I was nervous about this. But the reactions I get are more curious than judgmental, even from my mother and son. In general I expect much more pushback—both personal and professional—than I actually received. I’ve come to the conclusion this is one of those issues—like gay rights—where it is vitally important for people to come out of the closet, discuss their experiences in an unsensational way, and when they do the public will listen and shift its views. This is how anything gets normalized—by ordinary people telling their true stories.
No one has been shocked and appalled by the fact that I’ve used psychedelics, and this was true even decades ago. As Michael said, the response is uniformly more curious than judgmental. For better and worse, you can’t visit a yoga class or order a green juice these days without bumping into a rent-a-shaman, so it’s all the more normalized.
I was nervous about this. But the reactions I get are more curious than judgmental, even from my mother and son. In general I expect much more pushback—both personal and professional—than I actually received. I’ve come to the conclusion this is one of those issues—like gay rights—where it is vitally important for people to come out of the closet, discuss their experiences in an unsensational way, and when they do the public will listen and shift its views. This is how anything gets normalized—by ordinary people telling their true stories.
No one has been shocked and appalled by the fact that I’ve used psychedelics, and this was true even decades ago. As Michael said, the response is uniformly more curious than judgmental. For better and worse, you can’t visit a yoga class or order a green juice these days without bumping into a rent-a-shaman, so it’s all the more normalized.