Inspirations
PHILOSOPHY
Alan Watts
Alan Watts (1915-1973) was a British writer, speaker, and philosopher known for interpreting and popularizing Eastern philosophy for a Western audience.
He continues to be a significant figure in the fields of philosophy and spirituality, with his works continuing to inspire people seeking a deeper understanding of existence, us included.
Therefore we've curated a Spotify playlist with some of his lectures that have inspired me. Click his image to go to the playlist.
Bernardo Kastrup
Through one of the UNLOCK participants I got to learn about Bernardo Kastrup. The basics are very similar to what Alan Watts is saying, but described with examples from modern day science, psychiatry & psychology and philosophy and adds quite a bit of his clever and eccentric humor to the mix. You can also find some talks by him that are available in Dutch on YouTube and on Spotify.
To go to the Spotify playlist we've created for you, just click on his image.
Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell encourages us to discover what excites us as human beings, and to turn that into the basis for our own Hero's Journey.
He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the human experience.
By clicking on his image, you'll be directed to a YouTube playlist that discusses "The Power of Myth". It lasts for a total of 6 hours ! About the same time as a psilocybin trip !
SCIENCE
Roland Griffiths
Roland Griffiths was a leading psychopharmacologist whose pioneering work in the study of psychedelics helped usher in a new era of research into those once banned substances — and reintroduced the mystical into scientific discourse about them.
Roland passed away in October 2023 at age 77 from colon cancer and in the last talk we saw from him on the ICPR 2023, he mentioned that he found great solace in his terminal illness through the meaningful work he was able to do through his research on psychedelics with terminal patients.
Click the image to watch this his talk "The Science of Psilocybin and its use to relieve suffering" where he discloses the ways that psychedelic drugs can be used to create spiritually meaningful, personally transformative experiences for all patients, but most especially for those who are terminally ill.
PSYCHOLOGY
Gabor Maté
Gabor Maté is known for his work on the mind/body unity in health and illness, on attention deficit disorder and other childhood developmental issues.
His specialty lies in the analysis of addiction as a psychophysiological response to childhood trauma and emotional loss.
By clicking on his image, you'll be able to watch his video "Manifesting the mind – Inside the psychedelic experience" on YouTube.
Brené Brown
Brené Brown is a researcher and storyteller who's spent two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy..
In this poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston "The power of vulnerability", she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.
Click her image to go to the video.