I recently traveled to New York to attend the Horizons conference on psychedelics – now in its 15th year. Particularly exciting for me was the opportunity to hear Dr. Anthony Bossis of NYU talk about psychedelics in palliative care – a topic that has intrigued me since reading Michael Pollan’s How To Change Your Mind in 2018.
The conference was held at the New York Medical Association – a grand old building facing Central Park, where a dermatology conference was also taking place. The fact that the dermatologists were relegated to the second floor while Horizons got the elegant main auditorium was a testament to how far out of the shadows the psychedelic world has come.
Bossis didn’t disappoint – he spoke of love and grace, and how we humans appear to be hardwired for transcendent experiences – which, as we approach the end of life, can ease our final transition.
This is an area I hope to be exploring in depth in the year to come. In the meantime, I’d like to extend my best wishes for health, happiness and resilience for the challenges in the year ahead. And also to share my latest article for DoubleBlind magazine – originally titled, How Psychedelics Can Keep Us Lucid, Loving and Joyful Through Old Age – ultimately changed to: The Mid-Life Trip.
