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Psychedelics and Leadership
–
The New Horizon of Inner Development?



Explore our discussion with the Alumni network (inpraxi) of WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management

Christopher Kabakis, Dmitrij Achelrod (PhD)

April 1, 2022

New Work needs a new kind of Inner Work. Can psychedelics be used to promote personal and professional growth in healthy people?

Some people from the business and organizational world have heard of the “psychedelic renaissance” in the treatment of mental disorders. Indeed, clinical research on psychedelics, such as psilocybin, has experienced a revival in the past two decades, leading to spectacular successes in treating conditions such as addiction (1), treatment-resistant depression (2), mood (3) and anxiety disorders or even end-of-life anxiety of cancer patients (4).

However, when most people hear the word “psychedelics”, they associate the substances with a delirious weekend-rave. But, understandably, for most of them, it’s not conceivable to get an intravenous ketamine-injection in a clinic or to drop some random and illegal pills at a party.

The space between clinic and rave is wide. This is why we want to explore the question how psychedelics, and altered states of consciousness in general, can be used in a safe, professional, and legal setting to support the personal growth of healthy individuals. And could psychedelic work even help people to become better leaders? Many of us intuit it already: “New Work” needs a new kind of Inner Work.
In this event at the Alumni Club of WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, Evolute Institute’s co-founders Christopher Kabakis and Dmitrij Achelrod, Ph.D. explored the perils and promises of entering altered states of consciousness to influence your mind, your mindset and your trajectory in life and business.
 They spoke about questions such as:
  • Is personal development a precondition for success in today’s world?
  • How can psychedelics and other techniques (e.g. breathwork) facilitate personal development in healthy / highly functional people?
  • How do psychedelics work in your brain?
  • What are the pros and cons of using psychedelics for personal development?
  • What is the legal situation around psychedelics?
  • How can a safe and legal setting be created?
  • How does the psychedelic field move from the Silicon Valley into the mainstream: From “Stealing Fire” (6) to “New Work needs inner work” (7).
As Dr. Roland Griffiths, one of the world’s most renowned psychedelic researchers (Johns Hopkins University) said:

Meditation is the tried and true course for understanding the human mind, and psilocybin is the crash course.

Prof. Roland Griffiths

Let’s explore that idea together in the recorded video of our session! And don’t miss our newly published “Psychedelics 101” series.

Watch the video here

 

And if you want to be part of a pioneering group of entrepreneurs, organisational leaders, change-makers and visionaries who embark on this journey of intentional inner work with altered states of consciousness, check out one of our retreat programs or schedule an exploratory call. We’d be glad to get to know you. 

 

Want to find out more about our work or participate in one of our programs? Schedule a call with us here

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Images

Article Cover: Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash.

References:

(1) Garcia-Romeu A, Davis AK, Erowid E, Erowid F, Griffiths RR, Johnson MW. Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: An Online Survey. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10: 955.
Garcia-Romeu A, Griffiths RR, Johnson MW. Psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences in the treatment of tobacco addiction. Curr Drug Abuse Rev 2014; 7: 157–64.
 
(2) Griffiths R, Richards W, Johnson M, McCann U, Jesse R. Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later. J Psychopharmacol Oxf Engl 2008; 22: 621–32.
Hendricks PS. Awe: a putative mechanism underlying the effects of classic psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Int Rev Psychiatry Abingdon Engl 2018; 30: 331–42.
 
(3) van Schalkwyk GI, Wilkinson ST, Davidson L, Silverman WK, Sanacora G. Acute psychoactive effects of intravenous ketamine during treatment of mood disorders: Analysis of the Clinician Administered Dissociative State Scale. J Affect Disord 2018; 227: 11–6.
Barrett, F.S., Doss, M.K., Sepeda, N.D. et al. Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin. Sci Rep 10, 2214 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59282-y
 
(4) Inverse, August 2020: Cancer patients say psilocybin can be both ‘therapy’ and ‘a beautiful experience’. https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/cancer-patients-psilocybin-psychedelic-therapy
Griffiths R. R., Johnson M. W., Carducci M. A., Umbricht A., Richards W. A., Richards B. D., et al. (2016). Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized double-blind trial. J. Psychopharmacol. 30 1181–1197.
 
 
 

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