When Jesus Shows Up on a Psychedelic Trip

A conversation with Elizabeth Oldfield on the psychedelic renaissance, why New Atheism is dead, and the limitations of seeking peak experiences, including in the church.

For the past several months, I’ve been getting Instagram ads for mushroom micro-dosing. Maybe you have too. We’re living in what’s been called a psychedelic renaissance, no doubt due to compelling findings in recent decades that various psychedelics — most commonly psilocybin, the psychedelic found in mushrooms — are shown to be powerfully effective in treating PTSD, eating disorders, and various other mental and spiritual maladies.

Image: Unsplash / Pexels

On the whole, this is not your Boomer parents’ “tune in, turn on, drop out” vibe remixed for the TikTok generation. While hallucinogenic drugs will always attract reckless and dangerous use, today’s psychedelic renaissance is on the whole more intentional, framed as self-care, personal growth, and a quest for God.

I hadn’t given much thought to psychedelics until 2019, after reading the book we perhaps have most to thank for mainstreaming the conversation. Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind is a fascinating and pretty wild read…