Psychedelics Today

Latest Episodes:

Matthew Pallamary - Exploring Ayahuasca Shamanism Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

Introduction In this episode of Psychedelics Today, host Joe Moore and Kyle Buller interview Matt Pallamary, and have a discussion with him about his writing, research, and ayahuasca experiences. He also shares his concerns about self-proclaimed gurus and some issues that have been emerging because of the popularity of ayahuasca. 3 Key Points:

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury was a mentor of Matt Pallamary.
There are pros and cons to ayahuasca shamanism in Peru.
The more in touch with the natural world you are the more balanced you are.

Show Notes

Matt Pallamary was part of the early psychedelics podcast scene.
Matt grew up in Dorchester near Boston, and he began early experiences with sniffing glue, weed, and getting acid from a chemist from M.I.T..
He has almost 20 years experience with ayahuasca.
Too many people have a couple of ayahuasca experiences and claim to be a guru.
Famed science fiction writer Ray Bradbury was a mentor of Matt Pallamary.
Everything is energy—the whole universe exists between our eyes.
Matt labels shamans as the first storytellers, the first musicians, the first performers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and first performers.
Being in touch with the natural world makes a person more balanced.
The boundaries between your conscious and subconscious are blurred, overlapping your visions, dreams, and waking life.
When going through an ayahuasca experience, you have to be in a safe place where you can be vulnerable and around people you can trust.
For ayahuasca experiences, be sure to get references from people that have successfully worked with a group.

Resources Mentioned:

Matt Pallamary – Website for Matt Pallamary

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCKedqiAQ7g] About Author Author, Editor, and Shamanic Explorer Matthew J. Pallamary is an award winning writer, musician, and sound healer who has been studying shamanism all of his life. He incorporates shamanic practices into his daily life as well as into his writing and teaching. He has over a dozen books in print that cover several genres, many of which have been translated into foreign languages. His book on writing, Phantastic Fiction: A Shamanic Approach to Story took First Place in the International Book Awards Writing and Editing Category, and his popular Phantastic Fiction Workshop has been a staple of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the Southern California Writer's Conference for over twenty five years. He has also lectured about writing and shamanism at numerous venues throughout the United States. Matt has spent extended time in the jungles, mountains, and deserts of North, Central, and South America pursuing his studies of shamanism and ancient cultures. Through his research into both the written word and the ancient beliefs of shamanism, he has uncovered the heart of what a story really is and integrated it into core dramatic concepts that also have their basis in shamanism.

Social Anxiety in Adults with Autism MDMA and LSD - Voices in the Dark Jun 12, 2018

Show notes

Download Caution!! A few important notes. This is an episode of an individual experimenting with powerful drugs to see if he can get any sort of relief from autism. In this case, it appears to have been successful. That said, this came with a substantial amount of risks, and people need to be aware. Please read the below bullets so you understand.

Autism is not what is treated. The thing being treated would be a symptom like social anxiety.
"The field of autism science includes a long and shameful history of quack treatments and parents taking desperate and harmful measures to "fix" their children. Autism is a spectrum of congenital and neurocognitive variants, and there are no published research data in support of any compound that can influence its course." Alicia Danforth, PhD
Please do not administer these drugs to children with autism.
There are only two researchers investigating where MDMA and autism meet - Alicia Danforth PhD and Dr. Charlie Grob. A scientific paper will likely be available on this in the next few months. Expect to see more here.
These drugs have not been shown to cure or treat autism, but in some cases, just like with neuro-typical individuals, some have seen meaningful changes.
Even if changes are noticed the person is still autistic no matter how many high doses of psychedelics they take.
Obtaining pure drugs is very difficult if not impossible in black markets.
- Verifying purity will require the resources of mass spectrometry from organizations offering these services like Energy Control or Ecstasy Data
- Providing unsafe, dirty or compromised drugs to people can cause serious harm or death.
If you are planning to use MDMA to alleviate some suffering on your own, please wait or don't.
Do substantial research and have skilled people available to help.

Thanks to Alicia Danforth for helping us understand the nuance's in this area. ..autism is a genetically determined cognitive variant. It's pervasive, and it affects the whole person, not just the brain. No chemical compound has been shown to treat, cure, or alter the course of autism. However, for some people, substances like MDMA can help them manage symptoms such as anxiety, social anxiety, and trauma effects. - Alicia Danforth, Ph.D Introduction Joe Moore and Kyle Buller interview Jon and Dre of the Voices in the Dark podcast out of England. The discussion addresses treating autism with MDMA and LSD, what types of doses you should take, and how to in part do it safely. Note there are always risks with any kind of drug. Learn the basics over at our Navigating Psychedelics course. 3 Key Points:

A lot of autism is sensory overload. As far as emotions are concerned, we see potentially too many things in other people's faces.
A good range for MDMA dosages is between 100mg and not going over 200mg.
125 micrograms per drop of liquid LSD, and not going above 250 micrograms is recommended.

Show Notes

- - Jon's first psychedelic experience shifted his academic career path and helped him to deal with depression.
  - Dre first tried MDMA as a first step and it unlocked emotional empathy.
  - Sensory overload is a lot of Autism according to Dre.
  - Jon's experiences with MDMA made him feel like himself without the fear and the worry.
  - MDMA and LSD at the same time didn't feel as emotional when combined to Jon.
  - 125 micrograms per drop of liquid LSD, and not going above 250 micrograms is recommended.
  - Democratising psychedelic therapy is where Joe would like to see the industry go.
  - Jon is against the fetishizing of any particular concept of belief system in its totality.
  - Jon is excited that he is starting to see more types of research on LSD/MDMA and autism.
  - Dre's experiences have shifted his autism by feeling that he has a foot in both worlds to know how living without it feels in his mind.

Resources Mentioned:

- Voices in the Dark – Website for Voices in the Dark
- Instagram – Psychedelics Today Instagram
- Patreon – Psychedelics Today Patreon donation page
- DMTX.org – Website for DMTX.org
- Ecstasy Could Help Adults With Autism Cope with Social Anxiety - Discover Magazine
- MDMA-Autism - MAPS.org
- MDMA-assisted therapy: A new treatment model for social anxiety in autistic adults
- Autism and LSD-25

Additional Resources https://vimeo.com/198405527 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eINBXdqTfOQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ5P4AYAvuE About Voices in the Dark LEARNING HOW TO HUMAN At Voices in the Dark, we bring you powerful, mind- and soul-expanding conversations about real life psychology, philosophy, psychedelics, spirituality, social dynamics and much more. We're a podcast, a blog, and a community of likeminded individuals who want to become the best versions of themselves. We're dedicated to never stop Learning How To Human. Our mission is to entertain, provoke, inform, and make you question everything you think you know. DRE A disturbingly quick study in most fields, Dre's autism made learning people more of a challenge. The works of Robert Greene shone a light on the otherwise deeply confusing world of other people's psyches, transforming the world around him into something which finally made sense. JON After spending far too many years in educational institutions, Jon got a PhD in History but is now finally learning something about the real world and the people in it. He always felt that science and scholarship needed more dick jokes and is on a mission to redress that balance. He writes, talks, travels, sings, and has a problematic relationship with cake and coffee.

Psychedelic Professionalism - Kyle and Joe Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

Download Kyle and Joe discuss professionalism in the psychedelic field. There are a number of people out there doing very unprofessional things. We need to be aware of what professionalism could look like, what self care, ethics and boundaries look like in this world we are actively developing. In light of festival season, we are offering a $30 off coupon for our online store with every purchase of our course, Navigating Psychedelics: Lessons on Self-Care and Integration throughout the month of June. If you are a student, please email us with your university email address to receive a special discount! Joe and Kyle will also be offering some special live online course options. If you want to stay up-to-date about these offerings, sign up for our email list. If you're interested in learning more about DMTx, you can enroll in the DMTx 4-week Psychonaut Training. Proceeds go towards the DMTx project.

Mike Branc - Mikeadelic, Ayahuasca and Coming Back to America May 22, 2018

Show notes

In this 88th episode of Psychedelics Today, host Joe Moore interviews Mike Brancatelli of the Mikeadelic podcast. After returning from a three-month Amazonian ayahuasca sojourn, Mikeadelic himself shares information about this extraordinary experience, how he has gotten involved in psychedelics and his journey. Show Notes: ● Mike Brancatelli spent his three-month trip in Peru at the Temple of the Way of Lights with their residency program in the heart of the Amazon jungle during an ayahuasca retreat. ● Mike was previously doing stand-up comedy in New York City with his friend Dave Smith called "Part of the Problem." ● Mikeadelic the podcast began in the spring of 2016. ● Drinking ayahuasca will produce an effect on you, especially when coupled with ceremony and healing songs. ● During an intense healing ceremony, a song cut to the core of the collection of pain that Mike was experiencing, and it felt like he was being unclogged of this negative energy, and it came out in the form of a very vocal purge. ● He feels passionate about ending the war on drugs and the prison industrial complex. ● You can remain filled with passion and compassion without being emotionally attached. Sit with your feelings without letting them control how you respond. ● The information overload of media drowns your spirit. ● A morning routine with meditation is helpful to get centered and focused for the rest of the day. ● The Netflix TV series "Wild Wild Country" is a true story about a controversial cult leader claiming to enlighten people. ● "Enlightenment Now" is a book about the enlightenment philosophy "science, reason and humanism". It is a contemporary take on that philosophy - you could call Pinker's take a Modern Enlightenment philosophy. Steven Pinker wrote the book. Joe Moore, suggests it and found out about it from the Bill Gates's. ● "The Internet of Money" Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Andreas M. Antonopoulos is another interesting read suggested by Joe Moore. ● Before ayahuasca use, listen to your heart to understand why you want to try it. 3 Key Points: 1. During an intense healing ceremony, a song cut to the core of the collection of pain that Mike was experiencing, and it felt like he was being unclogged of this negative energy, and it came out in the form of a very vocal purge. 2. It is incredibly brave to be willing to confront your stress and be willing to stare into your soul and slay your demons. 3. Remain passionate, compassionate, and acknowledge the problems in the world, but don't stay emotionally attached to them. Become mindful of how you respond.

Britta Love - Sex, Psychedelics, Privilege and Justice May 16, 2018

Show notes

Joe Moore interviews Britta Love, a passionate writer and sex educator based in New York City. Britta shares about the overlap of sexuality and psychedelics, her field of consciousness and embodiment studies, and dealing with the psychedelic patriarchy. She shares her desires to diversity the field and make supporters he safe and supported. Quotes

We have to be OK with the fact that as we get confronted by the internalized racism and patriarchy and privilege that our psychedelic sub-culture carries, that its going

to be a little messy for a while, and we are all going to have to feel uncomfortable at times.

Giving up your privilege is the ultimate psychedelic trip. There is something about that surrender that's really deep.

If you are someone who does what we call holding space or facilitates in someway, to actively hand that power back as often as possible, when you realize someone is trying to give it to you it, is a really powerful meditation."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmzDUK-EZqQ Show Notes ● Britta Love talks about sexual abuse stories that were discussed on a panel on psychedelic patriarchy she participated in. ● In Britta's anti-racist work, whenever she starts to feel uncomfortable, she recognizes that that discomfort is not as bad as what it must feel like to get oppressed by systemic racism. ● Author Robert Anton Wilson's idea of "reality tunnels" is that we all have our B.S. (Belief System). What if we could flip between belief systems and be more flexible and be more literate with reality and open-minded. ● Britta speaks about a healer who was sexually abusive to a woman she knows. ● A woman was raped by a male nurse and she was strong-armed to sign a non-disclosure agreement. ● The psychedelic community needs more diversity, more women and people of color to balance out the equality of voices. ● We need healthy models of sexuality to express sexual energy in a positive and constructive manner to get rid of sexual aggression and power dynamics. ● We are too willing to hand over our power to healers and shamans. We can become our own healers when we are in safe environments. ● Psychedelic therapy can be demystified and taught, and doesn't have to remain esoteric with a hierarchy of privilege structures. ● Forming collectives of up to 100 people with different skills to form a safe, supportive, and collective village of awareness and wisdom. ● How do we create containers that are encouraging of and supportive of the deep reflection that is required to undo racism and patriarchy and systems of oppression require? 3 Key Points: 1. In Britta's anti-racist work, whenever she starts to feel uncomfortable, she recognizes that that discomfort is not as bad as what it must feel like to get oppressed by systemic racism. 2. We are too willing to hand over our power to healers and shamans—we can become our own healers when we are in safe spaces. 3. Know your value and contribution within a group. People feel better when they are a giver. Resources Mentioned Instagram - BrittaLoved The Daily Transmission Links 10 Reasons to End the War on Drugs and the War on Sex Workers Britta Love Britta Love is a writer, somatic sex educator and multi-dimensional healer based in Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Goddard College, she wrote her thesis in Consciousness Studies on the healing and spiritual potential of altered states, specifically those induced by conscious sexual practice and the ritual use of psychoactive plant medicines. She writes for Alternet, Psymposia and Reality Sandwich, gives talks and facilitates workshops in NYC, and blogs on sex, drugs and consciousness

Daniel McQueen - DMTx and Future Psychedelic Technologies May 08, 2018

Show notes

Download During this episode of Psychedelics Today, your host Joe Moore interviews Daniel McQueen of Medicinal Mindfulness in Boulder, CO about his DMTx project and some of the reasons he is so interested in the DMTx project. Show Notes

- What is DMTx
- Who originated the concept.
  - Dr Rick Strassman and Dr Andrew Gallimore.
- Daniel's story of a very intense and meaningful DMT experience
- Much more!

Resources Mentioned

Daniel McQueen, MA Daniel discovered meditation and spiritual practices at twelve and has been interested in exploring inner states ever since. He apprenticed under a number of shamanic teachers and has been a practicing intentional journeyer for over 16 years. For Daniel, working in the professional field of Cannabis and Psychedelics isn't a career interest, but represents a core identity and life calling. Finding a place to honor such a life calling within a world that has until recently prohibited it has been an interesting challenge. After graduating from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Communication, Daniel traveled down a many forked and unmarked road through the wild terrain of political activism, corporate accountability research and campaign finance reform for many years in Washington, DC. Disillusioned by the city, he moved to Florida and opened a small meditation center to explore grassroots community organizing before moving to Boulder, CO and returning to school at Naropa University. Daniel earned a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa and received advanced training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy through a year internship with the MAPS Boulder MDMA for PTSD Study. It was his experience with MAPS that inspired Daniel to explore alternative visions in cannabis and psychedelic activism and entrepreneurship. Daniel bridges transpersonal paradigms with the grounded clinical and organizational skills necessary to begin addressing the significant ecological and mental health crises facing our society today. Although Daniel no longer practices as a clinical psychotherapist, he supports his clients as a teacher, coach, ally and event facilitator, providing individual and group transformational experiences and deeply held intentional conversations. In his practice, Daniel quickly realized that the most important intervention he could provide to his clients, who were isolated and longed for meaningful contact with others, was a sense of community. Medicinal Mindfulness is, in a very real way, a cultural intervention that provides a safe and transformational community container for healing and awakening... a program based on skill development and not dogma. Since 2012, Daniel has been teaching a psychedelic harm prevention and intentional psychedelic use course called Psychedelic Sitters School. Since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Colorado, he has been facilitating group journey experiences called Conscious Cannabis Events and guiding individual cannabis journeys. In addition to his work with Medicinal Mindfulness, Daniel has a successful spirituality and life coaching practice with his wife, Alison, through their company, Aspenroots Counseling LLC. Highly skilled in identifying and cultivating giftedness in young people and supporting significant life transitions, Daniel is inspired to support passionate and talented individuals striving to live into their calling. A primary focus of his practice involves assessing and addressing the benefits and difficulties related to psychedelic and cannabis use and misuse. Daniel co-founded the Naropa Alliance for Psychedelic Studies and helped organize the first annual Psychedelic Symposium at Naropa University in 2012. About Medicinal Mindfulness Medicinal Mindfulness® LLC and Medicinal Mindfulness Events LLC Medicinal Mindfulness is a grassroots consciousness community/membership organization and education program that supports individuals and groups who choose to use cannabis and psychedelics with intention. Founded by Daniel McQueen, MA, and his wife, Alison McQueen, MA, our community has come together to provide an enjoyable, safe, open and affirming space to share transformational cannabis and breathwork experiences. We use clinically informed, mindfulness-based approaches within a somatically oriented, transpersonal and community paradigm to create an holistic (mind, body, spirit) process that initiates powerful transformations in healing and personal development. Services are available for individuals, couples, families and groups. Given the common misunderstandings and concerns that accompany the field of psychedelics and cannabis harm prevention and advocacy, we are committed to making ourselves available to public service and safety professionals to answer questions regarding psychedelic and cannabis harm reduction programs.

Brian Normand - CryptoPsychedelic May 03, 2018

Show notes

Download During this episode of Psychedelics Today, your host Joe Moore interviews Brian Normand of Psymposia and coordinator of the Cryptopsychedelic Conference.

Banks are devaluing currency by charging high fees.
With block chain, you've got to think in the long-term.
There's so much going on with crypto, you can't keep up.
What blockchain developer wants to go work for Facebook?

Show Notes

Joe and Brian discuss the CryptoPsychedelic Conference the took place in Tulum, Mexico.
What is blockchain?
- A next-gen decentralized ledger.
- A peer-to-peer border-less, institution-less payment system.
- Money will be one of the first users of blockchain.
- Banks are devaluing currency by charging high fees.
- The whole concept of money will transform, it will be a border-less thing.
When Napster came out, peer to peer transfer became a very popular technology.
- When the record companies worried about being irrelevant, they sued.
- There could be something like Spotify that pays artists more fairly than Spotify currently does.
- Social media could be rebuilt.
  - We could no longer be the product being sold, but get paid for our contributions.
Could crypto be used to trace the history and purity of substances?
- Yes, that's a definite use case.
- The first voting on a block chain happened in Sierra Leone.
- You've got to think in the long term.
What were some of the more interesting things that came out of the CryptoPsychedelic conference?
- Some of the new relationships and seeing the potential collaboration between the two communities.
- Projects in this space need to be taken on.
- It was a time to question, not really a time for answers.
- Watch the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey in one sitting.
  - Every time you watch it you come away with a new experience.
- Cryptocurrencies are border-less, some have minimal fees, and it's instant.
Decentralized systems
- Information is easier to access, it doesn't have to climb up a ladder.
- The DAO is the Decentralized Autonomous Organization – there is no hierarchy.
- Government could eventually be run via blockchain.
How could we use the internet to further the message of psychedelics?
- Before the internet, the only way you were exposed to information was top down.
  - Networks, authority institutions.
- Because of the internet, information is moving more horizontally.
- How do you change incentive structures in the drug war? Could it be these new technologies?
The rate of innovation now is way faster than it was when the internet was first coming out.
- You cannot keep up with what's going on, there's too much going on.
- Look at money as a tool or form of energy.
Crypto will change everyone's concept of paying taxes.
- Air BnB cut the cities completely out of the picture.
- Taxes and healthcare or both extremely important and impossible for people to understand.
- Internet privacy is a big deal in crypto and psychedelics alike.
- Brian doesn't think that Facebook will ultimately make it.
Developers want to build new tools to take down the giants like Facebook.
- Recently, Facebook announced a decline in users.
- What can you do to reverse becoming "uncool"?
- Reddit's price per impression is much lower.
- Steemit has a fascinating model.
- It would be cool if you could be compensated for putting helpful content online.
We assume that the way the internet is now is how it's always going to be.
- How can we use the tool to help the people whose lives aren't privileged like ours?
- In a lot of refugee camps, you can't have cash, so crypto is huge for them.
- What happens when people who are impoverished around the world can now crowdfund?

Resources Mentioned

Brian Normand Viveros Brian Normand is CoFounder of Psymposia, entrepreneur, and advocate of psychedelic science, therapy, and drug reform. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and holds a B.S. in Plant, Soil, and Insect Science, Magna Cum Laude.

Stefanie Jones - Safer Partying and Harm Reduction Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

Zach Leary - Trans-humanism, psychedelic use, over-use and taking a break Apr 17, 2018

Show notes

Download

Introduction

During this episode of Psychedelics Today, your hosts Kyle Buller and Joe Moore talk to Zach Leary host of the MAPS podcast and It's All Happening. We have an incredible time talking to Zach and his worldview, experiences, opinions and much more. It was a very fun time recording with Zach and we hope it can happen again in the near future.

Show Notes

Joe and Kyle discuss Zach's connections with Ram Dass
Zach Leary calls himself a futurist and we discuss what a futurist is.
- A natural way to continue the narrative of our physical evolution and our spiritual development.
- Cyberspace is an invention as a result of our human condition.
  - The way and the reason we invented it is that we found a need to create another dimension.
- Futurism and transhumanism and embracing the way technology is augmenting the human experience is a great place to be.
Do you see any major problems in psychedelia?
- Overall, it's a great time to be into psychedelics.
  - There's so much research and data available to the end-user and the discussion is improving.
  - Many people are starting to be more open about their beneficial relationship with psychedelics.
  - It's important to get people in the mainstream aware of their beneficial properties.
  - The Ayahuasca fad going on in the U.S. has many people calling themselves shamans, which raised a red flag to Zach.
  - It used to be that going to the medicine man was a common occurrence in any culture.
  - Mysticism didn't go away, it just got turned into a more doctrinal practice.
The part of the church that bothers Zach is the authoritarian aspect, that there is only one god.
- There's an element of fanaticism when someone says there's only one drug that's worth taking.
- April 19 is the 75th anniversary of the first intentional use of LSD (Bicycle Day).
- We have to start re-thinking about what "natural" means.
  - The human imagination and what it creates is a by-product of nature.
There's no stopping the technological march, the train has left the station.
- A return to nature can include biodiverse rooftop gardens in New York.
- It's very hard to get off the grid.
What do we have that's readily available and sustainable?
- Mushrooms
- LSD
- Other synthetic compounds that don't bother the rainforest, etc.
Drugs that may not be sustainable:
- Ayahuasca, Peyote, 5-MeO (Sonoran Desert Toad - Bufo Alvarius toad venom)
- Some people are playing fast and loose with 5-MeO
  - There are people who give do things to "patients" that are non-consensual while they are under the effect of the drug.
Psychedelics are often highly individualistic.
- It's nice to be able to jump in with a shaman, but to what extent?
There is some cultural appropriation here when you take ancient practices and move them into new environments.
- It's best not to ignore the roots and traditions of these practices but honor them as best as you can.
How do we not make mistakes in psychedelics?
- There's so much data, examples and role models now.
- There are best practices based on data now.
Zach would like to see less consumption of MDMA.
- People over-consume MDMA.
- More of a concern about bodily harm.
- 2-3 times a year is probably enough.
There are parallel paths going on and if the parallel path of computers and humanity are going on, what does that look like eventually?
What are some of your major influences in the psychedelic world?
- Terence McKenna, Jim Fadiman, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Dennis McKenna
How would you like to see the future of psychedelics evolve?
- We're seeing the rumblings of what's to come.
- There's going to be a firmly legitimate place in the psychiatric world for the psychedelic therapy.
- Hopefully, it carries over into recreational use and cognitive therapy.

Links

About Zach Leary

Zach is the host of both the "It's All Happening with Zach Leary" podcast and "The MAPS Podcast." They have helped to cement him as one of the most thought provoking podcasters in the cultural philosophy genre of podcasting. He's also a blogger/writer, a futurist, spiritualist, a technology consultant and socio-cultural theorist.

In all of Zach's work he blends his roles as a spiritual aspirant and a futurist into a unique identity all his own. His spiritual background has it's roots in being a practitioner of bhakti yoga as taught through many of the vedantic systems of Northern India, in particular Neem Karoli Baba as taught by Ram Dass. Through the practice of bhakti yoga he has found keys that unlock doorways that allow the soul to experience it's true nature of being eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. In addition to bhakti yoga, Zach is influenced by many different methods and traditions of consciousness exploration ranging from trans-humanism to buddhism and clinical psychology. Zach is also a frequent pundit on the political systems that are fueling todays economic and cultural structures. At the core of all of Zach's work is the belief that we have been fused together by the collective practice of using technology to expand our species imagination with spirituality and mysticism to define the very nature of who we are.

Check out our online store

/**/

Matthew Segall, Ph.D. - Whitehead, Process Philosophy, and Ecology Apr 10, 2018

Show notes

Download During this episode of Psychedelics Today, your hosts Kyle and Joe Moore talk to Dr. Matt Segall, a philosopher with a Ph.D. working at CIIS as an administrator and adjunct lecturer. In this episode, we explore psychedelics through the lens of philosophy and Alfred North Whitehead.

Show Notes:

Philosophy is really important when talking about psychedelics.
- This movement is working on a lot of different levels.
- Looking to get accepted into academia therefore it's important to be precise.
About Dr. Matt Segall
- Strong interest in Alfred North Whitehead
- 12 levels of abstraction away from Plato.
- Ropes in all of western philosophy and science into a cohesive system that seems to reenchant the world a bit.
Extended state DMT research
- Use an IV pump to keep a steady stream of DMT in the bloodstream for an undetermined amount of time.
- The initial phase of the study is 10-20 minutes.
- Not just for medical research, it's for the community.
- Join the class at psychedelicstoday.teachable.com.
How did Matt Segall stumble his way into the Whitehead world?
- Philosophy came first, but not by much.
- He had a teacher who introduced him to some psychedelic teachers.
- His first experience with psychedelics was when he was 19 years old with mushrooms.
  - He realized that there were many other worlds running in parallel with this one.
- These substances open up our perceptions of other worlds and other facets of the same world.
- We need to incorporate the experience induces by these substances.
- Western philosophy is rooted in the psychedelic experience.
- Plato's encounter with the ideal forms that led him out of the cave proves that the origins of philosophy include psychedelics.
- There is chemical evidence that the rituals in Athens were psychedelic in nature.
- When ancient Greeks refer to wine, they're talking about something that was way more mind altering.
What drew you into Whitehead?
- In college, he listened to a McKenna lecture and he mentioned Whitehead a lot.
  - McKenna introduced him to Whitehead.
  - He waited until he started graduate school, so he could take a course on him and study him alongside other graduate students.
  - Whitehead incorporated 20th century physics and a version of Darwin's understanding of evolution expanded to a cosmological level.
  - Combining advanced science with an enchanted view of the universe.
- The modern era has alienated human beings from the rest of the natural world.
  - The industrial revolution made this alienation even more profound.
  - There has been a gradual isolation of the human being from the rest of life and the universe.
  - Human beings have come to think of the rest of life and just robots seeking to reproduce.
    - Value has to be assigned to anything non-human by humans.
    - This thinking is highly destructive.
    - Our idea has not fit the reality and it's destroying the reality.
  - Whitehead helps us re-inhabit the planet as one of the many species.
  - When human beings come to recognize that value is not just made up in our human society but it's an intrinsic cosmic value, they can act accordingly.
- Whitehead's process is called a process-relational process.
  - We've traditionally been thought to have a soul or mind that's independent of others.
  - Whitehead proposes that our soul or mind is in relation to others.
    - So that what it means to be me is that I'm not unique, but my uniqueness comes from my unique perspective and works with the other souls in the environment.
    - This attempts to move us away from thinking of ourselves as isolated minds.
    - The biggest challenge is to get people to not shut down when they see Whitehead's terminology.
  - Philosophy can serve to help us develop a language that actually serves to represent our experience.
    - It's well worth it to learn the dictionary that Whitehead provides.
  - Whitehead's understanding of perception is welcoming more indigenous ways of knowing back into the realm of philosophy.
    - Whitehead helps us make sense of indigenous experience.
    - All of human culture stems from these shamanistic practices.
    - We don't yet have the words to explain yet what these psychedelic journeys are doing to us.
    - A downside to being in the west is that we don't have relationship with psychedelic substances.
    - The plants that are a part of the ayahuasca brew told the indigenous people how to brew them.
    - People talk about nature deficit disorder, kids being raised indoors being told the outdoors is dirty.
    - The problem is not one of trying to reinvent the wheel, we have to stop beating this capacity out of children.
  - When we talk about the human nervous system in the context of symbiotic relationships with our ecosystem:
    - It doesn't make sense to consider the human brain and nervous system as enclosed within the skull.
    - The human nervous system is actually a lot more ecological in its extent than most physiologists would let on.
    - The chemical metabolism of our brain extends out into the environment.
  - Richard Doyle wrote a book called Darwin's Pharmacy where he coins the term "ecodelic" which challenges the idea of an autonomous individual.
    - The idea is we're actually permeated by the chemicals flowing through our environment.
    - Our consciousness is shaped any time we eat anything.
    - Some drugs are not thought of as drugs: sugar, caffeine, tobacco.
      - These are accepted psychedelic substances.
    - The fact that cannabis and other psychedelics are becoming more mainstream again shows that we in late-stage capitalism.
  - Is there anything in particular you've been excited about in psychedelics lately?
    - The research on MDMA for PTSD in veterans coming back from Iraq and the success rate they're achieving.
    - The FDA may be forced by the sheer weight of the evidence to approve MDMA.
    - The hope is that we can use MDMA to treat "pre-traumatic stress disorder."
      - Enhance the empathic capacity of those who handle a great deal of conflict.
    - Within a year or two the FDA is going to be approving MDMA, which is unbelievable.
  - Joe and Matt talk about how credentials are often forced as a barrier to entry into certain fields.
    - Matt is all for a standardized approach to mainstream these things.
    - He wants to go in all directions to get the therapy out.
    - The plants used in psychedelics are so much safer than any drug that's on the market right now.
    - Some lawmakers are trying to pass a law to allow the death penalty for drug dealers, including those who sell cannabis.
  - Do you have any places you'd like to send people to re-engage with philosophy?
    - Study the history of philosophy.
    - Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas.
    - Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
  - Matt teaches an online course on Whitehead, the next one begins in January 2019.
    - Philosophy is not an abstract linguistic analysis.
    - He approaches philosophy as a spiritual practice.
    - Philosophy is learning to die.
      - We're embodied creatures and philosophy is a way to come to terms with that.
    - Psychedelics help you experience ego death, but we're still conscious.

Tweetable Quotes

Psychedelics are not just theoretically interesting, they have profound practical implications for how we organize our lives.
Whitehead's terminology is an attempt to return us to our concrete experience.
Philosophy is learning to die.

Resources Mentioned

Psychedelicstoday.teachable.com
Bluebird Botanicals
Footnotes2plato.com
Pharmakon – book by Michael Rinella
Passion of the Western Mind – book by Richard Tarnas
Story of Philosophy – book by Will Durant
Introduction to Process Relationship Philosophy – book by Robert Mesle
0thouartthat0 – Matt's Youtube Channel

About Matthew Segall, Ph.D.

Matthew T. Segall, PhD, received his doctoral degree in 2016 from the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at CIIS. His dissertation was titled Cosmotheanthropic Imagination in the Post-Kantian Process Philosophy of Schelling and Whitehead. It grapples with the limits to knowledge of reality imposed by Kant's transcendental form of philosophy and argues that Schelling and Whitehead's process-oriented approach (described in his dissertation as a "descendental" form of philosophy) shows the way across the Kantian threshold to renewed experiential contact with reality. He teaches courses on German Idealism and process philosophy for the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at CIIS. He blogs regularly at footnotes2plato.com.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected