People often ask: can psychedelics help me to be happier? This might seem like a straightforward question, but first, we should define what we mean by “happiness.”

To better investigate the question, we’ll explore two specific types of happy feelings: joy and contentment. We’ll define the differences between them, look into the ways they’re interconnected, and explore the nuances of how we identify, define, and value our positive emotions.

In today’s communities and societies, it can feel like we’re losing touch with our joy and contentment, and we may even question our ability to foster these feelings. So let’s dig into some of the ways that intentional psychedelic use can help us to rediscover the capacities we each hold within ourselves to find, create, and hold on to more joy and contentment in our lives.

Key Takeaways

• Safety Precedes Joy: Like Maslow postulated, the ability to experience joy is contingent upon our basic needs being met, like food, shelter, and a sense of security.
• The Contentment Trap of Comparison: Modern American society fosters a paralyzed, lonely existence by leveraging Social Comparison Theory. This environment constantly directs finite attention toward what is missing and unrealistic goals, like the edited lives seen on social media.
• Psychedelics Model Emotional Navigation: The process of navigating a psychedelic experience serves as a practical model for life. It requires the cultivation of three critical skills for maintaining contentment amidst difficulty: courage to explore hard aspects, establishing a seat of safety, and accepting that everything is temporary.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman.

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