Visiting San Francisco for the first time four months after Bob Weir passed, on my 34th birthday, with my wife, Emily, was the cultural immersion we were looking for. Coming out of winter, we felt a bit like the gray whales that we saw in the harbor, swimming through the bay on our tour Friday morning. These whales now stop in San Francisco on their way to Alaska because of the effects of climate change in their part-time home in Mexico. In San Francisco, they are often killed by traffic and wash up on shore.

Coming out of our second winter in Saskatchewan, which has lingered longer than the first, I felt very much like the Will the Whale I was coined in preschool. Seeing these majestic creatures and hearing their plight had David Crosby & Graham Nash’s To the Last Whale: 1. Critical Mass II. Wind On the Water playing in my head from one of my favorite albums, 1975’s Wind On the Water. This was Emily and I’s first time on a boat together, but it won’t be our last.

On Thursday, for my actual birthday, we toured the Haight Ashbury district, starting off with a hike to the overlook at Buena Vista Park, a few blocks from the 710 Ashbury home of the Grateful Dead, where the band was raided on October 2nd 1967 for cannabis possession. When we walked down and into the Haight for the first time, as we turned onto Ashbury Street, about two houses from the Dead’s former home, greeted by a Steal Your Face flag in the window next door, my mind's eye began to swirl a brief kaleidoscope of colors. Talk about set and setting. This trip was full of mystical-type experiences, or “Spontaneous Awakening Experiences,” that were naturally induced, as we navigated this mystical city of flowers, ocean, mountains, and more that we had seen in so many documentaries, films, and TV shows. It was no surprise to me that 59 years ago, around this time, the Summer of Love was blossoming. We now understand on a deeper level the Midwesterners and East Coasters who flocked to the Haight and were likely mesmerized by the Victorian Queen Anne-style homes as we were.

On Saturday, we traveled by bus over the Golden Gate Bridge to San Rafael and Marin County for a dose of new age Collective Consciousness California style, courtesy of the New Living Expo. Upon arrival at the scenic location, far removed from the city vibes, we knew we were in for a treat. Sitting down at the opening ceremony, an immediate experience of spontaneous awakening began. The speakers shared about their lineages in Mayan, Irish, and eclectic shamanistic practices as we grounded into the tangible vibe. A classical Indian violinist then traveled us back into ancient lineages of sound healing as she performed for 20 minutes, setting beautiful space for the rest of the day's events.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with the Decriminalize Nature crew, consisting of Dr. Larry Norris, Reggie Harris, and Danielle Nova. The first talk was with the legendary Dr. Jim Fadiman on Zoom, and Danielle Nova live in the room speaking on the history of microdosing and recent breakthroughs in the field. Dr. Jim Fadiman is the inventor of the Fadiman protocol a specific method of microdosing psilocybin and LSD. Danielle Nova has been sober from prescription drugs and narcotics for over 10 years and works with Dr. Jim Fadiman in updating the tool of microdosing for the 21st century.

The next talk was from Dr. Larry Norris, who spoke on decriminalization around the country and the fight for access to cognitive liberty. As Emily and I start the Charleston chapter of Decriminalize Nature, it was a real treat to meet in person with three members of the organization and learn from the horse's mouth. Larry is a brilliant speaker and has the ability to make anyone feel welcome, and is a real treasure to behold for the movement. Check out his Restoring Our Roots podcast if you are interested in learning more about the changemakers fighting for access to plant medicines and expanded states of human consciousness and connection.

Reggie Harris is the author of The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing: An Almost True Account, which is actually a book that I gave Emily on our third date. Reggie’s talk was on identifying a method of testing psilocybin potency that allows people to accurately do the type of microdosing that Danielle Nova and Dr. Jim Fadiman were talking about in their discussion. Reggie Harris is the cofounder of Hyphae Labs, a groundbreaking mushroom testing and supplement company in Oakland, California. Reggie really tells it like it is, and if you're ever in Oakland, you should check whether he’s speaking somewhere nearby.

The Palace of Fine Arts 1915 Worlds Fair architecture

For Bicycle Day and the 83rd anniversary of the first intentional human experience with LSD. Emily and I went to the last day of Psychedelic Culture, the Chacruna conference at the Brava Theater in the Mission District. The 9th annual Bay Area conference highlights the Indigenous roots of Ayahuasca, Peyote, Psilocybin, Iboga, and even the design of Randomized Controlled Trials with psychedelics. Dr. Norris was there and so was Reggie speaking on a panel called “ From Ceremony to Streets” where his voice was realistic in the need to meet the Black American community where they are at and recognize that maybe trips to the Amazon aren’t going to work for everyone’s healing. I was remembering when I was interviewed to work at North Charleston High School, and for several questions, my only response was “I’m going to meet these students where they are at” as I felt it was the only valid response.

The day closed with a panel discussion from Dr. Rick Doblin the founder of MAPS, Betty Aldworth co-executive director, and Ismail L. Ali co-executive director. The trio spoke about the recent executive order and their message, which is directly aligned with my mission in life “spiritualizing humanity, changing culture, and achieving mass mental health for all.” Similarly to when Indigenous protestors disrupted the conclusion of the 2023 Psychedelic Science conference, a male and female couple began to denounce MAPS as Zionists for their support of Israel and Rick Doblin’s lack of denouncing the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Ismail L Ali acknowledged the genocide, but Dr. Doblin didn’t want to. He did say that you have to treat the perpetrator and the victim to heal trauma effectively, something that new models of MDMA clinical trials and psychedelic-assisted therapy approaches are recognizing in seeing psychedelic work as needing to happen with the whole family, not in isolation.

Clearly letting Rick Doblin know I’m not one of the haters

For the remaining two days, we hung out in the Mission District, eating the wealth of Hispanic food available that we find sorely lacking in Canada. The murals on display around the Mission were some of the finest we had seen in our time in San Francisco. Emily and I contemplated what it would be like to be a child growing up in this environment where they see one image of the body displayed all around them and quite another in media form.

This will not be our last time in San Francisco!

So Much Love,

Will & Emily

San Francisco (A Visit To The Countercultural Mecca)

Ancestral Reflections (cont.)