Happy Monday and welcome back to The Drop In! Today’s message is coming to you from the depths of the Redwood forest in Big Sur. The trees are calling, and there’s a lot to get into, so we’re going to jump right into the juice of today’s psychedelic dispatch.
Our featured story today is about Eliza Dushku, the former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bring It On actress, who’s officially left Hollywood to become a psychedelic therapist. She’s also knee-deep in the Massachusetts psychedelic reform movement. She even had a meeting with Rick Doblin. You can read all about it below!
If you keep scrolling, you’ll find a breakdown on the Blue Meanies mushroom strain, the trippiest video games for Xbox, a guide on psychedelic cacti and succulents, and an opportunity to donate to UMIYAC to help preserve Indigenous culture.
May the forest be with you,
Mary Carreón
Senior Editor
Together With…
Therapsil is Canada’s first and most prestigious psychedelic therapy training program. For the first time ever, they are opening their programs to international healthcare professionals.
Whether you’re a doctor, nurse, or mental health professional, their program equips you with the tools to integrate psychedelic therapy into your practice.
Ready to join the growing movement? Start Your MDMA & Psilocybin Training
Featured
Eliza Dushku is Now a Psychedelic Therapist
The ‘Buffy’ actress has become a major donor to Massachusetts’ psychedelic legalization movement.
Eliza Dushku found success in one of the most competitive careers imaginable: as an actress in Hollywood. The odds of “making it” in that world are about as good as winning the lottery. She was living not just her dream, but the dream of millions of young women.
And that’s what makes her career pivot so fascinating.
This story isn’t about how a celebrity actress now supports the psychedelic movement. That’s great news, but it’s not the point.
The real story here is about how a woman reclaimed her personal power after staying silent about being sexually abused for over 20 years. Her experience of opening up about her abuse while being seen, heard, and believed by others opened up a path to profound healing—aided by psychedelic therapy.
Her dramatic experience in MDMA therapy, in turn, catalyzed a rearrangement of her life priorities. She consciously turned away from a highly successful career others would die for, giving up fame, money, and celebrity status to pursue what she says is “so clearly my real calling, my real purpose.”. (We are so happy for you Eliza!)
It makes you wonder if the “real calling” for each of us is buried right in our own hearts, beneath hard, crusted-over layers of unhealed wounds.
Our Latest
Watching movies while tripping can transform into a wild, fully-sensory immersion into another world. With the magical way psychedelics connect different ideas, memories, and experiences, the right movie can become a profound catalyst for creativity, insight, healing… or 2 hour fits of laughter (also important!). Check out DoubleBlind’s list of best movies to watch on psychedelics.
Speaking of full-sensory immersion into other worlds… video games on psychedelics give you a chance to actually participate in another world. The combination of stunning visuals, epic plot lines, and killer soundtracks can be utterly captivating. Here are the trippiest video games for Xbox.
& More Must-Reads
Panaeolus cyanescens, aka “Blue Meanies” are incredibly strong little mushrooms. They have 200-300% more psilocybin than Psilocybe cubensis and the experience is noticeably different. Even better? You can find them growing on wood chips in at least 78 countries. Discover more about how to forage, grow, and trip with this tiny but mighty fungi.
We know of a cat who once ate an entire vial of LSD. According to sources, he became the most loving and respectfully communicative cat anyone had ever met (RIP Batman!). Mushrooms, however, are a completely different story. Here’s advice from vets on what to do if your cat eats mushrooms.
This “Leaf of the Gods” induces vivid lucid dreams. According to traditional Mexican curanderos, it can answer questions, heal “shame illnesses” and remove spiritual blockages. It feels like mild cannabis, but nobody really understands exactly how this Mexican oneirogen (dream-making) plant really works. Get the full story (and how to cultivate and use it) here.
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Support independent psychedelic journalism and become a DoubleBlind+ member here.
Learn with Us
🍄 Some of the best treasures psychedelic treasures are hidden underground. Here’s the difference between magic truffles and magic mushrooms
🪷 For thousands of years, ancient Egyptian royalty used Blue Lotus to induce a state of ecstasy. Get our favorite recipe for using this sacred flower
🌵 Read our full guide to The Keepers of the Matrix. It’s a deep dive on the many, many varieties of psychedelic cacti and the lessons they are here to teach.
🧪 The chemical difference between psilocybin and DMT is just one tiny phosphate group, but the trips take you to totally other dimensions. Discover the nuance between these two compounds.
DoubleBlind Supports
DONATE: In 2009 the Colombian constitutional court declared 34 Indigenous Colombian ethnicities at risk of “physical and cultural extermination.” UMIYAC, the Union of Indigenous Yagé Doctors of the Colombian Amazon, needs to raise $200,000 to help preserve their culture and the wealth of knowledge it carries.
If your soul has ever been touched by Amazonian plant medicines, please consider supporting its Indigenous guardians and stewards. Donate to the UMIYAC here.
At DoubleBlind, we believe in reciprocity—the idea that everything in the world is interconnected and that we have a responsibility to uplift a psychedelic ecosystem that centers equity, inclusivity, and healing for all. Through our work, we hope to help our community participate in this effort with us.
Together With…
Are your gut bacteria forcing you to eat chocolate cake at midnight? According to the A-Team of gut bacteria scientists, the answer might be yes. They found a powerful link between cravings, gut bacteria, and a little-known hormone called GLP-1. So they developed a probiotic to replenish your microbiome and can increase levels of this “un-hunger hormone”.* It’s a wild new approach to probiotics and holistic health.
…and it works. The results don’t lie. 91% of people report less cravings, based on a survey of 274 Pendulum customers!
Try it here and get a 20% discount on your first month.
*Disclaimer: based on preclinical studies
Watch Now
Lead Singer From Incubus Opens Up About Psychedelics, Creativity, and Mysticism
If, like us, you grew up listening to Incubus, one of the biggest bands of the early ‘00s, you’re going to love this interview with Brandon Boyd, their lead vocalist. And, to nobody’s surprise, psychedelics played a critical role in his path (come on… they had an album called “Fungus Among Us”. We all kinda knew 🍄) Watch the full interview here.
Around the Web
A psychedelic facilitation program in Oregon, shut down this month due to rampant underemployment in their graduates. What does this say about the future of legal psychedelic work? Read the full story in local Oregon paper, The Willamette Week.
Music has always been a potent force of social and cultural change. Now a new breed of artists have become a driving force of the Psychedelic Renaissance. Read the full story in Rolling Stone.
Psychology-talk is invading every aspect of our lives, including traditional plant medicine work. But this modern individualistic lens may create limitations and consequences we don’t fully understand. Listen to The Emerald’s podcast episode The Revolution Will Not Be Psychologized here (or wherever you listen to podcasts).
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