All tagged Psychedelics

Cover Up: Power Tripping, Exposing Abuse, & Applying Psychedelic Ethics / Lily Kay Ross

Cover Up: Power Tripping, Exposing Abuse, & Applying Psychedelic Ethics / Lily Kay Ross

Patrick Farnsworth
Lily Kay Ross, 313

Lily Kay Ross, sexual violence researcher and Arts and Gender Editor at Psymposia, joins me to discuss her research and insights into the dark underbelly of psychedelic therapy — a subject expertly explored in Power Trip, a New York Magazine investigative podcast series she is the co-creator and producer of.

As psychedelics become less stigmatized in the West and popularized as tools for trauma therapy and vehicles for spiritual enlightenment, Lily Kay Ross has been documenting something far more complex and nefarious under the surface of the optimistic image of the "psychedelic renaissance": sexual misconduct and abuse; pervasive ethical malfeasance. As she documents in Power Trip, there are numerous documented cases of so-called shamans and psychedelic guides taking advantage of their clients, violating bodily autonomy, and gaslighting victims into accepting abuse as "part of the healing journey." 

Spread Mind: Expanding Our View Of Consciousness / Riccardo Manzotti

Spread Mind: Expanding Our View Of Consciousness / Riccardo Manzotti

Patrick Farnsworth
Riccardo Manzotti, 92

Riccardo Manzotti is the author of The Spread Mind: Why Consciousness and the World Are One. Riccardo teaches Psychology of Perception at IULM University, Milan (Italy), and has specialized in AI, artificial vision, perception, and the philosophy and science of consciousness. 

The discussion you will hear in this episode deals with a few different subjects brought up in Riccardo's work, namely what the Spread Mind hypothesis is, and what its underlying premise means regarding our understanding of what the "mind" really is, and how scientific exploration into the brain and neurological functioning will not lead to any answers of where our conscious experience comes from. Riccardo's new book The Spread Mind delves deeply into this fascinating subject and radically shifts our understanding of consciousness and points to another much needed and necessary way to frame our understanding of this subject.

Visionary States: Iterations Of Form / Chris Isner

Visionary States: Iterations Of Form / Chris Isner

Patrick Farnsworth
Chris Isner, 85

Chris Isner is a visionary artist that primarily works with recovered portions of wood, and produces memorizing iterations of form. The story of how he learned to work with wood in this way, to produce incredibly unique works of art, came about when years ago he reached a low-point in his life. Due to a series of coincidences, Chris made his way to the jungles of Peru and engaged in a shamanic ritual involving the powerful psychedelic brew ayahuasca, which he claims not only healed his physical ailments, but also healed him psychically as well, and revealed to him the knowledge he now uses to produce his art.

The Psychedelic Gospels: The Forgotten Roots Of Christianity / Jerry Brown

The Psychedelic Gospels: The Forgotten Roots Of Christianity / Jerry Brown

Patrick Farnsworth
Jerry Brown, 80

Jerry Brown is the co-author of The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity. He and his wife and co-author Julie Brown began their journey into the psychedelic history of early Christianity after noticing telling depictions of psychedelic mushrooms on display in the frescoes and architecture of the many chapels and cathedrals that exist across Europe.