Explore every episode of the podcast My Psychedelic Roots
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ep01: Victor Distefano Wiltenburg on Brazilian spiritism, neurology, self-experimentation and embracing the unknown | 07 Mar 2025 | 00:55:57 | |
In this inaugural episode of the podcast, we sit down with Victor Distefano Wiltenburg, a Brazilian PhD student studying in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa. He currently works with medicinal plants and entheogens, studying the ayahuasca neo-shamanic movement in Brazil and Canada. Victor has a unique story of his psychedelic roots, and his path has woven together science and spirituality in some surprising ways, both within and outside of the psychedelic realm. Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay | |||
| Ep02: Katherine Kimbell on her religious family life, and first hearing about psychedelics at age 78 | 18 Mar 2025 | 00:24:49 | |
Katherine Kimbell, (RN, BA) was introduced to the concept of psychedelics by the CBC Radio program "Ideas" in November 2015 at age 78. This was a profoundly life-changing experience that led to her eventual first psychedelic experience a few months later. Her story is wonderfully unique, while also echoing the pains that many people navigate in life—grappling with the loss of faith, confronting shame, and cultivating acceptance and forgiveness for others and for oneself. Shownotes McLean's magazine psychedelic issue "My 12 Hours as a Madman" from October 1, 1953 (Trippingly): https://www.trippingly.net/lsd/2018/5/17/my-12-hours-as-a-madman CBC Ideas 'High Culture' 3-part series, aired October and November 2015: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/ideas-for-october-2015-1.3247404 Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep03: Sheldomar Elliot on childhood curiosity, navigating identities, and finding his light | 28 Mar 2025 | 00:45:24 | |
Sheldomar Elliot has years of experience in food justice, community support and research roles, and is deeply committed to addressing food insecurity and advancing Black food sovereignty across the City of Toronto. As you will hear in this episode, Sheldomar is also passionate about exploring the intersections of psychedelics with access, community, and healing. Our wide-reaching conversation touches on his experiences of magic and curiosity in childhood, the complexity of navigating identity in both childhood and adulthood, and finding his way to his authentic Self. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep04: Tahlia Harrison on her chaotic upbringing, seeking authenticity, learning to receive care | 13 Apr 2025 | 00:48:21 | |
Tahlia Harrison is a therapist, researcher and bioethicist who comes from an ethnically, culturally, spiritually, and racially mixed background. Not surprisingly, she is someone who embraces complexity, and as our conversation reveals, much of her career and research interests in psychology and ethics stem from her own personal experiences navigating complex relationships and traumatic experiences. In our chat, we also get to know her as someone full of joy, self-awareness, humour and gratitude. Our talk together touches on the complexity of being exposed to parental substance use in childhood, slowly learning to trust and receive care, and eventually opening up to the healing potential of a well-supported and loving psychedelic experience. Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep05: Kellen Saxberg on reconciling conservatism and queerness, losing self, finding home | 24 Apr 2025 | 00:51:16 | |
Trigger Warning: discussions of suicide and suicidality Kellen Saxberg is a self-proclaimed queer history nerd, psychedelic enthusiast, and student researcher on the intersection of queerness, psychedelics and healing. In our conversation together, Kellen and I talk about navigating conservativism and queerness in their youth, their experiences of losing a sense of self, experiencing awe and cultivating trust, and eventually moving towards finding their way back home, both literally and figuratively, in their first psychedelic experience. A reminder that this episode contains explicit discussion of suicide. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing. Shownotes Links to
Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep28: Pam Kryskow on learning to ground in complexity, and embracing the abundance of the world around her | 15 Apr 2026 | 00:53:14 | |
Dr. Pamela Kryskow is a medical doctor, advocate, practitioner and life-loving human. She serves as the medical lead of the non-profit “Roots To Thrive” Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program in BC, volunteers as a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada, and serves as the Medical Chair of the Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine Assisted Therapy. Prior to studying to become a doctor, she was a City of Coquitlam Firefighter for 8 years and provincial forestry firefighter for 4 seasons. Pam is someone who thrives in complexity, abundance and the ‘and’ of the human experience. Wending our way through her roots, in our conversation we explore her childhood moving all over North America with her professional-hocky-playing father and family, and the resilience and groundedness she cultivated in that unique childhood context. We explore her evolving relationship with religion and spirituality, from her Catholic roots to her deepening relationship with nature. And we dive into what she calls her ‘meandering’ life path, and talk about what she is learning about herself, her truth and the world around her, all while her roots continue to nourish and ground her unfolding. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep27: Bradford Martins on his feral childhood, and reconnecting with a sense of community and home | 03 Apr 2026 | 00:39:28 | |
Bradford Martins, MD, PhD is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist based at a psychiatric clinic in New Haven, Connecticut where he supports folks navigating substance use disorders, including through implementing community-based models for the prevention and treatment. Dr. Martins is also an Assistant Professor Adjunct at Yale University conducting research in both the Bassir Nia Lab to study the therapeutic potential of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) for alcohol use disorder, and the ENACT Lab to study the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on OCD, while also working towards greater equity and accessibility in the psychedelic space. We hear about the origins of that community and equity focus in Brad’s psychedelics roots, exploring his experience growing up as a self-proclaimed 'feral child' in the woods of Arkansas, later leading him to his first psychedelic experience where he deeply reconnected to the land he grew up on while in community with friends and fellow ‘Children of the Forest’. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep18: Lucia Rios Maia da Silva on years of disconnection from self and others, finding safety and communion with the natural world | 15 Nov 2025 | 00:39:11 | |
Lucia Rios Maia da Silva is a queer Brazilian psychotherapist whose life and research are guided by a deep connection to nature and plant medicines. In our conversation together, we explore their childhood raised by two pastors, and the disconnection that they experienced as they were forced to try to ‘correct’ their queerness, and the new communities and spiritualities they built as they learned to live in their truth. After coming out in Brazil, Lucia moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2019 seeking a safer social and political context, which moves us into hearing about their first psychedelic experience with psilocybin mushrooms. They also co-facilitate a biweekly hapeh circle open to the Ottawa community members, and during their free time, they can be found practicing yoga, cycling along the river, or drumming on their djembe. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep17: Pedram Dara on being a child of revolution, reclaiming safety through MDMA therapy, and advancing lived experience in psychedelic care | 01 Nov 2025 | 00:51:50 | |
Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidality Pedram Dara is an Iranian-born refugee to Canada and a former MDMA-assisted therapy clinical trial participant who has turned his experiences into founding and directing the Psychedelic Lived Experiences initiative, a patient-led movement advancing lived experience expertise in psychedelic research, treatment, and policy. In our conversation together, we talk about how his current advocacy work is built off of his early experiences as a child growing up in Iran. We explore some of the confusing messaging that surrounded him about drugs as he was growing up, before eventually talking through what led him to having his first therapeutic psychedelic experience to help heal his PTSD in a clinical trial setting. A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidal thoughts. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing.
Shownotes
Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep16: Monnica Williams on wanting to support others, questioning what she thought she knew, and tending to her own Inner Child | 15 Oct 2025 | 00:38:11 | |
Dr. Monnica T. Williams is a board-certified licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the University of Ottawa in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities. She is also the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinics in Connecticut and Ottawa, where she provides supervision and training to clinicians for empirically-supported treatments. In our conversation together, we sit down outside of the professional context and talk a bit about her personal journey towards psychedelics for healing, and how her relationship with these substances evolved into what has become an important part of her career unfolding. We talk about what she learned in that first journey in a well-supported clinical environment, and learn more about how her evolving dance with psychedelics has impacted not just her career path, but just as importantly, her relationship to herself.
Shownotes
Monnica’s Social Media links:
Trainings she offers:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep15: Jaz Cadoch on questioning as an act of devotion, and experiencing purpose in service and community | 01 Oct 2025 | 00:33:13 | |
Jaz Cadoch is an Amazigh Moroccan Jewish woman dedicated to rebuilding a relationship with her lineage, and a cultural and medical anthropologist who has spent the past nine years studying the integration of psychedelic medicines into modern Western policy, medicine, and culture. Jaz also serves as a co-steward of the Global Psychedelic Society, a role which is deeply connected to her psychedelic roots, in which she experienced loneliness and disconnection in childhood, eventually finding solace and purpose in her shared experiences supporting others and being supported in kind. In our conversation together, we also explore her spiritual foundations and how the acts of rejecting religion and subsequently 'remembering' have helped her integrate her lineages, curiosities, teachings and experiences of psychedelics and of the divine.
Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep14: Myriah MacIntyre on feeling othered in childhood, seeking self-acceptance, finding connection | 20 Sep 2025 | 00:32:12 | |
Myriah MacIntyre is a Ph.D. candidate studying clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa, focusing her research on the impact of traditional medicines and psychedelics on healing racial trauma. In our conversation, Myriah shares about her own lived experience as a Black Caribbean-Indigenous lesbian woman, and how her identities have intersected with her research choices, but also with her own personal psychedelic unfolding. Growing up in a small Canadian city and attending a Lutheran private school, she felt isolated due to her race and sexuality. As she shares in this episode, what carried her through then-- and continues to now-- is her connection to spirituality and to music, which is a special relationship she talks about with us, both as a musician and as someone who has experienced chromesthesia from a very young age.
Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep13: Bonney Elliott on circling back to psychedelics 30+ years after a challenging first encounter, and finding her joy | 29 Aug 2025 | 00:36:13 | |
Bonney Elliott is a dual-licensed registered psychotherapist and nurse practitioner based in Ottawa, Canada. Working in private practice and group retreat settings, she has a decades-long career supporting people grieving loss and chronic illness, people recovering from trauma and those navigating significant life transitions. As we will hear in this episode, Bonney is also a person learning to caretake herself and find her own joy. After a childhood peppered with references to psychedelics in the 70’s and 80s, and a difficult first encounter with mushrooms in her early 20s, Bonney’s interest in psychedelics lay dormant but was eventually reignited by a CBC radio piece a few years ago about the connection between end of life distress and psilocybin mushrooms. From there she made her way to her first supported experience with psychedelics, and was able to experience some of the care and joy that she had been providing others throughout her life.
Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep12: Doris on finding community in the rave scene, a career in neuroscience, and meeting her essence | 14 Aug 2025 | 00:44:45 | |
Doris is a neuroscientist who has over 25 years of experience working in the field of substance use and addiction. She has worn many hats over the years - from rave kid and community harm reduction advocate in the 90s, to becoming an academic research scientist using brain imaging to understand addiction, to serving as knowledge mobilizer supporting evidence-informed policies, programs, and decisions. However in our conversation together, we dive deeply into her personal journey with psychedelic substances, and how her evolving relationship to them has impacted not just her career choices, but perhaps more importantly, her relationship to herself, her psyche and her spirit.
Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep11: Yamina Abassi on existential questions in childhood, a near death experience, and learning to be in relationship with Self and the world | 28 Jul 2025 | 00:50:04 | |
Yamina Abassi is a lover of life, a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist, and she makes sense of the how's and why's of life through relationship and connection. Her journey with psychedelics began as a young adult in recreational settings, and she quickly became fascinated with its potential to offer new ways of understanding herself, others, and the world around her. This curiosity and love for people, along with a near-death experience at the age of 25, led her to pursue academic avenues of connection and support to be able to continue to engage in this space in professional settings. In this episode, Yamina shares her early childhood experiences trying to make sense of herself in relation to the rest of the world, her first psychedelic experience, as well as her near-death experience at age 25 and the mystical spiritual opening she went through after the accident, which factored prominently in her psychedelic unfolding.
Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep10: Judith on her liberal catholic upbringing, hoping for the magic wand, finding patience | 14 Jul 2025 | 00:46:12 | |
Judith is a New York-born-and-bred naturalized Canadian mother of two young adults. She is a technical writer and trainer, and like many folks curious about psychedelics, also a life-long learner. She came to the psychedelic community in 2018 as she was seeking relief from overwhelming grief, depression, and anxiety. As we hear in this episode, Judith took a measured approach to her entry into the psychedelic space, coming to psychedelics seeking healing, and ultimately finding that and much more. Our chat wends its way through her childhood in Brooklyn and how her family played a role in her eventual first psychedelic encounters, and takes us into her first solo and supported experiences, all of which played an important role in shaping some of the guiding values that she continues to embody in her life.
Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep09: Raymond Feng on his lonely childhood, learning empathy, connecting with others and self | 13 Jun 2025 | 00:34:30 | |
Raymond Feng is a breakdancer, writer, appreciator of life, and a self-described life-long learner. He discovered his passion for psychonautics through psychedelic medicine and spirituality, and has brought that passion into his life in a variety of ways. Academically, he has finished two Bachelor degrees at University of Ottawa, one in Biomedical Sciences and the other in Psychology, and recently completed a Master’s in Mental Health Counselling & Behavioral Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Raymond ‘s balanced nature is on full display as he shares about his first psychedelic experience, which challenged him to trust his connection to self and others in some life-changing ways. Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep26: John Gilchrist on connection and community in childhood, a complex first experience, and supporting end-of-life advocates | 19 Mar 2026 | 00:40:53 | |
John Gilchrist is Director of Communications at TheraPsil, a Canadian not-for-profit working for psychedelic access for folks at end of life and other issues about accessibility, regulation and choice in the psychedelic space. In our conversation, we talk about his own personal psychedelic roots: his connection to community, family and lived experience, and a first experience that contained both the light and the shadow of psychedelic trips in a lot of ways. This conversation with John is being published as part of the Podcasthon movement, an annual global initiative that encourages podcasts to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice, and to release these episodes in a coordinated effort in mid-March to shine a light on some of the good work being done in communities around the world. And so, beyond John's personal psychedelic roots, we also talk a bit about the work of Therapsil, and he shares about some of the end-of-life patients who have been supported by Therapsil, and some of the ways he has been personally touched by his role working there. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay | |||
| Ep08: Manzar Zare on seeking knowledge, experiencing suffering, and encountering understanding in surrender | 02 Jun 2025 | 00:36:52 | |
Manzar Zare is a Muslim woman, mother, legal professional and PhD student who is conducting research on psychedelics and the mental health of people of color, with a particular focus on support to Muslim women. This research naturally played a big role in her decision to have her own experience with psychedelics, which she recently undertook in a well supported psychedelic retreat centre in Jamaica. This decision to have her own healing experience with psychedelics also came out of becoming a mother and navigating her own mental health struggles with postpartum depression. Manzar embodies thoughtfulness in all senses of the word: both in her caring for the lived experience of others, and in her long-standing desire to explore and understand the human experience with her whole mind, body and spirit-- all of which is on full display in this episode. Shownotes Manzar's most recent publication:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep07: Joe La Torre on questioning his life path, learning the value of set and setting, and finding trust | 16 May 2025 | 00:29:25 | |
Joe La Torre is a psychedelic enthusiast and researcher, currently serving as Lead Research Psychologist at the Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry (NTAP) at the University of Washington, where he co-leads a variety of research including a three-year Phase 2 psilocybin safety clinical trial funded by the state of Washington. In our conversation together in this episode, Joe shares his path towards psychedelics which includes being confronted with his academic pursuits in Buddhist studies, learning what it takes to navigate the shifting of his friendships and relationships, and ultimately being encouraged to reimagine what he thought his life’s path might look like.
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep06: Laura Ritzie on a mysterious illness, experimenting with plants, and experiencing the 'gorgeous' | 05 May 2025 | 00:31:28 | |
Laura Ritzie is a counsellor with over 20 years of experience supporting clients in both the public and private sectors. She is also a PhD student with a passion for researching psilocybin in ceremony and contributing to conversations about loss, grief and our relationship with death. She is curious about people's experiences of connection in relation to resilience, meaning making and flourishing. In our chat together, Laura shares about her own brushes with serious illness and her own mortality, her discovery of cannabis to help heal, and how this curiosity about alternate healing modalities led to her first psychedelic experience in her 40s. Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep25: Karen Pascal on experiencing a ‘life quake’, finding relief with ketamine therapy, and rediscovering connection with the natural world | 06 Mar 2026 | 00:34:31 | |
Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidality Karen Pascal was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, and spent much of her childhood outdoors, birdwatching and camping with her family—feeling playful, carefree, and deeply connected to the natural world. This was an anchoring Karen lost touch with as life unfolded, and as she grew older, she struggled with anxiety and depression. After exploring many different therapeutic approaches without lasting relief, it wasn’t until her marriage unexpectedly ended and she experienced what she calls her “life quake” that psychedelics entered her life and she began ketamine-assisted therapy. We talk about what the clinical experience was like for her, the benefits she received, and how that led her to deepen her work with an experienced facilitator. We also talk about her deep reconnection with nature and how she has worked to resource herself with the community and experiences that have helped to ground in her body and the world around her. A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidality. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing. Shownotes
Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| EP24: Erika Dyck on her grounded childhood, and connecting with the past as a meaningful experience of the present | 23 Feb 2026 | 00:52:05 | |
Erika Dyck is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work focuses on 20th century medical history, including the history of psychedelics, psychiatry, eugenics and population control. Erika grew up not far from the Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the birthplace of the word ‘psychedelic’, and where a lot of psychedelic research was happening in Canada in the early days. And yet, Erika’s roots were very much outside of that world. In our conversation, we wend our way through her relatively secular upbringing, her desire to leave rural Saskatchewan and experience the world, and we talk about some of her early exposures that led her to become interested in the field of psychedelic studies. We also dive into one of her more recent and deeply meaningful psychedelic experiences which she had in communion with others and with the natural world-- allowing her to connect not just to the geography but also the history and communities that continue to shape both her research and her own lived experience. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep23: Anthony di Virgilio on fear and bravery, discovering the sacred and honoring wisdom | 04 Feb 2026 | 00:41:23 | |
Anthony di Virgilio is a father, a registered psychotherapist and a student of sacred plant teachers. He is deeply interested in the connection between mental and emotional health, relational dynamics, and spirituality - and he integrates these perspectives into his therapeutic work, and we hear in our conversation together, he also integrates these into his own work with psychedelic medicines. Anthony also studies vitalist herbalism, Indigenous healing modalities, and principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is a Fire Keeper and Song Carrier for Anishinaabe Elder Douglas Cardinal, and a humble student of North and South American Indigenous teachings and ceremonies. In our conversation together, Anthony and I talk about the fear, confusion and isolation he experienced as a child— and the bravery he worked to cultivate as he tried to make sense of a world that felt very unsafe in both the physical and spiritual realms. We talk about some of his first experiences with cannabis before eventually making his way towards his first psychedelic experience with ayahuasca 14 years ago--- a foundational relationship that continues to shape his life and practice today. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep22: Robert Décarie on his gregarious childhood, a dark night of the soul, and explorations with set and setting to find safety and love | 21 Jan 2026 | 00:45:45 | |
Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidality Robert Décarie is a local certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator, a former counselor and wildlife management specialist, and a delightful human being. As we explore in our conversation together, after having a gregarious but dissociated childhood in Montreal and experiencing a dark night of the soul in his early twenties, he pivoted to study environmental sciences (M.Sc.) and had a 25-year career in wildlife management. In the mid-2000s, he readjusted the course of his life to deepen its meaning and chose to study to become a counselor, and in 2008, he started practicing Holotropic Breathwork, eventually completing his training to become a certified facilitator which he has been offering to the Ottawa community since 2015. In our conversation together, we walk through several decades of psychedelic roots, from visiting Mexico in the 1970s, to experimenting with ayahuasca in a couple of different settings, to finally experiencing what he considers to be his first true psychedelic experience in a well-supported set and setting that allowed him to connect deeply with himself and to love. It was a pleasure to wend our way through Robert’s psychedelic roots, or what he calls his holotropic life! A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidality. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing. Shownotes
Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep21: Paul Grof on experiencing the beginnings of Western psychedelic research, and bridging the material and spiritual | 01 Jan 2026 | 00:52:07 | |
Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidal thoughts Dr. Paul Grof is a Canadian research psychiatrist and clinician who has been involved in psychedelic and transpersonal work for over six decades. He was a professor at several Canadian and European universities until recently retiring from the University of Toronto in 2022, and served as an Expert at the World Health Organization from 1985 to 2000, where he chaired the Committee on Psychotropic Substances. It was a pleasure to get to sit down with Paul to explore his roots: from growing up in the Czech Republic, to being part of the initial wave of people in Western society experimenting with LSD in research labs. In our conversation together, he takes us back to the 1950s and 60s and generously shares some of his experiences during those early days of Western psychedelic research--- and perhaps most importantly, about how he was so personally and professionally impacted by this unfolding. Shownotes
_______ A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidal thoughts. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing. Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep20: Ruth Webster on confusion and isolation in childhood, finding intuition and connection | 15 Dec 2025 | 00:35:27 | |
Ruth Webster is a retired library scientist, a fellow New Brunswicker, and someone with a lifelong curiosity about connection with self and the world around them. After a complex childhood growing up in the 1950s and 60s and first encountering psychedelics as a teenager and saying ‘no’, her curiosity about psychedelics was not piqued again until 2015 when she started a Holotropic Breathwork training course. Through a number of curious coincidences, she found her way to her first psychedelic experience with Iboga at a retreat centre in Mexico a year later. Ruth shares about her first experience, and how it has shaped her relationship with the substances, and with herself. For the listener, Ruth is someone who also navigates some physical limitations, so please feel welcome to enjoy finding your audio groove as you listen in to our conversation. Shownotes Holotropic Breathwork training Ruth mentioned taking: https://www.holotropic.com/ As well as the Grof Legacy Training: https://grofpsychedelictrainingacademy.ca/breathwork/ Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||
| Ep19: Matt Jaworski on childhood innocence, receiving a warm welcome and appreciating the magic | 01 Dec 2025 | 00:39:55 | |
Matt Jaworski was born into a mixed family in the Ottawa suburbs, and was exposed to many things that seemed surreal to him from an early age. Because of this, he has spent much of his life seeking out answers to why things are the way they are, and at the same time learning to let go and be led when the path to follow is clear. In our conversation, we talk about his childhood and his very trusting nature as a kid, what he learned about the world and himself growing up with a differently-abled younger brother, how his passion for organic food cultivated his curiosity in plant medicines, all of which which led him to eventually grow his own mushrooms and experience his welcoming and warm first psychedelic trip. While he is no longer an active member, Matt also helped start the Ottawa psychedelic society which is still in operation today--- one of the many seeds he has planted along his psychedelic path. Shownotes
Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport | |||