How to Change Your Mind
by Michael Pollan
Pollan's history and first-person exploration of psychedelic research: the 1950s promise, the backlash, the renaissance in treating depression, addiction and end-of-life anxiety, and his own guided experiences. It is careful, curious and not an endorsement of casual use. Research is ongoing and these substances remain controlled in most places.
Read it if…
you want a balanced, literate account of the psychedelic research revival.
Skip it if…
you want a how-to; it is not, and the author is clear about legality and risk.
Three things you will actually use
- The default mode network and the self are connected.
- Set and setting determine outcomes.
- Serious research deserves serious attention, not hype or panic.
Do this first
Read the science chapters before the trip chapters.
Our verdict
Careful and curious.
Compare with other Mindset books
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