May 15The Criminalisation of Psychedelics is an Affront to Cognitive LibertyCognitive liberty refers to the right or freedom of an individual to determine their own mental processes, cognition, and consciousness. Champions of this right argue that is an extension of, and really the fundamental basis of, the right to freedom of thought. Sovereignty over our minds and bodies is a…Drugs10 min readDrugs10 min read
May 8Metta Bhavana: An Overlooked Practice for Psychedelic IntegrationMetta bhavana is an ancient Buddhist meditation practice that aims to cultivate the emotional virtue of loving-kindness, known as metta. I have previously explored the benefits of metta meditation for depression, as well as the potential pitfalls of the practice. I would like to return to the benefits of this…Meditation7 min readMeditation7 min read
May 1Cringe as a Form of Self-InsightCringing at ourselves, while painful, can lead to greater awareness of our personal identity. First, one of the most common forms of self-cringe is cringing at our past selves, which reminds me of this meme (our brains are incredibly adept at recording cringe memories in crisp detail, whereas positive memories…Philosophy7 min readPhilosophy7 min read
Apr 24How to Navigate Difficult Psychedelic ExperiencesChallenging experiences are always a possibility when using psychedelics. These may occur after a string of several positive and glowing experiences, but they can occur the first time as well. Essentially, the risk of them increases when there is a lack of attention paid to set and setting — that…Drugs10 min readDrugs10 min read
Apr 17Giving Writers Creative Freedom is an Effective SEO StrategyHaving been a content writer for around seven years now, I am very familiar with writing in line with SEO-driven briefs. Sometimes, these briefs can be highly structured and detailed, which is often a relief — especially compared to more basic briefs — because it makes sitting down to write…Writing6 min readWriting6 min read
Apr 10Does Psychedelic Integration Have an Endpoint?Psychedelic integration refers to the process and goal of taking insights, lessons, visions, perspective shifts, and emotional breakthroughs from a psychedelic experience and applying them to one’s daily life in a positive way. This can encompass our attitudes, worldview, mental health, career, relationships, lifestyle, and so on and so forth. …Drugs8 min readDrugs8 min read
Apr 3In Search of New Terrain: Similarities Between Travel and the Psychedelic ExperienceA psychedelic experience is commonly referred to as a ‘trip’ or a ‘journey’, and the analogy with travel is a helpful one; psychedelics take you to new internal territory, whereas travelling takes you to new external territory. But I believe there are several ways in which we can compare tripping…Psychedelics8 min readPsychedelics8 min read
Mar 27Veganism, Perfectionism, and Moral ScrupulosityThe intersection between philosophy and mental health is a broad topic, and in one essay I gave some examples of how certain philosophical positions may impact mental health, as well as emphasised that this line of causality — adopting a worldview and then becoming depressed — is not so easy…Ethics12 min readEthics12 min read
Mar 20The Meaning of ‘Skillful’ and ‘Unskillful’ in Buddhist EthicsIn Buddhism, actions that are deemed good or bad are framed as being ‘skillful’ or ‘unskillful’. In this conception of ethics, morality is distinguished from other religious traditions, such as Christianity — where we find the concept of sin — or common notions of morality where we speak of actions…Buddhism16 min readBuddhism16 min read
Mar 6The Unmet Needs That Make Us HumanI was walking with a friend recently and we got talking about insomnia, about how strange it is that you can’t fall asleep when you’re meant to, which is one of the most basic functions of an animal. And yet so many of us (myself included) struggle to fall asleep…Philosophy17 min readPhilosophy17 min read
