Episode 41 - The Hippie Speedball A/K/A How to Use Cannabis to Bring our Minds and Bodies into Flow States
Steven Kotler, the co-author of Stealing Fire and Research Director at the Flow Genome Project, goes in deep on how to hack our brain chemistry to increase performance and pleasure.
If you listen to this podcast you know that I am fascinated with the notion of flow and how to use cannabis (and other substances and practices to get into the zone). The term “flow” was first coined in 1975 and is defined as a high state of functioning in which you lose sense of self, time and effort. It’s that state when you feel as though you’re being carried along by a water current or as if you’re skiing a course of moguls, every move, every turn flawlessly executed without thought. We’ve all had glimpses of losing ourselves in an activity, be it writing, playing an instrument, or merging with a partner during sex, and the older I grow the more I want to increase my flow states when and where possible.
Topics we discuss include:
The brain’s 6 pleasure chemicals and how to access them
The neurobiology of mystical experiences
Micro flow states and the truth behind the runner’s high (hint: it’s not endorphins, it’s anandamide)
How tech execs are using flow to increase productivity
And of course, the recipe for The Hippie Speedball
[Consider this interview with Steven a bookend to our fascinating conversation with Jamie Wheal (Episode 31, “How To Survive In A World That has Lost Its Mind”). The two co-wrote the brilliant Stealing Fire, and together head the Flow Genome Project, which trains individuals and orgs in search of optimal performance to harness more flow. Skip to 23:20 for this interview.]
We begin the hour with a quick interview with the chef/authors of Edibles: Small bites for the modern cannabis kitchen (skip to 9:00 for this interview). Stephanie Hua and Coreen Carroll have mastered the art of low-dose edible cooking. This collection of 30 recipes is Next Level cannabis cookery – light years beyond Alice B. Toklas’s brownies. If you’re in the Bay Area, check out Coreen’s Cannaisseur Series dinners, an evening of conversation, food, wine all paired with specially selected cannabis strains to enhance the experience.