I recently came across the term hagioptasia, coined by musician Daniel Laidler. It refers to a fleeting sense of significance and specialness, which eludes explanation. Laidler describes this experience, and how it’s a core part of nostalgia, in a blog post published last December. He challenges the commonplace notion that nostalgia is merely a sentimental…
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People with a personal or family history of bipolar disorder (a condition marked by extreme mood swings) are typically excluded from being participants in psychedelic clinical trials. While research continues to show that psychedelic therapy, such as psilocybin therapy, is helpful for depression (which is an aspect of bipolar disorder), the mania that bipolar patients…
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In philosophy, the ‘non-identity problem’ refers to what our moral obligations to future individuals should be, that is, to those who do not yet exist. It is a problem in moral philosophy because, typically, the ethical rightness or wrongness of an action is evaluated in terms of how it affects someone (who exists). To summarise…
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Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is a condition – characterised by chronic visual distortions – that can be triggered by psychedelics. It is considered a rare risk of psychedelic use, although the actual incidence of it is unknown (studies are limited and offer differing incidence rates). Many psychedelic users experience post-trip visual changes, but these…
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The ebb and flow of ocean waves has a naturally soothing quality to it. We all experience it; we all appreciate it. But why do ocean sounds relax us and calm the mind? One speculative hypothesis is that these sounds remind us of life in the womb. According to this hypothesis, the sound of waves,…
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