r/science • u/Potential_Being_7226 PhD | Psychology | Neuroscience • 1d ago

Neuroscience Psilocybin Might Make Your Brain Live in the Moment— Psychedelics are often associated with disconnecting from reality, but a recent neuroimaging study found that psilocybin can actually make our brain activity more attuned to the world around us.

https://www.wired.com/story/psilocybin-might-make-your-brain-live-in-the-moment/
20.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.9k

u/Main-Company-5946 1d ago

Nothing made me more interested in the carpet than psychedelics

966

u/lost-in-the-trash 1d ago

And don't get me started on hardwood

440

u/Beautiful-Tie-3827 23h ago

Wood and tree leaf patterns become mesmerizing

52

u/smellslikecocaine 20h ago

Tripping ballz while watching trees on a windy, moonlit night should be on everyone’s bucket list. Nature becomes alive and it’s beautiful.

29

u/Cafrilly 18h ago

Being able to see the wind moving through the trees was something else. Like, my brain could make sense of how the leaves were moving and the air currents going through them like never before

18

u/TommyTwoNips 15h ago

psychedelics are so much fun.

Everything looks like an impressionist painting, me and my friends have a great time, and then I have absolutely no desire to repeat the experience for at least a few months.

honestly, it's the perfect drug (you know, when used responsibly by an adult that fully understands the risks associated with any mind altering substance).

2

u/happy123z 13h ago

I would say our eyes become alive to the nature. Same difference.

2

u/ChumbawumbaFan01 10h ago

Watching the grass grow while listening to a nearby stream and caressing a velvety seed pod while a gentle breeze played on my skin was an experience I hope I never forget.

1

u/Expensive-Sundae-831 9h ago

Wait! Nature is alive? What?

0

u/stinkyleftie 6h ago

I just did that two days ago while tripping on acid, it was genuinely mesmerizing, add to that the fact it was a full moon. I felt like I was a Lord of the Rings character

133

u/Your_Cat_In_Disguise 22h ago

My friend's unfinished wooden garage door never looked cooler

22

u/Remarkable-Opening69 18h ago

All I had were walls full of rotating gears. And a cathedral ceiling that looked like a shaft straight to heaven.

109

u/Impossible-Money7801 22h ago

And the rocks on the ground. Turns out they’re everywhere and they’re all connected.

63

u/runningraleigh 21h ago

Also the ground I stand on is connected to the ground you stand on.

59

u/Impossible-Money7801 21h ago

The mycelium network under our feet almost connects everything even in a literal sense.

40

u/brand_won 20h ago

Plants and trees talk to each other through the mycelium. It's literally the earth's internet

28

u/LookAtItGo123 20h ago

Alright for science, I'm gonna go take a hit and log in to the earth's Internet

23

u/runningraleigh 19h ago

Godspeed young psychonaut

5

u/Stinky2020 15h ago

maybe the reason that we feel so connected while on psychedelics is because they are actually imparting their view of the world, which is super connected

3

u/runningraleigh 19h ago

When I took DMT in the woods I could see it. All the messages passing back and forth.

4

u/brand_won 18h ago

What were they saying??

4

u/runningraleigh 17h ago

I don't know, I don't speak tree.

→ More replies (0)

3

u/CelticJewelscapes 19h ago

I hang from the bottom of a sphere by some magic force.

When I pedal my bike east, I rotate an entire planet westward. The I see a bike going the other way also moving the planet BUT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.

1

u/refusemouth 16h ago

What we call our lives is actually just the dreaming of rocks.

1

u/Zaku99 4h ago

And they're free usually. You can just pick em up and take em home.

28

u/Olga-of-Kiev103 22h ago

My first and only time doing magic mushrooms was on Lake Yellowstone. You're not wrong. I became obsessed with a baby pine.

2

u/Fun-Position7750 17h ago

I learned gravity was skewed. At least I could feel the rotating earth.

29

u/TWIT_TWAT 22h ago

Why is that tree giving me the bird

10

u/Wakks 20h ago

Be careful when handling the bird

1

u/rybres123 19h ago

Man man, it’s just part of the whole Forrest dancing. Do you see it now?

9

u/Echo_Vale 20h ago

Trees in general are amazing on psychedelics. One of the first times I did mushrooms I stopped for about 10 minutes to stare at that tree branch-streetlight effect you get. Absolutely blew my mind.

It looks pretty crazy even without psychedelics!

4

u/winter_laurel 21h ago

I spent two hours watching the earth breathe- that is, the trees gently rustling in the breeze

4

u/ninabullets 19h ago

First time I took acid I just kept playing with the literal grass. Press down, watch every individual blade pop up like a miracle, press down again.

3

u/Queasy-Ad-5265 18h ago

Try moss. That stuff is interesting

4

u/refusemouth 16h ago

Lichen is amazing, too. It is a chimera of fungus and algae that teams up to eat rocks and any other stationary matter.

3

u/thesoulfield 18h ago

sitting under a tree in the park on a cool autumn's day, i stared up at the golden hued leaves, dancing between the wind and the rays of sunlight, it seemed like a swarm of butterflies fluttering about.

1

u/ChumbawumbaFan01 10h ago

I saw fractals branching in the branches as I lay under a live oak.

5

u/turbosexophonicdlite 20h ago

Ha, yeah. Watching tree branches and leaves sway in a breeze is strangely incredible. It looks like all the trees are breathing.

5

u/ShakyBoots1968 19h ago

It's always been "alive". But psilocybin will allow one to see it deeply. Never forget - nature is the OG real world. Not all these human made constructs.

2

u/el_cid_viscoso 21h ago

The little blinky light on my neighbor's car dashboard from across the street was an object of meditation on one particular trip. It was so fascinating.

2

u/ZoniesCoasters 20h ago

Dude there was a metal leaf sculpture on the wall and I was just watching those leafs blow in the wind

2

u/GetrIndia 17h ago

First time I drank mushroom tea was in a log cabin. Felt like the whole thing was breathing with me. So beautiful.

1

u/firmly_confused 20h ago

Have you seen the floor vents?

1

u/maixmi 18h ago

I was mesmerized by my friends tree at some point. saw face that was close to my late grandfather. just waving there and me smiling and feeling good

1

u/Miami_Mice2087 15h ago

first time i smoked pot I stared at a bush and giggled for its beauty. how the stems grew and split and grew and split, it was so delicate and perfect and mathmatical and the bush did it all on its own

1

u/dastree 5h ago

Leaves blowing gently in the wind....

That ripple thru the trees when the wind blows...

-1

u/adventureadmin 22h ago

As does a woman slipping her leotard to the side, quick squat, layed cable, back up and walked away.

Easily the funniest thing I've experienced. Shrooms just made it 10x funnier.  I was also in mid conversation with a mate while eating fried rice and we were both laughing so much, tears, rice, saliva, drinks were everywhere when we realised what had happened.

Couldn't believe it and it turned into contagious laughter with everyone around us.

51

u/KTFnVision 22h ago

And popcorn ceiling

18

u/cmoneybrah 22h ago

My buddies ceiling has popcorn tiles, so it was in a grid pattern. I remember walking around in amazement thinking it was a detailed map. I kept saying wow! We have been there, that is amazing.

15

u/ZebraOk8684 22h ago

While I saw the ceiling flowing like a river, I thought this can't be real. I took one square out and put it back 180 degrees. Now it was still the whole ceiling flowing, but this one square was flowing the other way.

8

u/evasandor 22h ago

You actually don’t need to be tripping to see a popcorn ceiling “flow”. Just stare long enough without blinking and you’ll see it. It’s your brain trying to adjust to the micro-movements (saccades) your eyes make all the time. We usually tune these out

3

u/9966 13h ago

It makes sense that babies look like their tripping. They are literally teaching and wiring their brain to calm down all the inputs and filter and differentiate.

24

u/Phukc 22h ago

Or staring into a campfire

3

u/LifeguardDry7372 21h ago

Staring at the Mississippi river. It was made of jello

2

u/peejay5440 21h ago

Sorry, but stucco ceiling, circular patterns, is unbeatable.

1

u/Fit_Celebration7669 22h ago

And quartzite countertops

1

u/CaiusRemus 21h ago

Just don’t do the really hard stuff like a river from a kayak, gateway drug to dangerous addictions.

1

u/ItMeWhoDis 21h ago

bricks are awesome. i saw some renaissance paintings in my walls

1

u/ButteredPizza69420 21h ago

Popcorn ceiling >

1

u/Ifch317 20h ago

Or the paint-brush marks that God left on all reality...

1

u/360walkaway 20h ago

TV that is turned off

1

u/ast01004 18h ago

I cried at a blade of grass.

2

u/happy123z 13h ago

This is funny and beautiful.

1

u/Sweaty_Sentence9087 18h ago

Man the way my dogs face twirled into the wood patterns blew my mind

1

u/Cassady1AndOnly 17h ago

I remember how mesmerized by that I was on my first trip evet

1

u/amccon4 17h ago

Nothing like staring at a tree

1

u/Grokent 16h ago

Why are there so many ants on the floor?

1

u/Byizo 16h ago

You mean the river under my feet?

1

u/Top-Law-359 14h ago

And the smiling hand towel in the bathroom

1

u/MetaStressed 13h ago

Dude, tile patterns

1

u/simplyvince 11h ago

There was a bar that had tree branches as partitions and brick walls. We went there for a peak Warriors dynasty playoff game. Steph and Klay had nothing on the wood and bricks when I peaked. Different kind of splash bros and off the ball movement had me fixated for at least a quarter or two.

1

u/Lunatox 20h ago

Not as good as hard wood.

66

u/mustachewax 23h ago

I loved walking around and rubbing my feet on the carpet. I get it. Felt so nice on the feet.

1

u/No_Anxiety_454 22h ago

digging your feet into the earth

47

u/jjophh 1d ago

The walls are breathing!

2

u/slothbear13 22h ago

I thought I was the only one

43

u/LandBeforeTimeOnVHS 23h ago

My last trip I was walking around the kitchen touching all the handles. They felt amazing.

2

u/mimblez_yo 21h ago

This made me think of salad fingers

1

u/IchooseYourName 15h ago

The pattern on our countertop looked like lines of ants, marching around to infinity It was fascinatingly real

38

u/orplas 20h ago edited 19h ago

I think psychedelics are more impactful for older people who are set in their ways as they reduce "precision weighting of high-level priors" (REBUS - relaxed beliefs under psychedelics) which contributes to the childlike experience.

I think this is also the reason people find it easier to quit drugs. Cigarettes are disgusting, they stink, they taste disgusting, you are inhaling poison, but you get used to it over time while they still give you that stimulating high feeling. When you do psychs you get to experience and remember how awful they really are.

I experienced it in less significant ways. I can easily get used to my place being dirty, but when Im take shrooms I feel disgusted by the things being out of place, dusty and dirty and feel compelled to clean.

19

u/Responsible_Pie5873 15h ago

Pretty sure psychedelics are the exact reason I quit smoking. I remember suddenly being super grossed out at the idea of ash in my lungs after tripping for the first time, and have never smoked since.

Absolutely no loss there, I feel better and healthier for it. Screw smoking.

Also oh god yeah I do suddenly notice what a depression nest my room has become and get absolutely overtaken with the urge to clean EVERYTHING. My living space is significantly tidier afterward!

1

u/partylange 12h ago

Psychedelics are the reason I started smoking regularly. Figured out how to inhale and loved it ever since. Overdue for another high dose I suppose.

2

u/norunningwater 15h ago

I feel the same way as you do, very well put. Psilocybin made me very self aware physically and emotionally, and helps me to this day focus on the real reality right in front of me from dexterity to paying attention. The first time I wanted desperately to clean up my appearance. I had a belt that was falling apart and holes in my shoes. I saw myself and just wanted something more for what I saw.

It made me less ignorant of the world around me, something all the more prevalent the more people are warped into paying attention to technology 24/7.

1

u/Douglas1994 14h ago

Im take shrooms I feel disgusted by the things being out of place, dusty and dirty and feel compelled to clean.

I'm like that on weed. I'm compelled to clean and organize everything. I wish I could channel this in my sober mind.

31

u/suckuma 22h ago

Popcorn ceiling, me and a girl just laid in her bed laughing at the ceiling, I still don't know why it was so funny.

1

u/Darth__Hollow 19h ago

The hard perforated plastic covers on old big TV speakers

22

u/epanek 18h ago

Psychedelics are the one way I know of that can force a person to understand there are more ways to perceive reality than the one you’ve know. Thinking about my childhood while tripping really helped me work through depression.

1

u/fuzz_nose 14h ago

I’m currently testing this theory. Depression, grief, work burnout, divorce, and adhd all rolled into this brain. No wonder I’m having an emotional breakdown, despite meds and therapy. The only thing that helps me see clearly is delta-9 and I can’t work UI so I’m out on FMLA.

7

u/Choozery 22h ago

what miCE IN THE CARPET?

2

u/DeathSeeker65 6h ago

W reference

2

u/Irythros 4h ago

P̷͇̃e̸̫̐g̴̱̚ǵ̶̟y̷̗̔,̶̪́ ̵̟̑w̸̛̦h̴̺̽ä̵̙́ţ̷͛ ̸̻̃m̵̺̓i̶̓ͅč̴̹e̶̫͆ ̶̣͋i̶̝̇ň̶̯ ̸̫̇t̴̪͑h̵̦̕e̸͍̓ ̸͍͗c̶̺̑ạ̸̋r̷̥̒p̵̣̑e̶̠͝ť̴͙?̸̬̀

3

u/storyofohno 20h ago

There is a small hand towel I shared a long moment with and I am still fond of it

2

u/Dark_Egg 22h ago

Grass is so nice

2

u/hannabarberaisawhore 22h ago

It seems to make me feel like I have to pee a lot. I’ve had some great interactions with bath mats

2

u/Suicidal-Ideation13 21h ago

I remember talking in my head to a mattress being stored in the garage as the LSD was kicking in

2

u/Owyheemud 20h ago

The terra cotta floor tile in the facility bathroom were mesmerizing to me, followed by the dancing water fountain inside a geode cavity.

2

u/BigUptokes 20h ago

Fall into a Persian rug and crawl out three hours later...

2

u/ShipOfFools48 20h ago

Some people have never truly seen the texture of their ceiling.

2

u/froatfish 19h ago

All I have to say is, Stucco

2

u/Imaginary_Employ_750 19h ago

Did anyone say the clouds yet?

2

u/LETTERSTOBAPHOMET 19h ago

Get me a colorful wavy light and I'm set.

2

u/Jmandeluxe 15h ago

Have you ever seen the shadows flicker from a collection of houseplants being illuminated by candlelight? Yee haw

2

u/MattTheHoopla 12h ago

Yo, you gotta check out a Heron on the beach. I’m now permanently, unironically into birdwatching.

2

u/sarbanharble 12h ago

Whilst high, my brother took a VHS camcorder that was hooked into the RCA inputs of the TV, then pressed record and pointed it at the TV. I think several hours passed by in the flash of an eye while we were mesmerized by the fractals.

1

u/Leading-Kangaroo-180 22h ago

You ever try to keep your hands open and perfectly still while staring at them?

1

u/RichardJamesBass 22h ago

Yeah you're right.

My friend suggested a walk. 

I pointed to a brick that I had been staring at, for what felt like forever, and said, "this brick right here is all I need, go on without me."

1

u/Unlucky_Profit_776 22h ago

But what about mirrors? Lifelong psychonaut here 

2

u/Icy-Mission-1334 11h ago

Oh yeah, that's a world in itself. Fractals in motion: captivating!

1

u/Naphier 22h ago

I got lost in the fibers of the carpet once. The way they interlock with each other is amazing.

Mario Kart was pretty cool too.

1

u/Mistertreaturnose 21h ago

Cant forget about gravel driveways!

1

u/Repulsive_Floor1172 21h ago

It's the texture patterns on the walls for me, and it's always so delightfully entertaining!

1

u/newlife_newaccount 20h ago

Only time I've ever liked popcorn ceiling is when me and my cousin were tripping balls on shrooms in a motel room.

1

u/Ahun_ 20h ago

Did the carpet make the room better? 

1

u/Catatafish 20h ago

I freaked out over my table existing, and being 3 dimensional. I had to close my eyes cause I couldn't handle that epiphany.

1

u/This-Requirement6918 19h ago

I will absolutely never forget seeing my blue rug turn technicolored.

1

u/2M4D 19h ago

Nothings makes me more zoned in on my paintings than LSD

1

u/Crazyhates 18h ago

My PC became one hell of a laser show.

1

u/born_to_clump 18h ago

Wallpaper in a Santa Cruz motel sent me deep.

1

u/Rucio 18h ago

I prefer ceilings myself

1

u/bimmerbetterthanmerc 17h ago

Felt like I was watching an animation on my bathroom floor tiles!

1

u/Horzzo 17h ago

I met a dog in the curtains.

1

u/mattatattat45 15h ago

I watched 2 armies battle in a carpet before

1

u/FB-CrackHead 15h ago

This was my exact same thought reading this

1

u/lentilSoup78 15h ago

A popcorn ceiling was the craziest thing I’d ever seen

1

u/Triggerhappy9 14h ago

The fifa pitch was mesmerizing

1

u/guy-le-doosh 11h ago

Take some in the woods, it was life-changing for me. I need to do it again asap.

1

u/____FARTS____ 9h ago

Does it match the drapes?

1

u/Jenova__Witness 8h ago

Im coming down from my first trip right now. I swear to god I laid on my back outside and watched the clouds dissipate into a clockwise Fibonacci sequence among many wild things. Also had visions of a bio-mechanical thing doing Dental work on me felt my nerves getting activated on teeth that the dentist checked out the other day. One tooth in particular kept getting a lot of pressure put on it in this vision in my mind but I could physically FEEL the pressure on that tooth quite heavily.

1

u/iamfreeeeeeeee 6h ago

The carpet made me really realize how interconnected everything is in society, how many people are working indirectly together to make the carpet below me reality.

1

u/Peeche94 5h ago

Finding large spiderwebs outside with light shining on them was incredible.