The modern western world is, for the most part, psychedelically naive.
This is to say that we don’t really have well-established and well-defined maps of psychedelic consciousness or Consciousness in general – (capital ‘C’ intentional). Yes, we have an ongoing assertion of Consciousness being exclusively an epiphenomenon of brain activity (boring), and we have a pantheon of growing fMRI data to map that side of things. We also have a growing medical model for psychedelic consciousness that dials us pragmatically into how the topography of altered states can be utilised for resolving trauma and reinvigorating wellness.
But what about models of the transcendent? What about the psychedelic realities that are so far from personal issues that they even transcend humanity itself? What about models for Consciousness that bring into consideration the capacity to subjectively experience being a totality that transcends time and space? Perhaps we need to look further than medicine and cognitive neuroscience to get a handle on these things. But if so, where? Well, if we are keeping ourselves within the cultural climate of the western mind, philosophy seems like the right direction to trend.
Philosophy may wield the capacity to contend with such experiences as transcending time and space, but first, a philosopher will need to attend sincerely to such experiences for long enough to bring a map together for us. Thankfully, such a philosopher exists, and he is the guest of this episode of adventures through the mind.
Christopher M. Bache is professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University where he taught for 33 years. He is also adjunct faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies and a Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. An award-winning teacher and international speaker, Chris’ work explores the philosophical implications of non-ordinary states of consciousness, especially psychedelic states. He has written three books translated into six languages: Lifecycles – a study of reincarnation in light of contemporary consciousness research; Dark Night, Early Dawn – a pioneering work in psychedelic philosophy and collective consciousness; and The Living Classroom, an exploration of teaching and collective fields of consciousness. He has a new book being released from Inner Traditions in 2019, Diamonds from Heaven: A 20 year journey into the mind of the universe [being released under the title “LSD and the Mind of the Universe”].
In this episode, we explore the research and exploration that underpins Diamonds from Heaven: a twenty-year journey into 70+ high dose LSD experiences done with the explicit intent to map Consciousness. We talk about why Bache chose this path, what it was like, and what here learned from it all about Consciousness, psychedelic consciousness, and what it means to be a finite human, nested in a complex web of relationships, defined by its dualist dance for meaning. *full episode breakdown below*
See Christopher Bache live at The Spirit Plant Medicine Conference, Nov. 2-4th Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Chris suggested we google him if we want to learn more as his website is not yet up and running. Once that website is up, though, I will replace this link with his homepage! Also, here are the GoDuckGo results in case you don’t like the internet being warped around your (constantly tracked) activity.
*** Big thanks to my patrons on Pateron for helping keep this podcast alive! Especially, Thomas & Melanie H., Clean S., Steven B., Greg A., Dean H., Joe A., Andy D., Angela & James J., Ian C., Reese. H., Harry P., Don J., Robbie G., & Yvett F.C.
Christopher M. Bache is professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University where he taught for 33 years. He is also adjunct faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies and a Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. An award-winning teacher and international speaker, Chris’ work explores the philosophical implications of non-ordinary states of consciousness, especially psychedelic states. He has written three books translated into six languages: Lifecycles – a study of reincarnation in light of contemporary consciousness research; Dark Night, Early Dawn – a pioneering work in psychedelic philosophy and collective consciousness; and The Living Classroom, an exploration of teaching and collective fields of consciousness. He has a new book being released from Inner Traditions in 2019, Diamonds from Heaven: A 20 year journey into the mind of the universe [being released under the title “LSD and the Mind of the Universe”].
