420 — Why Psilocybin Belongs in a Church, Not a Clinic With Eric Osborne
Spirit Gym with Paul Chek
Why Psychedelics Need Spiritual Community
Eric argues that mushrooms belong within enduring spiritual communities because healing, identity, and integration develop through relationships rather than isolated retreats.
More than a decade ago, Eric Osborne co-founded the world’s first public psilocybin retreat In Jamaica (MycoMeditations) on the heels of Michael Pollan’s revelatory New Yorker feature, The Trip Treatment.
Eventually, Eric left the world of wellness retreats behind to establish Psanctuary, a Louisville, Ky., church that allowed him to create an ideal environment where he could build a permanent and legal community that focuses on people and healing with psilocybin.
Eric Osborne shares his amazing journey from teen snake-charmer to spiritual leader and healer, explains why a church is the best place to do psychedelic work and reveals what he learned from his first experience with psilocybin at age 19 that he keeps exploring even now, this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Eric and his work at his website and his Psanctuary website (where you can check out his My Mushroom Map mini-course). Sign up to read the first chapter of his upcoming book, The Psychedelic Reformation, at this link. Find Eric on social media via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.
For Spirit Gym listeners: Eric is offering Spirit Gym listeners a 10 percent discount on all three courses Psanctuary teaches — his upcoming live, three-session My Mushroom Map Bootcamp (via Zoom) starting on Monday, Oct. 26 and Level 1: MySelf Training and Level 2: Friends and Family Spaceholder Training geared for people seeking out deeper journeys — through this special link. Save 10 percent on these courses by using the promo code SPIRITGYM at checkout.
Timestamps
3:39 Eric’s scientific obsession with snakes introduced him to the world of taboo subjects, like mushrooms.
10:57 A sovereign being in a spiritual space.
19:23 “I've learned more from plant medicines than all the books I've ever read in my life and I've read a lot of them.”
24:14 Do you fear consuming mushrooms because you’ll find out what entities are already possessing you?
35:24 Applying material science to psychedelics can be a real problem.
41:40 What Eric learned in his first mushroom experience that he will keep exploring for the rest of his life.
48:18 Eric believes a church is the best place to do psychedelic work.
57:45 Why do so many consider scientism a religion?
1:02:13 Are mushrooms conscious entities?
1:16:31 Eric communicates with mushrooms.
1:49:44 Eric leaves the Jamaica retreat he created to build Psanctuary, a Kentucky-based church.
1:59:49 “Quantum biology will teach us more about the psychedelic experience and what is happening in these states than psychology will.”
2:08:06 “Losing your mind is the entry point to becoming everything.”
2:13:41 Eric is very cautious before he considers playing a role in a ceremony.
2:23:39 Eric’s philosophy on working with someone in a ceremony: “I’m here to help you learn how to use this medicine on your own.”
2:29:24 Could psychedelic therapy wake people up to their own personal empowerment or perpetuate their codependency?
2:37:45 People can come to psilocybin with help from clinical professionals but they’re really not equipped to support you through this sacred experience.
2:47:38 “We cannot truly be ourselves or discover ourselves without a community.”
Resources
Eric’s recent podcast conversation with Kyle Kingsbury
Podcaster Shawn Ryan shares his experience with Ibogaine on YouTube
How Psychedelics Work: The Hidden Mind and Our Power to Heal by Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris
The work of Hunter S. Thompson, Thomas Merton, Paul Stamets, Iain McGilchrist, Albert Hofmann and Rupert Sheldrake
Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding The Dark Side of Psyche by Robert A. Johnson
Paul’s podcast conversations with Hamilton Souther, Robert Forte, Dr. Nathan Riley and Sasha Latypova
Paul’s solocasts on Lucifer, Christ and Ahriman and Shadow Work
Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything by Ervin Laszlo
The Unknown Spirit by Jean Charon
The Are You Possessed? audio program with Paul and Kaedrich Olsen
Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility by James Carse
Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna
Find more resources for this episode on our website.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music
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