What a psychedelic experience with zero drugs feels like

You’re reading Tricycle Day. We ✨ demystify the mystical ✨ by bringing you easy-to-follow psychedelic news every morning.

Here’s what we’ve got today.

• Researchers deep-dive into spontaneous spiritual awakenings

• The world’s largest take-home psilocybin trial is coming to Canada

Plus, we’re trying something new.

Introducing Microdoses, a roundup of outside stories and perspectives to expand your mind.

What the heck is a spontaneous spiritual awakening?

Valid question. That’s exactly what a new study in consciousness research tries to answer.

SPOILER: No, it’s not what happens when you stick a Q-tip in your ear and hit just the right spot.

Psychologist Jessica Corneille defines Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings (SSAs) as “subjective experiences characterized by a sudden sense of direct contact, union, or complete non-dual merging (experience of oneness) with a perceived ultimate reality, the universe, cosmic consciousness, or the divine.”

If you’ve ever had a profound experience on psychedelics, that description probably sounds familiar.

But here’s the thing. These phenomena are NOT triggered by medicine, breathwork, or anything else used to induce an altered state.

They just… happen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mainstream psychology has tended to chalk these kinds of experiences up to mental disorders, since they can share some symptoms with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

But Corneille argues that they occur as standalone experiences in healthy people and can lead to positive long-term outcomes, such as:

1. Lasting feelings of connectedness, gratitude, ecstasy, bliss, and awe ❤️

2. Relief from anxiety and fear of death 💀

3. Improved mental and physical wellbeing 💪

4. Reduced interest in materialism, leading to changes in relationships and careers 💸

The study also found that when compared to other altered states of consciousness, SSAs were most similar to psilocybin and DMT experiences, but even more profound. 😳

Um yes, please. We'll have what they're having.

While SSAs can’t be induced (that’s what makes them spontaneous, remember?), there are some predictors.

Corneille's research shows if you have a personality trait called “absorption,” you just might luck out.

Absorption is characterized by emotional sensitivity and empathy, focus on mental imagery, and proneness to fantasy and hypnotism. Hmmm… 🤔

So, uh, did it work?

The world's largest take-home psilocybin trial

We have a rule over here at Tricycle Day. Any time you see a sign on the highway for “world’s largest” anything, you pull over.

Because c’mon. Would you be able to live with yourself if you missed this?

Now I hate to break it to the fine people of Alamogordo, NM, but today we have a new contender for coolest world’s largest thing. 🏆

Apex Labs just received approval from Health Canada (basically Canada’s FDA) to begin the “world’s largest take home psilocybin clinical trial.”

Apex is looking to show a therapeutic effect on depression and anxiety for adults with PTSD.

Now let’s break that down.

• clinical trial — The study will be a Phase 2b trial. That means it’s designed to confirm the dosage and dosing regimen that will be used in Phase 3 trials.

• psilocybin — Technically, the experimental drug is APEX-52, a synthetic psilocybin drug product that is taken orally as a microdose.

• take home — The trial participants will self-administer the drug (or a placebo) in an outpatient setting, meaning without the direct supervision of a doctor.

• world’s largest — The researchers are aiming to recruit 294 adult subjects. Other trials have tried to evaluate microdosed psilocybin, but so far results have been inconsistent. A bigger study population means more reliable and statistically significant results.

From a scientific point of view, the jury is still out on whether microdosing psilocybin actually works. Thanks to Apex Labs and Health Canada, we may soon quiet the naysayers once and for all.

So raise a glass to our northern neighbor. We’re all Canadian today.

Microdoses

Veterans Affairs official talks need for psychedelic research and administrative guidance to protect veterans who use substances like psilocybin.

Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky is calling for more research into MDMA to help us understand feelings of connection and loneliness.

Couple who go to psychedelic therapy twice a year claim it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for their relationship.

Psychologist Kath Temple discusses the history, politics, and science behind LSD and magic mushroom microdosing.

Clinics and scientists around the world aim to turn a profit from ibogaine, but it’s an ethical and legal wild west.

That's all for today! If you're picking up what we're putting down, share this newsletter with all your friends. New subscribers make us trip! 😵‍💫

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.