Spiritual Bypassing & Psychedelics: Discussing Psychedelics and Disconnection with Alexander Beiner, Kat Conour and Jessika Lagarde

Spiritual bypassing has been defined as the "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues and psychological wounds.” Traditionally, bypassing is associated with classical religion and new age spirituality. However, within the growing field of psychedelics, bypassing is becoming increasingly apparent.

This panel will explore bypassing in the context of psychedelics and what threats bypassing can have on both an individual and societal scale. Psychedelics are a tool for healing, yet they can also be used as a tool for avoidance. For example, disregarding the shadow sides of our personality, which could reveal themselves in challenging psychedelic experiences. Or ignoring our need to investigate our privilege and cultural history in light of a psychedelic-induced “we are all one epiphany” that undermines the lived experiences communities face in everyday structural and casual racism. 

How do we recognise and avoid bypassing? How can we use integration to understand better and practice the lessons psychedelics have to offer? How can we find ways to confront and resolve discomforts we might face in light of a psychedelic experience? 

Join us as we explore bypassing in psychedelics, the ramifications, and how we can prevent ourselves from becoming guilty of it.

SPEAKERS

Alexander Beiner

Alexander Beiner is co-founder of Rebel Wisdom and one of the directors of Breaking Convention. He has been involved in psychedelic activism for the last 15 years and is particularly interested in bringing a critical lens to the way psychedelics are entering mainstream culture and medicine. He has recently produced a film on Rebel Wisdom exploring these topics through interviews with leaders in the field. 

Kat Conour

Kat Conour, LMFT, is a psychotherapist and facilitator, and a MAPS’ MDMA for PTSD trainee and ketamine-assisted therapist informed by 12+ years of experience with other healing practices that currently fall outside of the medical model. With a background in non-profits, philanthropy, organizational consulting, and community organizing, Kat is passionate about supporting individuals and organizations in the psychedelic community to transform their values and vision into aligned action. 

She is the Founder and Principal at Auryn Project, Chair of the Board of Sage Institute, and co-founder of North Star. Her work currently focuses on supporting the success of clinicians, leaders and organizations focused on centering safe, affordable, culturally relevant access to care in the scaling of psychedelic medicines. She also sits on the Advisory Board of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines and Psychedelic Seminars.

Jessika Lagarde

Jessika Lagarde is a Brazilian storyteller, Earth and climate activist, and Women On Psychedelics Co-founder. WOOP is a growing global community of women that believe in the transformative potential of psychedelics, working towards the normalization of these substances and the end of the stigmatization around women’s mental health and women’s drug use. Jess's personal healing work with psychedelics has made her more aware not only of the crisis of our planet but also of the mental crisis humanity is in. All of her work is informed in taking action in a way that serves the Earth and our human collective, in hopes of mobilizing inner healing towards outer action.

If you would like to attend this event but are unable to afford the ticket price, please do get in touch with us directly at martha@psychedelicsociety.org.uk. At the Psychedelic Society, we believe that everyone should be able to access our events regardless of employment or health circumstances, so we will do our best to accommodate where we can.

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