This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
In-person registration is closed, as we have reached max capacity. Please register at the livestream link below to join virtually.
Register to attend via livestream.
The second annual “Psychedelic Intersections: Cross-cultural Manifestations of the Sacred” conference explores how psychedelics and spirituality intersect differently across cultures, contexts, and traditions. The conference asks the questions: How does psychedelic spirituality emerge and diverge across time and place? What is necessary to promote healthy partnership across beliefs, approaches, disciplines, and communities? How can psychedelic researchers and practitioners build bridges across existing divides? What could the intercultural future of psychedelic spirituality look like?
Hosted by the Center for the Study of World Religions and the Harvard Psychedelics Project at Harvard Divinity School, "Psychedelic Intersections" features over 20 psychedelic researchers and two internationally renowned keynote speakers— Dr. Carl Hart and Dr. Luis Eduardo Luna. The conference builds on the “Explorations in Interdisciplinary Psychedelic Research Conference” held at Harvard Divinity School last April, which was Harvard’s first-ever interdisciplinary psychedelics conference. See information and recordings from the April 2023 conference.
Download the conference program (PDF), including bios and abstracts of speakers and presenters.
Conference Program - Saturday, February 17, 2024
8-9 am | Registration
9-9:15 am | Welcome
9:15-10:15 am | Luis Eduardo Luna and Q&A
10:30-11:50 am |
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Psychedelic Spirituality and Race: These talks discuss how race and identity intersect with psychedelic spiritualities and how the field can work toward more equity and justice.
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Reimagining Psychedelic Integration (workshop): See Integration Workshop (below) for description and registration. Registration is required.
11:50-12:50 pm | Lunch (provided)
12:50-2:10 pm |
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Psychedelic Spirituality and the Underground I: Panelists will explore the practices, history, and overlooked wisdom of underground psychedelic spiritualities.
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Psychedelic Spirituality and Medicine: Speakers will present on the intersection of spirituality and medicine in clinical psychedelic research and opportunities for deepening these connections.
2:20-3:40 pm |
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Psychedelic Spirituality and Indigenous Traditions: With a focus on critical analysis and transcultural correspondence, presenters will explore the intersection of psychedelic studies, Indigenous spiritualities, law, and medicine.
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Voice as Muscle of the Self (workshop): See Voice Workshop (below) for description and registration. Registration is required.
3:40-4:00 pm | Coffee Break
4:00-5:20 pm |
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Psychedelic Spirituality and the Underground II: Panelists will explore the practices, history, and overlooked wisdom of underground psychedelic spiritualities.
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Psychedelic Spirituality and Ancient Traditions: Presenters will share research on the ancient connection between religion and psychedelics, often forgotten in the modern focus of today’s psychedelic research.
5:30-6:30 pm | Carl Hart and Q&A
6:30-6:40 pm | Conference Close
Speakers
Keynotes
- Dr. Carl Hart, Columbia University, author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups
- Dr. Luis Eduardo Luna, Director of the Wasiwaska Research Center
Psychedelic Spirituality and Medicine (Panelists)
- Sharday Mosurinjohn, Queen's University
- Victoria Litman, Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR) at the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School
- Franklin King, Harvard Medical School and Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Moana Meadow, UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelic
Psychedelic Spirituality and the Underground I (Panelists)
- Mike Marinacci, Author, Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches
- Allison Hoots, Attorney and President of Sacred Plant Alliance
- Tarryl Janik, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Brad Stoddard, McDaniel College to the Psychedelic Spirituality
Psychedelic Spirituality and the Underground II (Panelists)
- J Christian Greer, Stanford University
- Rachel Harris, Author, Swimming in the Sacred and Listening to Ayahuasca
- Michelle LHooq, Journalist, Author, WEED: Everything You Want to Know But Are Always Too Stoned to Ask
- Jeffrey Breau, Harvard Divinity School, and Center for the Study of World Religions
Psychedelic Spirituality and Indigenous Traditions (Panelists)
- Osiris González Romero, University of Saskatchewan
- Alex Gearin, The University of Hong Kong
- Colin Simonds, Queen's University
- Mason Marks, Harvard Law School and Florida State University
Psychedelic Spirituality and Race (Panelists)
- Grant Jones, Harvard University
- Yvan Beaussant, Harvard Medical School
- Candace Oglesby, Jurnee Mental Health Consulting
- Julian Sanchez Gonzalez, Columbia University
Psychedelic Spirituality and Ancient Traditions (Panelists)
- Geoffrey Smith, University of Texas at Austin
- Anna Sierka, Tel Aviv University
- Finnian Moore-Gerety, Brown University
Workshop Descriptions and Registration
Integration Workshop: Reimagining Psychedelic Integration
- Time and location: 10:30-11:50 am (In person only; 80 minutes in the HDS Multifaith Space)
- Facilitator: Tristan Angieri tristanangieri@hds.harvard.edu (Master of Divinity Candidate and CSWR Research Assistant)
- Description: This in-person workshop focuses on evolving conceptions of psychedelic integration. Designed for a small, engaged group of participants (max 16), we will reconsider and reimagine common notions of integration through a series of interactive discussions and collaborative exercises that emphasize the dynamic interplay between mental states, physical experiences, cultural influences, and collective practices. This session's purpose is to foster collaborative inquiry, not to serve as an integration circle or space for personal integration practice. Open to all curious minds, regardless of prior exposure to the topic. Registration is first-come, first-served.
Please register to participate in the Integration Workshop. Please read the full description before registering.
Voice Workshop: Voice as Muscle of the Self: Using Voice to Map Psyche
- Time and location: 2:20-3:40 pm (In person only; 80 minutes in the HDS Multifaith Space)
- Instructor: Anne Dorothy Harley aharley@scrippscollege.edu (CSWR Scholar in Residence 2023-24; Professor of Music, Scripps College)
- Description: A short introductory workshop to extended voicework developed in the theatre discipline as a potential group preparatory and integration modality. By making sounds together in a small group setting (max 16 participants), we will investigate how the voice and vibrating body can reveal our constructions of inner self and of our world. Registration will be a first come, first serve model. All those willing to make sound are welcome; no special vocal training is required. Participants will be encouraged into sounding through structured exercises drawn from voice methodologies such as Roy Hart and Fitzmaurice Voicework, that are often taught in undergraduate and graduate actor-training programs. This workshop is expected to fill up quickly.
WORKSHOP HAS REACHED CAPACITY.