Psychedelics and The Shadow: The Shadow Side of Psychedelia
Exploring the dark and golden shadow of psychedelia from the participants and practitioners to organizations and institutions
Course Overview
Psychedelic substances are thought to expand the mind and foster deep healing and insight. While this may be the case for many, there lies a shadow side to psychedelics. To begin to work with the shadow starts by becoming aware that the shadow exists, but is not something to be pushed away or can be healed in one session. The shadow and its many forms is a guide – to personal and collective wounds as well as to deeper authenticity and wholeness. This is why Psychedelics Today has put together the “Psychedelics and The Shadow” course – to help bring the shadow out of the depths and begin to cast light upon it.
This course includes interviews that explore the various layers of psychedelia and the shadow side to these layers.
This is an at-home self-study course, which means that you can go through the material on your own time. You will receive access to the video lectures for a life-time, so you will be able to go back and re-watch the course material whenever you would like to.
Your Facilitators
Course Outline
What you will learn
- What the Shadow is
- How Jung viewed the Shadow
- The difference between the Dark and Golden Shadow
- Issues of abuse that are reported during psychedelic ceremonies by individuals and organizations
- How psychedelics may aid in spiritual bypassing and may inflate the ego rather than dissolve it
- The shamanic view of illness and dealing with the shadow
- How capitalism is shaping and fueling the shadow aspects of psychedelics
- And Much More!
Shadow Panel Interviews
1. Kyle Buller, M.S. and Ido Cohen, Psy.D.
An Introduction to the Shadow and Psychedelics
In This Interview:
Kyle and Dr. Cohen introduce the Psychedelic and the Shadow series by welcoming everyone to the class and exploring their definitions of the shadow, why the shadow is important to highlight, and the reason why they created this series. Kyle and Ido explore the shadow through a Jungian perspective as well as a through a trauma-informed lens.
- What is the Shadow?
- How do we normalize the Shadow?
- The generational differences in working with the Shadow and trauma
- The Shadow as denied parts that go into hiding
- Integrating and working with the Shadow
2. Deanna Rogers
When West Meets South: Exploring the Shadow of the Amazon and Ayahuasca
In This Interview:
Deanna shares her experience and wisdom from working with the Temple of the Way of Light and Shipibo healers. She explores the shadow aspects of working with ayahuasca and the shadow of the Amazon.
- The different cultural contexts of psychedelics
- Sexual abuse in ceremonial spaces and the cultural differences that allow this to happen
- Trauma work and psychedelics
- The dangers of visions
- What it means not to "stick with the process"
About Deanna Rogers: In 2013 Deanna felt a deep call to the Peru and has been working with Temple of the Way of Light since. She has facilitated hundreds of people in the jungle and for the last 3 years in Canada she has focused her work on plant medicine Preparation and Integration. Her goal is to empower people to cultivate deep connection to self, to help integrate trauma and align to their path going forward. She has trained with and inspired by Indigenous Curanderos, Dr. Gabor Maté and is currently studying Somatic Experiencing.
3. Scott Hill, Ph.D.
Emergence of the Shadow in Psychedelic Experience: A Jungian Perspective
In This Interview:
Dr. Scott Hill explores how the shadow emerges in psychedelic experiences from a Jungian perspective and how to work with the shadow aspects. We explore the shadow and difficult experiences, the Dark and Golden shadow, and how Jung viewed the shadow. Dr. Hill pulls from his work and book, Confrontation with the Unconscious: Jungian Depth Psychology and Psychedelic Experience.
- What is the Shadow and how to face the Shadow?
- The difference between individual and collective Shadow
- Integrating the Shadow with Jungian approaches
- How the Shadow emerges in psychedelic experiences
- Projections as being denied parts of self.
- Not everything in the unconscious is related to the Shadow
Scott J. Hill, PhD, conducts scholarly research on the intersection between psychedelic studies and Jungian psychology. He holds degrees in psychology from the University of Minnesota and in philosophy and religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies. At CIIS Scott studied with two pioneers in transpersonal psychology and psychedelic experience, Stanislav Grof and Ralph Metzner, and constructed the only contemporary Jungian framework for understanding difficult psychedelic experiences.
4. Joe Tafur, M.D.
Exploring Ayahuasca Tourism, Maximization Culture, and Epigenetics
In This Interview:
Dr. Joe Tafur shares his wisdom and experience of working with ayahuasca and Shipibo Healers and how capitalism is having an influence over ayahuasca retreat centers in Peru. We also explore the shamanic view of the shadow and how shamanic cultures might work with shadow material.
- Abuse in medicine/psychedelic spaces
- How psychedelics are used in maximization culture and how that influences psychedelic tourism
- The shamanic side of the Shadow
- Why integration is important
Lastly, Dr. Tafur shares exciting news about an upcoming project that explores the topic of psychedelics and epigenetics, Modern Spirit.
Modern Spirit is dedicated to demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare by illuminating the intersection between biology, emotion and spirituality. As a non-profit dedicated to scientific research, community building, and educational programs, we are working to expand our culture’s capacity to heal.
Dr. Tafur, a has been traveling to Peru to work with Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine and to study with Master Shipibo Healers since 2007. He was initiated into traditional curanderismo by Maestro Ricardo Amaringo at Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual.
As a physician, he works to promote the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare and to demonstrate the intersection between traditional healing and allopathic medicine (learn more at drjoetafur.com).
5. Laura Mae Northrup, MFT
Sexual Trauma, The Body, & The Shadow
In This Interview:
Laura explores the shadow of psychedelic work and sexual trauma/abuse. In her podcast, Inside Eyes, she explores the theme of healing sexual trauma with psychedelics as well as highlighting the abuse that happens in medicine sessions and communities.
- Trauma, Somatics and the Shadow - How the body is connected to the shadow
- How the body plays an important role in psychedelic experiences and other healing experiences
- Healing sexual trauma with psychedelics
- The Shadow of group work
- Spiritual bypassing by chasing community
- Integrating trauma, psychedelics, and the Shadow
Laura Mae Northrup is the creator and host of the podcast Inside Eyes, a series that explores the use of entheogens and psychedelics to heal sexual trauma. She is a practicing psychotherapist and educator. Her work focuses on defining sexual violence through a spiritual and politicized lens and supporting the spiritual integrity of our collective humanity. She is a champion of living more fully engaged and responsible lives through the healing use of entheogens and psychedelics. She lives and works in Oakland, CA.
6. Jessica DiRuzza, MFT
How the Shadow is Showing Up in The Collective
In This Interview:
Jessica shares her insights about how the shadow is playing out in the collective and explores the archetypal themes that are present in current astrological transits. We explore how one can navigate the collective shadow at this time.
- How the collective shadow is showing up in current astrological transits
- How the Shadow is related to shame and that shame is a relational wound
- How to heal the Shadow from a relational framework
- How can we all collectively navigate this time of Shadow?
- The importance of embracing all emotions and not labeling certain emotions as "bad" or "good."
- The importance of integration
Jessica DiRuzza is a licensed psychotherapist, astrologer, and teacher. Jessica received her Master’s in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She completed her undergraduate degree at California Institute of Integral Studies, where she studied and taught archetypal astrology and transpersonal psychology.
7. Gita Vaid, M.D.
Ketamine Psychotherapy and the Shadow
In This Interview:
Dr. Vaid explores the Shadow through her psychoanalytical training and views expressions of the Shadow as aspects of character. We explore Dr. Vaid's work with ketamine and how she works with Shadow material during holotropic states of consciousness
- Character work and the Shadow as character expressions and self states
- How the Shadow can show up in psychedelic experiences
- Spiritual bypassing by chasing ego dissolution
Gita Vaid, MD is a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. She completed her residency training at NYU Medical Center and her psychoanalytic training at the Psychoanalytic Association of New York. Dr Vaid is on faculty at The Ketamine Training Center where she teaches and practices ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as well as at her practice in New York City. She is a co-founder of the Center for Natural Intelligence, a multidisciplinary initiative whose focus includes psychedelic psychotherapy, establishing theoretical frameworks, clinical implications and the development of treatment protocols.
Frequently Asked Questions
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