Christopher Hobbs – The Magic Mushrooms Course

This opening session begins the way you want to begin any experience with psychedelic medicine… with intention. Christopher will lead you through a meditation exercise to visualize your inner world and open to the spiritual essence of the mushroom guiding spirit as it exists on subtle energetic levels, allowing you to begin connecting with this sacred energy medicine without even having to physically ingest it.

In this module, you’ll:

• Hear about Christopher’s own spiritual awakening, which launched him on the path of inner expansion in his early 30s
• Explore how modern humans were thought to have arisen with the discovery of fire, the role psilocybin and other hallucinogens may have played in informing our great leap in brain capacity, and the many steps of growing consciousness over the eons since
• Discuss current research on the ego, the internal conversation with “ourselves,” and how specific regions in the brain are associated with our sense of self
• Delve into how medicinal mushrooms can help you navigate the difficult journey to see the contrived, protective ego for what it is as a complex construct from many sources — such as conditioning by parents, guardians, teachers, and society on how to act and how to be, defining our limits and value as people
• Develop compassion for yourself while you integrate a pragmatic approach that this medicine affords in healing the part of you that has become entombed by early traumatic events — that has developed to keep you safe from pain, anger, and sadness — but that also keeps you from realizing your greatest sense of thriving and aliveness throughout your precious life

Twenty-five states in the U.S. are in the process of studying psychedelics for medicine — and some cities and states have already decriminalized psilocybin and other substances. Clinical trials performed so far support benefits for mood disorders, addictions, existential fear that can occur after a cancer diagnosis, and much more.

Get ready to explore a historical review of psychotropic use, the legal landscape, and the science behind psychedelic medicine, including:

• A brief history of psychedelic medicine in general throughout the ages
• The 3 Delphic maxims, the Eleusinian mysteries, and the hero’s journey
• Stories about the discovery of psilocybin mushrooms with Maria Sabina, Albert Hofmann, and Gordon and Valentina Wasson
• Training, lineage, and practices of Don Antonio, a third generation ayahuascero
• The end of formal psychedelic research, the banning of psychedelics as Schedule 1 substances, and the resurgence in current times with major companies getting involved in the commercialization of psychedelics
• How psychotropics affect brain architecture (modeling, strengthening of synaptic connections, untangling disordered networks, neurogenesis)

Let’s get into the latest discoveries on brain function and neurophysiology, how psilocybin affects functioning, its mechanisms of action, an overview of neurochemical pathways, and how neurochemicals make us feel (featuring major neurotransmitter messengers — serotonin and gaba — as well as benzodiazepine, cannabinoid, and others).

This module includes sections on:

• The neurotrophic factors (molecules) within mushrooms that enhance the growth and survival potential of neurons
• Scientific research and clinical trials supporting benefits — such as research finding that psilocybin might act as a neurotropic
• Brain architecture, default mode network, and the ego structure and functions
• How psilocybin and other hallucinogens act as a serotonin agonist
• Major brain chemical receptors, pathways, and how they interact
• Edibles — since they can be an acquired taste to many (mixing mushrooms with your favorite foods is an easy way to consume them)
• Extracts — psilocybin is present in over 200 species of mushrooms, and can be easily extracted
• Alkaloid extraction from psilocybin mushrooms
• Zide Door, a church in Oakland, CA supporting the safe access and use of entheogenic plants, including psilocybin mushrooms

When considering psilocybin as an ally in this life’s journey, many questions can arise. After addressing safety issues and the efficacy of psilocybin for helping ease our suffering and reduce psychological and emotional symptoms like depression, anxiety, and addiction, another important question arises: how can I obtain some mushrooms?

It’s natural to wonder how to buy them, if they’re really psilocybin instead of some other more toxic species, if it’s safe to buy them, and how much it will cost. It is wise to question this process and even the mushrooms themselves.

In this module, you’ll discover:

• How to safely identify species from the genus Psilocybin
• The 5 characteristics that have to be present to help ensure safe identification in the wild — or even for dried or freshly cultivated mushrooms
• Opportunities that are opening up monthly for purchasing high-quality mushroom fruiting bodies
• How for people who like to garden, growing your own mushrooms is easier than you might think — sterile spore syringes are available for several strains of psilocybin, as are many instructional videos, books, and articles that detail how to go about it step by step
• How to take them… fresh, dried, or by extract or tincture
• How long the preparation lasts (the alkaloids can break down over time in some conditions), how to stabilize the activity over time, and how to store them
• Combining psilocybin with other herbs like kava or chocolate

It’s time to explore the importance of facilitators, facilitator networks, and underground facilitators. You’ll learn how to work with facilitators, what they do and can offer, and how they can help you integrate and practice the important healing and transformative insights and lessons gained during a session.

In this module, we’ll touch on:

• The meaning and role of guides and facilitators
• Training and the curricula of available courses
• Academic training and licenses required
• How to choose the facilitator and where to find the best
• What a facilitator does, their training, their experience, and how to decide who’s right for your journey
• Costs and options
• Other hallucinogenic modalities and their potential therapeutic benefits: MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin at higher doses, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA
• Typical steps during psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and how you’ll feel before, during, and after
• The importance of set and setting (music, art, comfort, the vibe)
• How the facilitator creates optimum set and setting for your journey
• How the session might go — and how you’ll take the insights and benefits gained with you
• Case Study: Oregon, the first state to decriminalize psychedelic substances and publish draft guidelines for training programs, cultivation, products, selling, and marketing (going live January 1, 2023)

When it comes to the effects of psilocybin, for any set, setting, and personal need, dose is a very important factor in how things will go. Start low and go slow is often a good idea. We’ll discuss all aspects of dosing — how much to take and how often for each situation and intention (such as enhancing creativity or mindfulness).

Two major ways of using psilocybin are microdosing and macrodosing. Microdosing is taking a very small amount of the mushroom to enhance creativity, mindfulness or spiritual practice, alertness, or connectedness with nature, others, or ourselves.

With macrodosing, we’re getting into higher doses, where time can stand still and suddenly we find ourselves in a new world of discoveries, possibilities, and powerful insights into our very nature as a unique individual and the path to our true selves. People taking these higher therapeutic doses consistently report that the experiences they have are among the most profound spiritual experiences of their lives!

Christopher will walk you through the many uses and potential benefits of microdosing, sharing his more than 40 years of personal experience — featuring stories of how it’s helped him and many others look at and release old habits, outdated ways of thinking about the world, and false notions about personal limitations.

In this discussion-based session, we’ll:

• Address important practical considerations before, during, and after an experience
• Hear about Christopher’s own experiences and those of others, garnering insights into a broad spectrum of experiences
• Look at reports detailing the potential downsides of long-term use
• Explore clear guidelines for dose, frequency, set, and setting
• Cover synergistic herbs (kava, syrian rue, etc.) to use with psilocybin microdosing for various entourage effects — and how this can benefit you