We Don’t Know: Reflections on the New Story Summit

What is exciting to me is the possibility that the NSS marks a transition into a different kind of gathering entirely, no longer a conference, but perhaps more like a festival or a retreat, or something that is all and none of these things, something new, something edgy, something experimental, something destined to succeed and to fail, and thereby to illuminate the next step beyond. What else can we hope for, as we explore this mapless place between stories?

Psychedelic Conference Aims High With Science

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is bringing together presenters from all over
the globe, April 18-23 in Oakland, California. The
conference will focus to a great extent on clinical research into the
use of psychedelic drugs for a wide variety of health needs.

Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics

Over the weekend of October 14-16, 2012, "Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics" — the longest-running
psychedelics conference in the United States — will convene in New York
City for its sixth year. In anticipation of this reunion of intellects,
I sat down for a conversation with Neal Goldsmith, the conference's
emcee and speaker curator.

Waking Up to the Possibilities of Being Asleep

For millennia ancient cultures engaged the creative and spiritual potential of dreaming. In November "Gateways of the Mind" will bring
together some of the foremost contemporary practitioners of these ancient traditions,
and show how our ancestors paved the way for the many experienced practitioners who are now
teaching in the west.

Two Psychedelic Conferences a World Apart

Over the course of two consecutive weekends, I flew between
Entheogenesis Australis (EGA), Australia's premier gathering of
psychedelic pioneers, and Cartographie Psychedelica, a California-based
conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Multidisciplinary
Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). These are some of my
observations.

Psychedemia: The Discursive Boundaries of the “Psychedelic Renaissance”

The positivist
fetishization of the seen over the unseen impedes our ability to discuss viable
alternatives to the capitalist, mechanistic worldview pushed on us by
the media and what is laughably described as "education." 
The crucial step now is to address the question of psychedelics and their impact on
culture from multiple critical, academic perspectives.