I will be speaking at a conference in Bath 2004

Bath Spa University Forum June 24-25, 2004. The Bath Spa University College’s Sophia Centre for the Study of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, together with Psychonauts UK, will convene a forum to address and discuss the teleology of our conscious minds. How and why do we explore consciousness? In what states of mind can we look at our minds: the detached position of the scientific observer, the ecstatic state of the pagan enthusiast, the psychotropic condition of the inner traveller or through the enchanted eyes of the observer of the starry heavens? The venue will be The Forum in the City of Bath, England and will be a dialogue between cosmological, pharmac opoeial, academic and Gaian spiritual perspectives among others. What is the value of exploring beyond the ranges of ordinary experience, how can it apply to everyday life and how do we investigate its various potentials and possibilities? Speakers include: Rick Doblin -President of MAPS Francoise Barbira-Freedman -Cambridge anthropologist, ayahuasca, yoga Kelly Morris -writer, ex-senior editor for the Lancet, sexual health doctor Alexander Shulgin -Berkley chemist, creator of compounds, author Ann Shulgin -ex-psychedelic psychotherapist, author Julian Vayne -author of Pharmakon, practitioner of magical rituals, pagan Anja Saunders -author, experienced in rituals involving psychedelics Hattie Wells -ibogaine therapist, writer, activist Piers Gibbon -anthropologist, made documentary on ayahuasca Serena Roney-Dougal -psychosis & spiritual transformation, yoga, psychedelics Erik Daves Philippa Berry William Bloom Bernadette Brady Jude Currivan Stephen Fitzpatrick Liz Greene Susan Greenwood Robin Mathews Hilary Rose Stephen Rose Max Velmans Rob Hand For more information, contact Jon Atkinson at atkinsonjon@yahoo.co.uk