A Fun Guy
In his presentation about the potential for psychedelic mushrooms as a modality for improving mental health, world-renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, thanked Maria Sabina.
Maria Sabina, of course, is the Oaxacan “Sacerdota de los Hongos,” the Priestess of the Mushrooms, who, from around the 1950’s to the 1970’s was known for having healing ceremonies in Mexico with the use of entheogenic mushrooms.
Statmets credited her because she was a true healer—a curandera—who honored the mushrooms themselves. She even referred to them as children.
Paul Stamets’ work in the study of mycology, which began in the late 1970’s, has led to a quiet revolution in praise of mushrooms for their psychedelic, nutritional, and ecological benefits. For more information on this, check out Fantastic Fungi on Netflix.
I’ve long been a believer in entheogenic mushrooms as medicine having eaten some in my younger days, however I’ve avoided them as nutrition for the last couple of years. After a bout of prolonged gut health challenges straddling the early years of the pandemic, food sensitivity testing suggested I avoid them.
But I’ve been rigorous with my food regimen and I’ve since healed my faulty pipes. So, around the new year, I decided it was time to start incorporating them back into my diet.
I was immediately reminded how delicious they are and how they can go with any meal, cooked or raw. The varieties are endless, plus, they’re unique in their texture and mouth feel. They’re not quite vegetables, nor are they meat.
They’re also loaded with vitamin D, a nutrient we can all use, especially during the cold winter months.
Fast-forward a few months and I eat some kind of mushroom at least once a day now. I also started taking mushroom tablets, essentially mushrooms in capsule form, as well as mushroom gummies designed for mental clarity.
So perhaps I might be overdoing the mushroom intake after a few years of avoiding them, but I can say this: I’ve seen a vast improvement in overall gut health, immunity, and mood.
While I’m not dosing the kind that Maria Sabina might have once given to her patients, I believe I am partaking in a ceremony with an ancient being. Mushrooms, in fact, evolved before humans did, so that must mean they are likely a bit smarter than us. And who couldn’t benefit from some more intelligence and nutrition, these days?
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Unsplash
