FREE Webinar: Tuning In to Sacred Knowledge with Music & Psychedelics
With Dr William (Bill) Richards (USA), Steven Gelberg (USA) and Tania de Jong AM
Date: Wed 11 November 2026 @ 12:00pm (AEDT)
Location: Webinar (online)
Don’t miss out – Get your tickets early!
Join this FREE WEBINAR presented by Dr Bill Richards (USA) and Steven Gelberg (USA), moderated by Tania de Jong AM.
TOPIC: Existential Crisis – Tuning In to Sacred Knowledge with Music & Psychedelics
Steve Gelberg, author of Tuning In: Experiencing Music in Psychedelic States, and Bill Richards, author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences, join acclaimed soprano and co-founder of Mind Medicine Australia, Tania de Jong, to share their knowledge and perspectives on how the structured sound we call music may enhance the safety, efficacy and depth of explorations of human consciousness.
In this presentation, the following topics will be among those explored:
- What is it about music itself that makes it such a potent catalyst in psychedelic states?
- How music may dissolve egoic resistance and facilitate openness to transcendental content during psychedelic experiences.
- Reflections on the nature of music itself as it impacts human experiencing in many different genres and cultural heritages.
- Factors that appear important in the choice of music during alternative states of consciousness with awareness of the many different strata of experiencing.
- The relative weight of one’s usual musical tastes and preferences and the possibility of discovering unexpected appreciation of unfamiliar styles of music.
- Appreciation of Nada Brahman, the “sound God” and perhaps insight into what Pythagoras called “the music of the spheres.”
- The role of the quest for excellence in musical development and performance.
- Following this presentation, listeners may be more skilled in differentiating between the “acceptable”, the “very good” and the “excellent” in their musical choices and able to articulate some principles that guide their judgments.
EVENT DETAILS
DATE: 11th November 2026
TIME: 11:55am (AEDT) for 12:00pm start, finishing at 1:15pm
DURATION: 75 minutes (incl Q&A)
LOCATION: Online – a link will be emailed to you with the viewing details
The Presenters
Dr William (Bill) Richards (USA)
Ph.D.
Dr William A. Richards (Bill), author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences, is a Senior Advisor at Sunstone Therapies in Rockville, Maryland (USA), currently focused on the implementation of psychedelic-assisted therapies in palliative care.
Bill also is the co-founder of research at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research where he contributed to the rebirth of research with colleagues from 1999-2023, and teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies and for MMA’s Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies™. Bill’s graduate degrees encompass the psychology of religion, theology, comparative religion and clinical psychology.
Bill’s involvement with psychedelic research originated in Germany at the University of Göttingen in 1963. From 1967 to 1977, he pursued research with LSD, DPT, MDA and psilocybin at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.
Bill is an Ambassador for Mind Medicine Australia.
Steven Gelberg (USA)
Writer and Scholar
Steven J. Gelberg is a writer and independent scholar living in the San Francisco Bay Area. A child of the 60s counterculture, LSD turned his mind toward Eastern philosophy and spirituality, leading to a seventeen-year immersion as an orthodox Hindu monk and teacher. In 1983 Grove Press published his book Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna: Five Distinguished Scholars on the Krishna Movement in the West as part of its Eastern Philosophy and Religion Series. More recently he authored the book India in a Mind’s Eye: Travels and Ruminations of an Ambivalent Pilgrim (Revised Edition). More recently, he authored Tuning In: Experiencing Music in Psychedelic States, described by the Journal of Psychedelic Studies as, “a pioneering study on the role of music in psychedelic states,” and lauded by Ido Hartogsohn, author of American Trip: Set, Setting, and the Psychedelic Experience in the Twentieth Century as, “the definitive guide to the transformative synergy between psychedelics and music – both profound and deeply instructive. Readers will come away with an expanded mind, thoughtfully curated playlists, and invaluable insights into how music can be harnessed to deepen psychedelic exploration.”
Tania de Jong AM
LL.B (Hons), GradDipMus
Co-founder Mind Medicine Australia, Founder Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, The Song Room & Creative Innovation Global
Tania de Jong AM is the co-Founder and Executive Director of Mind Medicine Australia. Tania has garnered an international reputation as an award-winning social entrepreneur, acclaimed soprano, inspirational speaker and storyteller, creative alchemist, philanthropist and spiritual journey woman. She is a passionate leader for social change. Her mission is to change the world, one voice at a time!
She regularly presents on creativity, innovation, leadership, purpose, psychedelic-assisted therapies, mental health and wellbeing at major conferences and events around the world across the business, government, creative arts and community sectors. Tania is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs and innovators developing 6 businesses and 4 charities including Creative Universe, Creativity Australia and the With One Voice programs, Umbrella Foundation, Creative Innovation Global, Pot-Pourri and The Song Room.
Tania was named in the 100 Women of Influence, the 100 Australian Most Influential Entrepreneurs and named as one of the 100 most influential people in psychedelics globally. Her TED Talk has sparked global interest.
Disclaimer: Mind Medicine Australia does not encourage or facilitate illegal use of psychedelics or plant medicines. MMA focus is focused on clinical and legal use only supported by the emerging science and legislative processes. Mind Medicine Australia reserves the right to record and publish webinars on various social media platforms. You agree that you will not discuss any names, locations or specific details of illegal use of psychedelics both verbally or via any written forms of communication via Mind Medicine Australia social media platforms (for example Facebook, Instagram or Zoom private and public chat forms during a webinar). Breaches of these guidelines may result in not being able to participate in the event. We thank you for support and cooperation on these matters.