The Third Wave

Psychedelics
for Creativity
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Hello!
Welcome to The Third Wave.
This resource has been designed to guide you through
the most important research being done on psychedelics
and creativity, and to make you aware of the safe and
responsible use of psychedelics.

If you find this guide helpful, we ask that you please make a small dona-
tion to our Patreon page.

All the information we create is for free - and we will never have advertise-
ments. Your support goes a long way in helping The Third Wave continue
to carry out its mission.

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by clicking here

DISCLAIMER: The Third Wave is not encouraging illegal activities. This is a curated information package designed
to educate and inform. And, please, if you have a family history of psychosis, do NOT use psychedelics - ever
(even microdosing).

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Are Psychedelics Creativity
Boosters?

Youre probably aware of how much psychedelics have influenced creative people in the past;
bands like The Beatles, authors like Aldous Huxley, artists like HR Giger, and even businessmen
like Steve Jobs. But is there any real evidence that psychedelics actually boost creativity? And,
more importantly, could you use psychedelics to enhance your everyday work or life?

In this guide well give you a summary of all the most relevant research into psychedelics and
creativity, and point you towards resources for getting the most out of psychedelics as tools for
more vibrant living.

Research into Psychedelics and

Creativity

Creativity is a tough concept to pin down. Because of its abstract nature, there has not been a
huge amount of rigorous scientific testing of the influence of psychedelics on creative ability.
However, some recent breakthrough studies have started to paint a picture of how psychedel-
ics could be unleashing our brains from their normal control regimens, and allowing us to solve
problems and create ideas outside of our normal reach.

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Psychedelics and the DMN:
Breaking Free of Control

One of the most famous recent studies into psychedelics examined the effects LSD had on the
brains of volunteers, using high-resolution brain imaging. One of the findings of this study was
that LSD (and by extension, other classic psychedelics like psilocybin) have a dramatic effect on
the default mode network, or DMN. This is a system in the brain that is responsible for self-re-
flection, holding an important role in our everyday consciousness.

When we take LSD, however, the control of the DMN on consciousness is released, allowing us
to break free from typical thought patterns. Its thought that its this disruption of the DMN that
causes typical feelings of ego dissolution when we take high doses of psychedelics.

Importantly for us, releasing the control of the DMN allows our brain to have more entropy; that
is, more unusual connections can be made between areas of the brain that are normally kept
separate.

According to the entropic brain theory, this means that psychedelics allow us to reach states of
consciousness more similar to dreaming and creative thinking. From what we know, the DMN is
partly responsible for restraining creativity during your normal life, enabling you to focus on im-
portant follow-the-rules tasks. But if you want to really unleash your creative side, psychedelics
will help to release the control of the DMN over your brain.

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Psychedelics and Problem-Solving:
Discovering New Solutions

Many people who are interested in the creative power of psychedelics are looking to solve busi-
ness problems or improve their workplace innovation. There are many anecdotes of business
people and inventors using psychedelics to produce breakthroughs: Steve Jobs credits his view
of business to an LSD experience, calling it one of the two or three most important things I have
done in my life. The inventor of PCR, a revolutionary biomedical technique, said that LSD gave
him the intuition that allowed him to make the ground-breaking discovery.

Here at The Third Wave, weve had dozens of reports of all sorts of business people microdosing
psychedelics to improve their problem solving abilities at work.

Anecdotes are great - but there is also some science to back it up!

A group of researchers investigating the psychedelic mescaline in the 1960s wanted to see if it
really did provide people with an improved problem-solving ability.

A group of 27 men were given mescaline, and asked to consider a problem they were currently
facing in their jobs. Many of the problems had been ongoing for months before the test. During
the study, almost all of the subjects found solutions or new avenues of investigation for their
problems after a single session with mescaline.

Some of the breakthroughs included:

New commercial building design, accepted by the client

New chair design, modeled and accepted by the manufacturer
New conceptual model of a photon
New approach to the design of a vibratory microtome
Space probe experiments designed to measure solar properties

If you want more details about the specific research design, and how you might be able to lever-
age something similar, check out our article on Psychedelics for Business Breakthroughs.

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Psychedelics and Divergent Thinking -
Enabling Higher Levels of Creativity

If examples of bands, artists, and entrepreneurs that used psychedelics for a creativity boost ar-
ent convincing enough for you, there is also some science to back it up. Recently, the pioneering
Beckley Foundation has released a study investigating the role of the psychedelic brew ayahuas-
ca in boosting creativity. A total of 26 participants took two well-established tests of creativity
before and during an ayahuasca session.

One of the tests showed that participants were significantly more likely to be thinking divergent-
ly during their ayahuasca experience; a form of thinking attributed to creativity. Clearly taking the
psychedelic brew was making the participants think more outside the box.

Early in 2016, another study from UCL showed that a moderate dose of LSD increased peoples
associative thinking - making it harder for them to tell similar objects apart. This means that the
psychedelic helped people to make connections between objects that we usually keep separate
in our minds. This ability to make unusual connections is crucial in being able to solve difficult or
complex problems in a business setting.

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Using Psychedelics to Boost
Creativity at Work

Even if youre convinced by the anecdotal accounts and scientific research, how do you start to
use psychedelics to improve your creativity?

For example, what psychedelic is best to take? And how should you take it?

There are two main options for taking psychedelics to boost your creativity:

1. Taking a large dose in an appropriate setting, in an attempt to solve a big business problem
or experience a creative breakthrough
2. Taking microdoses of psychedelics every few days to give a slight boost to your everyday
creativity and problem-solving, without having to take a few days off work!

In the next section, well outline both approaches.

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How to Use Psychedelics for
Problem-Solving

Taking a large dose of psychedelics may seem scary; but it could be the best way of finding a
solution to big business problems, or giving you that breakthrough of creativity youve been look-
ing for. When done properly, the psychedelic macrodose experience doesnt have to be scary or
traumatic.

You have two options for macrodosing: to travel abroad for a psychedelic retreat (unless you live
in one of the few countries where consuming a psychedelic is legal); or taking psychedelics at
home. Whichever route you choose to go, you should try and follow these rules to maximise your
chances of solving your problem:

1. Pick a Big Problem

This is really important - the more the problem matters to you, the more likely it is that you will
find a solution. Make sure its an issue that really matters for your business, and is, by extension,
important for you personally. It also helps to consider two or three smaller problems you can
work on if you manage to solve the first one quickly.

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2. Obtain your Substance

Its important to obtain your substance from a reputable source. If youre going on a psychedelic
retreat, this wont be something youll have to worry about. But if youre tripping at home, youll
need to make sure you understand what substance youre taking and at what dose. Here is a
guide on obtaining psychedelic substances - as for dose, it will depend on the person and situa-
tion, but a good starting point is 75-100ug of LSD or 1-2.5g of psilocybin mushrooms.

3. Prepare your Setting

Its really important to follow the 6Ss of psychedelic use; basically, ensure that youre in a safe,
comfortable environment, and are focused on the task at hand. Its good to have a sober sitter
with you, who can facilitate your session and focus your attention on the problem at hand.

4. After the Experience: Integrate

Hopefully youll have reached some solutions during your experience; but it will always maximise
the potential of the trip if you attempt to reflect on the things youve learned, and apply them to
future business decisions and problems.

While this process sounds simple at the forefront, it in fact is loaded with unknown complexity.
When one takes a psychedelic, especially for the first time, there are a number of unknowns to
deal with before, during, and after the trip.

Thats why we offer consultation and coaching for those who want to get the most out of their
psychedelic experience.

Paul, the founder at Third Wave, has several years of experiences dealing with these substances
- and, because of his background as an entrepreneur, understands the specific context in which
you want to take psychedelics.

If you have any questions about this process, or need more specific guidance, please set up an
initial consultation with Paul here.

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Microdosing For an Everyday
Creative Boost

Here at The Third Wave, were specialists in microdosing. Weve had accounts from dozens of
business people who are using tiny doses of psychedelics to improve their productivity and
problem solving at work. Taking a small amount of psychedelics allows you to function normally,
without experiencing intense visual distortions or life-changing realisations, while providing you
with a moderate boost in creativity, energy and productivity.

Here is our infographic on microdosing; laying out the benefits and regimen of microdosing.
Basically, microdosing is when one takes a sub-threshold dose (around 10ug LSD or 0.2g psilo-
cybin mushrooms) every fourth day for around two weeks.

Make sure you take your dose first thing in the morning! Its really important to reflect on your
microdosing days, and integrate your experience to get the most out of microdosing.

Obtaining substances may be difficult with this approach, as youll need a regular supply. How-
ever, there are easy ways to legally obtain substances for microdosing - see our guide for more
information!

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Whats Next For You?

Now that you have a solid idea of how psychedelics could boost your creativity, we recommend
reviewing your options and asking if this is the path for you.

1. If you want specific advice on how you can leverage the power of psychedelics for creativity
and inspiration, please set up a 1-on-1 consultation with Paul, the founder of The Third Wave.
2. To stay in touch with The Third Wave, and all of our happenings, please find us on Facebook
and Twitter.
3. Share this resource with others who you think may benefit from it.

It is important to note that if you have family history of psychosis, you need to avoid psyche-
delics as they could trigger a schizophrenic break.

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