Buddhist and Psychedelic Perspectives on Love

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Allan Badiner and Neal M. Goldsmith, Ph.D.
With Annie Lalla, Moderator
Is love happiness? There are myriad forms of love: we make love, we love our families, we love animals, and some of us love God(s). We sometimes think of sexual love as less genuine than romantic love, and romantic love as less noble than spiritual love. Are these useful or even accurate representations of the reality of love?
Writer Allan Badiner (Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics) and psychotherapist Neal Goldsmith discuss the Buddhist and psychedelic perspectives on love in the context of friendship, families, fidelity, and polyamory. They address the question of whether it is more effective to turn to Buddhism, or psychiatry, or psychedelics, or an appropriate mix, to help us resolve personal issues. Finally, Neal and Allan address the question of whether or not there is an honest, effective way to integrate the use of psychedelics and Buddhist meditation, not necessarily at the same time, but in the same life.
Annie Lalla, a love coach who specializes in sexuality and relationships, will moderate the discussion.
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Speaker Bios

Allan Badiner is a writer, editor, teacher and activist. He edited Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Chronicle Books, 2002), as well as two other books of collected essays: “Dharma Gaia: A Harvest in Buddhism and Ecology” (Parallax Press, 1990), and “Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism” (Parallax, 2002). His new book about pilgrimage, currently in the works, is called “Buddhaland.” Allan is an Adjunct Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, a contributing editor of Tricycle Magazine, and serves on the board of directors of Rainforest Action Network and the Threshold Foundation.

Neal M. Goldsmith, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist, author, and public speaker specializing in psychospiritual development, with particular interest in psychedelic psychotherapy. His book, Psychedelic Healing: The Promise of Entheogens for Psychotherapy and Spiritual Development, describes the influence of psychedelics on the development of his personality theory and clinical practice. Trained in humanistic, transpersonal, and eastern traditions, he maintains a (non-psychedelic) psychotherapy practice in New York City and Sag Harbor, NY.

Annie Lalla (Moderator) is known as the “Cartographer of Love,” and operates a relationship coaching practice in New York.