samwoolfe.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

My latest blog post is on the increase in DMT trip reports that mention jester entities. I look at how expectations and DMT lore (i.e. aspects of 'set') may influence the appearance of one kind of entity rather than another.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Got my copy of @samwoolfe.bsky.social’s book Altered Perspectives today. Looks great—eager to dive into it soon! #psychedelics #BookSky

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

New blog post. "Just as we do not feel the health of our whole body, but only the small spot where the shoe pinches, so we do not think of all our affairs that are going on perfectly well, but only of some insignificant trifle that annoys us."

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

My latest blog post is on how pro-psychedelic narratives sometimes involve stigma against antidepressants.

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Really interesting discussion on shamanism with @manvir.bsky.social.

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Controlled trials have so far found that short-term microdosing performs no better than a placebo. In this blog post, I explore the idea that long-term microdosing may lead to the benefits that people report by increasing neuroplasticity.

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

A study published last year found that intensive Fire Kasina meditation can "produce mystical experiences comparable in intensity and depth to those induced by psychedelic substances." This article explores this research, alongside personal accounts from Fire Kasina retreat attendees.

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

This is wild.

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Just published this post on psychedelic-induced 'ontological shock' (a term coined by the German-American philosopher Paul Tillich). I include some findings from a new study on this by @eirini-k-a.bsky.social @philosojules.bsky.social @drdluke.bsky.social @rosmcalpine.bsky.social and others.

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

"When we’re stuck in a hard choice, the decision is difficult not because it involves equality, but because it involves difference. One option is no better or worse than the other, but they lead to different — often mutually exclusive — kinds of futures".

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

My latest blog post is about the negative psychedelic experiences that early psychonauts had. I include trip reports from Henri Michaux, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Walter Benjamin.

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

I wrote about Peter Tscherkassky's experimental films and the idea that 'psychedelic cinema' can involve more than just depicting psychedelic experiences.

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

A useful summary of naturalism, the 'natural' vs the 'supernatural', and naturalism vs physicalism.

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

My latest blog post looks at how acute psychedelic effects affect an artist's creativity and ability to draw. Henri Michaux said he couldn't draw under the full effects of a psychedelic (only in the aftermath of the experience), but other artists have tried (and produced some interesting results).

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

I wrote about current theories on what's happening in the brain when people have out-of-body experiences (OBEs). I also touch on some of the philosophical questions raised by OBEs.

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

Thought-provoking question on r/RationalPsychonaut based on an excerpt from @samwoolfe.bsky.socialʻs book Altered Perspectives: "Would widespread psychedelic use improve society?" Definitely some thoughtful responses, too. #psychedelics www.reddit.com/r/RationalPs...

submitted 34 days ago • 1 comment

Just published this blog post on the #psychology behind flow states and peak experiences.

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

You can get 20% off my book if you order from Hive. #philosophy #consciousness #books

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

Here's an excerpt from one of the essays in my book, 'On Plant Spirits and Psychedelic Teleology, Part I'. It questions the idea that widespread psychedelic use would bring about a utopian (or near-utopian) society.

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

How the Manosphere misuses Evolutionary Psychology open.spotify.com/episode/3Nfr...

submitted 38 days ago • 2 comments

From a recent trip to Connemara National Park and Inis Oírr (Inisheer).

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

My latest blog post is on the value and benefits of watching bleak movies.

submitted 39 days ago • 1 comment

"We imagine how we want to use psychedelics and then project those imaginings on to cultures we know little about." - @manvir.bsky.social

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

A review of my book from @psypre.bsky.social. #bookreview #philosophy #consciousness

submitted 44 days ago • 1 comment

My latest blog post is on ‘kundalini syndrome’: the psychotic-like state that some people experience after practising kundalini yoga. I look at first-hand accounts of this from practitioners, as well as possible causes and risk factors.

submitted 49 days ago • 0 comments

This is a wild story about one of Australia’s biggest radio networks inventing their only non-white host (it has since been confirmed this ‘broadcaster’ is AI).

submitted 52 days ago • 6 comments

I wrote about some of the problems with comparing a psychedelic experience to X years of therapy. #mentalhealth #psychotherapy

submitted 52 days ago • 2 comments

New qualia alert. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

submitted 55 days ago • 3 comments

"Bonobos [one of our closest relatives] refuse to participate when faced with unequal rewards." The vast majority of people similarly want fairness between us, but almost always end up with leaders who don't. That mismatch is the single biggest barrier to a better world. phys.org/news/2025-04...

submitted 57 days ago • 12 comments

'The final analysis included 21 studies. Studies that used a non-active placebo reported large or medium antidepressant effects for psilocybin and MDMA. In contrast, studies that used an active placebo reported no antidepressant effects.' www.psypost.org/antidepressa...

submitted 57 days ago • 1 comment

Would anyone be interested in reviewing my collection of essays on psychedelics? DM me if you'd like to.

submitted 57 days ago • 0 comments

First issue of The Ethical Trip is live! Please share and subscribe.

submitted 57 days ago • 0 comments

I'm recruiting a Centre Manager (Impact and Administration) to help run my new Centre for Animal Sentience. This person will be so important to the Centre's mission! Please get in touch if you believe in that mission and want to help make it a reality. jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

submitted 57 days ago • 0 comments

An article on the enhanced pareidolia that some people regularly experience on psychedelics and the psychological factors that may help explain it. #psychology #personality

submitted 58 days ago • 0 comments

My latest post is on including Trump or Musk as the 'difficult' person during metta meditation.

submitted 60 days ago • 1 comment

My friend is selling her ticket to Breaking Convention in case anyone is planning to go and hasn't got a ticket yet. Feel free to pass this on as well.

submitted 64 days ago • 0 comments

My latest blog post is on how to best regulate the packaging used for legal psychedelic products, drawing on recommendations from @transformdrugs.bsky.social.

submitted 65 days ago • 0 comments

My latest blog post is on why the bittersweet feeling you get waking from certain dreams is driven by hagioptasia. @hagioptasiatheory.bsky.social #psychology #emotion

submitted 67 days ago • 1 comment

The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments

“The Roganified man doesn’t organize, doesn’t strike, doesn’t agitate. He trains. He supplements. He retreats. Into the self. The body becomes the only site of resistance, a final frontier of sovereignty in a world increasingly hostile to collective action. It’s the gym, not the union hall.”