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Dr David Luke

@drdluke.bsky.social
973 followers 177 following 143 posts

Professor of Exceptional Experience, researcher, writer, wronger, psychedelic Indiana Jones..

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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Had a great chinwag with the blarney kissing and ever curious Evan Mcgloughlin about all things weird, psychedelic and exceptional experience on his Giant's Shoulder podcast.. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLKD...
youtube.com
Meet the Professor of Paranormal Consciousness - DMT Entities, Telepathy Tapes & OBE's
YouTube video by Giant's Shoulder
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Keeping it surreal and taking it back to the home of Dada I'll be heading to the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich to speak at The Psychedelic Salon on 'Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience' on Thursday, 9 April 2026, 6 - 9 pm www.cabaretvoltaire.ch#node-127897-en
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Ever dreamed the future? We are launching a new study experimentally exploring the phenomena of precognitive #dreams under controlled conditions and are looking for lucid and non-lucid dreamers to take part.. from the comfort of your own bed. QR code or link: gre.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Feeling very privileged to be part of the structured Afterlight psilocybin retreat here in the very beautiful nature of Negril, and featured in the Jamaica Gleaner along with lead psychologist Dr. Crystyn Scott. Such an extraordinary team here doing great work. jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news...
jamaica-gleaner.com
Trauma care meets psilocybin in a structured retreat
Afterlight Retreats will host its first clinical psilocybin therapy and integration retreats in Jamaica from today through to March 8 at Negril Huts, a private cluster of cottages on the West End clif...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Ecodelia and the lost art of lichenthropy - On becoming fungus on acid and on being publicly ridiculed by grass on Salvia My latest Substack exploring the psychedelic experiences leading folk to connect & communicate with, or transform into other species substack.com/@davidluke54...
substack.com
Ecodelia and the lost art of lichenthropy
On becoming fungus on acid and on being publicly ridiculed by grass on Salvia
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
New podcast interview with Haley Dourron at Furthure on ‘Exceptional Experiences with Psychedelics and Beyond’ for all the latest on the far out and freaky end of the spectrum psychedelic experiences.. open.spotify.com/episode/1Kng...
open.spotify.com
Exceptional Experiences with Psychedelics and Beyond with Dr. David Luke
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Pleased to be joining counselling psychologist Dr Crystyn Scott & team at the Afterlight psilocybin retreat in Jamaica next month to offer guidance & support. Afterlight are committed to helping islanders recover following Hurricane Melissa. A few spaces left www.afterlightretreats.com/experience
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Putting the psi back into psilocybin - On psychedelomancy & exceptional psychedelic experiences Latest Substack, exploring the paranormal experiences of the original pioneers of psychedelic science in the 50s & 60s on their initial altered excursions! tinyurl.com/2mvw7w7d
tinyurl.com
Putting the psi back into psilocybin
On psychedelomancy and exceptional psychedelic experiences
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
There's been a lot of discussion recently about a non-psilocybin 'magic mushroom' from China that induces encounters with small armies of little people. I took a longer look under the tablecloth to see what all the fuss was about.. davidluke543044.substack.com/p/so-long-as...
davidluke543044.substack.com
So long as you've got your elf
On mushrooms and miniature people
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
'Dream yoga on the high seas - On pirate utopias and intellectual and psychic piracy.' My latest post on Substack, exploring the very body, mind and soul of pirates, and, well, everyone really. davidluke543044.substack.com/p/dream-yoga...
davidluke543044.substack.com
Dream yoga on the high seas
On pirate utopias and intellectual and psychic piracy
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
You've undoubtedly heard of apparently precognitive dreams, or possibly had one. You may've even heard of the 'law of large numbers' as an explanation. But have you heard of the 'law of at large slumbers'? New substack about my Popular Mechanics interview substack.com/profile/1969...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
My latest post on Substack, where I whine about Wikipedia, fail to coin a new psychological term, find myself sceptical about organised skepticism, but end up very much admiring some abstract art.. in.. The Battle of Portmanteau davidluke543044.substack.com/p/the-battle...
davidluke543044.substack.com
The Battle of Portmanteau
On finding artistic patterns in the war with guerrilla skeptics and their rigid support for a Nazi psychiatrist
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Following on from my interview with @matthabusby.bsky.social for DoubleBlind last week I've further extended some of those insights into the highly speculative psychedelic origins of (or contributions to) language evolution into a new Substack post - davidluke543044.substack.com/p/reawakenin...
davidluke543044.substack.com
Reawakening the Stoned Ape
On the possible psychedelic origins of language, and why there might be better options than attending a ‘once every 17 years’ hypersexual psychedelic zombie orgy swarm party
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Excited that Breaking Convention, the UK's largest & oldest (& arguably best) psychedelic research conference, is returning to SE London in 2026 at the next door wich to Greenwich. Woolwich. I guess any old wich will do so long as you know which wich is which. See you there? breakingconvention.co.uk
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Some suggestion from this interesting new research that 'couples who trip together, stick together' - www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Associations of Couples’ Psychedelic Use with Shared Reality and Relational Well-Being
The resurgence in research with classic psychedelics (e.g. LSD, psilocybin) underscores their potential for improved well-being; however, the interpersonal context and mechanisms of psychedelic imp...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Had a great day listening to Max Cooper's incredible music through the 360 multilayered immersive sound installation at the University of Greenwich Immersive Lab with Max & a fantastic crew of fellow audionauts as part of my PhD student Viviana Caros project into audio ASCs & spiritual experience.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
The serpent's tale of the original medical staff - Hippocrates and the therapeutēs On altered states, visionary experience and healing in ancient Greece, the Amazon and my back garden My latest substack: davidluke543044.substack.com/p/the-serpen...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
An auto-eulogising round up of my the lost/last year.. Chasing academic chimeras in the pursuit of exceptional experiences: 2025 as the year of dream temples, salamanders, psychedelics and sawing children in half.. davidluke543044.substack.com/p/chasing-ac...
davidluke543044.substack.com
Chasing academic chimeras in the pursuit of exceptional experiences
2025 as the year of dream temples, salamanders, psychedelics and sawing children in half..
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Props to the CPEP research team tinyurl.com/ywa6jbe8 especially lead author @eirini-k-a.bsky.social, our paper on post-psychedelic ontological shock got selected by PLOS One editors from among 1000s as a stand out paper in medicine in 2025. everyone.plos.org/2025/12/16/e... doi.org/10.1371/jour...
everyone.plos.org
Editors' picks: A highlight of 2025 publications - EveryONE
Reflecting on the publications in PLOS One in 2025, the diversity and quality of the work is demonstrated in articles ranging from…
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
A third-eye peeping exploration by Webb Wright of that particular 'dimethyltrypta-meme' that the pineal gland is the seat of the soul and neurochemical factory of the spirit molecule DMT, for which I chimed in with a few (interdimensional) observations.. newsletter.doubleblindmag.com/p/why-the-pi...
newsletter.doubleblindmag.com
Why the Pineal Gland Became a Spiritual Fixation
In today's dispatch, we're unpacking what we actually know about the pineal gland.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Great article by @matthabusby.bsky.social on the origin story of psychonaut scientist Bruce Damer & the origin story of life on earth, and Bruce's MINDS project exploring the use of psychedelic for scientific creative problem solving nautil.us/the-psychede... see also doi.org/10.1177/2050...
nautil.us
The Psychedelic Scientist
The Psychedelic Scientist: High on ayahuasca, Bruce Damer saw how life on Earth began. He may very well be right.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Great piece by Tamlin Magee for BBC celebrates the many unsung contributions of Erowid.org to drug policy, culture and science & interviewing psychedelic nerds like myself, Erik Davis, Rick Doblin, Leor Roseman, & Nicolas Langlitz
erowid.org
Erowid
Erowid is a non-profit educational & harm-reduction resource with 60 thousand pages of online information about psychoactive drugs, plants, chemicals, and technologies including entheogens, psychedelics, new psychoactive substances, research chemicals, stimulants, depressants and pharmaceuticals. This includes traditional, spiritual, and responsible use, info on health, effects, experiences, images, research, chemistry, law, media coverage, bibliographies and a whole lot more.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
A fascinating @drugscience.bsky.social podcast interview by David Nutt with 3 SAS paramedics, echoing the findings of our naturalistic pilot study of 5 paramedics who took psilocybin to deal with work place stress, with reductions in burnout, stress & compassion fatigue.. tinyurl.com/ycujmvw7
tinyurl.com
138. Scottish Ambulance Service - Frontline Trauma with John, Joanne and Ryan
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Really excited to be returning to Dublin for Samhain for the 2nd IMBAS Psychedelic Research Conference organised by Irish Doctors for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy @IdPat7 & the Psychedelic Research Group, Trinity College Dublin. I'll be talking Ecodelia & the Art of Lichenthropy www.idpat.ie/events
idpat.ie
Events | Irish Doctors for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy
We will keep you posted on upcoming educational events in the field of psychedelic medicine.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Will be giving a short talk tonight for Numinous Ways on Entity Encounters in Psychedelic Experience.. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dr-david-l...
eventbrite.co.uk
Dr David Luke presents: Entity Encounters in Psychedelic Experience
Dr David Luke will discuss how psychedelics induce entity encounters, exploring their cultural, psychological, and transformative aspects.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Encouraging to see this recent UK Gov's Natural England commissioned report on the importance of nature connection, and also that it mentions our research on the enhanced wellbeing & connection to nature derived from psychedelic experiences tinyurl.com/265z58wn
tinyurl.com
Connection to Nature - EIN068
{"flavour": "textile", "content": "This briefing focuses on the evidence for connection to nature and is one of a series that summarises evidence of the links between the natural environment and a ran...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Finally I am giving a talk in a venue that matches my end-of-the-pier 'standard' of humour - The Gaiety, Portsmouth, next Monday 6th October, for The Science of Psychedelics.. "I'm here all week!" www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-scienc...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
This new collaborative paper from 17 @drugscience.bsky.social professionals (myself included) in the field presents a new standardized terminology for psychedelic research and treatment to guide clinical development, dosing, safety monitoring, and regulatory classification. doi.org/10.1177/2050...
doi.org
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Kudos to @matthabusby.bsky.social for writing this much needed piece about challenging psychedelic experiences (& the CPE project - challengingpsychedelicexperiences.com) and their potential for extended difficulties. Including a quote from my good s'elf. statesofmind.com/psychedelic-...
statesofmind.com
Do Difficult Psychedelic Experiences Hurt or Heal You? Inside The World’s Bad Trip Debate
Many believe that "bad" trips should be reframed as challenging parts of the healing process. Does that ignore the risks?
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Looking forward to give the first @SeedTalks event on parapsychology. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-phenom...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Off to The Electric Picnic festival in Ireland with SeedTalks to find some craic and rant about #psychedelics .. see you there? www.electricpicnic.ie/artists/#/ev...
electricpicnic.ie
Artists
Artists
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Reposted by Dr David Luke
Richard 🎧 W @haunted.audio · 21/08/2025
NEW TEN-PART AUDIO SERIES about #PSYCHEDELICS Out now on BBC Sounds - and other podcast spaces. Co-written & presented by the beautifully curious @timhayward.bsky.social Production, sound design and mix by me. It's been a fascinating and challenging process to get here... I do hope you'll listen.
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Understand, The Trip
Tim Hayward looks at the science, culture, history - and future - of psychedelics.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Really enjoying listening to the extraordinary insights, perfect prose, witty banter, & stellar scholarship of Andrew Gallimore's audio version of his latest book, "Death by Astonishment" on the alien worlds of DMT. Hard copies launch Monday. Look after yer 'elf! www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Astoni...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Interesting new paper found among psychedelic researchers most (86%) agree #psychedelic experiences have exceptional potential in treating psychiatric conditions, but only 28% agreed they could be used to help solve the ecological crisis.. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Psychedelic researchers’ own experiences of psychedelic substances, their link to opinions of psychedelics, and reflections on positionality - Psychopharmacology
Rationale Anecdotal evidence suggests that psychedelic researchers often have personal experiences with psychedelic substances. While such experiences may benefit research, concerns have been raised a...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Myself & co-author Pascal Michael interviewed by William Hunter in the Daily Mail exploring the similarities & important differences between #psychedelic experiences with DMT & near-death experiences, from our recent article www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy... www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
dailymail.co.uk
Why you see a bright light during near-death experienes, revealed
During near-death experiences, many people see the same things. Now, scientists say that brushes with death share a surprising similarity with another type of mind-altering experience.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
It seems I will feature in a few of the forthcoming episodes of the new 12-part BBC Radio 4 documentary about #psychedelics called "The Trip", which runs across two weeks starting next Monday, at 13:45 daily, Mon-Fri. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Understand, The Trip - Episode guide
All episodes of The Trip
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Big move in EU psychedelic therapy heralds new direction. Psilocybin therapy is now available in Germany for the first time for compassionate use.. www.ovid-clinics.de/en/news
ovid-clinics.de
News | OVID Clinics Berlin
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Will be exploring my 30 yrs of research & the last 140 yrs of #parapsychology as a formal field of study for SeedTalks' first event on the subject, at their London venue in Brixton (also live streamed), on 23rd Sept. Come peek into the otherworld with me.. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-phenom...
eventbrite.co.uk
The Phenomena of Parapsychology with Dr David Luke
Explore the mysterious realm of altered states of consciousness known as paranormal experience. Followed by Q&A.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Another new study on HPPD showing various prior health predictors of HPPD, especially prior anxiety diagnosis, as we also previously found - www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6... doi.org/10.1556/2054...
researchsquare.com
Characterising the clinical associations of hallucinogen persisting perceptual disorder: a retrospective cohort study
Hallucinogen persisting perceptual disorder (HPPD) is characterised by episodes of altered perception linked to past psychoactive drug use, accompanied by distress and functional impairment. To date, ...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
"Luis Zambrano, a biologist at the Autonomous National University of Mexico, said that if the axolotl’s population and habitat can be restored in a city of more than 20 million people, “I feel that we have hope for humanity.”" news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
news.mongabay.com
Hope for endangered axolotls as captive-bred group survives in wild
Critically endangered axolotls that were captive-bred then released into wetlands in Mexico City have successfully adapted to the wild, a new study has found, giving new hope to scientists trying to s...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Thanks Glastonbury and chums, that was fun. Was really happy to return after years and give a talk on "Lichenthropy for beginners: Becoming fungi with psychedelics"
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
New article in 'Salon' by Elizabeth Hlavinka about the bad & the good sides of 'bad trips', interviewing Eirini Argyri & myself about our work on the Challenging #Psychedelic Experiences Project exploring recovery & growth after post-psychedelic extended difficulties www.salon.com/2025/06/06/b...
salon.com
"Bad trips" can have surprising benefits
Psychedelics can cause long-lasting challenging experiences. In certain settings, they can be transformative
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Happy to have been interviewed by Mattha Busby for his latest fine article for Wired, illuminating some of the more obscure dimensions of darkness retreats.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Nice deep dive on psychedelic-induced ontological shock by Sam Woolfe, exploring our recent qualitative research study on the subject - doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org
Navigating groundlessness: An interview study on dealing with ontological shock and existential distress following psychedelic experiences
Psychedelic induced mystical experiences have been largely assumed to drive the therapeutic effects of these substances, which may in part be mediated by changes in metaphysical beliefs. However, ther...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Co-author Dr Oliver Robinson interviewed by PsyPost about our recent paper on the different ways in which people cope with different symptoms of extended psychological difficulties following a psychedelic experience. Paper here: doi.org/10.1556/2054... www.psypost.org/new-study-sh...
psypost.org
New study sheds light on which post-psychedelic difficulties last longest and what helps people cope
While many praise psychedelics for their therapeutic power, new research reveals that some users face long-lasting psychological challenges. This study explores the most common difficulties and the co...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Our latest paper on DMT phenomenology, led by Pascal Michael, exploring the mis/matches with near-death experiences, showing that while 95% on DMT had at least one NDE feature, many classic NDE features were absent & only a very few had NDE-like trips in any way. doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...
doi.org
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Will be speaking alongside Jess Jorgensen and Adi Staempfli for the South London Mushroom Club on 15th May on "Fungal Ecodelia and the Art of Lichenthropy: Magic Mushrooms and Nature Relatedness"... www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/south-lond...
eventbrite.co.uk
South London Mushroom Club - May MeetUp
‍ Join us at the South London Mushroom Club for two fantastic talks on fungi, mushrooms and the future.
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Our latest CPEP, led by @eirini-k-a.bsky.social exploring ontological shock & existential challenge as extended difficulties following a psychedelic experience - highlighting that grounding practices, integration support, & time were critical in helping participants cope. doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org
Navigating groundlessness: An interview study on dealing with ontological shock and existential distress following psychedelic experiences
Psychedelic induced mystical experiences have been largely assumed to drive the therapeutic effects of these substances, which may in part be mediated by changes in metaphysical beliefs. However, ther...
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Nice new paper that supports our previous finding that trait absorption predicts benign HPPD symptoms. doi.org/10.1556/2054... - They didn't alternatively find anxiety to be related to distressing HPPD symptoms, but then they only had 2 such people in their sample. tinyurl.com/27ed56cd
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Dr David Luke @drdluke.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
The 7th major Breaking Convention psychedelic conference at Exeter Uni this last weekend did not disappoint. After 14 years it is amazing to see this epic TAZ of psychedelic pilgrimage continue & grow. Massive kudos to all the crew, contributors & congregation for making it happen Photo: James Wills
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