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Psychedelics and Creative Destruction

Psychedelic drugs have a deep connection to the arts, and by now everyone knows Silicon Valley is crawling with illicit drug users. Steve Jobs said LSD helped him innovate during the early days of Apple. Since then, leaders in the tech world felt comfortable speaking to the benefits of psychedelics. In particular, Silicon valley leaders discuss psychedelics as  “practical tools for harnessing creativity and solving complex problems."

Bouncing back from adversities like the pandemic requires creative thinking. Therefore, creativity is a fundamental part of building resilience in individuals and teams. Creativity should be a top priority among business leaders and strategists.

Innovation drives the economy, and it can make or break a company or a career. It’s obvious creativity and innovation go hand-in-hand, which is why leaders invest in tools and techniques that drive innovation, such as psychedelics.

The evidence supporting the efficacy of these incredible compounds isn’t just anecdotal. Neuroscience research is finally able to show why psychedelics are associated with enhanced creativity.

Whether for solving complex problems, plotting out strategic growth, or becoming more innovative, psychedelics will eventually play a valuable role in business. This article will provide an overview of the neuroscience research showing exactly how psychedelics create the brain states optimal for creativity. Then, we will discuss specific applications for business leaders and entrepreneurs.

What Makes Psychedelics So Special?

Psychedelics are unlike any other psychoactive agent. They induce non-ordinary states of consciousness that cause us to see ourselves and the world differently. Even in tiny, sub-perceptual doses, psychedelics can lead to important changes to affect and cognition. Those changes can reduce some of the common impediments to creativity, from depression to closed-mindedness.

Divergent Thinking

Generating new ideas, even bad ones, is an essential part of the creative process. As soon as we shut off the inner critic and let our mind roam free, we can free-associate during the early phases of the creative process. When we are in the idea generating stage, we engage what is known as divergent thinking: thinking outside the box.

Flexible divergent thinking is what we engage during a brainstorming session; it is also engaged when we leverage our resources during a crisis.

Divergent thinking and creativity can be detected in brain scans. Neuroimaging data shows the psychedelic state is characterized by  “cognitive flexibility” and “unconstrained and hyperassociative mode of cognition.” Hyperassociations are reflected neatly in the famous fMRI images of two brains: one with and one without psilocybin. Taking psychedelics, people are more prone to making connections between disparate concepts.

How do they work? Depending on its mechanism of action, a psychedelic compound may loosen the chains on the brain’s default mode network, responsible for maintaining our stable ego identity and our global schemas. Inhibitions and taboos fly out the window, and we allow into our minds all sorts of weird and possibly wonderful thoughts. We may also enter the elusive flow state when we use psychedelics.

Isn’t It Just A Hallucination?

Under the influence of psychedelics, a person sees reality differently—sometimes literally. You might think that the creativity enhancement is due to hallucinations. However, microdosing studies show that hallucinations are not correlates of creativity. When you microdose, you take such a small amount of the substance that you barely feel it. You certainly do not hallucinate. What’s the point of that? Well, for one, you can still go to work.

Also, preliminary empirical studies have been showing that microdosing leads to enhanced creativity and openness, coupled with increased positive affect and reduced negative affect. Perfect for innovation in workgroups. You don’t need to have an intense trip to gain access to creative states. Perhaps some people react better to the microdose, which can give you just enough to loosen the ball and chain of the ego without letting go of the tether altogether.

Psychedelics may enhance group cohesion. The mind is more malleable in the psychedelic state, making people more open and more empathetic during and after the use of psychedelic medicines. We become less dismissive of our own ideas, as well as those that come from other people. That empathy is critical among diverse teams. When they are administered under clinical supervision, psychedelics have been shown to increase propensity towards positive emotions and reduce negative ones. The trends in the research seem consistent, too, making it more certain that psychedelics will play no small role in creating  new ethical standards in the public and private sector.

Deep Learning, Deep Change

The new ideas and innovative solutions that come from divergent thinking do not necessarily require the additional deep thinking that a more profound and lasting change might require. Deep thinking involves the existential questions, which do tend to arise almost universally when people do psychedelics. As they inhibit default mode network activity, psychedelics can lead to profound and “lasting changes” in values, personality, identity, or worldview.

Moreover, the changes that do occur within the psyche tend to be positive, healthy ones—qualified by prosocial behaviors and beliefs. All of this research points to the value of employing psychedelics to drive systems change. Part of the reason for these lasting changes is that psychedelics have a dramatic effect on what a person finds meaningful: what we value, what we pay attention to, and what we spend resources on. For many, the pandemic caused a similar soul searching. Psychedelic-assisted therapies can help business leaders navigate the tricky terrain ahead skillfully enough to emerge at the forefront of the new economy.

Some leaders want to get a head start on envisioning the future so that they retain a competitive advantage. Even if they do not always lead to “great creative feats,” psychedelics do have a proven impact on enhancing creativity in individuals and groups.

Getting that head start requires deep creative thinking, which can be catalyzed by psychedelics. Psychedelic-assisted therapies can be combined with mindfulness and other techniques that allow for honest self-reflection and genuine humility. The leader can better recognize what changes are required “to achieve transformation, systemic change, and a more sustainable future for all.”

Mental Hygiene

Finally, it should be mentioned that psychedelic-assisted therapies may be critical for midwifing creative projects. Because psychedelics are an effective treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health disorders, they enhance individual and group performance. Psychedelics can promote resilience within organizations, enhancing creative problem solving, resourcefulness, flexibility, and adaptability. Psychedelics can breed sustainable organizational cultures and structures that thrive with diversity.  Given their ability to stimulate the processes in the brain responsible for flexible divergent thinking, psychedelics can promote global resilience in the face of natural or man-made disasters.

Conclusion

Creative destruction is embedded in the free market economy. Innovate or die. Change your strategy or risk being eaten. Like entrepreneurs, engineers relish innovation. Their products are often market disruptors. Psychedelics are poised to become disruptors, too. Consider how you might start integrating psychedelic-assisted coaching, training, and therapies into your strategy for success.

References

Anderson, T., Petranker, R., Rosenbaum, D., et al. (2019). Microdosing psychedelics: personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers. Psychopharmacology 236(2019): 731-740.

Csermely, P. (2017). The network concept of creativity and deep thinking. Gifted Child Quarterly, 1-8.

Doblin, R., Christiansen, M., Jerome, L., et al. (2019). The past and future of psychedelic science. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 51(2): 93-97. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1606472

Gallimore, A.R. (2015). Restructuring consciousness –the psychedelic state in light of integrated information theory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 9(346): DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00346

Girn, Mills, Roseman, et al., 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920302135

Hartogsohn, I. (2018). The meaning-enhancing properties of psychedelics and their mediator role in psychedelic therapy. Frontiers in Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00129

Hughes, D.J., Lee, A., Tian, A. W., et al. (2018). Leadership, creativity, and innovation: A critical review and practical recommendations. The Leadership Quarterly 29(5): 549-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.03.001

Kuypers, K.P.C. (2018). Out of the box: A psychedelic model to study the creative mind. Medical Hypotheses 115(2018): 13-16.

Lundberg, H., Sutherland, I., Blazek, P., et al. (2014). The emergence of creativity, innovation, and leadership in micro-level social interactions and how to research it. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (IJIEM) 5(4): 221-232.

Mason, N. L., E. Mischler, M. V. Uthaug, and K. P. C. Kuypers. 2019. Sub-acute effects of psilocybin on empathy, creative thinking, and subjective well-being. J Psychoactive Drugs 51 (02):123–134. doi:10.1080/02791072.2019.1580804.

Metzl, E.S. & Morrell, M.A. (2008). The role of creativity in models of resilience. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3:3, 303-318, DOI: 10.1080/15401380802385228

Nillsson, M. (2020). Catalysts for transformation : a systematic literature review exploring the interlinkages and potential role of classic psychedelics to social-ecological sustainability. Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability. (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies).  http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9031164

Prochazkova, L., Lippelt, D.P., Colzato, L.S., et al. (2018). Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting. Psychopharmacology 235(2018): 3401-3413.

Sadlo G. (2016). Towards a neurobiological understanding of reduced self-awareness during flow: An occupational science perspective. In: Harmat L., Ørsted Andersen F., Ullén F., Wright J., Sadlo G. (eds) Flow Experience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28634-1_22

Yakowicz, W. (n.d.). Silicon Valley’s best-kept productivity secret: psychedelic dreugs. Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/entrepreneurs-use-lsd-psilocybin-to-boost-creativity.html

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What Can Psychedelics Tell Us About the Nature of Reality?

One of the main reasons MykoNet was founded is to promote the use of psychedelics beyond the clinical domain.

Organizations like MAPS are doing a superlative job of demonstrating the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for healing PTSD, depression, and other clinical conditions.

We want to go beyond that in two main ways; first by showing how psychedelics can change human social structures and systems.

Also, we want to show how psychedelics can contribute to science. Psychedelics can become tools that lead researchers towards meaningful breakthroughs that improve our understanding of reality and/or alleviate human suffering.

Anecdotal evidence supports the use of psychedelics both for systems change and for scientific breakthroughs. Regarding the former, Silicon Valley execs have become outspoken about their use of psychedelics. The unique organizational cultures of northern Cali businesses bears witness to the effectiveness of psychedelics in spearheading systems change.

As for the latter, is common knowledge that Francis Crick used LSD, which helped him visualize the double helix shape of the DNA molecule.

This article will focus on how psychedelics can be used as tools for understanding the nature of reality and consciousness.

It is worth noting that psychedelics are not necessary for perceiving reality as it is; meditation works too. However, psychedelics can catalyze new ways of thinking about or perceiving reality.

Reality is Not What it Seems

Human beings see less than one percent of the electromagnetic spectrum, and an equally poor fraction of the acoustic spectrum. That’s a pretty big disconnect between what our senses allow us to perceive and what is out there. Animal species perceive things we cannot—bat sonar and a dog’s sense of smell.

Our senses told us the sun revolved around the earth and that the earth was flat.

Hoffman’s Conscious Agents Theory

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman has developed a mathematically precise theory of consciousness and reality called conscious agents theory. Conscious agents theory is evolutionary: organisms have a stronger chance at survival when they do not perceive reality accurately. If we perceived reality more accurately, we would be distracted by a panoply of sensory input and being distracted causes us to get hit by cars or eaten by tigers.

Aldous Huxley, who experimented with psychedelics, believed the brain functioned as a “reducing valve,” meaning that it filters reality to suit our needs. And Huxley believed psychedelics temporarily override the brain’s filters.

And Huxley was pretty much right. Researchers have shown psychedelics lead to “reduced perceptual suppression leading to a real increase in the permeability or bandwidth of consciousness,” (Bayne & Carter, 2018, p. 3). Psychedelics also decrease oscillations in the brain’s default mode network: sort of the ego’s command central (Nichols, 2016).

Hoffman’s conscious agents theory also posits that we interact with our world as we do with the icons on our computer. The things we perceive with our senses point to something more fundamentally real. What that more elementary reality is could be like the Platonic forms, or it could be mathematics, or it could be something we cannot conceive of yet.

It is worth noting that Hoffman substantiates his theory with mathematical proofs, making it one of the tightest and most promising theories about the nature of consciousness and reality.

Things Exist and Do Not Exist At the Same Time

Hoffman’s theory of consciousness and the nature of reality also corresponds well with both quantum physics and ancient Indian philosophy. The latter was actually crucial for helping early 20th century scientists conceptualize their radical findings into the quantum mechanical model.

Schrödinger was familiar with the Upanishads—he named his dog Atman. Bohr also heralded the Upanishads. Heisenberg spoke with Tagore, and Oppenheimer learned Sanskrit to read the Gita (Kulkarni, 2020).

The ancient Indian texts painted a picture of reality that is pretty much the same as what quantum physics has been revealing. Subject and object are intimately connected. Perception determines reality.

The Buddhist concept of “dependent origination” suggests things only exist relative to an observer. Quantum physics tells us pretty much the same thing.

Experienced meditators can take themselves into an altered state of consciousness and directly perceive the flux and flow of dependent origination. Psychedelics can offer the same opportunity to ditch the survival schemas and embrace novel ones that might represent reality more realistically.

Caveat: The phenomenology of the psychedelic state is not necessarily reliable or accurate, and is more likely than not to be wrong (Bayne & Carter, 2018). To reduce psychic noise and delusion, MykoNet is developing systems that can be used to guide a psychedelic trip in the right direction.

Call to Action: Let’s Develop Psychedelic Learning Systems

MykoNet is on a mission to develop transformative learning experiences. With or without the aid of psychedelics, MykoNet coursework promotes creative, critical, and analytical thinking about the nature of reality and consciousness.

Developing our systems now would allow us to be a first mover in the “moist technology” domain. The term “moist technology” refers to their being not fully “wet,” like brain-to-computer interfaces (BCI) or “dry” like traditional apps or VR systems. Moist technology capitalizes on the power of psychedelics to place the brain into a receptive state conducive to gaining insight from the coursework.

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Psychedelics 101

Within just a few years, psychedelic compounds are expected to be legalized. This opens up a number of opportunities for how psychedelics can be used to heal, to enhance creativity, and to treat conditions. This paper is intended to provide an overview of the psychedelic space for those who are unfamiliar. If all you know about psychedelics is that people have trips, or maybe you’ve tried them once or twice yourself, trust me, there’s a lot to learn. So keep reading.

2020 – A Watershed Year for Psychedelics

One of the good things to come out of 2020 was tangible progress towards the legalization of psychedelic compounds. Psychedelics were decriminalized in Oregon and Washington DC, and a small sample of terminally ill patients in Canada were permitted to use psilocybin to ease anxiety. There are clinical trials underway in several countries for the use of psychedelics in treating a variety of conditions, including PTSD. Furthermore, the first companies in the space have begun trading publicly.

What Are Psychedelics?

All psychedelics are chemical compounds – molecules – that are consumed by humans for their psychoactive properties. Many of these molecules occur in nature, while others are synthesized in laboratories. When someone is writing or talking about psychedelics, there are roughly two types. There are the molecules that are always considered to be psychedelics, such as LSD, DMT, psilocybin, ayahausca and mescaline. The latter three occur in nature, as “magic” mushrooms, a herbal tea from the Amazon, and peyote (a type of succulent). Other chemicals are sometimes considered to be psychedelics, or have psychedelic properties. These include THC (cannabis), ketamine (a common sedative) and MDMA (ecstasy).

Each psychedelic interacts with the user in its own unique way, and the effects will vary greatly by user, by psychedelic, and even within each experience. As such there are no hard-and-fast rules about what one experiences while using psychedelics, but in general they convey unique sensory effects and non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Safety and Usage

As a rule, psychedelics are safe, as they do not cause adverse physiological reactions, and do not lead to dependence or addiction. For most psychedelics, taking too high a dose will mostly result in a very long, intense trip, but if the person is in a safe space they are unlikely to come to any harm.

Many of the media reports concerning psychedelics and safety are wildly inaccurate. Often, this is a matter of somebody buying a substance on the street, and not knowing exactly what it is that they are buying. This is especially true of MDMA, which on the street is usually mixed with unknown cutting agents. Legal psychedelics, which are pure, would not carry the risk of street drugs. In a controlled setting, psychedelics ,when used responsibly, carry little risk.

As psychedelic compounds are usually illegal, most use today is recreational, as users seek out the unique sensory experiences and shifts in consciousness afforded by these compounds. However, there are clinical trials underway in a number of countries, exploring a number of different use cases for psychedelics, mostly in the realm of mental health treatment and end-of-life care. Even outside of therapeutic uses for specific conditions, psychedelics have been found to lead to “unprecedented positive relief of anxiety and depression.”

Legality

Psychedelics are likely to be widely available and decriminalized in North America within the next few years. Their relative safety makes them strong candidates for approval for treatment of illness, and it is expected that for some psychedelics approval for recreational use will follow. The current legal pathway is via traditional pharmaceutical approval channels for specific treatments.

Why Psychedelics

When used with purpose and with care, psychedelics can be incredibly valuable tools. The intense perceptual and cognitive shifts granted during a psychedelic experience can unlock creativity, give one a profound sense of belonging in the universe, a deeper understanding of oneself, and other positive outcomes. The benefits of a single experience can last for years. The positive impact of psychedelics for creatives of all types is well documented, but psychedelics have been transformative for leaders in all segments of our society.

Steve Jobs credited LSD for changing his life, describing its impact as “It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” Micro-dosing of psychedelics, to where the focusing aspects are present but the hallucinogenic ones are not, has been attributed to Silicon Valley’s creativity and output.

What’s Next?

While psychedelics are generally only legal today in the context of clinical trials, the substantial potential benefits and low downside risk of psychedelics means that they are likely to be legal in a number of jurisdictions by the end of this decade. Psychedelics are unlike the chemicals being used to treat mental illness today, and have benefits even for healthy individuals. As such, legal psychedelics are poised to transform a wide range of professions and industries. For people who are unfamiliar, it is important to source information from reliable sources, and conceptualize how psychedelics might help someone you care about, or disrupt your industry.

References

Day, M. (2018). Before Apple, Steve Jobs was an acid-gobbling, horticulturalist commune dweller. Timeline. Retrieved from: https://timeline.com/before-apple-steve-jobs-was-an-acid-gobbling-horticulturalist-commune-dweller-145830cf7f72

Lashbrook, A. (2018). Here’s What Happens When a Few Dozen People Take Small Doses of Psychedelics. The Atlantic. 24 Aug, 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/08/microdosing-psychedelics-magic-truffles/568507/

Lozano, Alicia Victoria. “Psychedelics as health and wellness aid? Not a hallucination.” NBC. 15 Nov, 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/psychedelics-health-wellness-aid-not-hallucination-n1247631

MAPS (n.d.). “5 Mind-Blowing Lessons from Psychedelics Experts.” Retrieved from: https://maps.org/news/multimedia-library/5146-5-mind-blowing-lessons-from-psychedelics-experts

Nichols, D.E. (2016). Psychedelics. Pharmacological Reviews 68(2): 264-355.

Pollan, Michael. 2018. How to change your mind. Penguin.

Rex, Erica. “The Power of Psychedelics.” Scientific American. 12 July, 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-power-of-psychedelics/

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Integrating Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies into Existing Structures: What Can We Do Now?

The psychedelic space is peopled with those who share in common a penchant for progress, curiosity, and openness.

Now that the conversation is moving forward at a good clip, our attention will be focused more on the practical steps that need to be taken in order to bring our dreams to fruition.

Deliberately Inducing Mystical Experiences

One of the cornerstones of the psychedelic-assisted therapies (PATs) is the sense of the numinous—also known as the mystical experience. In his book, Michael Pollan surmises that the mystical experience could be a critical factor for successful psychedelic-assisted interventions. Total ego dissolution and sense of awe or oneness results in structural (neurobiological) changes, which are required for a permanent shift in attitude, belief, and self-concept.

The mystical experience allows for a sort of firmware upgrade, or at least an OS upgrade. More effective cognitive algorithms are used to make sense of the world. From the new vantage point, the individual becomes willing to change his or her values and beliefs. The change is not necessarily comfortable or smooth, but one thing’s for certain—there’s no going backwards.

To make PATs stick, we need to devise a framework whereby mystical experiences are deliberately cultivated and leveraged systematically. More research will be needed on how to do this precisely.

Not just clinical research, which can focus too much on the subjective phenomenology, but neuroscience data will help pinpoint the precise mechanisms and structures that need to be stimulated or suppressed.

A New Vision for Integration

Especially given the right support systems in the social ecosystem, an individual can leverage the psychedelic experience in several ways.

One is to become a more effective individual.

Another is to become a more effective part of the social system.

In fact, these are actually the same thing: a more effective individual is also more effective in the world. But that new and improved being needs a supportive social ecosystem or else the changes will be wasted, the value of PAT wasted.

Evangelism Works

As psychonauts, being evangelical can be helpful in creating the information cascades required for the 100th monkey effect. Once psychedelics are legal, then we will need to have more serious discussions about systems change.

The most important systems changes will be in the realms of education and healthcare. But corporate governance and public service are also sectors that will change as a result of applying psychedelic principles to leadership training.

The education system needs to change dramatically. But how?

Healthcare seems easier to tackle, as PAT falls within the healthcare system already. MAPS and other organizations are already laying the foundation for a healthcare system that more fully integrates PAT and related therapies.

Changing education will be a little tougher. It will require a slow and gradual change in educational leadership and policy, resulting in tangible changes in pedagogy, practice, school design, and more. Is it possible to incorporate evidence-based mental hygiene, ethical decision-making, communication, and social skills development into educational curricula?

Let’s form coalitions of like-minded leaders from diverse sectors, to plan systems changes in education, corporate governance, and public service as well as in healthcare.

The conversation doesn’t even have to be about psychedelics per se, because it’s not—it’s about changing what it means to be human.

If one good thing comes out of COVID, it’s that: changing what it means to be human.

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Navigating a New Market

At first glance, the psychedelic space certainly seems saturated enough, considering it’s an industry based on products that aren’t even legal, many which don’t even have a substantial evidence base to support their efficacy.

However, since the 1990s, the psychedelics industry has grown to around $2.1 billion now and is predicted to reach nearly 7 billion by 2027 (Stengel, 2020). What causes widespread interest in something as risky as this?

In the case of psychedelics, it certainly helped to have the cannabis industry move first. Many of the top players in cannabis, like Canopy Growth, invested in psychedelics and leveraged their knowledge to quickly grow firms like Compass Pathways.

Also, players in the psychedelics market can learn from the successes and mistakes made by cannabis business leaders. It is as if psychedelics had a mentor. Or dare we say, a gateway drug?

As Lango (2020) puts it, “the psychedelics industry today is where the marijuana industry was in 2015 and 2016, in the midst of changing public perception. What comes next? Legalization and commercialization.”

The scientific data on the clinical utility of psychedelics grows seemingly by the hour, which is critical for moving decriminalization forward. It is even getting to the point where the case could be made for decriminalizing psychedelics on ethical grounds, given the already promising results in studies of special populations like the terminally ill, veterans with PTSD, and people with treatment-resistant depression and eating disorders.

Oregon has already legalized magic mushrooms (decriminalizing everything else!), and rumor has it Canada is going to decriminalize within the next few years.

We could even thank the pandemic for highlighting the importance of novel approaches to mental health care.

Right now, the psychedelic industry is populated by businesses in two main domains: product development and the design of psychedelic-assisted therapies. A substantial number of companies also have plans for rolling out bespoke clinics that would use those very same therapies and products.

Which raises important questions about how the industry will (or should) be regulated. Should it be left totally up to the free market? Few of the business leaders in the psychedelic space think so. In fact, it seems the only staunch capitalists in the psychedelic domain are linked with Compass Pathways. As Stengel (2020) points out, the vast majority of even the investors are favoring “conscious business” models that place people and planet on par with profit.

Is self-regulation enough? In this case, it might be. Psychedelics have been shown to promote pro-social behavior.

But people are people, and business is business. Which is why many are calling out for “an international trade association to advocate for legalization, standards, best practices, and a learning community about business models and strategies,” (Stengel, 2020). Who will reach into this murky territory, I wonder? MAPS and MAPS Canada may be solid contenders, at least for informing the direction such an association might take.

It actually doesn’t seem necessary to hamper healthy competition. All we need, moving forward, is a commitment to ourselves to remain true to our core values. The ones that brought us here to the psychedelic space in the first place.

There will always be bastards and people with weak character. Entrepreneurs in the psychedelic space who fear the encroachment of cutthroat companies might want to act now, to gain traction in the market and establish a standard for ethical business practices in this tender space.

One way to take action now would be to work with multiple stakeholders, including government, to ensure the industry remains sensitive to the needs of marginalized populations.

I’m pretty surprised how little systems thinking is going on in the psychedelic arena. On the one hand you have a slew of fledgeling companies making their mark early to whet the appetite of consumers. On the other hand you have all the research institutions and nonprofits working mainly in the clinical psych sector. Of course in between those you will have the lawyers and policymakers. But is there any planning going on at all? It seems like things are moving in a haphazard manner.

Calls to Action

General:

Form committees comprised of academia, government, business, and the law. 

Collaboratively discuss plans to roll out standardized training and certification programs.

Collaboratively discuss policy, ethics, and especially social responsibility. How to promote social justice while also supporting entrepreneurism.

Academia:

Start designing degree programs now for Psychedelic Psychiatrist and Psychedelic Guide.

Integrate psychedelic science into existing curricula.

More research! Which treatment protocols/interventions work best with which population, and with which psychedelics? Need to start differentiating so we know what works, what doesn’t.

Research using psychedelics on healthy normals for prophylactic mental hygiene.

Clinicians and Healthcare Professionals:

Create the gold standard professional organization, the APA of psychedelics. The International Psychedelic Association perhaps. IPA. A professional guild like IPA would be responsible for establishing the standards for practice. These standards would also inform policy, and perhaps even constrain some of the unbridled activity in the private sector.

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Psychedelics, Coaching, and HR

Emerging Models for Human Resources Management

As traditional organizational structures give way to new ones, coaching strategies and techniques are starting to take over human resource management. Coaching strategies and techniques enhance traditional HR practices.

In fact, the most successful human resource leaders build coaching strategies into their work or become coaches themselves.

All the classic coaching methods, like motivation and mentoring, those become more effective when coupled with effective leadership training and development.  We all know the right HR manager can make or break the company by building and growing the ecosystem.

Therefore, the HR team finds itself now in a powerful position.

In this article, you are going to learn about how psychedelic-assisted coaching practices can be integrated into your HR methods.

Is This Legal?

No, not yet. But. We are only a few years away from the full decriminalization of these useful tools in Canada. The BBC has already reported the efficacy of psychedelic career coaching. If you want to become a headline-making coach or HR manager, now’s your chance.

Of course, if you’re ok with being average, please by all means leave this page.

Their use in end-of-life care and for the treatment of depression and PTSD is beginning to break down the legal barriers to implementing these medicines as part of a sensible HR strategy.

Your interest in building the foundations for psychedelic-assisted coaching ensures your future success as an outstanding leader.

HR Managers are already adept at:

Recognizing good people and onboarding them (recruitment and hiring)

Providing all the support each person needs in order to thrive (training and career development)

Promoting resilience within individuals and collectively within workgroups

Changing organizational structure and culture to align with normative shifts or shifts in vision and mission

Smart organizations are opting out of models that resist change. Instead, we know the way forward in a post-COVID world will require leaders operating within transformational, noetic, and servant leadership models.

Psychedelics can and will help propel your organization forward.

In fact, the role of psychedelics in the post-COVID world cannot be underestimated!

How Psychedelics Can Help

Studies into the specific ways psychedelics change human affective, cognitive, and behavioral states are just starting to emerge. An article published in Nature shows how psychedelics increase connectivity within the brain—effectively reducing the silo effect in our own minds.

Increasing the range of synaptic connections and enhancing inter-domain communications between various brain structures, psychedelics enhance human creativity.

Their judicious use under the supervision of qualified therapists can reduce problems such as rigid thinking and resistance to change: real barriers to the success of a team or an organization.

Psychedelics also promote pro-social and pro-environmental behavior and sentiments, making it more possible for leaders to choose policies and protocols that foster social and environmental justice.

How You Can Help

Now is the time to lay the groundwork for psychedelic-assisted leadership in your organization.

It takes years to push through new policies and procedures. By the time your psychedelic leadership and coaching framework takes root, you will be recognized as an industry leader.

For more information, become a MykoNet member now.  New subscribers will receive 10% off and a free copy of our upcoming eBook!

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Will psychedelic use improve the effectiveness of our social systems? Neuroscience seems to say so. 

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Diversity, Inclusion, and Marginalization

Diversity, Inclusion, and Marginalization

Key Points: —Global drug policy reform is a primary means for liberating black and brown bodies —Drug users as a whole have been marginalized and stigmatized, which exacerbates the psychological, social, and economic cost of addiction —The psychedelic space is overwhelmingly and disturbingly white, wealthy, and homogeneous —The psychedelic space is, however, innately open and prosocial with potential for leading cultural change globally —Cultural appropriation and exploitation need to be considered as serious concerns as we move forward —Diversity promotes resilience by expanding greatly the range of outlooks, methods, and ontologies available; a homogeneous group may be more prone to narrow-mindedness and echo chambering —Calls to action for whites would be to listen to people of colour; to come forward as psychonauts; to serve as advocates of social justice and drug policy reform —Call to action for individuals and communities of color and any marginalized group would be to strategize a way forward, take charge of the conversation, and participate in the re-creation of humanity post-COVID —Call to action for all concerned would be to conceptualize ending the global war on drugs once and for all

Liberation, Equity, and Social Justice As we move forward post-COVID, drug policy reform should be near the top of our agenda. A pro-liberation stance benefits everyone. Far too many resources have been spent and lives wasted on the war on drugs. The liberation of black and brown bodies will result in the strengthening of communities of colour, thereby promoting resilience throughout society. Think more entrepreneurship, more strategic innovation, more bottom-up rather than top-down reform of social institutions. The liberation of black and brown bodies will empower countless individuals in political and economic arenas, which will result in a marketplace and a government more responsive to more people. Mistrust of the government and corporations enables rampant corruption within a democracy; to restore trust, it is critical to give the benefit of the doubt, make reparations, and listen with respect. The liberation of black and brown bodies will transform the social, political, and economic landscape around the world, reducing disparities gradually but sustainably. Drug policy reform will be far more effective at achieving social justice goals than any other means to promote diversity and equity.

Liberation will allow for the interjection of new concepts, ideas, and ontologies into existing power structures and knowledge bases. Get ready for paradigm shifts as marginalized voices are heard and heeded.

Addiction, Substance Abuse, and Marginalization Labeling drug users as criminals or even as mere deviants leads to self-fulfilling prophesies and compounds the self-hatred that accompanies addiction. New approaches to addiction are needed, and they are on the horizon with emerging research in neuroscience and psychedelic science. Psychedelics can help alleviate the social and psychological burdens of substance abuse by addressing the root causes of addiction. New models for treatment centers, new interventions, and new modalities are on the horizon in the psychedelic space and beyond. Using systems like Tibetan Buddhism and Vedanta may also enhance the efficacy of science-based interventions for mental health problems.

Colouring the Psychedelic Space: Creating a Kaleidoscope Even though it was non-European communities that kept psychedelic practices alive, indigenous communities and non-European epistemologies have been marginalized, exploited, and ridiculed The psychedelic space has been overwhelmingly white, although that’s about to change. Interesting to read the open letter for MAPS written to call attention to blind spots: https://www.psymposia.com/magazine/psychedelics-diversity-maps-canada-open-letter/ The official response affirms a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Yet no formal apology and even a defensive stance towards the authors of the open letter are examples of being blind to white privilege: https://mapscanada.org/2020/10/28/psymposia-open-letter-response/ Chacruna is leading the way in colouring the psychedelic space and ensuring open dialogue about diversity

What Whites Can Do When speaking about traditional psychedelic therapies and plant medicines, it is important to defer to the custodians of their respective traditions. Even experts need to defer. Being born and raised in a community confers a way of knowing that cannot be gleaned from scholarship or even immersion. Understand that indigenous communities have created market demand for psychedelic services, and resist the urge to romanticize, idealize, and exotify. Speak out, understanding that white privilege allows whites (especially wealthy whites) to speak openly about psychedelics without fear or legal retribution. Also advocate passionately for reform and liberation Reach out to marginalized individuals and communities with an earnest intent to listen. Consider new ways to engage diverse audiences. Listen to grievances without becoming defensive, have compassion, and remember that without having had the subjective experience of discrimination or marginalization, you may not fully grasp the extent of the problem. Instead of denying the problem, ask what you can do to help. 

What the Oppressed and Marginalized Can Do

Interject. Insert. Create diversions to dispute dominant discourse. Engage in entrepreneurial activity. Use the media to draw attention to the issues and to change public opinion. Never give up. Forge strategic alliances.

What All of Us Can Do Support policies and programs that incentivize marginalized entrepreneurship in the psychedelic space Continue to dialogue, pushing through the discomfort This article co-authored by MAPS Canada director Mark Haden offers sound public policy advice.

Join together, keeping compassion and a sense of humour at the forefront of all our actions.

[mykonet]

The Transformative Power of Harm Reduction

The Transformative Power of Harm Reduction

We have a natural desire to alter consciousness, and we should be armed with knowledge and tools to do so safely. That’s the basic gist of harm reduction. 

Rather than presuming that abstinence is the most effective approach to addiction recovery, harm reduction offers guidance for safe substance use.

Harm reduction public policy has become entrenched in sensible cities like Vancouver, because it is humane, cost-effective, and logical. Examples of harm reduction programs include safe injection sites and decriminalization.

It may be helpful to remember that we already use a harm reduction framework when it comes to legal substances like alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. Instead of prohibition, we opt to limit who can purchase these substances and where they can be consumed. Now is the time to discuss harm reduction strategies for all other classes of drugs, as we may be on the verge of decriminalization.

As decriminalization of drugs looms, now is the time to build resilience in communities all over Canada through harm reduction strategies. Resilient communities recognize that there will always be people who use or abuse drugs. Rather than stigmatize or criminalize, we can offer compassionate evidence-based care. Psychedelic-assisted therapies may be of use in treating the root causes of addiction.

Let’s start a conversation about how we can expand harm reduction to be prepared for the decriminalization of drugs, psychedelic and otherwise. At the very least, harm reduction needs to be built into the training given to educators, police officers, and first responders.

The Zendo Project is one of the premier harm reduction organizations in the psychedelic space. Before COVID, the Zendo Project focused their work on large gatherings like music festivals and Burning Man. Post-COVID, we need options beyond the Zendo Project for building resilience in communities.

Harm reduction may include some of the following features:

1. Easy, anonymous access to mental health services including peer support.

2. Easy, anonymous access to product testing. Also, legal drugs equals clean and safe drugs.

3. Public education

4. Trauma-informed care and also culturally-appropriate care

5. Diverting individuals away from the criminal justice system whenever appropriate, and having in place a wealth of healthcare resources available

6. Using psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat the root causes of addiction.

Recreational use of psychedelics and related classes of drugs will occur, so let’s make sure psychonauts make their journeys safely. We can begin by developing courses, books, and other learning material to promote responsible drug use. Writing self-help guides to psychedelic tripping could be another useful method of harm reduction. How do you envision harm reduction practices? What are your ideas for promoting safe and responsible drug use?

[mykonet]

Systems change can be dramatic, and even traumatic. Learn about how #psychedelics can ease growing pains, helping us to remain committed to shared social justice goals as we move forward post-COVID.

#mentalhealth #wellness #leadership #change #innovation

[mykonet]

Psychedelic means “mind manifesting.” With the proper support systems in place, mind manifesting makes us stronger.