Topic: Processing Reality: Finding Meaning in Death, Psychedelics, and Sobriety

Presenters: John Buchanan

Dr. John H. Buchanan is a long-time explorer of process thought and transpersonal psychology. He will discuss his latest book, Processing Reality: Finding Meaning in Death, Psychedelics, and Sobriety, published last month by Wipf & Stock in their Perspectives in Process Studies Series. “In this book, John Buchanan takes us on a journey through the early death of a parent, the ups and downs of addiction, the extraordinary revelations of psychedelic experiences, and the rewards of a sober and meaningful life.” At the publisher’s website, you’ll find high praise from John Cobb, Catherine Keller, and Philip Clayton. Keller invites us to “a bit of a trip!. . .This irresistibly readable narrative of psychedelic exploration, of a long path ultimately sober and all the more visionary, opens a stunning new portal into our shared reality. We discover not just a remarkably lucid introduction to Whiteheadian theo-cosmology, but—aimed right at our self-destructive civilization—the chance of a spiritual awakening.” 

Buchanan’s extended interview with “Mind Matters” explores the intersection of Whitehead and Transpersonal Psychology. He was a contributing editor of Rethinking Consciousness:  Extraordinary Challenges for Contemporary Science, published by Process Century Press. And Jay McDaniel expresses appreciation for John Buchanan’s role in planning a Claremont conference on Open Horizons: “Can Exceptional Experience Help Save the World?”?

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