Hi! I'm Stephen Reid. I live in Totnes, Devon, UK...
...half an hour from Dartmoor, and half an hour from the South Devon coast.
Short bio in the third person
Stephen Reid is a co-operative technologist and cultural changemaker who has trained in the fields of physics, complexity science, software development, meditation, psychotherapy, plant medicine, conscious sexuality and political activism. He is currently a co-director of Dandelion Collective (the not-for-profit worker co-operative behind the Psychedelic Society, which he founded in 2014), the lead developer of dandelion.earth, a co-creator of Don't Go Back To Normal and a contributor to Enspiral.
Previously, he was the youngest ever board member of Greenpeace UK, was selected as the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Totnes, co-founded the New Economics Foundation's New Economy Organisers Network and worked as a technology consultant for organisations including the Labour Party, the Living Wage Foundation and 350.org. Stephen has an MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford, where he specialised in quantum field theory, and an MRes in Complexity Sciences from the University of Bristol.
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Ancestry
32.1%
British & Irish 13%
Broadly Northwestern European 12.8%
French & German 5.5%
Broadly European 0.7%
Scandinavian 0.7%
Spanish & Portuguese 0.2%
Broadly South European 8.5%
Ashkenazi Jewish 11.1%
Broadly Central & South Asian 9.7%
Northern Indian & Pakistani (Maharashtra) 4.2%
Broadly Central Asian, Northern Indian & Pakistani 0.3%
Broadly Southern South Asian 1.2%
Unknown Training and teachers
Physics
- MPhys in Physics at the University of Oxford (2004-2008)
- Main tutor Candadi Sukumar
- Final year specialisations in quantum field theory and condensed matter physics
- Dissertation on community detection in complex networks supervised by Mason Porter
Complexity science
- MRes in Complexity Science at the Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences, University of Bristol (2008-2009)
- Research projects on automated trading agents in financial markets and synthetic biology
- Lead developer of the software that won Best Model at the iGEM 2009 competition
Holistic science
- Climate Change and Consciousness Conference at Findhorn with Charles Eisenstein (Apr 2019)
- Short course in Erotic Ecology at Schumacher College with Andreas Weber (Mar 2018)
- Science and Nonduality Conference, California (Oct 2015)
Meditation
- Vipassana at Dhamma Dipa (Feb 2017)
- Sensory Awareness at the Esalen Institute with Lee Lesser (Nov 2015)
Psychotherapy
- Foundation in Core Process Psychotherapy from the Karuna Institute (March 2020)
- One-on-one Core Process Psychotherapy sessions (ongoing)
- Awakening of Love by Path Retreats (Mar 2017)
Entheogens and plant medicines
- Noya Rao & Ayahausca dieta with Manuela Mahua near Pucallpa, Peru (Dec 2017)
- Peyote ceremony with Marakame Don Ramiro of the Wixarika (Aug 2017)
- Tobacco ceremony with Jeff Firewalker of the Eagle Condor Council (Mar 2018)
- Cacao ceremonies with Gaia Ma at Inanitah (Nov 2017) and Eagle's Nest, Lake Atitlán (Jan 2018)
- DMT neuroimaging research participant at Imperial College London (May 2018)
- High-dose Bufo ceremony (May 2015)
- Self-directed psilocybin ceremonies in preparation for creating the Psychedelic Society's Psychedelic Experience Retreats (2014-2016)
- Mushroom cultivation at Fungi Academy (Jan 2018)
Conscious sexuality
- ISTA 1 with Elaine Young, Binoy Milton D'souza & Frank Mondeose (Sep 2019)
- The Tantric Opening with Gaia Ma at Inanitah (Nov 2017)
- Ängsbacka Tantra Festival (Aug 2018)
Burns
- Nowhere (2014, 2015, 2016)
- The Borderland (2016, 2017, 2019)
- Kiez Burn (2019)
Politics and activism
- Andrew Simms whilst working at the New Economics Foundation
- Caroline Lucas and Cath Miller whilst working in Caroline's parliamentary office
- John Sauven whilst serving on the board of Greenpeace UK
Other
- Deep Magic retreat with Julian Vayne and Nikki Wyrd at St. Nectan's Glen (May 2018)
- Haka workshop with Matiu Te Huki at Luminate Festival (Feb 2019)
- Music retreats with Rainer Scheurenbrand (Mar 2018, Feb 2020)
Places and plans
Speaking engagements
- Nov 2020, University of Cambridge
- Psychedelics and the Living Planet
- Aug 2020, Medicine Festival
- Tech for Good: The Promise of Decentralisation
- Aug 2020, Medicine Festival
- The Corporatisation of Medicine
- Apr 2020
- Sacred Solidarity panel with Alex Grey & Allyson Grey, Rick Doblin, Francoise Bourzat, Sam Gandy, Bia Labate and Gail Bradbrook
- Dec 2019, Totnes Civic Hall
- How Should Totnes Greens Vote?
- Nov 2019, University of Exeter
- The Mind, Meditation & Psychedelics
- Nov 2019, House of Hackney
- Sacred Sigils: Magic in the Anthropocene
- Oct 2019, Fungi Fest
- Psilocybin Mushrooms for a Regenerative Society
- Sep 2019, XR South West Rebel Rising
- Psychedelics, Extinction and Social Change
- Sep 2019
- David Luke and Stephen Reid in conversation
- Aug 2019, Shambala Festival
- Psychedelics, Extinction and Social Change
- Jul 2019, Stir to Action Festival
- Psychedelics and the Living Planet
- Jul 2019, Noisily Festival
- Integration Through Social Action
- Jun 2019, EartH, Hackney
- Rupert Sheldrake, Robin Carhart-Harris and Stephen Reid in conversation
- Jun 2019, The Oddball
- Growing A Psychedelic Sociey
- May 2019, Newspeak House
- Autopia: a platform for co-created gatherings
- Apr 2019, Findhorn
- Psychedelics, Extinction and Social Change
- Apr 2019, Conway Hall
- Sunday Assembly Lates: Let's Talk About Drugs
- Apr 2019, Rich Mix
- Regenerative Activism and the Ecology of Movements
- Jan 2019, Luminate Festival, Aotearoa New Zealand
- Psychedelics and the Living Planet & The Psychedelic Renaissance
- Jan 2019, Conway Hall
- Psychedelics, Extinction and Social Change
- Dec 2018, Global Health Film Festival
- Magic Medicine
- Nov 2018, Parliament Square
- Extinction Magic: A Grief Ritual for Rebellion
- Oct 2018
- Grand Opening of the Psychedelic Society's new space in London
- Jul 2018, Boom Festival
- Psychedelic Integration
- Jul 2018, Noisily Festival
- Psychedelics, Nonduality and the Nature of Consciousness
- Jul 2018
- Launch of the Psychedelics for Mental Health campaign
- Jun 2018, Beyond Psychedelics
- Psychedelics, Democracy and Reform
- May 2018, HowTheLightGetsIn
- A Long Strange Trip
- Apr 2018, LSD75
- Growing A Psychedelic Society
- Oct 2017, New Unity
- Psychedelics and Mystical Experience
- Dec 2016, Conway Hall
- The Legal Regulation of Psychedelics
- Nov 2016
- Launch of the Psychedelic Society of Brighton
- Sep 2016, Beyond Psychedelics
- Growing A Psychedelic Society
- Jul 2016, Conway Hall
- Psychedelics and Nonduality
- Feb 2016, Cambridge Union
- This House believes that taking recreational drugs is worth the risk
- Jul 2015
- Launch of the Psychedelic Society of Bristol
- Jun 2015
- Launch of the Psychedelic Society of Manchester
- Apr 2015
- Launch of the Psychedelic Society of Edinburgh
- Nov 2014, Conway Hall
- Mainstreaming Psychedelics (launch of the Psychedelic Society)
Peer-reviewed research
- Sep 2012, PLOS One
- BSim: An Agent-Based Tool for Modeling Bacterial Populations in Systems and Synthetic Biology
- Aug 2012, APS Physical Review E
- Taxonomies of networks from community structure
Previous writing
Read my blog series on my samá (dieta) with Noya Rao
Previous affiliations
- The Green Party, Parliamentary candidate (stood aside)
- Alter Ego, Co-director
- Breaking Convention Conference on Psychedelic Consciousness, Press officer
- Greenpeace UK, Board member
- New Economy Organisers Network, Co-founder
- UK Uncut, Co-founder
- The Intruders, Co-founder
- Digital consultancy work for organisations including 38 Degrees, the Labour Party, the Green Party, 350.org, the Living Wage Foundation, Positive Money, SumOfUs, 10:10 and Brandalism
Diet
- Plant-based vegetarian
- Low dairy
- Cheese → Vegan umami flavours
- Milk/yoghurt → Soy/rice/nut/coconut alternatives
- Butter → Oil
- Cheese → Vegan umami flavours
- Few eggs
- Low sugar, complex over simple carbs
- Top snack: mixed nuts
- Fast from time to time
- Drink plenty of water & tea, some fresh juice
- Coffee and alcohol only on special occasions
- Medicinal foods: turmeric + black pepper, mushroom extract, lemon, ginger, garlic, green tea, cayenne
- Living foods: probiotic yoghurt, kombucha
- Digital health
- No smartphone in bedroom
- Notifications off for most apps
- Unplugged from social media
Airtable