In this month-long seminar, Daniel Pinchbeck will delve into the original explorations and core insights from his 2002 book Breaking Open the Head and apply them to this complex moment — this juncture in which psychedelics, medicine, and Capitalism are fusing together, with ambiguous implications for the future. Questions to be explored include the following: 

What is the proper role of psychedelic shamanism in our postmodern world? 

Beyond therapeutic use, what other potentials do psychedelics have, for the individual and society? 

What does the embrace of psychedelics by corporate Capitalism mean for the future of the movement?

What does initiation mean in our time? How does one know when one is initiated? What steps can you can take to get there? 

What are the best practices, optimal set and setting, to explore psychedelics today? 

Do psychedelics catalyze our latent psychic abilities? 

What important insights can we gain from modernist writers and artists who explored psychedelics and visionary states over the last centuries? 

What can we learn from indigenous cultures who preserve shamanic traditions involving ancient knowledge of entheogenic plants? 

What is the meaning of the psychedelic experience for humanity’s future? 

How do psychedelics heal people from trauma, depression, and anxiety? 

What are the dangers and dark sides of psychedelics? 

What happens when we meld psychedelic shamanism with cutting-edge technologies?

Can psychedelic shamanism help to answer our basic questions about the nature of reality: Why are we here? Is there any existence after death? What is our individual purpose? What is humanity’s purpose as a whole?