Grandfathers and elders' role

Shawn explains the power, discipline, and joy of Taita elders and why he models himself after them.

Play episode from 08:32

chevron_right

Transcript

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

Shawn Chester once ruled Las Vegas. Drop his name in the early 2000s and doors opened, problems disappeared, and the city bent to his will. That man is gone. Transformed. In his place stands one of the most powerful medicine workers I've ever encountered, a person I now call when the spiritual terrain gets heavy and the ceremonies get dark.

This conversation traces the full arc of that transformation, from a raw encounter with the grandfather plant medicine teacher Don Howard (blessings to his name) to years of training deep in the jungle with indigenous Taitas who drink ayahuasca three to five times a week and carry a joy that nothing can shake.

Shawn shares the philosophy at the center of his work: that the heart, not the mind, is the true power source. That the mind works for the heart, not the other way around. And that most of us are trying to fix ourselves in the wrong place entirely.

We go deep on how to actually conduct yourself inside a ceremony (and why screaming your way through a purge might be doing the opposite of what you think), what the grandfathers in the mountains are sensing about the spiritual state of the Western world right now, and why the rising visibility of dark symbolism in pop culture is actually a sign that the light is getting stronger.

We also talk about fatherhood, fear, the building and losing of spiritual power (what the Hawaiians call mana), and why the single most important thing any of us can do right now is get serious about cleaning ourselves from the inside out.

| Shawn Chester |

►Website | https://thenativeguides.com/

►Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/thenativeguides/

This episode is sponsored by

►Metal Mark Gold Aurum Collectable Art | ⁠https://mtlmrk.com/⁠

►Korrect Life | ⁠https://korrectlife.com/

| Aubrey Marcus |

►Website | ⁠⁠https://www.aubreymarcus.com/

►Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/aubreymarcus

►Facebook |⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/AubreyMarcus/

►X |⁠ https://x.com/aubreymarcus

►Substack: https://www.aubreymarcus.com/blogs/substack