RIP Shevaugn Johnson, Ethnobotanical workshops & smoking bannanas… πŸŒΝβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 

EGA Ethnobotanical Newsletter June 2023

Caine Barlow - Foraging for Australian Psilocybe spp.

 

Welcome to winter, dear plant friends

Winter is upon us and fascinating fungi is the subject du jour. In this month’s newsletter we’ll be sharing our recent webcast, now on EntheoTV, as a mushroom video playlist titled β€˜Psilocybin mushrooms in Australia: from ID to Therapy.’ The playlist features the 7 individual segments from all the presenters, including the Q & A.

As mushrooms pop out like rabbits in The Adventures Of Alice In Wonderland, we’re directing people to this video by Caine Barlow, β€˜How To Identify Fungi - A Beginner’s Guide.’ EGA created this fantastic resource to assist with mushroom ID and foraging.

We’re also sharing two EGA publications, one on the philosophy and psychedelics with Chris Letheby by Jessica Lawson. The other is about debunking drugs myths with the legendary Snu Voogelbreinder.

In sad news, we are saying goodbye to an important EGA contributor, friend and psychedelic-therapy warrior, Dr Shevaugn Johnson. She will not be forgotten.

PRISM and EGA had a fantastic piece of media on ABC’s β€˜Australian Story’ titled Changing Minds - a remarkable look behind the scenes of Australia’s first psychedelic-assisted therapy trial. EGA friend Dr Marg Ross and PRISM President and EGA Vice President Martin Williams form pivotal parts in this amazing story. Not to be missed!

We would like to draw attention to two workshops coming up this weekend from EGA contributors. Caine Barlow is giving a mushroom workshop online with β€˜DoubleBlind.’ Liam Engel is giving cactus workshops in person at the Penrith Regional Gallery, NSW.

We also have a fantastic Garden States lecture from Anna Conrick, titled β€˜Bill Richards' Living Room: How are we designing psychedelic clinical spaces?’ This presentation is a must-see for those interested in the history and utilisation of space and design in the realm of psychedelic therapies. Also below is a fantastic botanical art lecture by Janet Laurence, titled β€˜The Alchemical Life’. If you have an interest in art and the environment, this is a talk you will deeply enjoy.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter and all our special content. Remember, if you like what we do you can always make a donation to support our work.

The Entheogenesis Australis Team - Planting seeds for earth, body and mind.

www.entheogenesis.org

www.gardenstates.org

www.kahpi.net
 

In loving memory of Dr. Shevaugn Johnson.

The Australian psychedelic community mourns the loss of a brilliant and compassionate collaborator. A gifted clinical psychologist and nurse, Shevaugn dedicated her expertise and passion to the field of harm reduction and psychedelic integration, leaving an indelible mark on the community. Unwavering in her commitment to advancing alternative approaches to healing, Shevaugn was involved in two psilocybin-assisted therapy trials in Queensland, and was instrumental in her role in establishing a ketamine-assisted therapy program.

Shevaugn’s passing leaves an irreplaceable void, but her invaluable contributions and the lasting impact she made on countless lives will forever be cherished and celebrated within the psychedelic field.

Watch Shevaugn on psychedelic psychotherapy
 

Drug Myths: Fact, fiction and the murk in between, by Snu Voogelbreinder.


Myths and misinformation can take many forms and are prevalent in all walks of life. The world of drugs and their users is certainly no exception. Here we will explore this broad issue from different angles using several examples to look at how misinformation can originate and spread, how it affects people, and how we can be more discerning in detecting deception.

Read Snu’s work on bananas, chilli, geraniums, and other strange tales of psychoactivity.
 

The Philosophy of Psychedelics – An Interview with Chris Letheby - By Jessica Lawson

Philosophy and psychedelics might seem like obvious siblings, but they have been estranged in academic contexts. Thinker and author Chris Letheby has begun to remedy this. An Australian philosopher working closely with neuroscientists and psychologists, his work suggests how a β€œnaturalistic spirituality” can honour both scientific research and the more intangible or mysterious dimensions of psychedelic experiences.

Chris’s discipline bending book Philosophy of Psychedelics was published by Oxford University Press in 2021. Thinking about the spectacular mystery of psychedelics while courageously arguing that β€œthe natural world is all there is”, his work appeals to scientists with similar views. But it also presents an invigorating challenge to anyone who wonders about the legitimacy of the insights, revelations, and epiphanies that come from powerful transformative experiences, and to anyone who wonders about the nature of the self as it undergoes intense psychedelic experiences.

Read the full interview.
 

Anna Conrick - Bill Richards' living room: How are we designing psychedelic clinical spaces?

The β€œliving room” has long been considered the optimal spatial configuration to contain therapeutic psychedelic experiences. Recognised for its ability to elicit feelings of comfort and safety and positioned in diametric opposition to notions of the clinical, it is now possible to find these uncanny relics of domesticity nested within the envelope of psychedelic research and treatment facilities the world over.

Where did the spatial trope of the living room come from, and what can we learn from it? Does this configuration represent the apogee of setting affordances in therapeutic protocols, or should we be rethinking the way we situate these experiences? 

These questions and more form the backbone of a discussion around the role of space and spatial design practice in the emerging field of psychedelic therapies.

Watch Anna’s presentation.
 

Janet Laurence - The Alchemical Life

β€œWorking with the potency of an alchemical language to explore plants enables me to imagine their dreams and desires. A series of collected images of artworks that reference the lives of plants forms this presentation. This embodies the possibility of transformation and a fabricated realm that is based on research as well as imaginings.

Do plants dream of their attractions to certain sounds and sensations that are offered by other plants, insects, birds, and animals, including humans?

While it’s broadly acknowledged that plants sleep and wake according to temperature, moisture, and light cycles, my work cultivates a vision beyond this, into their alchemical afterlife. My thoughts spring to Barcelona’s Liceu Opera, which opened for its first post-pandemic concert to an audience of plants, who moved and trembled with the music.

Like my work, this is not simply humans projecting anthropomorphic qualities onto plants but a testament to the idea that our emotions, our sensations, our lives are interwoven into the breath of plants.”

Janet Laurence at the EGA Garden States 2022 Symposium
 

What Is The Frog Toxin Kambo, And Why Do People Use It? By Martin Williams.

KambΓ΄ is an oozy substance harvested from the defensive skin secretions of the Amazonian giant monkey tree frog. In the traditional medicine of some indigenous peoples of the Amazon, KambΓ΄ is applied to superficial burns on the skin of participants to produce an intense purging effect.

In the past decade, KambΓ΄ use has also been on the rise in neo-shamanic or complementary medicine in Western countries. Many users say they experience positive after-effects, but bad outcomes ranging from prolonged vomiting to seizures and even death have also been reported.

Read Martin Williams’ full article on the frog toxin Kambo.
 

EGA webcast playlist psilocybin mushrooms In Australia: From ID to therapy

Emerging research around psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, drug law reform, ecological sustainability, harm reduction and mycological research all intersect with the needs and values of our ethnobotanical community. 

Enjoy this playlist at the myceliating edge of entheogenic fungi. Featuring Dr Vince Polito, Dr Shevaugn Johnson, Dr Symon Beck, journalist Rich Haridy, mycologist Caine Barlow, Horticultural Science Alistair McTaggart. Thanks to our regular host Nick Wallis.

Watch the playlist!

Caine Barlow – Foraging for Australian Psilocybe spp.

Alistair Mc Taggart - Psilocybin genes in magic mushrooms - Update.

Symon Beck - Set, setting and making the most of your psilocybin experience.

Vince Polito - Psilocybin Research in the Macquarie University Altered States Lab.

Dr Shevaugn Johnson - Psychedelic Psychotherapy

Rich Haridy – Rescheduling of Psilocybin: What we know & what we don’t know.

Psilocybin mushrooms in Australia From ID to Therapy - Q & A.

Caine Barlow – How to Identify Fungi; A Beginner’s Guide.
 

Cacti Workshops

Join cacti enthusiast and The Mescaline Garden website and podcast founder Dr Liam Engel for two workshops on understanding and growing entheogenic cacti. Come plant and graft entheogenic cacti for your own garden. 

Taking place on Saturday June 10th at the beautiful Penrith Regional Gallery. Make the most of your adventure and check out Jeannie Baker’s cactus art exhibition β€˜Desert Jungle’ while you’re there. Top it off with some mushroom foraging in the Blue Mountains.

Get cacti workshop tickets!
 

Foraging can be a magical and empowering process. It’s a way to connect with your food and medicine more deeply, build a relationship with the earth, and, sometimes, simply get access to certain plants and fungi that you might have difficulty finding otherwise. With all plants, but especially mushrooms, however, it’s important to have a foundation for success. There are many toxic and edible mushrooms for example, called β€œlookalikes,” which can be easily confused with one another. Then, there’s how to actually pick the mushroom: how to tell if it’s ready to be picked, how to pick it properly for the people who come after you, and beyond. 

In this three-hour live workshop, mycologist Caine Barlow gives you the foundation you need for successful mushroom foraging, from the right clothing to wear, where to look, when to forage, what tools to bring, and more. He’ll take us through a presentation, complete with show-and-tell videos made specially for this workshop of him foraging in the forests of Australia and identifying a variety of different mushroom species - some of which you’re probably looking for, too!

After the workshop, you’ll receive a guide with resources for additional learning, the videos, the presentation slides, and a resource of frequently asked questions for getting started. The workshop will be recorded for all registrants.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Purchase your tickets from DOUBLEBLIND here.
 

Long-time friends of EGA, Benjamin Mudge, needs our help. Please consider contributing to his groundbreaking research on Ayahuasca and bipolar disorder, with some financial support Benjamin can finish his PhD thesis and share the results with the world.

Benjamin’s vision is to make ayahuasca ceremonies available to bipolar people as an alternative treatment to pharmaceutical drugs.

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