The Natural Philosopher - A Conversation With Dennis McKenna

We've been fortunate to host numerous psychedelic icons from across the globe throughout 2020. To round off this year of heroic guests, we are delighted to present Dr Dennis McKenna!

Intertwining research into botany, pharmacology and neuroscience, Dr Dennis McKenna is a spearhead in and spokesperson for psychedelic plant medicine. Brother to the famous psychedelics proponent, Terence McKenna, he has dedicated his life to plants, fungi and their healing abilities. Join us for this extra special event as we chat to Dr McKenna about his pioneering research, accomplishments and fascinating life-stories. 

We will tour through Dr McKenna's personal journeys, including his psychedelic explorations, alongside Terrence, and his work with plants, indigenous cultures and science, investigating how his research and findings can offer approaches in securing the integrity of the psychedelic renaissance, and solutions to our current global dilemmas. In a rapidly changing cultural landscape, an ecological disaster and mental health crisis, Dr McKenna's work is more relevant than ever. 

With a whole hour dedicated to audience Q&A, ticket holders will be able to tune into the live conversation and ask their questions to Dr McKenna. Join us for the seasonal special as we chat to the luminary of plant medicine and a key figure in the battle for a global awakening of consciousness this December.

SPEAKER

Dr Dennis McKenna

Dr McKenna has had a fascinating life filled with psychedelic richness. Brother to the infamous Terrence McKenna, Dennis travelled to the jungles of the Amazon together with him to discover exotic hallucinogenic plants. Their journey soon evolved into the famous Experiment at La Chorrera, which was an attempt to bond combined plant DNA with their own neural DNA to access a hyper-dimensional union of spirit and matter. Whereas Terrence became a figurehead of psychedelia and extraterrestrial encounters, Dennis stayed in the background pursuing a scientific career in disciplines that ranged from ethnopharmacology and ethnobotany to neuroscience.

After receiving a doctorate in Botanical Sciences and a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical pharmacology, Dr McKenna has since become a founding board member for the Heffter Institute for Psychedelic Research and a key organiser in the Hoasca Project, a leading biomedical investigation of ayahuasca. He has furthermore authored several books and scientific papers and has lectured as a senior lecturer for the Centre of Healing and Spirituality, University of Minnesota and numerous psychedelic conferences across the globe.

In 2018, in a vision of deepening human understanding of their relationship with plants and plant medicines, Dr McKenna' founded the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy. The organisation's aim is harbouring new paradigms in wellness and wisdom by fostering a more sustainable and symbiotic relationship between all sentient species on the planet.

MODERATOR

Anya Oleksiuk

Anya is a documentary filmmaker, host and educator. She is a Co-Director of the Psychedelic Society UK, leading on video production, harm reduction and education about psychedelics. She is also associated with the Psychedelic Society of the Netherlands and is as a consultant for the Polish Psychedelic Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Psychodeliczne).

Anya is a founder and director of Triptika Studios, which is a collective of independent filmmakers with interests in health, science, innovative solutions, mental health, drug advocacy, social and racial justice and environment-friendly lifestyles. 

She is the creator, director and producer of The Psychedelic Renaissance - a not-for-profit documentary film about the worldwide re-emergence of the psychedelic movement and the crucial role of psychedelic substances, plants and mushrooms in human culture.

If you would like to attend this event but are unable to afford the ticket price, please do get in touch with us directly at anya@psychedelicsociety.org.uk. At the Psychedelic Society, we believe that everyone should be able to access our events regardless of employment or health circumstances, so we will do our best to accommodate where we can.

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