Jerry Michalski

Key Insights: Non-Local Consciousness, GABA, and Psilocybin

Jerry's check-in wove together three interconnected themes from recent reading and a transformative personal experience.

Mr. Rogers T-Shirt Story

Small thing: Wearing a "Beautiful Day in this Neighborhood" t-shirt from Pittsburgh's Mr. Rogers Museum

Significance: April (Jerry's partner) visited after giving a talk. Mr. Rogers played a crucial role in her childhood, telling her "she was okay just the way she is" during a difficult relationship with her mother.

Artifact: Brought back a "Kindness Zone" road sign-style decoration for their wall.

Non-Local Consciousness

Source: Reading Dan Brown's latest novel "The Secret of Secrets"

Plot Point: Non-local consciousness - the idea that consciousness isn't generated by neurons but is "background radiation of the universe" that we "tune into like a radio station"

Connection to Previous Thinking:

Sunil Malhotra suggested this concept ~1.5 years ago on an OGM call
Jerry realized he'd already encountered this from different research
"Gets you into woo-woo noetic science territory, which I'm beginning to respect a lot more"

Parallels with Other Work:

The Da Vinci Code → Divine Feminine marginalization thesis
Leonard Shlain's "The Alphabet vs. the Goddess" (same thesis, academic perspective)
Jerry's own decades of work on "consumer" as concept
All clicked together with yin/yang thinking

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

From Dan Brown's Book: GABA is the primary inhibitor in our neural system.

Function:

High levels of GABA keep us from being overwhelmed by stimuli
Low GABA opens up perception dramatically
Epilepsy mechanism: precipitous drop in GABA → brain overwhelmed → seizure
Epileptics experience moments of "bliss" and "connection with the infinite" after grand mal seizures

Connection to Consciousness Theory: Hallucinogens may not generate hallucinations but rather reduce GABA levels, lowering filters so you can "perceive what's always happening around you"

Psilocybin Journey

Timing: Wednesday afternoon before the call (his FIRST trip ever - "I've never done drugs")

Setting:

Friend in neighborhood who is "completely trustworthy"
Friend grew the mushrooms himself, tested them
Incredibly safe and lovely experience

Experience:

"Phenomenal" and "really transformative"
Felt connected to "mycelial networks of the world"
Felt like "everything all at once-ish"
Gained new understanding of special effects in movies
"Tried... to leave myself little doors or candles or gateways to step back into the experience" without repeating
Still processing

Impact: "I feel like I'm transformed a bit, I don't know how."

Later in Call

Jerry facilitated the check-in protocol, explaining:

One person at a time, no conversation during check-ins
Pick something "OGM-y" that "exemplifies what you've been up to"
Embrace silence and quiet space
Switch to conversation mode after everyone checks in

Chat Contributions

Shared Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H (Sweden's traffic switch)
Shared: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones
Harry Truman quote: "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit"
"I blame the consumerization of our world, which dumbs us down" (on curiosity decline)
"turns out the runaway paperclip function is about AI chips..."
On shrooms to Scott Moehring: "I can now highly recommend shrooms"

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