wholeness and choice, self-respect, and connection. In three sessions, I evolved from victim to warrior….But that’s the beginning of the story. Not the end.” 

I’d truly appreciate your company on this exposition of my personal journey, my professional assessment of the state of the field, and my hopes of healing for all who suffer or simply want to expand their mind.

Are you already on a journey with psychedelics? How has it been for you? Please share. I’d love to know!!!

💡 Inspiration

“Hokusai says look carefully.
He says pay attention, notice.
He says keep looking, stay curious. 

He says there is no end to seeing.

…

He says keep changing,
you just get more who you really are. 

He says get stuck, accept it, repeat 

yourself as long as it is interesting. 

…

He says don’t be afraid. 

Don’t be afraid. 

Look, feel, let life take you by the hand. 

Let life live through you”

― Excerpted from Hokusai Says by Roger S. Keyes 

Hokusai invites us to experience all of life – pain and pleasure alike. Herein, fullness and joy reside.

But here lie dragons as well and this can be a scary road.

Many interventions can assist us in finding the courage to move forward. Psychedelic-assisted therapy does this in spades. Psychedelics unleash mental constraints. They allow us to face past traumas and future fears head-on with less avoidance and more acceptance. They also rewire our neural networks so we literally can grow our perspectives and change our behaviors.

Facing painful feelings and experiences gives us the opportunity to repair damage, learn and evolve. Let this poem be a guiding light toward the life you most want to live.

That’s what this quote triggers in me. What does it say to you?

🤡 On a Lighter Note

You’ll have to read this week's essay to understand why snakes are my current model of fast, easy change (not psychedelics) …

• Watch as a garden snake (not scary) sheds its skin. (You can watch better quality videos of the entire process time-lapsed on YouTube but I could only find big scary snakes so…you’re on your own with that!).  🐍

• OK, you’re never on your own when I’m around. I found this 2.5-minute video of a big snake out in the wild shedding its full skin. It’s actually kind of gorgeous. And – this is the best part – Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is narrating. Enjoy! 🍌

• A research leader provides a short explainer on the political banning of psychedelics in the late 1960s.  🍄 ❌

Want more on psychedelics? Here’s your next read. 

🎀 It’s a Wrap

A warm thank you for reading and a hearty welcome to all new subscribers. I’m so glad you’re here!

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Until next week, take care of yourself and someone else if you’re able.