Technology, and why I am careful with it
I have spent a long time asking how human beings actually get to depth — to the states of consciousness where something in them softens or reorganizes. Thirty years of meditation practice taught me that mostly this happens with almost nothing in the room. Later, I founded EvolVR, the first virtual reality spiritual community, and went on to work at TRIPP, building technology meant to help people feel something real inside a headset. I am genuinely curious about what tools can do for inner experience, and that same history is exactly why I do not reach for them casually.
This page is my honest accounting of the technology I sometimes use around legal psilocybin assisted therapy — not a sales page for it.
What these are not
The technology on this page is not the medicine.
It does not deepen or improve the psilocybin experience in any way I can promise you. I cannot tell you a light machine or a vibroacoustic bed will make your session more meaningful, because I do not know that, and neither does anyone else with any rigor.
The evidence behind most of these modalities, applied specifically to psychedelic therapy, is thin or simply absent. Where good research exists, I say so below. Where it does not, I say that too.
And practically: most of my sessions use none of it. A room, a blanket, music, and my presence is what a medicine day actually consists of, almost always.
What I sometimes use, and when
Light and photic stimulation
What it is: Devices like Lucia or Roxiva-style stroboscopic lamps flash light at set frequencies in front of closed eyes, sometimes producing vivid inner visual patterns.
When I have found it useful: I have found this occasionally useful in preparation sessions with people who are curious what an altered visual field feels like before their medicine day, mostly to reduce the fear of the unfamiliar.
When I would not use it: I would not use it during a medicine session itself, and I would not use it with anyone prone to seizures, migraines, or significant anxiety about losing visual control.
The evidence: The evidence here is thin. There is some research on photic driving and EEG entrainment going back decades, but very little of it is specific to psilocybin work, and I am not aware of controlled studies showing it improves therapeutic outcomes. Treat any claim to the contrary skeptically.
Sound and vibroacoustic work
What it is: Vibroacoustic tables or beds translate low-frequency sound into physical vibration you feel in the body, alongside more ordinary practices like curated music playlists during a session.
When I have found it useful: Music itself is not optional in my sessions — it is part of how I hold the room, the way it has been in most psychedelic therapy for decades. The vibroacoustic bed is the genuinely optional layer, and I have found it can help someone settle into their body before a session starts.
When I would not use it: I do not use it during the medicine hours themselves, and some people find the vibration distracting rather than grounding, so I ask before I offer it.
The evidence: There is real research on music's role in psychedelic sessions, and it is one of the better-supported pieces of the container. The evidence for vibroacoustic therapy specifically, outside of some work in pain and anxiety, is much thinner and I would not overstate it.
Biofeedback
What it is: Simple heart-rate variability sensors that show you, in real time, what your nervous system is doing during a breathing exercise.
When I have found it useful: I sometimes use this in preparation, mostly as a teaching tool — it makes the abstract idea of nervous system regulation visible and concrete for people who like to see data.
When I would not use it: It has no place in the medicine session itself, and I skip it entirely with people who find self-monitoring anxiety-provoking rather than reassuring.
The evidence: HRV biofeedback has a reasonable evidence base for stress and anxiety generally. I know of no research connecting it specifically to psilocybin outcomes, and I do not claim any.
Virtual reality
What it is: Headset-based environments — calming landscapes, guided meditations, or the kind of immersive spaces I spent years building at EvolVR and TRIPP.
When I have found it useful: For someone who has never touched an altered state and is frightened of what 'letting go visually' might feel like, a short VR meditation in preparation can be a gentle, low-stakes rehearsal.
When I would not use it: I would never put a headset on someone during a medicine session — it replaces exactly the kind of unmediated inner experience the medicine is for. And for people who are not curious about it or find screens agitating, I do not bring it up at all.
The evidence: The research on VR for anxiety and relaxation is decent. Research on VR specifically as psychedelic preparation is almost nonexistent — this is closer to an informed hunch from my own years in that world than an established practice.
Sometimes the right answer is a dark, quiet room
For most people, most of the time, the most reliable container I know is the oldest one: eyeshades, a couch, music, and a person staying awake beside you who is not doing anything to you. Nothing to look at, nothing to monitor, nothing mediating the experience.
If you come to a consultation hoping technology will make the session easier or more profound, I will tell you honestly when I think it would get in the way rather than help — and in my experience, that is the more common answer.
If you want to see how any of this fits into an actual program, the offerings page lays out what each path includes. Or, if you are ready, we can just talk.