Personal Depression and the State of the Earth
Never before have so many people been gloomy, dejected, or depressed as now. The coronavirus has only exacerbated this situation in the past year. Looking at the state of the Earth, it's clear that its nature has been brought into crisis, primarily by human actions. In this blog post, we attempt to find the connections between the many cases of depression, the state of the Earth, and what contentment and connectedness can do to help people and thus positively influence the Earth's state.
Nature is having a hard time
As humans, we don't see the increasing strain on the world and nature; after all, we can't see our nails grow. We're blind to the slow effects we, as a species, are exerting on the climate and the environment. Perhaps we need a time-lapse video to understand the impact of these changes. The changes over an entire lifetime are clearly visible. A wonderful documentary about this issue is available on Netflix and is called David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet. Besides the things we're doing wrong now, the end of the documentary discusses possible solutions.
Why is the economy more important than our environment?
Several factors play a role here. Let's start with the following question: "You could burn 1% of all the oxygen to mine bitcoin with the released energy, making you the richest person on earth. Would you do that?" The answer to this question is often "yes." What if we presented this possibility to a million people? Do you see the parallels with what we are currently doing? All wealth currently comes directly or indirectly from nature and its consumption. The richer you are, the greater your share of the planet's health. The downside of current society is that it rewards individualism and personal goals/growth. It's a rat race, so to speak, toward the destruction of the collective, supposedly to have a better chance of survival. Beyond individualism, the current economic system, which works by passing on debt to future generations, ensures that we need population growth. Without population growth, the economic deck collapses. Our economic system is an inflationary pyramid scheme with population numbers. Society and the economic system have hacked humanity and play on fear and dissatisfaction. There's always something better than what you need to be happy. All successful companies capitalize on that personal reward system, of which we constantly need a new dose. This creates a spiral of wanting more and more and less satisfaction. Furthermore, wanting things creates a separation between the individual and the rest, as the ego grows stronger and stronger. Every time you think you've achieved a personal goal, you get a dopamine hit, but it will never bring true happiness. We will increasingly take more for ourselves.
Bonding and Separation
Seeing ourselves as something different from the rest of the universe is useful for maintaining our code, our DNA. It's a useful illusion, and that's why it's embedded in our DNA code. It allows us to survive as individuals. When the illusion of being different from the rest of the universe becomes too strong, the urge for personal gain, loneliness, anxiety, and depression arise. It's precisely this connection with everything that can enhance our lives, while also allowing us to better care for the world around us. The following video explains the difference between separation and connection with our environment.
Dopamine vs. serotonin
Dopamine plays a role in addictions like gambling, alcohol, cocaine, and anything related to personal gain. The need for too much dopamine, both globally and personally, leads to self-destruction, climate change, poverty, separation, and depression. The drive for more is therefore dissatisfaction. True happiness is based on contentment and connection. While the need for a lot of dopamine creates a lot of negativity, serotonin creates connection, contentment, and therefore happiness and a healthy living environment. We see dopamine and serotonin as two opposites that must be in balance together. The problem now, however, is that the balance is tipping in favor of dopamine, with all the ensuing consequences. For more information on the differences between dopamine and serotonin, watch the following video.
Dopamine detox and psychedelics
To improve the dopamine-serotonin ratio, we sometimes combine a dopamine detox with a psychedelic session. For these sessions, we use psilocybin-containing truffles because psilocybin is converted into psilocin after ingestion and therefore most closely resembles the serotonin in psychedelics. The dopamine detox as a preparation already reduces dependence on dopamine, and the psychedelic session allows you to understand what it feels like to experience increased serotonin receptor stimulation. Such a psychedelic session can help you experience what it's like to be connected to everything, which means satisfaction and happiness, and can reduce your dependence on dopamine. Besides these effects, many other positive effects play a role. If you're interested in the positive effects of psychedelic sessions, you can also read the following blogs.
Dopamine Detox | Positive effects of psilocybin | Return of psilocybin as a medicine | Who is psilocybin suitable for?
Why we do this work
A healthier environment starts with individuals. We believe that if we cure individuals of the urge for false happiness and, consequently, self-destruction, we can also prevent the destruction of the planet. We do this for you, but also for ourselves and future generations. If we can occasionally be content and happy with what we have and not focus too much on what we lack to complete ourselves, then we are already complete. Let's be good to ourselves and sometimes recognize that someone else, the planet, and the universe are also ourselves. Let's stop thinking that happiness can be found somewhere. If you look for happiness externally, you are not it. Let's all open our eyes and rediscover the power that happiness comes from within.
Would you also like other insights?
Do you also want to rid yourself of some persistent illusions and ideas imposed by your previous circumstances? Psychedelic sessions, combined with the right preparation, can be very helpful. While such a psychedelic session isn't suitable for everyone, a psychedelic journey within would be beneficial for most people. With trip therapy, we pay special attention to physical and mental well-being during the preparation phase. If you choose trip therapy, start with an intake so we can advise you.