What do you think?
Rate this book
The Psilocybin Connection - Psychedelics, the Transformation of Consciousness, and Evolution on the Planet– An Integral Approach
A comprehensive guide to psilocybin mushrooms and their impact on our psychology, biology, and social development.
How–and why–do psychedelics exist? Did psilocybin catalyze our early human ancestors’ social evolution? And how can an integral understanding of psychedelics quite literally change the world?
In an ambitious and comprehensive look at psilocybin–and how humanity co-evolved alongside mushrooms–Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD, explores our historical and ancestral relationship to psychedelics, presents new and exciting research, and explores what psilocybin can mean for us today.
Separated into three sections–Present, Past, and Future–Psilocybin Connection advances our understanding of psychedelics in unexpected and original ways. Khamsehzadeh shares compelling research that suggests that naturally-occurring psychedelics may have played an essential role in our social, cultural, and linguistic evolution. Supported by archaeological evidence, neuroscience, and academic studies, he explores how mushrooms gave rise to art and expression, impacted spiritual experiences, and even catalyzed human brain development.
Blending the selected experiences of nine people’s transformative experiences, his own psychedelic awakening, and the most comprehensive synthesis of psilocybin research to date, Khamsehzadeh’s Psilocybin Connection moves our understanding of the psychedelic mushroom forward toward a fresh, hopeful, and exciting future
How–and why–do psychedelics exist? Did psilocybin catalyze our early human ancestors’ social evolution? And how can an integral understanding of psychedelics quite literally change the world?
In an ambitious and comprehensive look at psilocybin–and how humanity co-evolved alongside mushrooms–Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD, explores our historical and ancestral relationship to psychedelics, presents new and exciting research, and explores what psilocybin can mean for us today.
Separated into three sections–Present, Past, and Future–Psilocybin Connection advances our understanding of psychedelics in unexpected and original ways. Khamsehzadeh shares compelling research that suggests that naturally-occurring psychedelics may have played an essential role in our social, cultural, and linguistic evolution. Supported by archaeological evidence, neuroscience, and academic studies, he explores how mushrooms gave rise to art and expression, impacted spiritual experiences, and even catalyzed human brain development.
Blending the selected experiences of nine people’s transformative experiences, his own psychedelic awakening, and the most comprehensive synthesis of psilocybin research to date, Khamsehzadeh’s Psilocybin Connection moves our understanding of the psychedelic mushroom forward toward a fresh, hopeful, and exciting future
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2022
39 people are currently reading
1922 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 6, 2022
If you’ve read every book and essay and study on the topic of psilocybin, then you don’t need to read this book. And that’s where this work excels. Because if you’re new to the subject matter, this is the one to read to play catch up. Even if you’re not new, this book is highly recommended for a one-stop shopping on the subject at hand.
Khamsehzadeh begins the book with his own transformation through psychedelics, changing his life for the better. This lead to a life long exploration and study of the topic.
The book is broken up into three sections: The Present, the Past and the Future.
The Present section discusses where we are today regarding the legal side and scientific standing of the subject matter of psilocybin.
The legal side of things makes one wonder how it’s possible to make a fungus illegal that’s spread throughout every continent on Earth (except for Antartica). I suppose it’s the same mindset making marijuana illegal. In fact, the coco leaf and poppy are illegal if put together in the wrong packaging. And while arguments can be made for restricting the use of cocaine and opiates, there’s simply no good reason why psilocybin became illegal.
Studies have shown its success rate at treating PTSD, depression and a host of other mental health disorders. Even if one has no identifiable disorder, psilocybin has an amazing affect, even after one dose, on people who become overall better in their lives, reduced anxiety, more fullfillment in their private lives and relationships. This is the section that might make you irritable, finding that psilocybin was ever made illegal. The benefits people have found using it (inside and out of clinical settings) are undisputable. There was no scientific reasoning behind making it illegal other than the decision makers not understanding the subject at hand. Perhaps it was a knee jerk reaction from an older generation that couldn’t understand the benefits of this new chemical. (New, in the sense that it wasn’t until the 1950s that any westerner worked with it seriously).
Part two of the book, the Past, was the most interesting for me.
Beginning with the Big Bang and leading to the first hominids, Khamsehzadeh shows how every living creature from amoeba to fish to animals to plants to fungi are all related. The ecology of the planet is so intertwined that we rely on each other more than we know. For instance, plant life has evolved to seduce insects to help spread their seed. Plants can’t walk, so they’ve courted creatures that can move to do what they cannot. They use colors and scents to entice and communicate. Well what if psilocybin is a chemical fungus developed to communicate with other species (us and mammals)? That’s a fascinating thought. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that nearly every use of psilocybin leads to a sense of oneness with the world and how one relates to everything. Users report breakthroughs in understanding about not only personal issues but a keeness to be more ecologically minded.
Much of this section rests on the shoulders of Terrance McKenna’s Stoned Ape Theory. Said theory says that in man’s distant past, our ancestors came upon psilocybin mushrooms while eating all that the planet provided for them and this led to psychedelic experiences that led to the formation of the first art, language, spiritual considerations, advanced brain size and function and an overall jump in development that other species weren’t able to make. That case is speculative as we simply don’t have any proofs that this happened. However, circumstantial evidence suggests this did, indeed, occur. At the very least, it’s nearly impossible to assume our ancestors didn’t try the mushroom and have simliar experiences as we do now upon intake.
The final section, the Future, discusses the benefits if we can come to legalization and clinical, responsible use of psilocybin. There’s benefits beyond assistance with mental health disorders. Benefits exist in the arts, in logic and reasoning, in breakthrough technologies and developments. Khamsehzadeh shows in this section how numerous movers and shakers made stunning breakthroughs in their work after the use of psilocybin. In other words, psilocybin appears to assist in problem solving in general.
As numerous cities, states and governments begin decriminalization of psilocybin (and psychedelics in general), more research can continue and we’ll find out if psilocybin really is the miracle drug that evolution created. One can only hope the disasterous War on Drugs comes to a conclusion and freedom of conscience can begin.
Khamsehzadeh begins the book with his own transformation through psychedelics, changing his life for the better. This lead to a life long exploration and study of the topic.
The book is broken up into three sections: The Present, the Past and the Future.
The Present section discusses where we are today regarding the legal side and scientific standing of the subject matter of psilocybin.
The legal side of things makes one wonder how it’s possible to make a fungus illegal that’s spread throughout every continent on Earth (except for Antartica). I suppose it’s the same mindset making marijuana illegal. In fact, the coco leaf and poppy are illegal if put together in the wrong packaging. And while arguments can be made for restricting the use of cocaine and opiates, there’s simply no good reason why psilocybin became illegal.
Studies have shown its success rate at treating PTSD, depression and a host of other mental health disorders. Even if one has no identifiable disorder, psilocybin has an amazing affect, even after one dose, on people who become overall better in their lives, reduced anxiety, more fullfillment in their private lives and relationships. This is the section that might make you irritable, finding that psilocybin was ever made illegal. The benefits people have found using it (inside and out of clinical settings) are undisputable. There was no scientific reasoning behind making it illegal other than the decision makers not understanding the subject at hand. Perhaps it was a knee jerk reaction from an older generation that couldn’t understand the benefits of this new chemical. (New, in the sense that it wasn’t until the 1950s that any westerner worked with it seriously).
Part two of the book, the Past, was the most interesting for me.
Beginning with the Big Bang and leading to the first hominids, Khamsehzadeh shows how every living creature from amoeba to fish to animals to plants to fungi are all related. The ecology of the planet is so intertwined that we rely on each other more than we know. For instance, plant life has evolved to seduce insects to help spread their seed. Plants can’t walk, so they’ve courted creatures that can move to do what they cannot. They use colors and scents to entice and communicate. Well what if psilocybin is a chemical fungus developed to communicate with other species (us and mammals)? That’s a fascinating thought. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that nearly every use of psilocybin leads to a sense of oneness with the world and how one relates to everything. Users report breakthroughs in understanding about not only personal issues but a keeness to be more ecologically minded.
Much of this section rests on the shoulders of Terrance McKenna’s Stoned Ape Theory. Said theory says that in man’s distant past, our ancestors came upon psilocybin mushrooms while eating all that the planet provided for them and this led to psychedelic experiences that led to the formation of the first art, language, spiritual considerations, advanced brain size and function and an overall jump in development that other species weren’t able to make. That case is speculative as we simply don’t have any proofs that this happened. However, circumstantial evidence suggests this did, indeed, occur. At the very least, it’s nearly impossible to assume our ancestors didn’t try the mushroom and have simliar experiences as we do now upon intake.
The final section, the Future, discusses the benefits if we can come to legalization and clinical, responsible use of psilocybin. There’s benefits beyond assistance with mental health disorders. Benefits exist in the arts, in logic and reasoning, in breakthrough technologies and developments. Khamsehzadeh shows in this section how numerous movers and shakers made stunning breakthroughs in their work after the use of psilocybin. In other words, psilocybin appears to assist in problem solving in general.
As numerous cities, states and governments begin decriminalization of psilocybin (and psychedelics in general), more research can continue and we’ll find out if psilocybin really is the miracle drug that evolution created. One can only hope the disasterous War on Drugs comes to a conclusion and freedom of conscience can begin.
May 21, 2023
A really helpful perspective on both the evolution of the human species and brain development. Would definitely suggest reading.
April 20, 2022
I honour Jahan for contributing to the Archaic Revival with his book 'The Psilocybin Connection'.
With this book, the validity of the Stoned Ape hypothesis is another step closer to being an actual theory. May that day come.
Pulling the strings of the various fields of psychedelics and our ancient past together, Jahan synthesized integral theory, Jungian, Freudian and evolutionary biology and psychology together, and with it makes a case for the furthering of this field, doing his piece in offering the next step on the way to scientific confirmation.
I loved chapter 5, which was a refreshing wind on evolution and how psilocybin very possibly played a massive role in the forming of consciousness, culture, art and religion (which are in my perception reflections of the same spiritual experience).
Jahan's biggest contribution lies in leveraging integral theory to validate the notion that if one aspect changed, all of the quadrants have changed - or the holon wouldn't exist at all anymore - and something must have kickstarted it. Which leads us to psilocybin. Although I found the integral theory recap at the start dry and tedious, I see now how Jahan built his argument with precision.
One of the great qualities of Jahan, which will prove one of his gifts to the field, is that he is academically educated, and currently being a PhD graduate. As such, you will be able to notice how single-mindedly and focused he built his arguments, and every chapter sharply leads into the next with great persuading and convincing power.
On the downside, since I'm devoutly fighting for the Archaic Revival, and having read or heard of most of the literature, I feel like he was preaching to the choir (me).
However, I will use Jahan's work for references in my own work, and I will gladly build on his argumentatively strong foundation.
Because of Jahan's somewhat dry, scholarly and summarizing style, I was not super compelled the integral section, as well as the last section, though for newcomers to this field these chapters may be eye-opening. His style is a blessing for the field and the advance of acceptance of the Stoned Ape hypothesis, but not super compelling for me.
Who will be next in furthering the Archaic Revival and the acceptance into mainstream culture the acceptance of our psychedelic, shamanic past, leading to its re-integration?
With this book, the validity of the Stoned Ape hypothesis is another step closer to being an actual theory. May that day come.
Pulling the strings of the various fields of psychedelics and our ancient past together, Jahan synthesized integral theory, Jungian, Freudian and evolutionary biology and psychology together, and with it makes a case for the furthering of this field, doing his piece in offering the next step on the way to scientific confirmation.
I loved chapter 5, which was a refreshing wind on evolution and how psilocybin very possibly played a massive role in the forming of consciousness, culture, art and religion (which are in my perception reflections of the same spiritual experience).
Jahan's biggest contribution lies in leveraging integral theory to validate the notion that if one aspect changed, all of the quadrants have changed - or the holon wouldn't exist at all anymore - and something must have kickstarted it. Which leads us to psilocybin. Although I found the integral theory recap at the start dry and tedious, I see now how Jahan built his argument with precision.
One of the great qualities of Jahan, which will prove one of his gifts to the field, is that he is academically educated, and currently being a PhD graduate. As such, you will be able to notice how single-mindedly and focused he built his arguments, and every chapter sharply leads into the next with great persuading and convincing power.
On the downside, since I'm devoutly fighting for the Archaic Revival, and having read or heard of most of the literature, I feel like he was preaching to the choir (me).
However, I will use Jahan's work for references in my own work, and I will gladly build on his argumentatively strong foundation.
Because of Jahan's somewhat dry, scholarly and summarizing style, I was not super compelled the integral section, as well as the last section, though for newcomers to this field these chapters may be eye-opening. His style is a blessing for the field and the advance of acceptance of the Stoned Ape hypothesis, but not super compelling for me.
Who will be next in furthering the Archaic Revival and the acceptance into mainstream culture the acceptance of our psychedelic, shamanic past, leading to its re-integration?
March 4, 2024
A great overview of research in the field of psychedelics, and its history in the world. There is definitely some speculation and some leaps in thought, but all of them have a solid foundation. I hadn't read any of the referenced books, so I appreciated all of the quotes pulled from them for the direct information, and will definitely go and read a few of the books quoted. Can definitely tell Dr Khamsedzadeh has done thorough research throughout his career in this field and presents a very deep understanding of everything discussed in the book.
December 20, 2022
It’s a well-put-together summation of the history and future that psychedelics (specifically psilocybin) have to offer the world. If you’re already familiar, you may want to skip it.
June 15, 2023
AMAZING. I learned so much from reading this, and I loved that it was filled with a lot of interesting facts. This book truly offered great insights, not only from a biological standpoint, but also a spiritual and psychological one.
June 15, 2022
An up to date review of psychedelics with special emphasis on psilocybin containing mushrooms, as well as a look into what the future with these medicines may hold.
August 12, 2022
Схоже на компіляцію ідей всіх попередніх авторів на цю тему, в цілому непоганий огляд. В такому масиві інформації складно не знайти для себе щось нове і можливо корисне.
July 14, 2025
Psilocybin itself is amazing. There's enough evidence today to make this very clear, not just from personal anecdotes but also extremely well done studies.
This book however is TERRIBLE ... and I would discourage anyone from wasting their time with it.
FAKE REVIEWS:
It's very unfortunate that some people here left some misleading good reviews. Looking at it closer you can see that many of them posted around the same time. They are obviously fake reviews from buddies who are only there to help the author, not the world! These fake reviews even mention some "research studies" supposedly all over the book... But there's none to be found! What a disservice these author-buddies (who probably haven't even read the book) make to society...
So here are the issues with this book:
Highly Speculative
The book is loaded with "Perhaps", "Might have", "There's no reason to think this or that did not happen", etc. instead of "We know this happened because X,Y,Z".
Personally, I don't need a book to make speculations as I could use my imagination for that. If I read a book I'm looking for knowledge that is reliable, not speculative. If you don't have that then just don't write a book!
Confirmation Bias
"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." - Abraham Maslow.
The author is looking at the whole world through mushrooms. Since he SEEKS he therefore FINDS explanations about everything from that perspective, not realizing that things he explains with mushroom-theory might as well have a million other possible explanations. This goes back to my previous point about speculation.
Climate-Change leftist propaganda
The author makes the claim multiple times in the book that "our planet is in crisis" ...
Really? What's the metric? Over what time period?
As far as I can think, "climate change" is a pleonasm which is why we call climate, climate. An important thing to notice about those who push the climate-change hoax is that they never mention any metric nor time period. They would never say "Look at the average temperature of the earth over the last 50 million years which we got from analyzing samples deep in the ice" (this would in fact show a curve that clearly goes DOWN!). Instead they push some emotionally-loaded non-specific content like "The world is suffering!" ...
The author is no exception to that and it's really annoying. Then, when speculation, confirmation bias and climate-change garbage all meet you get the following insanity:
"Mushrooms came into existence to talk to us about saving the planet we're destroying".
I'm paraphrasing a bit but this nonsense is all over the book!
The author is so caught up into these biases that he forgot that this would be completely contradictory to the fact (which he correctly mentions) that mushrooms have been around well before humans, and certainly well before any form of industrialization.
When academia brings the worst and leaves out the best
It's very clear throughout the book that the author swims in a world of academia, the only place (with politics) where one can make a living without creating anything nor bringing value to civilization. This is a world of its own where nothing is there to keep people accountable (what free markets would do e.g.). For example there are many reSEARCHers who spend their whole life in academia, paid by some system for never FINDing anything. This could never happen in real life.
Now, you would think that being surrounded by academics would be a good thing because it should make one a rational scientist, someone who genuinely seeks the truth. But of course this is not what happens. It's a world where confirmation bias is given momentum through the cult, and where politics contribute to determining what is true. But just like any good disciple, these academics don't even realize what they're swimming in.
The author claims that we live in an "oppressed society"... This sick paradigm of oppressor/oppressed is straight out of Karl Marx Communist Manifesto (which I recommend anyone to read). In other words this book is contaminated by...
COMMUNISM! YES!
The disciples of academia have been so hypnotized by their gurus/teachers for decades that their brains cannot even imagine another world.
The author goes on talking about capitalism and making the classic mistake of confusing it with individualism while completely disregarding the synergetic consequences capitalism has on the quality of life of the whole.
WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
When I saw that a PhD wrote a book on psilocybin I was excited to see some diligent scientific examination of all this. Such a disappointment it was to find the exact opposite.
You would think that a book like this would AT LEAST mention the studies, that you could open a page at random and see something like "456 participants took 12.3mg, control group took X, 3 weeks later blablabla, etc." but nope, not a single description of any of these AMAZING studies that do exist. How pathetic!
What a shame to dare writing a book like this.
August 19, 2023
If you're looking for all the research this book got you.
For me, psilocybin is my current deep dive and if you want a gentle intro into maybe why you'd like to do deeper or try this, this will be your nudge.
Neal Goldsmith
The 10 lessons of psychedelic psychotherapy
Lesson 1: each drug has a specific effect
Lesson 2: setting can strongly influence state of mind and thus outcome
Lesson 3: Mindset can scuttle a beautiful context or transcend a hellish one
Lesson 4: In general, dose determines a mild or extreme experience. Although it can be less important than set and setting.
Lesson 5: Preparation and knowledge can enable lasting value
Lesson 6: Ritual can transmit prior wisdom and guide successful practice
Lesson 7: Support from experienced guides reduces fear and increases benefit
Lesson 8: Re entry to a supportive community context aids retention
Lesson 9: Accompanying depth psychotherapy if needed and ongoing spiritual practice offer the main opportunity for lasting growth
Lesson 10: A revised worldview is both a requirement for and a result of integrated psychedelic practice
"Psychedelics have begun moving from recreational diversion to performance-enhancing supplements.
A shift began about 4 or 5 years ago, author and venture capitalist Tim Ferris told us. "Once Steve Jobs and other successful people began recommending the use of psychedelics, for enhancing creativity and problem solving, the public became a little more open to possibility."
And as Ferris explains on CNN. It wasn't just the co-founder of apple that made the leap, the billionaires I know without exception, use hallucinations on a regular basis.
Consider the gains 200% boost in creativity. 490% boost in learning and 500% boost in productivity.
If they were merely the result of a few studies by a couple labs, they would be easier to dismiss, but this is now 7 decades of research conducted by hundreds of scientists on thousands of participants showing that when it comes to complex problem solving ecstasis could be the wicked solution we've been looking for."
For me, psilocybin is my current deep dive and if you want a gentle intro into maybe why you'd like to do deeper or try this, this will be your nudge.
Neal Goldsmith
The 10 lessons of psychedelic psychotherapy
Lesson 1: each drug has a specific effect
Lesson 2: setting can strongly influence state of mind and thus outcome
Lesson 3: Mindset can scuttle a beautiful context or transcend a hellish one
Lesson 4: In general, dose determines a mild or extreme experience. Although it can be less important than set and setting.
Lesson 5: Preparation and knowledge can enable lasting value
Lesson 6: Ritual can transmit prior wisdom and guide successful practice
Lesson 7: Support from experienced guides reduces fear and increases benefit
Lesson 8: Re entry to a supportive community context aids retention
Lesson 9: Accompanying depth psychotherapy if needed and ongoing spiritual practice offer the main opportunity for lasting growth
Lesson 10: A revised worldview is both a requirement for and a result of integrated psychedelic practice
"Psychedelics have begun moving from recreational diversion to performance-enhancing supplements.
A shift began about 4 or 5 years ago, author and venture capitalist Tim Ferris told us. "Once Steve Jobs and other successful people began recommending the use of psychedelics, for enhancing creativity and problem solving, the public became a little more open to possibility."
And as Ferris explains on CNN. It wasn't just the co-founder of apple that made the leap, the billionaires I know without exception, use hallucinations on a regular basis.
Consider the gains 200% boost in creativity. 490% boost in learning and 500% boost in productivity.
If they were merely the result of a few studies by a couple labs, they would be easier to dismiss, but this is now 7 decades of research conducted by hundreds of scientists on thousands of participants showing that when it comes to complex problem solving ecstasis could be the wicked solution we've been looking for."
April 9, 2022
Amazing read. Definitely recommend.
Read
June 22, 2022mhgjhg
November 14, 2024
Good overview of a lot the work that has been done along with original thinking and a synthesis of it all into a cohesive and compelling narrative.
June 27, 2025
Fascinating
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews