Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
1–10 of 116 posts
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#2For those so inclined, Tara Brach had a lovely interview with Roland early this year: https://overcast.fm/+SWwgtYFDM
From the podcast summary:
Meditation, Psychedelics, Mortality: A conversation with Tara and Roland Griffiths - Roland is a long-term meditator, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Johns Hopkins, and a leader in researching the clinical effects of psychedelics, including their impact on those struggling with cancer, depression or addiction. At the end of 2021, he discovered he had incurable stage 4 Colon Cancer. This conversation explores the relationship between meditation and psychedelics, and how they both can serve profound spiritual awakening and deep inner freedom in the face of mortality.
Information about the endowment fund: The Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D. Professorship Fund in Psychedelic Research on Secular Spirituality and Well-Being.
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#3I wish there was more support to not just decriminalize but legalize psychedelics broadly. I know there are plenty of ongoing clinical trials, but the collection of Psilocybin, LSD, Mescaline, Ibogaine is genuinely a treasure chest and probably the best thing that has happened to medicine in a long time, if not ever.
Edit: i highly recommend watching Michael Pollan's "How to change your mind" (Netflix documentary). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8LRb4jfZ9g
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#4For those so inclined, Tara Brach had a lovely interview with Roland early this year: https://overcast.fm/+SWwgtYFDM From the podcast summary: Meditation, Psychedelics, Mortality: A conversation with Tara and Roland Griffiths - Roland is a long-term meditator, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Johns Hopkins, and a leader in researching the clinical effects of psychedelics, including their impact on those strugg…
I'm not a psychedelic researcher, but I have taken psychedelics, and I recently wrote "Strange trip: Psychedelics and confronting the fear of death:" https://jakeseliger.com/2023/09/25/strange-trip-psychedelics..., which covers similar themes.
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#5For those so inclined, Tara Brach had a lovely interview with Roland early this year: https://overcast.fm/+SWwgtYFDM From the podcast summary: Meditation, Psychedelics, Mortality: A conversation with Tara and Roland Griffiths - Roland is a long-term meditator, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Johns Hopkins, and a leader in researching the clinical effects of psychedelics, including their impact on those strugg…
I'm not a psychedelic researcher, but I have taken psychedelics, and I recently wrote "Strange trip: Psychedelics and confronting the fear of death:" https://jakeseliger.com/2023/09/25/strange-trip-psychedelics... , which covers similar themes.
Your blog is deeply moving, thank you for posting the link. When my time comes, I hope I accept it with the equanimity and grace you display.
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#6I wish there was more support to not just decriminalize but legalize psychedelics broadly. I know there are plenty of ongoing clinical trials, but the collection of Psilocybin, LSD, Mescaline, Ibogaine is genuinely a treasure chest and probably the best thing that has happened to medicine in a long time, if not ever. Edit: i highly recommend watching Michael Pollan's "How to change your mind" (Netflix documentary). h…
I’m not going to be that guy, because I don’t read nearly enough to begin with, but I read the book and… it was amazing. I have a deep appreciation for the psychedelic experience and reading his trip reports brought me, a 30 year old man, to tears.
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#7For those so inclined, Tara Brach had a lovely interview with Roland early this year: https://overcast.fm/+SWwgtYFDM From the podcast summary: Meditation, Psychedelics, Mortality: A conversation with Tara and Roland Griffiths - Roland is a long-term meditator, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Johns Hopkins, and a leader in researching the clinical effects of psychedelics, including their impact on those strugg…
There’s also this episode with Sam Harris that is worth listening to: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/waking-up-conversations/p...
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#8How is this different from escaping problems through drug use?
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#9"This life is only a prelude to eternity."
- Seneca
You can mostly avoid upsetting people with the God language by talking about love of truth instead.
Re: Psychedelics researcher approached his death with calm and curiosity
#10I wish there was more support to not just decriminalize but legalize psychedelics broadly. I know there are plenty of ongoing clinical trials, but the collection of Psilocybin, LSD, Mescaline, Ibogaine is genuinely a treasure chest and probably the best thing that has happened to medicine in a long time, if not ever. Edit: i highly recommend watching Michael Pollan's "How to change your mind" (Netflix documentary). h…
What do psychedelics achieve here that ordinary meditation as in e.g. vipassana does not? They seem like a pointless shortcut, and potentially a problematic one. If the hallucinatory dynamic is specifically what you care about, that's also typical of perfectly ordinary experiences such as dreaming, or even just drifting in and out of sleep. What "treasure" are we gaining by dosing the brain with chemicals, that we couldn't otherwise?