Kalyana Bliss
Kalyana introduces her talk (1 min)
Mindfulness for the Psychedelic Renaissance
Mystical experiences (rare, self-transcending shifts of consciousness) are consistently associated with lasting psychological change, and psychedelics are among the most reliable ways to occasion them. As global policies shift and these substances move into the mainstream, a critical question is emerging: what kind of containers support safe and beneficial psychedelic experiences?
Drawing on a systematic review of randomised controlled trials combining mindfulness programmes with psychedelics, this talk offers a brief primer on psychedelics and examines the evidence for combining them with mindfulness. We’ll explore mystical experiences, psychedelic preparation and integration, and consider how tailored mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) can meet the needs of people encountering psychedelic states. We’ll look at the similarities and differences between mindfulness-based programme facilitation and psychedelic facilitation, and the importance of trauma sensitivity for this unique application. Finally, the session introduces a new mindfulness-based programme for psychedelic preparation and integration, designed to support flourishing in the general population through embodied, loving connection to self, others, and the living world.
Kalyana Bliss has recently completed an MSc in Mindfulness-Based Approaches at Bangor University, where her thesis systematically reviewed randomised controlled trials combining mindfulness programmes and psychedelics. She is a recent graduate of Vital, Psychedelics Today’s yearlong training in psychedelic ethics, preparation, facilitation, integration, and harm reduction. As a BAMBA-listed MBSR teacher, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, trauma-informed yoga teacher, and Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness teacher, she brings embodiment, nervous system regulation, and a Buddhist chaplaincy lens to her work. She is developing a mindfulness-based programme for psychedelic preparation and integration, which will be offered for the first time in spring 2027, co-facilitated with Bangor colleague Kate Ensor. She sees 1:1 clients, co-facilitates retreats, offers a weekly online heart-based practice. She is passionate about ending suffering and increasing flourishing through deeper connection to ourselves, our bodies, each other, and the living world, for the benefit of all beings everywhere.
Kalyana neither provides nor encourages the use of illegal substances, and this information is offered in a spirit of education and harm reduction.
www.linkedin.com/in/kalyanabliss
