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Sacred Psychoactive Plants & Near Death Experiences – Lessons from Antiquity
December 20, 2023 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Please join us for this unique exploration of
The psychoactive herbs, healing temples, rituals and pilgrimages used in ancient Greece
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The ancients’ understanding and philosophy about near death experiences and consciousness
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Our own understanding of consciousness and transcendence today
Dr. Matina Chronopoulou will discuss the various literary and archeological references that point to extended use of a variety of psychoactive plants in ancient Greece. Cannabis, belladonna, poppies and other plants such as henbane or datura and hyoscyamus were used for ritual and medicinal purposes. Opium was used to induce somnolence in the incubation rituals practiced in the temples of Asclepius, who was revered as the God of Medicine. His successors practiced his art in a network of sanctuaries and healing temples named ‘Asclepeia’. Theurgic medicine in ancient Greece was magical in nature and concerned with both prognosis and prevention. It also made use of a number of rituals. The Greeks used rites of Katharsis to purge illness from the sick. During the celebration of the Greater Mysteries, pilgrims journeyed from Athens to Eleusis and participated in a night-time ceremony involved drinking Kykeon, a specially prepared hallucinogenic beverage. Classical authors describe various formulas involving wine and mandrake, belladonna, African rue, or black hellebore.
And… Dr. Barbara Bartlik will discuss the fascinating subject of near-death experiences (NDEs), where people undergo a grave medical situation and live to tell about it. The ancient Greeks did not fear death but saw it as a transition to the afterlife. In the Fourth Century B.C., the great classical Greek philosopher, Plato, was the first to record an account of an NDE. He wrote that after death, the soul chooses another life that provides challenges the soul needs to fulfill. Plato’s description closely mirrors modern-day accounts of NDEs — floating above the body, altered consciousness, traveling through a tunnel toward a bright light, a hyper-real, heavenly environment, encountering spiritual beings and deceased relatives, and an instantaneous life review. Individuals may be given instructions to spread the word about the knowledge they gained through their NDE.
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About the presenters…
Dr. Matina Chronopopoulou is a practicing Naturopathic doctor, homeopath, acupuncturist and bioresonance therapist. She has been involved with natural remedies since the 1970s, both in Greece and the USA. She was born in Sparta, Greece and comes from a family of traditional healers, midwives and herbalists, whose herbal knowledge went back three generations.
Since 1995, she has run the Centre for Natural Medicine and Acupuncture in Athens focusing on naturopathic therapies, nutritional medicine, lifestyle modification, botanical medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, flowers essences and energy medicine. She’s the director of studies for Naturopathy at Warnborough College in the UK and also the head of complementary medicine for the Paris Graduate School with curriculums in Greek-Unani Tibb Medicine and traditional naturopathy. She splits her time between New York, USA and Athens, Greece.
Matina Chronopopoulou, ND | matinachr@gmail.com | drmatina.com | Dr. Matina Chronopopoulou on LinkedIn
Barbara Bartlik, MD is a recognized expert clinician and author in integrative medicine, psychiatry, and sexual health, in private practice in Manhattan. She has been rated one of New York Magazine’s Best Doctors in Psychiatry, and for over 30 years has treated adults with psychiatric and sexual problems. She uses an integrative approach: mainstream psychiatric treatments plus natural therapies – dietary modification, supplementation with vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and more. She uses her knowledge of anxiety disorders and near-death experiences to counsel non-suicidal patients preoccupied with thoughts of their own demise. Dr. Bartlik is an editor and author of Integrative Sexual Health (2018), Dr. Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library, Oxford University Press. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and has been recognized by Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors since 2019.
Barbara Bartlik, MD | 200 West 57th Street, NY, NY 10019 | 212-749-2684
drbartlik@gmail.com | DrBarbaraMD.com | Dr. Barbara Bartlik on LinkedIn
This is a by-contribution event. Click on the contribution button and pay what you are able.
The suggested amount is $10 (US). If you are not able to contribute at this time, please simply register below.
Please Make a Contribution to Help Us Cover Expenses — Thank You!
Use this registration button to reserve your seat on Zoom.