Psilocybin is experiencing a resurgence, not as a recreational escape, but as an actual neurological upgrade.
And with Bryan Johnson’s recent heroic-dose experiment lighting up the internet, the timing couldn’t be better to explore the truth behind this molecule:
Why it works, what it breaks open, and how it resets your mind in ways traditional methods can’t.
In this episode of Full Stack, we sat down with Michael Hrostoski: a psychonaut, systems thinker, and someone who has spent over a decade navigating altered states with precision.
What he shared wasn’t theory.
It was the lived psychology, neuroscience, and shadow side of transformation.
Let’s break it down.
Why High Performers Are Turning to Psilocybin
Michael made a statement that stopped both of us in our tracks:
“Thank goodness we did all those psychedelics, our brains can hang with how fast things are changing.”
In a world accelerating through AI, robotics, and exponential change, most people’s nervous systems simply can’t keep up.
Psychedelics, especially psilocybin, disrupt the rigidity that keeps people stuck in old patterns.
The research backs this.
A 2024 study showed that a high dose of psilocybin caused a three-fold increase in brain network connectivity shifts, dissolving rigid boundaries between major networks like the Default Mode Network (DMN).
Translation:
Psilocybin makes the brain more flexible. More adaptable. More capable of change.
And in our conversation, Hrostoski explained from direct experience why that matters.
How Psilocybin Breaks Rigid Identity Loops
The biggest trap for high performers?
Identity rigidity.
People don’t get stuck because they lack motivation.
They get stuck because their identity is locked into outdated patterns.
Psilocybin disrupts that rigid structure by desynchronizing the brain’s default patterns and creating a temporary “open state” where new behavior becomes possible.
Michael described this beautifully through his own experiences with dance, movement, and ceremony:
“My body was just doing moves… I wasn’t thinking. I was in pure flow.”
That’s neural flexibility in action.
Insight Isn’t the Work – Behavior Change Is
One of the most important segments of this episode was the distinction between insight addiction and actual transformation.
Michael and I both see it constantly:
People chase psychedelic experiences, collect insights like trophies, post about their “breakthroughs”…
and then repeat the same patterns months later.
As he put it:
“People get addicted to the insight and take no action… that’s not the work.”
True learning, real transformation, happens when behavior changes, not when ideas feel exciting.
This is where psilocybin becomes powerful only when paired with integration.
Without integration, it’s entertainment.
With integration, it’s evolution.
The Shadow Side: When Psychedelics Backfire
Michael didn’t glamorize psychedelics.
In fact, he issued a very clear warning:
“I was ingesting too much insight… I wasn’t fully embodied.”
Too many journeys, too often, without action or grounding → leads to disembodiment.
Your identity fractures.
Your nervous system destabilizes.
Your “awakenings” stop meaning anything.
This is the part of the psychedelic conversation most people skip… and the part that matters most.
AI + Psychedelics: The New Cognitive Edge
One of the most fascinating parts of the episode was how Michael pairs psychedelics with artificial intelligence.
He uses AI as what he calls a “cognitive exoskeleton”:
“AI is like a cognitive exoskeleton… allowing me to tap into all thinking and all knowledge.”
He combines:
- psychedelic-informed neural flexibility
- with AI-augmented strategic thinking
- and meta-prompts designed to stretch his cognition
This is the frontier, not just transformation, but trans-human cognitive performance.
Watch the Full Episode: The Cognitive Reset
If you’re curious about:✔ How psilocybin rewires the brain
✔ How to avoid the “insight addiction” trap
✔ How AI and psychedelics create next-level performance
✔ Why high performers are turning toward plant medicine
✔ And the shadow side no one talks about…