--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But if they don’t try a psychedelic like…" description: "\"“But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at least once in their adult lives, I will wonder whether they had missed one of the most i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg" --- # But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD… ![“But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at least once in their adult lives, I will wonder whether they had missed one of the most important rites of passage a human being can experience.” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg) > ““But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at least once in their adult lives, I will wonder whether they had missed one of the most important rites of passage a human being can experience.”” [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experiencing psychedelics can serve as a profound rite of passage, offering deep personal insight. **In simple terms:** Psychedelics may provide transformative experiences. Key Takeaway Consider trying psychedelics responsibly for personal growth. Themes personal growth consciousness rituals Mood curious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - young adulthood - self‑exploration - mental health treatment Key Concepts psychedelic therapy mind expansion Questions to Reflect On - Are you open to exploring altered states for insight? - What safeguards are needed for responsible use? A Different Perspective Legal, health, and ethical concerns may limit access or safe use. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Like Psilocybin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-psilocybin-2288856/) [Lsd Adult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lsd-adult-2288854/) [Psilocybin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psilocybin/) [Psilocybin Lsd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psilocybin-lsd-2288855/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Rites Passage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rites-passage-969004/) ## Related quotes > [Modernity is a desert, and we are jungle monkeys. And so new evolutionary selective pressures are coming to bear upon the human situation, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/modernity-is-a-desert-and-we-are-jungle-monkeys-and-so-new/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from messiahs and flying saucers that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-place-where-we-no-longer/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psilocybin, tryptamine, is in my opinion the means to eliminating the future by becoming cognizant of the architecture of eternity, which is modulating time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psilocybin-tryptamine-is-in-my-opinion-the-means-to-eliminating-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psychedelic drugs, especially psilocybin, allow a searchlight to be thrown on these deeper levels of the psyche, as Jung correctly stated. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelic-drugs-especially-psilocybin-allow-a-searchlight-to-be/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [To me it begins and ends with these psychedelic substances. The synergy of the psilocybin in the hominid diet brought us out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/to-me-it-begins-and-ends-with-these-psychedelic-substances-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [At still higher doses psilocybin triggers this activity in the language-forming capacity of the brain that manifests as song and vision. Psilocybin may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/at-still-higher-doses-psilocybin-triggers-this-activity-in-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [When we look within ourselves with psilocybin, we discover that we do not have to look outward toward the futile promise of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/when-we-look-within-ourselves-with-psilocybin-we-discover-that-we-do/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Sometime in the last 50,000 years, before 12,000 years ago, a kind of paradise came into existence. A situation in which men and women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/sometime-in-the-last-50-000-years-before-12-000-years-ago-a-kind-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“In an effort to justify the prohibition of 186 species of mushroom, including the ‘offending’ psilocybin containing mushrooms sold to the public through smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/in-an-effort-to-justify-the-prohibition-of-186-species-of-mushroom/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [“Mexico, as it was in the 1970s—and isn’t now—was my Paris. With Mexicans, Europeans, and Americans I celebrated life and the journey, which took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-west/mexico-as-it-was-in-the-1970s-and-isn-t-now-was-my-paris-with/) [Mason West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-west/) > [To me rites of passage through life, that's a wonderful, beautiful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/to-me-rites-of-passage-through-life-that-s-a-wonderful-beautiful-thing/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [The traditional manner of taking psilocybin is to take a very healthy dose, in the vicinity of 15 mg. on an empty stomach in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-traditional-manner-of-taking-psilocybin-is-to-take-a-very-healthy/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the key. If you get into deep water with these substances, this is true of psilocybin as well, you don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-key-if-you-get-into-deep-water-with-these-substances-this/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I've never been a religious person. I've been a spiritual person since I was about 15, 16, when I was first introduced to Psilocybin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macklemore/i-ve-never-been-a-religious-person-i-ve-been-a-spiritual-person-since/) [Macklemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macklemore/) > [“In pharmaceutical speak, psilocybin is known as an asshole inhibitor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/in-pharmaceutical-speak-psilocybin-is-known-as-an-asshole-inhibitor/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) ## More by Sam Harris > [“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to-loosely-interpret-or-simply/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Your principal concern appears to be that the Creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked. This prudery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/your-principal-concern-appears-to-be-that-the-creator-of-the-universe/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“As manuals for contemplative understanding, the Bible and the Koran are worse than useless. Whatever wisdom can be found in their pages is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/as-manuals-for-contemplative-understanding-the-bible-and-the-koran/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If your golf instructor were to insist that you shave your head, sleep no more than four hours each night, renounce sex, and subsist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/if-your-golf-instructor-were-to-insist-that-you-shave-your-head-sleep/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The fact that one can lose one's sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one's consciousness is immaterial or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-one-can-lose-one-s-sense-of-self-in-an-ocean-of/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-the-reality-of-consciousness-appears-irreducible-only/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Whether or not one likes Huntington's formulation, one thing is clear: the evil that has finally reached our shores is not merely the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/whether-or-not-one-likes-huntington-s-formulation-one-thing-is-clear/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-problem-is-that-religion-tends-to-give-people-bad-reasons-to-be/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Muslim moderates, wherever they are, must be given every tool necessary to win a war of ideas with their co-religionists. Otherwise, we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/muslim-moderates-wherever-they-are-must-be-given-every-tool-necessary/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The idea that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-idea-that-any-one-of-our-religions-represents-the-infallible-word/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“What could possibly cause billions of human beings to reconsider their religious beliefs? And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/what-could-possibly-cause-billions-of-human-beings-to-reconsider/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) [Explore all 543 Sam Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More Psilocybin quotes > [I've never been a religious person. I've been a spiritual person since I was about 15, 16, when I was first introduced to Psilocybin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macklemore/i-ve-never-been-a-religious-person-i-ve-been-a-spiritual-person-since/) [Macklemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macklemore/) > [When we look within ourselves with psilocybin, we discover that we do not have to look outward toward the futile promise of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/when-we-look-within-ourselves-with-psilocybin-we-discover-that-we-do/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the key. If you get into deep water with these substances, this is true of psilocybin as well, you don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-key-if-you-get-into-deep-water-with-these-substances-this/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The traditional manner of taking psilocybin is to take a very healthy dose, in the vicinity of 15 mg. on an empty stomach in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-traditional-manner-of-taking-psilocybin-is-to-take-a-very-healthy/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [To me it begins and ends with these psychedelic substances. The synergy of the psilocybin in the hominid diet brought us out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/to-me-it-begins-and-ends-with-these-psychedelic-substances-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psychedelic drugs, especially psilocybin, allow a searchlight to be thrown on these deeper levels of the psyche, as Jung correctly stated. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelic-drugs-especially-psilocybin-allow-a-searchlight-to-be/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Modernity is a desert, and we are jungle monkeys. And so new evolutionary selective pressures are coming to bear upon the human situation, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/modernity-is-a-desert-and-we-are-jungle-monkeys-and-so-new/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from messiahs and flying saucers that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-place-where-we-no-longer/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Sometime in the last 50,000 years, before 12,000 years ago, a kind of paradise came into existence. A situation in which men and women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/sometime-in-the-last-50-000-years-before-12-000-years-ago-a-kind-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psilocybin, tryptamine, is in my opinion the means to eliminating the future by becoming cognizant of the architecture of eternity, which is modulating time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psilocybin-tryptamine-is-in-my-opinion-the-means-to-eliminating-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [At still higher doses psilocybin triggers this activity in the language-forming capacity of the brain that manifests as song and vision. Psilocybin may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/at-still-higher-doses-psilocybin-triggers-this-activity-in-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“In an effort to justify the prohibition of 186 species of mushroom, including the ‘offending’ psilocybin containing mushrooms sold to the public through smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/in-an-effort-to-justify-the-prohibition-of-186-species-of-mushroom/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [“Mexico, as it was in the 1970s—and isn’t now—was my Paris. With Mexicans, Europeans, and Americans I celebrated life and the journey, which took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-west/mexico-as-it-was-in-the-1970s-and-isn-t-now-was-my-paris-with/) [Mason West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-west/) > [“In pharmaceutical speak, psilocybin is known as an asshole inhibitor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/in-pharmaceutical-speak-psilocybin-is-known-as-an-asshole-inhibitor/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) [Browse all 15 Psilocybin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psilocybin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at least once in their adult lives, I will wonder whether they had missed one of the most important rites of passage a human being can experience.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like-psilocybin-or-lsd-at-least/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Psilocybin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like-psilocybin-or-lsd-at-least/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/sam-harris-457_psilocybin_but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like_2643436.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at least once in their adult lives, I will wonder…” — Sam Harris", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sam Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But if they don’t try a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like-psilocybin-or-lsd-at-least/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like-psilocybin-or-lsd-at-least/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```