DENVER — Aaron Rodgers says he isn’t the one NFL participant doing psychedelics — he’s simply the one one speaking on panels about it.
In a visit Wednesday evening to talk on the Psychedelic Science 2023 convention, the Jets quarterback mentioned he has been approached by scores of psychedelic-curious athletes after talking publicly about his experiences with ayahuasca.
He additionally talked about having NFL teammates partake with him.
“I’ve been lucky sufficient in the previous few years to have the ability to sit in ceremony with teammates,” mentioned Rodgers, who was on the Packers for 18 seasons earlier than becoming a member of the Jets this offseason. “I’m telling you, it’s radically life-changing, and it’s wild to be in a locker room and look over and simply know, like, I’ve been within the maloca [an indigenous South American dwelling] with you, man. It’s fairly particular. It adjustments the dynamic, for certain. And on this course of, like I mentioned, there’s been lots of of NFL guys who’ve reached out.”
Rodgers traced his non secular journey again to successful the Tremendous Bowl in 2011 and asking himself afterward: “Now what?”
He first used psilocybin, or mushrooms, and lately began taking ayahuasca — a psychedelic tea derived from vegetation discovered within the Amazon — in guided, communal settings.
“Once I first did ‘aya’ in 2020, I keep in mind considering afterwards, like, I’m going to have to speak about this sooner or later,” Rodgers mentioned. “Are individuals prepared? How will or not it’s acquired? Then I received MVP. Then I did it once more. I mentioned OK, I can in all probability speak about it now. However the cool factor has been the response. Not from the media that calls me a druggie, a hippie or no matter it was. …
“To see basketball gamers and baseball gamers and surfers and entertainers and my very own teammates and colleagues throughout the league attain out, and both share their story about their very own medication journey or ask to be part of an upcoming one, is fairly particular.”
Within the almost hour-long speak with the podcaster and self-proclaimed “psychonaut” Aubrey Marcus, titled “How Psychedelics Can Unlock Elite Efficiency,” Rodgers pledged his help for the motion to safe acceptance for psychedelics and authorized approval for his or her use in therapies.
“We now have the chance to vary the dialog by dispelling these archaic myths concerning the risks of them or the detrimental uncomfortable side effects or no matter is likely to be and begin to share the precise knowledge and fact about it,” Rodgers mentioned. “It’s a permission slip for different individuals to face up and speak about their very own experiences, to hitch in and to dive in and to find out about it.
“And I believe that’s how we transfer this dialog ahead is extra individuals to be on the market snug speaking about their very own journeys. Their non secular journey, their medication journey, their ceremonies. So we will convey this to individuals who want it.”
Earlier within the day, Rick Doblin, the founding father of the Multidisciplinary Affiliation for Psychedelic Research, which hosted the convention, praised the “large impression” Rodgers’ look may have on the mainstreaming of psychedelics.
“Persons are unsure what to consider. However when those that they respect for sure different issues say psychedelics had been helpful …” Doblin mentioned. “And I believe what [Rodgers is] additionally saying is that he thinks this has change into destigmatized sufficient that he could be public about it and it’s not going to harm his profession. Folks aren’t going to not rent him to play soccer. So I believe it’s part of cultural change, and it’s a key component.”
In a 5,000-seat auditorium that was roughly half-filled with conference-goers who ranged from barefoot to black-booted, Rodgers additionally took the requisite photographs at his critics (“all these bums who wish to come after me on-line about my expertise, they’ve by no means tried it”), joined Marcus in stumping for presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and spoke humorously about working a play for Packers (and now Jets) teammate Allen Lazard final season so Lazard may carry out a pre-planned ayahuasca-drinking landing celebration.
The through-line, although, was his perception within the energy of psychedelic medicines — not “medicine,” he insisted — and the way they’ve influenced his psychological well being.
“The battle is between your ear lobes — it’s: How can I silence that internal critic?” Rodgers mentioned. “The anti-me is the best opponent as a result of it’s me. It is aware of precisely what to say to me, precisely what to indicate me. To whisper in my ear: ‘You’re not adequate. You’re not gonna win this sport. No one likes you. You’re a loopy anti-vaxxer.’ However I believe the sweetness in these journeys is to seek out that self-love as a result of the best antidote to the anti-you is unconditional self-love. And it’s been a gorgeous journey to try to discover that.”
