The Sacred Speaks
Join depth psychotherapist and Jungian scholar, John Price, in an exploration of extraordinary stories and phenomena that lurk beneath the surface of normal and everyday life. Listen in as John interviews experts, dilettantes, sinners, and saints to explore their professional and personal perspective on the underlying purpose of the mysteries which lurk within the seemingly mundane nature of day-to-day life. John received his Master’s degree in clinical psychology and his Doctorate degree in Jungian psychology. He is in private practice and is also on the faculty of The Jung Center and The University of St. Thomas, both located in Houston, Texas. He lectures and teaches classes in subjects ranging from Parenting and Consciousness to Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll. This podcast seeks to accept a challenge laid out by Carl Jung: to explore the universal human feelings of emotional incompleteness, spiritual curiosity and one’s related search for wholeness and meaning. Interviews commence with the belief that, by engaging in this exploration, we can learn more about the psyche, consciousness, spirituality, philosophy and the profound, though often hidden, meaning of the day-to-day lives we lead (or which will lead us, if we aren’t watchful).Come along as John follows people into bars, universities, places of worship, financial districts and the home. He finds each context equally able to provide a setting for this worthy search and also that, through this process, we have an opportunity to come to know each other and ourselves much more deeply.
The Sacred Speaks
69: Anthony Bossis – Consciousness, Death, Meaning, & Spirituality
We begin this conversation acknowledging the dynamic between biological reductionism and mystical experience within the ever-growing field of psychedelic assisted therapies. The conversation continues by exploring consciousness, spirituality, the nature of religion, the expanding field of end of life care and psychedelics, mystical experience, the history of psychedelics as a healing modality, integration of mystical experience, Aldous Huxley’s influence, death as a spiritual process, the medicalization of healthcare, we discuss Tony’s recent chapter, Utility of psychedelics in the treatment of psycho-spiritual and existential distress in palliative care: A Promising new paradigm, the research history of psychedelics, constructivism and perennialism, legalization of psychedelics, and addressing the concern for the medicalization of psychedelics.
Bio:
Anthony P. Bossis, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine conducting FDA-approved clinical research with the psychedelic compound psilocybin for over a decade. Dr. Bossis was director of palliative care research and co-principal investigator on the 2016 landmark clinical trial demonstrating a significant reduction in emotional distress from a single psilocybin session in persons with cancer, specifically, a rapid decrease in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and demoralization along with improvements in spiritual well-being and quality of life. He is study director and lead session guide on a clinical trial evaluating psilocybin-generated mystical experience upon religious leaders. His primary psychedelic research interests include the treatment of end-of-life existential distress and advancing our understanding of consciousness, meaning, and spirituality. Dr. Bossis is a training supervisor of psychotherapy at NYU-Bellevue Hospital Center and co-founder of the Bellevue Hospital Palliative Care Service. He is a faculty member for The Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research Certificate Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies and for The Art of Dying Institute in NYC. He has a long-standing interest in comparative religion, mysticism, and the interface of psychology and spirituality. He maintains a private psychotherapy and consulting practice in NYC.
Bossis, A.P. (2021). Utility of psychedelics in the treatment of psycho-spiritual and existential distress in palliative care: A Promising new paradigm. In: C. Grob & J. Grigsby (Eds.), Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens (pp. 441-473). Guilford Press.
Bossis, A.P. (2021). Psilocybin, Spirituality, and Palliative Care: Research and Implications. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, v 27(1).
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