PsySoc:The Aware Project: Difference between revisions

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The other side of the psychedelic impact on health is its effect on the human spirit and quality of life. One need only do a Google image search on “psychedelic art” or “visionary art” to see the effect psychedelics have on creativity and artistic expression. And it can not be ignored that the use of psychedelics often leads Westerners to a more Eastern approach to spirituality (i.e. Ram Dass). Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, believed that the spiritual experiences common with the use of LSD could be the foundation to a sober life (ref). If the use of psychedelics can allow humans to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and deepen their desire to become better people, then for the sake of our very existence, we believe it is worth exploring how we can safely and responsibly allow that to happen.

The Aware Project wants to balance the conversation about psychedelics. In the last few decades, the dominate voices in the global conversation on psychedelics have been those that have never experienced them. We see psychedelics as being an important and powerful tool to solve global problems in novel ways and heal the human body and mind on an individual level. Right now there are very few resources being applied to study these substances, retarding further advances, and causing a dangerously misinformed and uneducated public. Let’s make these substances available to researchers so that we can understand how to create safety protocols and allow counselors to create contexts for meaningful experiences and effective integration.|The Aware Project|http://awareproject.org/manifesto/}}

The Aware Project wants to balance the conversation about psychedelics. In the last few decades, the dominate voices in the global conversation on psychedelics have been those that have never experienced them. We see psychedelics as being an important and powerful tool to solve global problems in novel ways and heal the human body and mind on an individual level. Right now there are very few resources being applied to study these substances, retarding further advances, and causing a dangerously misinformed and uneducated public. Let’s make these substances available to researchers so that we can understand how to create safety protocols and allow counselors to create contexts for meaningful experiences and effective integration.

'''''How are we going to get there?'''''

The transition from fear to curiosity will come through balancing the conversation about psychedelics. When we think about how the transition will take shape we can look at the LGBTQ community as a comparable example. As more people ‘came out of the closet’, the more homosexuality was a topic of everyday conversation thus demanding that people reassess their views. Furthermore, the rapid changes in the public’s view of medical marijuana adds credence to this parallel and we think that the time is ripe to engage the psychedelic conversation again. Most of people’s opinions are based in an emotional place, and because there is so much emotion surrounding this topic we think this shift in perspective will grow on an individual by individual basis. We’ve found that an effect way to communicate with people about such a controversial topic is to address technical concerns first with science-based facts after which the conversation can then begin to address the emotional-based view point. This is where personal relationships and credible accounts come in. When psychedelic users can talk about their experiences from an open and vulnerable place, without preaching, others can observe the actual impacts. Combining both quantitative and qualitative evidence turns the dry facts into a human experience that more people can related to. We are spreading this type of communication by educating existing psychedelic users about scientific research, safe and mindful use, and communication skills. Many people do not know how to engage others about such a controversial topic in order to ‘come out of the closet’ in an effective way. The second prong of The Aware Project’s approach is to disseminate the potential benefits of psychedelic use to the public through talks and awareness campaigns that spark conversation and curiosity.

Humanity has just scratched the surface of what we can learn from psychedelics. Let us step forward, away from our fear and cautiously into curiosity so that we can continue to learn, grow, and heal.

|The Aware Project|http://awareproject.org/manifesto/}}

===Links and contacts===

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 The other side of the psychedelic impact on health is its effect on the human spirit and quality of life. One need only do a Google image search on “psychedelic art” or “visionary art” to see the effect psychedelics have on creativity and artistic expression. And it can not be ignored that the use of psychedelics often leads Westerners to a more Eastern approach to spirituality (i.e. Ram Dass). Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, believed that the spiritual experiences common with the use of LSD could be the foundation to a sober life (ref). If the use of psychedelics can allow humans to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and deepen their desire to become better people, then for the sake of our very existence, we believe it is worth exploring how we can safely and responsibly allow that to happen.
-The Aware Project wants to balance the conversation about psychedelics. In the last few decades, the dominate voices in the global conversation on psychedelics have been those that have never experienced them. We see psychedelics as being an important and powerful tool to solve global problems in novel ways and heal the human body and mind on an individual level. Right now there are very few resources being applied to study these substances, retarding further advances, and causing a dangerously misinformed and uneducated public. Let’s make these substances available to researchers so that we can understand how to create safety protocols and allow counselors to create contexts for meaningful experiences and effective integration.|The Aware Project|http://awareproject.org/manifesto/}}
+The Aware Project wants to balance the conversation about psychedelics. In the last few decades, the dominate voices in the global conversation on psychedelics have been those that have never experienced them. We see psychedelics as being an important and powerful tool to solve global problems in novel ways and heal the human body and mind on an individual level. Right now there are very few resources being applied to study these substances, retarding further advances, and causing a dangerously misinformed and uneducated public. Let’s make these substances available to researchers so that we can understand how to create safety protocols and allow counselors to create contexts for meaningful experiences and effective integration.
+'''''How are we going to get there?'''''
+The transition from fear to curiosity will come through balancing the conversation about psychedelics. When we think about how the transition will take shape we can look at the LGBTQ community as a comparable example. As more people ‘came out of the closet’, the more homosexuality was a topic of everyday conversation thus demanding that people reassess their views. Furthermore, the rapid changes in the public’s view of medical marijuana adds credence to this parallel and we think that the time is ripe to engage the psychedelic conversation again. Most of people’s opinions are based in an emotional place, and because there is so much emotion surrounding this topic we think this shift in perspective will grow on an individual by individual basis. We’ve found that an effect way to communicate with people about such a controversial topic is to address technical concerns first with science-based facts after which the conversation can then begin to address the emotional-based view point. This is where personal relationships and credible accounts come in. When psychedelic users can talk about their experiences from an open and vulnerable place, without preaching, others can observe the actual impacts. Combining both quantitative and qualitative evidence turns the dry facts into a human experience that more people can related to. We are spreading this type of communication by educating existing psychedelic users about scientific research, safe and mindful use, and communication skills. Many people do not know how to engage others about such a controversial topic in order to ‘come out of the closet’ in an effective way. The second prong of The Aware Project’s approach is to disseminate the potential benefits of psychedelic use to the public through talks and awareness campaigns that spark conversation and curiosity.
+Humanity has just scratched the surface of what we can learn from psychedelics. Let us step forward, away from our fear and cautiously into curiosity so that we can continue to learn, grow, and heal.
+|The Aware Project|http://awareproject.org/manifesto/}}
 ===Links and contacts===