Psychedelic Evolution
The publisher writes: “A comprehensive guide to psilocybin mushrooms and their impact on our psychology, biology, and social development.
How--and why--do psychedelics exist? Did psilocybin catalyze our early human ancestors’ social evolution? And how can an integral understanding of psychedelics quite literally change the world?
In an ambitious and comprehensive look at psilocybin--and how humanity co-evolved alongside mushrooms--Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD, explores our historical and ancestral relationship to psychedelics, presents new and exciting research, and explores what psilocybin can mean for us today.
Separated into three sections--Present, Past, and Future--Psilocybin Connection advances our understanding of psychedelics in unexpected and original ways. Khamsehzadeh shares compelling research that suggests that naturally-occurring psychedelics may have played an essential role in our social, cultural, and linguistic evolution. Supported by archaeological evidence, neuroscience, and academic studies, he explores how mushrooms gave rise to art and expression, impacted spiritual experiences, and even catalyzed human brain development.
Blending people’s transformative experiences and the most comprehensive synthesis of psilocybin research to date, Khamsehzadeh’s Psilocybin Connection moves our understanding of the psychedelic mushroom forward toward a fresh, hopeful, and exciting future.”
My book is now available for order.
“This book’s blend of scholarship, erudition, and imagination makes a compelling argument that human evolution, even the enlargement of our brains, has been due in part to psilocybin mushrooms and their effects on perception, cognition, and imagination. [Khamsezadeh’s] scholarly perspective is persuasive, optimistic, and a pleasure to read.”
—JAMES FADIMAN, PhD, microdose researcher and author of The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide
“The Psilocybin Connection: Psychedelics, the Transformation of Consciousness, and Evolution on the Planet-- An Integral Approach,” is now available in paperback, audiobook, and Ebook across several platforms—Amazon, Audible, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the distributor (Penguin Random House).
“Psychedelics are for psychiatry and psychology to what the microscope is for biology and the telescope is for astronomy.” ~Stanislav Grof
Jahan Khamsehzadeh, Ph.D. is a scholar and practitioner specializing in psychedelics and consciousness. He completed his doctoral dissertation researching psilocybin in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. His book, “The Psilocybin Connection: Psychedelics, the Transformation of Consciousness, and Evolution of the Planet—An Integral Approach”, is available across various platforms.
Jahan holds a Master’s degree in Consciousness and Transformative Studies from John F. Kennedy University and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, with minors in Physics, Psychology, and Mathematics, from the University of Arizona. His training includes the two-year Hakomi somatic-psychotherapy program and immersion in the Mazatec mushroom tradition.
With extensive experience in the psychedelic field, he has participated in eight psychedelic training programs, serving as a student, assistant, content advisor, and trainer. Jahan facilitated legal psilocybin mushroom ceremonies in Jamaica for several years with Atman Retreats and is currently a minister with the Congregation for Sacred Practices. He has held over 650 ceremonies and been a guest on over 100 podcasts. If you want to know more, see my About Me page.
“Avoid Gurus. Follow Plants.” ~Terence McKenna
Welcome
“The ability to observe with non-judgement is the highest form of intelligence.” ~J. Krishnamurti
There are two way I engage with psychedelics and evolution. The first is through my private practice where I support clients in overcoming challenges like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Others arrive at this work for psychological, emotional, and spiritual development. The second is through deep academic research and training which has been my primary focus for almost two decades. Additionally I present and write about psychedelics in the context of both evolution and psychotherapy. I am trained in variety of psychological approaches, such as somatic-psychotherapy and transpersonal psychology. If you want to know more about my private practice, please see my Services page. If you would like to see me present my research, please see my Videos page. If you want to continue your own research, either on psychedelics and/or evolution, please see my Recommended Readings page, which has hundreds of materials.
