Descending the Mountain (2021) Directed by Maartje Nevejan

Posted by celticman on Fri, 08 Mar 2024

https://descendingthemountain.org/

Descending the Mountain is monks on acid. I’ve never taken acid or magic mushrooms and I’m pretty old, so unlikely to do so now. But I’m not as old as Vanja Palmers, a Zen monk and the central character in the experiment. Palmers took acid in the swinging sixties.  He found himself as an incarnation of the Buddha presence in the same way I’d missed the last bus home. It enlarged him. But he stopped taking drugs and followed the way of Zen Buddhism for the next forty years. He was game to try acid again, but in order to do so in a controlled environment and meet legal requirements; he had to hook up with Franz X. Vollenweider, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who set out several parameters for measuring the effects of psilocybin—the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms—on meditators. He did not try to control for the placebo effect or any other standard clinical measures when measuring what he wasn’t measuring.

Hokum really, but in a nice, chilled way, with Mount Rigi in Switzerland providing snow-capped mountains and a good vibe. I was particularly taken with an elderly Christian nun, Sister Annabel Laity. Part of the interfaith dialogue. She’d taken care of drug addicts and the homeless (I think it was in India) but after a heart attack, joined the Zen community. She took care of the animals on Mount Rigi, which provoked the question whether animals have consciousness in the same way we have. Vanja Palmers certainly thought so, but he wasn't pushing an argument about sameness or differences, just suggesting it might be true and probably was. We are conscious beings and so are they, or might be in a different way.   

Franz X. Vollenweider noted the mediating monks showed less in the way of ego, in those areas associated with the ‘I’ in the cerebral cortex when taking acid and mediating. There were no control groups. Vollenweider suggested the Zen monks remained unflappable when taking acid—apart from one subject who giggled and moaned and was said to have issues—compared with others he had supervised who seemed more animated. Based on other findings of activity in the brain regions he reached some conclusions that were underwhelming, expected, and not really conclusions which were conclusive enough. A nice enough commercial for alternative life-styles, interfaith and no faith understanding.   

Notes.

  1. Psychedelic Properties: Psilocybin is known for inducing altered states of consciousness, vivid hallucinations, and changes in perception, cognition, and mood. Users often report experiencing a sense of interconnectedness, introspection, and enhanced creativity.
  2. Historical and Cultural Significance: Magic mushrooms have been used for centuries in various cultural and spiritual practices. Indigenous peoples in different parts of the world have incorporated them into rituals, healing ceremonies, and shamanic experiences.
  3. Effects: The effects of psilocybin can vary widely depending on factors such as dosage, individual sensitivity, set (mindset), and setting (environment). Common effects include visual distortions, emotional shifts, and a feeling of being more attuned to nature and the universe.
  4. Safety and Risks: While psilocybin is generally considered safe physically (it is not toxic), it can lead to intense psychological experiences. Users should be cautious, especially if they have a history of mental health issues. Bad trips, anxiety, and paranoia can occur.
  5. Research and Therapeutic Potential: Recent scientific studies have explored psilocybin’s potential therapeutic applications. It has shown promise in treating conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction. Clinical trials are ongoing to understand its benefits and risks better.
  6. Legal Status: The legality of psilocybin varies globally. Some countries and states have decriminalized or allowed research on its therapeutic use, while others strictly prohibit its possession and use.

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Submitted by Kris on

Followed the link(s).... great stuff*

I've been reading incrementally articles & summary white papers on psilocybin therapy, etc.

At one point, around 2015, I was asked to participate in a recall study (call it an experiment)... a friend of mine was/is involved in a study in the US at Washington State University with a group of other researchers. Recall in the sense, a group of us had survived an extended high stress series of situations, classified as traumatic experience(s), from military service- resulting in variations of the recounts from different views of specific places & times and event(s) within the same proximity, Geo area.

A large part of the thesis there was, depression (PTSD) & recall + motor skills = linked 

 On a side note:, In the study group history, there was a % that drank & drugged themselves to death & several suicides from those days, in some cases, as I understood it, there were cases of premature aging, in that; the numbers (data) & survivors qualified for a science experiment... (you can cynically smile at that, I said it right their faces = "ya, take the left overs & turn us into lab rats"...... They all laughed :)

At that time, they were looking at a range of CBD, THC & Psilocybin extracts/varieties = a range of therapies and they had some real science that they could reactivate and even rebuild/reconnect neurons, etc..(MRI scans included+++).... One of the simple day to day task was brush your teeth with both left & right hand & training in the gym in front of a mirror, new balance work out routines, etc....(with a controlled intake of the goodies=scheduled)... the funding was a mix of big tech, pharma & gov... a bit of a gray zone there, but straight up research.  

I hesitated to fully participate, I did make a trip over and check it out, later I got busy..... But given the chance again, with what I know now, I would do it....

On the upside, one of our long lost mates, who could never could hold a job, in layman terms- dumb & numb- living with his mum, came out of there got a job and now lives with his girlfriend, happily, and has a child, a dog and plays in a cover blues rock band.....  

I must confess Jack, I had another flashback reading this, not so scientific....

The 1-6 points posted in your piece.... Actually is a pre-check fight list for these days......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvuL5jyCHOw&list=RDEvuL5jyCHOw&start_rad...

 devil

ain't confess'n 2noth'n... just say'n*

 

 

Submitted by celticman on

cheers Kris. PTSD and various other linked conditions have no (as far as I know) obvious physical manifiestation We're in the mind-body loop. I found you comment illuminating. I guess I'd try anything if it helped and a lot of things that don't help. 

 

Submitted by Kris on

I'm still in touch with the research crew, every now & then. I was over there in November.... for recreation and I did a few days with US Coast Guard on some new work toys, we could use here.....

As best I know, over time, there was about 300 subjects (men & woman) in different categories, including victims of crimes & accidents, etc...... 1 point that I keyed in on was several groups of injured /traumatized professional athletes. As far as I understood it, (over asian fish noodles & allot of Saki) treating PTSD, at some degree, and the rate of recovery both physically and mentally & what that connection was & then integrate the subject back into sports, job, social = life or lifestyle (it had measured result(s)..... There could have been a diet change issue in there too... It wasn't a 1 size fits all, or single solution. But they must of found something, or a series of somethings, because they kept getting funded....

In short, a kind of Bio-Chem Hacking to kill a ghost...... (I didn't make that up).... but I wish I did, sounds cool and made sense to me...

Cheers Jack, sending a bit of peace & good vibes for the weekend..

 

 

 

Submitted by celticman on

bio-chem hacking is another way of saying we don't know. Which is fine. 

 

Submitted by Kris on

As a cautiously optimistic observer, at one time gone through post trauma therapy my self, & in my work I use my water skills to help traumatized, and/or recovering/disabled souls, IMO there seems to be a shift of whats accepted in academia or even a new dimension to it,,, and to your point; what they dont know, seems to evolve into a list (data base) and then a pursuit of why they dont know (?)..... again, IMO that type prospective has led to psilocybin studies & therapy +. Its seems, i.e. my brief encounter in that world, there is a dynamic of out of the box view, that sees the ends to means (math/bio-chem +, etc) and they can calculate that + -, more or less, rather than the old school = write us a thesis and we see if its accepted by the status quo experts...... something like that*..... 

We live in dynamic interesting times.....

Cheers Jack....

 

Submitted by celticman on

we live in more interesting times than we'd like.