Mushrooms Rewire your Brain
Learn from my 90 year old Greek Grandma!
This article is comprised of:
I. An anecdotal story
II. Facts about psychedelic mushrooms
III. How to participate in a mushroom ceremony (with fun photos)
IV. Contact information to connect with a spiritual community that hosts events (no mushrooms involved😉)
V. Resources to do your own research
I. Story
Υιαγια* was 90 years young when she took her first magic mushroom trip. (*pronounced yah-yah = grandma)
Okay, trip may be too intense of a word. Afterall, she didn’t experience an ego death or a therapeutic breakthrough or even visuals of dancing bonsai trees.
Taste is more like it.
Four years ago, my Greek Goddess of a Grandma, had her first taste of a psychedelic mushroom. A microdose. And from the looks of the modest grin that emerged from her face, she liked it.
Υιαγια was not new to experimentation. She danced with Mary Jane on more than one occasion in her late 80’s. Υιαγια lived as a cautious yet curious 🐱. She would meet her own resistance at each new door—trusting that her affinity for the antics of her avant-garde granddaughter held the key! So, when psilocybin was presented to her as a means to explore unfamiliar landscapes with a passionately wide-eyed guide, she took it.
“Maybe you will remember things you have forgotten. Or maybe you will feel delightful. Or maybe it will be a new experience for us to share together. Here, have a little nibble, if you like.”
Who could resist the seemingly innocent proposal?
Υιαγια’s chocolatey eyes connected with her grandbaby’s as she raised her brows and reached for the 🍄. Since she spoke mashed-up Greek and English, she often shared her internal world by relying less on the spoken language and more on her physical presence. And her grandchildren followed suit. Absorbing her. Being. Just being.
That night, she began gently bobbing her head, as if she was grooving to a jazz record that only she could hear. True swag. She looked up from across the table before she gloried into a slice of deep dish 🍕 with the sweetest smirk across her lip. The lightness of her being was infectious. The image of that smile has since served her granddaughter with eternal delight.
This is love. This is αγάπη (agape).
Are you as experimental as Υιαγια to fetch for da fungi? Are you as open as Υιαγια to let go of what you think you know, a memory of the past, and instead allow to enter a vision of the future?
Say that again.
Can you imagine living a life defined as a vision of the future instead of a memory of the past?
(Props to Dr. Joe Dispenza for that one.)
Perhaps Υιαγια would not have described her decision to consume magic mushrooms as her having been “open and brave enough to enter a vision of the future”. Perhaps there was some existential intent or a deep intuition that led to her receptivity, or maybe she just had a sweet tooth.🧁
II. Facts about Psychedelic Mushrooms
Psychedelic, or magic mushrooms, are on the rise. Do you know why?
Simple answer, people are on the wise! And clinical trials are proving that shrooms are outperforming SSRIs in helping people feel less depressed😉. Point Blank.
What is the MAGIC? We know that the naturally occurring compound found in magic mushrooms is called psilocybin. But, did we know that psilocybin looks a lot like serotonin? Serotonin being responsible for our moods, mood swiiings🐒, and overall, how happy we are. Simply put, psilocybin and serotonin are similar compounds that activate different parts of the brain.
Not only does psilocybin shine light into the attic but it refills pot holes, too.
Psilocybin expands functional connectivity of the brain.
Pot holes being our memory and quality of our brain function. Like, if you used to know how to play a song on the piano or could recite the lines of a poem, but have since lost the information. Psilocybin appears to act as Director of the Lost and Found. Bridging the gaps and patching up the cracks of our minds. Making things we used to know more available whilst also making space in the closet to add new cloaks to our wardrobe. Are you with me? 🧥
To sum up so far, psychedelic mushrooms can and are bringing joy to people. They are bringing old memories to life, improving cognitive function and overall, making people sing more. 🎶
Chomp on a mushroom and watch everything in my life fall into place?
Ease the disease, soothe the sorrow and soften the hardship? Sign me up, you say?!✅
Magic mushrooms are NOT magic.
Wait, what?!
There is no magic pill to fix any of us. (Not that anyone is broken and needs to be fixed, but that’s a whole other article.) Psychedelic mushrooms are not a quick fix. In fact, consuming them only BEGINS a process of transformation that takes nourishment and consistency, just like when you get a new puppy.🐕🦺
Taking a mushroom journey initiates the neuroplasticity process.
Neuroplasticity = our brain’s ability to rewire itself in ways that lead to long-lasting shifts in our emotional, cognitive and behavioral patterns and abilities.
Key word: initiates. Psilocybin can invoke new patterns of learning and new considerations about what may be possible. One may go from, “I used to be uninterested in journaling about my feelings” to “I now find myself more curious about my relationship with my inner world”. The journey is not where all the neuroplasticity occurs, it is where it begins. The next phase, and what many consider to be the most integral, is known as integration. 🤓
Integration can mean many different things, depending on who you ask. You are asking me? Well, I would say, in this context, integration means giving ourselves the time, space and grace to physically, mentally and emotionally digest our personal experiences after having sat with the plant teacher… so that we may absorb the nutrition it offers.
Often, mushrooms shift our perspectives in ways we couldn’t imagine. When we return to our regularly scheduled programming, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we continue to go the route we have always gone or do we build a new road? Can we do both?🤔
This is the integration process: melding an old world with new-found insight. Insight that connects your authentic inner self with the happenings of your outer daily life.
III. See for Yourself!
Is your curiosity at an all time high?
Are you interested in exploring a mushroom ceremony in a safe space with facilitators that welcome you with open arms? Agape Sanctuary says it all in the name! These experienced, open-hearted and genuine professionals are prepared to guide you on your journey. When you participate in a mushroom retreat, you are getting much more than mushrooms! A retreat is comprised of two ceremonies, workshops, integration circles, and high quality food, to say the least!
Check out reviews from past participants or join for a Q&A prior to committing by going to the Agape website (after you finish this article!) and signing up for the newsletter to stay in-the-know.
Here are a few photos from previous retreats:
IV. Contact Information
—>Have questions or want to talk some ideas through?
Email the Agape team at agapeayahuasca@gmail.com
Sign up for the Agape newsletter: https://agapeayahuasca.com/
Connect on Instagram @nikoletameraki or @agape.sanctuary
V. Resources for further analysis:
Andrew Hubberman’s podcast (a main source of inspiration for this article):
Watch: Fantastic Fungi or How to Change Your Mind on Netflix
Thanks for reading!
Live by the Sun, Love by the Moon 🌙
— Neekól
“Often, mushrooms shift our perspectives in ways we couldn’t imagine. When we return to our regularly scheduled programming, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we continue to go the route we have always gone or do we build a new road? Can we do both?” -so good!
Integration integration integration! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story and deep insight to boot! 🥾🥹✨
Eating psilocybin mushrooms is just the initiation of the self discovery journey. It is not a panacea. Integration is the real deal.
My experience with Agape and the kind facilitators there was nothing but extraordinary and life changing in so many ways.
If you are at a junction in your life where you lack clarity and a sense of purpose in your life, I highly recommend checking out Agape!