A Mindful Approach to Dementia & Psychedelics: Our Shared Journey Series - Why Am I Here? What Does It All Mean? From the Ivory Towers to the Psychedelic Underground

I want to share what is happening in real time while weaving the story of what have been the threads of mindfulness, dementia, and microdosing in the unfolding story of my husband, Henry, currently in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and also my story as spouse and now caregiver. I had in mind what I was going to write about, but then everything changed after receiving an email late last night. So let me tell you what that was all about.

Two MIT alumni have just completed a high-dose journey somewhere near where I live (I honestly don’t know the exact location!). They are retired, both had illustrious careers in the public light—one in the hard sciences as a professor at MIT. One of them I knew in our undergraduate days—a friend of a friend, really. He reached out to me several months ago due to all the research he and his professor neighbor were reading; specifically, about the benefits of psychedelics for the brain. This, coupled with the existential meaning of life, led him to seek me out. Why? To find out where they could have a high-dose journey.

This strikes me on so many levels: here are two people, arguably from the most educated demographic on the planet, being curious to experience more in life and the mysteries in which we live. There is a moral and ethical contemplation here: why are they not able to access what they want in a safe, legal, and informed manner? At any rate, my friend had heard about my book on mindful microdosing being published earlier this year, so he sought me out. Though I advocate for the safe, educated, and informed use of microdosing, I never thought I would be in a position to point people to the underground. Yet, as we will learn, that is where they were headed.

On an initial visit to where they were considering their high-dose journey, they stopped by our home. They met Henry, and we shared how microdosing is benefiting Henry in several ways. I had not seen my friend in close to 50 years. His neighbor, asking many questions as a brainy professor would, had trepidation, but the motivation to find deeper meaning before it is all over, overrode any doubts and concerns—as long as they felt safe and in a trusted space.

I think these two MIT-trained senior citizens represent a growing trend in our modern world. Successful beyond most measures, there still exists this inner calling to feel whole. What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? What is this all about? These are similar questions that most contemplative practices have as an entry point. It was certainly the case when my husband and I met.

We met each other shortly after I arrived in Ecuador through a Fulbright program in 1980. My husband and I had both been practicing meditators. As luck would have it—or you might say it was our karma—we met in Cuenca through a meditation group. The reason I share this is that, just like one of our vows, an essential part of our marriage is to support the other in their spiritual path. Seeking meaning in life, not from outward recognition or accomplishments, but through the heart and mind of contemplative practice, has been the deep thread of both our lives and our lives as partners. We have both had a dedicated meditation practice for decades.

This is juxtaposed to my MIT friends and the lives they have led. Ironically, coincidentally, or maybe it is karma again, but all four of us are now intermingling in this new frontier of the mindful and intentional use of psychedelics.

In the email, my friend said they had completed their high-dose journeys. “Just fabulous,” he wrote. “Could they stop by on their way back to Cambridge?” he asked. And, by the way, one of them has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They should arrive within the hour.

- Lauren Alderfer, PhD.