I took psilocybin (est) 100+ times. My recommendations are the opposite of yours. First, I recommend everyone who is highly self-aware and extremely curious about the nature of the mind try it, _multiple times_ . There is literally nothing else (besides other psychedelics) that can - so easily - blow apart the doors of the mind and give access to what lies beneath the surface.
I don't suggest reading anything written in a commercial / contemporary setting prior to the experience. It will "infect" you with somebody else's ideas / models of the mind. What I do recommend, is immersing oneself in the myths and archetypes of one's own culture.
Finally, it goes without saying that psilocybin is not really a party drug and works best for inner exploration (psychonautics). One should minimize outside distractions by laying down, with eyes closed and listening to white noise or minimal ambient music whilst focusing on an "inner dive".
A lot of people use it as a party drug though. It's becoming increasingly common to microdose because it has similar effects at small dosages as MDMA -- elation, putting a shiny glimmer on the world. I'm not recommending it, but I see it increasingly often here where ecstasy used to be the norm.
I'm not sure we should ever be encouraging people to do a deep psychonautic dive. We don't know what past history of mental health issues someone may have in their family or what crucial brain development stages they may be at in their maturing psyche. I'd hate to be the reason someone dove off the deep end into mental illness because they were just at the precipice of brain development. I may not have experience, but I do know that psychedelics are not a one size fits all.
As long as the risk is stated, I think encouraging the use of psychedelics is fine.
I don’t frown on people using them as party drugs, but I do hope they eventually do them out of those settings in a more mindful way.
I’ve seen people transform through the use of psychedelics, not because it impregnated them with new ideas but because it let them feel free to explore the wide range of ideas available to them.
I don't suggest reading anything written in a commercial / contemporary setting prior to the experience. It will "infect" you with somebody else's ideas / models of the mind. What I do recommend, is immersing oneself in the myths and archetypes of one's own culture.
Finally, it goes without saying that psilocybin is not really a party drug and works best for inner exploration (psychonautics). One should minimize outside distractions by laying down, with eyes closed and listening to white noise or minimal ambient music whilst focusing on an "inner dive".