Psychedelic Sangha welcomes,
Rob Heffernan
to its Speaker Series with host Tomas Sander

Talk: "Something New In The Medicine Buddha's Bowl: The Integration of Psychedelic Medicines with Bodhi Dhamma"

online

Summary: This presentation will discuss how Buddhist based inquiry and practice can help guide, deepen and integrate the use of psychedelics and how psychedelics can inform and enliven dharma practice. Rob Heffernan will discuss aspects of Buddhist and psychedelic history; relevant practices and concepts of Buddhist dharma as they relate to psychedelics; and how he, and his colleagues, directly integrate dharma and sacred medicine. The focus will be on a practical application to empower one's practice and to more fully engage life and community in these challenging and astonishing times. There will also be a bit of time spent speaking to the ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of sacred medicines in our culture.

Speaker bio: Rob Heffernan is co-founder of the Sacred Plant Alliance and is a member of its board of directors. He is involved with the Chacruna Institute's Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants. He is an independent researcher and activist who has participated in the ayahuasca vegetalismo, Santo Daime and other syncretic sacred medicine traditions since 2000. He has been active in organizing and legal efforts for the Santo Daime, ayahuasca and the broader psychedelic community since 2005. He’s also a certified Shamanic Breathwork facilitator, a certified Integrative Sound and Music Practitioner (sound healing) and a long-term Buddhist Dharma practitioner. He has completed the EMBARK training for psychedelic assisted therapy facilitation. Rob has a deep commitment to integrating and building connections between Buddhist Dharma, sacred medicine work and the eco-climate/social justice crisis.

Host bio: Tomas Sander is a Buddhist practitioner and author based in New York. He has been practicing mostly in the Tibetan tradition. His teachers include Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Greg Goode. He co-authored the book "Emptiness and Joyful Freedom" which explores Buddhist insights into the nature of reality using tools from Western philosophy.
Tomas is an early member of Psychedelic Sangha. He has a strong curiosity for the boundless possibilities at the nexus of psychedelic medicines, personal healing and spiritual awakening.
Tomas has a Ph.D. in Mathematics and works on data privacy in the tech industry.