So, I am building my program of studies at my college (we make concentrations instead of classic majors) and I am very much interested in studying the intersection of spirituality, pharmacology and well-being.

My long term goal is to study the use of psychedelics and the spiritual experiences they produce to try and build alternative treatments for depression and anxiety (both of which I have in spades, and keep at bay by regular trips spaced every few months) other then being put on an SSRI or a benzo by the big pharmaceutical companies.

Has anyone else tried something like this? I'm trying to figure out what courses I should take, and apart from the normal prerequisites (chemistry, biochemistry, some kind of psychopharmacology course), does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Peace
~ND

Cognitive Science is a new major at many schools. They are combining a few different disciplines [like Neuroscience, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Philosophy] to basically study consciousness.

My roommate in college majored in this and he always had something interesting to share about his studies and seemed to really enjoy it, although, he said it was challenging. Its such a well respected major that he got a job working in a stem cell research tank less than a year after graduation. And he only had about a 2.5 GPA.

Employers must know that the Cog Sci guys are onto something.

Good luck in your studies.

Nice!! I have thought about the same thing. This is very promising.

Ethnology/Cultural Anthropology - I could basically write about psychedelics and their use all the time. This is perfect if you want to dive deeper into psychedelics & healing..

If you haven't already stumbled across this bit of text, it's perfect place to start.

So You Want To Be a Psychedelic Researcher?

As it currently stands there are not a lot of programs geared toward this specific field of study. We kind of have to chart out our own path and create the programs, opportunities, and eventual careers we hope to land in out of what is available to us, by working closely with sympathetic faculty where we are studying, and in collaboration with those who are already in the field and working to legitimize it in the public eye. I am quite confident in predicting that psychedelic research is going be one of the most important and fastest growing fields of the 21st century and I commend you for making the decision to get involved in this most interesting and important area of study.

I studied psychedelics while I was in college. often.

Great points dreamer ^



Aha! So your the one who mentioned him getting that job! heheh. I couldn't remember who had said it back in the chat

I majored in cog sci, and I highly recommend it if the academic route is what path you choose to go down...I'll probably go for my masters soon, but I'm still not sure I'd even be capable of getting any sort of phd right now considering how completely sick of the education system I've become. Anywho, last year I actually did a big presentation and research paper on psychedelics/meditation/endogenous chemicals/etc..it was fun and well received. But no, there is no clear cut career path laid out for someone interested in pursuing legit psychedelic research.

That said...I first got interested in cog sci when i saw a very strange flyer for the club meetings on the wall. The flyer was complete with alex grey artwork, dates, and discussion topics that could easily be mistaken for thread titles on the nexus. I met some great friends just going to those meetings and raving back and forth about experiences and ideas. Since then i've even journied with many of them

I'm not sure how the cog sci programs are at other schools, but here its fairly legit. I got lucky and my main professors were very turned on and brilliant people

Thank you! Yall just gave me a major to pursue. Ill be tranferring to UO or Washington in fall. Ill have to find this maj.