Tribal Shamans of the Amazon relied upon the healing powers of plants for thousands of years before science discovered them. Before science, there was religious discovery by way of missionaries, many of whom were threatened by the existence of Shaman healers, and quickly demonized their practices.

Humanity evolved alongside plants, animals and fungi in a symbiotic balance that early religious explorers stigmatized. Foods and psychedelics are intertwined throughout human history in the form of physical nutrition and spiritual nourishment.

The idea that these substances can and should be used to heal the human body is not a new one, but is only being rediscovered through scientific study. This is another way in which science is catching up to nature, not discovering new connections at all, but rediscovering what was lost.

Lion’s mane mushrooms can give a person heightened alertness and focus, and were used by Buddhist monks in their meditative practices for millennia. Ibogaine has powerful psychedelic properties so profound for those recovering from addictions that it can bring the most lost among us back into the light.

Psilocybin’s powerful psychedelic properties are capable of bringing new perspectives and insights to our lives, things we never thought possible.

What we consume as food or for spiritual growth changes our bodies and our minds, and as we have evolved along with the plants and animals of this world, connections have been made that we can’t possibly understand. This is how our destiny is inextricably linked to the destiny of Mother Earth.

There’s more out there hiding in the rainforest, deep in the jungles of the Amazon, waiting to be discovered. The mysteries of how a variety of different mushrooms are connected to the human mind may never fully be explored.