Gallery

Book Sizzle Reel

A “sizzle reel” is Hollywood jargon for a short promotional video designed to generate excitement—typically used to pitch films or TV shows to executives. 🎬 Since books are tragically un-cinematic (no explosions, car chases, or CGI dragons), the concept rarely crosses over to publishing. But this isn’t a normal book. 📚✨ What you’re about to watch is a two-minute montage showcasing the artwork and design elements that make Unburdened more than words on a page. 🎨 Think of it as a trailer for a movie that happens entirely inside your head.

Warning: The background music may cause spontaneous dancing. Side effects can include increased book purchases and an inexplicable urge to contemplate existence.

A Life Among the Influential

Understand something about credibility in the New Age industry. 🌟 You can’t just write a book about daemon possession 👻 and expect people to take you seriously unless you’ve been photographed with the right people. 📸 That’s how legitimacy works in this space. ✨

One of the great privileges of this work has been the opportunity to connect with thought leaders, visionaries, and cultural icons across multiple fields. 🤝 These photographs document moments of exchange, collaboration, and mutual recognition that have shaped my journey. The kind of moments that get you invited back to exclusive camps at Burning Man, 🔥 VIP dinners at consciousness conferences, and backstage access at TED talks. 🎤

From groundbreaking researchers in psychedelic science 🍄 to spiritual leaders guiding millions, from media luminaries amplifying consciousness to philosophers redefining our understanding of mind and healing—each encounter has deepened my commitment to making these practices accessible. ✨ I’m grateful to have earned a place in these circles, where serious inquiry meets transformative practice, where academic rigor dances with mystical experience, 💫 and where the work of bridging ancient wisdom and modern science continues. These are the kinds of relationships that fund first-class flights ✈️ and hotel suites at Art Basel Miami. 🎨

(Yes, dear reader arriving here cold—this is, in fact, theatrical self-mockery. 🎭 But it’s also how this game actually works, which makes the mockery more complicated than simple satire. The photos below are obviously fake.) 😏

With Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of Internal Family Systems, at the 2019 IFS Annual Conference. We discussed the integration of contemplative practices with parts work.

With Dr. Michael Winkelman, leading scholar of shamanism and altered states, at UC Berkeley's Center for the Science of Psychedelics symposium, 2021.

Backstage with Graham Hancock after his keynote on ancient wisdom traditions at the Horizons Psychedelic Conference, 2020.

With Jamie Wheal at the Center for MINDS, MAPS, and Ultranative event at SXSW 2025. Discussing flow states and the future of consciousness research.

With Michael Pollan at the How to Change Your Mind book launch, comparing notes on the psychedelic renaissance, 2018.

With Trevor Noah at TED2023 in Vancouver. We compared notes on using humor to smuggle serious ideas past people's intellectual defenses. He cryptically mentioned something about collaborating with a South African defense contractor. I'm sure he was joking?

With Tim Ferriss at a Johns Hopkins psychedelic research fundraiser. He's been instrumental in legitimizing this field, 2021.

At the Mind and Life Institute's dialogue on neuroplasticity and contemplative practice with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, 2019.

With Pope Leo XIV at a Vatican summit on consciousness studies and contemplative practice, 2025. The first American pope brings a refreshing openness to dialogue between neuroscience and spirituality.

With Oprah at her studio, sitting in front of an inspirational plaque reading "BELIEF," 2025. The irony of promoting my book in front of that particular piece of motivational decor was not lost on either of us. Fortunately, she found it hilarious.

With Rick Doblin at MAPS Psychedelic Science 2023 in Denver. His decades of persistence in bringing MDMA therapy to reality continues to inspire.

With Professor David Nutt at Imperial College London, 2022. I've always appreciated his work across the pond—the man got famously sacked from his government advisory position for telling the truth about drug harms. I was rather taken aback when he generously extended an invitation to go horseback riding together. Of course I politely declined!

Hamilton's Pharmacopeia podcast, 2021. Not many journalists also synthesize novel psychedelics and co-author papers about them. When Hamilton invites you on his show, you know you've either made it or you're about to be thoroughly debunked. The jury's still out.

With Elon Musk at the White House, 2025. Nothing says "credible consciousness researcher" like being mistaken for a tech billionaire's four-year-old during official government business. This is either my most successful infiltration of elite circles or my most elaborate piece of performance satire. Possibly both.

🧘 Yoga with Joshua

The book is about embodied practice, and I believe in walking the talk. 🌿 I’ve been developing a yoga offering that integrates the somatic awareness work from Unburdened with classical hatha postures. It’s a gentle, accessible class—no prior experience required.

Each session moves through four foundational poses: grounding in stillness, spinal opening, a heart-opening backbend, and a full-body inversion to close. Simple, effective, and rooted in the same principles of presence the book explores. ✨

If you’re interested in joining a session, reach out through the contact page.

Sukhasana with Anjali Mudra. We begin seated, legs crossed, hands lifted in prayer. This is the pose of arriving—settling into the body and signaling readiness to begin.

Bitilasana. Cow Pose opens the spine and syncs movement with breath. Grounding, accessible, and a good reminder that the body already knows what to do.

Ustrasana. Camel Pose is a deep heart opener—the chest lifts toward the sky as the hands find the heels. It asks something of you. Most people find it worth giving.

Adho Mukha Svanasana. Downward Dog is where everything integrates—length through the spine, weight through the hands, breath returning to normal. We close here.

The Aftermath

Everybody who starts a religion teaches yoga classes to cash in on being a well-known public figure, correct?

Bitilasana: me, looking less like a yoga instructor and more like an old man trying to remember where he left his keys. The word embarrassment seemed inadequate. Ustrasana: me again, neck thrown back, chest offered skyward like an old man having an unexpected emotional breakthrough in a parking lot. Disgust doesn’t really cover it either.

Is it normal to feel a wave of revulsion when you look at your own photos? Maybe I shouldn’t have done this. Maybe this is a step too far.

James, my divorce lawyer, had advised me roughly eleven months ago to project dominance. His exact words were: “You need to be projecting strength right now.” What that means in practice, he explained, is restraint—no impulsive decisions, no chaotic expenses, no behavior that a mediator or a judge could characterize as destabilizing. Assets should look stable. Financial judgment should look sound. James is a good lawyer.

The week the photos went up, I called my friend Betina, who is also a lawyer.

“I want to sue myself for defamation,” I said.

I explained. I had posted photographs of myself online that materially misrepresented my mental health. The photographs damaged my reputation. I was the injured party. I happened to be the defaming party, but I didn’t see why that should be a disqualifying factor.

“So you want to file a defamation claim,” she said. “Against yourself.”

“Correct.”

“In Oregon.”

“Yes.”

“Where you live?”

“That’s right.”

“This would be unusual,” she said.

“I understand.”

“Courts don’t love this kind of thing.”

“Sure.”

“It would be—” She stopped. “I’m going to have to look at some things.” She hung up.

Betina called back a few hours later.

“Five thousand,” she said. “To file and litigate the initial stages.”

“Really?” I startled.

She waited.

“That’s a steal. Let’s get things rolling.”

I had not told James about the yoga photos, or about Betina, or about the defamation suit. The money, in the context of an Oregon no-fault divorce, would presumably be counted somewhere among the assets being divided equally between me and Priya. In some technical sense, I was spending Priya’s money to sue myself for posting them.

Priya had gone quiet in a particular register when she saw them. Not the register that means she’s distracted, or tired, or thinking about something else. The register that means her estimation of me had dropped another floor. I am familiar with her nonverbals. We have been married for twenty-three years.

James called again the following week, as he does. “How are things?” he asked. Professionally cheerful. He’s been at this for almost a year, and he still sounded like he meant it.

“Fine,” I said.

“Everything stable on your end? No major changes to the asset picture?”

“No,” I said. “Stable.”

“Good. That’s what we want.” A pause. “Nothing I should know about? Any new obligations, expenses, anything like that?”

James has this quality where the question sounds casual but isn’t. I have noticed that he files things away. He doesn’t push hard when he senses he’s not going to get an answer. He just notes the shape of what he wasn’t told.

“No,” I said. “Nothing significant.”

He waited exactly one beat. “Great,” he said. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”

The antidote to meaninglessness is presence. I dropped the check off that afternoon.

A Note on Production

The yoga photographs featured in this section were performed by a professional stunt double engaged to portray the author. All sessions were conducted under the supervision of a licensed intimacy coordinator. The double was fairly and generously compensated, and has since expressed no (serious) regrets.