Muladhara

I'd like to present my brand new limited edition print 'Muladhara', the first in a series of seven prints.

A percentage of profits for the whole series will go to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

The research that this non-profit organization is doing is very close to my heart.

A couple of years ago, I was overcome with a severe bout of depression. People talk about the “dark night of the soul"; for me, that dark night lasted four long, arduous months.
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Depression is like a virus - it seeps into your bones, into the very core of your being. For those who haven't been through it, it's very hard to understand. Even the therapists I went to see were of little help.

It was only after finding people who were truly willing to connect with me emotionally, rather than mentally as the therapists did, that I was able to start on the long road towards healing.

Along the way, there were many new practices, habits, and ways of thinking and connecting with those around me that I learned to incorporate into my life to help me overcome depression. But by far the greatest impact on that healing journey was my first Ayahuasca ceremony.

Ayahuasca has been used for more than 5,000 years by the indigenous people of the Amazon basin. It is a plant-based medicinal brew with psychedelic properties. Under the guidance of a respected shaman, it can take you on a healing journey through your unconscious mind and possibly beyond.

In our own society, psychedelics (the word means mind manifesting) have come to be known as party drugs, or something the hippies did in the late 60's. But following recent clinical studies by privately funded research bodies such as MAPS, it is becoming apparent that, in a professionally controlled therapeutic context, psychedelics could revolutionize the way we approach mental health in the modern world.

For instance, in one recent trial by MAPS, the psychoactive drug MDMA (ecstasy) was proven to have a 68% cure rate for PTSD sufferers. That's an unprecedented result in the psychiatric field. All participants had chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD, and had suffered from it for an average of 17.8 years.

Unlike anti-depressants, which are taken daily over long periods of time, the MDMA is administered in just three single-dose inpatient psychotherapy sessions, spaced three to five weeks apart, along with preparatory and integration sessions.

Having had first-hand experience of the incredible impact that psychedelics can have on mental health, I want to raise awareness and funding for this groundbreaking field of research.

'Nadi', the title of this print series, is the term given to the channels that flow between the Chakra points according to Hindu spiritual traditions. The Chakras, whether real or not, help us to focus on, connect with, and learn to express different aspects of who we are.

'Muladhara' will be the first of seven signed limited edition prints inspired by each of these chakras.

Muladhara means 'root' or 'support'. It represents grounding, security and material reality. It signifies an important point of focus for those setting out on deep inner work, as it helps direct the awareness to our bodies and to the earth.