A film titled Fantastic Fungi (click) was supposed to come out about now, and my wife was really looking forward to seeing it. But all the theater performances were cancelled because of the coronavirus, and I thought we'd have to wait until the Fall.
But that didn't satisfy my wife, and she sent me off looking for a way for her to see it. I found the Website for the film, and bought the download for $14.99 so we could watch it more than once. The film starts off with a 45-minute study of mushrooms with absolutely gorgeous photography. I watched that with my wife a couple nights ago, but then fell asleep during the second part. I watched it fully awake last night. The second part covered the medicinal use of mushrooms, and I have to admit that I'm not fully accepting of what they had to say.
I guess what bothered me was the comparison of the effect of a "trip" on psilocybin with a mystical religious experience. That's something I have to think about. The film spoke positively about both types of experience, and how they broadened perspectives so people could see beyond the restrictions of everyday thinking. I have a family member who is beset with mental health problems, and the movie made me wonder if "magic mushrooms" might be able to help her. Oh, I would support anything that could help her get away from the demons that have plagued her for the last thirty years. She used to be so sweet and wonderful and creative - and fragile. The movie says that one treatment with mushrooms can balance a person out for months, instead of taking some daily pharmaceutical that deadens the mind.
So, I think it's worth talking about this, since many of us are unreconstructed hippies that are at least somewhat open to all this. What do you think?