A Psychology of the Future

Thanks for being here for the relaunch of A Psychology of the Future. The first run drew more than 15,000 people, so I've reopened the doors to the full panel of speakers who made it what it was. Erik Lenderman put the project together and directs it, with a free book available to anyone who wants to go deeper.

The lineup reaches across psychology, neuroscience, contemplative practice, and the edges of consciousness research. Ken Wilber speaks to Integral Theory and psychology. Dr. Daniel Siegel covers parenting and self-awareness, while Dr. Rick Hanson and Dr. Elisha Goldstein bring the neuroscience. Dr. Rich Fernandes talks about mindfulness inside a company like Google, and James Arthur Ray addresses peak performance.

Relationships get their own cluster of voices: Drs. Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson from The Couples Institute, and Drs. Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks from The Hendricks Institute. Janet Attwood discusses the work behind The Passion Test. On the measurement and biofeedback side, Dr. James Hardt links EEG with states of enlightenment, Howard Martin presents HeartMath, and Herb Mertz walks through Psyleron's quantum REG technology.

A good portion of the conversation sits with psychedelics and altered states, drawn in part from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Julie Holland, MD examines MDMA and PTSD. Gabor Mate, MD looks at social trauma through the lens of ayahuasca. Dr. Rick Strassman takes on DMT and spiritual experience, and Rabbi Joel Bakst connects the pineal gland with Kabbalah. Graham Hancock speaks to the origins of human civilization, and there's a preview of the documentary Neurons to Nirvana.

Integral and Zen perspectives come from John Dupuy, MA on addiction and recovery, along with Jun Po Roshi and Diane Hamilton, MA. Hans Christian King addresses spirit and relationships. From The Monroe Institute, Nancy McMoneagle and Michael Langevin share their work. Conscious parenting rounds things out with Lori Petro and Michelle Gale.

Most people arrive looking for a fix to whatever problem is in front of them. That tends to be hard, and not because the answer is hidden. It's because the underlying psychological skills usually aren't there yet: holding executive attention, steadying your emotional and mental states, dropping into deep relaxation or ramping up to peak energy when you actually need it. Those are trainable. If you want somewhere to start, look into mindfulness, meditation, and neuro-training, which is the ground this whole program is built on.