The Critical Period with Psychedelic Use
The Flying Sage Journal #23
Today I want to share about a really important component of working with psychedelics known as the critical period.
Have you ever felt like it was easier to make changes in your life after using psychedelics? Have you ever felt an afterglow or a prolonged sense pf spaciousness following a psychedelic experience?
Both of these phenomena, and more, are closely related to this concept of the critical period, a window of heightened neuroplasticity following a psychedelic experience.
This is where true change can take place and one of the big reasons why integration is so important following a psychedelic experience.
What is the Critical Period?
I like to think the critical period begins with the ingestion of psychedelics, encompasses the duration of their effects and then continues to last about 2 weeks after the experience itself has come to an end. There is of course variability in this range as no one person experiences psychedelics the same, but this is what I have generally noticed in myself and with clients at Legacy Journeys.
During this critical period, the brain is in a more open state after undergoing profound alterations in neural activity and connectivity from the psychedelic experience proceeding it.
I won’t get too deep into the neuroscience weeds here (if you want that, please go listen to Manesh from The Psychedelic Scientist) but from a neuroscientific perspective, these after-effects arise from the disruption of typical patterns of neural communication. Psychedelics induce a state of hyperconnectivity, allowing regions of the brain that don't typically communicate to forge new connections. This increased cross-talk between brain regions may underlie the expansiveness and openness that can so often follow an experience with psychedelics.
In this critical period, psychedelics induce a state of neuroplasticity, whereby the brain becomes more malleable and receptive to new patterns of thought and behaviour and this is one of the primary drivers of change following an experience.
In fact, I would argue that it is this critical period that can determine whether your psychedelic experience imparts lasting change or fades into your memory as just another peak experience.
You decide!
Now there is nothing inherently wrong with seeking peak experiences (well actually, depending on how you are seeking them I think there is but that’s a topic for another edition) but if you are intending to work with psychedelics in order to make intentional changes in your life, this critical period is, well… critical to you achieving that.
Tending to the Critical Period
There are many different things you can do to help cultivate change in this period and one method I would like to emphasize here is creating spaciousness in your schedule following a ceremony.
Taking space is important so that you have the capacity to rest and also the capacity to take action on any messages or insights that you gain following your experience.
If you plunge yourself back into a regular busy routine, it will be a lot more difficult to hear the whispers of integration… and oftentimes they are whispers.
A Special Announcement 👋
I hope you have enjoyed this edition of The Flying Sage Journal. Before you go, I wanted you all to be the first to know about CommunityHQ, a new system I am finalizing that will launch later in May through my new brand Community Compass.
This is the exact system and workspace in Notion I have been using to build and manage The Flying Sage for the past four years. A single integrated place to manage companies, relationships, sponsors, affiliates and events…. and it’s yours right out of the box. Just make sure to sign up for the waitlist here if you are curious to learn more.
That’s it for this week folks! If you know anyone that might enjoy reading about the intersection of psychedelics and community, it would mean the world to me if you would please forward them this email.
If you have any feedback or thoughts around what I shared today, feel free to leave a comment below. Would love to know what your experience of the critical period is…
With psychedelic love and gratitude,
- Michael 🤍