Sam Woolfe
@samwoolfe.bsky.social
Freelance writer & author of Altered Perspectives: Critical Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness (2024). Interested in non-ordinary states, mental health, psychology, ethics, and film.
https://www.samwoolfe.com
https://www.samwoolfe.com
In my latest article for Numinous Ways, I look at how psychedelics can help enhance affirmation of sexual identity in the gay population, leading to improvements in mental health.
The Potential Benefits of Psychedelics for Gay People
Just as psychedelics can help straight people address issues of shame and depression, for reasons unrelated to sexuality, they can also be helpful for gay people in processing similar issues, but spec...
numinousways.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
In my latest article for Numinous Ways, I look at how psychedelics can help enhance affirmation of sexual identity in the gay population, leading to improvements in mental health.
Definitely good mental health advice in general.
Tuesday Brunch: Four beliefs that cause bad trips and post-psychedelic difficulties
(and just...suffering in general)
www.ecstaticintegration.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Definitely good mental health advice in general.
For #MensMentalHealthMonth, I wrote this article on men's relationship to sex and sexual dysfunction, and how it is often tied to unhealthy expectations around masculinity.
Sex, Masculinity, And Men’s Silent Struggle • States Of Mind
Many men quietly carry anxiety and shame around sex and ideas of masculinity. It's time to update the conversation.
statesofmind.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:20 AM
For #MensMentalHealthMonth, I wrote this article on men's relationship to sex and sexual dysfunction, and how it is often tied to unhealthy expectations around masculinity.
Darkness retreats are on the rise. People who attend them report trippy effects and profound insights, but spending multiple days alone without sensory input can also lead to some unsettling experiences.
I wrote about their potential benefits and risks in this blog post.
I wrote about their potential benefits and risks in this blog post.
The Promise and Perils of Darkness Retreats
Darkness retreats involve spending a period of time in complete isolation and darkness. People do this for different reasons – to achieve an introspective state, a digital detox, a period of rest, or ...
www.samwoolfe.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Darkness retreats are on the rise. People who attend them report trippy effects and profound insights, but spending multiple days alone without sensory input can also lead to some unsettling experiences.
I wrote about their potential benefits and risks in this blog post.
I wrote about their potential benefits and risks in this blog post.
A review of my book from Alberto Cavallarin, published in a new journal, Acta Psychedelica. And the book review is the first publication in it, which is pretty cool.
#bookreview #philosophy #essays
#bookreview #philosophy #essays
Philosophical Encounters with Plant Spirits and DMT Entities: A Review of "Altered Perspectives: Critical Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness"
This essay presents an overview and analysis of Sam Woolfe's Altered Perspectives: Critical Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness. My critical remarks focus on the naturalistic "explaining away" of stra...
actapsychedelica.journal.fi
November 5, 2025 at 10:55 AM
A review of my book from Alberto Cavallarin, published in a new journal, Acta Psychedelica. And the book review is the first publication in it, which is pretty cool.
#bookreview #philosophy #essays
#bookreview #philosophy #essays
I wrote about the positive and negative ways that Letterboxd affects how we watch (and think about) films, which @strohltopia.bsky.social discusses in his latest book.
The Influence of Letterboxd on the Film-Watching Experience
Since I started using Letterboxd (four years ago), an unconscious tendency I developed when watching films is that, throughout the film, I’ll think about what Letterboxd rating I’m going to give it. I...
www.samwoolfe.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:22 PM
I wrote about the positive and negative ways that Letterboxd affects how we watch (and think about) films, which @strohltopia.bsky.social discusses in his latest book.
“It is the very strangeness of dreams in their divergence from waking experience that gives them their biological function."
Weird dreams train us for the unexpected, says new theory
AI inspires hypothesis that sleeping human brain might try to break its overfamiliarity with daily data
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
“It is the very strangeness of dreams in their divergence from waking experience that gives them their biological function."
"Paller was the lead author of a 2021 paper from Northwestern University which found that individuals in the midst of a lucid dream could communicate with (awake) researchers.... This is promising because dream research had previously relied largely on retrospective reports".
Fly around or make out with your crush: how to start lucid dreaming
We asked experts to share tips on how to take control of dreams once you realize you’re in it
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"Paller was the lead author of a 2021 paper from Northwestern University which found that individuals in the midst of a lucid dream could communicate with (awake) researchers.... This is promising because dream research had previously relied largely on retrospective reports".
An excerpt from my book Altered Perspectives. It's taken from Chapter 9, where I apply Henri Bergson's theory of déjà vu to the intense feeling of familiarity that many people experience under the influence of DMT (i.e. "I've been here before").
#philosophy #memory #Bergson
#philosophy #memory #Bergson
Bergson's Theory of Déjà Vu
In an intriguing essay titled ‘Memory of the Present and False Recognition’ (1908), the French philosopher Henri Bergson proposes that déjà vu is the result of memory and perception becoming intertw...
www.samwoolfe.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:27 PM
An excerpt from my book Altered Perspectives. It's taken from Chapter 9, where I apply Henri Bergson's theory of déjà vu to the intense feeling of familiarity that many people experience under the influence of DMT (i.e. "I've been here before").
#philosophy #memory #Bergson
#philosophy #memory #Bergson
Interesting discussion with @strohltopia.bsky.social and @politephilosopher.bsky.social on why we should resist letting algorithms decide what we watch, and the benefits of giving more time and attention to 'difficult' films, e.g. ones which are long, slow, or shocking.
Ep. 81: Resisting Algorithms & Appreciating Difficult Movies | A Discussion with Matt Strohl
YouTube video by Philosophers Discussing Art
www.youtube.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Interesting discussion with @strohltopia.bsky.social and @politephilosopher.bsky.social on why we should resist letting algorithms decide what we watch, and the benefits of giving more time and attention to 'difficult' films, e.g. ones which are long, slow, or shocking.
I wrote about how #personality differences affect people's responses to #veganism generally as well as to specific kinds of arguments for veganism. This is an underexplored challenge that many vegan activists face.
How Personality Shapes Our Receptivity to Veganism
When watching street debates with the vegan activists Earthling Ed and Joey Carbstrong, it becomes apparent to me that one of the biggest barriers they (and other activists) face is personality differ...
www.samwoolfe.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:41 PM
I wrote about how #personality differences affect people's responses to #veganism generally as well as to specific kinds of arguments for veganism. This is an underexplored challenge that many vegan activists face.
Very interesting read on charismatic Christianity and its recent rise in the UK.
"Charismatics are so focused on the demons outside the church, sometimes they miss the darkness within it…and within themselves." - @philosojules.bsky.social
"Charismatics are so focused on the demons outside the church, sometimes they miss the darkness within it…and within themselves." - @philosojules.bsky.social
Charismatic Christian nationalism in the UK
God's on the move in the UK, and He's carrying a pitchfork
www.ecstaticintegration.org
October 17, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Very interesting read on charismatic Christianity and its recent rise in the UK.
"Charismatics are so focused on the demons outside the church, sometimes they miss the darkness within it…and within themselves." - @philosojules.bsky.social
"Charismatics are so focused on the demons outside the church, sometimes they miss the darkness within it…and within themselves." - @philosojules.bsky.social
In this blog post, I look at whether psychedelics can be helpful for dealing with climate distress.
Processing Climate Anxiety and Eco-Grief Through Psychedelics
The climate crisis has seen, in response to it, a worsening of many people’s mental health. Climate anxiety (distress related to climate change and its effects) and eco-grief (mourning the damage and ...
www.samwoolfe.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:16 PM
In this blog post, I look at whether psychedelics can be helpful for dealing with climate distress.
Very interesting and needed. A Radio 4 programme from journalist Ed Prideaux on the blind spots and pitfalls of the psychedelic renaissance.
BBC Radio 4 - File on 4 Investigates, Trip Shocked
Psychedelics are going mainstream. But are we ignoring the risks?
www.bbc.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Very interesting and needed. A Radio 4 programme from journalist Ed Prideaux on the blind spots and pitfalls of the psychedelic renaissance.
My latest blog post is about Danny Shine's role as a modern-day jester, and more generally about the social functions of jesters.
Danny Shine: A Modern-Day Jester
Danny Shine, also known as the ‘Social Experimentalist’, runs a YouTube channel where he posts videos of himself out in London with a megaphone, voicing his polemical opinions. (His more recent conten...
www.samwoolfe.com
October 6, 2025 at 11:02 AM
My latest blog post is about Danny Shine's role as a modern-day jester, and more generally about the social functions of jesters.
Recently finished reading the new book by @strohltopia.bsky.social. Highly recommend it for cinephiles out there, or anyone who wants to give difficult films more attention.
It also motivated me to watch Jeanne Dielman, which I kept putting off. (I agree with Strohl, it's not a boring film at all.)
It also motivated me to watch Jeanne Dielman, which I kept putting off. (I agree with Strohl, it's not a boring film at all.)
October 3, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Recently finished reading the new book by @strohltopia.bsky.social. Highly recommend it for cinephiles out there, or anyone who wants to give difficult films more attention.
It also motivated me to watch Jeanne Dielman, which I kept putting off. (I agree with Strohl, it's not a boring film at all.)
It also motivated me to watch Jeanne Dielman, which I kept putting off. (I agree with Strohl, it's not a boring film at all.)
In this blog post, I look at the experience of enhanced dream recall while falling asleep, and what may be behind it.
Remembering Dreams While Falling Asleep
One night last week, as I was falling asleep, in my head I told myself – as I’ve done before – I don’t want to have weird or bad dreams, I want to have fun dreams. I’ve done this as my intention befor...
www.samwoolfe.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:18 AM
In this blog post, I look at the experience of enhanced dream recall while falling asleep, and what may be behind it.
Need more of this.
In this paper, Alberto Cavallarin critiques the narrow way in which 'mystical experiences' are typically framed, as seen in a lot of psychedelic research.
In this paper, Alberto Cavallarin critiques the narrow way in which 'mystical experiences' are typically framed, as seen in a lot of psychedelic research.
brill.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Need more of this.
In this paper, Alberto Cavallarin critiques the narrow way in which 'mystical experiences' are typically framed, as seen in a lot of psychedelic research.
In this paper, Alberto Cavallarin critiques the narrow way in which 'mystical experiences' are typically framed, as seen in a lot of psychedelic research.
Interesting discussion on Aztec #philosophy with philosopher Sebastian Purcell.
Aztec Philosophy: What the Aztecs Knew About Life | Sebastian Purcell
YouTube video by Brain in a Vat
www.youtube.com
September 23, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Interesting discussion on Aztec #philosophy with philosopher Sebastian Purcell.
New blog post.
Using the #Rogansphere as an example, I look at the relationship between psychedelics and political views – how these substances can make no difference to one's views, as well as intensify them or shift them in any direction.
Using the #Rogansphere as an example, I look at the relationship between psychedelics and political views – how these substances can make no difference to one's views, as well as intensify them or shift them in any direction.
Psychedelics and the Rogansphere
The Rogansphere – consisting of Joe Rogan and like-minded comedians orbiting around him – faces steady and consistent criticism from YouTubers (whose focus and most popular content is criticising the ...
www.samwoolfe.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
New blog post.
Using the #Rogansphere as an example, I look at the relationship between psychedelics and political views – how these substances can make no difference to one's views, as well as intensify them or shift them in any direction.
Using the #Rogansphere as an example, I look at the relationship between psychedelics and political views – how these substances can make no difference to one's views, as well as intensify them or shift them in any direction.
Reposted by Sam Woolfe
Why you should never argue online iandunt.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...
Why you should never argue online
Even if you win a mud fight, you're still covered in mud.
iandunt.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Why you should never argue online iandunt.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...
Accurate.
Philosophers described by Peep Show
YouTube video by JP
www.youtube.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Accurate.
In this blog post, I look at the physical reactions that can occur during somatic therapy and charismatic Christian worship, and how there might be similar psychological mechanisms behind both.
Is There Common Ground Between Somatic Therapy and Charismatic Christianity?
Both somatic therapy and charismatic Christianity can involve intense physical reactions in people, such as trembling, shaking, writhing, and crying. This got me thinking about whether there might be ...
www.samwoolfe.com
September 8, 2025 at 11:34 AM
In this blog post, I look at the physical reactions that can occur during somatic therapy and charismatic Christian worship, and how there might be similar psychological mechanisms behind both.
An article on what it means to 'integrate' a psychedelic experience if it was traumatic, seemingly devoid of insight, and a cause of lasting distress.
What Does Integration Look Like for Traumatic Psychedelic Experiences?
Integration, in the context of psychedelics, is typically defined as the process of making sense of psychedelic experiences and applying the insights contained therein to one’s everyday life. But how ...
www.samwoolfe.com
September 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
An article on what it means to 'integrate' a psychedelic experience if it was traumatic, seemingly devoid of insight, and a cause of lasting distress.