Illuminating the Hidden Mind

What happens when the brain loosens its grip on certainty?

At the Society for Scientific Exploration’s 44th Annual Conference, this June 17-21, Thursday’s keynote will explore one of the most compelling frontiers in contemporary neuroscience: how psychedelics alter the structure of mind itself.

Dr. Carhart-Harris—one of the leading figures in psychedelic science—will present:

Despite the widespread use of the word psychedelic, there is still no universally agreed-upon definition. Yet its roots—psyche (mind) and deloun (to reveal)—point to something profound: a state in which hidden layers of the mind become accessible.

This keynote offers a unifying framework for understanding how that revelation occurs.

At the center of Dr. Carhart-Harris’s model is the Entropic Brain Principle (EBP)—the idea that the entropy, or variability, of brain activity reflects the richness and depth of conscious experience.

Under psychedelics, the brain becomes more “entropic”—less constrained, more fluid—allowing for expanded perception, novel associations, and access to ordinarily hidden mental content.

The talk will also explore REBUS (Relaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics), a theory describing how psychedelics reduce the influence of rigid, top-down assumptions.

In everyday life, perception is shaped by deeply encoded beliefs—about ourselves, the world, and what is possible. Psychedelics appear to soften these structures, allowing new perspectives to emerge.

This has profound implications not only for consciousness research, but for healing.

By reframing how the brain constructs experience, the EBP and REBUS models offer new insight into mental illness:

• Depression as overly rigid predictive patterns

• Anxiety as hyper-constrained expectation loops

• Healing as a temporary loosening of these structures

Dr. Carhart-Harris’s work suggests that psychedelic-assisted therapy may help “reset” maladaptive patterns—opening space for transformation.

Robin Carhart-Harris is a pioneering researcher in psychopharmacology and neuroscience.

• PhD, University of Bristol

• Founder, Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London

• Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor, University of California San Francisco

• Led groundbreaking neuroimaging studies with LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and DMT

• Principal investigator on clinical trials exploring psychedelic therapy for depression, anorexia, and fibromyalgia

He has been recognized globally for his work, including honors from TIME, The Times, and the World Economic Forum.

This keynote reflects the spirit of this year’s conference theme:

Evidence & Encounters — Two Paths to Exploring the Unexplained

From rigorous models of brain function to the lived experience of expanded consciousness, this session bridges empirical science and the exploration of mind.

Register here