Mushrooms and Spirituality

Sometimes science experiments smack of the obvious. When researchers at Johns Hopkins gave 36 people with deep religious convictions hallucingenic mushrooms (active ingredient psilocybin) they experienced a deep, and lingering, sense of spirituality.Furthermore, as every day tripper knows, about a third of users were pummelled by feelings of fear and anxiety. Apparently, transcendence and nervousness are separated by a very thin line.

Despite the dangers, researchers concluded that psilocybin, the compound in the mushrooms, might have therapeutic value in improving the outlook of addicts and terminal cancer patients under enormous psychological burdens.