Why Psychedelics May Help Us Fight the Climate Crisis
The clock is ticking, but there’s reason for hope
Before I made it my mission to spread awareness about psychedelic medicine, I was a strategy consultant focused on climate action.
Yet, I’ve since come to the conclusion that promoting the intentional use of psychedelics will likely maximize my impact on the longevity of this earth much more than any sustainability consulting would ever do.
Read on to learn why.
Our Planet Is in a Dire State, Progress Isn’t Happening Fast Enough
I will make this short. If you’ve clicked on this link you’re likely familiar with the severity of our climate crisis.
We are well into the sixth extinction.
The latest UN report announced “code red for humanity”.
We are scarily close to 1.5° celsius warming and are well on track to reach 2° celsius in the 21st century unless we make drastic changes.
For anyone who educates themselves on the topic, the severity is unquestionable. After diving in during grad school, I was periodically swept off my feet by waves of climate grief. Personally, I’m reconsidering having children in light of the uncertainty that awaits us.
UN scientists say there are only 11 years left to take action against irreversible climate damage.
At this point, our biggest problem is not a lack of knowledge or information but inertia.
In a 2017 study, 75% of survey respondents in the US agreed that “the country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment”. Yet, only 1 in 5 Americans actually reported making an effort in their daily lives.
The underlying problem that prevents most people from action is the disconnection from nature. By seeing nature and humans as separate things, we’re indulging in the illusion that we personally aren’t affected.
Yet, the reality is that humans are nature. Michael Pollan talks about how odd he finds it that we humans talk about our relationship “with” nature, when, in reality, we are nature.
Until this disconnection is repaired, it’s unlikely we’ll see the kind of action required to permanently change the trajectory of our planet.
That’s where psychedelics come in.
Psychedelics Connect You Deeply To the Earth and Reinforce Reverance for It
Yesterday, I spent all day in nature. After a 3-hour hike in the Santa Monica mountains and a long beach walk, I watched the sunset. Some tender tears rolled down my face. I didn’t cry because I was sad, I cried because I was taken so fully by the beauty of my surroundings. The pastel-colored sky, the seagulls painting strides in the air, the comforting rhythm of the ocean tides.
Just a few years earlier, I was living in New York City and didn’t expose myself much to nature at all. An occasional weekend trip sufficed. Nature was nice, but I wasn’t as deeply touched by it as I am now. I was also scared of most animals. I preferred the comfort of the indoor life to outdoors most times.
What changed?
I started working with psychedelics.
Three years ago, I started journeying with mushrooms, Ayahuasca, and San Pedro. I was curious to explore consciousness and have illuminating experiences, but most importantly I was on a mission to permanently heal my persistent eating disorder and debilitating depression — with success.
All my symptoms are gone and my life feels nothing like it did four years ago.
The severe disconnection that had led to depression and addiction has since been replaced by a strong sense of belonging to this planet.
Feelings of interconnectedness and unity are inherent to the psychedelic experience. It’s hard to describe the realization that “we are truly all one” these substances reliably induce. It comes in many different shapes and forms and goes hand in hand with “ego dissolution”, an experience encountered at high-dose trips in which the boundaries of time and space dissolve.
In addition, I’ve had Ayahuasca ceremonies during which I transformed into the burning Amazon and experienced the earth’s pain firsthand. I once found myself on the moon with a vision of “the blue marble”, the very image included in this article above. At the beginning of a recent mushroom ceremony, I spent some moments crying in grief for our planet.
These experiences have led to tangible shifts in my life. I stopped eating meat and reduced my consumption of animal products. I try to minimize waste. I limit flying. I try to shop more sustainably as much as possible. I began to shift professionally and focus my work on climate action.
I’m not saying this to boast, I’m saying this because it’s so easy to not care. I used to fly business class twice weekly and constantly buy new clothes from Zara. It’s easy not to care that your cashier is handing you a plastic bag.
Sustainable living is certainly on the rise, but the reality is that most people still don’t care as much as they should.
Psychedelics make you care.
I’m not the only one having that experience. Studies from Imperial College London show that psychedelic use significantly increases “nature relatedness”. One single high-dose psilocybin journey was enough to trigger this effect which persisted even at a 12-month follow-up.
Personally, I’ve since worked with impact investment funds to incubate sustainable financing vehicles and helped institutions create infrastructures for carbon credit markets.
Yet, I came to a point where I realized that changing systems can only take us so far if the majority of people still don’t feel the connection to their land that would be required to make them good stewards of it.
The Systemic Failures of Capitalism Are a Reflection of the Human Mind
There’s a Monastic Academy in Vermont for “the preservation of life on earth” that has an intriguing viewpoint.
Their underlying belief is that everything that happens in the world is a reflection of our human minds.
Not the collective human mind, but the collection of all individual minds.
That implies that we won’t solve our problems until we “awaken” every individual human mind. Until we manage to do so, there will always be individuals who’ll continue to create systems that sacrifice long-term planetary health for short-term financial gains.
That’s quite a radical position. Yet, I don’t believe it’s an unreasonable one.
Until governance structures change and capitalism ceases to be the guiding principle within which we operate, there will always be incentives for greed to dominate decision-making.
That’s, of course, only the case in a disconnected mind, however.
Psychedelics May Help Us To (Indirectly) Trigger Mass Connection
If I had one wish it would be that every person on this planet could see this earth through the eyes with which I see it.
If that were the case, nobody would be hesitant to take drastic action.
Sometimes, I’m tempted to think that the solution to our problem is to give everybody magic mushrooms somewhere in nature.
Then, again, as researcher and writer Michael Pollan notes in a GQ interview, “is it possible to prescribe a drug for an entire country?”.
Not only are psychedelics illegal, but they can also produce challenging experiences. It’s not for everyone.
Here’s what I do hope, however.
The more people take psychedelics, the more action we’ll trigger. Perhaps, these people will make it their mission to work on climate-related problems as I did. Or teach children to connect with nature, or hold wilderness retreats, or find other ways to increase “nature connectedness” in those not suitable for psychedelics. Perhaps they will create more technologies and companies that are helping fight climate change. Perhaps they’ll introduce policies that support our earth.
I don’t believe we need every single person to take psychedelics. I believe there are ripple effects. I can already see them in my environment, my community.
At this point, the psychedelic renaissance is truly the only thing that makes me hopeful about the future of our planet.
May we embrace it with an open heart and a curious, non-judgemental mind.
Curious to learn more about psychedelic healing?
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