Expanded States
Introduction to Consciousness
A curated library for people exploring expanded states of consciousness, with a focus on psychedelics. You'll find podcasts, videos, and a few standout articles, organized by theme.
About this library
Psychedelics are legal in some places and illegal in many others. Even in legal settings, they are not appropriate or safe for everyone.
Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use any substance. It is a collection of resources for people already exploring this territory, to help them make more informed, thoughtful, and supported choices.
Integration
How I think about integration
An expanded state can open something in us that ordinary life doesn't. What happens next is where the change takes root.
For me, integration is two things at once: listening to what the body is still carrying, and finding the story that helps the experience make sense. These resources are here to support both.
Safety first
This page is for education and harm reduction. It is not medical, psychological, or legal advice, and it does not encourage anyone to use substances. Many (if not all) psychedelics remain illegal in many places.
I am a coach, not a therapist or medical provider. I do not provide, source, or refer to substances or unlicensed practitioners. If you take medication or have a personal or family history of mental illness, talk with a qualified clinician first, as you may be at risk of serious complications. If you are taking psychedelics, please be thoughtful about your preparation, support during the experience, and integration after.
Start here: safety and support
If you are in a hard moment right now, reach out to a real person first. Everything else on this page can wait.
In an emergency, call 911. If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 988.
For psychedelic peer support, call or text the Fireside Project at 62-FIRESIDE (623-473-7433), daily 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Pacific (U.S. only).
Harm reduction
Support lines and harm reduction resources
Trusted places to turn for support, education, and safer choices.
Fireside Project Support Line
Free, confidential peer support for people mid-journey, sitting with someone, or making sense of a past experience. Their free TripCheck service will call you during a planned journey.
Visit Fireside ProjectZendo Project
A harm reduction program with plentiful tools. Its materials on supporting someone through a difficult experience are among the best available.
Visit Zendo ProjectTripSit Drug Combinations Chart
A widely used reference for risky combinations. Bring it to your doctor if you take any medication, especially antidepressants, lithium, or heart medication.
See the chart
Set and setting
What you bring (your mindset, intentions, and history) and where you are (the place, the people, the culture around you) shape an experience as much as any substance. This is true of a retreat, a ceremony, or a clinical trial.
"Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety"
By Johnson, Richards & Griffiths (Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2008). The Johns Hopkins team's foundational paper on screening, preparation, and the physical setting. Written for researchers, readable for anyone.
American Trip: Set, Setting, and the Psychedelic Experience in the Twentieth Century
By Ido Hartogsohn (MIT Press, 2020). A book, but worth it: it shows how culture itself is part of the "setting." Look for his podcast interviews for a shorter version.
Fireside Project safety and education resources
Plain-language guidance from the people who answer the support line.
Psychedelic science research
The science is promising and still young. As of September 2026, Compass Pathways' psilocybin treatment for treatment-resistant depression is under FDA review, and no classic psychedelic has yet been approved. The FDA declined to approve MDMA-assisted therapy in 2024. These sources help you follow the evidence without the hype.
How to Change Your Mind (Netflix series, 2022)
Michael Pollan's four-part series on LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline. The most accessible starting point.
Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research
One of the field's founding research centers. Lists current studies and publications.
Psychedelics Today Podcast
A long-running show on research, therapy, policy, and culture.
"The Trip Treatment" by Michael Pollan (The New Yorker, 2015)
The essay that brought the research revival to a mainstream audience.
Music
In clinical settings, music is treated almost as a co-guide. It gives the experience shape, carries emotion, and helps people return.
Inside the Johns Hopkins Psilocybin Playlist
How psychologist Bill Richards built the roughly 7-hour, mostly classical playlist used in Hopkins studies, and why. A version is on Spotify.
The birth of the playlist (Hub, Johns Hopkins)
Its origins in 1960s research, and how NYU and the Usona Institute adapted it.
Psychedelics Today: Mendel Kaelen on music (Jan 2021)
The founder of Wavepaths on music as part of the psychedelic environment.
Fireside Project music resources
Playlists curated by the support-line team.
Preparation and integration: what is integration?
Preparation is the soil; integration is the harvest. Integration is simply the process of making sense of an experience and letting it change how you live. It can take days or years.
The MAPS Psychedelic Integration Workbook
A free guide built on the Synthesized Model of Integration (Bathje, Majeski & Kudowor, 2022), which works across six domains: mind, body, spirit, relationships, lifestyle, and nature.
"Psychedelic integration: an analysis of the concept and its practice"
By Bathje, Majeski & Kudowor (Frontiers in Psychology, 2022). The open-access article behind that model, and the clearest definition of integration in the literature.
Psychedelic Integration: Psychotherapy for Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness
By Marc Aixàlà (2022). A book with 11 metaphors for understanding integration. Also available as an audiobook.
The Psychedelic Therapy Workbook
By Elizabeth Nielson & Ingmar Gorman (New Harbinger, 2025). A practical workbook built on their harm reduction and integration method.
Looking for support with integration?
I offer integration coaching for expanded states of consciousness, in Ithaca, NY and virtually. Reach out to start the conversation.