Seeing

I’ve been fascinated by photography since young, noticing my father was always taking pictures of us kids.  

As a teenager I borrowed his camera, a circa-WWII rangefinder 35 mm with a Leitz-Wetzlar lens.  That lens company is now known as Leica, but it was not a Leica camera.  

He took amazing photos.  He was an artist, with an artist’s eye for line and form.  

I had early cheap 35 mm film cameras in my early years

In grad school I bought my first SLR, the diminutive Olympus OM1.  Took a lot of photos over the years.  And have bought and used several 35 mm film cameras culminating with a Canon EOS.  Subsequently entering the digital age with my first Canon digital SLR, all of 6 megapixels, using the same Canon lenses.  Then with have had several mirrorless micro 4/3 cameras with an array of lenses, and most recently a mirrorless full frame Canon R5.  

I also have had a number of small pocket-sized digital cameras.  

Yet, now, take most photos with my 12 MP iPhone XS, I am way behind on my phone upgrades, but the cameras have remained the same.  Until the upcoming 48 MP iPhones, not sure I need 48 MP phone camera, we shall see…  

Back to seeing…  

I am fascinated both by technology and the human being… 

Photography shows us how truly impressive is the human act of seeing…

When I walk in my office each morning, I often have a feast of seeing the Rocky Mountains.  

Sometimes, they are partially or fully obscured by clouds.  

But, being Colorado, we usually have sunny days, and every day gives a different view…

This is one example of a morning view:  

I also see this view:  

And I see this view:  

Very different from the camera, I see all these views at once.  

This is an example of the miracle of human seeing…

We receive photons that activate receptors in our eyes, similar to a camera, but our brains can translate these in a much more powerful fashion.  

It is only a matter of attention, which shifts our view.  

How very different from the limited views of the camera!

The first photo is taken at 10x, the 35 mm equivalent of a 258 mm “telephoto” view.  

The second photo is taken at an in-between magnification, the 35 mm equivalent of a 56 mm telephoto lens, usually labeled as a “normal” view.  

The third photo is taken at the 35 mm equivalent of a 26 mm telephoto lens, known as a wide-angle view.  

Now most of the gross information is present in the wide-angle view, but at a relatively low resolution. 

The following is taken from the linked web page:  

“The eye is not a single frame snapshot camera. It is more like a video stream. The eye moves rapidly in small angular amounts and continually updates the image in one's brain to "paint" the detail. We also have two eyes, and our brains combine the signals to increase the resolution further. We also typically move our eyes around the scene to gather more information. Because of these factors, the eye plus brain assembles a higher resolution image than possible with the number of photoreceptors in the retina. So the megapixel equivalent numbers below refer to the spatial detail in an image that would be required to show what the human eye could see when you view a scene.

Based on the above data for the resolution of the human eye, let's try a "small" example first. Consider a view in front of you that is 90 degrees by 90 degrees, like looking through an open window at a scene. The number of pixels would be 

90 degrees * 60 arc-minutes/degree * 1/0.3 * 90 * 60 * 1/0.3 = 324,000,000 pixels (324 megapixels).

At any one moment, you actually do not perceive that many pixels, but your eye moves around the scene to see all the detail you want. But the human eye really sees a larger field of view, close to 180 degrees. Let's be conservative and use 120 degrees for the field of view. Then we would see

120 * 120 * 60 * 60 / (0.3 * 0.3) = 576 megapixels.

The full angle of human vision would require even more megapixels. This kind of image detail requires A large format camera to record.”  

https://clarkvision.com/imagedetail/eye-resolution.html

576 MP!!!

What a wonder is human seeing.  

And, seeing is only one of our senses…  

I like this example because it is simple and accessible…  

This human existence is so deep and marvelous, and we are also embedded in this deep and marvelous, Earth and Universe…  

Within all of our worries of war and climate change, it is good to sit back and savor the miracle of existence…

Namaste

  

Smokable Tasks

My wife was reading the latest MAPS Bulletin, that is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies update, Vol XXXI, No 3, 2021, pages 3-4.  

She mentioned to me that Rick Doblin, the founder and executive director, in his “From the Desk of” mentions that in the detailed employment manual of MAPS corporation is a concept of “smokable tasks.”  

I quote “These are work tasks, different for each staff person, that they think, and their manager agrees, they do better while under the influence of marijuana.”  

He goes on to mention that “Smokable tasks for me primarily include strategizing, protocol design, and editing of regulatory submissions…”  

My first response was laughter…  

My second response was to think about this new concept…  

I then read his whole introduction to the current Bulletin.  

He outlines how they grew from 3 staff in the year 2000, feeling like a small family, to 15 staff members in 2011, and now to 140 full time staff, with another 100 part time therapists.  

He outlines how that are now a family of corporations, with standard operating procedures, career ladders, and human resource staff.  

He then relates that Smokable Tasks are one way to retain “the soul of MAPS...”  

The first thing that comes to my mind is who exactly is Rick’s manager, agreeing to his smokable tasks?  

Personally, I like the idea that people can regulate their drug use.  

We let people drink caffeine, often supplied as a perk of the workplace.   

As a teenage pothead myself, I always felt that cannabis was a much safer drug than alcohol.  

I do not advocate driving on cannabis.  It does impair your performance:  

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2788264

However, it felt to me that I was more likely to drive too slow than to drive too fast and recklessly, as one might with the use of alcohol.  

That JAMA article above also mentioned that at 1 hour and 30 minutes, people high on cannabis thought they could drive just fine, when they actually were driving impaired.  

I also remember from my youth, writing down something that I thought was profound, while high on cannabis, later to read it when sober, and thinking, “perhaps not so profound…”    

What is clear is that alcohol is the greater source of violence, especially a factor in domestic violence.  And you can’t die from a THC overdose…

https://drugabuse.com/blog/marijuana-vs-alcohol/

In one study:  “Subjective aggression significantly increased following aggression exposure in all groups while being sober. Alcohol intoxication increased subjective aggression whereas cannabis decreased the subjective aggression following aggression exposure.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4988999/

 We moved to Colorado, from Wisconsin almost 6 years ago, thinking that eventually we might use cannabis in a counseling practice, using cannabis in a protocol similar to the use of psychedelics.  

We then explored the now legal use of cannabis, keeping our experience notes in a journal… 

When I was a teenager and through college, cannabis was my preferred drug.  

Within our recent explorations, I found I prefer a glass of a nice red wine after work to cannabis.  

Must be my aging brain…  

But, kudos to Rick and MAPS!  

As I have written before, I am an advocate of making all drugs legal…  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/02/addictions.html

Namaste

Semper Gumby

As I have said before, I read a lot, and widely, paper and online… 

How in 68 years have I never heard of this…  

Read this in The NY Times, article about the Mexican Army using this as an informal motto.  

Of course, I’ve heard of Semper Fi, Semper Fidelis, the motto of the Marines, Always Faithful.  

Apparently, Semper Gumby has a whole (short) Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semper_Gumby

Of course, this means Always Flexible, in “Dog Latin.”  

I assume everyone knows of the flexible green cartoon character, Gumby…   

Apparently, informally used by a number of armed forces, as well as FEMA and the Civil Air Patrol.  

True Latin would be Semper Flexibilis…  

I like it! 

Not that I was a big fan of the Gumby and Pokey show.  

I tended toward watching Bugs Bunny, Mighty Mouse, Flintstones, The Jetsons, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Popeye, Mr Magoo, Snagglepuss…   

I am sure I am forgetting some great cartoons…  

I like the underlying idea of being flexible…  

I feel that flexibility is so important for living well in this world.   

As well as being prepared.  

As I write, a great tragedy is unfolding in Europe, where Russia has invaded Ukraine.  

Someone wrote that perhaps war is obsolete in Europe:

https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/why_war_has_become_obsolete_in_europe

However, there have been a great many conflicts since 1945

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conflicts_in_Europe

Most seem to be a fallout from the breakup of the former Soviet Union…  

Perhaps, this seems to be the most brazen move by Putin in many years.  

Although, he did annex Crimea in 2014…  

In 2013 I wrote about how we can no longer go to war:  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-we-can-no-longer-go-to-war.html

Apparently, I was wrong (again!).  

Well, actually, this is what was the gist of that Blog: 

“My thesis is simple: We can no longer go to war because we have already evolved too far.  We cannot go to war without paying too huge a price of damage to our emotional and spiritual brain-bodies.”  

And I still believe this is true, these individuals, taking another’s life, will never be the same, most of them will become broken, in various ways…  

I see this in my clinic, as various manifestations of PTSD…

Those fighting for what they think is “just.”  Defending their country, and others who cannot defend themselves, may suffer less…  

I can imagine many of the Russian soldier invaders will pay an immense price…  

I am also worried that this will be an excuse for similar moves by China toward Taiwan.  

Then who knows what else.  

As far as being prepared…  

I actually ordered iodine pills for prevention of radiation effects on the thyroid.  

As I wrote previously, I have survivalist tendencies:  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/10/are-you-survivalist.html

Perhaps I’ll have to add the Coast Guard motto, to Semper Gumby:  

Semper Paratus, Always Prepared, or Always Ready…  

I can only hope that we will never see a nuclear weapon used in war in our lifetime…

I do not have that much faith in humanity…  

I hope I am wrong, and that a nuclear weapon is never used again… 

Namaste

Economic Inequality

My nephew posted an interesting article on crackbook.  

https://www.deseret.com/2022/2/7/22918555/what-ski-towns-tell-us-about-the-countrys-inequality-crisis-affordable-housing-healthcare?fbclid=IwAR16sXEam2P5YHC1vbZIAoAv_IUPz4lRoS0Yj76bzZRfRjITtrHbz2O3trk

A few quotes:

“…a metric called the Gini coefficient that measures inequality by plotting dispersion of income. A Gini coefficient of 0 indicates perfect equality while 1 means total inequality.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent American Community Survey, the national Gini coefficient is .48. Aspen’s is .56.    …an indicator for how far apart the haves and have-nots are. 

Those disparities are wide and getting wider across the West. According to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy’s self-sufficiency standard published in 2018, in Aspen’s Pitkin County, a family of two (an adult and a preschooler) needs an annual income of $71,274 to make ends meet. That’s way above the 2021 federal poverty benchmark of $17,420 for a family of two, and the highest standard in the state.  …one in four families is struggling to pay their bills.”  

A very complex problem here.  

Do you do what you love, skiing, being outdoors, in a place you love to live, the Mountain West, and live in a rented hovel, because you can’t make enough money to live decently, or do you move to an area that is more affordable, perhaps doing a job that would make more money, but not be as much fun?  

It seems that the alternative, evolving to a more compassionate society, where the wealth is more equitably shared, is not going to happen anytime soon.  

I was lucky…  

I did delay gratification by investing in training longer and at lower wages, which enabled me to earn more later.  

But I was able to train in something that was both satisfying and relatively easy for me, first basic science and then medicine. 

I also spent 25 years in academic medicine, which pays about half of what I now earn in private practice…  

Still, I was paid a very decent living wage, had a house and helped put my kids through college…  

Many people to not have the skills and/or training to make enough money in our current society.  

It feels to me that most of us are living in challenging times…   

The rich keep getting richer, and the poor poorer…  

We seem to be sliding toward authoritarianism, worldwide…  

Through the years I often hear young people call for revolution, perhaps a violent overthrow of the world order and how it operates currently.  

Perhaps that makes the most sense for those who do not see a viable future for themselves…  

I do not believe that is the best way for anyone…

But, perhaps, some sort of shake up is needed… 

Drumpf did shake us up, some of us toward more compassion:  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2020/08/trump-is-lsd.html

I am just not sure we were shaken up enough to change toward sufficient compassion…  

Change is difficult… 

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2022/01/methods-of-belief.html

I do not pretend to know what might be in the future…  

I can only hope that enough voters can feel that the road that we are traveling currently is not toward one of more compassion…  

And vote for those who can change society toward an increased sharing of wealth…  

As I’ve written before:

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2020/08/black-lives-matter.html

Provide everyone with basic living conditions, eliminate homelessness, dire poverty, fear for personal and family safety, opportunity for education and economic advancement,

And,

 

Give everyone a reason to exist, even if it is the smallest ability to help another…

Namaste

Methods of Belief

I’ve been worried about our country…

Feels to me we are heading down a path toward authoritarian rule…  

Perhaps I am too worried because I do not understand enough about history.  

Perhaps things were as bad or worse during the times of McCarthyism, with communist witch hunts…  

I remember as a teenager the strife in this country regarding the Vietnam war.  

At that time acting as a hippie, with long hair, smoking cigarettes and pot, taking LSD trips, marching against The War…  

Also rebelling by skipping my high school classes, and barely graduating…  

Inside, I still feel more hippie, rather than establishment.

I maintain responsibility for my patients, and economic responsibility for my family…  

However, I remain a heretic in my beliefs that our medical system is largely broken, particularly for those with chronic pain and psychological disease…  

What has most been troublesome to me is what seems to be a downward slide toward anti-science…  

Reading this morning an article in the NYTimes, an interview with Neal Stephenson, dated Jan 9, 2022.  

This was about his climate-change-focused book “Termination Shock.”   I ordered it, not read, as of yet, coming Monday…

He had an interesting take on methods of belief.  

He was reading a book from the 1870’s by Charles Sanders Peirce “The Fixation of Belief.”  

Peirce listed 4 methods of belief:

1-Tenacity – you decide what you believe, and stick to it, logic and evidence have no effect…  

2-Authority – you believe what someone “above you” tells you to believe…  

3-A Priori – peer agreement by consensus of people around you…  

4-Scientific Method – dating back to Hooke and Newton, where in the 1600’s for the first time persons starting using experimentation in order to gain information, pointing toward truth, and being willing to change belief based on the results of experimentation.  

I actually only see three methods of belief:  Authority, A Priori, Scientific method…  

I think of Tenacity as the strength of belief, and inability to change…  

As a scientist I have seen scientists fall for Authority and A Priori, due to Tenacity…  

Additionally, A Priori, or consensus building, is the basis of hypothesis development, which is the first step before Scientific Experimentation, where you then obtain evidence to support your hypothesis, or to refute your hypothesis…    

There was then a link to an article about Katharine Hayhoe, who is both a climate scientist and an evangelical Christian (NYTimes Dec 29, 2021).  

She spoke about Jonathan Haidt, who says that people make up their minds, and then find information to support what they believe, labeled as “Moral Judgment.”  

She brings up examples of people dying of Covid, denying that they have Covid.  And then relates this to persons rejecting relatively simple protection from Covid such as vaccination and masking.  

She then relates this to Climate Change Denial…  

Getting back to Neal Stephenson, he has an interesting take on the possible solution to addressing climate change, and that might relate to “Greed.”  

If persons can make money on methods to combat climate change, any of many possible methods, we might be able to get a hold of this problem…  

I feel that there are only a small percentage of people who can actually change beliefs, even when confronted with compelling evidence…  

Yet, contemplating these articles actually gives me hope.  

I do not think that people have changed for the worse, we are mostly a primitive, so far, poorly evolved species.  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/02/just-stranger-in-strange-land-part-2.html

I feel that economic stress and the Covid pandemic has uncovered how primitive we are…  

We may have dug quite a deep hole with previously electing Drumf and similar politicians, and then packing the Supreme court with conservatives…  

This country may not be able to dig itself out in my lifetime..  

However, there will be those who are dismayed by this turn of events, and then, perhaps, pushed to evolving to a more compassionate level, hopefully, long-term, leading to a more just and compassionate country…  

Perhaps I am just a foolish optimist…  

I hope not… 

Namaste

The 3 Commandments versus The 10 Commandments

Came up for me this morning that I never wrote about any connection between these.  

The 3 Commandments came up for me, when writing “Conversations with Dog.”  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2020/04/conversations-with-dog-chapter-9.html

I never really thought about any real connection with The 10 Commandments…  

Being of Jewish background, let us start there.  

There are actually 613 Commandments in the Torah, the Jewish bible.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_commandments

Categorized here:

https://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm

They are traditionally called mitzvahs, or “good deeds,” also labeled as commandments.  

As an aside, I found this was interesting, someone illustrated all of them:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/us/an-illustrated-guide-to-the-613-jewish-commandments.html

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Traditionally, it is thought that The 10 Commandments were written by G-d on 2 stone tablets and given to Moses.  

Let us take a look at these copied from one of the more conservative Jewish websites:  

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2896/jewish/What-Are-the-Ten-Commandments.htm

English Translation of the Ten Commandments

1. I am the L rd your G d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

2. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of anything that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the L rd your G d am a jealous G d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

3. You shall not take the name of the L rd your G d in vain; for the L rd will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the L rd your G d. On it you shall not do any manner of work—you, your son, your daughter, your man-servant, your maid-servant, your cattle, and your stranger that is within your gates. For in six days the L rd made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the L rd blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it.

5. Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which the L rd your G d gives you.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his manservant, his maid-servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.

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This same site observes the following: 

The Symmetry of the Ten Commandments 

The Ten Commandments were carved on two tablets, so let us visualize them as being laid out as follows:

    

TABLET ONE                                                 TABLET TWO

1. I am the L-rd your G d …                                 6. You shall not murder.

2. You shall have no gods …                                 7. You shall not commit adultery.

3. You shall not take the name of the L-rd your G d in vain … 8. You shall not steal.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy … 9. You shall not bear false witness …

5. Honor your father and mother …                 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house …

Note that we can read the commandments down each tablet, or we can read them from side to side. This Midrash3 provides the connection:

Commandments 1 and 6: Every human is created in the image of G d, so murder is an affront to the Creator.

Commandments 2 and 7: When one worships a deity other than G d, it is as akin to adultery. G d is our loving spouse (and much more).

Commandments 3 and 8: A person may feel that stealing is only between him and the victim, but it is also a crime against G d, whose name will ultimately be taken falsely.

Commandments 4 and 9: Through keeping Shabbat, we testify that G d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. When one disregards Shabbat, he testifies falsely about the Divine origin of the universe. 

Commandments 5 and 10: The juxtaposition of jealousy and honoring parents tell us that one who lusts after that which is not his, will ultimately give birth to a child who curses his parents and honors others instead.

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And another way of grouping them here: 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-ten-commandments/

The philosopher Abraham ben Chiyya, after placing the first commandment apart as comprising all the others, divided the other nine according to the commandments of thought, speech, and action, and according to relations between human and God, human and his family, and human and human, reaching the following classification:

Relations between: Man & God                        Human & Family                      Human & Human

Thought 2:“Thou shalt have no other God” 5: “Honor thy father and thy mother."  10: “Thou shalt not covet.”

Speech 3: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.” 6: “Thou shalt not murder.” 9: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”

Action    4: “Remember the Sabbath.” 7: “Thou shalt not commit adultery." 8: “Thou shalt not steal.”

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As a reminder, here are The 3 Commandments, and remember, they are observed in strict order: 

         1-There is only one Source.

                    2-Love everything.

                              3-Enjoy yourself.

And the most important mistakes are made within the Second Commandment…  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-second-commandment-love-everything_24.html

I won’t get into a deep “compare and contrast,” as we were all asked to do in our classes…  

In general, all of The 3 Commandments are positive, obviously, the first one is simply a statement…  

In the case of the original 613 Commandments, 248 are positive and 365 are negative (That is from a website above, I did not count them…).  

If we take a look at the 9 above, 2 are positive (instructions to do) and 7 are negative (to do not)…

The First Commandments of the 3 and 10 are basically the same statement, without using the word G-d, substituting the word Source…  

Source as “All-That-Is” and All-That-Is-Not.”  The everything that exists, and everything with potential for existence…    

The Second Commandment of the 3 encompass the rest of the 9 of the 10…  

The “Mistakes” of the Second Commandment can be directly mapped on these 9… 

I won’t take up your time here on these…  

For me, the interest lies within the frameworks of various religions…  

I am much more interested in the relationship of mystery and paradox at the core of each religion… 

Let us close with 3 great quotes from Huston Smith: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston_Smith

"If we take the world's enduring religions at their best, we discover the distilled wisdom of the human race." 

"Institutions are not pretty. Show me a pretty government. Healing is wonderful, but the American Medical Association? Learning is wonderful, but universities? The same is true for religion... religion is institutionalized spirituality." 

"The goal of spiritual life is not altered states, but altered traits.”

Let us all practice deep love for all beings and the world…  

Namaste

The Sarchasm

“the intellectual gap between the person who makes a sarcastic joke and those who don’t get it”

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/sarchasm

I’ve been the victim of a book burning…  

Well, maybe a book banning…  

No…  not quite right…  

A Blog Banning!

I guess I really should be flattered…  

That is appropriate for a self-designated heretic… 

I should be flattered… and amused…    

But, it really did piss me off, at least for a day or so…  

Then I thought about this blog entry…  

That cheered me up!   

I have been a teacher since graduate school, started teaching in 1976.  

Taught all through my 25-year tenure at my medical school until about 5 years ago…

Including 3 years on a team helping to revamp all 4 years of our teaching program at the med school…  

5 years ago, went into private practice rheumatology, so I could eventually retire on at least a somewhat decent retirement income…   

My wife and I have been involved in the psychedelic research arena, together, my research ended when I left the University, my wife kept on doing psychedelic research until this past year.  

I keep up on the literature…  

Psychedelics are one of the most fascinating current topics, with deeply interesting aspects of science, psychology, politics, economics…   

We keep on talking about setting up a psychedelic practice, but these medications are still illegal, Schedule 1, unless we wanted to practice ketamine-based treatment…  

And I am still working 80%, 4 days per week, and very full challenging days…  

I have taught on and off on psychedelic therapy, mostly with my wife, we put together a dynamite role play program at the beginning of this current psychedelic teaching renaissance.  

I have taught with her on an off…  she has taught yearly.  

I was kicked out for a while, for being a white male…  

This year the program has had some additional difficulties…  

Won’t go into details…  

When I teach on psychedelics, I usually put a link to my blog at the end of my biography…  

This blog, after all, is all about self-growth and self and societal evolution…  

Exactly what psychedelic therapy is all about!  

The core of this blog are practices and methods which I have found helpful, or others have found helpful (as if there are any “others” :-D)

I always ask the reader to check in with yourselves, follow your instincts, I ain’t no preacher man…  

And, as I have written, I also am not some Enlightened Being…  or Guru…  

I guess, however, there must be some level of arrogance, just to write about these topics…  

Really feel the most important writings are on:  The 3 Commandments, particularly the mistakes of number 2, Love Everything…

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-second-commandment-love-everything_24.html

Apparently, folks running the psychedelic research program, thought the title of my blog might offend…  

Hence, the sarchasm…

So, they axed the link to my blog in my bio, and attached another link to something conventional about me…  

They then called me afterward to let me know…  

My wife and I were already cut to giving a talk only…  

I think the powers that be felt our role play might be too provocative and challenging for the students…  

So, I sent a polite email, declining to teach…  

Made the most sense to me, if my blog is too controversial, my talk might be as well…  

I think the act of avoiding our role play sessions, and banning my blog link, are an excellent example of a classic mistake of Commandment number 2, the mistake of Idiot Compassion…  

Additional relevant thoughts here:  

http://enlightenedmdphd.blogspot.com/2021/03/cancel-culture.html

I will leave it to the folks running the psychedelic teaching program to figure out exactly what they need to do to fix their program…  

Namaste