Yesterday was a very Good Friday

Sixty One years ago, on Good Friday (1962), a prominent religious figure, civil rights leader, theologian, and mystic, Howard Thurman (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s mentor) preached in Marsh Chapel on Boston University’s campus (¹):

Full of striking verbal imagery including personalized accounts from the perspectives of those who met Jesus, his 85-minute sermon deeply impacted those fortunate enough to hear it.

Here is one small excerpt from Thurman's speech, if you are interested you should listen to the recording, this section is only a couple of minutes, you have to experience the timing and rhythm of the man to fully appreciate the power of that moment:

[The woman at the well of Samaria starts around the 13 minute mark tap here to jump to the audio on youtube]: "He came to me with his eyes and asked for water.  Stretched out his hand and spoke.  His mind burned into mine like the noon sun.  My pitcher of thoughts broke.  I had not noticed him at rest by the well head shadowed by the rare tree.  But as I carried my shame into its coolness, his eyes awaited me.  I tried to avoid them as I drew the well rope taught through a mindless hand.  I saw his robe cross the speckled sunlight, his feet stir the white sand.  I saw his face, it was white with road dust.  Whiter than any stone.  But his eyes were ageless and deep as well shafts as they met my own.  They unroofed my brain with their profound gazing.  Made the heart a molten thing.  Every pointed thought unveiled itself under their questioning.  He spoke of water to cleanse the spirit.  I tried not to understand.  He followed me along the road of my evasions.  And when it ceased in sand, he brought me home from my self forced journey.  He showed me my own soul, cracked and dry as a discarded wine skin, and made it whole.  He came to me with his eyes and asked for water.  Stretched out his hands and spoke.  As I carried my peace back to the streets of Sychar, a new world woke.

Perhaps unknown to those in attendance (but with Thurman's knowledge and approval), a brilliant Harvard researcher named Walter Pahnke  was conducing what came to be known as "The Marsh Chapel Experiment" also known as "The Good Friday Experiment"

This was part of Pahnke's Ph.D. thesis in Religion and Society under his thesis advisors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert.  Pahnke had assembled a group of 20 volunteers that included seminary students, just below the sanctuary where the audio of the service above was broadcast live (they were in a separate room so as not to disturb the service if any participants "lost it").  Ten of the study participants were given 30mg psilocybin and the other ten an active placebo (niacin) in this double blind experiment. Nine out of ten given psilocybin reported religious or mystical experiences while only one of ten in the placebo group reported the same.  Through observations of the participants that day plus post-experience interviews and questionnaires, the experiment confirmed the thesis that primary religious experiences could be occasioned by using psychedelic drugs in a religious setting and this was among the first scientific data to be collected with regard to psychedelic drugs and religious experience(²).

Anyway, the nostalgia of the day and it's dual importance in history inspired me...  What would happen if I conducted my own Good Friday experiment on myself?  Of course I couldn't go to the extreme of a true high dose experience at the risk of making a scene (I would not be hiding out in a basement) but I wondered, what would happen on a lower, more controllable/predictable dose?  It just so happens that I had recently grown some natalensis mushrooms (which can be seen at the 27:25 mark of my last video).  I don't want to go into all of the details in this post, but suffice it to say, THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL about this species!  It is more potent than your average cube, less potent than pan cyans, but that's not the full story... it has some very unique and strange properties and overwhelmingly positive user experience reports (for as much as you can trust anecdotes).

Anyway, long story short, I decided to take a somewhat light dose of natalensis and go to a Good Friday evening service, timing it so that I would peak during the service.  I had no idea what to expect really, but it turned out the service felt like it was almost divinely tailored to my experiment! ;) When I entered the room I was actually surprised to find it was only dimly lit by candlelight.  Instead of your typical type of service, they decided to do an experimental meditation event, no sermon, just reading a few passages then showing pictures of the events on screens and asking everyone to silently meditate and imagine yourself in the scenes focusing on all five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).  The only instructions at the onset were to assume a "listening posture", ask for and expect to receive spiritual guidance of thought and emotion, and use all of your senses (it's not just about deep thought, the goal is to travel in the mind and be present at the events with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength).

Because of my state of mind, I was brought to a place I suspect few others in attendance could have easily gone ;) I did not have a "full mystical experience" but I definitely had a very positive experience and I also felt amazing.

Just for the record, I did not do any of the driving that evening.  Also when I got back home, my wife wanted to talk about something serious, but I was in such a positive mood from the mushrooms that I could not keep myself from laughing.  And since laughter is so contagious, I got her laughing too.  We both ended up laughing so hard we were in tears (the subject was just some of the crazy things we've had going on in our lives recently).  It was a cathartic experience.  This was as much the gift of the mushroom that night as anything else.

The next day I feel very relaxed and positive.  I will share more about natalensis mushrooms in the future.

(¹) MAPS was able to obtain a recording of the actual service from Pahnke's widow and has made it available for download or streaming here but its also available on YouTube now too.

(²) Note: There was also sadly somewhat of a "cover up" with the Good Friday Experiment.  One of the participants had a psychotic break during the experiment and had to be given the powerful sedative Thorazine.  This was not properly reported at the time or even included in Pahnke's dissertation, the details only emerged later. Also Leary, who was already in trouble at the time, obtained and provided the psilocybin for this experiment even though his psilocybin access/privileges had already been officially revoked.  And finally the researchers really didn't know what they were doing and kind of did a terrible job in comparison to today's standards.  The participants did not have proper support or  preparation and 8 out of 10 who received psilocybin reported having some difficulties even though they considered the experience overall to be positive. One participant even managed to leave the building entirely and wandered around outside until the researchers were able to bring him back in.

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SOME RANDOM ADDITIONAL UNRELATED THINGS

1) I was in attendance at the Horizons Perspectives conference in New York last year when Dr. Roland Griffiths dropped the bomb shell revealing publicly that he had stage 4 terminal colon cancer.  In the past he has been quite reserved in general with the press particularly about his own psychedelics usage, but now that he knows his time is short, he has opened up more with the press and I thought this interview from a few days ago was worth reading.  He has generously created a new psychedelic research institution funded into perpetuity by various supporters which will undoubtedly positively impact psychedelic research for generations, a truly wonderful parting gift.

2) I received many inquires about alternative HEPA filters on Amazon that I linked to in my laminar flow hood TEK asking if I could confirm they worked since the original one I recommended and tested had sold out.  As of just this week, I have purchased and tested those alternative filters and great news, they work just as flawlessly as the original, and the price is actually lower too!  They look identical to the original ones and I suspect they are made at the same factory, good build quality and great reviews: https://amzn.to/3Gq94cK

3) The Spring 2023 Cultivar Cup deadline is June 1st, 2023.  If you have an interest in contributing to the science of mushroom testing, you should start now any project with some variable you think might be useful to test.  Two months is enough time to get something submitted.  More details on the cup here: https://magicmyco.org/the-cultivar-cup and Doma also made a light hearted video showing his lab and a short demo of the sample collection and processing.  He has also done some excellent work recently on new and improved extraction techniques which I will post more about in a future video.  Any entry into the cup helps support the very existence of the lab which in turn supports the psychedelic community in many ways (countless people have already benefitted from the research done at this lab and there is a lot more to come).

Regards,

Gordo

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Links to all of my TEKs, Videos, Trip music, and frequently asked questions with answers can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/22774475 (everything is made available for FREE, I do not use pay walls, support the work only if you feel like you've benefited from it and you are able to do so).  People have told me my work has helped them overcome depression, addictions, PTSD, relationship issues, direction in life, and to have important, meaningful, sometimes life changing mystical experiences.  I feel honored and blessed to play a small role in this.  That is my reward.