Author Archive
The 5 Best Books for Exploring Psychedelics (Without Actually Taking Any)
Recently I discovered Shepherd, a neat website where authors recommend their favorite books on a particular topic, theme, or mood. The Shepherd folks asked me to provide a list of psychedelic book recommendations — how could I say no to that? As an avid reader, it was difficult to pick just 5! I wanted to list books that I really loved, and which would appeal both to veteran trippers and stone-cold sober readers alike. Without further ado, here are my selections for your psychedelic bookshelf. If you’re interested in exploring more, check out Shepherd’s Best Psychedelic Books list,...
Can Mushrooms Help Heal a Pro Surfer’s Brain Injury? New Short Film "Resuracing: Koa Smith"
When a devastating accident leaves a pro surfer with a traumatic brain injury and depression, he searches for answers where ancient rituals meet modern science. Resurfacing: Koa Smith, a brand new mind-expanding short film from MUD\FILMS, has just premiered worldwide. You can watch it for free below. Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
How I Quit Smoking with Psilocybin
Today’s guest post is by my good friend John Robertson, who blogs at Maps of the Mind. Last year, I decided to combine a personal psychedelic experiment with a decision to finally quit smoking tobacco. At the time I was neither a heavy nor regular smoker, but the fact that I smoked at all, usually in social situations and with drinks, disappointed me. I used psilocybin truffles and placed three sessions inside a 15 week course, modelled on a nicotine cessation study at Johns Hopkins university. Addiction I first started smoking tobacco regularly over a decade ago....
Orientation Before Preparation How Magical Thinking Can Open Us to Transformation
Preconception Psychedelics are not a traditional part of modern Western culture. As psychedelics move toward becoming mainstream, they are being presented using familiar lines of thought. Psychedelic states of mind, which are traditional parts of some cultures, are presented as if the Western World has just discovered them. It’s “Columbus discovers America” all over again. According to one line of thought, psychedelics distort reality and are perverse. According to another view, they are medicines that can treat disease and restore clear thinking. A Westernization of the indigenous view holds them to be sacraments that can enlighten us. Groups...
Psychedelics, Therapy, and the Law The Risks and Pitfalls of the Emerging Industry of Psychedelic Medicine
Today’s guest post is by Lincoln Stoller, PhD, CHt, a hypnotherapist in British Columbia who writes at mindstrengthbalance.com. The legal view of psychedelics is quickly heading for a change. A few organizations, like MAPS and Erowid, had maintained their position as providers of information during the illegal years. MAPS has focused on research, Erowid on information. They and others have held the fort, so to speak, but their effects have been small and, by themselves, they would not have precipitated social change. Law and policy are not driven by science, they’re driven by expediency and advantage. In the...
How Mescaline Helped Me to Better Understand Schopenhauer’s Philosophy Philosophical Explorations With Mescaline: Veganism and Schopenhauer
This guest post is by Sam Woolfe, a freelance writer who blogs about philosophy, ethics, psychology, and mental health at samwoolfe.com. Catch him on Twitter: @samwoolfe A psychedelic experience can often be a chance to put our fundamental beliefs and opinions under the spotlight, whether intentionally or not. I’ve had a few experiences like this, particularly through solo experimentation with mescaline HCl, with the most profound experiences featuring major shifts in how I view myself and existence itself. In moments of clarity, narrow and negative beliefs about what I am like as a person and how I view...
To maintain momentum, the Psychedelic Renaissance must go mainstream. What I learned by joining the conversation
This guest post is by Magdalena Tanev, Co-host of the Brains Byte Back podcast and Senior Writer at Publicize. The tides have turned regarding public opinion about psychedelics. Since Nixon’s 1970 Controlled Substances Act, which criminalized LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT, potential uses for these drugs have been legally stopped in their tracks and engulfed by a widespread moral panic. Until now. Not only are we seeing an uptick in vital research for clinical and therapeutic applications of drugs like psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ketamine, but big names from across the spectrum are speaking out in support of...
Coronavirus Silver Lining How the psychedelic community can leverage today’s renewed focus on mental health
Isn’t it time for a little good news? Today’s guest post by Lucia Huang is about Osmind, an organization offering a ray of sunshine in a time of cloudy uncertainty. This month, calls to the U.S. crisis hotline jumped 891%. Almost half of adults sheltering in place say that coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health. COVID-19 has also halted or slowed U.S. clinical trials advancing new medicines, many in behavioral health and psychedelic medicine including trials on MDMA and psilocybin. The pandemic has both short- and long-term implications on our mental health and is...
New short film, Debbie and Doug Drop Acid in the Desert A poignant journey with trippy characters -- including Larry King?!
A very trippy new short film comes out today, and you can watch it for free! Here’s how the filmmakers describe it on the film’s website: Debbie and Doug (Angela Gulner and Zack Gold) are desperate to re-ignite the fire of their once passionate marriage, but their future is uncertain. About to hit rock bottom, they enlist the help of an alternative therapist (Maria Bamford) who claims that the only way to save their relationship from impending death is to take acid in Joshua Tree. When they accidentally take ‘ way, way, way too much’ of this prescribed...
A Long Time Ago When the Sky Kissed Me Back An Excerpt of 'Love in the Time of Trump' by Mike Millard
This story of unexpected samadhi is excerpted from Mike Millard’s new book, Love in the Time of Trump: A jagged memoir of the psychedelic ‘60s, today’s politics and religion. School was out on that beautiful San Francisco spring day with protest in the air. Sagittarius dropped by to see if I wanted to go tripping around. His battered blue Monza convertible was running again and he had the top down. Sagittarius was a bit of a head case, but he was an old friend of Vernon’s and I knew him well enough to be fairly comfortable around him....
The Science of Microdosing Psychedelics Why millions of dollars are being poured into further research
Millions of dollars are being poured into microdosing research. The latest video of Dope Science, brought to you by FreeThink, explains why.
Cultivating Inner Growth The Inner Healing Intelligence in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy
This article is by Shannon Clare, M.A., the Associate Director of Training & Supervision at the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation. It first appeared in the MAPS Bulletin Winter 2018: Vol. 28, No. 3 and is reprinted here with permission. Please consider donating monthly (or even just once) to support the incredible work that MAPS does to advance psychedelic science and profound healing. Just as a seed has within it the knowledge to grow, humans have an innate capacity to heal, when given the right environment to do so. When help is needed to create that environment, psychotherapy, like a greenhouse,...