
We Will Call It Pala: A Story for the Psychedelic Movement - kudu
http://aurynfund.org/pala
======
lostgame
Brutal honesty: You just caught me k-holed at a rave in Toronto reading this
and I feel like I have just lived a lifetime. Wow. Insanely well written.
Also: glad I’m not one of the pioneers, unfortunately.

~~~
kimjongtrill
protip: dance at raves and put your phone down. :)

~~~
monocasa
It's hard to dance k-holed. Any movement makes you want to throw up.

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basq
In my experience, Entheogens and money have a reluctant relationship. A
'psychedlic healing' business immediately sounds concerning to me. I can't
find any convincing credentials beyond the author taking these substances at
some point in her life. The author lambasts MBAs yet admits they themselves
are a marketer. Not to mention, 'psychedelic industry' just sounds wrong.

What's the difference between psychedelics and anti depressants? Psychedelics
have a religious component-- no, not the dogmatic, institutionalized sort you
find in the likes of the roman catholic church; rather, the kind of spiritual
experiences that help you come to terms with your existence, and your demise.
More akin to a shaman than a pope.

While I think the world could use 'psychedelic churches' in a manner of
speaking, I struggle to reconcile that with anything possesing a profit
motive. lofty ideals alone will not lead to enlightenment.

~~~
empath75
A psychedelic church would just end up being a tax-dodge for drug dealers
probably.

~~~
api
A church as a tax-dodge for drug dealers is not a new thing.

~~~
pstuart
A church as a tax-dodge is not a new thing.

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nmfisher
From a purely commercial perspective, I think we're seeing the birth of a huge
growth industry in psychedelics.

It certainly feels like there's a lot of demand for alternative (i.e. non
SSRI/CBT) treatments for depression. At the same time, there are countless
anecdotes of psilocybin/LSD having a profound success on people with these
types of mental health conditions.

My prediction is that psychedelics will replicate the success of the marijuana
industry, albeit in a much more restricted/regulated environment.

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virtualwhys
Beautiful parody of a possible future, this was incredibly well written and
designed.

As it stands it's not uncommon to pay around $200/night for Ayahuasca retreats
(plus $75/night lodging), and 5-MEO DMT, $200 on the low end and $1K+ in
places like Los Angeles, for a 10-20 minute experience beyond experience. I've
met more than one shaman/business owner absolutely raking it in, booked solid,
turning people away due to overwhelming demand.

Needless to say it's a lucrative market, not out of the realm of possibility
to see big pharma getting in on the action if legalization moves beyond
marijuana.

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xekc
> What vision do you hold in your heart for a psychedelic future?

"Psychedelic" is mind-manifesting and I see freedom of self expression,
freedom of speech as a roadmap into the future, not only the narrow
medical/therapeutic context. Healing is important but it excludes people that
would self-assess themselves as healthy - so, most people.

While flying up to space to see Earth rotating under could be therapeutic and
heal your depression, awaken a completely different borderless understanding
of Earth as one whole - becoming an astronaut is not an adequate medical
practice at this point, it involves a number of risks, depending where every
person is to begin with.

Statistical prevalence of schizophrenia is 1.2% and it's often not diagnosed -
so every 1 out of 100 people is a very high risk case that even best, most
experienced professionals sometimes can't handle (check out what went on with
Olivia Arevalo).

Like diving, rock climbing, base jumping, surfing - most safe psychedelic
sessions will rely on other people who are more experienced and can help
beginners in person. There is no app that could replace a PADI instructor 10m
below water surface.

I think all business models of the future should factor high risk in and model
scuba diving or rock climbing - our consciousness is very fragile and
psychedelic trauma is real.

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orasis
Beautiful story. I’ve also been thinking about starting a psychedelic spa.
“Light and plants” has been the central thing I’ve been thinking about for
design.

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brbrodude
Funny that in Brasília "pala" is a slang for broken and for psychotropic
experiences, in the sense that if a gadget of yours start misbehaving or stops
working than you can say it "deu pau", same as "deu pala", it's also used when
you're experiencing some drug effect, for example laughing uncontrollably is
the famous "pala de riso" or "broken of laughing", lol

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filoeleven
The most important part of psychedelic therapy—as opposed to a psychedelic
experience—is unsurprisingly the therapy.

In the studies at Johns Hopkins and other places, the protocol always includes
a number of therapy sessions before the trip, and an often smaller of sessions
number afterward to foster integration of the experience. In addition, there
are two therapists present during the trip itself to monitor and assist the
patient as needed.

That therapy plays a big role in the positive outcomes. I think these
substances should be legalized for recreational use, but it’s important to
decide why you want to take one of them and frame the experience properly. I
can imagine an iteration of the story where psychedelics are fully legal, with
the result being that those competing businesses seeking cash cows don’t make
as much sense. In that world, psychedelic therapy is just another form of
therapy, and doesn’t also serve as the gatekeeper of an otherwise-unavailable
controlled substance.

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kylek
I've recently become a certified Kambo practitioner and it may end up
segwaying me into the problems posed here. I'd love to include work with
entheogens (mushrooms/psilohuasca in particular), but I'm not fond of doing
anything "underground". The efforts made in Oakland (and a couple of other
places) are exciting; I really hope we do it right federally.

~~~
carapace
( segueing )

~~~
kylek
Well I sure wouldn't be _walking_ in this day and age... ;)

(whoops)

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eagsalazar2
This story is fiction? Man I did not get that until I googled for a few of the
company and individual names and came up with nothing. What are the real
analogous companies? Is this story actually illustrative of the recent history
and state of this industry?

~~~
eagsalazar2
On [http://aurynfund.org](http://aurynfund.org) they say they are a fund for
supporting a better variety of psychedelic medicine businesses
(equitable,affordable, for all) but they list no portfolio companies or
otherwise no references to any such companies. Weird.

~~~
Sileni
It's still a legal grey area with the way the analogue act is written.
Technically, just about any psychedelic COULD be treated as schedule 1 if it's
intended for human consumption, because they all have fairly similar chemical
structures and activity profiles. Best not to give prosecutors an easy list to
run down if you're interested in furthering the cause.

~~~
eagsalazar2
I'm still confused about to what degree this entire story is fiction or not.
Just different names or do such companies actually exist? I did google
(honestly only for a minute or two) and didn't find any such clinics in actual
operation in SF.

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golergka
> It doesn't appear that there is such a thing as a flashback from LSD.

That's false. Many people report constantly seeing low-key visuals after LSD,
and I myself sometimes see the familiar geometric patterns when I meditate
with my eyes open. Still consider LSD a very positive and life enhancing
experience for me, but this seems very ill-informed and badly researched.
Despite my positive experience, I would be very catious about advising LSD to
others, especially to people who haven't gone through extensive therapy first.

~~~
Nursie
> Many people report constantly seeing low-key visuals after LSD

That's not the classical 'flashback' though, which is generally described as
suddenly being back in the middle of it in an overwhelming way. It's more like
a low-level HPPD (which is something of an oxymoron as HPPD is defined by
being high-level enough to interfere in life).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_percep...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_perception_disorder)

------
gunn
For anyone who doesn't know it, the name Pala is a reference to the setting of
a novel by Aldous Huxley -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_(Huxley_novel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_\(Huxley_novel\))

~~~
geden
Can't recommend that book enough. Huxley nailed it.

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dr_dshiv
I loved the story. It spoke to me.

I'm optimistic. Things work in cycles. I think I know what would happen next.
First, the human touch component would move out of the commodified middle
class model to high-cost gentrified models and to low/no cost homebrew models.

Second, the middle class psychedelic exposure would result in hundreds of
thousands more psychedelically adept humans, inspired to create meaningful,
connected change. More than a cure for disease, it would catalyze cultural
adaptation.

As psychedelic chemicals commercialise and normalize, new mystical rituals
would develop, secular but profound. Classical civilization will continue,
integrating science and spirit, commerce and consciousness. As it was, as it
will be.

Capitalism does this. It moves in cycles, growing and corrupting, growing and
corrupting. But in the end, with gratitude, we appear to live in a good world
that offers us a beautiful future.

~~~
Nursie
How will society actually be different afterwards? Please be specific in your
answer.

I've seen this sort of utopian thinking any number of times. If only everyone
could just take a trip man, we would all live in love and harmony!

Except it's either just vague pipedreams and semi-mystical aspiration, or it's
something more solid like communal living that in general disintegrates in the
cold light of day.

~~~
Disruptive_Dave
My two cents - psychedelics can open your mind to a new way of processing
information and thinking about your daily existence. Anecdotally, it's
happened to me over the last 11+ years (not through psychedelics, but through
other spiritual practices like meditation). The result is that I'm less angry,
less judgmental, less likely to fly off the handle. Much better at processing
information, removing clutter (bullshit), and disassociating from perceptions
and feelings that used to define me.

In a very practical manner, this has made my interactions with everyone around
me much..."better" doesn't feel like the right word but I'll use it here
anyway. This is very simple - I'm "happier" (again, not the right word, but
it'll do for now), I end up treating others better, which in turn has positive
impacts on their lives and hopefully the lives of others that they engage
with.

~~~
Nursie
well firstly, as you said, you've done this without the aid of psychedelics,
so I'm not sure it's exactly an answer to my question!

And secondly, well that's not exactly a societal change. Has it made you ready
to ditch capitalism?

(edit -- I'm sure your change in mindset is a positive thing, I'm not
disputing that. I'm also not disputing that psychedelics can have a profound
effect on individuals. But as someone who has used a fairly wide variety of
psychedelics over a number of years, I've also experienced and observed that
they can induce a false sense of the deeply profound. They do also seem to
leave people with this idea they could change the world, but they never really
seem to know how)

~~~
dwaltrip
If they play an important role in reducing the prevalence and severity of
mental illness by an order of magnitude, I think that would be a huge boon to
society, human well-being, and the advance of civilization. There have been a
number of very promising studies.

It's hard to fully capture the damage that is done by debilitating depression
or anxiety, for example. I think the statistics are that 20% of the entire
population will experience at least one episode during their lifetime. And
that number has been increasing.

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papreclip
Don't think psychedelic therapy can or should be shoehorned into the "scale
out and make VC/CEO rich" model

~~~
orasis
Until you realize that many millions are suffering and every day someone
doesn't get treated is another opportunity for them to kill themselves.

------
rootw0rm
I used to live on a rez called Pala. I gave away many substituted tryptamines
and phenethylamines there.

------
LukeWalsh
I had a thought that this is even beyond the word psychedelia and extends more
broadly to all modern health. But then, I think the word is just right, since
psychedelia has as much to do with LSD as vitamins have to do with vitamin
water. If you disagree with the analogy that’s no issue, it’s simply A Catchy
Hook.

Psychedelic simply means expansion of the mind and is independent of any
particular practice or substance.

Mindfulness seems to be another, or even, “the,” new culmination word for
“safe” psychedelia in the west (as contrast with the “unsafe” roll-your-own
a.la burning man). We can tell it’s the current culmination word because it’s
polarized, the one word with a significant amount of scientific research, but
then at the same time oddly clinical and paradoxically overall too LuLu lemon
& vitamin water. It just doesn’t seem to have that same oomph as eating acid
and stealing fire in the desert, but it’s receiving medical approvals that
pave the way for economics to benefit people at scale. Mindfulness seems to
encourage passivity, but then it’s practiced by navy seals. At the core, it’s
all wrong by placing too much focus on the mind, just like we’ve always done
in Latin-based languages.

Whatever the word is, developing a perspective that we individually believe is
worth cultivating is the root of a connection between well-being and
performance.

It doesn’t sound like a SASS app because it isn’t. It doesn’t seem like a good
business idea because business is a dirty word, like mindfulness, people think
there’s a way to do it.

Two quotes stood out to me:

“But what we really need are psychedelic models for business - business that
defines new standards for integrity, equity and ethics; business reimagined
with a technicolor glow.”

“What would I have done if I had known that this would happen?”

The second seems like exactly the right question. If you have an answer I’d
love to chat, even just for fun.

~~~
LukeWalsh
Actually now I’m confused because I don’t understand Latin. Psyche definitely
gets at the mind idea, but also soul or spirit. Ick sounds like what I do
before I vomit but I guess “delic” is really what we’d be concerned about, but
then this seems like it’s just talking about an experience of the first thing,
an arrow pointing back to an amorphous blob of language. I’m not sure if it’s
better or worse that I brought my own preconceptions to the word at this
point, or how my preconceptions are different from the thing itself. I’m
seeing other interpretations talking about dissolution. It’s certainly
something big happening, that’s for sure! In a way, I’m also confused about
mindfulness. Is my mind full or is the fullness of mind different from that?
Does it mean something that there’s only one “L?”

Absolutely I think the next interesting discussions could either be about the
word, or what to do.

Again, thanks to the author for properly choosing A New Brand, with existing
baggage which perfectly typifies where discussions like this tend to go, see
comments below.

~~~
LukeWalsh
WOW now I’m even more confused on how Latin is different from Greek.

I should not be listened to when it comes to the words.

~~~
LukeWalsh
Fuck your burn!

~~~
soylentcola
It was better next year.

