In this episode, David interviews Glauber Assis, Ph.D.: research associate at the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies, director of the Psychedelic Parenthood community, Vital instructor, and leader of Jornadas de Kura, a plant medicine center in Brazil.

He talks about growing up in Brazil in the shadows of colonialism, and how he felt his early experiences with ayahuasca and the Santo Daime church decolonized his mind, changing his relationship with himself and his family, and eventually leading him to start his own church: Céu da Divina Estrela. He believes that to truly know ourselves, we need to experience other cultures, and to truly see the commonalities between each other, we need to recognize just how different we all are. He feels that true growth is not found in the substance or experience, but in the relationships we have with others, and our ability to change.

He discusses:

-How ayahuasca becoming a global phenomenon is revitalizing traditions that may have otherwise been lost
-His first travels to the U.S. and why we need to stop romanticizing other cultures
-The power of live music in a ceremonial group setting
-The birth of his third child in a car, and what psychedelic parenthood really means
-The importance of understanding multiple different frameworks and being able to use them together

and more! 

Bonus: This episode features the first live performance in PT podcast history – a song Assis wrote in the Santo Daime tradition.

Click here to head to the show notes page.

Matt Kay, Co-Founder of the East Coast Float Spa, joins Kyle on this episode of Psychedelics Today. This is another experiential episode where Kyle gets to float and report on his experience. Kyle and Matt also talk about the benefits of floating, the history, and how Matt got involved in the float business. We hope you enjoy this episode! Let us know what you think below in the comment section.

Learn more at psychedelicstoday.com

Show Notes & Links

• Transpersonal Art Therapy
• Psychedelic Club
• Ketamine Therapy with Scott Shannon
• Ketamine Therapy with Shane LeMaster
• Honoring My Inner Goddess: How Mushrooms Helped Me Love My Body
• MAPS Global Psychedelic Dinners
• Wim Hof Method & Breathwork
  • Wim Hof and autonomic nervous system and immune response
• Cold Exposure - Wim Hof Method by Justin Weiss
• Alejandro Jodorowsky

About Alyssa Gursky

In this episode, David interviews neuroscientist, artist, and educator, Melanie Pincus, Ph.D.; and Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience, lead or co-author on over a dozen scientific publications, and regular contributor to PT, Manesh Girn. 

They tell their stories of how they became interested in neuroscience, and stress the importance of staying radically open-minded (or “epistemically naive”) when it comes to how much we can claim we understand about the brain, the mind-body connection, and consciousness itself – that while fMRI and other advances have brought us a long way, there are still a ton of “unknown unknowns,” especially around creativity, decision making, and imagination. They discuss the misconception that we only use 10% of our brains; comparisons between the brain and the universe; society’s misunderstanding of “happy hormones” (dopamine, serotonin, etc.); how chronic stress takes a toll on all parts of the body; how MDMA works with memory processing; and how stacking modalities with the psychedelic experience (like play or activities focused on emotion regulation) can really help with personal goals and growth. 

They have taken their understanding and fascination with neuroscience and applied it to a new course in our Psychedelic Education Center: “Psychedelic Neuroscience Demystified: How Psychedelics Alter Consciousness and Produce Therapeutic Effects“: an 8-week live course with 10 hours of prerecorded material and a built-in community. It was designed with practitioners and clinicians in mind, but with the goal of still being as accessible as possible for anyone who is curious about the neuroscience of psychedelics, and how that knowledge can help with preparation, the journey, integration, and working with a heightened window of neuroplasticity. 

Class begins on May 17, and if you sign up before April 12, you can get $100 off!

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe speaks with Mark Plotkin, Ph.D., author of The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know, and President and co-founder of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT).

Plotkin talks about studying under Richard Evans Schultes (“the father of ethnobotany”), biocultural conservation (the main point of the ACT), Covid-19 and the possibilities for cures in the Amazon, how ayahuasca news can always be viewed as both good and bad, how indigenous people often know much more about their environment and plant medicines than we realize, and how not all ayahuasca is created equal.

They mostly talk about the purpose of the ACT- using ethnographic mapping to help indigenous people take control of and protect their own land from their government and mining or logging interests, all while trying to bring a focus on respecting and protecting the environment, culture, and traditions encompassing the Amazon and its many people.

“The race is on. Protect the forests, protect the shamans, protect the frogs, protect the plants, protect the fungi, and let’s learn what these people know before that knowledge disappears because the knowledge is disappearing much faster than the forest itself.”

Resources:

• www.markplotkin.com
• www.amazonteam.org
• www.psychedelicexperience.net (essentially a Yelp! for the psychedelic world)

Notable Quotes:

On the ACT: “When we set up the Amazon Conservation team about 25 years ago, the idea was that you had groups like the World Wildlife Fund (where I had been working) that was focused on protecting rainforests, and you had groups like Cultural Survival that was focused on protecting indigenous culture, but they really didn’t talk to each other. And so we wanted to help create a discipline now known as Biocultural Conservation because those of us who work with indigenous cultures (whether it’s in the far north of Canada or it’s in the Amazon) know that there is an inextricable link between traditional shamanic cultures and their environment. And nobody was addressing that.”

“There’s a great saying… that the rainforest holds answers to questions we haven’t even asked. So who knows if the answer to Covid-19 or SARs or the next virus which is coming at some point is in the Amazon, and the answer is- nobody knows, and nobody’s really looking for it. So why not protect this treasure, steward it better, look for these answers, and keep the earth a rich and wonderful place?”

“The medical office of the future, if we get it right, is going to have a physician... a nutritionist... a pet therapist... a music therapist... a dietitian... a shaman... a massage therapist. Because there’s no one person and one way that’s going to embody all aspects of healing at the same time.”

“We all go to the grocery [store and ask]: ‘I want to buy organic stuff.’ How come nobody ever asks where the ayahuasca comes from? Is it harvested sustainably? Was it grown organically? You know how many times I’ve been asked that question? Never. If we’re having raised consciousness, why the hell aren’t we asking these questions?
So my challenge to all of our like-minded colleagues is: Let’s make sure we’re getting this from a sustainable source. Let’s make sure it’s being replanted when it’s harvested. Let’s make sure it’s benefiting tribal communities or peasant communities that are respectful of nature and shamanic processes and things like that because I don’t understand why anybody would go to the grocery store and want to get organic grapes but will buy ayahuasca off the internet without knowing where it came from.”

“The shamans often say everything is connected, which sounds sort of trite- this “butterfly effect.” But here’s proof of that. This whole terrible pandemic is due to our lack of respect for nature.”

“It’s not nice to screw mother nature either, because, you know, mother nature always wins. And thinking that we can get away with this and make a few bucks or eat a few weird dishes and not pay the ultimate price is foolish… It’s us [who are] following our nests... abusing indigenous cultures... abusing forests… and mother nature is ultimately going to have her revenge.”

About Mark J. Plotkin, Ph.D.

Dr. Mark Plotkin is a renowned ethnobotanist who has studied traditional indigenous plant use with elder shamans (traditional healers) of Central and South America for much of the past 30 years. As an ethnobotanist—a scientist who studies how, and why, societies have come to use plants for different purposes—Dr. Plotkin carried out the majority of his research with the Trio Indians of southern Suriname, a small rainforest country in northeastern South America, but has also worked with elder shamans from Mexico to Brazil. Dr. Plotkin has a long history of work with other organizations to promote conservation and awareness of our natural world, having served as Research Associate in Ethnobotanical Conservation at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University; Director of Plant Conservation at the World Wildlife Fund; Vice President of Conservation International; and Research Associate at the Department of Botany of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Plotkin is now President and Board member of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), a nonprofit organization he co-founded with his fellow conservationist and wife, Liliana Madrigal in 1996, now enjoying over 20 years of successes dedicated to protecting the biological and cultural diversity of the Amazon. ACT has been a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Roll of Honour since 2002, and was recognized as using “Best Practices Using Indigenous Knowledge” by UNESCO, the United Nation’s cultural organization.

In this episode, David interviews psychiatrist, main researcher behind the first US Phase II trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, and Senior Medical Director at MAPS Public Benefit Corporation: Dr. Michael Mithoefer; and Research Group Lead at the University of Zurich, and Principal Clinical Biomarker Lead at Boehringer Ingelheim, Katrin Preller, Ph.D.

Mithoefer, Preller (and David) are speakers at the upcoming Psychedelic Medicine – Israel, which will now take place July 28 - 31, 2024, in Tel Aviv. They discuss the conference and their current research: Preller's neuroimaging and work with psilocybin for alcohol use disorder, and Mithoefer (likely) being extremely close to seeing the FDA approve MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. He talks about how the therapeutic protocols for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy were created, what it's like to be so close to legalization, and how the next challenges will be accessibility and not minimizing therapy in favor of faster turnover. 

They discuss neuroplasticity and whether or not it actually translates into something in humans; the concept of performing brain scans before a psychedelic experience to look for trauma biomarkers (and how this could actually result in savings over time); the excitement of seeing clinical work and neuroscience progressing in parallel; why integration frameworks need to be individualized; and the importance of embracing different therapeutic approaches.

Click here to head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Ph.D., Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and author specializing in the history of psychedelics and their relation to the medical industry, Erika Dyck.

Dyck talks about her interest in Canadian history and specifically Saskatchewan, which was the first jurisdiction in North America to elect a socialist government. She talks about how it was clear in the early days of governmental support that they were reaching out to people with bold ideas, leading to Humphry Osmand coming there in 1951 to commence research that he felt was being stifled in London.

They talk extensively about the work of Osmand and Abram Hoffer, early experiments with giving staff in mental hospitals LSD to encourage empathy toward patients, a hospital architect taking LSD and learning that tiled, checkerboard-esque floors may be a challenge to patients with depth perception issues, a “Hollywood hospital” where wealthy film stars were flown to deal with addiction largely in secret, the concept of having patients write out an autobiography before a medicine session in order to reflect back on their life afterward, Osmond's participation in a peyote ceremony and his subsequent report, why the Timothy Leary model of dropping out of the scientific/academic world isn't helpful, why time passed and changed public opinion have led to old research coming to light, and why it's more important to talk to people who aren't sold on psychedelics yet instead of those who are already bought in and live in our psychedelic bubble.

Notable Quotes

“Even people like Humphry Osmond or Abram Hoffer who were on the frontlines of that psychedelic heyday in the 1950s- they were quite careful (and obviously they were sort of practiced at this), but they were quite careful about how I might characterize their work with psychedelics, and they insisted that what they were doing was not unethical, they did not have money from the C.I.A., they had lots of checks and balances, and they were clearly responding to that very heavy reputation and characterization of psychedelics. And I reflect on that every once in a while, and wonder, ‘what would they would say today?’”

On Osmond and peyote: “It was the question of whether or not these chemicals and these rituals using chemicals should be allowed more broadly. And I think that the federal government in Canada was thinking that, again, this white-coated British guy would walk in and behave like the colonialist that they expected him to be, and come out and say ‘these are rotten ceremonies,’ but that was absolutely not who Humphry Osmond was. He participated fully. He chewed the buttons, he threw up, he participated in the feast afterwards, he participated in the drumming circle. ...So Osmond then made a statement (and he’s published about this in a variety of different places) saying this was an absolutely beautiful ceremony, it was absolutely sacred, it should be protected, it should be promoted, [and] people should be given access to peyote so that they continue this sacred ceremony. And the Canadian government was not impressed with this reaction.”

“Our governments are addicted to the war on drugs.”

“I think that part of what the psychedelic world needs to do, in my humble opinion, is to reach out and seek these kinds of bridges and these alliances, because I think that there’s a risk that we can just convince ourselves that psychedelics are good and that it won’t actually break through the psychedelic bubble, if you will, to convince regulators that in fact, there is real merit here. There’s still a sense that-- even just saying LSD- I gave a presentation last week to a group of retired physicians and these are people with medical training and who’ve spent their careers doing medical education and medical work, clinical work. And they’re like ‘oh, but LSD, that’s the one that fries your brain, right?’ I mean, these were disproven studies in the 70s, and yet it’s very interesting that that characterization is so strong.”

Links

Twitter

Chacruna.net: Women in psychedelics

Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic, by Mike Jay

The Seasteading Institute

About Erika Dyck

Erika Dyck is a professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work focuses on 20^th century medical history, especially the history of psychedelics, psychiatry, eugenics and population control. Her books include Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus (2008); Facing Eugenics: Reproduction, Sterilization, and the Politics of Choice (2013); Managing Madness: Weyburn Mental Hospital and the Transformation of Psychiatric Care in Canada(2017); and she is editor of A Culture’s Catalyst: Historical Encounters with Peyote and the Native American Church in Canada (2016) and co-editor of Psychedelic Prophets: The Letters of Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond (2018). She is a guest editor at the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. You can email her at Erika.dyck@usask.ca. 

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Navigating Psychedelics

About the Microdosing Event

You’re invited to Psymposia’s 4th annual celebration following day 1 of the Horizons Perspectives on Psychedelics forum in New York City that examines the role of psychedelic drugs in science, healing, culture and spirituality. This year, Comedian Duncan Trussell joins Hamilton Morris (VICELAND’s Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia), Katherine MacLean, Sophia Korb, and Paul Austin to talk about everything you wanted to know about microdosing and more, surrounded by a live audience in Brooklyn. Co-sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies // MAPS

Buy tickets here: https://www.psymposia.com/events/microdosing-duncan-trussell/

Show Notes/Links

• Psymposia 
• Microdosing Event Page
  • Facebook Event
• Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics 
• Beckley Foundation: Microdosing Study

About Brian Normand

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Kyle interviews two Vital graduates: Alice Dommert: certified breathwork facilitator and co-founder of retreat company, The Infinite Center; and Kara Tremain, ACC: somatic practitioner and growth and development coach.

A huge part of Vital is the experiential aspect of attending a retreat. Students report that being part of a group process, feeling the power of the proper set and setting, taking a journey as both a sitter and experiencer, and separating from the world and connecting with each other has been one of the best parts of the program – even life-changing. With Dommert behind 13 Vital retreats to date, she and Kyle dive into what they’ve learned in how to run a successful retreat.

They discuss:

• Facilitator humility and how important it is for everyone to be on the same page
• How much additional activities can add to the experience (tea ceremonies, CrossFit, chanting, fireside chats)
• The importance of allowing enough time and space for everything, from personal time with facilitators to possible issues
• Co-creation and openness: What can facilitators and people coming to the retreat build together? How do we create the most meaningful time together?

If you’re interested in Vital, applications are now open with an Early Bird discount! And if you want to attend a Vital retreat, we have a few spots left in two: a transpersonal breathwork retreat in Pennsylvania, July 9-14, and a cannabis + breathwork retreat in Agoura Hills, CA in October. Head to the Infinite Center’s website for details.

For links, head to the show notes page. 

After struggling with her own depression and anxiety, Caitlin founded EntheoZen. She applied her background in neuroscience, diving deep into the scientific literature and discovered the importance of nutrition in brain and mood health. She created a scientifically-supported line of products that nourish, resource and balance the nervous system to promote a happy, healthy mind.

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Caitlin uses EntheoZen as a platform to provide informative resources and tools to empower people to take their mental wellness into their own hands in a natural and sustainable way. EntheoZen provides educational media on cutting-edge wellness modalities including nutrition, herbs, meditation, psychedelics, neurofeedback training, kambo, and float tanks. Caitlin is a researcher and advocate in the psychedelic medicine movement, using EntheoZen to support research and promote awareness of psychedelic therapies as effective psychiatric interventions.

EntheoZen

Links & Notes

• EntheoZen 
• Medicine Frog Kambo (Cailtin's Kambo practice site)
• International Association of Kambo Practitioners 
• The Aware Project 

About Caitlin Thompson

In this episode, Joe interviews psychologist and adjunct professor at Capella University, Dr. Sean Hinton, about problems with current research, Timothy Leary, and how we integrate drugs into society outside the medical model.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

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In this episode, Joe talks with Matthew Remski, yoga teacher, consultant and author. In the show they talk about high demand group life and their cultic mechanisms, and the after effects of living in a high demand group setting.

3 Key Points:

1. Matthew Remski shares his experience of spending most of his 20’s in cults, and his healing journey afterward.
2. Cults aren't defined by their content (political, religious, psychedelic), they are defined by their element of control. Another term for a ‘cult’ is a high demand group.
3. High demand groups can be very appealing from the outside, no one signs up for the rape, torture, or manipulative experiences that happen inside of a cult. And the after effects from high demand group life can be extreme, such as PTSD, inability to form romantic relationships, etc.

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Navigating Psychedelics

Trip Journal                                               Integration Workbook

Show Notes

About Matthew

• Yoga was a safe space of retreat and recuperation after being in cults
• He was in a cult for 3 years led by Michael Roach at the Asian Classics Institute
• He was in Endeavor Academy for 6 years in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
• These experiences gave him group dynamic perspective
• Yoga gave him somatic autonomy, and allowed him to feel himself again after the cultic nature of the groups
• He spent age 22-29 in these groups where we would have built some sort of career, and he didn't
• He became a yoga teacher and opened his own yoga studio as a part of his healing

Cults

• People end up doing harm to themselves, or do things that they didn't sign up for
  • An organization misrepresents itself, and presents itself as a safe haven for people who may be vulnerable for any reason
• High Demand Organization, along with other synonyms, are other words for ‘cult’
• ‘Self Sealed’ implies that everything that happens within the group is to have the individual think it's for the ‘good’, a ‘bounded choice’ environment (saying that sexual advances or torture are a part of the development toward enlightenment, for example)
• The high demand group rewires a person's attachment patterns to make them ‘unattached’
• Steve Hassan’s BITE model
  • Behavior Control
  • Information Control
  • Thought Control
  • Emotional Control
• The content of the cult doesn't matter (religious, psychedelic, political, etc), it's the element of control that is the same amongst true cults
  • There can be political groups that aren't cults, but the element of control is what defines it as a cult
• Octavio Rettig and Gerry Sandoval
  • They are perhaps responsible for multiple deaths (maybe not directly but through negligence)
  • They use 5-MEO-DMT with abuse and malpractice

Cult Impact

• The impact from a cult can be cognitive, labor related, relationship/family oriented, etc.
  • Matthew says the estrangement from his family has taken over a decade to repair
  • The relationships he had prior, has been unable to restored
• His identity was changed for him through social coercion
• “The cult takes its best possible part of you for its own agenda” - Matthew
• The after effects from high demand group life can be extreme, they can have PTSD, they may not be able to form romantic bonds, they may become estranged from their family, etc.
• Recent estimates in the US alone say that there are 8,000 high demand groups
  • These dynamics can be found in many organizations
• Wild Wild Country - When a controversial cult leader builds a Utopian city in the Oregon desert, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal

Psychotherapy Cult

• Psychotherapy cults look like a Buddhist or yoga cult but with different group practice techniques
  • They will depend upon group psychotherapy that break down and humiliate members and create fear that looks like love and acceptance
  • It includes members revealing intense secrets so they become vulnerable

Practice And All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, And Healing In Yoga And Beyond

• Matthew’s book is applicable in many different community constellations
  • His intention is to help foster critical thinking and community health
• Joe says that anyone in a group dynamic or especially those leading groups (such as an ayahuasca circle) need to read this book

Practice And All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, And Healing In Yoga And Beyond

Links

Website

About Matthew

Matthew has been practicing meditation and yoga since 1996, sitting and moving with teachers from the Tibetan Buddhist, Kripalu, Ashtanga, and Iyengar streams. Along the way he has trained as a yoga therapist and an Ayurvedic consultant, and maintained a private practice in Toronto from 2007 to 2015. From 2008 through 2012, he co-directed Yoga Festival Toronto and Yoga Community Toronto, non-profit activist organizations dedicated to promoting open dialogue and accessibility. During that same period, he studied jyotiśhāstra in a small oral-culture setting at the Vidya Institute in Toronto. Matthew currently facilitates programming for yoga trainings internationally, focusing on yoga philosophy, meditation, Ayurveda, and the social psychology of practice. In all subject areas, he encourages students to explore how yoga practice can resist the psychic and material dominance of neoliberalism, and the quickening pace of environmental destruction.

In this episode, Joe lets Court Wing take lead in interviewing two of the leaders behind Clusterbusters: Founder and Executive Director, Bob Wold; and President, Eileen Brewer.

A long-time friend of the show, Court Wing has become our resident expert on chronic pain, writing articles about how psilocybin relieved his chronic pain, and hosting Timothy Furnish, MD & Joel Castellanos, MD in their episode about phantom limb pain. Now he speaks with Clusterbusters, a non-profit dedicated to educating people about the horrors of cluster headaches, funding ongoing research into new treatments, and normalizing the miracle that psilocybin has been to so many sufferers in alleviating their headaches. 

Wold and Brewer discuss their past struggles (Wold is a cluster sufferer and Brewer has migraine disease) and discovering the amazing intervention of psychedelics; the battles they've gone through in spreading this knowledge; how using psychedelics is also helping people work through PTSD; the barriers that legal psilocybin is creating; the concept of schools having a drug education program; the research looking at cluster headaches and other headache diseases; their creation of the Pain And Psychedelics Association, and more. While cluster headache sufferers have a lot to be frustrated about; as psilocybin becomes more mainstream and more and more research is funded, they now have a lot of hope.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews former Navy SEAL turned actor and TV host, Joel Lambert. He talks about the toll 10 years as a Navy SEAL took on his brain and tells the story of what brought him back: ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode of the podcast, Joe interviews Holotropic Breathwork® facilitator, Christine Calvert, LCDC. They discuss the many facets of the holotropic paradigm, the nuance of touch, the ethics of spaceholding, and more. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Kat Murti: executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the largest nationwide network of students fighting to replace the War on Drugs with policies rooted in evidence, compassion, and human rights.

She talks about how she became interested in drug policy, which not surprisingly aligns with the many problems of The War on Drugs: how it’s a war on people, personal liberty, and our communities; how laws are not effective in enforcing morality; and how getting in trouble with the law often incentivizes more illegal activity. We all know that our current system doesn’t work and that the drug war no longer appeals to most reasonable people, but how can we move towards sensible policy? She discusses previous successes (both at SSDP and before), and some of their current projects, from the work they’re doing with fentanyl strip training and distribution, to education work at festivals and their program, “Just Say Know.”

She talks about:

• How drug policy isn’t going to look the same everywhere and shouldn’t: How do we effectively use different models in different places together for the benefit of everyone?
• The dangers of forcing drug users through drug courts and treatment centers
• The repealing of Oregon’s Measure 110 and how it’s unfair to blame its failure on problems that already existed in the state
• Their new focus on how the War on Drugs specifically affects women and reproductive rights, inspired by Louisiana recently scheduling Mifepristone and Misoprostol

and much more.

The SSDP’s biggest battle now is fighting the DEA’s attempted scheduling of DOI and DOC, two compounds that have been used in research for decades and pose no real threat to safety – which would drastically derail a ton of research. They just completed a 10-day hearing with the DEA. Watch Joe and Hamilton Morris’ breakdown here, and stay tuned to SSDP and PT for updates. 

For links, head to the show notes page.

Jungian psychology takes a fascinating look at the relationship between the conscious and unconscious parts of our minds. How is this framework brought more to the forefront through psychedelics and an understanding of our many parts?

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Johanna interviews Jung experts and Vital instructors: Maria Papaspyrou, psychotherapist and co-founder and director of the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (IPT); and Dr. Ido Cohen, clinical psychologist and founder of The Integration Circle.

They talk about the experiences that helped them first understand the concept of multiple different parts making up their being, and dive into what it is about psychedelics that allows us to discover and work with these different parts: how the protector parts of our psyche work overtime to keep parts away from us, and how psychedelics can dissolve them, leading to a better understanding of ourselves. How much of our persona is based on who we feel we’re supposed to be? What shadow parts are stopping us from being our true selves? And what amazing parts of ourselves have yet to be discovered?

They discuss:

• The idea of self as a unified entity: Does this concept make sense anymore?
• Risks in understanding how different parts work together, from justifying behaviors to inflating defensive structures
• The need to move away from solution-based to more process-focused frameworks, and the power in treating healing and growth as an ongoing process
• The rejection of the shadow and the archetypal (and impossible) wish to extinguish all suffering
• The large discrepancy between what people think being a psychedelic facilitator is vs. the reality

and more!

If you really want to dig into Jungian ideas, Jungian psychology is one of the new specialization tracks featured in the next cohort of Vital, beginning September 16. If you want to know more, send us an email or attend one of the next Vital Q+As.

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode of the podcast, Joe revisits the topic of religion and psychedelics with a Priest and Rabbi both very interested in using religion to frame the mystical: Rabbi Zac Kamenetz and Episcopal priest, Hunt Priest.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, recorded in-person at Psychedelic Science 2023, Kyle interviews Senator for the Mexican Green Party, Alejandra Lagunes.

Lagunes is the first Senator in Mexico to promote the use of psychedelics, and has been organizing open parliaments to foster collaboration between researchers, scientists, politicians, and Indigenous people, culminating in a groundbreaking decriminalization initiative to decriminalize psilocybin and psilocin from list 1 to list 3 (meaning they could be prescribed), create a new chapter for entheogens (and move mushrooms there), build an economically beneficial framework for Indigenous people, protect ancestor knowledge by law, and make big bioconservation moves with changes to environmental laws. 

She discusses her personal journey with depression, anxiety, and a life-saving ayahuasca journey; how Covid uncovered a crisis in meaning and an openness to talk about mental health; the need for accessibility and safety in psychedelics against challenges in politics and policy implementation; our mental health crisis and the need for innovation, education, and overcoming stigma; the influence of US drug control policies on international regulations; the power of storytelling; and why we need to go back to our origins.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, David interviews Dr. Gabrielle Lehigh: Co-Founder and Managing Director of Psychedelic Grad, a web-based community serving as an educational and career hub for up-and-coming psychedelic professionals; and the host of the related podcast, “Curious to Serious,” where she speaks with students and professionals about the path they took to land in the psychedelic field. 

Lehigh recently earned her Ph.D. with research on something not many are looking at: the stories behind powerful and transformative psychedelic experiences specifically at music events, based on 38 interviews and over 500 surveys mostly collected at day-long festivals in the southern United States. While the goal was largely data collection in support of the clear potential for therapeutic benefit in using psychedelics in recreational settings (as many of us who have experienced this can attest), she was surprised to learn how many people still blindly trust dealers; how much festival security can affect safety; how the community often makes more of a difference than the music itself; and how many parallels exist between colder clinical models of psychedelic-assisted therapy and the completely open festival experience. 

She discusses how she found her way from environmental justice to psychedelics; what people are most looking for on Psychedelic Grad; why she chose to use the word “transformative” in her research; what music she has had her best experiences with; why psychonauts shouldn’t forget about Pink Floyd; and much more.

Click here to head to the show notes page!

In this week's Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe, Michelle, Kyle, and David are joined by Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience, Manesh Girn, to talk about neuroplasticity, Michael Pollan's recent op-ed, Senate Bill 519, DMT, and more!

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In the second episode of our special, two-part series, the Psychedelic Morning Show, Joe Moore and Anne Philippi are live once again bright and early from Psychedelic Science 2023 in Denver.

Listen to this podcast as they interview four guests working on the front lines of psychedelic research, law, and the treatment of chronic pain. 

Guests for this episode include: 

• Tommaso Barba – PhD candidate at Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London
• Allison Hoots – Attorney at Hoots Law Practice and advocate; President of Sacred Plant Alliance
• Bob Wold - Founder & President, Clusterbusters
• Court Wing – Founder, REMAP Therapeutics 
  

psychedelicstoday.com

In today's Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe and Kyle sit down and talk about topics in the news including what psychedelic companies owe to the community (both indigenous people and the underground psychedelic world), psilocybin-like drug alternatives for treating depression and the many reasons newer companies are trying to remove the psychedelic part of the medicine, and Dennis McKenna’s recent appointing to New Wave Holdings’ psychedelic research advisory board and what that says about the current climate of corporations moving into this space.

They discuss the dangers of “sponsored content”-like corporate messages, the malleability of laws and power of lobbyists and interest groups, and how manipulation is faster and quieter than ever before, while many big decisions are being made by people crippled from decades of unseen cultural baggage. And why are companies trying to remove the psychedelic side of medicine? Is it solely for profit, or could it be because there are so many in need that streamlining the process or using these medicines differently than we’re used to in this space would be beneficial to the most people?

Lastly, they talk about the importance of making the right connections and having the right arguments and really asking yourself what you’re trying to do when engaging with those who disagree with you- are you just trying to be right, or are you trying to make a change?

Additionally, Joe shares an important harm reduction story and tip, and gives the news that Psychedelics Today recently surpassed 1 million downloads. Thank you for the support!

Quotes

“Is the only box you can fit in, like ‘I want a career, a home and a family’? And everything else doesn’t matter? Is that it? I think it’s more complicated than that. We’re not just atomic units, like nuclear families. We’re far more interconnected than that, and it’s kind of irresponsible to ignore that.” -Joe

“Big businesses end up creating these systems that we all seem to rely on over time and to some extent, I think we appreciate the convenience. If that crumbled, what would our life look like? Could we tolerate living more locally, doing things on a much smaller scale? ...What would that look like in a world where the government didn’t give huge bailouts to these big companies? Our world would drastically change, and could we shift?” -Kyle

“Maybe a thing to just keep in the back of our minds when we’re hearing all this stuff about new pharma companies is that pharma is not guaranteed money for these people. Pharma is still a gamble. Unless they really nail it, they could go bankrupt in a couple years, or just have earnings way lower than they hoped for. So it’s big money, it’s big bets, and they’re betting on big returns, so they kind of have to go out on a limb and stay stuff like this. But the fact that Forbes put that out- that psilocybin could be toxic- seems irresponsible to me… To me, this kind of looks like sponsored content. Or it’s just like, ‘how do we get these corporations to talk to us and be comfortable, so we have to promise fluff.’ Or, is this organized propaganda?” -Joe

“Some of the people in this space are just getting so nasty that a lot of people are just saying, ‘nah, I’m out, later. I’ll go watch Seinfeld reruns for the next couple years while this shit plays out.’ Are you moving allies away, or are you bringing allies closer to you? Think about that. You want more allies. What’s the best tool? Sweetness. Anger, bitterness, spite- those are things that make people want to go away from you. How effective do you want to be, why do you want to be effective, and what tools are you willing to employ to be effective?” -Joe 

Links

What Do Psychedelic Medicine Companies Owe to the Community?

2nd Gen Psychedelic Drugs For Depression Can Be Safer For Older Adults

New Wave Holdings Corp Appoints Dr. Dennis McKenna to Psychedelic Research Advisory Board

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Navigating Psychedelics

In today's Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe and Kyle talk about recent items in the news and dive deep into Stan Grof's work, different types of therapy, and the way touch comes into play in the therapeutic world. 

They first discuss Wisconsin-based non-profit medical research institution, The Usona Institute, and their recently published new method for synthesizing psilocybin, and how great this is for the community. There is a danger to locking away ideas, and new methods of synthesis could lead to monopolization of the market, but publishing their findings means this can be available to all. 

They then talk about re-reading Grof and the concept of the body's inner radar bringing forth what the inner healer needs to work on, and the idea that hyperventilation could be the body trying to heal itself. This leads to discussion of Kyle's time at a Soteria-inspired house in Burlington and their method of simply sitting with people and being there through difficult times. They then discuss different types of therapy, from how traditional talk therapy seems to be more of an art form rather than a measurable methodology, to Grof's Fusion Therapy (which is a type of therapy involving touch that may be over the line by today's standards), to new sex therapies that are starting to make headway. The main threads through this discussion are touch: when can touch be used safely, the dangers of touch being perceived as sexual, and the importance of communication and boundary-setting before sessions, and distraction vs. work: when is a participant wanting to talk about things during a session part of the work and important to respect, and when is it simply a distraction and a way to avoid the work?

Lastly, they remind us that seats are still on sale for the 2 new rounds of (now CE-approved) Navigating Psychedelics (beginning on September 17th), "Psychedelics and the Shadow: The Shadow Side of Psychedelia" is on sale, and there is a new class developed with Johanna Hilla-Maria Sopanen called "Imagination as Revelation," focusing on Jungian psychology and how it can be applied to understanding psychedelic experience.

Notable quotes

“A corporation finding a new synthesis and being able to patent that and then kind of locking it away and saying ‘It stays within our corporation and we’re the only ones that can produce this in this way’ doesn’t mean that other people can’t find other ways.” -Kyle

“In holotropic breathwork, Stan [Grof] talks about how if someone doesn’t land by the end of the workshop and get somewhat settled and resolved, a traditional psychiatrist might say ‘ok yes, this is a psychotic break.' And what do we do? You do your normal interventions. So, optimal for the breathwork and psychedelic world would be to have a place where folks could go and be for days to months to settle and kind of reorganize. That’s the model of spiritual emergence, I think, that Stan talks about. You have to have really careful discussions and criteria for: psychotic break? Or possible spiritual emergence? Or, what’s the real difference?” -Joe 

“I definitely saw some magic, by just being with people, not trying to really change their experience.” -Kyle

“I think delaying is really undervalued. You want to do just the right thing at just the right time. Well, what if you do the wrong thing? Why not wait, so you don’t do the wrong thing?” -Joe

Links

Usona Institute Publishes Breakthrough Development in Scalable Psilocybin Synthesis

Direct Phosphorylation of Psilocin Enables Optimized cGMP Kilogram-Scale Manufacture of Psilocybin (scientific breakdown)

Psychedelics Today: "Spiritual Emergence or Psychosis" Webinar

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Navigating Psychedelics

In this episode, Joe interviews Mike Finoia: standup comedian, Producer for the hit show, “Impractical Jokers,” and co-host of the Comes a Time Podcast with Dead & Company bassist, Oteil Burbridge. His new Special, “Don’t Let Me Down,” is out now.

He talks about his early days of recreational drug use at jam band shows; a powerful psilocybin experience; passing out before his first ketamine experience and how his commitment has made subsequent experiences much smoother; and how his continued work has allowed him to focus on what’s truly important. He’s seen positive results from talking about his ketamine-assisted psychotherapy experiences on stage, and he’s working on new material that will be much more focused on not just psychedelics, but the therapy, self-work, and growth he’s gone through in his journey.

He also discusses the influence of other comedians; the bioavailability in different ketamine methods; how psychedelics are like a performance-enhancing drug; the importance of having a working, attainable idea of success and not getting caught up in other people’s lives; the benefit of asking people in the audience to raise their hands if they’ve done psychedelics; and the importance of recognizing that psychedelics are absolutely not for everyone – at least if they’re not ready.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, recorded on the eve of MAPS’ Psychedelic Science 2023, Kyle interviews MAPS’ Founder and President, Rick Doblin, Ph.D.

He begins with an overview of the fast-approaching (and largest ever) psychedelics conference, emphasizing its significant growth, many features, and bipartisan opening ceremony, then discusses MAPS’ soon-to-be-released confirmatory Phase III data on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, which should set the stage for legal MDMA and the increasing need for trained psychedelic therapists. 

As the FDA is requiring studies on adolescents, he discusses this sensitive issue and questions why it’s so controversial, since teenage years are often closer to both trauma and a more malleable brain, Indigenous traditions certainly didn’t have age limits, and honest drug education – something that is absolutely necessary to fight the backlash against this quickly growing field – teaches us that it’s not the substance; it’s our relationship to it. Could not having these rites of passage be hurting us?

He also discusses the natural vs. synthetic conflict; breathwork; whether or not cannabis is truly damaging to young minds; Federal rescheduling vs. state rescheduling; why it’s controversial to give therapists MDMA in training; Gul Dolen’s work with reopening critical periods; psychedelics in couples therapy; and much more.

Click here to head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Kyle interviews psychiatrist, co-founder/CEO of Brooklyn Minds, and co-host of the Clubhouse show, New Frontiers: Carlene MacMillan, M.D. They discuss Spravato, insurance, and the importance of infrastructure. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews renowned chemist, filmmaker, and journalist, Hamilton Morris. 

After originally backing down from its first attempt in 2022, the DEA is once again looking to apply schedule I status to two lesser-known compounds: DOI (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine) and DOC (2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine). For decades, DOI and DOC have been incredible tools for researchers studying serotonin receptors, showing promise for chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and more.

Originally recorded as a livestream in November, we felt this discussion deserved more attention, as Morris was present during the hearing and saw first-hand the damage that can come from the combination of immense overreach and outdated beliefs.

He talks about:

• The bureaucratic mess behind so much of what the DEA doe
• The safety profile and research capacity of DOI and DOC and complete lack of data showing recreational us
• The DEA’s claim that advocates weren’t expert
• The fight to protect the Sonoran Desert toad
  and more!

While we wait for the conclusion of the hearing, head to Hamilton’s Patreon to hear his daily breakdowns.

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this week's Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe and Kyle discuss recent decriminalization news in Seattle and Santa Cruz, the debates on how to handle mescaline-containing cacti, Hamilton Morris, prohibition, and the Dark Web. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Steve Rio: psychedelic guide, performance and transformation coach, musician, and co-founder of Enfold, a retreat center in BC, Canada.

While Enfold caters each experience to each client, they largely work with 5-MeO-DMT (which is unregulated in Canada); partly because of its power, and partly because Rio realized how much was missing in terms of safety and process when using the substance. They are trying to fill in the gaps, working with the University Health Network Centre for Mental Health to analyze measurements of mindfulness, DAS tests, the Brief Inventory of Thriving survey, and language used when describing experiences to collect as much qualitative data as possible. He discusses their screening process, why they work with synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, why they encourage everyone to go to a group session, and how 5-MeO seems to bypass psychological processes and largely be related to somatic release.

He talks about:

• The power of 5-MeO and being humble and honest with yourself: Are you stable enough to handle the dysregulation?
• 5-MeO bad actors and 'Drive-by 5' people who show up, do the drug, and leave
• The plight of Sonoran Dessert toads and the need for more data around their declining populations
• How 5-MeO seems to connect people with a higher power, and the need for the experiencer to find their own context for it
• The importance of creating a clean and open container for spirituality and meeting the client where they are

and more!

Click here to head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Kyle and Michelle interview Manesh Girn: Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience. They discuss neuroplasticity and how psychedelics affect the neurocognitive processes behind thought, flexibility, and creativity. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Christopher Dawson & Andrew Galloway: Co-Founders and CEO/COO, respectively, of Dimensions; a company creating retreats blending traditional plant ceremony with modern science and 5-star luxury. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Dr. Kate Pate: Ph.D. neurophysiologist; Founder and CEO of Coruna Medical; founding board member of the Psychedelic Medicine Association; and Founder of The Way Back, a company that will provide education and coaching services related to military, veteran, and first responder health – often in wilderness settings.

She talks about her introduction to psychedelics through the Heroic Hearts Project, where she later served as an integration coach and director of research, looking at psilocybin for traumatic brain injury symptoms, and how the gut microbiome changes after ingesting ayahuasca. She points out that gut health hasn’t been a focus of research, but it’s now emerging as a key indicator of physical and mental health. So, how do psychedelics, particularly plant-based ones, come into play? Are the long term shifts after an experience related to a change in the bacteria inside of us?

She breaks down what a microbiome is and how it changes based on diet; how inflammation is created and the inflammatory cascade that happens after a head injury; how toxins create a stress response similar to an allergic reaction; the frustrations of vets and the limited resources of the VA; the commonality of substance and alcohol use disorders in people coming home from service; the many nonprofits she’s worked with; and how important it is to increase science funding from the government.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Melanie Pincus, Ph.D. and Manesh Girn, Ph.D. once again take over hosting duties, this time interviewing Gül Dölen, MD, Ph.D.: Associate professor of Neuroscience and Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, and head of the Dölen lab.

Dölen largely researches the neuroscience behind social behaviors and is most known for her work in establishing how psychedelics reopen critical periods of learning, and that the true benefit of psychedelics could be in learning how best to reopen those critical periods, how long they’re open for, and which therapeutic frameworks and integration practices could best take advantage of them. Her most recent research was giving MDMA to otherwise very asocial (and violent) octopuses to prove that a drastically different species would exhibit typical MDMA-inspired prosocial behavior. And, after discovering that all the classic psychedelics worked to reopen critical periods – that psychedelics are apparently the master key to opening these periods – she’s now researching why, through the PHATHOM project (Psychedelic Healing: Adjunct Therapy Harnessing Opened Malleability).

You will likely learn a ton in this episode: why critical periods close as we get older and what may impede them from opening more often; how plasticity and metaplasticity relate to each other and why increased neuroplasticity isn’t always a good thing; how the length of different psychedelic experiences relates to efficacy; why the different results of MAPS’ and Compass Pathways’ studies show the importance of therapy; how autism could be related to critical periods; why repeated psychedelic use may make it harder for one’s brain to reset; and how important context is in the ability to reopen critical periods – especially around social learning.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s episode with Kyle and Joe, they cover current events on COVID-19, social media narratives, a new world, psycho-pharma, psychedelic VICE articles, movies about acid and more.

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• Patreon
• Leave us a review on iTunes
• Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc
• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

Navigating Psychedelics

Show Notes

Coronavirus

• Joe and his girlfriend are recovering from being sick, potentially coronavirus (they weren't allowed to be tested without being hospitalized)
  • Joe said he was really sick in a new and novel way
• Kyle is located in New Jersey (currently around 19,000 cases, close to 250 deaths)
  • He has a weak immune system, so he is trying to be super careful by staying isolated (he hasn't left the house in weeks besides to go on a walk outside)
• Joe says this whole thing is really going to impact humanity and life on earth
  • The ecosystem of commerce is fragile and this is a strong way of showing it
• Kyle says that Drumpf estimated 250,000 deaths in the US
• Joe says we are going to get through this, and life will go on, but what will that look like?
• How can the conscious show up as leaders?
• When we are in a fear state, we don't make rational decisions

Narratives

• Kyle says all of the psychedelic people that he is connected to on social media are posting so much on 5G right now
• There are dual narratives, like people dying, but also a lot of info on conspiracies
  • What do we pay attention to, and what is really happening?
  • Joe said that he played in the conspiracy, occult area for a while, and he couldn't find any solid ground
  • In times like this, the conspiracy media ramps up, because people are afraid, and that impairs cognition
• There is a lot of media saying that COVID-19 is a biological weapon
• There is a lot of unknowns, and how do we not panic?

Processing All of This

• We were not evolved for this moment
  • Now, how do we evolve to handle this stuff?
  • How do we build resilience?
• As ecosystems collapse, some organisms start to mingle with other organisms and then viruses like this can come up, and will pop up more in the future
• We are in a spiritual emergence-y right now, we need to bring up our shadow and do the work
• What can I actually do in my life right now? Instead of worrying about everything

A New World

• 90% of products in the consumer economy right now are completely non-essential
  • We are on a finite planet with finite resources don't mesh with infinite growth
• Hopefully this is the emergency that we need to re-imagine the future
• There is a role that the psychedelic community plays in this
  • The psychedelic culture is familiar with sitting with shadow, doing the inner work, and taking a creative approach at alternative systems and reimagining the future
• Kyle says this feels psychedelic, having new ideas about what the future could look like, what we can offer the future
• A lot of the things that we wish for are starting to unfold, in some sense, the collective has been wishing for the things that are happening
• When we take substances, we are upgrading our operating system

Psycho-Pharma

• MindMed (Mind Medicine) call themselves a leading neuro-pharma company for psychedelic inspired medicines
• Right now they are working on a compound, essentially an iboga-like drug
• There is a lot of suffering happening in the world, and whatever tools that can help with the suffering will do
• There is a roller coaster of the psychedelic experience
  • If every experience was just rainbows and happiness, it would just devalue the human experience

Vice

• Researchers got people to hallucinate from fake psychedelics
• Kyle says think about it, that sitting in a chair for a few hours with music can easily induce a psychedelic experience
• Joe says “the experience is within you, the drug is a key to help unlock that”

Shadow Panel

• Kyle is co-hosting a Shadow Panel with Ido Cohen and takes on a Jung approach to process the shadow
  • They host interviews with doctors and other speakers on the topic
  • They explore a lot of somatics in the shadow
• It is a donation based course right now, potentially paid in the future

Final Thoughts

• Joe says we are heavily impacted by COVID-19, a ton of breathwork events all had to be cancelled
  • But we have a ton of online courses and resources available, from integration books, to online guided therapist and clinician courses, to psychedelic online courses, coaching, and more
• Joe said he had a fun conversation with a film producer (Malibu Road) on the acid scene in the 70’s
  • The film cant be streamed yet, but the trailer is out

  • About Kyle

    Kyle’s interest in exploring non-ordinary states of consciousness began when he was 16-years-old when he suffered a traumatic snowboarding accident. Waking up after having a near-death experience changed Kyle’s life. Since then, Kyle has earned his B.A. in Transpersonal Psychology, where he studied the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness by exploring shamanism, plant medicine, Holotropic Breathwork, and the roots/benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy. Kyle has co-taught two college-level courses. One of the courses Kyle created as a capstone project, “Stanislav Grof’s Psychology of Extraordinary Experiences,” and the other one which he co-created, “The History of Psychedelics.”

    Kyle completed his M.S. in clinical mental health counseling with an emphasis in somatic psychology. Kyle’s clinical background in mental health consists of working with at-risk teenagers in crisis and with individuals experiencing an early-episode of psychosis. Kyle also facilitates Transpersonal Breathwork workshops.

    About Joe

    Joe studied philosophy in New Hampshire, where he earned his B.A.. After stumbling upon the work of Stanislav Grof during his undergraduate years, Joe began participating in Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Vermont in 2003. Joe helped facilitate Holotropic and Transpersonal Breathwork workshops while he spent his time in New England. He is now working in the software industry as well as hosting a few podcasts. Joe now coordinates Dreamshadow Transpersonal Breathwork workshops, in Breckenridge, Colorado.

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In today’s Solidarity Fridays episode, Michelle, Kyle, and Joe discuss Maine’s proposal for legal psilocybin therapy, MAPS’ Phase 3 MDMA trial, therapy, money, and a recent "100 Most Influential People in Psychedelics" list.  

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Maya Albert: Co-Founder of the Psyched conference, and Director of Operations at Tabula Rasa Ventures and the Synthesis Institute.

She shares her journey of how she became involved in the psychedelic space through her mother, and her personal experience as a patient in a clinical trial on psilocybin for the treatment of anorexia – a much more common and deadly affliction than most people realize. She discusses her involvement with the various psychedelic gatherings surrounding Davos and the World Economic Forum, as well as the work she’s doing with Tabula Rasa and some of their clients seeking to expand insurance coverage to psychedelic-assisted therapy. 

She discusses the Synthesis Institute’s recent struggles that shook up the psychedelic space, what they’re doing to save the company, how Retreat Guru has helped them, and the implications for the wider psychedelic movement. And she talks about much more: the legality and vetting process for training in Oregon and Colorado; truffles in the Netherlands vs. classic psilocybin; the idea of alcohol as poison and ‘Cali sober,’ and how can we all be more collaborative and not sling mud at each other?

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, David interviews Sherry Rais: CEO/Co-Founder of Enthea, a benefit plan administrator offering psychedelic-assisted therapy as a benefit to interested employers.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode of the podcast, David interviews former journalist and Founder/CEO of The New Health Club, Anne Philippi. She discusses non-linear healing, intergenerational trauma, and how psychedelics can heal the workforce.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

Natalie Ginsberg - MAPS Policy and Advocacy Manager

• The opiate and opioid crisis
• Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna
• Ibogaine to help combat the crisis
• U.S. and International Drug Policy
• United Nations - The Commission on Narcotic Drugs -  Special Session on the World Drug Problem
• Ways to get involved in advocacy
• ICEERS - The International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service
  • Titrated doses of Ibogane instead of larger bolus doses
• Ayahuasca Defense Fund
• MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
• The Trump Administration and what does it mean for scientific and academic research

Bio:

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Privilege and Safety in the Psychedelic Community

• Catharsis, A Burn on the Mall to Heal from the Election

Get in touch with Natalie:

• Twitter
• MAPS.org Psychedelics Today Natalie Ginsberg Transcript
• Facebook

Our model controlled for experiences with other classes of psychoactive substances (cannabis, dissociatives, empathogens, popular legal drugs) as well as common personality traits that usually predict drug consumption and/or nature relatedness (openness to experience, conscientiousness, conservatism). Although correlational in nature, results suggest that lifetime experience with psychedelics in particular may indeed contribute to people’s pro-environmental behavior by changing their self-construal in terms of an incorporation of the natural world, regardless of core personality traits or general propensity to consume mind-altering substances. Thereby, the present research adds to the contemporary literature on the beneficial effects of psychedelic substance use on mental wellbeing, hinting at a novel area for future research investigating their potentially positive effects on a societal level.

About How Soon is Now? 

We are on the brink of an ecological mega-crisis, threatening the future of life on earth, and our actions over the next few years may well determine the destiny of our descendants. Between a manifesto and a tactical plan of action, How Soon is Now? by radical futurist and philosopher Daniel Pinchbeck, outlines a vision for a mass social movement that will address this crisis. Drawing on extensive research, Daniel Pinchbeck presents a compelling argument for the need for change on a global basis. The central thesis is that humanity has unconsciously self-willed ecological catastrophe to bring about a transcendence of our current condition. We are facing an initiatory ordeal on a planetary scale. We can understand that this initiation is necessary for us to evolve from one state of being – our current level of consciousness – to the next. Overcoming outmoded ideologies, we will realize ourselves as one unified being, a planetary super-organism in a symbiotic relationship with the Earth's ecology and the entire web of life. Covering everything from energy and agriculture, to culture, politics, media and ideology, How Soon Is Now? is ultimately about the nature of the human soul and the future of our current world. Pinchbeck calls for an intentional redesign of our current systems, transforming unjust and elitist structures into participatory, democratic, and inclusive ones. His viewpoint integrates indigenous design principles and Eastern metaphysics with social ecology and radical political thought in a new synthesis.

Show Notes/Links

• Daniel's Website
• Daniel's Writing & Projects
• Evolver
• Reality Sandwich
• Age of Aquarius
• Burning Man
• Bobby Klein - Breathwork in Tulum, MX

Daniel's Books

Check out more of Daniel's writing: Here

About Daniel Pinchbeck

From Daniel Pinchbeck's Website I am the author of Breaking Open the Head (Broadway Books, 2002), 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl (Tarcher/Penguin, 2006), Notes from the Edge Times(Tarcher/Penguin, 2010), and How Soon Is Now (Watkins, 2017). I co-founded the web magazine, Reality Sandwich, and Evolver.net, and edited the publishing imprint, Evolver Editions, with North Atlantic Books. I was featured in the 2010 documentary, 2012: Time for Change, directed by Joao Amorim and produced by Mangusta Films. I founded the think tank, Center for Planetary Culture, which produced the Regenerative Society Wiki. I hosted the talk show Mindshift on GaiamTV. My essays and articles have been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone, ArtForum, The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, Dazed & Confused, and many other publications.

Check out our upcoming course, Navigating Psychedelics

Learn about harm reduction practices, self-care, and ways to integration your experience

In this episode, Kyle interviews Gabriela Galindo: program coordinator of FLOWS (Foundations for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability), an organization working towards social and environmental justice, ecosystem restoration, community building, and the preservation and protection of Indigenous medicines.

She discusses her entry point to psychedelics and how she got involved with Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act (Prop 122) when she saw a complete absence of Indigenous representation in the legislature. The narrative that we all have a right to healing and that these medicines belong to everyone is pretty common today, but Galindo argues that this is not fair: that each plant has its own history, and that each is protected by its own culture. Shouldn’t the communities that have stewarded these medicines for centuries have a say in whether their medicine is going to be shared and legislated at the state level? Shouldn’t they have the ability to consent to these new proposals?

She talks about:

• Why she likes using ‘movement’ instead of ‘renaissance’ when discussing our psychedelic culture
• What we could learn from Indigenous people’s harmony with nature as we face an ongoing climate crisis
• The balancing act of pleasing everyone: Would decriminalization be as supported if Indigenous communities wanted to keep some of these substances criminalized for the protection of their culture and their ecosystems?
• How psychedelic communities should evolve to include community work into their routines: What do local communities need and how can you help?
• The importance of knowing when to step aside and truly center a community voice

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Joe Moore sits down with Louis Dorian, the visionary behind Psychedelist, a groundbreaking global platform designed to support the emerging psychedelic movement. Described as a “cyber city” for all things psychedelic, Psychedelist connects individuals with treatment providers, educators, facilitators, legal experts, and even vetted product vendors in an effort to enhance accessibility and safety in this evolving space.

Louis shares his journey into psychedelics, from early rave days to a transformative encounter with high-dose LSD and psilocybin that shaped his worldview. He opens up about the struggles of navigating trauma, loss, and the shortcomings of Western psychiatric care, leading him to develop his own trauma-processing techniques blending meditation, breathwork, and psychedelics.

The conversation also dives deep into the broader implications of drug prohibition, harm reduction, and the role of skill-building in responsible psychedelic use. Whether you're a seeker, a skeptic, or a professional in the field, this episode offers a compelling exploration of the psychedelic landscape and the power of intentional community building.

Resources:

• Visit Psychedelist
• Follow Louis Dorian on Instagram: @psychedelist
• More from Psychedelics Today: Website

Tune in for an eye-opening discussion on the future of psychedelics, regulation, and self-exploration!

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, host Kyle Buller interviews Alyssa Gursky, a Masters student at Naropa University with a focus in mental health counseling and transpersonal art therapy. Their discussion dives into the intersection between art therapy, transpersonal art, and psychedelics. Ketamine, symbols, and meaning are also areas of this interview.

3 Key Points:

1. Alyssa Gursky has been working with the MDMA research In Boulder, Colorado and now in Fort Collins for the last three years as a night attendant.
2. Creating art is a gift from our unconscious, to be able to see what is happening within ourselves.
3. There is art in therapy and there is art as therapy.

More at: www.psychedelicstoday.com

Navigating Psychedelics: psychedelicstoday.teachable.com/p/navigatingpsychedelics

In this episode, Kyle interviews Dr. Ido Cohen, co-founder of The Integration Circle. In the show they talk about themes that arise from transformative experiences and the different ways to integrate them through attitude change, environment and community.

3 Key Points:

1. A common theme after a transformative experience is the calling for an attitude change. The experience is only the first step, the integration is where the real work begins.
2. Environment is a critical part in integration. You can't always change your environment, but you can change your relationship to it by forming new coping mechanisms than the ones used before a transformative experience.
3. Joining consciousness events, finding a therapist and looking for integration circles are all great way to not feel so ashamed or alone after a transformative experience.

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Navigating Psychedelics

Trip Journal                                               Integration Workbook

Show Notes

About Ido

• Ido is a Clinical Psychologist based in San Francisco
  • He works with individuals and couples in integration groups
• Ido graduated from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
  • He did his post-doctoral internship at C.G. Jung Institute in San Francisco
• He went to India and it opened up the psycho-spiritual realm for him
  • He realized there is a lot more to this reality than what we see
• He had a powerful Ayahuasca experience, and it led him to choose his dissertation project
• • He wanted to know how to take his experience and integrate it into his daily life

Integration

• Ido began talking to people who had big transformative Ayahuasca experiences (pre, during and after)
  • He interviewed people at a year out of an Ayahuasca experience, so they had time to reflect
  • “For most people, something is calling them. Either curiosity or suffering.” - Ido
  • The message comes through a relationship that we are having with something
  • People felt that they had to go through something personal before they were able to go into archetypal realms
• A theme afterward was difficulty of re-entry (integration)
• Another common theme was people realizing that they need to change their attitude in order to heal
  • It starts with small steps, maybe instead of watching TV for 2 hours you go for a hike for 2 hours, you open up to make room for change

Ego and Self

• Jung’s idea of ego-self access; there is the ego that takes things and organizes them and processes things into our reality, and then the self that is the unconscious, the imaginary and dream state
  • The idea is to look at the relationship between the two
  • Are they fighting or are they in harmony?
• The role of community is so important
  • “We need to learn to integrate not just the negatives, but also the positives.” - Ido
  • Having pleasurable experiences can feel unsafe to a person who has been through a lifetime of negatives

Transformative Experiences

• Personal and Environmental
• Most people have these experiences, and come back to the same urban environment, the same work mindset, the same cultural ideals about “achieving”, the instant coffee mentality
  • “We want things fast because we don't want to suffer, we don't want to wait, we don't want to invest, we don't want to change.” - Ido
  • “When people come back with this new experience but to an old environment, then the question is, ‘How can I not let the pressure of this old environment get in the way of my experience?’” - Ido
• It really is all about changing your attitude
  • Maybe go journaling, go into nature, go dancing, etc.
  • “How do I honor my process and not succumb to the pressures of using the same coping mechanisms as I had before?” - Ido
  • Integration is a complex process

Environment

• You can't always change your environment, but you can change your relationship to your environment
  • You can start looking for integration circles
  • You can start looking for therapy
  • You can go to consciousness events, meditation/yoga groups
  • It really depends on the person but it's all about finding resources that help you feel more connected, less ashamed, and less alone
• One of Ido’s clients said to him “I realize I have to break my own heart if I really want to change”

Spiritual Bypass

• Ido suggests a great book on understanding spiritual bypass
• Spiritual Bypassing: When Spirituality Disconnects Us from What Really Matters
  • When you start to be really critical about an experience, that's where you need to be more curious
  • Shift from criticism to curiosity
• Jung says that this is ‘the lifelong process where we are slowly descending into our authenticity’

Final Thoughts

• Seek community
• Don't do it alone, even if you think you can, you don't have to
• If you're shy, come anyway, were all just doing our best
• Encourage people to seek out knowledgeable communities
• Take yourself seriously, honor these sacred experiences and honor yourself

Links

Integration Circle Website

Instagram

Facebook

About Ido Cohen

Ido offers depth oriented psychotherapy to the bay area out of San Francisco. Ido conducted his doctoral dissertation study for 6 years, researching the integration process of Ayahuasca ceremonies in western individuals, using a Jungian psychology lens. Ido is committed and passionate about supporting individuals engaging in psychedelic, entheogenic and other consciousness expanding practices, as they integrate their experiences to create long lasting and sustainable change. In addition to his psychotherapy practice, he offers individual and group preparation and integration services.

In this episode, David interviews Monnica Williams, Ph.D. She discusses the mental health impact communities of color face as a result of racism; and what therapists, clinicians, and researchers can do to improve this paradigm.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode of the podcast, Kyle interviews Annie & Michael Mithoefer for the 2nd edition of Vital Psychedelic Conversations. They cover breathwork, trusting the process, the inner healer, and updates on new trials for 2022.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s episode with Kyle and Joe, they cover current events on psychedelics for treatment of COVID-19 trauma, an article on single dose psilocybin effects, psychedelic investments, self care and more.

Support the show

• Patreon
• Leave us a review on iTunes
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Navigating Psychedelics

Show Notes

A Single High Dose of Psilocybin Alters Brain Function Up to One Month Later

• It was a small study of only 12 people
• The article states, the researchers found that self-reported emotional distress was reduced one week after psilocybin administration, but returned to baseline levels at one month after psilocybin administration

Doctor Calls for "Temporary Approval" of Psychedelics to Treat COVID-19 Trauma

• There were a few doctors and people that didn't understand the value of psychedelics being used as psychiatric tools
• Kyle thinks especially of all of the first-responders that are working non stop, without a break, for weeks on end, witnessing tons of people dying daily, and then trying to come back and process this
  • The mental health, long term of these people is going to be so impacted
• Then we have to think about the people that can't come together for a funeral after they lose someone
• This pandemic is going to be traumatizing for people
  • Joe says this looks like a global ego death, all of the systems that we have had before are not adequate
• The Spanish flu of 1918 was only a few years away from the Great Depression
• We know that traumas influence health and behaviors, but we have tools and technologies to get ahead of this, from an epigenetic standpoint

Psychedelic Investments

• Kyle and Joe talk for a while about psychedelics and money and research and funding
  • It's a tricky thing, because we want there to be funding to make this accessible, but we want people to invest with integrity and to not start a monopoly on the funding
• Joe says we (as a company) have been approached by investors, but we have been hesitant to stay with our vision, keep our integrity and stay on track with our mission

Self Care

• Kyle says stay in the present moment, limit news consumption (watch it maybe once a day to know what's going on, but then put the phone down and not drown in it)
• It's helpful to develop more of a spiritual practice in this time (yoga, meditation)
• Self care is going to look different for everybody
  • Joe says ‘Maslow it’, get good sleep, drink good water, satisfy basic needs, those are first step during this time
  • Kyle says that he uses movement, somatic work, breathing into places in the body that are tense, etc
• Kyle says that those who are doing a lot of online work, take time to move and stretch
  • This is a time to do a lot of work we have put off, but at the same time, its okay to give our bodies a break, take time to rest, get outside, find movement, etc
  • It's important not to take on too much or do too many things

Psychedelics and the Shadow: A Series Exploring the Shadow Side of Psychedelia

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About Kyle

Kyle’s interest in exploring non-ordinary states of consciousness began when he was 16-years-old when he suffered a traumatic snowboarding accident. Waking up after having a near-death experience changed Kyle’s life. Since then, Kyle has earned his B.A. in Transpersonal Psychology, where he studied the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness by exploring shamanism, plant medicine, Holotropic Breathwork, and the roots/benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy. Kyle has co-taught two college-level courses. One of the courses Kyle created as a capstone project, “Stanislav Grof’s Psychology of Extraordinary Experiences,” and the other one which he co-created, “The History of Psychedelics.”

Kyle completed his M.S. in clinical mental health counseling with an emphasis in somatic psychology. Kyle’s clinical background in mental health consists of working with at-risk teenagers in crisis and with individuals experiencing an early-episode of psychosis. Kyle also facilitates Transpersonal Breathwork workshops.

About Joe

Joe studied philosophy in New Hampshire, where he earned his B.A.. After stumbling upon the work of Stanislav Grof during his undergraduate years, Joe began participating in Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Vermont in 2003. Joe helped facilitate Holotropic and Transpersonal Breathwork workshops while he spent his time in New England. He is now working in the software industry as well as hosting a few podcasts. Joe now coordinates Dreamshadow Transpersonal Breathwork workshops, in Breckenridge, Colorado.

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In this episode, Kyle interviews the Founder and CEO of FreshCap Mushrooms and host of The Mushroom Show on YouTube, Tony Shields.

He talks about how an early interest in lucid dreaming sent him down a psychedelic path, and how, as his interest in mushrooms has grown, he’s watched the culture shift from a narrative of mycophobia to one of appreciation and interest. With FreshCap Mushrooms and The Mushroom Show, he aims to provide much needed education around this vast and mysterious world of fungi.

He talks about the thriving psilocybin scene in Jamaica, and how, through filming a documentary there, he learned how much communities still don’t know about mushrooms, how much tourism supports the country, and how much of a special vibe Jamaica has for psilocybin retreats.

And he discusses much more: why lion’s mane should help with concussions and TBIs; indications mushrooms could heal, from long Covid to paralysis; concerns over over-medicalization; why Terence McKennas’ ideas weren’t as crazy as many thought; visiting mushroom shops in Canada; the secret language of mushrooms; where psychedelic people can start to learn about functional mushrooms; and why, if he could embody any mushroom, it’d be cordyceps.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Joe interviews Jessica Tracy: head of sales & partnerships at Enthea, a company that works with employers, unions, and employee assistance programs to be able to offer ketamine-assisted therapy (and psilocybin where it’s legal) to employees.

She talks about her path to psychedelics and how the shifts in her life led her to want to help others, finding Enthea and using her 15 years of experience in healthcare to make an immediate difference. She explains how the process works for an employee of a company Enthea works with, and the importance of evidence-based medical policy and rigorous screening to make sure people are getting the best intervention possible. One of Enthea’s largest clients is Dr. Bronner’s, who reported incredible improvements after employees used the benefit, with a 65% improvement in depression scores and an 86% improvement in PTSD.

She also discusses:

• How psychedelics bring awareness to what we need to work on
• Less-discussed treatment modalities, like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and stellate ganglion block (SGB)
• The inefficiency of traditional talk therapy: 50% of people only see really good benefits after 20 sessions
• The importance of viewing mental health as individualized care: What else can we offer to people who haven’t been helped by traditional methods?
• The research that she wants to see, like measures in how present or productive people are before and after experiences

and more!

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Kyle Buller is joined by Dr. Hannah McLane, founder of the SoundMind Center and SoundMind Institute. They dive deep into the evolving psychedelic landscape—touching on policy developments in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and beyond. Dr. McLane shares her experience testifying in support of psilocybin legislation and discusses the medical frameworks being explored, particularly in contrast to Oregon and Colorado’s models.

The conversation also explores the essential qualities of effective psychedelic facilitators, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness, lifelong learning, and doing personal inner work. Dr. McLane offers insights into the challenges of entrepreneurship in the psychedelic space, balancing mission-driven work with sustainability, and how neurodiversity and trauma have shaped her approach.

Toward the end, the conversation takes a playful and heartfelt turn, reflecting on parenting, the power of curiosity, and the need for more community-centered, human-first spaces for integration and healing. This is a rich, honest, and inspiring dialogue that bridges the personal and political, the clinical and ceremonial, and the visionary future of psychedelics.

In this episode, Joe interviews Brom Rector: podcaster and founder of Empath Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in psychedelic medicine startups. They discuss investment, IP, the psychedelic crash, ibogaine, and more.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Joe calls in from Los Angeles to cover the week's news with David. 

They review: 

-Dr. Julie Holland's recent appearance on the The Cannabis Investing Podcast, where she discussed the concept of cannabis being a psychedelic;

-Vancouver Island University in British Columbia, Canada, planning to establish a Psychedelic Research Centre, with a focus on the historical and ethical context of psychedelic substances, using a "two eyed seeing" approach that combines Western-style science with Indigenous perspectives;

-A group of investors creating a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to purchase real estate for the purposes of psychedelic therapy, which, if used as the collaborative model we imagine it could be, could solve a lot of problems;

-Diplo completing the Los Angeles Marathon in 3 hours and 35 minutes while under a reported 4-5 drops of LSD, and the dismissive spin mainstream media added to the story; 

and a Rolling Stone article focusing on (and somewhat oversimplifying) the conflicts between the medicalization and decriminalization/legalization camps (can we just do both?).

The articles of course lead to much larger discussions: how cannabis has helped David overcome OCD; the need for more transparency and a review system based on abusive behavior in the psychedelic space; the idea of collectivization in therapy models; why we need to agree on ethical foundations; and our general misunderstanding of IP and IP law: was all the criticism of Compass Pathways unwarranted?

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews the Co-Founders of Enosis Therapeutics: researcher and scientist, Agnieszka Sekula; and psychiatrist, clinical advisor to the Australian Psychedelic Society, and leading Australian advocate for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, Dr. Prash P. 

Enosis Therapeutics is a medtech startup that began with the question: how can we use VR – with or without psychedelics – to improve mental health outcomes? They feel that the biggest problem with powerful psychedelic experiences is that, once you’re back in reality, it’s oddly difficult to remember the insights and new ideas that were so clear during the experience, and even harder to make connections that lead to concrete change. They believe that the immersive nature of VR and the novelty of unique VR environments creates a sense of presence that can’t be recreated otherwise – a liminal, in-between state that’s just different enough to allow the patient to feel like they’re back in that non-ordinary state, and therefore more able to anchor their experience and begin to find connections and more clearly understand newfound insights. 

This all happens by the user essentially creating nonlinear, abstract, multi-sensory VR paintings while describing what they remembered; allowing them to revisit these worlds later, bring in therapists (or anyone else) to work inside these environments, and hear their own voice describing what happened, thereby creating a mental map that can be worked with in completely unique ways. 

They talk about the conflict between new technologies and traditionalists; the problems with moving away from psychoanalysis and not treating psychotherapy as a process; how VR could improve the efficacy of therapy (and improve therapists’ lives); how it could replace models of repeated dosage; how VR could generate analytics to actually quantify success in mental health treatment; and how (whether psychedelics are used or not) culture needs to bring the psychedelic way of thinking to mental health.

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In this episode, Joe interviews Psychedelics Today's first 3-time guest, Dena Justice of the Ecstatic Collective. 

They discuss the ins and outs of something we're all too familiar with: anxiety. They talk about how Western society's lack of community and focus on doing things yourself (and not asking for help) mixed with a weird pride in being overworked and stressed has created a world where we all deal with daily anxiety, and deal with it differently. She first became addicted to exercise, but realized that learning to slow down, ignoring FOMO and embracing JOMO (the joy of missing out), having fewer goals in favor of more accomplishment, embracing play as a way of finding flow state, celebrating accomplishments instead of failures, and tuning her frequency towards happiness has helped her change her life drastically for the better.

She talks about more ways to combat anxiety, and her new program where you can sign up for these kinds of tips and tricks to be emailed to you on a regular basis (sign up here). She is also offering a valuable discounted bundle of courses in partnership with Psychedelics Today, which includes 2 Ecstatic Collective courses and 2 Psychedelics Today courses.

Notable Quotes

“The best thing you can do is learn to be uncomfortable.”

“Talking about playful things is just tapping into the inner child inside of us, giving ourselves permission to play. Go to the playground. Ignore the sign that says ‘this playspace is designated for 12-year-olds and under.’ F that! Your tax dollars paid for that playground. Go play on that playground!”

“Look at all these non-ordinary states of consciousness and how they tie in here- meditation, breathwork, exercise, early childhood (because that’s pure receptivity), psychedelics, every single orgasm. ...Every single one of these things is putting us in flow state. It’s bringing us to the present moment, where anxiety cannot exist because we’re in the present. Anxiety is fear of the future, depression is being caught up on the past. ...but when we’re in the present, all of that goes away.” 

“Email is a tool for efficiency, not necessarily effectiveness. What’s effective? Real communication. I think a lot of anxiety comes from the lack of true communication these days. ...7% of what our communication is is the actual words we say to each other. 55% is our physiology and 38% is our tonality. That means we’re losing 93% of our communication when we put it in an email or a text message or on social media.”

Links

Ecstaticcollective.com

Sign up for anxiety-reduction emails

Her last appearance on Psychedelics Today

Her appearance before that

Kompan playground equipment

Marco Polo app

About Dena Justice

As a master manifester, Dena has created a beautiful life for herself. She been financially responsible since age 15 including putting herself through college, two masters degrees and purchasing her own home in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has made over $1M in her life through a fulfilling career as a facilitator, educator, trainer, mentor and coach working with thousands of people across the country. She loved her career, yet hit a point where she felt empty. Near the top of her career ladder, she was a classic case of a high performer and leader hitting burnout. She chose a powerful pivot out of her J-O-B and into her own business. Now, she helps other high performers who have hit burnout and are scared to admit they’ve hit a plateau or a wall. She helps them get the eff out of their own way and move to the next level to increase their impact so they feel fulfilled and inspired again, as well as helping them create more wealth and the relationships they want in their lives. She helps people experience new levels of success, increase/improve focus and performance, abolish FOMO, evolve communication skills, develop transformational leadership skills, create amazing relationships, increase financial abundance and live life on their own terms.

Support the show

• Patreon
• Leave us a review on Facebook or iTunes
• Share us with your friends
• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

Navigating Psychedelics

In this episode, Kyle interviews Juan Pablo Cappello: co-founder and former CEO of Nue Life Health, whose assets were subsequently acquired by Beckley Waves.

Cappello discusses the current challenges and controversies facing a ketamine industry that has moved much faster than anyone anticipated, and stresses the need to create industry-wide standards – especially for at-home ketamine – before the government imposes its own standards on us. Citing the Matthew Perry case and other bad behavior from providers, he talks about the risks of overpromising and underdelivering, the lack of integration in the majority of at-home ketamine frameworks, and how profit-driven, subscription model motives have overshadowed patient care and ethical practices.

He also discusses:

• The complications from personal perspectives and passions shifting after a psychedelic experience, and how that can change over time
• The FDA’s recent rejection of MDMA: What would have happened to MDMA if it had been approved?
• Hope for more Native American churches, and what they can learn from the DEA’s denial of Soul Quest
• The story of a bump of cocaine ruining the hope for cannabis to be decriminalized under the Carter administration
• Our current Wild West of gas station CBD, Delta-8, and barely-regulated vapes

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Joe interviews one of the world’s leading experts on human performance: New York Times bestselling author and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, Steven Kotler.

Kotler's work explores the neurobiology of peak human performance, flow states, and aging, and the concept of getting our biology to work for us rather than against us in our later years, by using the parts of our brains that expand in our 50s, combined with neuroplasticity, learning by play, and the biggest factor: working toward a very difficult - but not impossible - task. His 30-year exploration of the neurobiology behind people accomplishing 'impossible' feats led him to test his theories by teaching himself to park ski at 53 with resounding success, then using his protocol with people up to 70 years old the next season. The story is told in his newest book about challenging tired concepts of aging, "Gnar Country." 

He discusses the power of flow states and how much flow actually amplifies productivity, motivation, wisdom, empathy, and more; why dynamic motion is a key activity for greater longevity and why skiing and similar action sports are some of the best examples; why dynamic activity in novel environments is even better; why changing one's mindset may be the biggest factor toward change; why corporations are looking at flow training and where these concepts could go in the future; and of course, how this all relates to psychedelics. 

Click here to head to the show notes page!

In this episode of the podcast, Joe interviews 2 hosts of fellow long-running psychedelics podcast, Entheogen: Joe Zap and Kevin W. They discuss the early days of cannabis, Timothy Leary, gurus, conspiracies, and more. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

Podcast Show Notes: Psychedelics, Harm Reduction & Ethical Care with Erica Siegal

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Joe Moore sits down with Erica Siegal, founder of Nest Harm Reduction and Shine Collective, for a deep conversation on psychedelic harm reduction, ethical facilitation, and the evolving psychedelic landscape. Erica shares her journey from the Grateful Dead lot scene to festival harm reduction, social work, and leading initiatives to support survivors of psychedelic-related harm.

The conversation covers:

• Erica’s background in hospitality, social work, and psychedelic harm reduction
• The mission of Nest Harm Reduction in offering psychedelic therapy, integration, and community education
• The work of Shine Collective, a nonprofit supporting survivors of psychedelic harm and abuse
• The challenges of ethical facilitation, power dynamics, and the importance of clear boundaries
• How the psychedelic community can better address harm, accountability, and survivor support
• The intersection of Jewish spiritual traditions and psychedelics through Shefa

This episode is a must-listen for those passionate about harm reduction, ethical psychedelic practice, and building a safer, more accountable psychedelic culture.

In this episode, Kyle interviews Laura Northrup, Marriage and Relationship Somatic Psychotherapist and creator of the podcast, Inside Eyes; an audio series about people using psychedelics to heal from sexual trauma.

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In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Kyle interviews researcher, author, and Co-Founder/Director of the Breaking Convention conference: Dr. David Luke. He discusses DMT entity encounters and the transpersonal. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Chris Koddermann interviews two members of the Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Mass General Hospital: founding director, author, and co-founder of three drug development companies, Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum; and psychiatrist and associate director and director of cognitive neuroscience, Sharmin Ghaznavi, MD, Ph.D.

Rosenbaum and Ghaznavi bonded over an interest in rumination, and wondered: How could the plasticity-inducing effects of psychedelics change these negative loops people find themselves in? How important is the ability to break out of those loops – and learn new patterns – when our concept of self is so central to who we are? Ghaznavi is studying the effects of psilocybin on rumination and scanning patients at multiple times throughout the process to track data we still don’t really have: how psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity changes over time, and why.

They discuss:

• How much of a role the default mode network takes in the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics: Is it overblown?
• Hyperscanning, which involves scanning two individuals at the same time, looking for potential concordance in signal and/or an increased alliance between the therapist and patient
• The Schultes Legacy Project and the work of Stephen Haggarty to explore the potential of largely unstudied psychoactive plants
• Critiques of the recent ruling on Lykos and MDMA-assisted therapy and the clash between the FDA and the advisory committee: Were they really on the same page?
• The false dichotomy of neuroscience vs. patient experience: Does the subjective experience actually increase plasticity and other measurable benefits?

and more!

For links, head to the show notes page.

The path of the psychedelic renaissance has largely touched on the aspects of therapy, personal growth, and initiation rites, but now, the relationship between psychedelics and creativity is being studied more and more. Can psychedelics really increase intellect, novelty, and problem solving?

In this episode, Joe interviews Dr. Bruce Damer: astrobiologist with a long history of work at NASA, and now the president and co-founder of the Center for MINDS, a new nonprofit researching the best ways to improve creativity and problem solving.

He talks about how we’re losing our best creative minds to hyper-specialization, and while there is lots of research pointing to psychedelics as creativity-enhancers, we need to develop frameworks and protocols to be able to measure exactly how that works, and the best ways to encourage better results. The Center for MINDS is sponsoring research while running its own three year project studying creativity in a naturalistic setting, and aims to answer: How do we unlock more genius? What’s the main driver for novel thinking?

He discusses:

• His path to psychedelics, including his time with ‘endo-tripping’: training his mind to trip without any external substances
• The importance of adding ‘set up’ to set and setting, representing one’s intentions and preparatory work up until that point
• The tale of his extraordinary ayahuasca experience where he journeyed together with Mama Ayahuasca all the way to the beginning of life on earth
• His theory on the real origin of life, and why the ‘survival of the fittest’ framework shouldn’t be our North Star
• The absolute necessity of mentorship from elders

and more!

The steps the Center for MINDS will take in studying psychedelics and creativity will largely be steered by people’s personal stories, so please share yours with them by filling out their survey. What has worked for you? What is your personal protocol?

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Kyle and Johanna catch up, interviewing each other about psychedelic education and what they’ve learned, the biggest challenges, and what advice they would give to anyone looking to get involved in the psychedelic field.

They discuss:

• How sometimes it’s not about the substance: If you want to be a psychedelic therapist, do you see yourself doing therapy without the psychedelics?
• How no part of education is exempt, and becoming truly psychedelically-competent can involve studying psychology, neuroscience, somatics, religion, history, etc.
• How people’s experiences are evidence – it doesn’t have to come from a research study to be valid
• The importance of figuring out what your gifts are and how you could best contribute to progress, and then finding the job that matches it

and more!

The next round of our year-long training program, Vital, begins in September, but for those who feel that that may be too much of a commitment, our most popular course – the 9-week Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and Wellness Practitioners, LIVE – begins on May 8. Head to the Psychedelic Education Center for more details!

Click here to head to the show notes page.

In this episode, we toast to the beginning of an exciting and hopefully groundbreaking 2024 by switching things up a bit. Christopher Koddermann, Co-Founder and Chair of Board of the International Therapeutic Psilocybin Rescheduling Initiative (ITPRI) will be conducting some interviews for PT, and in this episode, he does his first – with our Co-Founders, Joe Moore and Kyle Buller.

Kyle tells the story of his fateful New Years Eve snowboarding trip that resulted in a near death experience and a complete change in his life’s trajectory, and Joe discusses his more academic roots and how he and Kyle were united through their shared passion for the work of Stan Grof, holotropic breathwork, and transpersonal psychology. Psychedelics Today was created largely with no aims other than to promote transpersonal psychology and archive the best insights from their mentors, but has obviously turned into so much more, mostly from the simple goal of trying to spread the word through interesting conversations.

They talk about the growth of PT; how they got involved in education; the harms of the drug war; why decriminalization isn’t enough; where they see ‘the psychedelic renaissance’ going; what has surprised them the most in the last few years; and what we’re most proud of: Vital – how it came to be created, what’s involved, the benefits of the retreats, the self-discovery they’ve witnessed, and what they’ve learned through two successful cohorts.

The next edition of Vital begins on January 23, and we’ve extended applications until January 14, so if you’ve been curious if Vital is the answer you’ve been looking for, now is the time to act!

Click here to head to the show notes page.

In this episode of the podcast, Joe interviews the Founder of Personal Plants: Amanda Reiman, Ph.D., MSW. She discusses our connection to plants and the endless possibilities of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other Web3 projects. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

From Kyle of Psychedelics Today

In this episode, Joe interviews Paul Grof: research psychiatrist, clinician, author, brother of Stanislav, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and director of the Ottawa Mood Disorders Center.

He talks about his extensive career in psychiatry, and how trying to understand the cause of mood disorders led him to focusing on the very nature of consciousness. He believes that consciousness is a collaborative creation between the brain, body, and external fields, and that the key to connecting with the mechanistic side of academia is through talking about the unexplainable – near death experiences, pre-cognition, remote viewing – and of course, them having positive non-ordinary experiences through psychedelics or other means. He talks about how much we’re connected, how much our bodies remember, and how much society could change for the better if enough people experience the transpersonal.

He also discusses:

• His thoughts on legal frameworks, education, integration, and whether or not psychedelics will get stuck in psychiatry
• The importance of new study designs in research, as double blinding doesn’t make sense for psychedelics
• Concerns over spiritual emergence and emergencies: How much is the responsibility of the therapist or facilitator?
• The global rise in depression and addiction, especially in the younger generation, and the need for techniques for people to help themselves
• The work he’s doing with remote healing circles, using strong intention, positive emotions, and visualized healing

and more!

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode Kyle Buller and Joe Moore speak to Zach Leary about his new book "Your Extraordinary Mind: Psychedelics in the 21st Century and How to Use Them".

Kyle and Joe join Zach in person for this recording.

Zach has lots of hard earned wisdom and gracefully shares it with us and with his readers.

We discuss MAPS PS25, Psychedelic Churches, psychedelic overuse and much more.

Join us to learn more.

In this episode, Joe interviews Dena Justice from the Ecstatic Collective. Dena and Joe talk about Neuro Linguistic Programming and how it is beneficial to use with non-ordinary states of consciousness.

3 Key Points:

1. NLP is Neuro Linguistic Programming. Dena Justice is a Lifestyle Design Strategist that uses NLP to help people create their dream, ecstatic life.
2. 93% of communication happens at the subconscious level. NLP training focuses on how we use communication tools to help people in non-ordinary states of consciousness.
3. Perception is Projection. Our belief of someone else, is a projection of ourselves onto them.

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• Patreon
• Leave us a review on iTunes
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• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

Navigating Psychedelics

Show Notes

About Dena

• Dena grew up with NLP in her life
• NLP is Neuro Linguistic Programming
• “You get to create your reality, what are you choosing consciously?” - Dena
• She became impacted by Tony Robbin’s events, and decided to teach NLP
• NLP is about language and communication and things that are happening subconsciously
  • 93% of communication happens at the unconscious level

Neuro Linguistic Programming

• Perception is projection
  • “If I have a belief about someone else, that is my projection of myself onto them” - Dena
• The big no-no in NLP is to say things like don't or not
  • Say it the way you intend it
  • What messages do you want to enforce when in an altered state? You want it to be positive
  • “What is someone creating in their reality based on their unconscious communication?” - Dena
• It's important to take NLP and combine it with non-ordinary states because they are more powerful together than the sum of them separately
  • The ‘aha’ moment happens because we have neural networks in every single cell in our body
  • Resistance is always a sign of a breakthrough
• Virginia Satir  is known for translating people’s representational systems
  • In the Hierarchy of Ideas, Virginia was all about ‘chunking down’
  • When someone says “I'm upset” then you ask “how specifically?”
• On the opposing side, Milton Erickson focuses on abstraction, chunking higher to get to trance
  • Dena uses the Milton model of hypnosis to bring people into trance states

NLP Training

• Dena offers NLP training that focuses on how we use communication tools to help people in non-ordinary states of consciousness
  • It's so important to understand the 93% of communication that is happening at an unconscious level
• Timeline therapy is a process that utilizes the unconscious mind to get rid of negative emotions such as anger, sadness and guilt
• Every part of her training concludes with NLP coaching
• The Milton model and hypnosis is really beneficial when focusing on its delivery specifically
  • Hypnosis is important because its using everyday words but with intention and volition to put people into a trance state
  • We reduce resistance in communication when we move up in abstraction

Links

Website

About Dena Justice

As a master manifester, Dena has created a beautiful life for herself. She been financially responsible since age 15 including putting herself through college, two masters degrees and purchasing her own home in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has made over $1M in her life through a fulfilling career as a facilitator, educator, trainer, mentor and coach working with thousands of people across the country. She loved her career, yet hit a point where she felt empty. Near the top of her career ladder, she was a classic case of a high performer and leader hitting burnout. She chose a powerful pivot out of her J-O-B and into her own business. Now, she helps other high performers who have hit burnout and are scared to admit they’ve hit a plateau or a wall. She helps them get the eff out of their own way and move to the next level to increase their impact so they feel fulfilled and inspired again, as well as helping them create more wealth and the relationships they want in their lives. She helps people experience new levels of success, increase/improve focus and performance, abolish FOMO, evolve communication skills, develop transformational leadership skills, create amazing relationships, increase financial abundance and live life on their own terms.

In this episode, David interviews Floris Wolswijk: senior project manager at Delphi; co-founder of FLO coaching; and founder of Blossom, an online informational hub collecting psychedelic courses, trials, companies, and over 2000 categorized research articles.

When Wolswijk began Blossom, he was barely able to fill a weekly newsletter, and now he’s adding a new study nearly every day, perfectly illustrating the exponential growth in psychedelic research. He talks about why so much research is happening (and why more isn’t), the trends he’s seen, the benefit in research changing people’s minds, and what he hopes for in the future. What can the research community learn from existing real world evidence, and how can retreat centers and underground communities contribute?

He also discusses:

• What culture is like in the Netherlands, where psilocybin truffles are legal
• Drug development and the possibilities of adjusting existing molecules
• What we can learn from the Lykos and FDA situation
• The economics of psychedelics and how insurance will likely be the next big conversation
• His work with FLO coaching, and how coaching, acceptance and commitment therapy, and psilocybin can work together

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this Earth Day episode of the podcast, Joe interviews publisher, ecologist, planetary steward, and co-owner of Synergetic Press, Deborah Snyder. They discuss Biosphere 2 and how psychedelics and ecological spaces overlap.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Kim Dudine: Chief of Staff at OpenNest Labs and Director of Membership and Strategy at Trailblazers Presents. She discusses the benefits, psychedelic nature, and unifying aspects of cannabis.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, David hosts another Vital Psychedelic Conversation, this time with Bennet Zelner, Ph.D.: Vital instructor who teaches economics at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business; and Giles Hayward: Vital student and Co-Founder of Woven Science (a company backing and building psychedelic and wellness tech companies) and El Puente, which focuses on Indigenous biocultural preservation.

Zelner believes that the traditional capitalist system we’ve grown accustomed to is an extractive and predatory one directly in opposition to a natural system we should be striving to emulate – one that circulates resources and exits largely in equilibrium with its different parts. His concept of the Pollination Approach (or regenerative economics) is about developing economic structures that are capable of balance: where communities are built to directly benefit each other and where businesses are structured to share resources and capital to all involved. In a hyper-individualistic system where loneliness and never feeling good enough are key drivers of depression, anxiety, and trauma, how could we not benefit from feeling more connected to each other, our communities, and the businesses that exist within them? 

They talk about different ways the pollination approach could be applied; how psychedelics disrupt these broken systems; how we can make these treatments affordable; and why we should be focusing on the delivery and integration of substances rather than creating new ones. And since Hayward is about to graduate from Vital’s inaugural run, he shares his feelings on the program and how it fell into this concept of regenerative economics. 

The application deadline for this year’s Vital has been extended to March 26, but that will be the last extension. So if you’re interested, now is the time to apply!

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Micah Stover: certified psychedelic somatic therapist and author of the upcoming book, Healing Psychedelics: Innovative Therapies for Trauma and Transformation; and Craig Heacock, MD: adolescent, adult, and addiction psychiatrist, and host of the Back from the Abyss podcast.

Stover discusses the inspiration for the book: the ancestral voices she started hearing after she had children, being featured on Heacock’s podcast and becoming fascinated with people’s healing stories, and her move to Mexico, where she learned the beauty of a less complicated and more connected life. She learned that the village you surround yourself with is really the medicine, and that existing in the mysteries of life can be much more beneficial than trying to solve everything. Combining her Western training with more Indigenous perspectives, she wondered: Where do science and spirit meet? And how can they dance together?

They discuss:

• Stover’s early days of offering medicine journeys in Mexico, and how much leaning on elders from all backgrounds matters
• The importance of discernment in non-ordinary states: Is spiritual bypassing just the absence of discernment?
• How finding a village can be just connecting to the earth: How much of our trauma is from a “nature deficit disorder”?
• The power of transference and the relationship between therapists/facilitators and clients
• The idea that modern psychology has fallen short because we’ve sterilized love out of the room, and the challenge of bringing love back as part of a safe container

and more! 

The book, which is laid out somewhat like a workbook (and which Heacock wrote the foreward to) comes out on November 4 and is available for pre-order now.

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Mason Marks, MD, JD: drug policy analyst, writer, Professor at the Florida State University College of Law, and senior fellow and project lead of the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR) at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics.

As somewhat of an expert on drug policy and FDA regulation, Marks discusses much of the current legal landscape: What was controversial and most interesting about the FDA’s recent guidance for researchers running clinical trials; how an amendment changed Colorado’s Natural Medicine Act and the odd vibe coming from the rule-making process (very private with canceled meetings and a notable lack of urgency); concerns over Oregon’s confusing program not being sustainable; and how Senate Bill 303 drastically changed confidentiality and how personal data would be collected in the state. 

He also discusses the complications and ethics of end-of-life care and psychedelics; the theoretical heart valve risk from chronic use and ways we could research this; the challenge of informed consent; the legal risk of transactions involving people gifting illegal substances; the Gracias Foundation’s recent $16 million grant to Harvard and how people at Harvard feel about psychedelics; and more. 

POPLAR, which was founded to essentially change laws around psychedelics, is hosting a conference on February 16 in Manhattan called “Drug Law for the 21st Century,” which will be looking back on 50 years of DEA drug policy and envisioning what could be different going forward.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In today’s Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe and Kyle continue their conversation from last week with Will Hall: therapist, host of the Madness Radio podcast, author of Outside Mental Health: Voices and Visions of Madness, and previous psychiatric patient diagnosed with schizophrenia.

This week, Hall compares how the medical industry treats those seeking therapy and growth vs. how they treat the homeless and victims of sexual abuse, how the framework for mental disorders disrespects the individual, neoliberalism and why capitalism and the free market shouldn’t be the answer for everything, Grof's focus on etiology and why his model of spiritual emergence is problematic, the future of psychedelic advertising in a world where anything that can be sold will be sold, and the 3 biggest factors towards successful therapy.

And he focuses a lot on what we should be doing: creating and promoting individualized medicines and healing techniques over mass-produced Band-aid medicine, not reducing a difficult psychedelic experience to biology and instead focusing on getting to the root of what is causing the issue and working through it, not solely researching the effects of drugs, and most importantly, researching how people have bettered themselves without drugs- if the long-lasting effects of psychedelics and integration work are the catalyst for change, how can we get to those effects and integrations without the drug?

Notable Quotes

“Drugs are drugs. I don’t believe in psychedelic exceptionalism. I don’t believe in psychiatric drug exceptionalism. Drugs are drugs. There’s no exceptionalism for drugs. If they change your consciousness, they’re getting you high in one way or another, and that is what is either beneficial or nonbeneficial to you, based on your experience.”

“The people who are having successful treatment with MDMA psychotherapy- they aren’t just reporting ‘oh, my depression is down;’ they’re reporting all these wonderful benefits of MDMA. Why should we wait until you have a diagnosis of PTSD to give access to MDMA [to someone] if they want to experience those benefits as well? The people who are having the experiences of psychedelics are not having the experiences of disease-treatment, they’re having the experiences of psychedelics, which can be, for many people, very positive. So why are we gate-keeping the access? And if we don’t gate-keep the access, then we have to admit that, actually, it’s not a disease treatment; it’s actually something that many people find beneficial and some people don’t.”

“What is the commitment? Is the commitment to get psychedelic drugs accessible at all costs? And we’re going to lie, cheat, and steal our way to get there? Or is the commitment to trust that truth is the way? And if we just stick with the truth, that is how we change society?”

“I think you’re onto it. I mean, this is the key thing- psychedelics, in the best of contexts, is the pathway towards that. So why not study that? Why not research that? Why not invest the resources to exploring how we can create contexts for that which you’ve just described- create more spaces in society for successful encounters and engagements with openness, deeper relatedness, developing more trust, learning to communicate better, learning to form better community bonds, learning to develop our loyalties for each other, overcome our traumas together, tell our stories, overcome our shame, find ways that we can accept each other and support each other? That’s what we should be researching. That’s what we should be investigating, not psychedelic treatments that might have the effect of this, because this is what we’re really after.”

Links

Willhall.net

Madness Radio

Outsidementalhealth.com (info on his book, Outside Mental Health: Voices and Visions of Madness)

The Heart and Soul of Change Project

Dreamshadow.com: Holotropic Breathwork, Personal Development, and Transpersonal Education

About Will Hall

Will is a counselor and facilitator working with individuals, couples, families and groups via phone and web video (Zoom). He has taught and consulted on mental health, trauma, psychosis, medications, domestic violence, conflict resolution, and organizational development in more than 30 countries, and has been widely featured in the media for his advocacy efforts around mental health care. His work and learning arose from his experiences of recovery from madness, and today he is passionate about new visions of mind and what it means to be human.

Support the show

• Patreon
• Leave us a review on Facebook or iTunes
• Share us with your friends
• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

Navigating Psychedelics

In this episode, Joe interviews Sarko Gergerian, MS, MHC, CARC: a police peer support, community outreach, and health-fitness officer; founding member of the Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery Program (C.L.E.A.R.); and psychotherapist trained in ketamine- and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

Any regular listener of the show should be familiar with how passionately Joe is against the drug war and the resulting policing of what many of us feel should be legal, so this in-person conversation with a police officer who seems to mostly be on our side is pretty refreshing to hear. 

Gergerian discusses his entry into the force in his 30s, and what it was like to bring in a healthy “why is this illegal?” viewpoint on drug use and personal agency vs. the slow moving attitudes he saw in much of law enforcement. He talks about how working nightclub security taught him about safe spaces; the problems with officers not proactively moving on actionable information and building relationships with communities; and the very philosophy behind law enforcement: what do they hope to accomplish, do they want to make real change, and do they believe in the laws they’re enforcing? 

And they discuss so much more: the need for diversity, cultural competency, and broadness in perspective; the criminalization of self-directed behavior; the effect critical incidents have on officers; drug war paranoia, legitimate concerns over hotlines and sensitive data, and psychedelic culture’s relationships with police; creating a culture of harm reduction within law enforcement, and what it might look like for police officers to receive psychedelic therapy.

Click here to head to the show notes page. 

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Kyle interviews Senior Lead of Psychedelic Programs with Numinus Wellness, Dr. Devon Christie. She talks about biomedical ethics, mindfulness, and informed consent and touch. 

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews "Car Bomb"- the 9-year NHL veteran, 2-time Stanley Cup winner (as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks), founder of The Chapter Five Foundation (an organization helping athletes transition into post-sports life), and advocate for the healing power of psilocybin, Daniel Carcillo.

Carcillo tells the story of his struggles and depression brought on from post-hockey life transition, 7 diagnosed concussions, and the death of his good friend and fellow player, Steve Montador, who struggled with similar issues before his sudden death in 2015. He talks about the stress of pro sports and the cult-like, team-first attitude in hockey, the hazing athletes experience coming up, the causes and effects of yelling coaches and a "be better" attitude, and how his post-hockey work and speaking out has ostracized him from the community while many people are reaching out to him for help behind the scenes. 

His first hero dose of psilocybin forever changed his life, but it wasn't just psilocybin- he's done a lot in the 5 years since that first ceremony, from neurofeedback, acupuncture, deprivation tanks, and using a gyrostim, to regularly microdosing, taking medicinal mushrooms like lion's mane and reishi, meditating, starting a CBD and supplements company, and growing huge crops of cannabis. He talks about how this has all helped improve his life and his relationships with his family, and what he hopes to do with his Chapter Five Foundation and beyond- researching more into what worked for him and developing a protocol/regiment to help people affected by concussions, post-concussive syndrome, TBIs, CTE, or just those struggling with what to do after sports.

Notable Quotes

“I’m an advocate for everything, for all tiers. I’m an advocate for the Decrim Nature [model] because it’s a lower-tier model to get people this medicine, and then I’m an advocate for the clinical model that people are pushing forward in Oregon, and I’m an advocate for these big pharma/biotech companies coming out and researching. ...You really have to make sure that we’re doing it the right way, and I think a lot of the companies out there are, so I think there’s such an opportunity at the ground floor right now to really get in, and if you have something that’s proven, that’s worked (like we do), then I really, really just feel so passionately about furthering that type of research, to again, get millions of people this type of treatment and this type of option.”

“It’s still kind of unbelievable when I begin to talk about it, kind of what I’ve set in motion, but I believe in it so much and I’m still really in awe of what this medicine has done for me. We have one life to live. How do I help the most people that I can?”

“I just had to adjust my whole perspective and thinking and how I spoke to myself, changing the negative motivation to positive. But it’s constant work, because I’m just so used to being yelled at and then [being negative towards myself]. It’s definitely one of the biggest shifts that I’ve had, and I had that shift- that was at 2 and a half months after that big ceremony. That’s where I knew- that’s what really convinced me, and I’ll never forget this: I was driving out to my plants and they were about, I don’t know, 3 feet tall, and we were about 2 and a half months in, and I was like, ‘Wow Dan, really good job.’ I had this voice say that and I was like, ‘What the hell was that? Where did that come from?’ I’ve never done that, ever, and I was like ‘Ohhh man, something happened. Something shifted.’”

Links

Danielcarcillo.com

Chapter5foundation.com

Madeplanthealth.com (his CBD and supplement company)

Twitter

Instagram

Psymposia.com: Chicago could become largest city to Decriminalize Entheogenic Plants

Yahoo Sports: NHL pins Steve Montador's fatal brain injuries on his ‘own lack of due care’

US Patent 6630507: The US Government's Cannabis Patent

Parkinsonsnewstoday.com: Silo Pharma Plans Phase 2B Trial Testing Low-dose Psychedelics in Parkinson’s

Gyrostim.com

Del Jolly’s Psychedelics Today episode (lots of concussion and TBI talk)

About Daniel Carcillo

Daniel Carcillo is a two time Stanley Cup Champion and played 9 seasons in the National Hockey League. Daniel experienced emotional, sexual and physical trauma within hockey's culture and battled mental health and addiction issues during and post career. When he retired in 2015, after sustaining 7 concussions and due to Post Concussion Syndrome, he founded Chapter 5 Foundation, a charitable organization that helps athletes transition into life after the game. Daniel struggled with PCS symptoms like light sensitivity, slurred speech, insomnia, headaches and head pressure, impulse control issues, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts and traditional treatments did not work. Daniel brought forth the Decriminalize Nature resolution to the city of Chicago, sits on the Decriminalize Nature National Advisory Board & the board of the Heroic Hearts Project, a registered 501(c)(3) non profit that connects military veterans struggling with mental trauma to ayahuasca therapy retreats. Daniel has recently founded Made Therapeutics, a life sciences company that is researching loading and maintenance doses of psilocybin to treat traumatic brain injury, Post Concussion Syndrome, migraines and TBI related anxiety, depression and PTSD. Daniel and Made Therapeutics will be working towards validating the first novel care option for TBI survivors through Health Canada (IMPD) and FDA (IND) clinical trials, with Pre-IMPD & Pre-IND meetings set to establish a pathway forward to fast track status for traumatic brain injury.

Support the show

• Patreon
• Leave us a review on Facebook or iTunes
• Share us with your friends
• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

Navigating Psychedelics

In this episode, Kyle interviews Tommy Aceto: former Navy Seal and trauma medic, and now, ambassador for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition and advisor at Beond Ibogaine.

He talks about how much the psychedelic space focuses on healing and mental health, but doesn’t talk enough about the overall wellness that can come from a consistent practice: that the more you become aware of your body, emotions, and breath, the more robust your neural pathways will become – and that you can actually change your neurochemistry and build a more energetically powerful system. With these pathways being opened, fewer psychedelic experiences are necessary, and with practice, these mind states can be achieved simply through meditation or breathwork. The idea of surrender and entering a state of receivership is scary, but he believes the most important skill to begin that transformation is to learn how to truly let go.

He also talks about:

• What the psychedelic scene is like in Nashville and the south
• His work with the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission and what happened with the bill to grant 42 million for ibogaine research
• His most powerful 5-MeO-DMT experience and how it reconnected him with the divine
• The science and practice of gratitude: how reframing painful experiences can actually rewire the brain
• How cold exposure (notably ice baths) can prepare your system for a psychedelic experience

and more!

Happy New Year from all of us at Psychedelics Today. Let's hope for big psychedelic wins in 2025!

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Kyle interviews Pierre Bouchard, LPC, LM: therapist, minister, and former professional vinyl DJ specializing in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and ministry. 

Bouchard introduces his 3-axis framework for psychedelic integration, which looks at the personal, the transpersonal, and, with time, seeing how the lessons learned from non-ordinary experiences and personal work are expressing to the world: How can we use what we've learned to show up better? How can we use our gifts to be of service to others? What is stopping us? He also talks about the importance of building a foundation for holding the experience of a psychedelic journey - that you have to first build an ego to later dissolve it - but recognizes the tricky balance of not strengthening an ego so much that it gets in the way. 

He discusses:

• The broad scope of what someone can mean when they say "psychedelic healing"
• The importance of keeping the 3 axes in harmony - that you should always be attending to each
• Why someone beginning a healing journey needs to be smart, curious, and desperate
• The challenge of discerning between an entity or a projection: How do we know what to take from that experience?
• Why practitioners and therapists need to find a balance between being confident and humble

and more!

For links, head to the show notes page.

Joe Moore interviews Brian Pace. He studies Evolutionary Ecology, is a science consultant at The Third Wave, and is the director of the project, Mind Manifest Midwest, and instigator of the “Find the Others” project.

3 Key Points:

1. Psychedelics are not just illegal, they are also taboo, and Brian’s efforts are aimed to create spaces that make it more comfortable to talk about psychedelics.
2. Online resources are great, but having local, and real psychedelic societies to create community will help people “come out” and be comfortable talking about their experiences.
3. Brian’s interest evolved from ecology to psychedelics when he realized the issue of global warming. The top environmental problems are selfishness and greed, and changing people’s minds with psychedelics is a big hope for the planet.

Support the show

• Patreon
• Leave us a review on iTunes
• Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc
• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. 

Navigating Psychedelics

Show Notes

• Getting Involved with The Third Wave
  • Met Paul Austin of The Third Wave at the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance Conference.
  • The conference was foundational in him becoming outspoken about psychedelics.
• Ibogaine - last resort option for people suffering from addiction.
• Brian and the team built The Third Wave with the goal to bring the conversation about psychedelics to be more comfortable among the general public.
  • It has been good about building bridges to invite all types of people to the community, not just white males. It's important to be inclusive in this space.
• Find the Others
  • Started at Psychedelic Science, to talk about what psychedelic societies are.
  • Aware Project by Ashley Booth (www.awareproject.org)
  • Psychedelics are not just illegal, they are also Taboo - Michael Pollan
  • “Were having a cultural hangover from the upheavals we've had in the late 60’s and early 70’s.” - Brian
• “We can fight taboos when we can have conversations - about that which was taboo - in the grocery store, in the bar, with our parents. I think that's definitely what's needed with psychedelics.” - Brian
  • Had the first psychedelic society meeting at a bar that included a presentation about plant secondary compounds and human health and ended with storytelling.
• 20% of Americans over the age of 15 have had some experience with psychedelics, 11% with LSD. (source unsure)
• Mitch Gomez from Dance Safe - more than 50% of the population of the U.S has done illegal compounds at age 15 and up. Psychedelics have taken a big chunk of that number.
• Cannabis is a great help for football players and traumatic brain injury.
• “If psychedelics are ever going to be reintegrated meaningfully in society, we are going to need some kind of mentorship.” - Brian
• Timothy Leary - “You're born with the right to fly”. If you start driving on LSD, you might lose that right.
• Find the Others, Mind Manifest Midwest, The Third Wave
  • A collaborative project that allows people to speak in their own words what they are doing in their psychedelic societies.
  • Psychedelic Societies are real, local and create community.
• MDMA for PTSD will be passed at the Federal level very quickly.
• Evolutionary Ecology
  • Psilocybin - PhD focused on plant secondary compounds.
  • The mycorrhizae network - “the Earth’s natural internet” - Paul Stamets
• Climate change
  • Consumption - eating meat and driving cars
  • The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy. Changing people’s mindsets with psychedelics could be an only hope.
  • “Given that psychedelics have reliably induced mystical and/or religious experiences in people throughout time and across a variety of contexts, it seems natural that we should start organizing communities that help unpack and contextualize these experiences.” - Brian
• The status of our society
  • Why do we have to work 55 hours a week to barely afford a 2 bedroom apartment?
  • Guaranteed minimum income - an experiment in other countries.
  • What does our society look like when it is less stressed?
• Timothy Leary
  • “Who knows what you might learn from taking a chance on conversation with a stranger? Everyone carries a piece of the puzzle. Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence. Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. Find the others…”
  • Helped create the importance of set and setting.
  • Saw the inside of 36 prisons for possession of marijuana.

Link

Mind Manifest Midwest

Find The Others Project

Aware Project

Check out this FREE online course, "Introduction to Psychedelics"

About Brian

Brian Pace, M.S. is a scientist by training and psychonaut by inclination. His interest in biology was piqued acutely as a teenager while experimenting with his own neurochemistry. For more than a decade, Brian has worked on agrobiodiversity, food sovereignty, urban cycling, and climate change in the US and Mexico. Brian is the co-founder of Mind Manifest Midwest (facebook.com/mindmanifestmidwest), a Columbus, Ohio based psychedelic society and the instigator of the Find the Others Project (findtheothersproject.org), a global collaboration of the burgeoning psychedelic society movement. Since 2016, he has contributed as a strategist for The Third Wave (thethirdwave.co). At The Ohio State University, he co-created a graduate-level class entitled: Cannabis: Past, present, and future cultivation for fiber, food, and medicine. He spent a year slogging around oil and wastewater pits left by Chevron-Texaco testing mycoremediation techniques in the Ecuadorian Amazon. All pipelines leak. Plant medicine is indigenous technology. Brian completes his Ph.D. in Plant Evolutionary Ecology this semester at OSU.

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In this episode, Joe holds conversation with Dr. Michael Sapiro, Clinical Psychologist out of Boise, Idaho. They cover topics surrounding how meditation and mindfulness intersect with psychedelia as well as psychic ability, altered states and integration.

3 Key Points:

1. Meditation and psychedelics have a lot of overlap such as ego dissolution and unity.
2. Dr. Sapiro believes that meditation and mindfulness bring personal awakening in order to create collective transformation.
3. Both meditation and psychedelics are the most beneficial when they are integrated into our waking life and when we use our experiences to help others and our planet.

Support the show

• Patreon
• Leave us a review on iTunes
• Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc
• Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

Navigating Psychedelics

Show Notes

About Dr. Michael Sapiro

• Attended John F Kennedy University where he received his PsyD
• He focused on meditation research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences
• He is from Chicago, IL
• He spent time in Thailand for the Peace Corps
• A lot of his experience was from his time in the Bay Area
• There is more data coming out about awareness based meditative states and psychedelic states and how they relate subjectively to each other

Dr. Sapiro’s Practice

• Transformational Psychology, Integration based
• He integrates the Buddhist Dharma, Western Psychology, Non-dual meditation and philosophy, and Noetic Sciences into his practice
• Michael sees 20-28 patients a week
• Kashmir Shaivism
  • It's a dissolving type of experience, Its a non-dualistic style of tradition
  • The non-dual tradition helps one just be “whole and unbroken” and focus on the present and now
• He does the human work in the Buddhism Dharma style, and the spiritual work with the restful piece of being in the now, the focus being integration

Vision

• His vision has been on enhancing personal awakening in order to create collective transformation
• He wants to help communities and states and nations to transform via individual awakening
• He has worked with law enforcement agents, military vets, community members, a variety of people at different levels all the way from grounding to stability to thriving
• He always ends each Sangha with saying 'take this work and apply it to your neighbors'
  • A Sangha is a buddhist community of monks/individuals in support of each other
• “People have such a deep connection to nature when you come out of the psychedelic experience. You start taking care of the environment differently than before went you went in.” - Michael
  • “We now have data on greater environmental concern and stewardship after the psychedelic experience.” - Joe
  • People who are consciously interacting with things outside of themselves have a greater care for those things. “If I am hurting the world I am hurting myself.” - Michael
  • “Hopefully one of the bigger things that come out of the psychedelic movement are greater levels of environmentalism and global stewardship” - Joe
• The psychedelic movement helps us see systems that are made up are a part of our tangible reality and our responsibility to take care of the people in the systems
  • We can use psychedelics and meditation, and integration from these experiences, to see how we can operate in these systems and help people find resources in these systems

Dr. Sapiro’s Work

• He teaches as Esalen Institute leading workshops
• One of his colleagues has reached over 200,000 people with their work since 2011
• His goal isn't to be the lead, but the support of leaders, especially women because he feels the need for a balance and the need for more female leaders
• Michael says he loves surrounding himself around ‘world-changers’ and loves doing anything to be around them and learn from them

Boise, Idaho

• Michael says its surprisingly conscious state
• Its very community oriented
• There are 6-7 Buddhist Sanghas, groups of dedicated folks to their practice
• There is a lot of nature and nature is Dharma, it is the teacher

Psychic Ability and Altered States

• It's very normal for humans to have psychic experiences
  • All of us have access to these states, we just have to tap into them
  • Michael encourages people to accept and cultivate these experiences
  • It may be better to accept these experiences than to deny them
• There is a difference between energetic flow and psychosis
  • Crazy Wise is a documentary that touches on spiritual emergence issues

The Overlap of Psychedelic States and Meditation

• The Institute of Noetic Sciences had a program called The Future of Meditation Research
  • They found in the research that they were only looking at reducing anxiety and depression, the clinical applications
  • But they found that more than half of the people experienced psychic phenomenon, mystical experiences, terrifying experiences, the things that overlap/correlate with psychedelic experiences
  • Both meditative and psychedelic experiences point to ego dissolution and unity at the same time
• Ego and anxiety both have wisdom in them, we don't want to lose them completely, but learn how to balance them and use them wisely
• “We need to be mindful of how we integrate what we learn in the psychedelic/meditative state into our waking life” - Michael
• “How can meditation and psychedelics lend themselves to being the best version of ourselves while committing to others well being? That is what I am most passionate about.” - Michael
• David Trellen and Willoughby Britton - Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness
• “If we are choosing to be more compassionate to our fellow humans and the earth, let’s not tough it out, let's help each other.” - Joe
  • “Let’s do the work that it takes to heal it.” - Michael
• Be open, be curious. What might meditation be able to bring to personal awakening in order to create collective transformation?

Links

website

About Dr. Michael Sapiro

Michael Sapiro, PsyD, is a psychologist, meditation teacher, and former Buddhist monk. He lives and works on the frontier of spirituality, social justice, science, and psychology. He earned his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and holds a Master’s in English Studies. He is a consultant with the Institute of Noetic Sciences and is on faculty at Esalen Institute. Michael is the founder of Maitri House Yoga and was trained for 20 years in both traditional Yoga philosophy and lifestyle, and Buddhist meditation. In his treatment he integrates Western psychological interventions with meditation and awareness practices. He finds the greatest healing comes from living a life of presence, vulnerability, and awareness. At Sage he will fully integrate Yoga philosophy and life-style within the treatment.

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Kyle interviews clinical psychologist, writer and researcher, Michael Sapiro. They discuss the importance of continued training, when to intervene, and mainstreaming mysticism.

www.psychedelicstoday.com

In this episode, Joe interviews Veronica Lightning Horse Perez: therapist, speaker, author, activist, and co-chief proponent for the Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022 (Prop 122); and Sean McAllister: attorney specializing in the regulatory, health care, business, and religious freedom aspects of psychedelic medicines, and one of the drafters of Prop 122.

This episode was recorded live at the Plant Medicine Cafe in Denver, CO – which served as an unofficial Prop 122 headquarters – and cohosted by Meaghan Len, co-founder of the U.S.’ first ayahuasca church, Sanctuary of the Sovereign Heart.

They dive into the details of Prop 122 and discuss why it’s the most freeing legislation we’ve seen, but also very complicated in the clash between an expensive regulated side and a risky and ambiguous decrim side. While the implementation process continues, they’ve learned that there is still a huge need for public education, and that one of the most important tasks now is to be hyper aware of how legislators will try to change what people already agreed on.

They discuss:

• The Federal vs. state legality issues we still see even after such sweeping legislation
• The huge gap in understanding why Indigenous communities are upset and why they need to be included in all discussions
• The Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the complications of religion when many of us simply feel spiritual
• The natural vs. synthetic fallacy and the future of churches offering a synthetic sacrament
• The ontological shock many have after a big experience and why churches and community are needed to help guide people

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page.

1. The history of MDMA is different than we have been taught.
2. MDMA is quite safe and the harms are very low. Risk reduction is a more appropriate term at times. 
3. Emanuel is positive that his early drug experiences substantially helped improve his life.

Show Notes

• There is an largely unknown history of MDMA.
• Sasha Shulgin apparently was not the first to synthesize it in the modern era.
  • He created a new synthesis method.
• MDMA was the first designer drug in a sense.
  • MDA became illegal and chemists decided to change the molecule
• Manuel Noriega of Panama used MDMA at least once and gave permission to some chemists to manufacture in Panama shortly before the US invasion.
• Harms from MDMA are quite minimal and small.
• Parents who have lost a child can be natural allies to the drug positive movement.
• Best practices for drug testing MDMA and Cocaine.
• It is going to be really hard to convince the public to legalize drugs other than cannabis.  

  ---

  About Emanuel Sferios

Links

In this episode, Joe interviews Mike Margolies: community catalyst; conversation creator; Founder of Psychedelic Seminars; and Co-Founder and Co-Steward of the Global Psychedelic Society.

The Global Psychedelic Society was created for all of the different psychedelic societies that have sprung up over the world to connect, share resources and information with each other, and be housed in a central hub so people can find them more easily. He talks about Frederic Laloux’s book, "Reinventing Organizations," and modeling the GPS around the “Teal” concept of organization, where employees are encouraged to show up as their true, honest, and most powerful selves; where it’s more about relationships than hierarchy; and more about embracing a mycelial – and psychedelic – way of thinking and interacting with each other. He breaks down how this way of thinking has progressed from the earliest ways of organizing, and discusses its three main principles of self-governance, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose.

He then talks about the Boom Festival: its “Liminal Village,” its inventive Kosmicare harm reduction program, and how drugs are not as decriminalized as people think in Portugal; and Burning Man: how it all came together for him this year when he didn’t even want to go, his experiences with the rain and a friend’s dreams warning of floods, what he learned from the ghost of a lost friend, and how that resulted in the concept of Batman doing a striptease to Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose.” Is the Joker simply a manifestation of Batman’s shadow material and his desire to be a hero? Yea, this one gets weird…

Click here to head to the show notes page.