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).

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.

“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. completed his dissertation on psychedelics in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco. His book, The Psilocybin Connection: Psychedelics, the Transformation of Consciousness, and Evolution of the Planet—An Integral Approach, is being published by North Atlantic Books and distributed Spring 2022 by Penguin Random House. He earned his Masters in Consciousness and Transformative Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and his Bachelors from the University of Arizona with a major in Philosophy and minors in Physics, Psychology, and Mathematics. Aside from academic work, he has undergone several major trainings, including graduating from the Hakomi somatic-psychotherapy program and training within the Mazatec mushroom tradition. He assisted the Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy Certificate training at CIIS for two years, and mentored at the newly emerging School of Consciousness Medicine. He works as a facilitator for legal psilocybin mushrooms ceremonies in Jamaica with Atman Retreats, one of the few opportunities offered worldwide where people can legally experience psilocybin. Jahan is on the PsiloHealth integration team, a content advisor for the Synthesis Psychedelic Guide Training Program, and volunteers at the Zendo Project, which provides psychedelic harm reduction. He has been on dozens of podcasts, which an be seen on this site’s Media page. If you want to know more, see my About Me page.

“Avoid Gurus. Follow Plants.” ~Terence McKenna