Are any Nexians thinking of attending?? I'm definitely thinking about it. I did submit a few talk abstracts but haven't heard anything back, still may attend anyway though as looks like a cool line up and Prague is meant to be a cool city.
BEYOND PSYCHEDELICS 2016 is First Global Psychedelic Forum in Czech Republic
September 30th – October 2nd
Webpage:
http://beyondpsychedelics.cz/The aim of the conference is to provide a platform for sharing knowledge and experience related to psychedelics in a diverse group of people, ranging from traditional experts and scientists to the general public. The event will provide an outside-the-box discussion on the approaches to working with psychedelics and on the equivocal position these substances hold in our modern society. Generally, we will be trying to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience, incorporate cross-cultural perspectives, and create new synergies.
Confirmed speakers:
Rick Doblin, Amanda Feilding, Dennis McKenna, Roland Grifftihs, Bia Labaté, Luis Eduardo Luna, Michael Winkelman, Robin Carhart-Harris, Ede Frecska, Kenneth Alpert, David Luke, José Carlo Bouso, Ingmar Gorman, Tomáš Páleníček, Dimitri Mugianis, Jonathan Dickinson, Brun Gonzáles, Murtaza Majeed, Jiří Horáček...and more.
Psychedelics have been used in manifold contexts throughout human history: from ancient traditional ways to modern medical research, domestic cultivation, and party use; from treatment, personal growth, and wellbeing to gnostic and heuristic purposes, and ceremonies serving societal needs or religious and environmental functions. A crucial aspect of the study of psychedelics is how these substances affect society and the other way around, as reflected in societal environments, standards, attitudes, and, very importantly, also in the law.
Rather than looking at psychedelics merely as chemical substances, this conference aims to focus on what is “beyond”. We want to explore the context of psychedelic use and its interaction with the psychedelic experience, and to give voice to knowledge and experience gained in various spheres of life, as we are convinced that sharing perspectives is key to the development of sound knowledge.
We will be discussing the position of psychedelics within contexts such as nature, therapy, culture and society, with a special emphasis on their current legal status. Besides, considering the fact that he context of the psychedelic experience is influenced by its purpose, we will take a look at various purposes of the psychedelic experience from different points of view, including:
* Medical treatment
* Self-experience for mental health professionals
* Personal growth and wellbeing
* Creativity purposes
* Spirituality and religion
* Community and societal needs
* Ecology
* Study of consciousness
* Recreational use and entertainment