According to a new study conducted by Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, people that take psilocybin (pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin), an illegal drug made from mushrooms, can have a profound spiritual experience.

In the study, partially funded by the federal government, 36 volunteers who had never taken halucinogenic drugs were given a single dose of either psilocybin or the stimulant methylphenidate (Ritalin). The volunteers "lay on a couch in a living-room-like setting, wearing an eye mask and listening to classical music" during their 6 hour trip and then were asked about their experience.

Twenty-two of the 36 volunteers reported having a "complete" mystical experience, compared to four of those getting methylphenidate.

That experience included such things as a sense of pure awareness and a merging with ultimate reality, a transcendence of time and space, a feeling of sacredness or awe, and deeply felt positive mood like joy, peace and love. People say "they can't possibly put it into words," Griffiths said.

Two months later, 24 of the participants filled out a questionnaire. Two-thirds called their reaction to psilocybin one of the five top most meaningful experiences of their lives. On another measure, one-third called it the most spiritually significant experience of their lives, with another 40 percent ranking it in the top five.

About 80 percent said that because of the psilocybin experience, they still had a sense of well-being or life satisfaction that was raised either "moderately" or "very much."

Maybe psychedelic drug experimentation will make a comeback after all.

Source: LiveScience