Edge of Life

The doorway to death is the last great frontier in human life. Intellectually, we all know our lives will end, and yet - in the Western world at least - we act as if death is a mirage, disappearing the closer we move towards it. Two doctors in Australia are using psilocybin to help ease the anguish of their patients at the end of life, and the results they have seen are truly remarkable. But this visioning tool, like other plant medicines, is not new; it comes from ancient traditions. When the doctors journey to the Amazon to experience traditional medicines for themselves, they are confronted by realisations they have no explanation for. Is it possible the world's oldest cultures have something important to teach us, not just about traditional medicines, but about death itself?