Problem-Solving in an Altered State of Consciousness

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Based on something I read once upon a time, my friend Neeraj Jain and I decided to try an experiment. We would each write down a significant problem in our lives that we wanted to examine. Then, we would take 2g of dried psilocybin mushrooms and enter an altered state of consciousness that would help us solve our problems. 

My assistant Kristine would attend and stay unaltered, taking notes to make sure we did what we were supposed to do instead of giggling at the walls for four hours. 

The idea was that if we took more than a recreational dose, but not a full therapeutic dose, it would put us into an enhanced problem-solving state, able to look at persistent, intractable issues and gain new perspectives.

Everything started out great. Kristine had gotten us a large fruit platter, and we sat around nibbling and talking while we waited the 45 minutes for the drugs to kick in. As the carpet began to shift and float beneath our feet, we realized that the come-up period was a little unstable for doing any cognitive work, so we decided to lie down until things stopped moving so much. 

We giggled at the walls, but only for an hour.

Eventually, we got up to begin our serious work, but before we each opened and read out our problems, Kristine asked us a series of questions to make sure weren’t cognitively impaired. 

I specifically remember answering “How much control do you feel you have over your life?”

First, I thought, “I’m powerful; I have a lot of control. Ten out of 10.” 

Then I thought, “Wait. I’m married, I have kids, I have responsibilities… I don’t have any control at all. Two out of 10.” 

And then I thought, “But I chose to get married; I chose to have kids. And I could walk away from all of it if I wanted to, so I do have total control; I just have to deal with consequences.”

The psychedelic state was helping me understand reality at a higher level. 

The meaning of blueberries

“Ok, Neeraj, what’s your question?”

Neeraj got out a rolled-up piece of paper on which he had written down the problem he wanted to solve. He carefully unfurled it while we both smiled in anticipation.

“Find my true purpose in life,” he read out loud to me. 

“Ohh, that’s deep; yeah, let’s talk about that!” I said.

I don’t remember the details of what happened next, except Neeraj was eating a lot of blueberries while he paced the room, and we threw out thoughts and ideas. At one point, he said, “You know, sometimes these blueberries are sweet, and sometimes they’re sour. You can never tell what you’re going to get.”

“But they’re always tasty, right?” I ventured.

“Yeah, they’re always tasty,” he replied. “Maybe that’s a metaphor for life. You never know what you’re going to get, but it’s all good.” 

I can’t remember if Neeraj actually said that last part out loud, but the thought has stuck with me. Blueberries as a metaphor for life. Throw out your expectations. It could be sweet, it could be sour. It’s all good.

We eventually came to the conclusion that Neeraj’s purpose in life was to seek out new experiences and continue learning. I thought that was a fine purpose, but he was a bit ambivalent. Maybe he hoped for something more grand, like leading his people out of the desert or discovering a new planet. But as the blueberries say, it’s all good.

Sanjay asks a profound question

“Open your scroll!” said Neeraj.

“I don’t want to,” I replied. 

“Why not?”

“I’m embarrassed. Your question was profound.”

“Open your damn scroll.”

“Fine.”

I unrolled my question and read out loud, “How do I sell more drinks at my bar?”

We both started laughing. 

Neeraj put a hand on my arm and said, “Ok let’s take this seriously, but before we start brainstorming ideas, what have your staff said when you asked them how to sell more drinks?”

I laughed harder.

“Why are you still laughing?” asked Neeraj.

“Because it never occurred to me to ask my staff what they thought. That was so stupid. I’m stupid.”

I dabbed a tissue at my eyes, damp with tears of laughter. Kristine wrote down, “Talk to staff to solve drinks problem,” because there was no way I was going to remember that on my own.

The drugs eventually wore off. The blueberries were gone. Conversations had been had. Problems had been solved. Neeraj and I hugged and high-fived each other. 

The next day, after being reminded by Kristine, I went into my bar, Coffee Oysters Champagne, and asked the first manager I ran into, “Hey, what can we do to sell more drinks here?” 

“Install a couple more point-of-sale terminals,” she replied immediately. 

“Huh?” I said, sounding exactly like the clueless bar owner I was.

“When it gets busy in here, there aren’t enough places for us to go to enter drink orders, so a line forms, and it takes an extra 10 or 20 minutes to get the orders in, and people are waiting longer for their drinks.”

I asked, “How much are these terminals?”

“About $300,” she said. Problem solved.

One caveat — psychedelics are great for questions like “How do I do this?” or “What should I do?” but not for “Should I do X?” The altered state is great for creativity, not so much for getting a yes/no answer. 

And, I must say, asking your friends to help you solve problems is both productive and more fun than toiling away on your own. Come to think of it, maybe it’s time for Neeraj and I to get together again and try to solve more problems. 

Maybe this time, I’ll find my purpose in life. 

Or discover a new planet.

Once upon a time, I read James Fadiman’s excellent book, The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide, on the various applications of psychedelics, including a chapter on using the altered mental states engendered by psychedelics to solve problems.

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