Ashley Lande's Memoir About Transcendence, Psychedelics, and Jesus

“For years, psychedelics were my religion. All I ever wanted was The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever, the panacea, the cure for what plagued me. From those first moments when I tasted the earthy pulp of a psilocybin mushroom, it was love. Psychedelics were my sacrament. They shot me into cathedral vaults. The promise of eternal life through chemicals glittered seductively, but hid a yawning abyss…” - Ashley Lande

In this episode of the podcast, we dive into Ashley Lande’s new book (The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever), her memoir about searching for hope & meaning in psychedelic substances, but finding them in the person of Jesus Christ. In this conversation we wrestle with some weighty topics around substance use & abuse, so be fairly warned.

Keywords:

transcendence, psychedelics, spirituality, memoir, Christianity, personal journey, mental health, redemption, faith, Ashley Lande

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:02 The Journey into Psychedelics

09:55 Transitioning from Alcohol to Psychedelics

16:09 The Spiritual Pursuit of Psychedelics

25:00 The Role of Set and Setting

30:56 The Collision of Belief Systems

36:59 The Impact of Personal Tragedy

48:02 The Moment of Conversion

55:20 Reflections on the Journey and Hopes for the Book