Sam Woolfe

Danny Shine: A Modern-Day Jester Danny Shine, also known as the ‘Social Experimentalist’, runs a YouTube channel where he posts videos of himself out in London with a megaphone, voicing his polemical opinions. (His more recent conten...

My latest blog post is about Danny Shine's role as a modern-day jester, and more generally about the social functions of jesters.

Recently finished reading the new book by @strohltopia.bsky.social. Highly recommend it for cinephiles out there, or anyone who wants to give difficult films more attention.

It also motivated me to watch Jeanne Dielman, which I kept putting off. (I agree with Strohl, it's not a boring film at all.)

Remembering Dreams While Falling Asleep One night last week, as I was falling asleep, in my head I told myself – as I’ve done before – I don’t want to have weird or bad dreams, I want to have fun dreams. I’ve done this as my intention befor...

In this blog post, I look at the experience of enhanced dream recall while falling asleep, and what may be behind it.

Need more of this.

In this paper, Alberto Cavallarin critiques the narrow way in which 'mystical experiences' are typically framed, as seen in a lot of psychedelic research.

YouTube video by Brain in a Vat Aztec Philosophy: What the Aztecs Knew About Life | Sebastian Purcell

Interesting discussion on Aztec #philosophy with philosopher Sebastian Purcell.

Psychedelics and the Rogansphere The Rogansphere – consisting of Joe Rogan and like-minded comedians orbiting around him – faces steady and consistent criticism from YouTubers (whose focus and most popular content is criticising the ...

New blog post.

Using the #Rogansphere as an example, I look at the relationship between psychedelics and political views – how these substances can make no difference to one's views, as well as intensify them or shift them in any direction.

Why you should never argue online Even if you win a mud fight, you're still covered in mud.

Why you should never argue online iandunt.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...

YouTube video by JP Philosophers described by Peep Show

Accurate.

Addressing the Gaps in Participant Care in Psychedelic Therapy and Retreats Things don’t always go smoothly in psychedelic-assisted therapy or during a psychedelic retreat. In an ideal world, a psychedelic experience would unfold as one hopes. Perhaps there are difficult mome...

New blog post.

#psychedelics #mentalhealth #psychedelictherapy

Is There Common Ground Between Somatic Therapy and Charismatic Christianity? Both somatic therapy and charismatic Christianity can involve intense physical reactions in people, such as trembling, shaking, writhing, and crying. This got me thinking about whether there might be ...

In this blog post, I look at the physical reactions that can occur during somatic therapy and charismatic Christian worship, and how there might be similar psychological mechanisms behind both.

What Does Integration Look Like for Traumatic Psychedelic Experiences? Integration, in the context of psychedelics, is typically defined as the process of making sense of psychedelic experiences and applying the insights contained therein to one’s everyday life. But how ...

An article on what it means to 'integrate' a psychedelic experience if it was traumatic, seemingly devoid of insight, and a cause of lasting distress.

We should have specific words for the feeling of the sun on your face in May and September. In the former case, it needs to conjure up a sense of relief and in the latter a sense of longing.

The Fire Within (Le Feu Follet) (1963) Blu-ray Collector's Edition Depressed Alain Leroy leaves the clinic where he was detoxified for alcoholism. He meets friends, acquaintances and women, trying to find a reason to continue living. Will this help him?

Maybe you've already seen this, but @umbrellaent.bsky.social is releasing a Blu-ray collector's edition. It includes the essay I wrote on the film. shop.umbrellaent.com.au/products/the...

A few photos from Cornwall.

Social Media and the Ethics of Comedy Theft Joke theft is a massive taboo in the comedy world. When a stand-up comedian does it, they’re vilified and seen as a hack – unable to come up with any original and funny material of their own. But more...

In this blog post, I look at the trend of people stealing others' comedy content on social media and passing it off as their own idea.

But in some cases, the line is blurred between inspiration and plagiarism.

Barriers to Healing: On Psychedelic Medicine and Access Inequality When participating in a psychedelic session becomes legal – in the form of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy or a retreat – this doesn’t open up this experience to everyone equally. In the psychedeli...

Many of those who could benefit from psychedelic therapy or a psychedelic retreat are unable to afford it.

What can be done to address this access inequality?

Algorithmic Visions: Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Psychedelic AI Art Psychedelic AI art is everywhere – or at least, I’m seeing it everywhere (because many accounts/people I follow on social media are focused on psychedelics). I see psychedelicised AI art used as image...

New blog post.

What do we gain and lose by using #AI tools like Midjourney to generate psychedelic art?

Schopenhauer and how to overcome your negativity bias | Sam Woolfe

My latest article for @iai.tv

“Just as we do not feel the health of our whole body, but only the small spot where the shoe pinches, so we do not think of all our affairs that are going on perfectly well, but only of some insignificant trifle that annoys us.” - #Schopenhauer

Apeirophobia in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'Pulse' (2001) Pulse (Kairo) is a 2001 Japanese techno-horror film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. After having watched Kurosawa’s 1997 psychological thriller Cure (Kyua), widely regarded as a masterpiece, I was keen ...

I recently watched Pulse, and it's definitely one of the creepiest #horror films I've seen.

A lot has been written about how the film reflects societal fears about the internet. Here, I focus on its exploration of apeirophobia (the fear of eternal life).

AI Should Be a Writing Tool, Not a Ghostwriter In a few previous blog posts (see here, here, and here), I discussed the pitfalls of AI-generated written content. I’ve taken a pretty anti-AI stance in that respect. When I see this kind of content o...

While the influx of AI-generated content is a net negative in many different ways, this doesn't mean AI has no legitimate uses in writing.

Here, I look at some of the ways AI can act as a writing assistant (and help improve writing skills, rather than stunt them).

How Do Psychedelics Interact with Antidepressants? If you’re considering using psychedelics for therapeutic reasons – in the form of psychedelic-assisted therapy or a psychedelic retreat – then it’s vital to know how these compounds can interact with ...

An article I wrote for Numinous Ways on combining psychedelics with #antidepressants.

It seems the risk of serotonin syndrome is low (unless an MAOI is involved); not all psychedelic effects are blunted; and the combination doesn't stop people from enjoying mental health benefits.

And one final thought: Ozzy going out after giving an emotional final performance that raised a ton of money for charity is more spiritually uplifting and did more genuine good than anything any televangelist and religious grifter who railed against him ever did combined.

Why the antagonism over the rise in autism diagnoses? It’s actually good news | Gina Rippon A ninefold increase is the result of huge advances in our understanding – and brings the hope of fulfilling lives to many more people, says author Gina Rippon

While bad actors catastrophize about the increase in autism diagnoses, it "is actually a long-needed correction of a longstanding bias, which had overlooked many in need of support." And do we really want to go back to blaming autism on "refrigerator mothers"?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

How Young is Too Young to Use Psychedelics? For those who want to join a psychedelic clinical trial, psychedelic therapy session, or psychedelic retreat, you have to be a legal adult. For many clinicians, therapists, and retreat organisers, thi...

My latest blog post explores traditions in which psychedelics are used by children and adolescents, as well as researchers' views on the potential risks of psychedelic use for young people.

Hamptonese: The Asemic Writing of James Hampton James Hampton (1909–1964) was an American outsider artist. He worked as a janitor, and in his spare time, in secrecy, he built a large assemblage of religious art, made from scavenged materials: cardb...

I wrote about the strange writing made up by outsider artist James Hampton, which researchers have referred to as "the written equivalent of 'speaking in tongues'."

Alasdair MacIntyre and the virtues of pickleball Plus Stephanie's story of recovering from four years of post-psychedelic difficulties

"You could argue, from an Aristotelian view, that ecstatic experiences are not essentially moral, rather they can be guided towards virtues and character-building, or they can also contribute to the growth of vices and character-dissolution." - @philosojules.bsky.social

How Do Psychedelics Affect Musical Ability? Listening to certain music while on psychedelics can be a highly memorable and therapeutic experience. Since the 1950s until the present day, the presence of a carefully curated playlist has been trea...

Many musicians have performed live while tripping, including Carlos Santana, the Grateful Dead, Jim Morrison, Syd Barrett, and Maynard James Keenan. In this blog post, I explore the effects of psychedelics on musical ability.

Can Psychedelics Heal Intergenerational Trauma? Intergenerational trauma (also known as generational trauma or ancestral trauma) refers to the idea that trauma can be passed down through the generations, affecting those who didn’t directly experien...

In this article, I look at the science behind intergenerational trauma and how psychedelics may be helpful in treating it.

Can you see circles or rectangles? And does the answer depend on where you grew up? | Anil Seth We may believe we see the world exactly as it is – but as studies of optical illusions show, it’s far more complex than that, says cognitive and computational neuroscience professor Anil Seth

Do you see circles or rectangles? How culturally dependent is perceptual experience? Inspired by two recent studies, I wrote this for today's @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Timothy Leary: The Embodiment of the Trickster Archetype The psychologist Timothy Leary was (and still is) a controversial countercultural figure. He can be credited with introducing many young people to LSD and mind expansion, but this spelled good news to...

Don Lattin describes Leary as an "Irish rascal" and "trickster"; Ralph Metzner said he represented the "court jester"; and Leary referred to himself as a "trickster guru".

Here I look at who Leary was, and what he did, through the lens of the trickster archetype.