PT454 – Jamie Wheal – The Shadow Aspects of the Psychedelic Movement: Is the Other Shoe About to Drop?

<p>In this episode, Kyle interviews author of Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death In a World That’s Lost Its Mind; speaker; and Founder of the Flow Genome Project, which researches and trains on improved human performance.</p> <p>This episode – the last of the many recorded at Psychedelic Science 2023 – may ruffle some feathers, as Wheal is very outspoken and opinionated, focusing on what he spoke about at the conference: the pitfalls of the psychedelic movement. While his outlook is negative, he speaks with humor, and these shadow aspects are issues we need to be talking about: how the nature of capitalism and returning profits to shareholders affects the concept of set and setting; how easy it is to prescribe ketamine and the puppy mill clinics popping up everywhere; how innovators are racing to the bottom to get ahead; the designer drug epidemic likely leading us to a Prozac Nation 2.0; digital narcissism, Instagram “Shamans,” and the dangers of cults; chemists trying to take the experience out of the drug; the overuse of psychedelics creating super egos; and much more.</p> <p>While he believes the hype and excitement of the psychedelic renaissance is leading us towards a trough of dissolution and that people aren’t turning their amazing experiences into net positives anywhere near enough, he believes that fewer people using psychedelics less often and more intensely – with initiatory practices, intentions, integration, and honest self-reflection – will help us all climb out of our egos and move towards a healthier society. There is hope, but we need to honestly look at all the shadow aspects in order to move towards it.</p> <p><a href= "https://psychedelicstoday.com/2023/10/24/pt454-jamie-wheal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to head to the show notes page</a>. </p>