PAST EVENTS
2018
Join founder of The Third Wave, Paul Austin, for an evening of discussion, insight, and entertainment revolving around the topic of microdosing psychedelics. Microdosing has been hot as of late, popping up in nearly every mainstream media outlet, major publishing houses, and even in primetime TV shows. But WHY has microdosing gained so much popularity in such a brief period of time?
Better Living Through Chemistry: The Work of Ann and Sasha Shulgin is a documentary film currently in production from Concept Film’s director Connie Littlefield ( Hofmann’s Potion, The Sunshine Makers ). The film focuses on the psychedelic godparents of MDMA, their chemical romance, and their significant contributions to psychedelic chemistry, therapy and research.
Facing the Shadow: Community discussions on diversity, race, and privilege in psychedelics psychedelics/entheogens
We will focus this discussion around sexuality, sexual dynamics, and power in psychedelics/entheogens. The national and international community has been embroiled with conversations around abuses of power and sexual misconduct. Recent events in our own Southern California community show similar patterns. Let us come together to discuss what is needed to provide healing spaces for victims, council for perpetrators, and a vocal culture of zero tolerance for abuses of power.
Kratom (Mytragina speciosa), a tree native to Southeast Asia has a rich history of traditional use as a panacea throughout the region. Kratom has gained popularity in our modern world as an alternative to opioid pain management. Given the current opioid crisis and the benefits of Kratom, our intention is to share information and our experiences with this powerful plant ally.
Rachel Hope was one of the first participants treated for chronic, treatment resistant PTSD in the MAPS-sponsored clinical trial that used MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Rachel will speak on her message of personal life-saving transformation from decades of crippling trauma, failed therapies and prescribed drugs to a sustained, drug free recovery through MDMA-assisted therapy, ecstatic dance, and public activism. The three MDMA-assisted psychotherapy sessions set the stage for Rachel to be her own healer.
This will be an informative conversation with William Llerena Murayari, a Palero Curandero (someone who heals with medicines), inviting our community to receive a first-hand perspective about the medicinal plants of the Amazon as a path promoting a healthy, holistic way of life that is first of all preventative in its approach to disease, while also going deeper in how disease, illness, and so forth can be healed with the help of the plants after it has already manifested in an individual.
Medical doctor, Joe Tafur, and psychologist, Rachel Harris, will discuss their books, interview each other, and share their stories. We'll explore different models of how healing happens with ayahuasca biochemically, neurologically, psychologically, and spiritually (from a Western and indigenous perspective).
Mareesa Stertz is a LA based filmmaker, host, and KRI certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher who's created the documentary series, "The Healing Powers (of Weed, Plants, and Other Mindful Practices). She has spent her entire life on a journey of personal growth and in the last five years, has traveled the world to document stories that share how mind-altering practices have the power to shift consciousness and improve lives.
Embody the potent medicine that mushrooms have to offer. Dive into our sacred relationship with this all encompassing powerful organism. Learn how fungi have shaped Homo sapiens throughout time and space. Learn how we as humans can ally with mushrooms to heal trauma, PTSD, depression, addiction, anxiety, and more!
2017
There is a third way of working with iboga which seems to have been largely overlooked: By combining relatively small amounts of Iboga with cannabis, individuals can have an experience similar to a flood dose without being immobilized for long periods. Thoughts, patterns, behaviors, habits and life experiences can be viewed from a completely objective point of view, providing the opportunity to make significant and lasting changes in one’s life.
We are honored to have special guests coming from the Brazilian Amazon to share their traditions and knowledge, showing the deep their connection with the healing plants of the world’s most biodiverse region, and a cosmic vision of harmony with the natural cycles of life.
Whether informally “sitting” for a friend in assisting to guide them through their first psychedelic experience to working with small or even larger groups in crafting a more formal ritualized ceremony with psychedelic sacraments; there exist effective and time-tested techniques that can be utilized and employed to more effectively influence “mindset” and craft solid sacred space, or “setting”, that can provide a significant impact on the successful outcome of psychedelic & entheogenic experiences.
An update on the portfolio of MAPS-sponsored clinical trials, paving the way for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to become a legal prescription medicine. Hundreds of trained providers will be needed once this treatment is approved, find out how to become a legal MDMA therapist.
Chef Brandon Allen will be discussing the power of very specific metabolic state called Ketosis, which empowers our mitochondria, energy production, and cell function, which ultimately enhances the effects and purity of supplementing with cannabinoids and psychedelics.
John Saul shares his story about how he harnessed the experience of being a study subject in the MAPS-sponsored study: “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of anxiety due to life-threatening illness” to emerge from very dark circumstances, rebuild his fortitude and take another turn at living life.
This is a personal story of how military psychologist Michael Villanueva PhD, came study the EEG and psychedelics and how psychedelics illuminated the need for good neuroscience. Despite professional fears and lack of good psychedelic science, He worked to understand the EEG within the psychedelic state.
This lecture will explore the healing plants and shamanic healing practices prevalent throughout that part of the Amazon and how it applies to modern day spiritual seekers.
In this talk Javier Regueiro will present his two newly published books on San Pedro/Huachuma and Ayahuasca and speak about the plant medicine healing process, its benefits, and challenges.
Daniel led us through a deep and far-ranging presentation on his work and what it will take to achieve the psychedelic breakthroughs he has in mind. The talk included scientific information, a four-quadrant approach to building a psychedelic community, and some of the challenges and rewards this path entails.
In this talk, Preston covered his work with cannabis as a tool for discovery, his background in Vipassana Meditation and experiential personal growth, and a worldview spanning evolutionary psychology, Joseph Campbell’s “hero’s journey,” and a whole lot more.
In this panel discussion, leaders from the I.AM.LIFE community come together to discuss how to walk in right relationship with self, other and the world through honoring plants, elders, and indigenous cultures.
The show was hosted by second-generation psychedelic ambassador Zach Leary (who also hosts the essential podcast It's All Happening). Dr. Cole Marta lent his humor and insight, and we got to know our founder Ashley Booth a bit better as well.
Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, Addiction, Pain, PTSD, Cancer, and over 200 different conditions have been effectively treated with cannabis. How is it possible that a single plant can have such wide ranging efficacy?
Aware Project San Diego in collaboration with Dr Joe Tafur presents:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RIVER- Talk and book launch event with Dr. Joe Tafur.
After the conference and festivities in SF, members of Psymposia continued their West Coast psychedelic storytelling tour and the Aware Project was excited to host them in Los Angeles and San Diego!
We don’t want to end up in a world where psychedelics are legal for a privileged few, while communities who have historically suffered the worst harms of prohibition remain criminalized.
The purpose of this talk is to describe what’s known about ayahuasca’s pharmacology, outline adverse food and drug combinations with ayahuasca, and provide an overview of current clinical data supporting treatment of mental illness with ayahuasca.
The Zendo Project provides a supportive environment and specialized care designed to transform difficult psychedelic experiences into valuable learning opportunities, and even potentially offer healing and growth.
Aware Project San Diego was excited to host Alex Banach to share his story of a near death experience and his transformation through psychedelics through the lenses of his neurobiology education.
Dr. Cahn packed the house for his talk on his ongoing research of mediation and psychedelic brain states.
This talk will address observation and discussion of advantages and disadvantages this generation is facing when it comes to entheogenic use.
Tricia will be discussing some of the up-and-coming issues in psychedelics such as sustainability of earth medicines, new research chemicals, and neoshamanism.
2016
For our 3rd event in San Diego, we were honored to host friend, Charles Johnston to the Psychedelic Awareness Salon. His story of transformation, commitment to service, and wisdom inspired all of us.
We were excited to finally host Emanuel Sferios at the Psychedelic Awareness Salon. We have been admiring his work from a far for a while! He has been an invaluable member of the community as the founder of Dancesafe and now the director of 'MDMA, The Movie'.
We were thrilled to have Tony Moss at the Salon. Tony has been a role model in gathering in conscious community and bring heart in one's life and work.
The Aware Project is partnering with the 920 Coalition (www.920coalition.org) to host Dr. David Tripp (No, really, his name is Dr. Tripp!) from Antioch University Los Angeles.
The Aware Project San Diego is excited to host Ellen Watson as our September speaker. She will be speaking about her long term relationship with MAPS as a founding member, the nature of the research she did in the 80’s & 90’s, and her time at Esalen with Terence McKenna, Dr. Stan Grof and others.
We are excited to host friends of the Salon Dr. Marta and Dr. Ryan to share their research on ketamine. This will be a great update on the current status and progress of developing psychedelics into legal medicines!
This is the inaugural event kicking of AWARE PROJECT SAN DIEGO: Rethinking Psychedelics. It is also a FUNdraiser for the revolutionary work that the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS.org) is doing to lift the stigma about psychedelic compounds and advance scientific and therapeutic research.
July is shaping up to be a burst of creativity! Starting with Jason Robert Winfield performing, 'Myth of Myself – An Evening with Alan Watts'.
We are excited to host Shane Mauss to bring his psychedelic comedy show that combines comedy, science, and psychedelics to the Psychedelic Awareness Salon!
Merrill Ward travels from Ashland, OR to share an extended version of the talk he gave at the Exploring Psychedelics Conference in April 2016.
Friends of the Aware Project, author, Elizabeth Bast and artist, Chor Boogie join us at the Psychedelic Awareness Salon to talk about their healing journey with iboga.
We are starting a 5-MeO-DMT awareness holiday! The 5th of May will now be 'Cinco de Sapo' in honor of the Sonoran desert toad (sapo = toad in Spanish). We are thrilled to host James Oroc, author of 'Tryptamine Palace: 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad; A Journey from Burning Man to the Akashic Field', one of the seminal works on 5-MeO-DMT.
The Aware Project is excited to present something NEW! Michael Kass will be performing his one-man-show, 'Ceremony,' directed by Diana Wyenn!
This month we hosted Ashley Tomasino. Ashley is currently completing her Doctorate from Emperor’s College of Traditional Chinese Medicine with her thesis and research on ‘Ayahuasca and the Treatment of Shen Disturbance (Psychological Disorders).’ www.ashleytomasino.com
We are thrilled to be hosting our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Psychedelic Awareness Salons in Los Angeles! Our speaker will be Sitaramaya Sita, the producer of recent plant medicine conference in LA, Visionary Convergence!
2015
ONE YEAR OF SALONS!!!! We are thrilled to be hosting our 12th consecutive month of Psychedelic Awareness Salons in Los Angeles! AND we will be bringing the salon for the first time to DOWNTOWN LA! As if that was not exciting enough, we will be hosting Zach LEARY as our speaker!
Our featured speaker Samuel Arismendy is the founder of the Fundacion Camino al Sol, and has been building a bridge to help share the knowledge of the Ancestors with the western world. He will be speaking of respecting the Medicines (yage/ayahuasca) and how to integrate the ancient beliefs and traditions into modern life.
Our speaker this month was be Caitlin Thompson. After struggling with her own chemical depression and anxiety, Caitlin began her quest to chemically rebalance herself and regain happiness. With a bachelors degree in biology, Caitlin used her scientific background to dive into the neuroscience literature on depression and other mood disorders. She soon became obsessed with neuroscience and began an integrative investigation of the relationship between nutrition, mood disorders, and psychedelic drugs. Her success in reclaiming her health and happiness led her to creating her nutritional supplement company, EntheoZen. Caitlin set out on a mission to share the information she had collected and empower people to have healthy and happy brains.
The Aware Project partnered with the 920 Coalition (www.920coalition.org) to highlight how "Mushrooms are Medicine".
Our speaker this month will be Richard Grossman, L.Ac., O.M.D., Ph.D. He will be sharing his knowledge of sound healing and engaging in a discussion on Amazonian shamanism and how he adapts it to Northern culture. His talk will be accompanied by musical performances.
We are so grateful to have Meriana come down to visit us from San Francisco! She gave an excellent talk at the Women's Visionary Congress in June on valuable tools to navigate the psychedelic landscape (http://visionarycongress.org/Speakers/meriana-dinkova-tools-navigating-space/).
Vicki Kraft packed the house with her talk on her work as a marriage and family therapist and leader of the only legal Santo Diame church in California.
The Aware Project was thrilled at how many amazing people came together to create Los Angeles' first (as far as we know!) Bicycle Day L.A. event! In honor of the occasion, our vision was to create a space to celebrate and explore the impact that psychedelics have made on creativity, medical science, community, environmentalism, and spirituality.
Our speaker this month, Michael Stone, is a Los Angeles based Stan-Grof-Certified Holotropic Breathwork Facilitator.
Our speaker this month, The Teafaerie , writes stories, poems, movies, plays and essays, makes videos, organizes flash mobs, and writes a regular column called "Teatime, Psychedelic Musings from the Center of the Universe" for the excellent psychedelic information site Erowid.org.
The Aware Project (www.awareproject.org) is launching the first in a series of Psychedelic Awareness Salon events. We are creating a connected and educated community that feels passionately about balancing the conversation about psychedelics.
This talk briefly explores the difference between psychedelic psychotherapy and more traditional shamanic plant medicine experiences, and the benefits and limitations of each.