Event Category: Psychedelics

Psychedelics and Memories of Birth, Abuse and Alien Abduction 

Psychoanalysing the psychedelic phenomena of recovered memories of abuse, birth and alien abduction

From earliest life every one of us is immersed in a world of pure novelty, preoccupied with weaving the fluctuations of experience into a stable and coherent tapestry. We theorise and construct understandings and expectations of space, time, the social world and ourselves within it from the threads of culture we happen upon in our maturation. Yet novelty insists upon us, disrupting all attempts to complete the picture. Protected by only this thinnest of veils, every so often we experience something so apparently novel it creates a hole in the very fabric of our reality. These rips, tears and ruptures can undermine faith in our habitual ways of knowing, our own memories and even our sensory perceptions themselves, demanding suture. In this talk we will draw on contemporary psychoanalytic and philosophical theories of trauma, revelation, gaslighting and eye witness testimony to think about some of the more far-out experiences that can be engendered by psychedelics, and one of their unfortunate results, epistemic injury.

Speaker Bio

Timmy Davis is the founder of The Psychedelic Experience Clinic, director of Psychedelic Policy and Regulation at the Centre for Evidence Based Drug Policy (CEBDP), policy director at the Psilocybin Access Rights (PAR) campaign and a trainee at the Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis.

Curated and hosted by

Maya Bracknell Watson is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, retired cult leader and psychedelic researcher.

Her background is in psychedelic parapsychology research with Greenwich University, specialising in exceptional human experience and entity encounters on psychedelics, and as an artist. She has studied shamanism for 10 years, working closely with Amerindian indigenous shamanic cultures of Mexico and Peru and western neoshamanic groups, focusing on the introduction and integration of indiginous and animistic knowledge and perspectives to westerners and western ontologies.

She publicly lectures on the subjects of psychedelics and shamanism, and produces art on the subjects informed by her research and experience, including films, performances, writing and immersive worlds. She has performed and exhibited at the Tate Britain and Breaking Convention and is the creator and host of Psychedelicacies, an online lecture series.

Walking between the worlds of art, psychedelic science and shamanism she works to bridge them and uses each as investigatory tools to inform and articulate each other.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Paranormal Ethnographies of Ketamine

Over the past six years, this ongoing investigation into the paranormal dimensions of psychoactive experiences has continued to identify Ketamine journeys as uniquely significant. Ketamine remains a profoundly paradoxical substance at once celestial and infernal. Its remarkable psychedelic capacities intertwined with its well-documented potential for dependence. Nonetheless, accounts of deep Ketamine “breakthroughs” stand out as particularly compelling for the study of anomalous and paranormal phenomena. The substance seems to grant access to liminal territories where conventional understandings of reality and unreality, as well as time and space, can be dismantled and reconfigured in unexpected ways.

This lecture revisits and expands upon the “magical” qualities attributed to Ketamine, emphasizing its capacity to open hyperdimensional experiential spaces that, although sharing affinities with other psychedelics, remain strikingly distinct. Over the years, Ketamine has gained increasing prominence within an underground psychonautic occulture, a community drawn to the esoteric and metaphysical potentials of altered states, as well as within the broader field of contemporary psychedelia.

The ethnographic material presented reflects an evolving archive: a continually expanding collection of interviews, uncanny experiences, and reports of alternate or “alter(n)ate” realities shared by adventurous psychonauts across diverse sets and settings. Together, these accounts trace a living, open-ended inquiry into the ways Ketamine continues to shape, distort, and illuminate the boundaries of human perception.

Speaker Bio

Giorgia Gaia is an independent researcher, with MA degrees in Cultural and Social Anthropology and in History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam. Since her early twenties she has been involved in the underground scene of rave culture, as a DJ and cultural producer. Her academic research has focused on countercultures, esoteric communities, occultism and psychonautic. Being herself continuously involved in the creation of alter(n)ate realities and magickal experimentations, since 2013 she is co-curator of Ozora Festival’s cultural area. In 2018 she founded Occulture Conference, a Berlin based festival exploring occultism and esoteric arts.

https://occultureconference.com

Curated and hosted by

Maya Bracknell Watson is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, retired cult leader and psychedelic researcher.

Her background is in psychedelic parapsychology research with Greenwich University, specialising in exceptional human experience and entity encounters on psychedelics, and as an artist. She has studied shamanism for 10 years, working closely with Amerindian indigenous shamanic cultures of Mexico and Peru and western neoshamanic groups, focusing on the introduction and integration of indiginous and animistic knowledge and perspectives to westerners and western ontologies.

She publicly lectures on the subjects of psychedelics and shamanism, and produces art on the subjects informed by her research and experience, including films, performances, writing and immersive worlds. She has performed and exhibited at the Tate Britain and Breaking Convention and is the creator and host of Psychedelicacies, an online lecture series.

Walking between the worlds of art, psychedelic science and shamanism she works to bridge them and uses each as investigatory tools to inform and articulate each other.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Extraterrestrials, Evolution and AI: The Future of Intelligence

“From Non-human Intelligence (NHI) to Transhuman Intelligence (THI): The Extratempestrial Hypothesis, Evolutionary Psychology, and AI Development

This talk explores the idea that the so-called “aliens” people encounter—especially the classic Greys—might not be extraterrestrial at all, but humans from the future. Anthropologist Michael Masters suggests that if we evolved far enough—larger heads and eyes, smaller bodies—we might look just like them. He argues they could be time-traveling scientists, studying us like we would study ancient human ancestors.

But evolution today isn’t just biological. As we merge with technology—AI, brain-computer interfaces, and more—our future selves may become something entirely new: transhuman. These beings might be part-human, part-machine, and their advanced technologies could even blur the lines between life and death, time and timelessness.

This possibility raises deep questions about consciousness, identity, and why so many of these encounters feel emotionally overwhelming or reality-shattering—what’s sometimes called “ontological shock.” If these entities are us, just much further along, what are they trying to tell us—and are we ready to listen?”

Speaker Bio

Dr. Pascal Michael BSc, MSc (UCL), PhD completed his doctorate in Psychology at the University of Greenwich in 2023 on a comparative analysis of the neurophenomenology of both DMT (& analogous) experiences and the near-death experience (NDE). He has been a lecturer (PT) there since, teaching and researching the phenomenology, psychology & neuroscience of psychedelics, NDEs, alien abduction/UFOlogy, related ‘exceptional human experiences’, and the intersections therein. He was program lead of the professional certificate in Psychedelics, ASCs and Transpersonal Psychology, and is currently a PhD & MSc supervisor, at the Alef Trust.Pascal has presented at many conferences, including the largest European conference on psychedelics, Breaking Conventions, and been invited to give several talks, such as for the privately held Tyringham Initiative, or give keynotes such as for the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy. His invited public talks and interviews number in the 30s. He has published many articles and chapters, including some of the most read articles in Frontiers in Psychology, which have been featured in several major news outlets including The Conversation. He is on the board of advisors for Noonautics and The Tyringham Initiative. He was PA to the chair of the Parapsychological Association, and was the 2020 recipient of the Schmeidler Outstanding Student award. Most lately, he was named one of the top 25 thinkers in psychedelic research.

Curated and hosted by

Maya Bracknell Watson is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, retired cult leader and psychedelic researcher.

Her background is in psychedelic parapsychology research with Greenwich University, specialising in exceptional human experience and entity encounters on psychedelics, and as an artist. She has studied shamanism for 10 years, working closely with Amerindian indigenous shamanic cultures of Mexico and Peru and western neoshamanic groups, focusing on the introduction and integration of indigenous and animistic knowledge and perspectives to westerners and western ontologies.

She publicly lectures on the subjects of psychedelics and shamanism, and produces art on the subjects informed by her research and experience, including films, performances, writing and immersive worlds. She has performed and exhibited at the Tate Britain and Breaking Convention and is the creator and host of Psychedelicacies, an online lecture series.

Walking between the worlds of art, psychedelic science and shamanism she works to bridge them and uses each as investigatory tools to inform and articulate each other.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

The Dark Side of Psychedelics – Reporting on the dark side of the psychedelic renaissance

As a journalist reporting on the psychedelic world at the same time as having his own experiences, for both research and as part of a personal quest for growth, Mattha Busby has seen it all. Ceremonies bathed in love and light, and rituals steeped in darkness. Through all of this, he has witnessed and experienced both the benefits of psychedelics and their serious potential for harm. To tell this story, Mattha embarks on a rip-roaring journey through a brave—and profoundly weird—new world in which psychedelics are more available than ever before in human history. Retreat organizers are paying for targeted ads on Instagram, and giving celebrities free trips in exchange for positive testimonials. Illegal psychedelic dispensaries have popped up on high streets, and vendors are selling psychedelic toad venom on tropical beaches and in hotels, often without adequate safety measures.

For many, these psychedelic experiences have provided welcome relief from a near-constant sense of anxiety, but others have been left dazed and confused, or worse, and with few avenues for support. In rare cases, people have even died at psychedelic retreat centers, and at clinics, though we often do not hear about this until someone investigates. Some of these incidents have highlighted the folly of erasing the reality of the darker aspects of shamanism in popular representations and denying the sometimes radical cultural differences between those who serve psychedelics and those who receive. There has been scant discussion of how many of the traditional uses of ayahuasca were for sorcery and other nefarious purposes.

Ultimately, it can be difficult to deduce good psychedelic facilitators between the less well-intentioned until you’ve spent time with them. But increasing numbers of people around dinner tables now tell of destabilising journeys and touchy shamans. There are no easy answers to all of this — but the first step would be leaders in the psychedelic industry accepting this fact and not dismissing critiques as ill intentioned tellings of isolated incidents.

Speaker Bio

Mattha Busby is a journalist specialising in health policy, drugs/psychedelics and (sub)culture. His work has appeared in The Guardian, VICE, Rolling Stone, WIRED, and elsewhere. In 2024, he was a Ferris-UC Berkeley fellow in psychedelic journalism. He has published two slim book volumes, on drug policy for Thames & Hudson in 2022 and on psychedelics for Hoxton Mini Press in 2025.

Curated and hosted by

Maya Bracknell Watson is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, retired cult leader and psychedelic researcher.

Her background is in psychedelic parapsychology research with Greenwich University, specialising in exceptional human experience and entity encounters on psychedelics, and as an artist. She has studied shamanism for 10 years, working closely with Amerindian indigenous shamanic cultures of Mexico and Peru and western neoshamanic groups, focusing on the introduction and integration of indiginous and animistic knowledge and perspectives to westerners and western ontologies.

She publicly lectures on the subjects of psychedelics and shamanism, and produces art on the subjects informed by her research and experience, including films, performances, writing and immersive worlds. She has performed and exhibited at the Tate Britain and Breaking Convention and is the creator and host of Psychedelicacies, an online lecture series.

Walking between the worlds of art, psychedelic science and shamanism she works to bridge them and uses each as investigatory tools to inform and articulate each other.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Drugs and Intelligence: Associations between recreational drug use and cognitive ability in the general population

The Great British Intelligence Test recruited over 500,000 individuals between late 2019 and 2020, then longitudinally monitored 135,000 participants. The study involved comprehensive cognitive assessments alongside detailed surveys of lifestyle choices, including recreational drug use. Previous population studies indicated associations between prolonged or heavy use of certain illicit drugs, such as stimulants and cannabis, and impaired cognitive performance. In contrast, emerging evidence suggests that specific substances, like psychedelics, may be associated with enhanced performance in particular cognitive domains, including creativity, cognitive flexibility, and emotional processing. The current presentation focuses on the results from the large-scale analysis from the Great British Intelligence Test designed to address a decades-long debate about the associations between recreational drug use and cognitive function. It describes a distinctive cognitive profile—or “fingerprint”—that characterise recreational drug users, remaining consistent despite potential influences from alcohol or tobacco consumption, psychiatric, or neurological conditions. Particular attention is given to discussing nuanced associations between distinct drug classes, notably psychedelics, and specific cognitive abilities.

Speaker Bio

Dr Maria Balaet holds a PhD in Clinical Medicine and Computational Neuroscience from Imperial College London, which was funded by a prestigious award she received from the UK Medical Research Council. She is currently a Research Associate at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. With over a decade of research experience, her work focuses on human intelligence and altered states of consciousness. Most notably, she has developed precision cognitive testing technology as part of the Cognitron Team and has led one of the largest longitudinal study arms in the world studying how naturalistic drug use including use of psychedelics associates with cognitive ability and mental health as part of the Great British Intelligence Test (which recruited over 500,000 participants). Outside of academic work, Maria has a passion for science communication and is a regular public speaker, podcast guest and panelist at a wide range of events. https://mariabalaet.com/

Curated and hosted by

Maya Bracknell Watson is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, retired cult leader and psychedelic researcher.

Her background is in psychedelic parapsychology research with Greenwich University, specialising in exceptional human experience and entity encounters on psychedelics, and as an artist. She has studied shamanism for 10 years, working closely with Amerindian indigenous shamanic cultures of Mexico and Peru and western neoshamanic groups, focusing on the introduction and integration of indiginous and animistic knowledge and perspectives to westerners and western ontologies.

She publicly lectures on the subjects of psychedelics and shamanism, and produces art on the subjects informed by her research and experience, including films, performances, writing and immersive worlds. She has performed and exhibited at the Tate Britain and Breaking Convention and is the creator and host of Psychedelicacies, an online lecture series.

Walking between the worlds of art, psychedelic science and shamanism she works to bridge them and uses each as investigatory tools to inform and articulate each other.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

 

Mapping the Beings of Hyperspace: A Guided Exploration

Join psychedelic explorer and consciousness researcher David Jay Brown, author of The Illustrated Field Guide to DMT Entities, for a fascinating and interactive journey into the mysterious realms of psychedelic hyperspace. In this unique presentation for London’s Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History—a haven for the wondrous, the arcane, and the otherworldly—David will discuss his groundbreaking work in developing a taxonomy of otherworldly intelligences encountered during DMT experiences.

Reports from psychonauts suggest that the DMT dimension is populated by a bewildering array of advanced, autonomous beings—entities that appear intelligent, communicative, and at times even more real than everyday reality. As the boundaries of consciousness expand, so too does the need to map the terrain and catalog the inhabitants of this interdimensional ecosystem.

From the trickster jesters and self-transforming machine elves to the mantis and octopoid healers, reptilian time-lords, and classic Grey aliens, David will introduce you to the most commonly encountered DMT entities, drawing from decades of research, firsthand accounts, and his own experiences. This talk invites participants to consider the profound implications of these encounters—whether they are aspects of the psyche, independent intelligences, or emissaries from parallel realities.

Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion that blends science

[Image by Sarah Phinn Huntley]

Speaker Bio

David Jay Brown is the author of 19 books on the evolution of consciousness, including Dreaming Wide Awake, The New Science of Psychedelics, and The Illustrated Field Guide to DMT Entities. He holds a master’s degree in psychobiology from New York University and has spent over three decades investigating altered states, transpersonal phenomena, and the frontier science of consciousness.

Speaker Bio

Sara Phinn Huntley is an artist, writer, and researcher who has spent two decades exploring the convergence of psychedelics, technology, and philosophy. As a DMT psychonaut and hyperspace cartographer, she’s pioneering the use of VR technology to investigate visual and spatial imagination in real-time.Her multidisciplinary work documents psychedelic states through an innovative blend of mediums exploring chaos mathematics, geometry, and performance, creating what she calls a “cargo cult effect of higher dimensional artifacts.” Her research has been published by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies and featured in notable works including Diana Reed Slattery’s “Xenolinguistics”and “The Illustrated Field to the DMT Entities” with David Jay Brown.

Curated and hosted by

Maya Bracknell Watson is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, retired cult leader and psychedelic researcher.

Her background is in psychedelic parapsychology research with Greenwich University, specialising in exceptional human experience and entity encounters on psychedelics, and as an artist. She has studied shamanism for 10 years, working closely with Amerindian indigenous shamanic cultures of Mexico and Peru and western neoshamanic groups, focusing on the introduction and integration of indiginous and animistic knowledge and perspectives to westerners and western ontologies.

She publicly lectures on the subjects of psychedelics and shamanism, and produces art on the subjects informed by her research and experience, including films, performances, writing and immersive worlds. She has performed and exhibited at the Tate Britain and Breaking Convention and is the creator and host of Psychedelicacies, an online lecture series.

Walking between the worlds of art, psychedelic science and shamanism she works to bridge them and uses each as investigatory tools to inform and articulate each other.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day