“I don’t think we are that far away from the point where it is more acceptable to consume psilocybin mushrooms than it is to eat meat.” ~ Stephen Reid
E41 – STEPHEN REID ON PSYCHEDELICS, EXTINCTION REBELLION AND METAMODERNISM
RECONNECTING WITH NATURE IN THESE URGENT TIMES
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About this interview:
What is the role for psychedelics in transforming our world for the better?
In this episode, Amisha sits down with Stephen Reid, founder of The Psychedelic Society. The society runs events and experiential retreats for a community of people interested in the psychedelic experience, as well as campaigning for the decriminalisation or declassification of certain substances to allow further research into their psychotherapeutic potential.
Stephen shares how The Psychedelic Society is running as a non-hierarchical, collaborative organisation with a philosophy of unity, equality, and connectedness. He shares the core principles of Metamodernism, a theory that underpins the way they relate to each other within the society, and how they are putting the learning from their experiences with psychedelics into practise.
Stephen tells about the latest research on psychedelics having long-lasting and profound therapeutic effects on conditions such as depression and anxiety. He goes on to explain why the strict classification of certain substances is a barrier to opening up further research and preventing them from being prescribed by doctors even in cases where sufficient solid research has been completed. Despite this, there are already approvals in place for the psychotherapeutic use of certain psychedelics in the US and Stephen expects the same substances to be available on prescription in the UK within a few years.
Stephen speaks about his belief in cognitive liberty and the disastrous effects of state control – banning certain substances while encouraging others, the rising acceptance of psychedelic substances, and what it is that makes a substance addictive.
He describes the profound mystical experiences that can be achieved through psychedelics, why the long-lasting beneficial effects of these substances are less likely to be felt without such an experience, and how psychedelics can change our personality – and indeed our society – for the better.
Together Amisha and Stephen discuss their own personal journeys with psychedelic substances, embracing all of the darkness that comes along with it as well as the light. They share views on the recent emergence of the the Extinction Rebellion movement and how the lessons learned from psychedelic experiences can underpin a new sense of unity, collaboration, and loving action to address the crises we face as a species.
“I can’t imagine coming into the right relationship with the earth without integration of plant medicines and I think they have an important role to play.. It gives me hope in what is a rather dire situation of accelerating climate change.” ~ Stephen Reid
Stephen Reid is a social entrepreneur, activist and public speaker. He is currently a co-director of the Psychedelic Society, which he founded in 2014. Previously, he served as a board member of Greenpeace UK, co-founded the New Economics Foundation’s New Economy Organisers Network and worked as a technology consultant for organisations including the Labour Party, the Green Party and 350.org. Stephen has Masters degrees in Physics from the University of Oxford and Complexity Sciences from the University of Bristol.
To find out more about Stephen, visit www.stephenreid.net
To connect or work with Amisha, visit www.amisha.co.uk
Resources and links from this episode:
- The Psychedelic Society
- Nowhere Festival
- Charles Eisenstein
- Enspiral
- Metamoderna
- Extinction Rebellion
- Extinction Magic
Connect more with us:
- Beautiful Leadership mentoring
- Amisha’s One-to-One sessions
- Amisha’s book – INTUITION
- all that we are membership
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