Psychedelics
Can Psychedelics Reconnect Us to Nature?
Psychedelics go beyond shifts in individual mental health. The rippling effects of psychedelics expand beyond ourselves into connection with our environment.
Anyone who has taken magic mushrooms in nature can confirm a profound fascination with the natural world while under the influence.
More than once, I've been indoors waiting for a trip to start. When the mushrooms kick in, the indoor environment feels suffocating while the trees or the sky are magnetic. I've seen my friends bolt from the group to connect with a flower or roll in the grass.
Witnessing this cliche feeds the "hippies on LSD hugging trees" story. This old stigma can make the modern psychedelic enthusiast feel self-conscious, vibing with a flower. But the experience of reconnecting to nature in the sensitive states psychedelics induce can be fantastic while having positive and lasting effects on your life.
Feeling this effect is called "nature connectedness" and is described in research as a person's sense of oneness with natural ecology and their ability to identify themselves as part of a greater ecosystem.
