Psychedelic Alchemy Speaker Series
Naropa Center For Psychedelic Studies Presents Psychedelic Alchemy, a speaker series dedicated to exploring the modern psychedelic landscape.
Featuring prominent and emerging leaders in the field, these public events will investigate salient topics in the psychedelic space such as psychedelic-assisted therapy, science, social action, spirituality, healing integration and more. Whether you’re a novice or well-researched expert, join us for this curated series of inspiring à la carte discussion panels, lectures, and interviews with galvanizing psychedelic luminaries.
Upcoming Event
Acacea Lewis
Mindful Macrodosing: Nondualism and the Psilocybin Experience
December 3, 2024 // 6:30 - 8:00pm MT // Free Online Talk
How can non-dual philosophy help guide us through transformative psychedelic experiences?
In this Psychedelic Alchemy presentation, Acacea Lewis, entheogenic researcher and founder of the Divine Master Alchemy School, will delve into the spiritual and therapeutic potentials of macrodosing psilocybin mushrooms when paired with contemplative practice. Drawing from Vajrayana Buddhism, Niguma Yoga, and other wisdom traditions, Acacea will explore how non-dual philosophies may provide grounding during the reality-bending effects of psilocybin macrodoses, and help users find deeper meaning in the experience.
Utilizing her experience as a long time practitioner of non-dual philosophy, Acacea will share her personal insights, illustrating how the inclusion and honoring of ancient practices can bridge the gap between ethnobotanical wisdom and modern therapeutic approaches to psilocybin use.
About The Speaker
Acacea Lewis is the Founder of Divine Master Alchemy LLC and Divine Master University, a school dedicated to Entheogenic Cultural Literacy and Applied Naturopathic Medicine Research. She was previously a student of Baba Kilindi Iyi and a is a current disciple of Lama Mike Crowley and Wangchen Rinpoche. Acacea’s ethnomycological research spans the use of psychedelics across cultural and anthropological contexts, from Africa to India and Tibet. As an independent researcher and student of the psilocybin mushroom, she shares her first-hand experiences through preservation of oral traditions, research papers, books, and medical studies, aiming to bridge and integrate the fields of medical science, spiritual systems, and cultural anthropology. Acacea’s academic background is in Astrophysics and Geophysics and she brings scholarly research to the spiritual and anthropological conversations about ethnobotany and Entheogenic use.
Featured Past Events
Dr. Rosalind Watts w/ Mycelial Networks, Anchoring the Psychedelic Revolution in Community
On November 14, 2023, Dr. Rosalind Watts will explain how fundamental principles of nature, such as slow growth, circular rhythms, and interconnectedness, can serve as instructive guides for creating a sustainable, collaborative, and more accountable psychedelic field.
Furthermore, Dr. Watts delves into the potential pitfalls of the psychedelic revolution and provide innovative solutions rooted in her ACER model.
Bwiti-inspired mural artwork by Chor Boogie (Nganga Gnyangou)
Iboga Panel with Bwiti Elders & Visiting Instructors
While the exact cause of Iboga’s potentiating activity remains unknown, its ability to treat addiction has sparked interest in its therapeutic potential.
This special session on Iboga was organized for Naropa’s 2022 Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies, and offered during the program’s December 10, 2022 live online class. Convened by Kevin Franciotti, this session features presentations from Kevin, Kenneth Alper, Elizabeth Bast, and two elders from Gabon, as well as a special panel Q&A with the presenters.
Valeria McCarroll PhD, LMFT — Are psychedelics doomed to be tools of oppression, or can they be agents of liberation?
On October 20th, 2022, NCPS hosted Valeria McCarroll for a talk on psychedelics, mysticism, and transformation. Valeria, a consciousness guide and CIIS faculty member, integrates nondual wisdom traditions, somatics, and psychedelics in her healing practice, Somadelics℠. She also advises at Synthesis Institute, focusing on social justice.
Erik Davis, PhD — LSD and the Alchemy of Modernity
On August 17th, 2022, NCPS hosted author, teacher, and award-winning journalist Erik Davis for an explorative Psychedelic Alchemy speaker event.
Davis’ talk, “LSD and the Alchemy of Modernity” examined the historical and mythopoetic legacy of LSD, and investigated how this substance’s underground lineage may offer precisely the sort of sacred values to guide us through the maelstrom of our moment!
Nicholas Powers, PhD — Flowers in Gun Barrels: How the Psychedelic Renaissance Can Stop War
NCPS was pleased to host professor, poet, novelist, and journalist Nicholas Powers for an inspiring Psychedelic Alchemy speaker event.
Dr. Powers’ lecture, “Flowers in Gun Barrels: How the Psychedelic Renaissance Can Stop War” examined the ways in which patriarchy, militarism, and poverty distort self-image and censor consciousness, and how a re-imagined psychedelic social movement can begin to repair these damages.
