The Benefit

One room, a day, and the questions most institutions still refuse to ask.

Keynotes, talks, and a panel, from neuroimaging to cryptography to the initiation rites of ancient Greece, each working on a different face of the same problem: how do we study the interior of a human being with rigor, and without asking anyone to surrender themselves to do it.

Sasha and Ann Shulgin did this work in a backyard lab for fifty years with a notebook and an unreasonable amount of courage. What follows them is being built now. Your ticket is part of it.

Date
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Time
1:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Place
Chapel of the Flowers, 3049 Adeline St, Berkeley
Food
Catered by Ashby Eatery
Proceeds
The Shulgin Foundation, a 501(c)(3)

Run of Show

1:00 PM
Doors and registration
EEG cohort check-in
1:20 PM
Welcome and introduction to the film
Better Living Through Chemistry film poster
1:30 PM · Film Screening

Better Living Through Chemistry

Directed by Connie Littlefield · 89 minutes
The story of Ann and Sasha Shulgin, told by the people who knew them.
3:00 PM
Break
Session One · 3:30 – 4:30 PM
3:30 PM
Cody Gibbons

Why Should You Become a Certified Psychonaut?

Cody Gibbons
Founder and Chief State Engineer, Sensoria Research
3:50 PM
Eleana Baskouta

The Ritual Architecture of Ancient Greek Initiation

Beyond the Molecule
Eleana Baskouta
Institutional Lead, EPOPTEIA
4:10 PM
Eli Stark-Elster

How to Build a Natural History of Consciousness

Eli Stark-Elster
PhD Student in Anthropology, UC Davis
4:30 PM
Break
Session Two · 5:00 – 6:00 PM
5:00 PM
Leo Christov-Moore, PhD

Augmenting the Consciousness Space

Sensoria Research First Outputs
Leo Christov-Moore, PhD
Head of Research, Sensoria Research
5:20 PM
Patrick Deegan, PhD

OpenForest, SDRF, and the Architecture Behind Euqualia

Patrick Deegan, PhD
Senior Scientist and Head of Development, Sensoria Research
5:40 PM
Megan Bowers

What a Legacy Can Become

Building the Future of the Shulgin Foundation
Megan Bowers
Executive Director, The Shulgin Foundation
6:00 PM
Break
Dinner · 6:30 – 7:30 PM
6:30 PM
Dinner, catered by Ashby Eatery
Sandwiches and salads. Ethics conversation prompts at the tables.
7:15 PM
Supporting the Shulgin Foundation
A short appeal
Session Three · 7:30 – 8:30 PM
7:30 PM
Andrés Gómez-Emilsson

A Think Tank Approach to Studying Exotic Phenomenality

Jhanas vs. 5-MeO-DMT
Andrés Gómez-Emilsson
President and Director of Research, Qualia Research Institute
7:55 PM · Panel

Ethics Frameworks for Trust, Adjudication, and Repair

Tessa Vita Levine
Tessa Vita Levine
Global Psychedelic Society
Neil Gehani
Neil Gehani
Mind Lumen
Katya Levy
Katya Levy
Independent Researcher
Cody Gibbons
Cody Gibbons
Sensoria Research
8:30 PM
Break
Evening · 8:45 – 11:00 PM
8:45 PM
Special performance
Mazyar Karandish, PsyD
9:45 PM
Music and community gathering
DJ Timo
11:00 PM
Close
Questions before the day?

Matthew Gamble is your contact for access, arrival, or dietary needs.
206.423.1991 · matthew@sensoria.events

The Work Continues

Membership and Psychonaut Certification are open.

Sensoria's work continues beyond the benefit. Membership and the Psychonaut Certification program are open for registration now, and the first 500 founding members lock in an early bird rate on both: the founding year is $800 instead of $1,000, with certification included. Certification opens in October.

Explore the Program
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · Berkeley, California