Ep. 604 – Amplified States of Consciousness with Dr. Bruce Damer

Examining transformative times in human history, Dr. Damer discusses how psychedelics can amplify our consciousness and spark both personal and global change. 

In this episode of Mindrolling, Raghu and Dr. Damer explore:

• Dr. Damer’s recent work with the resurgence of psychedelics as tools for insight, creativity, and expanded consciousness
• Altered states of perception and Dr. Damer’s groundbreaking chemical model for the origin of life
• Ram Dass’ teachings on transcending roles and realizing the illusion of separateness
• Building supportive, heart-centered sanghas and collective spiritual communities
• How MDMA fosters deep feelings of compassion, empathy, and human connection
• Raghu’s mystical experience bathing in the Ganges River 
• Evolutionary patterns in history that reveal how groups overcome stress and awaken
• The impact of social media on youth mental health and emotional well-being
• The importance of mindful, compassionate youth mentorship and nurturing the next generation
• Holding onto optimism for our new digital landscape and the people who are creating it

Learn more about recent research into psychedelic science in another captivating Mindrolling episode HERE.

About Dr. Bruce Damer:

Dr. Bruce Damer is a scientist, psychonaut, and humanitarian. Dr. Damer is Chief Scientist at BIOTA Institute, UC Santa Cruz. He is an astrobiologist working on the science of life’s origins, spacecraft design, psychedelics and genius. Dr. Bruce has spent his life pursuing two great questions: how did life on Earth begin, and how can we give that life (and ourselves) a sustainable pathway into the cosmos? A decade of scientific research with his collaborator Prof. David Deamer at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering resulted in the Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life published in the journal Astrobiology in 2019. Dr. Damer also has a long career working with NASA on mission simulation and design and recently co-developed a spacecraft to utilize resources from asteroids. Advancing research into altered-state innovation, Dr. Damer recently cofounded the Center for MINDS. You can keep up with Dr. Bruce Damer on Twitter.

“For a geeky scientist like me, it was seeing the origin of life from a different perspective, from the first cell division, which led me to propose the chemical model, which has now gone through the field. That was an insight that was absolutely inaccessible to me without some kind of amplification or exaltation of states of consciousness.” –  Dr. Bruce Damer

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