Mind Manifest

Today’s podcast is quite different. It marks the end of the Mind Manifest podcast and is an episode where I turn the microphone back on myself. The inner healer is a clever and amazing thing. Some years ago, whilst I was becoming somewhat disillusioned with the limitations of conventional talk therapy for my more complex clients, I came across the burgeoning therapeutic and scientific use of psychedelics and became intrigued. My initial curiosity was - I thought - purely professional. A resurgent modality was showing promise in the clincial trials, and I was professionally (but dispassionately) intrigued. That was the extent of it. But research is, of course, me-search, and after my first few personal experiences with psychedelics, I realized that the true reason I was so interested was much more personal. I had some deep and unhealed wounds that had not been accessible to me by conventional means, and my inner healing intelligence knew as much. It knew it would have to leverage the intellectual curiosity of my mind, and therefore the only way to expose my being to the healing potential of psychedelics was by presenting them to me as something ‘legitimate’ in the eyes of the mainstream. Like I said, the inner healing intelligence is a clever and amazing thing. I do not think I am alone in this regard -I would posit that a lot of other health practitioners and researchers in the field (if they are truly honest with themselves) know that the prepotent reason for their interest in psychedelics is not the professional or intellectual curiosity of their ‘adult’ selves, but a similarly wise desire to finally listen to the unacknowledged yearnings of their own inner child. please listen and enjoy, and hopefully, this helps you or someone you know

In today’s podcast, I did a live event with Dr. Ben Sessa. at Luna Palace in Leederville. Ben was in town to help with various Antipodean psychedelic training schemes and conferences, and was kind enough to sit down for a live podcast - and a bit of socializing with the Perth psychedelic community afterward. It was clear from Ben’s perspective that the eyes of the psychedelic world are now on Australia, and how we move forward as a collective has more import than ever.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with William Sieghart, who is the author of the Poetry Pharmacy. William is an advocate for the consideration of mental well-being in its broadest possible sense, and he is on a mission to help take ‘poetry out of poetry corner’ and put it back into the public square where it belongs. We talked about the numerous overlaps between poetry and psychedelics, and the ways in which they can both act as societal balms. In today’s podcast We Discuss; The genesis of the poetry pharmacy, The link between attachment theory, disorganized attachment, and residential education, The importance of reading poetry aloud and the layering of great art, How hip-hop culture captures the essence of embodied poetry Hafiz of Shiraz Poetry as the secular liturgy The book - ‘Poems of the decade’ Winning Words The Forward arts foundation and the foreword poetry prize The “Awful Privilege” of Psychotherapy, Emily sutton’s illustrations and the book Everyone Sang How psychedelics and poetry may help young people reclaim rites of passage missed through Covid, Everything is going to be alright - by Derek Mahon The work of Ian McGilchrist and how it relates to Poetry National Poetry Day BIO - William Sieghart CBE Author, Publisher Philanthropist. William Sieghart is a philanthropist and publisher, and former chairman of the Somerset House Trust. William has had a long career in the arts. In 1991 he founded the Forward Prizes for Poetry, the nation’s leading prizes now in their 30th year. In 1993 he started National Poetry Day, an annual celebration of poetry, with the BBC. National Poetry Day is the BBC’s longest standing arts partnership after the Proms.  In 2016 he authored The Poetry Pharmacy, the best-selling poetry anthology of the last twenty-five years. William has toured the country, listening to thousands of people’s problems one on one and prescribing poems and poetry prescriptions for them. He is an inspirational speaker whose platforms have included talks for TEDx, 5×15, literary festivals and corporate events. William has been a successful entrepreneur, founding Forward Publishing, a magazine publishing company, publishing 80 million magazines a year around the world when he sold it to WPP in 2001. In 2000 he started Streetsmart, a homeless charity that raises its funds by restaurants around the country adding £1 to their bills in November and December. Streetsmart has so far raised over £11m in £1 donations. In 2005 William started Forward Thinking, now one of the world’s leading conflict mediation agencies that works between governments across the Middle East and North Africa. Until December 2021 William was chairman of Somerset House, turning it into the UK’s biggest creative community. Somerset House is one of London’s most visited attractions with as many visitors as the Tower of London. William has served on the boards of many public institutions and charities including the Arts Council, where he chaired their lottery board for five years, the Royal Society of Arts and the Arts Foundation, which he chaired for 15 years, giving out fellowships to the nation’s most talented young artists. William has conducted two reviews for the UK government on the future of public libraries, hosted a weekly politics show on Bloomberg TV for three years and has been a regular broadcaster on tv and radio, including an appearance on Radio 3’s Private Passions. He has also been a regular interviewer of writers, artists and politicians amongst others, and is a great listener, having listened to the problems of thousands of people since the conception of the Poetry Pharmacy.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Justin James, who is the current CEO of HIF health insurance fund. HIF was the first major Australian health fund to declare support for medicinal cannabis treatments and offer rebates to members through its partnership with WA-based Little Green Pharma, and it stands to be one of the first health insurers to support the therapeutic use of psilocybin for its members. Justin has taken a different tack from some of his more conservative peers and has been outspoken in his support for the scientific exploration of psychedelic substances as medicines. In today’s podcast We Discuss; Justin’s professional and academic background, His support of medicinal cannabis and HIF’s partnership with little green pharma, His engagement with the press Medcon 2022, the stats around poor mental health in Australia and his commitment to explore ‘emerging therapies’ as a way to potentially mitigate some of this burden possible timelines for the future provision of psychedelics in Australia.. ..and much more! Justin James has extensive experience in the private health insurance and finanical services industries. Prior to becoming chief executive of HIF in May 2020, he spent 8 years with Bupa where he had senior executive roles including as director of customer growth and director of conduct and risk. Before moving into the private health service industry, Mr James held several senior executive and leadership roles across financial services in Australia including at the National Australia Bank, Commonwealth and ANZ Bank. He holds an eMBA from the Australian Graduate School of Managment, a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Indigenous Partnerships from Charles Darwin University, and completed the Social Entepreneurship programme with INSEAD in Singapore.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Simon Baron-Cohen. Professor Baron-Cohen is a world expert in the field of Autism research, and we had a wide-ranging discussion on this topic. The ways in which psychedelic compounds interface with different styles of cognition is a fascinating area, and the exploration of how psychedelic compounds are experienced phenomenologically by those on the spectrum is largely untilled scientific soil.

In today’s podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a panel of expert guests for the first of our live events. The title of the symposium was ‘non-ordinary states for ordinary Australians’. We had a wide-ranging conversation and an event of connection and live music afterward. It reminded us all that no one is going to lie on their deathbed and wish they had looked at more screens. Breaking bread and talking with other human beings is a powerful thing.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Shaun Duffy, CEO of Reset Mind Sciences - a company that is well-positioned to become a leader in the push to make psilocybin-containing mushrooms a mainstream medication option for the treatment of mental illness. Shaun comes from an accountancy background and brings a wealth of corporate experience to the psychedelic space, as well as a personal passion to help these remarkable compounds become part of the national conversation.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Dr. Jeremy Tannebaum. Jeremy has a longstanding interest in psychedelia, and as you will hear from our discussion, he had a childhood and upbringing that was steeped in a deep, nuanced and intellectual exploration of these substances - as well as many other contemplative practices and non-ordinary states of consciousness like hypnosis and meditation. Jeremy took these sensibilities into his study of medicine and now seeks to amplify and optimise the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics as tools in the treatment of chronic pain.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Tobias Penno. Tobias is a Registered Social Worker with the 'Australian Association of Social Workers', and he has more recently focussed his career to become a mental health practitioner. Tobias believes that individuals have the wisdom necessary to work through their current life challenges, and sees his role as a ‘co-researcher’ working collaboratively with his clients towards their growth and healing. Tobias weaves together elements from a variety of different modalities. One of his central aims is to help his clients ostensibly ‘re-author’ the stories they tell themselves - about themselves.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Dr. Ian Dunican. Ian is amongst many other things, a sleep researcher and business consultant. As you will hear, Ian has his fingers in a lot of professional pies, but the through-line is that he is trying to optimize performance in many different fields. Ian has a burgeoning interest in psychedelics, and he first came on my radar when I hear him interview Stephen Bright on his podcast, ‘Learning to Die’. Ian is by no means a strong advocate for psychedelics, and we had an interesting discussion in how he has found a plethora of ways to access a transcendent state of consciousness. He also believes that sleep and psychedelics may have interesting overlaps that we are only just beginning to appreciate. In today's podcast, we discuss... Five to One by the Doors, Ian’s background and time serving in the Irish Military, and his lifelong fascination with learning, Ian’s early personal experience of the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation, The overlap between sleep loss and mental health issues, The history of the human study of sleep, The ‘Grandfather’ of sleep Bill Dement, Matthew Walker’s podcast discussions with Peter Attia, Circadian Rhythm,Chronobiology, Leptin and Grehlin and their relationship with sleep, Performance deficits associated with sleep loss, Night shift work as a ‘possible carcinogen’ - Type 2A carcinogen, Classification of sleep disorders, The difference between a ‘sleep problem’ and a ‘sleep disorder, The societal correlation between poor sleep and lower socio-economic status, The limited efficacy of sleep medicines, the paucity of undergrad education into sleep science for health professionals, and the lack of understanding amongst the general population about good sleep hygiene, The Parliamentary Report ‘Bedtime Reading’ Ian’s business Melius Consulting, and his work with Formula 1 McClaren, and his adjunct researcher work, His two podcasts: sleep4performance, and learning to die,The Stages of Sleep, and sleep spindles, REM rebound, Ian’s theory of REM sleep as a practice of death, The Six Bardos in Tibetan Buddhism, The repudiation of death in our societies, and Ernest Becker’s ‘The Denial of Death’, Zen on the trail and the Marathon Monks, The risks of taking psychedelics, The Effects of Daytime Psilocybin Administration on Sleep: Implications for Antidepressant Action, Sleep as an adjunct for both preparation for and integration of psychedelic trips, The risk of Serious Adverse Events with psychedelic trips, Jennifer Walsh’s study on the impact of CBD on insomnia, The potential need for overnight polysomnography as a preparatory tool for psychedelic trips - perfecting the ‘on ramp’, Ian’s tips for sleeping well, and much more besides!

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Dr. Michael Winlo and Dr. Alistair Vickery, who are the respective managing and medical directors of Emyria - a drug development company that specializes in the fast-track development of novel therapies for difficult to treat conditions.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Chris Letheby. Dr. Letheby is a philosopher working on issues related to the therapeutic and transformative potential of classic psychedelic drugs - check out his full bio below. As an academic philosopher, Chris has epistemological and logical expertise, (as well as a keen understanding of both the philosophy of science and psychiatry), but his key areas of specialization lie in the fields of philosophy of mind and cognitive science.

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Stephen Bright. Stephen is a clinically trained psychologist with a wealth of experience in both the fields of Addictions research and psychedelic research/advocacy. Stephen has been consistently pushing for a more nuanced and comprehensive discussion pertaining to sensible drug use in Australia, In today’s podcast We Discuss; The TGA’s interim decision to not amend the current scheduling of MDMA, The recent appointment of an independent expert panel to undertake a review into the potential therapeutic value of MDMA and psilocybin, The comparison of FDA and TGA scheduling, TGA’s Special Access Scheme PRISM’s position on the recent move to reschedule MDMA and Psilocybin, Stephen’s desire to have these substances available through Australia’s public health system, How Private and Public Sector healthcare service providers might best interface in the psychedelic space, The concept of ‘corporadelics’, and Stephen’s concern about large corporations like Atai Life Sciences and Compass Pathways potentially monopolizing the space, Tulip mania and the potential for a the emergence of a psychedelic stock bubble, The difference between decriminalization and the rescheduling of drugs National Drug Strategy Household Survey Data showing an uptick in the use of psychedelics The need to balance private venture with regulatory oversight and the U bend of regulation Stephen’s experience at the rainbow serpent festival and dancewize Stephen’s experience in training as an MDMA-assisted psychotherapist with MAPS, and watching Michael Mithoefer at work The potential for a general underestimation of the profundity of experience of the MDMA assisted psychotherapy, especially if the client has unprocessed trauma, The differences in integration patterns between psychedelic substances, Internal Family Systems and its relationship to MDMA assisted psychotherapy The difference between evidence-based and evidence informed practice The concept of inner healing intelligence and different models that may support MDMA, MDMA’s capacity to produce visceral feelings of safety The work of Tobias Penno The documentary, ‘Trip of Compassion’ Stephen’s definition of the concept of ‘holding space’ The need for Clinician’s to have a personal experience of MDMA in order to more deeply understand the process The emergence of psychedelic integration circles in Australia Dr Bright’s University course in addiction studies at Edith Cowan University The need for project managers and those with an understanding of drug development pathways to enter the space Stephen’s Ted Talk How to Support the Australian Psychedelic Society, Entheogeneis Australis, and PRISM

In today’s episode, we spoke to Michelle Baker-Jones, one of the lead guides on the current Imperial College Randomised Control Trial (Psilodep 2) which is comparing the efficacy of Psilocybin with Anti-Depressants for the treatment of depressive disorder. Michelle is personable, thoughtful, and - as an integrative psychotherapist - seem to have good scope for how psychedelics can be best contextualised within the overall treatment regimen for clients suffering from depression.

In this episode, I spoke with Suresh Muthukumaraswamy - a pioneer in the field of psychedelic research in New Zealand. His research team are embarking on the first government-sanctioned LSD micro-dosing trial in the history of his home country. In a space where many activists hide in scientists clothing, it is good to know when you are talking with the real thing - someone who seems to be in search of truth before tenure. The perennial problem of ‘blinding’ in psychedelic research is somewhat circumnavigated at sub-perceptual doses of LSD, and what we will learn from such studies might just be the island of signal in an ocean of noise. It was a pleasure to talk to him. Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifest.com - we love to hear from listeners!

I recently spoke to Dr Maragaret Ross, a Senior Clinical Psychologist at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne. We spoke about her upcoming trial. For a long time, there has not been an antipodean star on the psychedelic research map, but the commencement of this study (and the resounding wave of public support it has generated) bode very well for the future of psychedelic research in Australia. As you will hear, Margaret attended a lecture on psychedelics and felt a visceral sense of responsibility to use her expertise and connections to help bring the psychedelic renaissance back to Australia. She did what many do not - she turned an intention into action and actually answered the call to adventure. I hope you enjoy this conversation Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifest.com We love to hear from listeners!

I recently spoke to Greg Donaldson in the Library of the Psychosynthesis Trust, located in the heart of London. Greg is a personable, balanced and thoughtful psychotherapist, and I really enjoyed talking to him. Greg is part of the team of therapists who will be working with participants in the Double-Blind, Randomised Control Trial comparing the efficacy of psilocybin with conventional SSRI treatment for depression. The therapeutic modality of Psychosynthesis Roberto Assagioli Greg’s practice and philosophy of emerging purpose ‘Autonomous sub-personalities’ and how their problematic manifestation in client’s day to day life is often the reason they intially seek therapy The inner tyrant as the ‘king of the ghetto’ How the autonomous sub-personality of ‘achiever’ can monopolise people’s behaviour The technique of ‘Chair Work’ Greg’s belief that therapists should set up therapeutic ‘base camps’ at the foot of the client’s discomfort How Greg deals with clients’ ‘inner Mark Corrigan’ Greg’s role-play with Bill Richards and how he got involved with the Imperial College psychedelic research team. Our concerns around the culture of psychedelics as cure-alls Greg’s terrible grasp of the phrase ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’ The Double-blind, Randomised Control Trial - Psilocybin for Major Depression… …and the therapeutic protocol for the study The implicit ‘hug’ of a therapy session Our preference for ‘free’ over ‘safe’ spaces The pervasive issue of publication bias in psychology, and how the ongoing direction of optimal integration of psychedelics should not be wholly directed by current paradigms of ‘best practice’ Psilocybin nasal sprays Peter Attia, Debra Kimless and Steve Goldner discussing THC and CBD This ‘Pollanic’ (a.k.a. - polemic written by Michael Pollan) Charles Raison’s work into the relative importance of ‘access’ vs ‘phenomenal’ consciousness in the psychedelic experience Greg’s clinical practice Psychosynthesis Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifestpodcast.com We love to hear from listeners!

In this episode, I sat down with David Luke. David is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich. Dave is co-founder and current chair of Breaking Convention, Europe’s largest interdisciplinary conference exploring psychedelic science and culture. David straddles two very different worlds – he operates within the conventional academy of the social sciences, whilst also maintaining a deep interest in esoterica and parapsychology. Dr Luke directs the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon, as well as conducting field experiments with DMT and clinical research with LSD. I would still describe myself as a philosophical materialist but I find hyper materialist - like any other extremist thinkers – both intellectually tedious and ideologically dangerous. It was in this spirit I wanted to talk to David – I want to have good-faith conversations, in-person, with nice people (who I might disagree with). The goal is to see if they can teach me something and maybe vice versa. We didn’t really get into the weeds of parapsychology for several reasons. I had very limited time with David as I had to rush off from London to Bristol to attend another event. Think of this as an introductory chat - I’m sure we will sit down again. I need to be a bit more knowledgable on the actual claims within the field of parapsychology I’m not a sociopath – I always seek to find common ground with people before reflexively disagreeing with them. And the good news is I feel we did this… Having consumed a good deal of David’s content, I think we share a similar frustration with a scientific tendency in psychological research to not just dismiss outlier findings but to go too far - to repudiate them. This leads to a regression to the mean of both scientific innovations and applied outcomes Furthermore it is just plain lazy - it abdicates the responsibility to explain findings which simply do not fit inside your neat little paradigm. So let’s all keep an open mind, without letting our brains fall out. I think it is healthy for David and researchers like him to make extraordinary claims, and I feel it is appropriate for interlocutors like me to demand extraordinary evidence. This back and forth should proceed with mirth, goodwill and a fundamental sensibility for the fact that the person you are talking likely knows something you don’t! I really enjoyed Davids company, I get the feeling he takes what he does very seriously, whilst not taking himself too seriously at all. That is as it should be. In this Podcast we discuss: Anechoic Chambers, The concept of Dark Retreats, David’s Collaboration with Haroon Mirza, The role of Art as a legitimate arm of the scientific vanguard The problem of expectancy bias and priming effects in psychological research Absorption as a potential correlate to psychedelic states Temporal lobe lability The relevance of epilepsy to psychedelic science The potential similarity between the ominous experience of ‘sensed presence’ between sufferers of sleep paralysis and those who reported an ‘ominous presence’ within the anechoic chamber David’s agnosticism around the concept trans-cerebral Consciousness Parapsychology We introduce the concept of, ‘antirithm’ - consuming content that is antithetical to the bubbles the algorithms are pushing us all into. David’s DMT research Bundle of content related to David’s more conventional work Bundle of content related to parapsychology The value of non-drug altered states as psychedelic experiences... Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifestpodcast.com . We love to hear from listeners!

The phenomena of cognitive biases are as pernicious as they are profound. The intractable presence of bias is an issue in every field of experimental science, and psychedelic research is by no means immune. Developing a sound understanding of how they are caused and how to control for them is a great way to prevent them from running roughshod over your inner world of thought, and will help the psychedelic community prevent against the development of a prevailing culture of ideologically (as opposed to empirically) motivated research. Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifest.com . We love to hear from listeners!

Today we spoke with Torsten Passie MD, PhD. Torsten is Professor of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Hannover Medical School (Germany) and currently Visiting Scientist at Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main (Germany). He studied philosophy, sociology (MA) at Leibniz-University, Hannover and medicine at Hannover Medical School. From 1998 to 2010 he was a scientist and psychiatrist at Hannover Medical school (Germany) where he researched the addictions and the psychophysiology of altered states of consciousness and their healing potential, including clinical research with hallucinogenic drugs (cannabis, ketamine, nitrous oxide, psilocybin). In 2012-2015 he was Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA). He is the author of the science of microdosing psychedelics, available through Psychedelic Press. We discussed -Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder -MDMA assisted psychotherapy -The future of psychedelic training for health professionals Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifest.com . We love to hear from listeners!