Today, it’s edging into the mainstream — unevenly, imperfectly, but with unmistakable momentum. A recent New York Times article on psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) makes clear that while the rollout of psychedelic medicine is bumpy, something profound is underway.
This is especially relevant for those of us in midlife.
Psilocybin has emerged as the leading candidate in the psychedelic renaissance, particularly for people with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, trauma, and existential distress — challenges that often intensify, rather than disappear, in midlife. The FDA has accelerated its review of a psilocybin-based therapy, signaling cautious optimism after years of clinical trials suggesting that one or two guided experiences can sometimes unlock perspective shifts that years of conventional treatment could not.
But the article also reminds us that innovation is rarely graceful at birth. Oregon, the first state to legalize psilocybin therapy, has struggled with high costs, regulatory friction, and access issues. Many centers have closed. Healing, it turns out, doesn’t scale as easily as technology.
Which brings us to New Mexico.
Unlike Oregon’s consumer-driven model, New Mexico has taken a more medical, intentional approach, approving a state-regulated psilocybin program focused on people with serious mental health conditions. The emphasis is not on novelty or recreation, but on care, safety, and integration — a framing that resonates deeply with MEA’s philosophy.
Midlife is not about chasing peak experiences. It’s about meaning, integration, and wisdom. For many, the suffering that emerges in this season isn’t pathological — it’s developmental. Questions of purpose, grief, regret, mortality, and identity surface precisely because something deeper is asking to be addressed.
What psilocybin seems to offer — when used responsibly, legally, and with skilled guidance — is not escape, but re-contextualization. People report feeling less trapped by old narratives, more connected to life, and more accepting of both loss and possibility. In other words, not a shortcut around the work of midlife and beyond, but sometimes a doorway into it.
The real question isn’t whether psychedelic medicine will become mainstream. It likely will. The more important question is how: Will it be rushed, commodified, and stripped of meaning — or held with the reverence and discernment such powerful tools require?
At MEA, especially here in New Mexico, we sit at an intersection where science, spirituality, and midlife transformation meet. This moment invites us to stay curious, grounded, and humble — honoring both the promise and the limits of any medicine that claims to heal not just the mind, but the soul.
The work of midlife has never been about fixing ourselves. It’s about learning how to listen more deeply. While we don’t have any planned psilocybin workshops yet, you can be assured that we’re talking quite a bit with those leading the efforts to approve certain retreat centers and medical offices, so more to come.
-Chip
P.S. You might enjoy listening to this NY Times Interview podcast episode with filmmaker Chloé Zhao as she talks about her midlife chrysalis, her experience with psychedelics, training to be a death doula, and why learning as we age is less about teaching us something new and more about reminding us who we are. She’d be an amazing MEA guest faculty member.