5-Bullet Friday

[5-Bullet Friday](=) --------------------------------------------------------------- Hi All! Here is your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Friday,” a list of what I’m enjoying or pondering. App I’m using — [AllTrails](). This has been a game changer for finding great trails all over the country and quickly filtering for “dog friendly” and other criteria that matter to me. What I’m watching — [Spielberg](. This documentary paints an incredibly detailed portrait of Steven Spielberg. It covers both his failures and successes, his insecurities and super powers. It is reassuring to see his frailty, and it is inspiring to see how he repeatedly conjures miracles from the jaws (pun intended) of defeat. From the official description: “One of the most famous filmmakers in the world, Steven Spielberg pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career more than ever before in the exclusive HBO presentation Spielberg. Directed and produced by award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, this unprecedented feature-length documentary examines the filmmaker’s filmography in depth, revealing how his experiences fed his work and changed it over time.” Most popular post on Instagram — [This is me]( for most of this week... Poem I’m enjoying a lot, even with my long-standing poetry allergy — The following short ditty, “Who Can Hear The Buddha Sing?”, is excerpted from one of my favorite books of the last year, [The Gift by Hafiz](), translated by Daniel Ladinsky: “Hafiz, Tonight as you sit with your Young students Who Have eyes Burning like coals for the truth, Raise your glass in honour Of The Old Great One from Asia. Speak in the beautiful style And precision wit of a Japanese verse. Say a profound truth about this path With the edge of your sailor's tongue that Has been honed on the finest sake. Okay, dear ones, are you ready? Are you braced? Well then: Who can hear the Buddha sing If the dog between your legs is barking? Who can hear the Buddha sing If that canine between your Thighs Still Wants to do circus Tricks?” Exciting update that I’m pleased to share — Some time ago, many of you (and I personally) [helped to fund a scientific study at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine]( investigating the use psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. It is now (finally!) underway, and below is an update emailed to me by Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D., professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Be sure to read to the end, especially if you suffer from depression and live within driving distance of Baltimore: “This study is evaluating the antidepressant and psychological effects of psilocybin in people ages 21 through 75 who have unipolar depression, including treatment-resistant depression, who are currently experiencing a major depressive episode. Brain imaging will also be conducted to investigate changes in the brain that might relate to the psychological effects of psilocybin. The study began enrolling participants in August 2017 and is actively recruiting volunteers. To date, a total of 6 psilocybin sessions have been administered. Two participants have completed the active treatment portion of the study and two more are currently enrolled; all participants have had treatment-resistant depression. These numbers are too small to analyze for a statistical significant antidepressant effect. However, participants have expressed qualitative improvements in their depressive symptoms. This study took over a year from the initial protocol submission to obtain final approvals and begin recruiting. This long timeframe is typical in human subjects research with Schedule I drugs, where multiple, sequential approvals are necessary from the Institutional Review Board, Food & Drug Administration, and Drug Enforcement Agency. We have conducted 14 in-person screenings, with recruitment proceeding slightly slower than expected. The most limiting criteria thus far include that volunteers cannot be taking antidepressant or other psychoactive medications during the study, and the substantial time commitment that the protocol involves (13 in-person visits during the 2 month intervention period and 3 longer term follow-up visits). Detail about these criteria and study design can be found at [(). We are currently only enrolling individuals who live within commuting distance of Baltimore, however we may start enrolling people who live farther away later this year. The study flyer can be viewed at [hopkinsdepressionstudy.com](=), and interested individuals can call our recruitment number at 410-550-2253.” Tim again here -- More studies (current and completed) and resources involving psilocybin can be found below. I will be doing much more in this area and highly encourage people to support the [Usona Institute](), which is helping to fund many of these studies. ONGOING STUDIES:[() [Depression Study Website] [( [Imaging study in healthy volunteers] []() [Long-Term Meditator Study] [www.smoking-insight.org](=) [Cigarette Smoking-Psilocybin Study Website] [religiousleaderstudy.org](=) [Religious Leader Study Website] [RECENTLY COMPLETED STUDIES:](=)[www.cancer-insight.org]( [Cancer Study Website] [( [Meditation Study Website] []() [Comparative Pharmacology Study Including Psychedelics] [RELATED LINKS:]()[ [TEDMED talk 2015] [([( [Interviews with Cancer Patients] [ [TEDx Talk] [ [RadioLab Podcast Link] [( [Johns Hopkins Magazine 2017] [() [Links to some of the Johns Hopkins Psilocybin Publications] For those coming to SXSW in Austin in March, I’ll be interviewing Dr. Roland Griffiths live on March 11 at 3:30pm! Mark your calendars and hope to see you there. Have a wonderful weekend, all! 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