The New Psychedelics

There are good reasons to hope that psychedelics will offer breakthrough therapy for depression, anxiety, trauma, and the distress of modern life. However, there is no guarantee that simply consuming a plant or drug will produce therapeutic effects. In fact, a visionary experience may prove painfully destabilizing or simply unremarkable (though perhaps entertaining) when it comes to enriching someone’s life

However, we now know enough from modern research as well as wisdom from ancient cultures to name the optimal conditions necessary for someone to have a life-changing experience when utilizing visionary plants and compounds. How psychedelics are used is just as important, if not more so, than the dosage and kind of substance utilized.

In this presentation, Dr. Worley speaks candidly about his personal and professional work with psychedelics, spanning 30 years. He describes the crucial factors that enable visionary medicines to enrich and evolve the personality. He also discusses the current idealization of indigenous shamanism, noting its contributions and limitations. Additionally, he draws lessons from the world’s largest and longest ritual use of psychedelics, the Great Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece. Lastly, Dr. Worley describes innovative ways to use legal, low-dose, short-duration psychedelics to enable the body to unwind trauma.