{"id":118634,"date":"2025-06-09T21:44:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T19:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/?p=118634"},"modified":"2025-06-09T21:44:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T19:44:58","slug":"psykedeelinen-ikoni-amanda-feilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/blog\/psychedelic-icon-amanda-feilding\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering a Psychedelic Icon: Amanda Feilding (1943-2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Visionary Researcher, Beckley Foundation Founder, and Psychedelic Pioneer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The psychedelic community is deeply saddened by the loss of Amanda Feilding \u2014 a monumental force for the cause, a tireless defender of cognitive liberty, and a true one-of-a-kind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amanda Feilding (via Creative Commons)<\/em><\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amanda wore many hats: researcher, policy reformer, artist \u2014 even a countess who once stood for Parliament on a platform centered around expanding consciousness. Her sharp mind and unrelenting resolve opened doors for psychedelic research at a time when the world was far from ready, and in doing so, she helped shift that world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1998, well before psychedelics gained mainstream interest, Amanda established the Beckley Foundation to advance research into psychedelics and consciousness. Under her guidance, the foundation emerged as a leading force in scientific inquiry and drug policy reform, spearheading pioneering studies on substances such as psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and DMT. These collaborations, with renowned institutions like Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins, resulted in over 50 co-authored, peer-reviewed papers, many of which broke new ground. It is important to remember that at the time, merely mentioning \u201cpsychedelics\u201d in policy circles was an act of defiance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a field often dominated by men, Amanda stood out, embodying brilliance, poise, and steadfast purpose. She was a visionary and a bridge-builder, forging connections among scientists, policymakers, artists, and activists to shape a more compassionate and conscious world. Her work made space for others \u2014 especially women \u2014 to follow in her footsteps with courage and clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Life of a Psychedelic Icon <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Feilding (Countess of Wemyss and March<\/em>) was born on April 5, 1943, in Oxford, England. Her father, Basil Feilding, was the great-grandson of the 7th Earl of Denbigh and the Marquess of Bath. Feilding grew up in a large country house in the Oxfordshire countryside, surrounded by a large family and a menagerie of animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Early Fascination with Mysticism <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From early on, Feilding had an intense curiosity about mysticism, and dedicated much of her time to its study. At age 16 her parents allowed her to drop out of school to find her godfather (whom she had never met!) \u2014 <\/em>a man called Bertie Moore. During the war he had been a spy catcher, but now was living as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka, so he seemed the perfect candidate to educate her on the spirituality she desired. However, during her journey \u2014 passport-less \u2014 she became stranded at an airport. A group of Bedouins came to her rescue, and soon she found herself travelling around the Middle East with them in a Cadillac. Only months later, she would be studying under the religious scholar Robert Charles Zaehner<\/a> in Oxford.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after this, age 22, she had her first LSD experience \u2014 which was also, very nearly, her last. Her coffee was spiked with a huge dose of the psychedelic, which caused, in Fielding’s words a \u2018psychic wound\u2019<\/em>. <\/em>This took her 3 months to recover from. However, this experience did pique Fielding\u2019s interest in what LSD and other psychedelics could <\/em>do, when used properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Countess with a Hole in Her Head<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A couple of years later she met and fell in love with Dutch natural scientist Bart Hughes<\/a>. Together they experimented with LSD and explored consciousness. Feiling told Wired<\/em> in 2015;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought that LSD had the power to change the world\u2026 That was our work, understanding the ego and the deficiencies of humans and how one might heal and treat them with altered states of consciousness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feilding in 1970 (via Creative Commons)<\/em><\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Psychedelics were not the only thing they explored however. They also explored the ancient technique of trepanation<\/a>. Yep, this is the much publicised drilling-hole-in-head<\/em> part of Feilding\u2019s story. Trepanation has been done for centuries for various reasons \u2014 to reduce pressure on the brain, to let out evil spirits, to connect with a higher power, etc. Feilding was motivated by the belief that relieving the pressure of her skull would increase the flow of blood to her brain, thus achieving a permanently heightened state of consciousness. Feilding filmed herself using a dentist drill to bore a small hole in her forehead in 1970, while on LSD. Afterwards, she wrapped a colorful scarf round the wound, and continued on to a party. Later she would have it enlarged by a surgeon in Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psst \u2014 we probably don\u2019t need to say it \u2014 but don\u2019t try this at home folks! (There is currently no medical support for\u00a0 trepanning, and also \u2014 ouchie!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing The Beckley Foundation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Albert Hoffman (via Creative Commons)<\/em><\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although this made Feilding infamous in many circles, it\u2019s not so<\/em> bad to be an outcast if you live in a castle, like she did. It also ables you to be free in the causes you wish to advocate for. Fielding’s wealth and outsider status meant she could advocate for the psychedelic cause without the threat of losing her standing in an institution, unlike many scientists and researchers. Especially during a time when psychedelics \u2014 from LSD, to psilocybin, to DMT \u2014 names were mud. However, as a woman, and without formal training, she often found herself underestimated and overlooked.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1998, Feilding set up the Beckley Foundation<\/a>. A pioneering non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting research into the potential benefits of psychoactive substances, such as cannabis, MDMA, psilocybin and LSD. The late, great, Albert Hoffman<\/a> \u2014 synthesizer of LSD \u2014 was president of the foundation until his death in 2008, aged 102.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researching the Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelics<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The foundation’s primary aim is to explore the therapeutic potential of these substances, particularly in the treatment of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. Feilding herself credits LSD with helping her to quit smoking 50 years ago. To this end, the foundation supports a range of scientific research projects, clinical trials, and public education initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Beckley Foundation Offices in Oxford (via Wikimedia Commons)<\/em><\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the foundation’s most notable projects is the Beckley\/Imperial Research Programme, which is a collaboration with Imperial College London that seeks to explore the effects of psychedelic substances on the brain and their potential therapeutic applications. This research has yielded promising results, including the finding that psilocybin may be effective in treating treatment-resistant depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is Time For a New Approach”<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Beckley Foundation has also been involved in a number of advocacy and policy initiatives related to drug policy reform. For example, the foundation played a key role in the establishment of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which is an international organization that advocates for evidence-based drug policies and the decriminalization of drug use. In 2016, Feilding addressed the United Nations General Assembly after the publication of an open letter published in The Guardian and The Times newspapers entitled \u00a0\u201cThe global war on drugs has failed. It is time for a new approach.\u201d <\/em>This letter included the signatures of world leaders dignitaries including Noam Chomsky, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Sir Richard Branson.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World is Catching Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even once she hit her 80s the psychedelic Countess did not slow down. She was well aware that the powers-that-be were finally starting to see what she, herself, had known for many years. As she told You Magazine <\/em>in 2021;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a surprise to find myself a respected figure, because I certainly haven\u2019t been [in the past]…Of course, I\u2019ve been exactly the same figure all along, it\u2019s just that society\u2019s attitudes have changed.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today, the world is finally beginning to open up their eyes (and minds) to the potential of psychedelics. However, there was a woman \u2014 a countess no less \u2014 who was at the coalface of psychedelic research and drug policy reform for many, many years. We remember psychedelic pioneer Amanda Feilding (1943-2025)<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":239046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-118634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychedelic-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118634"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239047,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118634\/revisions\/239047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118634"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=118634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}