Podcast appearances and mentions of Roland R Griffiths

Introducing Can Psychedelics Heal Mental Trauma? With Harvard Professor Michael Pollan from The Oprah Podcast.Follow the show: The Oprah Podcast BUY THE BOOK!“How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence” by Michael Pollan “Fire in the Hole!: The Untold Story of My Traumatic Life and Explosive Success” by Bob Parsons In this episode of The Oprah Podcast, Oprah and bestselling author Michael Pollan discuss the potential of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin (also known as magic mushrooms) and LSD as a benefit to help relieve symptoms of PTSD, OCD, anxiety, addiction, or depression. Michael's 2018 book, "How to Change Your Mind", was a watershed moment in the rising national conversation about the use of psychedelics in guided therapy.Michael describes his own psychedelic experiences as well as additional guests, including GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons, who share their stories about how psychedelics helped them improve their mental well-being, cope with trauma and grief and achieve spiritual transcendence. Pollan taught for many years at UC Berkeley and is currently a professor teaching creative writing at Harvard.This episode is brought to you in part by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at http://www.betterhelp.com/OPRAHPODCAST For more information on The Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D. Professorship Fund, Psychedelic Research On Secular Spirituality And Well-Being - https://griffithsfund.org/ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@OprahFollow Oprah Winfrey on Social:https://www.instagram.com/oprah/https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/Listen to the full podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLIhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

What happens inside a psychedelic retreat? Meet Dr. Lauren Macdonald - a psychiatry doctor, group retreat facilitator and psychedelic therapy guide. She worked with patients in psychedelic clinical trials at Imperial College London and now leads psychedelic retreats around the world. Her approach includes integrating traditional and Western medicine. In this episode, you'll hear what happens at The Reconnection, Lauren's bi-annual retreat for women.Enjoy!Want to become a MOTHER-sponsor and create some magic together? Reach out to us: https://shorturl.at/0RHLM(00:00) Intro(01:20) Weaving psychedelics with modern medicine(08:20) What is a psychedelic experience like(14:00) Inside "The Reconnection" retreat(18:40) The reason women come to the retreats(20:00) What does being an "embodied" person mean?(23:30) Psychedelics and Women's Health(29:50) Psychospiritual approach to medicine(34:30) Insights from women who attend psychedelic retreats(41:00) Neuroplasticity and post-retreat glow(45:10) Disclaimers, important words of caution(50:30) Lessons from psychedelic workConnect with Lauren:https://drlaurenmacdonald.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drlaurenmacdonaldLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-lauren-macdonald-3b2298b9/Links mentioned:Roland R. Griffiths, PhD - https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/griffithsLaura Wilkes (co-creator of The Reconnection) - https://www.instagram.com/laurajwilkes_/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. David Yaden's interest in studying spiritual experiences started with one of his own. As he describes it, it was a totally spontaneous experience involving an intensely altered state of consciousness that left him with an enhanced, positive perspective on life. “This became an obsession, really, to understand this. I learned that these experiences have been studied throughout history by scholars and increasingly by scientists,” he tells host Shiv Gaglani. “As I learned more, it became more and more clear that this is what I wanted to study, and that's what I still do.” He happens to be in a perfect spot to do it as the Roland R. Griffiths Professor in Psychedelic Research on Secular Spirituality and Well-Being at Johns Hopkins, named for a leading figure in the modern renaissance in psychedelic research. The basic scope of the project he's managing is non-clinical. Topics of study include better quantifying the risk-benefit ratio of psychedelics as a positive intervention; looking into how psychedelic experiences that have a spiritual character relate to similar experiences not triggered by psychedelics; and collecting data from non-Western population centers across the world to provide a more complete picture of how much cultural expectations play a role in influencing these experiences, as well as how similar they are across cultures. There is much to learn in this probing look at a fascinating dimension of psychedelic research.Mentioned in this episode: https://griffithsfund.org/

Meditation, Psychedelics, Mortality: A conversation with Tara and Roland Griffiths - Roland is a long-term meditator, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Johns Hopkins, and a leader in researching the clinical effects of psychedelics, including their impact on those struggling with cancer, depression or addiction. At the end of 2021, he discovered he had incurable stage 4 Colon Cancer. This conversation explores the relationship between meditation and psychedelics, and how they both can serve profound spiritual awakening and deep inner freedom in the face of mortality. Information about the endowment fund: The Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D. Professorship Fund in Psychedelic Research on Secular Spirituality and Well-Being

In this episode, Joe covers Prince Harry coming out of the psychedelic closet, Virginia lawmakers proposing the legalization of psilocybin, psychedelic legislation already in plans for nearly a dozen states in 2023, and more. www.psychedelicstoday.com

Magic mushrooms are giving researchers hope in treating conditions like anxiety and depression, a new study may have found the key to increasing photosynthesis efficiency in plants, and research shows that we love being reached out to by old friends! Mushrooming Minds'They Broke My Mental Shackles': Could Magic Mushrooms be the Answer to Depression? by Josh Jacobshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/10/magic-mushrooms-treatment-depression-aztecs-psilocybin-mental-health-medicinePsilocybin Produces Substantial and Sustained Decreases in Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial by Roland R. Griffiths, et al.https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F0269881116675513Rapid and Sustained Symptom Reduction Following Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial by Stephen Ross, et al.https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116675512Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy Volunteers by Rainer Kraehenmann, et al.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.010Therapeutic Mechanisms of Psilocybin: Changes in Amygdala and Prefrontal Functional Connectivity during Emotional Processing after Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression by Lea J. Mertens, et al.https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0269881119895520Limbic System: Amygdala by The University of Texas McGovern Medical Schoolhttps://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s4/chapter06.htmlSuper Plants Scientists Resurrect Ancient Enzymes To Improve Photosynthesis by Krishna Ramanujanhttps://cals.cornell.edu/news/2022/04/scientists-resurrect-ancient-enzymes-improve-photosynthesisImproving the Efficiency of Rubisco by Resurrecting Its Ancestors in the Family Solanaceae by Myat T. Lin, et al.https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm6871Scientists Take Step to Improve Crops' Photosynthesis, Yields by Krishna Ramanujanhttps://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/08/scientists-take-step-improve-crops-photosynthesis-yieldsSmall Subunits Can Determine Enzyme Kinetics of Tobacco Rubisco Expressed in Escherichia Coli by Myat T. Lin, et al.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00761-5Plz Call Your Friends“Unexpectedly reaching out to a friend is more appreciated than people assume, new study shows” by Douglas Heingartnerhttps://www.psychnewsdaily.com/reaching-out-more-appreciated-than-assumed/“The Surprise of Reaching Out: Appreciated More Than We Think” by Peggy J. Liu, SoYon Rim, Lauren Min, and Kate E. Minhttps://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspi0000402.pdfFollow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/mushrooming-minds-super-plants-plz-call-your-friends

Long dismissed as hallucinations, the beings that people see on DMT are attracting more and more scientific interest. These beings, and the ways that they behave, are strikingly similar to those encountered by "alien" abductees, and even biblical prophets. Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/user?u=3375417 Donate on Paypal: ThinkAnomalous.com/support.html Watch video version: YouTube.com/ThinkAnomalous Website: ThinkAnomalous.com Full sources and transcript: ThinkAnomalous.com/DMT.html Facebook: Facebook.com/ThinkAnomalous Twitter: Twitter.com/Think_Anomalous Instagram: Instagram.com/Think.Anomalous Think Anomalous is created by Jason Charbonneau. Research by Clark Murphy. Music by Josh Chamberland. Sound design by Will Mountain and Josh Chamberland. Illustration by V.R. Laurence (VRLaurence.com). Main Sources: Devereux, Paul. The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia. New York, NY, USA: Penguin Group, 1997. Frecska, Ede, Petra Bokor, and Michael Winkelman,. “The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization.” Frontiers in Pharmacology 7, no. 35 (2016): 1-17. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00035. Johnson, Matthew W., Albert Garcia-Romeu, and Roland R. Griffiths. “Long-term Follow-up of Psilocybin-facilitated Smoking Cessation.” The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 43, no. 1 (2017): 55-60, doi:10.3109/00952990.2016.1170135. Luke, David. “Discarnate entities and dimethyltryptamine (DMT): Psychopharmacology, phenomenology and ontology.” Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 75, no. 902 (January 2011): 26-42. Luke, David, Rory Spowers, and Anton Bilton, eds. DMT Dialogues: Encounters with the Divine Molecule. Rochester, Vermont, USA: Park street Press, 2018. Luke, David. “Understanding DMT with David Luke.” New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove. November 5, 2018. YouTube video, 33:31. https://youtu.be/rCdLO-UP8No. McKenna, Terence. The Archaic Revival. New York, NY, USA: HarperOne, 1991. McKenna, Terence, and Dennis McKenna. The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching. San Francisco, California, USA: HarperCollins, (1975) 1993. National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem. Samorini, Giorgio. “The oldest Representations of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in the World (Sahara Desert, 9000-7000 B.P.).” Integration, no. 2 & 3 (1992): 69-78. Schultes, Richard Evans, Albert Hofmann, and Christian Rätsch. Plants of the Gods. Rochester, Vermont, USA: Healing Arts Press, (1992) 2001. St. John, Graham. Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT. North Atlantic Books, 2015. Strassman, Rick. DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: A New Science of Spiritual Revelation in the Hebrew Bible. Rochester, Vermont, USA, Toronto, Canada: Park Street Press, 2014. Strassman, Rick. DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 2001. This podcast uses sound effects downloaded from http://stockmusic.com.

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of interviewing Ian Geithner - a graduate student at the University of Maryland working in the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, under the mentoring hand of Dr. Roland Griffiths. During our conversation we walk through the hallowed halls of Johns Hopkins into the cutting-edge world of therapeutic psilocybin clinical trials. We'll meet the researchers who have picked up the torch of psychedelic research and are exploring the frontiers of treating mental and emotional disorders like anorexia, depression and Alzheimers. As a method of treatment, psilocybin shows unique promise to clinical research subjects. What are the physiological effects it has on our brains and how does it work to change the way our consciousness operates? What is the future of this research and are we at the beginning of a renaissance in psychedelic medicine? If these topics spark your interest and you feel a pull to get involved, we talk about opportunities both as a research subject and/or a clinical researcher in this promising field of holistic medicine. Thanks for listening and Mush Love! Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour Music by: Ancient Baby Episode Resources Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research https://clinicaltrials.gov/ Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences by Bill Richards Roland R. Griffiths

Dr. Roland R. Griffiths Dr. Roland R. Griffiths is a clinical pharmacologist at Johns Hopkins and has been researching mood-altering compounds for over 40 years. As an unusually prolific scientist, having published over 360-times, he's also responsible for having started the psilocybin research program at Johns Hopkins nearly 2 decades ago. In this podcast, you'll discover:  00:01:03 - the broader story of Dr. Griffiths 40 years of mood-altering drug research, including what got him started and how taking up a meditation practice ultimately influenced the eventual focuses of his research. 00:02:22 - the effect psilocybin has had in clinical trials in eliciting so-called mystical experiences that can act as a long-term catalyst for meaningful spiritual change and is amenable to being reproduced and clinically studied in a prospective manner. 00:03:45 - what distinguishes psilocybin from other drugs, particularly when reflecting backward on the experience months afterward. 00:05:11 - the process by which Dr. Griffiths and his team create an appropriate “setting” and facilitate feelings of safety for those participating in his trials. 00:06:42 - the elusive fundamental nature of a classical psychedelic experience whereby people often simultaneously describe the experience as ineffable (indescribable) but yet also often assign it a truth value that may even exceed that of everyday consensus reality. 00:07:36 - a description of the core features of a classical mystical experience that overlap with those found in a mystical experience induced by psilocybin. 00:08:58 - the qualities of the experience that Dr. Griffiths believes to most underlie the “reorganizational” potential it can have. 00:10:55 - the interesting potential areas for scientific exploration that the reproducibility of the psilocybin experience makes the substance amenable to. 00:11:25 - the promise psilocybin has shown as an effective therapeutic for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer and also treatment-resistant depression in otherwise healthy patients (00:18:46). 00:13:04 - the lack of rigor in the very early trials on these compounds and the way in which cultural stigma surrounding psychedelic drugs ultimately played a role in impeding real, substantive clinical research for decades afterward. 00:16:31 - the long-term resilience of the antidepressant and anxiolytic effect, lasting six months and possibly even longer. 00:21:01 - the effect psilocybin has demonstrated in animal studies to increase hippocampal neurogenesis and enhance extinction of trace fear conditioning. 00:23:07 - the somewhat unintuitive neurobiological mechanism that may tie together some of the antidepressant properties of both psilocybin and ketamine, an anesthetic currently being studied as a rapid-onset antidepressant. 00:25:16 - whether or not the mystical subjective experiences are necessary for drugs like psilocybin to exert their antidepressant or anxiolytic effects. 00:26:43 - what the default mode network is and what its pattern of activity is in depression, long-term meditators, and after the acute use of psilocybin. 00:32:16 - the hard problem of consciousness. 00:37:26 - the challenge of finding the neurological correlates to match the phenomenology of individual's subjective experiences. 00:38:16 - the promise psilocybin has shown in a small trial on smoking cessation where 60% of the treatment group were still abstinent a year afterward and plans Dr. Griffiths has to expand this area of research 00:41:10 - the possibility that the “reorganizational nature” of these experiences may open up new avenues as trials continue to try to embed the experience within different therapeutic contexts. 00:44:02 - the roadmap to FDA approval for use of psilocybin as a medication, particularly in the context of cancer-associated depression and anxiety. 00:45:05 - the risks inherent in taking psilocybin and the frequency of self-reported negative experiences in the general population. 00:47:22 - the criteria Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues use when screening for volunteers to participate in his studies involving psilocybin. 00:49:21 - the inability for clinicians to predict who is at risk of having challenging experiences defined by fear and anxiety (“bad trip”) and whether or not it is desirable, in terms of achieving a therapeutic outcome, to prevent these types of experiences altogether or not. 00:51:43 - the sort of dosages used in the trials. 00:54:45 - the clever ways devised by Dr. Griffiths to placebo control trials where expectation itself can affect outcome. 00:57:45 - some of the interesting anecdotes gleaned from Dr. Griffiths' working with long-term meditators participating in the psilocybin trial. 01:05:13 - a brief discussion about some of the other psychedelics besides psilocybin, such as salvia divinorum and DMT (at 01:10:24). 01:12:08 - the historical indigenous use of psychedelics in various cultures spread throughout the world.   If you're interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/roland-griffiths Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on psilocybin, psychedelic therapies & mystical experiences straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A's with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Dr. Roland R. Griffiths is a clinical pharmacologist at Johns Hopkins and has been researching mood-altering compounds for over 40 years. As an unusually prolific scientist, having published over 360-times, he's also responsible for having started the psilocybin research program at Johns Hopkins nearly 2 decades ago. In this 1-hour and 15-minute podcast, we discuss… 00:01:03 - the broader story of Dr. Griffiths 40 years of mood-altering drug research, including what got him started and how taking up a meditation practice ultimately influenced the eventual focuses of his research. 00:02:22 - the effect psilocybin has had in clinical trials in eliciting so-called mystical experiences that can act as a long-term catalyst for meaningful spiritual change and is amenable to being reproduced and clinically studied in a prospective manner. 00:03:45 - what distinguishes psilocybin from other drugs, particularly when reflecting backward on the experience months afterward. 00:05:11 - the process by which Dr. Griffiths and his team create an appropriate “setting” and facilitate feelings of safety for those participating in his trials. 00:06:42 - the elusive fundamental nature of a classical psychedelic experience whereby people often simultaneously describe the experience as ineffable (indescribable) but yet also often assign it a truth value that may even exceed that of everyday consensus reality. 00:07:36 - a description of the core features of a classical mystical experience that overlap with those found in a mystical experience induced by psilocybin. 00:08:58 - the qualities of the experience that Dr. Griffiths believes to most underlie the “reorganizational” potential it can have. 00:10:55 - the interesting potential areas for scientific exploration that the reproducibility of the psilocybin experience makes the substance amenable to. 00:11:25 - the promise psilocybin has shown as an effective therapeutic for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer and also treatment-resistant depression in otherwise healthy patients (00:18:46). 00:13:04 - the lack of rigor in the very early trials on these compounds and the way in which cultural stigma surrounding psychedelic drugs ultimately played a role in impeding real, substantive clinical research for decades afterward. 00:16:31 - the long-term resilience of the antidepressant and anxiolytic effect, lasting six months and possibly even longer. 00:21:01 - the effect psilocybin has demonstrated in animal studies to increase hippocampal neurogenesis and enhance extinction of trace fear conditioning. 00:23:07 - the somewhat unintuitive neurobiological mechanism that may tie together some of the antidepressant properties of both psilocybin and ketamine, an anesthetic currently being studied as a rapid-onset antidepressant. 00:25:16 - whether or not the mystical subjective experiences are necessary for drugs like psilocybin to exert their antidepressant or anxiolytic effects. 00:26:43 - what the default mode network is and what its pattern of activity is in depression, long-term meditators, and after the acute use of psilocybin. 00:32:16 - the hard problem of consciousness. 00:37:26 - the challenge of finding the neurological correlates to match the phenomenology of individual’s subjective experiences. 00:38:16 - the promise psilocybin has shown in a small trial on smoking cessation where 60% of the treatment group were still abstinent a year afterward and plans Dr. Griffiths has to expand this area of research 00:41:10 - the possibility that the “reorganizational nature” of these experiences may open up new avenues as trials continue to try to embed the experience within different therapeutic contexts. 00:44:02 - the roadmap to FDA approval for use of psilocybin as a medication, particularly in the context of cancer-associated depression and anxiety. 00:45:05 - the risks inherent in taking psilocybin and the frequency of self-reported negative experiences in the general population. 00:47:22 - the criteria Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues use when screening for volunteers to participate in his studies involving psilocybin. 00:49:21 - the inability for clinicians to predict who is at risk of having challenging experiences defined by fear and anxiety (“bad trip”) and whether or not it is desirable, in terms of achieving a therapeutic outcome, to prevent these types of experiences altogether or not. 00:51:43 - the sort of dosages used in the trials. 00:54:45 - the clever ways devised by Dr. Griffiths to placebo control trials where expectation itself can affect outcome. 00:57:45 - some of the interesting anecdotes gleaned from Dr. Griffiths’ working with long-term meditators participating in the psilocybin trial. 01:05:13 - a brief discussion about some of the other psychedelics besides psilocybin, such as salvia divinorum and DMT (at 01:10:24). 01:12:08 - the historical indigenous use of psychedelics in various cultures spread throughout the world. Watch this as a video on YouTube.

Roland Griffiths is the lead investigator of the Psilocybin Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins and one of the United States’ leading psychopharmacologists. In the conclusion to his conversation with host Vincent Horn, Roland provides more details on the Hopkins Meditation Study, Vincent shares his personal story of psychedelic experimentation, and they discuss the risks and benefits of mixing meditation practice with the psilocybin experience. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one "Meditating on Mushrooms". Episode Links: - Hopkins Meditation Study - "The Trip Treatment"- Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D.

Roland Griffiths is the lead investigator of the Psilocybin Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins and one of the United States’ leading psychopharmacologists. In this episode Roland describes his research into the medicinal uses of psychedelics. He explains his history in the field, his current research around psychedelics and meditation, and he extends an invitation to the Buddhist Geeks audience to consider becoming a part of a meditation on psilocybin study at John Hopkins. This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two "Psilocybin: A Crash Course in Mindfulness". Episode Links: - Hopkins Meditation Study - "The Trip Treatment" - Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D.