The Psychedelic Origins Of Western Civilisation - Brian Muraresku - #276

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello friends, welcome back. My guest today is Brian Muraresku, lawyer and author, and we're talking about the psychedelic origins of Western civilization. The mysteries of the ancient world are just getting stranger and stranger. Did Plato and Marcus Aurelius and thousands more attend a secret psychedelic ceremony which formed the basis for the Christian sacrament? So today, expect to learn why an annual parade finished with a secret ceremony in ancient Greece, why the Christians may have wanted to keep this a secret, what it was like to research in the Vatican Secret Archives, the implications if all this is true and much more. This is like real life Dan Brown shit. That actually is. Secret societies, a crazy potion that lets you die before you die. Brian spent 12 years researching this. I first heard him on Joe Rogan and I just had to get him on. So yeah, I really hope that you enjoy this. It's just a fascinating, cool story. And if you enjoy it, the book is a good read as well. In other news, this episode of the podcast is brought to you by you. If you love the show, you can help it grow by supporting us at patreon.com/modernwisdom from as little as three pounds a month. You can help to support the show. If you love the episodes that I put out every single week and you want to contribute in whatever way you can to making the show continue to grow, then simply head to patreon.com/modernwisdom. There are tons of different benefits and levels, ways that you can get involved, including suggesting guests, getting shout outs on the show and even becoming a researcher. patreon.com/modernwisdom. But now it's time for the wise and wonderful Brian Muraresku.
You're a qualified lawyer. Why are you talking about the psychedelic origins of Western civilization?

**Brian Muraresku** (2:09)
That's a great question. I feel like I'm still a barrister. Still, is that what you call it, barristering?

**Chris Williamson** (2:17)
Lawyering? Being a barrister, being a barristering. Yeah, if anyone can tell us if the verb is to barrister.

**Brian Muraresku** (2:28)
So I still do that, believe it or not. I'm still in good standing in New York state in Washington, DC for the moment. And I don't know. I don't know. I just I started reading about psychedelics and I couldn't stop.

**Chris Williamson** (2:40)
But weren't tempted to try them. You actually, sorry, decided not to try them. You remained psychedelically uninitiated throughout the writing of your book.

**Brian Muraresku** (2:51)
My virginity was and remains intact.

**Chris Williamson** (2:56)
Is that going to change at any point soon?

**Brian Muraresku** (3:00)
Soon, in the coming years, I'm not sure exactly when, but as it becomes legal and as the facilities come online, where you can have an experience that is responsible and scientifically rigorous, and also for me, authentically sacred and historical, I think that will be my moment.

**Chris Williamson** (3:20)
It's going to be so fascinating to see what happens to you having spent over a decade thinking, reflecting, considering, and then also going in to wondering what other people's experiences are, like the meta experience, what did they think, what did they feel. Man, whatever it is that you end up going through, is you're going to be shot into another universe.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:46)
I can't wait.

**Brian Muraresku** (3:47)
Part of me is always thinking the great irony of all of this would be, if absolutely nothing happened.

**Chris Williamson** (3:54)
All this time, all this time.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:58)
I was wrong.

**Chris Williamson** (4:00)
Fucking what a waste. It was all a big troll. Is there a movie coming out? Is there a movie coming out about the book?

**Brian Muraresku** (4:07)
We hope so, at least a documentary series. We're busy pitching that to different networks and streamers here in the US, but obviously it'll have a global audience.

**Chris Williamson** (4:17)
Dude, that's so cool.

**Brian Muraresku** (4:20)
Yeah, man. That's been a big part of my job the past few weeks and months.

**Chris Williamson** (4:27)
Negotiating what sort of a series it should be, who should play you, can we get Tom Hanks, all that sort of stuff?

**Brian Muraresku** (4:35)
All of the above and where do you go and how do you get there and why are you doing in it? And is this one episode? Is this a thousand episodes? And how do we pair the mystery and suspense with the rigorous academic scholarship? And make it make it a feast for the eyes and for the ears. It's got to be a killer soundtrack, right?

**Chris Williamson** (4:53)
Nice. Yeah. So it's going to be baristering, writing, producing. The triple threat. That's the that's the big triple threat.