One of the main motivations for creating designer psychedelics – or analogues of existing compounds – is to evade bans. LSD is illegal, so an analogue can be created (typically a purported prodrug of LSD), allowing people to have an LSD experience without worrying about arrest. And when the analogue is banned, a different one…
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In an earlier post on remembering dreams, I described recalling some adventurous and awe-inspiring dreams I had in the past, which got me thinking about how I often feel that these sorts of dreams are better than reality. Alongside this is the feeling of not wanting to wake up – to just continue the dream…
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I’ve found it curious that many of the pioneers of Western Buddhism – those who brought Buddhism to the West and helped popularise it – are Jewish. Frank Descher details this phenomenon in his 2017 essay ‘Jewish Converts to Buddhism and the Phenomenon of “Jewish Buddhists” (“JuBus”) in the United States, Germany and Israel’. Rodger Kamenetz,…
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Time distortion is one of the classic effects of psychedelics (although I rarely see this mentioned as an expected effect of psychedelics on educational, retreat, and therapy sites). I think that time distortion needs to be discussed more from a harm reduction point of view: many challenging experiences are related to alterations to one’s perception…
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Darkness retreats involve spending a period of time in complete isolation and darkness. People do this for different reasons – to achieve an introspective state, a digital detox, a period of rest, or a spiritual experience. Participants in these retreats stay in rooms equipped with beds, toilets, and showers, which can be tricky to use…
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