How to Distinguish Between a Religious Experience and a Psychotic Episode

There are possibly many ways in which we can define a religious experience. We need to ask ourselves: What features should such an experience exemplify? There is also the issue of trying to ascertain whether a certain experience is pathological in nature. For reasons which will become clear, I will be using the term religious…

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Here’s How Legalising Psychedelics Could Minimise the Risk of a Bad Trip

While the classical serotonergic psychedelics (LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and DMT) are generally considered physiologically safe and non-addictive, they are certainly not without their risks. Negative experiences do occur – although, under a system where psychedelics are legal and regulated, this risk could be minimised. For a very tiny minority with a pre-existing or latent mental…

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Challenging the Stigma Surrounding Psychedelics

Between 2016-17, US comedian Shane Mauss was performing on a tour called A Good Trip, a two-hour comedy show about psychedelics. One of the aims of this tour, he said, was to remove the stigma that surrounds the use of psychedelics. Public Perceptions About Psychedelics Many people have misguided and negative preconceptions about what these substances…

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How Can Travel Be a Meaningful Experience?

When you go on a trip, perhaps it is similar in many ways to other kinds of ‘trips’, like those that people have when they take LSD, or those inner journeys of the mind experienced in dreaming, or another altered state. I think it can be stated without being too facetious that there are noticeable…

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DMT-Inspired Art by SalviaDroid

Kyle Sawyer (aka SalviaDroid) is a visionary digital artist who portrays his psychedelic experiences in impressive detail. His name is inspired by the naturally occurring hallucinogen Salvia divinorum (sage of the diviners), a plant that induces visions when ingested or smoked. His early work is inspired by his experiences with this plant, but his more recent art…

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