Neoterra: Radically Imagined
Welcome to Psygaia's Solarpunk Universe
As always, please “heart” this post if you want to support me and my poor ADHD brain’s dopamine production. The more you “heart” my Substack posts, the better I feel and the more I want to write. It’s a reciprocal thing. More on that below.
Thanks for being here. I’m very grateful for your time and attention.
As some of you may know, I’m writing the Psygaia hypothesis at the University of Ottawa and building Psygaia into a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving planetary health by advancing psychedelic and ecological medicine through interdisciplinary psychedelic research, education, and support.
While research, education and support is vital to the psychedelic renaissance, my Lil’wat friend and elder reminds me of an essential truth: we are storytellers. Humanity shapes the world through the narratives we share and the myths we imagine together. These stories don’t just describe reality—they help shape it.
Radically Imagining
Imagining a better world has been a lifelong hobby, but only recently did I learn the term radical imagination. In academic circles, radical imagination is the capacity to envision alternative systems, structures, and ways of being that challenge and transcend the dominant paradigms of the present. It isn’t idle daydreaming—it’s deeply rooted in critical reflection, collective action, and transformative change.
In these radical times, radical imagination is a necessity. To envision a better future, we must dare to imagine worlds beyond our current systems and limitations.
Here are some core aspects of the concept:
Challenging the status quo: Radical imagination arises in opposition to the constraints imposed by existing systems—be they political, economic, social, or cultural. It encourages individuals and communities to question what is often taken for granted, such as capitalism, colonialism, or anthropocentrism.
Envisioning new possibilities: The concept involves imagining futures that are not bound by the limitations of current norms or power structures. It asks: What would a truly just, equitable, and sustainable world look like? Radical imagination dares to dream of possibilities that might seem impossible today.
Collective and relational: While personal vision is a component, radical imagination is fundamentally collective. It emerges in dialogue and collaboration, often in the context of social movements, marginalized communities, or other spaces where solidarity is fostered. It recognizes that the act of imagining is deeply relational and embedded within the web of life, within nature.
Rooted in action and practice: Radical imagination doesn’t stop at envisioning—it inspires action. It is the bridge between dreaming and doing, providing the creative fuel for activism, protest, and community organizing. It helps people collectively explore paths toward building alternative systems or ways of living.
Grounded in history and resistance: Radical imagination is often informed by histories of resistance and survival. It draws strength and guidance from past struggles, learning from how communities have navigated oppression and injustice while preserving their hopes and dreams.
Hope as a political act: The radical imagination positions hope as a form of resistance. In a world facing crises like climate change, poor health, systemic inequality, and social fragmentation, hope becomes a radical stance, rejecting despair and cynicism.
Radical imagination is a key idea in the work of scholars and activists such as Robin D.G. Kelley, who discusses it in Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, and Bell Hooks, who emphasizes the importance of envisioning liberatory futures. In environmental and Indigenous studies, it underpins efforts to imagine post-capitalist, post-colonial futures grounded in reciprocity and ecological balance.
Introducing Neoterra
Radical imagination is the foundation of Neoterra, Psygaia’s fictional solarpunk universe. It’s a world where humanity moves beyond extractive systems, towards a regenerative future that harmonizes nature, technology, and the human spirit.
In that spirit, I’d like to invite you to enter the brave new world of Neoterra, Psygaia’s fictional solarpunk universe. Neoterra isn’t just a story though, it’s a world meant to inspire more harmonious lifeways and proper integration of psychedelics into our personal lives, societies and cultures. It’s also a co-created world where readers like you help shape the future. Through polls, shared ideas, and art, we collaboratively build a world that balances nature, technology, and the human spirit.
Why is Neoterra connected to Psygaia, you may wonder?
Because psychedelics are a missing key to unlocking humanity’s capacity for greater good, and I want to draw attention to Psygaia as a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing psychedelic research, education, and integration in ways that honour nature’s reciprocal, universal and timeless wisdom. Psychedelics are making their way into Western culture, and while that’s generally a good thing, the mainstream media and heterosexual white man dominated medical establishment are pushing a boring and uninspiring narrative about what psychedelics are and their potential. Reducing these substances to “treatment for mental health” is getting old. While psychedelics are obviously not the end-all solution to any of our major problems, they are certainly part of the solution to many of our problems. Therefore, a central theme of Neoterra’s world will be the sacred plant and fungi teachers—ancient spiritual allies of humanity.
Or what these days, we like to call psychedelics.
My Invitation to Radical Imagination
Through Neoterra, I invite you to radically imagine what the world might be like if humanity fully embraced the wisdom offered by our ancient plant and fungi teachers.
How do we integrate the teachings of these ancient plant and fungi into our technologically-enhanced and sustainability-focused lifeways and systems? What would a government, culture or society that honours the knowledge offered by the sacred plant and fungi look like? How would a society that embraces technology and the cyclical patterns of nature operate? What would education, agriculture, religion, business, transportation and entertainment look like in this kind of future?
Once more, I invite you to subscribe to Neoterra’s Substack where we’ll collectively imagine and build a world that weaves psychedelics, shamanism, ecospirituality, environmental stewardship, holistic health, liberatory politics, blockchain, AI, and more to inspire radical change, educate on important issues, and entertain.
If you know someone who would enjoy exploring and co-creating such a solarpunk world, please share it with them too. Sharing is caring, and caring is so important.
Anyways, I hope you’ll join me and Psygaia on this journey.
Deep bows to dreaming boldly, imagining deeply, and building a better future for all.
Thanks for your time and attention.
As noted in my restack, the Western world uses wine as a sacred sacrament like Catholicism. When our ways were more earth-centered and pagan, even, the amanita muscaria was the holy sacrament and its analogues. It promotes connection versus separation, yes. Psychedelic mushrooms, in particular, may be a key reason why we developed great intellect as a species.
Here's my initial submission: https://kaiserbasileus.substack.com/p/the-mandate-of-libertarian-fascist