Psychedelics Change The Organization Of The Brain
Finally, there is ample evidence that psychedelics can change the way the neurons of the brain make connections to each other.
Psilocybin has been shown to increase the amount of entropy in the brain (Tagliazucchi et al, 2014). In other words, psilocybin allows neurons to work through connections that it normally doesn’t use. The brain becomes more flexible, and more unique. We make associations we normally wouldn’t make, becoming more creative. We discover completely new ways of thinking about the world and ourselves.
Image from Petri et al, 2014, showing the additional connections made between distinct areas of the brain on psilocybin.
Psilocybin has also been shown to have the power to “reset” the typical control structures of our brains. The DMN, or Default Mode Network, is implicated in different mental processes such as awareness of ourselves and our place in the world, social thinking and cognitive empathy, and thinking about the past and planning the future. It’s often overactive among people suffering from mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Psilocybin has been shown to shut down the DMN, and “reset” it into a more healthy configuration (Carhart-Harris et al, 2017).
Ultimately, psychedelics like psilocybin clearly have wide-ranging and profound effects on the way our neurons communicate and grow.
Penis Envy Mushroom
Penis Envy has higher levels of Psilocybin compared to other strains, it is one of the best mushrooms for experienced psychonauts. Penis Envy mushrooms have thick, dense, fleshy stems and bulbous caps.
Users can expect a wide variety of possible effects and sensations, from the mystical, euphoric and revelatory to the hyper-spatial and mind-alteringly observational. Some have report unlocking ever deeper doors of perception, time distortion, hallucinations both when eyes are closed or open, synesthesia (i.e. “seeing” sounds and “feeling” colours) and in some cases, fractal surfing, living geometry, cosmic entities and even stargates.
The typical dose for most magic mushrooms is between 1 and 2.5 grams of dried mushrooms. One gram of this strain can feel like two or three grams of a less potent strain. It can be a bit overwhelming for first-timers. Remember to stay hydrated, especially if you’re outdoors or doing activity like dancing, and try sipping some honey ginger tea to counteract any possible nausea during the come-up
Golden Teacher Cubensis: Potency and Trip Effects of GT Mushrooms
Golden Teacher (short form GT Mushroom) is a popular cultivated strain of Psilocybe cubensis, one of the world’s best-known hallucinogenic mushrooms. The name reflects the light brown, yellowish, gold top caps of this strain (wild P. cubensis is usually a little darker) and also the insight many users report receiving.
Whether Golden Teacher is really more educational than other varieties is unclear; many users swear that the quality of the trip depends on the strain of mushroom involved, with some being more visual, others more physical, and so on, while others insist a cube is a cube is a cube (potency does vary). Either way, P. cubensis is known for producing a variety of enjoyable “symptoms,” including euphoria, introspection, and hallucinations—and some that are less-pleasant, such as nausea and sometimes anxiety. Serious side effects are rare but possible. There is some evidence that psilocybin, the psychoactive substance present in Psilocybe mushrooms, may have some medicinal value, though it is still extremely illegal in most jurisdictions (one reason there hasn’t been much research).
There are many psychoactive Psilocybes besides P. cubensis, as well as some hallucinogenic species in the Amanita genus that contain a very different active substance and hence give a very different kind of trip. Any of these might be said to be “magic,” but usually when people refer to magic mushrooms or shrooms, they mean P. cubensis, either the wild type or a cultivated strain, like Golden Teacher.