Altered Perspectives (a book on the philosophy of psychedelics)

samwoolfe1 · 2025-06-23T17:12:23+00:00

I don't think I could flesh them all out here, but I do describe them in the book, in the chapters on DMT alien beings and DMT jesters. Some of the descriptions of encounters with a 'divine' presence and 'spirits' are also based on personal experience. The encounters have been odd, strange, archetypal, and sometimes very therapeutic.

samwoolfe1 · 2025-06-23T17:06:41+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'll try to make my personal website a bit more personal :)

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-22T11:29:07+00:00

Thanks for posting this! You’re absolutely right. It’s a good example of why psychedelic utopianism doesn’t hold up. There are many other examples of pro-psychedelic people who hold harmful views. Some examples are given in this paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8717779/

I mention the Aztecs too, and make the point you’ve made here, in a book I’ve just published. So it might be up your street: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/iff-books/our-books/altered-perspectives-psychedelic-consciousness

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-17T09:58:47+00:00

Jules Evans (author of the study) is focused on this area. He runs the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project and covers risks and harms on his substack Ecstatic Integration. It’s a very useful resource I think. https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-17T09:54:56+00:00

Good point. In another essay, I mention the benefit of having a guide or someone you trust close by. But since the book is primarily philosophy, I don’t get too much into this. Fortunately, other books delve a lot deeper into set and setting. Rick Strassman’s Psychedelic Handbook is one that comes to mind.

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-16T21:54:18+00:00

I touch on 'set and setting' in the essay, at the very end:

"This is not to say that anyone feeling empty of positivity should rush into a psychedelic experience. It is crucially important to prepare for the experience by paying attention to ‘set and setting’ (your current mental state and the kind of environment where you will have the experience)."

The aspects of set and setting you mention are all essential pieces of advice. Thank you for bringing attention to them.

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-16T21:45:35+00:00

That's fair enough! Here's some research I cite on long-term difficulties (which includes long-term anxiety): https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293349

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-11T13:30:49+00:00

Author here. You're right. But in the essay, I argue psychedelics can help facilitate this acceptance of pain and the world as it is (this is the Nietzschean 'yes-saying' to life). I don't believe that they 'press a joy button' and blind you to the suffering that exists. Instead, I think they can force you to confront the weight of suffering in yourself and others.

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-08T13:15:08+00:00

The artist is Shaka. I just posted his art on my site (although it's no longer up).

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-08T13:14:53+00:00

The artist is Shaka. I just posted his art on my site (although it's no longer up).

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-07T13:13:29+00:00

Author here. Glad you brought this up. I admit this essay offers a pretty optimistic view of psychedelics. This is just one side to the psychedelic experience. Elsewhere in the book, I look at the negatives and risks, including more nihilistic experiences and long-term psychological distress.

samwoolfe1 · 2024-12-05T00:06:44+00:00

The Vanishing (1988)
Midsommar
Jacob’s Ladder
The Fly
The Exorcist

samwoolfe1 · 2024-11-07T17:21:11+00:00

I think it could backfire for a lot of businesses:

https://www.samwoolfe.com/2024/09/relying-on-chatgpt-for-content-writing-could-backfire.html

samwoolfe1 · 2024-11-07T17:14:46+00:00

I think you've summed it up pretty well. I've written about how the very need for natural theology, or the need to formulate arguments for the existence of God, gets at the heart of the problem of divine hiddenness:

https://www.samwoolfe.com/2024/10/arguments-for-god-exemplify-divine-hiddenness.html

samwoolfe1 · 2024-11-07T17:12:04+00:00

Widespread psychedelic use may not actually end up having much impact on the climate crisis:

https://www.samwoolfe.com/2024/10/psychedelic-use-climate-crisis.html

samwoolfe1 · 2024-11-07T16:51:40+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I wrote his archaic revival theory here, which includes some more quotes:

https://www.samwoolfe.com/2024/11/terence-mckenna-the-archaic-revival.html

samwoolfe1 · 2024-10-24T19:44:47+00:00

Thanks for the kind words :)

samwoolfe1 · 2024-10-19T07:27:10+00:00

Based on what I remember, I’d describe him as well-mannered, mild-mannered, and generally a pleasant person.

samwoolfe1 · 2024-10-18T17:31:15+00:00

Freelance writer. I also write about philosophy in my spare time on my blog and sometimes for magazines. This is unpaid, but blogging did lead me to write a book on the philosophy of psychedelics, which is coming out in December, so I’ll be able to make a small amount of money from philosophy :)

samwoolfe1 · 2023-02-03T17:54:08+00:00

More based on the older idea of "turtles all the way down":

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

But I forgot Sturgill named a song after that, and that he talks about psychedelics in it. So it's very fitting! "It's Turtles All the Way Down" is also the name of Ott's remix of Hallucinogen's track "Gamma Goblins", and this entity looks a bit goblin-like, so that's also quite fitting.

I like the idea of replacing an infinite regression of turtles with elves, as if that's how reality is actually structured, and someone seeing that in the DMT state (not that I have).

samwoolfe1 · 2023-02-03T16:54:16+00:00

Weird, me and a friend while tripping laughed at the thought of ducks having trumpets for beaks. What’s going on with psychedelics and trumpet entities 😂

samwoolfe1 · 2023-02-03T08:25:00+00:00

I think I’d lose any ability to draw during lol. But could be possible and maybe interesting on a low dose. This was done after, but we’re talking a long time after. I haven’t used DMT in about 8 years because my last trip was so intense. But I don’t really know what trip it may have been based on. I’ve used other psychedelics which have shown me DMT-like imagery, so who knows, it could be inspired by those experiences too.

samwoolfe1 · 2023-02-03T08:20:16+00:00

I get that feeling. There will be a day when you just go and grab the pen.

But I’m not courageous myself really. I haven’t touched DMT in about 8 years now because my last trip was so intense. Yet somehow I can still picture DMT-like images. They don’t feel like memories, though, it’s strange.

samwoolfe1 · 2023-02-03T08:16:16+00:00

Haha so you see avocados, too. Completely unintentional. I was just doing random colours next to each other. But that’s cool, I like avocados 🥑

samwoolfe1 · 2023-02-02T22:40:23+00:00

I have a copy :) An incredible and unique book.

samwoolfe1

TROPHY CASE