Sale! How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

★★★★★ An engaging and thought provoking call for investment in further research. My wife Ivy and I have been avid readers of Michael Pollan's previous articles and book-length works especially those involving healthful eating and the food industry. By way of background I am a forty-something surgeon and my wife is an author and blogger with MS who has on occasion had to cope with condition-related mood issues. Without having done much research into the psychedelics other than to ensure they are indeed medically safe (as this book discusses in more detail) a couple years back we participated in several overseas guided ayahuasca (a psychedelic plant mentioned in How to Change Your Mind) sessions. Our experiences as a couple participating both to obtain hoped-for medical benefits and for, in my case, the "betterment of well people" to quote Pollan's book have been discussed online and mirror the experiences described by Mr. Pollan and by the numerous academic professionals, researchers, and patients interviewed throughout this journalistic masterpiece. To describe this further is beyond the scope of my review but we can vouch that this book is one hundred percent serious journalism and that research investment into the study of psychedelics as medications for treatment resistant psychiatric conditions and as spiritual aids for the betterment of humanity is very much needed and is well underway as described in detail in Pollan's book.As for the prosaic the book is over 400 pages and written at an advanced level and will engage the most curious of readers. The book is organized into six chapters. The first is a broad introduction to the topic of psychedelics and the second discusses psychedelic mushrooms which possess an active ingredient that is the topic of many current-era human research studies. The third chapter discusses the first wave of psychedelic research (I had no idea that in the 1950's these substances were academically studied and thought to hold great promise only for that research to be practically shut down as a result of the political upheaval of the late 60's) and is of great interest to anyone interested in the history of these substances even if one has no interest in their pharmacological effects. The fourth discusses the author's own personal experiences as a middle-aged adult with the psychedelics and he is spot-on with his fascinating first person descriptions of the experience. Finally, chapters five and six discuss current research, expected medical benefits and benefits to the well-person, the neuroscience behind the actual function of psychedelics in the brain, and proposed solutions for safely distributing the psychedelics to persons who could benefit.For many readers this book will "change your mind" about the loaded term "psychedelic" and will open you up to at least the possibility the world could be a better place if these substances could be studied with as much zeal as are other pharmaceuticals and could be offered safely for the benefit of the millions of persons worldwide suffering from conditions related to dysfunction of the mind.

★★★★★ A fantastic book on a fascinating subject. I've enjoyed several if Michael Pollan's other books and I was intrigued after watching his Google talk on this one. I have never used psychadelics and knew very little about them, other than various stereotypes from TV and film, anecdotal reports from friends, and horror stories from health class. In his talk he touched on a few points that really stuck with me, such as the promising research into psychadelics treating a variety of mental disorders, and the history and influence of them in high tech. I'm so glad I decided to pick this book up because I absolutely loved it. It's one of my favorite books I've read, and my favorite from Michael Pollan. Other longer reviews likely delve into what content to expect so I'll outline what stuck out to me as especially interesting and enjoyable.- Michael Pollan's writing is a joy to read. I highlighted a hefty portion of this book, and many of those were little phrases and descriptions which perfectly captured what he was trying to describe or captured the essence of someone's character.- Speaking of characters, Michael Pollan crossed paths with a host of eccentric characters, and his descriptions of them were a delight to read. Many were "out there" by most standards but he documented their ideas, theories, and life choices fairly and without judgement.- On that note, this book deals with a tricky subject matter, and handles it quite well. Much of what he's documenting is at least for now outside the realm of science, and he does an excellent job describing what science is there now, where the research is headed, and what experiences and ideas we may just never be able to explain with the tools of science. The subject matter is also, of course, illegal, and many readers with certain backgrounds or in a certain age bracket will come to this book with prejudices, thinking they understand psychadelics as a negative force on society which derails lives and drives young minds to mental disorder. I would strongly encourage anyone with a negative view of psychadelics to give this book a try. Michael Pollan's narrative on these drugs is largely positive (assuming the right setting and context), but I think he also gives a fair voice to their potential risks and detractors.- This book changed how I think about my own mind, and while I'm not about to rush out and buy a bunch of LSD I have been very reflective of how my mind works, what this experience of conciousness even is, and most importantly how my ego / sense of self doesn't have to be my entire identity and what the benefits of letting go of that a bit could be. I've struggled my whole life with anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking, and thought spirals. The descriptions of getting stuck in certain modes of thinking and becoming destructively inward focused felt dead on. That something as simple as a mushroom or meditation can shake the brain up and help someone escape from deeply ingrained patterns of thinking is fascinating and potentially extremely important. I feel like I can now step back a bit and identify some of these destructive patterns in my own thinking where my ego runs wild, and on the other end of the spectrum can reflect back on sublime "mystical" feeling experiences I've had, and how small but connected I felt to things (like MP I feel uncomfortable using like "mystical" and "spiritual" but that's the language I have to work with).- The stories in this book are great and often very funny. Because each section, even the more science heavy ones, are presented as well told stories, the book is very engaging and information easy to take in.This review may come across as disjointed but that's because I'm still sorting out all of the interesting information and insights I gained. Definitely give this one a read if you're feeling open minded.

★★★★★ O melhor livro que já li sobre psicodélicos e enteógenos (e já li vários).Pollan mais uma vez nos cativa com sua prosa cativante, concisa e precisa! Nos entregou um texto simples, porém com uma incrível abundância de conteúdo e referências a diversos outros autores e pesquisadores. Nesta obra ele apresenta um viés extremamente sóbrio e necessariamente cético sobre esse polêmico tema. Apesar de todo ceticismo do autor, ele lança questões perspicazes, dinâmicas e honestas...Melhor livro do ano pra mim. Já admirava o autor e fiquei muito satisfeito com mais essa jornada que ele nos traz.