The ‘more of what you already are’ idea seems very reductionist and unhelpful to me.
There are definitely real risks that need to be made known around pre existing mental conditions and psychedelic use. Those are appreciated.
But your thesis suggests that transformative experiences are unlikely to happen which from personal experience I can say is false. The impact of a breakthrough psychedelic experience can be profoundly positive especially for those starting from a less enlightened place.
BUT everyone knows that guy who has the “I’m Jesus” moment instead of “we’re all Jesus” and it’s usually easy to see it coming in retrospect.
> transformative experiences are unlikely to happen which from personal experience I can say is false. The impact of a breakthrough psychedelic experience can be profoundly positive especially for those starting from a less enlightened place.
I don’t think they are downplaying the transformative potential, but saying that you don’t get to choose what you transform to. Increase in neuroticism is also a type of transformation that occurs with psychedelics that seems to be downplayed or exclusively attributed to set and setting.
Anything that gets you out of your default mode network and amplifies your brain activity non-selectively will indeed be that “more of you” as OP claims, and where you land or how much of that experience you can integrate heavily depends on your original psychological organization.
There are definitely real risks that need to be made known around pre existing mental conditions and psychedelic use. Those are appreciated.
But your thesis suggests that transformative experiences are unlikely to happen which from personal experience I can say is false. The impact of a breakthrough psychedelic experience can be profoundly positive especially for those starting from a less enlightened place.
BUT everyone knows that guy who has the “I’m Jesus” moment instead of “we’re all Jesus” and it’s usually easy to see it coming in retrospect.