Oregon's Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Initiative

Activists in Oregon are pushing for decriminalizing psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound produced by more than 200 species of mushrooms. Oregon is considering a measure in 2020 to allow access to "guided psilocybin services," while lowering penalties for possession. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that psilocybin-assisted therapy is a safe and uniquely effective treatment for depression and anxiety, PTSD, and addiction to drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. Additionally, the measure would create access to services for those interested in personal development and open doors for new research. Investigating alternative treatments for mental illnesses is vital, as currently, many people are suffering and they have no hope of relief using available drugs and therapies.

According to PSI Chief Petitioners Tom and Sheri Eckert, "The intent of the 2020 Psilocybin Service Initiative of Oregon is to advance a breakthrough therapeutic model currently being perfected in research settings at top universities around the world. The service model involves a sequence of facilitated sessions, including assessment and preparation, psilocybin administration, and integration afterwards. We envision a community-based framework, where licensed providers, along with licensed producers of psilocybin mushrooms, blaze trails in Oregon in accordance with evolving practice standards."

At a meeting hosted by the Oregon Psilocybin Society ("OPS"), Tom Eckert (co-founder of the OPS) explained that the measure is focused on bringing psilocybin services to Oregon. The proposed psilocybin services would require a participant to engage in three therapeutic phases: Screening; Guided Mushroom Consumption; and Integration. Eckert emphasized that a person could benefit from psilocybin therapy "immediately" and completely upon consuming mushrooms, which Eckert described as a "one shot deal." Eckert contrasted the proposed one-time psilocybin therapy with conventional pharmaceutical approaches, which often require a patient to adopt a long term pill popping routine. To learn more, visit the Oregon Psilocybin Society's "Psilocybin Services Initiative" website by clicking this link.

5 Proven Benefits of Sound Therapy

Calming and soothing music can transform our mood and help us feel relaxed. Similarly, a hard rock song or a driving dance beat can get us pumped up and make us feel like we're on top of the world. While there are many claims about what sound healing can or cannot do, there are certain benefits that are proven by scientific studies. Here are 5 proven health benefits of sound therapy backed up by science:


 1. Reduces Anxiety

The most common mental health problem in the world is anxiety, and women are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders as men. A 2016 University of California study entitled "Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study" found that "sound meditation participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood," adding that "Tibetan singing bowl meditation may be a feasible low-cost low technology intervention for reducing feelings of tension, anxiety, and depression, and increasing spiritual well-being."

2. Alleviates Depression

By helping people express their emotions, music therapy appears to be an effective treatment for depression. Twice a week, with the help of trained music therapists, the participants in a 2011 research study (published in The British Journal of Psychiatry) learned how to improvise music using a mallet instrument, a percussion instrument or an acoustic, West African djembe drum. Study results demonstrated that participants receiving active music therapy in addition to standard care had a significantly greater improvement in their symptoms than those receiving standard care alone after three months of treatment. According to a study by McGill University in Canada, music can increase the production of dopamine. Dopamine is responsible for elevating our mood and is often referred to as one of the happiness hormones, meaning it can be used to help alleviate depression.

3. Helps Patients Suffering from PTSD

Music therapy is often prescribed as a self-management technique for PTSD sufferers. A study took place from 2010 to 2011, and enrolled 40 veterans with significant PTSD symptoms, half of whom were returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. The six-week intervention, which was conducted with assistance from the Guitars for Vets chapter at the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI, consisted of veterans receiving an hour of individual guitar training each week and a weekly group instruction session. Veterans also received a guitar, along with sheet music and other supplies that they were allowed to keep after the study concluded. In the study, it was found that music therapy did in fact positively benefit in terms of relieving symptoms of PTSD. In addition, findings suggest that the music therapy was effective in reducing depression symptoms and improving health-related quality of life.

4. Lowers Blood Pressure

Among the many benefits, it's found that relaxing music and sound therapy can help lower blood pressure. Lowered blood pressure reduces cardiac risks and keeps other health problems at bay. This was also observed in the 2016 singing bowl study conducted by the University of California. This study conclusively proved that sound therapy can reduce anxiety, depression, fatigue, and overall stress levels. Stress, according to current medical research, contributes to nearly all disease and is a primary cause of such life-threatening illnesses as heart attacks, strokes, and immune system breakdowns.

5. Promotes Deeper Sleep

If you struggle to get out of bed in the morning, you're not alone and lack of sleep has got to be one of the worst feelings ever. There have been several studies that prove sound can help patients achieve a deeper sleep. White noise, in particular, can greatly improve the quality of sleep in people suffering from sleep disorders. White noise is a special type of sound signal with a full spectrum of frequencies which is used to mask background sounds. When used to promote healthy sleep, white noise helps to drown out sounds which might otherwise prevent you from either falling asleep or waking up. The benefits of sound therapy for sleep deprived patients are so widely accepted that doctors prescribe white noise machines and even hospitals use them.

Book Review: "The Shamanic Journey"

Shamanism represents a universal conceptual framework found among indigenous tribal humans. It includes the belief that the natural world has two aspects: ordinary everyday awareness, formed by our habitual behaviors, patterns of belief, social norms, and cultural conditioning, and a second non-ordinary awareness accessed through altered states, or ecstatic trance, induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. The act of entering an ecstatic trance state is called the soul flight or shamanic journey, and it allows the journeyer to once again communicate with animals, plants and all living things. Shamans believe that this direct communication is possible because the entire universe exists within human consciousness. The capacity to enter a range of trance states is a natural manifestation of human consciousness. Our journeying ability is part of our human heritage.

In his book, The Shamanic Journey: A Practical Guide to Therapeutic Shamanism, shamanic practitioner, teacher and psychotherapist Paul Francis has created a practical step-by-step guide to experiencing your first shamanic journey, developing a relationship with your power animal, and interpreting trance experiences. Shamanic journeying is not an exceptional skill reserved for certain people, but knowing what to do with intuition, how to respond to it, and how to integrate it into day-to-day life is an exceptional skill that can, and should, be learned. Building on the core shamanism developed by Michael Harner, author of The Way of the Shaman, Francis has written a common sense guide for beginners interested in shamanism and looking for a place to start practical application of its practices for themselves. At once both practical and deeply thought-provoking, this book examines how to make shamanic practice relevant and central to our modern-day lives. This useful guidebook is recommended to anyone seeking to experience the shamanic journey -- a core practice common to all shamanic cultures.

5 Good Reasons to Harness the Power of Drumming

1. To ground you in the present moment: Drumming helps alleviate stress that is created from holding on to the past or worrying about the future. When one plays a drum, one is placed squarely in the here and now. The drumbeat somehow manages to anchor you while simultaneously creating a sensation of movement. Another paradox of rhythm is that it has both the capacity to move your awareness out of your body into realms beyond time and space and to ground you firmly in the present moment. It allows you to maintain a portion of ordinary awareness while experiencing non-ordinary awareness. This permits full recall later of the visionary experience.

2. To become a vessel of healing: When you drum, close your eyes and focus your attention on the sound of the drum. Become one with the beat of the drum. Allow the drum to empty your mind of all but the rhythm you are playing. You must empty yourself to be filled up by the healing power of the divine. Emptiness is the true nature of reality and the goal of all meditative practice. When you get out of your own way to allow spirit to work through you, you become a vessel of healing for others.

3. To build community through drum circles: In a society in which traditional family and community-based systems of support have become increasingly fragmented, drum circles provide a sense of connectedness with others and interpersonal support. A drum circle provides an opportunity to connect with your own spirit at a deeper level, and also to connect with a group of other like-minded people. Shamanic circles provide an authentic experience of unity and interconnectedness. Group drumming alleviates self-centeredness, isolation and alienation.

4. To access a higher power: Recent studies demonstrate that the drumming provides a secular approach to accessing a higher power and applying spiritual perspectives. According to research published in the American Journal of Public Health, "shamanic drumming directly supports the introduction of spiritual factors found significant in the healing process. Shamanic activities bring people efficiently and directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, focusing the client on the whole body and integrating healing at physical and spiritual levels. This process allows them to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize their own knowledge, and to internalize their answers; it also enhances their sense of empowerment and responsibility. These experiences are healing, bringing the restorative powers of nature to clinical settings."

5. To achieve self-realization: Drumming facilitates the realization or fulfillment of one's own potential. As Ute-Tiwa holy man Joseph Rael points out in his book, Being and Vibration, "Drumming opens up three basic vibrations. Drumming awakens the self. Drumming heightens the ability of perception, and drumming enables the person to see into the deeper realms of the self." Drumming connects us to our true self -- to our soul. Once connected to our soul, we can discover and actualize our true potential.

Victory for Pine Ridge!

Mission accomplished! After more than 1,200 of you sent emails in a single day, the White House declared a public assistance disaster for the Oglala Sioux Tribe -- a major victory for Pine Ridge, where 97 percent of the people live below the poverty line. This incredible news means that the Oglala will receive more than $10 million in support to rebuild public infrastructure like roads, water systems, and public housing. While it's an extremely satisfying conclusion to months of hard work, we must not rest on our laurels. Lakota People's Law Project's flood relief efforts have been costly but well worth the investment. Your generosity now can provide for the crucial battles ahead. Please give today -- and consider making a monthly contribution -- as we gear up to defeat the Keystone XL pipeline and assist Pine Ridge's full recovery.

Shaman's Journey Song

Journey Song

I go in my canoe
all over
in my vision.
Over trees
or in water
I'm floating.
All around
I float
among whirlpools.
All around
I float
among shadows.
I go in my canoe
all over
in my vision.
Over trees
or in water
I'm floating.
Whose canoe
is this
I stand in?
The one
I stand in
with a stranger.
I go in my canoe
all over
in my vision.
Over trees
or in water
I'm floating.

--Northwest Coast Tsimshian (1)

1. David Cloutier, Spirit, Spirit: Shaman Songs, Incantations (Providence: Copper Beech Press, 1973), pp. 67-68.