How to Change Your Mind

I'm a proponent of psychedelics, they are useful and I have benefited from taking them. The film is an interesting, however one sided information is presented as fact. Pretty fun to watch if you realize that you are what you are watching is a proponents "for" sided argument in an academic debate. Factually there are some foibles: Bill Wilson started getting sober in 1935ish, LSD wasn't distributed until 1947. It did not birth AA, AA was around before WWII. During the LSD experience the fella at the start has, he described himself in the womb with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck such that he couldn't breathe. Then described this as a memory from his past. It didn't seem anyone attempted to explain to him you don't breathe air in the womb. It was much more likely that it was metaphorical. Pretty interesting if you realize you don't have to do psychedelics to accomplish something great, nor does taking psychedelics mean you will invent the next PCR technique.

Michael Pollan has again proven himself to be one of the frontmen of the modern day psychedelic resurrection. Psychotherapy is the messiah to our current mental health epidemic. This series paints a rationalized, trustworthy picture of psychedelic substances, and puts it in a new light. Throughout the course of history, the human consciousness has consistently increased in complexity. The downside is that the mental complaints are increasing in complexity as well. I truly believe the subject of this documentary is the key to stagnate the upward trend of the dark side of the human brain.

I watched the first episode, the one about LSD. In my younger daze I was quite well acquainted with the dreaded lysergic. I went to AA for many years and I heard about Bill W taking acid after he got sober. The TV show stated that he got sober because of his acid experience.....not so, he got sober 8 yrs before acid was invented. I heard he was looking for a cure for his long term depression so he tried acid. Other than the misinformation I enjoyed watching the episode.

The documentary unfolds meaningful topics that are much needed in our time of superficial, fast paced lives, governed by quick consumption media and confused values. Of course, the information is not new in any way since it has been explored for 1000s of years already. It's just that researching it from a scientific point of view is only a few decades old and has tragically been relegated to the woowoo department. I've been saying the same things for the past 23 years, but of course, most people prefer to focus on gratifying their senses and anything beyond that falls on deaf ears. Hopefully, this great docu will get the exposure it deserves. But the docu is not that important in itself. It's the message within that matters. Our consciousness is the greatest mystery in our lives, and it is only by radically exploring this mystery that we can achieve lasting, positive change within ourselves. And it is only by doing that that we can hope to change society as a whole.

Just as with cannabis, the Trojan horse for hallucinogenic drugs is their claimed medicinal properties. Thus we have a four part mini series where a bunch of old hippies try to persuade us that taking LSD is good for you, their argument being it has never killed anyone. Maybe true but I've seen many people harmed by the stuff. The first episode, regarding LSD is the best of the bunch and the most informative. The second, on magic mushrooms is where the series goes off track. The claim that shrooms originated in Mexico is fanciful, they have been part of European culture for thousands of years. They go on to document how giving shrooms to terminal cancer patients helps them cope with their impending death, all the while wearing masks against the koof, a clear visual symbol of fear. I checked out a short way into episode 3.

There were many things going on in the 1960's - Viet Nam, Woodstock and drugs both medically and recreationally. A lot of drugs were misused so the government banned LSD. In a 2022 world there are so many drugs that are being used to treating mental health patients. This series is educational, informative and entertaining. It is worth watching but be warned that it is very repetitive.

Why wasn't dmt included? And why talk about peyote if you don't want people to use peyote? I feel this is just gonna backfire, telling everyone about it will just make a bunch of enterprising people all the more hunt it down.

I think I liked Michael Pollan. I've heard him in radio interviews. I have only watched like 15 minutes of this thing, and I already hate it with the intensity of the burning sun. Right off the start, you know it's bad cause he describes what appears to be a nasal spray of a specific cocktail of "tobacco" drugs, and he's idiotically thinking it's some amazing experience. IT'S CALLED NICOTINE YOU IDIOT. I refuse to watch the rest as I'm sure it's complete crystal-loving drivel. I have nothing but disrespect for these boomer losers. Hallucinogens are quite wonderful, but this show sucks. Eat s--t, Michael Pollan. You'll probably think it's life changing.

I've found it's hard to force spirituality on anybody, and difficult to stress the importance of these chemicals for living a full life (for some). Shows like this are excellent ways of spreading the word, and inspiring more people to get involved. Michael Pollan explains things very well - if you've seen him on various podcasts or read his book you'll know that. Sometimes a lot of the accounts can become slightly repetitive, but that's probably just my opinion as I've seen a lot of similar content. Highly recommend. MT.