#115 System reboot in progress…
I’ve been silent on this blog since early 2023, with a few posting exceptions in late 2024 and early 2025. The reason for this, in a word, is triage. In medical terminology, triage is the act of prioritizing patients’ health depending on the level of care they need. Someone on the verge of death gets help first. Someone with a cut on their body part is temporarily bandaged until further care can be applied, such as stitches.
For a long time, I prioritized researching and writing my book, Rise of the Psychonaut (2025). I didn’t have the time to do all the interesting projects I wanted to do such as blogging and podcasting and sharing my views on social media. I had to prioritize. I cut everything out that did not serve getting my book over the finish line and as soon as possible. It took 2-3 years longer than I had expected. But I am very pleased—and was sometimes surprised as I was writing it and connecting dots—how it turned out.
Now that it is published and doing its thing, so to speak, it’s time to set the stage for the next big project. In RISE, I argue that what we need to make sense of psychedelic Other Worlds is an institution and infrastructure equivalent in every way to NASA. What we need is a NASA of Psychedelics, or as I call it, a Hyper Space Program.
My friend Chris enjoyed my book. We met for coffee to discuss his thoughts about it. He commented on the Conclusion chapter, asking how society might transition from a citizen science research program to something like a NASA of Psychedelics. The gulf in my book’s reasoning is apparent and intentional. I knew this when we met, but I couldn’t say what was simmering in the background to address his constructive critique.
I agree with what personal development authors unanimously say: the best way to get something done is to imagine what the finished product would look like, feel like, be like, and then reverse engineer how to get there. So, what is the step between RISE’s proposal for amateurs and nonscientists to do their own research of visionary states and their contents and a Hyper Space Program? That is what I have been working on—silently and patiently—beyond the radar.
The answer is that I’m going to start an online course using RISE as the spine, in addition to a protocol I’ve been perfecting for roughly 10 years. If Rise of the Psychonaut is the Why and the What, the course is the How. I won’t say more about it now. I’m simply giving you a heads-up. Expect more blog posts, my course’s newsletter, and content on social media. I’m excited to share with you soon all that has been developing. I’m excited to launch the Psychedelic Age of Discovery in the way I envision it.
I leave you now with a final thought until I’m ready to disclose my plans: extraordinary experiences are common; usable records and data are not.