Can we escape the fear of death?

Dear friends and neighbors,

I found myself liking Tony Bossis the minute I met him. He was warm and easy to converse with – my kind of person to be a therapist. I was intrigued to discover after the interview that he, like myself, had received a terminal diagnosis of heart failure which we both managed to completely recover from. This might be a very small club!

Tony is a courageous man for starting psychedelic research 20 years ago when such work was poorly thought of in the great halls of academia. Currently we are in a psychedelic brave new world.

You can listen to the audio here, or subscribe to read the transcript below.

It isn't about the medicine, it's the experience – Anthony Bossis

NOTE: I am currently embarking on a new series featuring healing stories from those who have benefitted from psychedelics at the end of life, or in the face of a terminal diagnosis. I hope to interview those with direct personal experience, as well as relatives, friends, and clinicians with stories to share. Please email my producer if you would like to be interviewed on my program, and featured in a future book on this topic.

Wishing you Golden Light,

Dr. Richard Louis Miller

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Further Reading:

• Psychedelic Wisdom

• Psychedelic Medicine

Transcript

Dr. Richard Louis Miller: Welcome to Mind Body Health & Politics. I'm your host, Dr. Richard Louis Miller. 

The mission of Mind Body Health & Politics is to enhance your physical and emotional wellbeing and to encourage community. I say encourage community because I believe that human beings are friendly tribal animals. We like hanging around with one another and the vast majority of us are cooperative and collaborative.

At the very same time, we have to acknowledge that there are a percentage of us who are avaricious predators, and they would have us be their subjects rather than citizens. It's our job as the friendly, cooperative, tribal people we are to be ever mindful of these people. In the words of one of my heroes, Thomas Jefferson, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Today on Mind Body Health & Politics I have the privilege of having Dr. Anthony Tony Bossis with us. Welcome to Mind Body Health & Politics, Tony.

Dr. Anthony Tony Bossis: Thank you so much, Richard. A pleasure to be here.

High-dose psilocybin studies

Dr. Richard Louis Miller: Tony, what is catching your interest in life nowadays?

Dr. Anthony Tony Bossis: Well, many things in this incredible zeitgeist we find ourselves in, Richard, but I've been more deeply involved in psychedelic research each day, it seems. How are we going to implement that into a culture such as ours? 

My primary interest in conducting research here at NYU is with people at the end of life; people in palliative care who are suffering from significant existential or spiritual distress as one approaches the end of this short, brief, beautiful thing we have here. 

I'm also fascinated by the experience itself. To that end, we're about to publish a study administering high-dose psilocybin to religious leaders in an effort to continue to map out the phenomenality of his experience.