Thoughtful entry point into the complex subject of consciousness - Medical Independent medicalindependent.ie/life/book-revi…
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Michael Pollan retweeted
Could psychedelics have helped build a civilization?
In @ScienceMagazine, Ferriss - @UCBerkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellow Andrew Lawler explores evidence that mind-altering substances may have played a key role in the rise of Andean civilization: bit.ly/4kzM93l
In @ScienceMagazine, Ferriss - @UCBerkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellow Andrew Lawler explores evidence that mind-altering substances may have played a key role in the rise of Andean civilization: bit.ly/4kzM93l
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Michael Pollan retweeted
Did you know the same anesthetics that knock out humans can also make plants unresponsive? @michaelpollan recently talked about what’s been lost when plants are unresponsive. In humans, we would say consciousness.
Watch the full conversation: bit.ly/4zC37Co
Watch the full conversation: bit.ly/4zC37Co
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Psilocybin didn’t erase his pain. It changed how he saw it: 5 Questions for filmmaker Will Wertz themicrodose.substack.com/p/psilocybin-d…
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This week's psychedelics news: Race for FDA-approved psychedelics heats up; Compass lawsuit will go to trial; How does psilocybin affect mouse behavior? themicrodose.substack.com/p/race-for-fda…
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Michael Pollan retweeted
Mycoskie - UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Film Fellow Will Wertz's FOREVER, FOR NOW premieres at @DOCNYCfest Nov 12.
The film follows a quadriplegic man whose end-of-life decision is challenged by a journey involving a psychedelic ceremony.
foreverfornowfilm.com
The film follows a quadriplegic man whose end-of-life decision is challenged by a journey involving a psychedelic ceremony.
foreverfornowfilm.com
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Michael Pollan retweeted
MAHA moms helped elect Donald Trump. His administration has repeatedly betrayed the movement they helped build.
Backing Bayer at the Supreme Court.
Invoking the Defense Production Act to boost glyphosate production.
Failing to act on PFAS contamination.
The list goes on.
ught to address these very issues. And for the past two years, we’ve shown we’re ready to work with the MAHA coalition to turn shared priorities into real progress.
I hope last night’s sweeping results bring @SecKennedy to the table. Families deserve results.
Backing Bayer at the Supreme Court.
Invoking the Defense Production Act to boost glyphosate production.
Failing to act on PFAS contamination.
The list goes on.
ught to address these very issues. And for the past two years, we’ve shown we’re ready to work with the MAHA coalition to turn shared priorities into real progress.
I hope last night’s sweeping results bring @SecKennedy to the table. Families deserve results.
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Lessons from a forgotten 1967 LSD pamphlet: 5 Questions for researcher Daniel Kruger themicrodose.substack.com/p/lessons-from…
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My conversation with Krista Tippett: Michael Pollan on the mystery in our heads — The Beautiful Truth thebeautifultruth.org/interviews/con…
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Book Review: ‘Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness,’ by Antonio Damasio - The New York Times nytimes.com/2026/09/24/boo…
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Michael Pollan retweeted
In a convo with neuroscientist Christof Koch, @michaelpollan shared a thought-provoking metaphor: psychedelics “smudge the windshield” of everyday perception, forcing us to notice the invisible lens through which we experience the world. Watch at bit.ly/4zC37Co
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The week's news in psychedelics: Psilocybin has anti-inflammatory effects in Parkinson’s disease patients; Should 2 million veterans get psychedelic treatment? themicrodose.substack.com/p/psilocybin-h…
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How should we define “psychedelic”?: 5 Questions for researcher Avery Ostrand themicrodose.substack.com/p/how-should-w…
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Michael Pollan retweeted
The Trump administration moves to treat millions of mentally ill veterans with psychedelics politi.co/4idkGBF
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This week's psychedelic news: Healthcare cost watchdog to scrutinize Compass’s synthetic psilocybin, and Study links enhanced feelings of connection to lighter depression following psilocybin themicrodose.substack.com/p/healthcare-c…
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My latest: The New Food Movement - The Atlantic theatlantic.com/culture/2026/1…
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Sydney friends, join me at the Sydney Opera House on 4 November for the final event in their Curious festival! Michael Pollan’s Journey into Consciousness | Sydney Opera House sydneyoperahouse.com/curious/michae…
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Michael Pollan retweeted
The visual cortex, plant intelligence, and the experience of becoming one with the universe ✨ If you missed the @michaelpollan and Christof Koch talk on psychedelics and consciousness last week, you can now watch it online: bit.ly/4zC37Co @UCBerkeley @calperformances
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Michael Pollan retweeted
How might meditation support preparation for, navigation of, and learning from psychedelic experiences?
I'm delighted to share our new manuscript, "Exploring the Interface of Meditation and Psychedelics: A Qualitative Analysis of Experienced Practitioners' Perspectives on ," now published in Psychedelics.
We analyzed open-ended responses from 82 regular meditators across 18 countries, each with at least one psychedelic experience, such as psilocybin or LSD.
Three core themes emerged:
1️⃣ Optimizing Pre-Psychedelic Mindset: Participants described meditation as cultivating a positive mood, openness, cognitive flexibility, and a capacity to surrender before the experience.
2️⃣ Navigating Challenges: Participants felt that meditation made non-dual states and intense emotions feel more familiar, and helped them meet difficult moments with acceptance, equanimity, and an understanding of impermanence.
3️⃣ Facilitating Psychological Development: Participants used meditation to both set intentions before their experience and to integrate insights afterward. They viewed the changes from psychedelic experiences as short-term and opposed treating them as a “magic pill.”
These accounts suggest meditation and psychedelics may work synergistically along a continuum of psychological development, with psychedelic experiences embedded in a longer trajectory of meditative development.
These findings are based on participants' self-reported experiences. Because participants were recruited for their experience with both meditation and psychedelics, their responses may be biased in favor of meditation-based preparation for psychedelics. Future research is needed to fully understand possible synergies between these practices.
Congratulations to our first author Mia C. Riedel, and co-authors Rosalind G. McAlpine (@rosmcalpine) and Terje Sparby (@terjesparby). We are grateful for the practitioners who participated in our research.
Do our results resonate with your research, teaching, or practice? Let us know!
The full article is included in the comments below ⤵️
May this work benefit many 🙏
I'm delighted to share our new manuscript, "Exploring the Interface of Meditation and Psychedelics: A Qualitative Analysis of Experienced Practitioners' Perspectives on ," now published in Psychedelics.
We analyzed open-ended responses from 82 regular meditators across 18 countries, each with at least one psychedelic experience, such as psilocybin or LSD.
Three core themes emerged:
1️⃣ Optimizing Pre-Psychedelic Mindset: Participants described meditation as cultivating a positive mood, openness, cognitive flexibility, and a capacity to surrender before the experience.
2️⃣ Navigating Challenges: Participants felt that meditation made non-dual states and intense emotions feel more familiar, and helped them meet difficult moments with acceptance, equanimity, and an understanding of impermanence.
3️⃣ Facilitating Psychological Development: Participants used meditation to both set intentions before their experience and to integrate insights afterward. They viewed the changes from psychedelic experiences as short-term and opposed treating them as a “magic pill.”
These accounts suggest meditation and psychedelics may work synergistically along a continuum of psychological development, with psychedelic experiences embedded in a longer trajectory of meditative development.
These findings are based on participants' self-reported experiences. Because participants were recruited for their experience with both meditation and psychedelics, their responses may be biased in favor of meditation-based preparation for psychedelics. Future research is needed to fully understand possible synergies between these practices.
Congratulations to our first author Mia C. Riedel, and co-authors Rosalind G. McAlpine (@rosmcalpine) and Terje Sparby (@terjesparby). We are grateful for the practitioners who participated in our research.
Do our results resonate with your research, teaching, or practice? Let us know!
The full article is included in the comments below ⤵️
May this work benefit many 🙏
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Does the menstrual cycle change the psychedelic experience? 5 Questions with psychopharmacologists Natasha Mason and Eline Haijen-Bongers themicrodose.substack.com/p/does-the-men…
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