Hi there,

The wise Ram Dass once said, "The most exquisite thing we can experience is the mysterious – the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science." That mysterious force, he concluded, was love.

Valentine's Day has long gotten a bad rap - hijacked as it has been by anxious couples and corporate agendas. But there's something deeply beautiful about setting aside a day to honour one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

What if we reimagined Valentine's Day? Not as a celebration confined to romantic couples, but as a day dedicated to love in all its forms – the love between friends, the love for our communities, the love for humanity, and perhaps most fundamentally, the love for ourselves. This broader vision of love resonates deeply with what many describe as the core insight of the psychedelic experience: that love is not just an emotion, but the very fabric of our interconnected existence.

This understanding has been echoed in research labs at Johns Hopkins, where Dr. Roland Griffiths and his team have documented how participants in psilocybin studies consistently report experiences of universal love and connection as central to their most meaningful sessions. Psychedelic experiences and states of deep love activate similar neural networks, particularly in regions associated with the default mode network – that constellation of brain areas involved in our sense of self and our connection to others. Transpersonal experiences like the ones we try to create space for at our events can dissolve the boundaries between self and other, creating states of profound connection that many describe as pure love. The kind of love we want to celebrate.

Check out the many events we have coming up this month that encourage you to connect, to explore, and to access the deep wells of love we all hold within us.

________________________

At the bottom of this email you'll also find:

An invitation to join the Synthesis Institute for four free conversation sessions with leading psychedelic practitioners and thinkers
A discount on their upcoming Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training
The inspiring story of Mondragon, the largest group of worker-cooperatives (like us!) in the world

ALL OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

in Intimacy & Identity

in Psychedelic Science & Integration

in Embodiment & Creativity

in Psychedelic Retreats

in Nature Connection

in Community, Leadership, & Social Change

in Adventures in Awareness

in Ceremony & Ritual

We're so excited for our next portal retreat! This time in the wilds of Cornwall. Enter this sacred Atlantic rainforest waterfall glen & be guided back into a sense of wholeness, nourishment and tranquility on a journey to recenter and reconnect to soul, land & tribe...

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Join our parnters at the globally-renowned Synthesis Institute for a free series of four thought-provoking live conversations with leading psychedelic voices as we explore how scientific knowledge, sacred traditions, embodied insight, and relational wisdom converge to form the foundation for safe, ethical, and transformative care. The Synthesis Institute is a global leader in the modern psychedelic movement, offering ethical and professional psychedelic education and training to current and aspiring psychedelic practitioners who seek personal growth, community, and professional development.

The Heart of Holding Space – Relational Foundations of Psychedelic Care (Wed, Feb 12th, 6pm GMT) with Dr. Rosalind Watts and Shannon Duncan
Beyond the Brain – Science and Evidence of Transformative Care (Wed, Feb 19th, 6pm GMT) with Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris and Jules Evans
Honoring the Sacred – Meaning-Making in Psychedelic Space (Wed, Feb26th, 6pm GMT) with Philip Carr-Gomm and Akua Ofosuhene
Embodying the Journey – Somatic Foundations of Psychedelic Care (Wed, March 5th, 6pm GMT) with Charlotte Duerr James and Dr. Devon Christie

Their free series also offers a glimpse into their 13-month Psychedelic Practitioners Core Training program which begins in April. This training, which is a response to the growing need for highly skilled and professionally trained psychedelic facilitators, includes nine (9) modules of coursework, each building upon the last, to develop the essential foundational competencies required for legal, professional, and ethical psychedelic facilitation.

They welcome professionals from various backgrounds and industries who have a proven track record of maturity, commitment, and focus and all participants will enjoy access to their global network of psychedelic thought leaders and plant medicine centers.

As our partners, they are offering a $500 DISCOUNT on this programme. Just use the code when applying: PPCTPSYCHSOCIETY

Learn more & apply

Have you ever wondered what a world built on cooperation rather than competition might look like?

As a worker cooperative ourselves, we were captivated by Elle Griffin's recent deep dive into Mondragon, a network of cooperatives that's quietly revolutionising capitalism in Spain's Basque Country. Imagine a place where workers own their companies, profits serve the community, and no one earns more than six times their lowest-paid colleague – all while building a wildly successful €11 billion enterprise that competes globally. Check out their story and how this experiment in economic democracy might just point the way toward a more equitable future for us all.

Join our community of members!

We fund our work in integration, education and harm reduction primarily through our membership program.

By becoming a member of The Psychedelic Society community, you get access to exclusive members-only events, a discount on events, and support the development of this alternative cultural space. Membership starts from just £5/month!