Psychedelics Today

Download In this Bonus episode The Teafaerie and Joe Moore get into lots of great topics. Enjoy! ! The Teafaerie micro-bio(me) The Teafaerie is a writer, flow arts teacher, ruespieler, toy inventor, app designer, street performer, party promoter, and superhero. erowid.org/columns/teafaerie Some links Event in Ran Rafael, CA w Tam Integration Tickets Mapping the Source on Erowid Carrying the Light - Audio Telepathetic - https://www.erowid.org/columns/teafaerie/2013/02/21/telepathetic/ The Teafaerie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/flowfaerie/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ruespieler

Download In this episode, Joe interviews Jesse Gould, founder of Heroic Hearts Project, a non-profit doing psychedelic work with veterans. They discuss the difficulties veterans face finding healing from their PTSD in the current landscape. 3 Key Points: Heroic Hearts is a project geared toward raising funds and providing resources for veterans to receive healing through Ayahuasca and other psychedelics. Our current landscape of social media and government make it extremely difficult to receive donations and get veterans the help that they need. Heroic Hearts is trying to bridge the gap between PTSD and access to healing. Veterans tend to feel alone in their symptoms from their experiences, so creating community and an integration plan are both really important in the healing process. 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 Trip Journal Integration Workbook Show Notes About Jessie Founder of Heroic Hearts Project He found the healing potential of Ayahuasca after a week long retreat after struggling with severe anxiety after combat deployments with the army He was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico and grew up in Florida Jesse graduated with an Economics Degree from Cornell Heroic Hearts Heroic Hearts is trying to be the voice of veterans in the psychedelic community There are very few options through the department of veteran affairs The organization helps raise money to provide opportunity for veterans to access treatment such as Ayahuasca retreats PTSD and Addiction affect the veteran community more than the general public Aligning the veteran voice with the psychedelic cause is a powerful force for change Integration is so important, both to understand what you're trying to achieve (beforehand) and stay on that path (afterward) Jessie says they work very hard to make sure vets are having true healing through their Ayahuasca experiences PTSD People have a common misconception around PTSD that there are these constant traumatic outbreaks, and although that can happen, there are so many people living their day to day lives and you'd never know they have PTSD but they still suffer from it PTSD doesn't always come from severely traumatic events like war, it can come from other things like childhood abuse or sexual assault SSRIs numb the pain but don't help with any actual healing Donations It's really hard to get donations Heroic Hearts provided financial scholarships so far to about 15 people They are doing a retreat in May for another 7 veterans The received a grant from Ubiome to study the effects of Ayahuasca on the gut microbiome There is a strong link between the stomach biome and mood They are coming up with do it yourself marketing campaigns to help individuals raise their own money, setting people up for success In a place where it's easier to get money, it's also harder to get money because so many people are creating personal fundraisers for their dog, etc. There are more and more large organizations helping smaller companies like Heroic Hearts with research Community Breathwork can be used as a helpful bridge between patients and their PTSD Veterans tend to trust veterans more They tend to feel alone so creating community among vets is really important Psychedelics and ceremony really help vets transition out of feeling alone Jesse says he plans on creating local meetups and groups for vets He tends to send vets on retreats with friends or other vets from the same community so when they return from their retreat they have a built-in community to come back to Heroic Hearts Project There is an application for vets There are many options to donate, all funds raised go right to the vets "Why is there no government funding going to the biggest breakthrough in PTSD research through the MAPS MDMA therapy? Not one cent of government money has gone to that." - Jesse "Why are we having to send veterans to other countries to get the mental health that they deserve?" - Jesse Links Website About Jesse Gould Jesse founded Heroic Hearts Project after attending an Ayahuasca retreat in Iquitos, Peru on February 2017. During the week long retreat he instantly saw the healing potential of the drink and knew that it could be a powerful tool in healing the mental struggles of his fellow veterans. Jesse was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico and grew up in New Smyrna Beach, FL. In 2009 he graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Economics. After working in investment banking for a short time he enlisted in the Army and became an Airborne Ranger for four years and three combat deployments. Most recently, he worked in finance in Tampa, FL After struggling with severe anxiety for many years, he finally decided to go to an ayahuasca retreat which has had a profoundly positive effect on his anxiety and daily life.'I know what it is like to be at the mercy of uncontrollable elements in your own head. I also know the extreme relief of finally having these elements under control. Ayahuasca provided this. We have the ability to help thousands who are suffering but we let politics and ignorance get in the way. This is unacceptable. I started this foundation because the therapy works, I will risk what I have to ensure my fellow veterans get the treatment they deserve and a new chance at life.'

Download In this special interview, Joe and Kyle sit down with Theologian, John B. Cobb Jr., referred to as the Godfather of American Theology. They recorded with John at the conference they all attended in California, on how exceptional experience can help save the world. They cover a range of topics inspired from Alfred Whitehead's teachings and the promising applications of Whitehead's thoughts in the area of ecological civilization and environmental ethics pioneered by John Cobb Jr. 3 Key Points: Process thinking argues that reality consists of processes rather than material objects, and that thinking this way is similar to the teachings of a psychedelic experience. It is hoped for and believed that exceptional experiences can help save the world. Whitehead's process philosophy argues that there is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have consequences for the world around us. Certain curriculum, education systems and Universities are not helping us to see the value of our world. A full systems change is needed and hopefully psychedelics, exceptional experiences and process thinking can help with that. 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 Trip Journal Integration Workbook Show Notes Process Thought Alfred North Whitehead The senses heighten connection, but we shouldn't rely only senses for our experiences The label that can we give to the 'most fundamental relationship' is any 'happening' What's happening when we listen to music? We aren't hearing one tone after another tone, we are hearing the music as a whole piece Whitehead calls the fundamental relationship of inclusion, a 'prehension' How one moment leads into another moment If the world is made up of prehensions, then in any given moment, what is prehended? The boundary between conscious and unconscious experience is fuzzy. Whitehead calls the relatedness to the past, physical prehensions. But we also prehend, potentialities. It is being experienced as potential not as actual. Whitehead thinks this is present in very elementary matters. Whitehead says that waves of vibration are a very large part of the world we live in Whitehead believes that without some type of variation from moment to moment, that nothing really happens He wrote a lot on relativity and very little about quantum David Bohm He was very process oriented He wanted to change our language into using words that mean something is 'happening' versus using nouns that say that something 'is' "If you only have potentiality and too little grounded in actuality, you better be careful. If you don't have the potentiality, then you live in a deterministic universe" - John "Does Whitehead relate the potentialities to his ideas about intuition?" Intuition can be of both pure potentials and about other people A lot of paranormal experiences are not supernatural Just because someone has seen something or done something, it doesn't mean that it's true. There is plenty of illusion. [caption id="attachment_3637" align="alignleft" width="300"] T-shirts available on our store[/caption] Complex Societies An important feature of Whitehead is to distinguish complex society Panexperientialism is 'the view that if evolution of humans goes all the way down to subatomic particles, then human 'experience' by deduction must have originated at the subatomic level, which implies that not just humans but individual cells, individual molecules, individual atoms, and even individual subatomic particles, such as photons or electrons, incorporate a capacity for 'feeling' or degree of subjective inferiority.' There might be in-deterministic qualities in individual entities From a Whiteheadian point of view, contemporary physics would be almost universally valid if the entire world were made up entirely of physical feelings, feelings of actual occasions, 'what is'. "What would be opposed to physical feelings?" Conceptual feelings, feelings of potentials He thinks there are feelings of potential in every actual occasion "The attempt to make standard physics apply to the quantum world are a total failure." -John "The attempt to make standard physics apply to the human experience is the task of the Neuroscientists. They think that the subjective experience has a causal role to play in the world." -John It's more committed to metaphysics than it is to empirical study "Do you think what's going on in the mind, say neurotransmitters or electrical activity firing, that is creating this reality, or the experience, is having an influence on the neurochemistry?" John says that the psyche plays a role Scientists who are busy engineering genetic change, tell us purpose plays no role in genetic change "What do you mean by no purpose in genetic change?" Purpose cannot have a causal effect in the Cartesian world They say 'I know that my purposes are completely the result of mechanical relations between my neurons' "Could you elaborate on the definition of actual occasions?" The psyche is a consistent series of actual occasions Its what kinds of things are in and of themselves, 'actual' It's in the distinction of things that can be divided up into other entities An actual occasion cannot be divisible into other actual occasions Like an atom, it is divisible, but dividing it does not keep it from actually existing For Whitehead, an actual occasion is the basic unit of actuality Its an alternative to a 'substance' way of viewing When we look at other living beings, animals with brains and such, we assume they have a psychic life John thinks that plants have some kind of unified experience Some people have a feeling about a tree, that it's not just a bunch of cells interacting "It's hard for me to think that a stone is an experiencing entity, I think the molecules though are." - John "I'm sure that cells are influenced by the emotions of people" -John Having a particular conceptuality does not define how things are going to map out "This world view seems very psychedelic." Among quantum physicists, Whitehead's name is known and appreciated. It may mean that physics as a whole might adopt an organic model than just mechanistic one The common sense in this is that our knowledge of each other is not just in visual and auditory clues, but people have been told so long that it is "What else would it be informed by if not by visual and auditory cues?" Just by our immediate experience of each other If you go into a room, there is an immediate climate there. You can tell when you walk into a room full of angry people. Ivan Illich's Book on Deschooling Society (Open Forum S) "What would be your vision of an education system if its not working right now?" The one that Matthew Segal teaches in CIIS are examples of a different education system The Great Books program needs revision. It's only been the great western books. John hopes they have incorporated great books from other parts of the world There are parts of different educational systems that are better than what we have "If I had an opportunity to create a school, it would be a school that teaches ecological civilization because a healthy human survival is a goal that ought not to be regarded as an eccentric and marginal one, but regarded as what all we human beings ought to be getting behind collectively, together. And if you have a school for that, the curriculum would be quite varied, but the production and consumption and sharing of food should be a very central part of it." -John Capitalism has ignored much of reality John says creating a curriculum is not his role, his role is deconstruction because he thinks what is going on now is absurd "Enlightenment is the worst curse of humanity, we have been enlightened into not believing all kinds of things. The disappearance of subject from the world of actuality. If that's enlightenment, then I don't want to be enlightened." - John Language John thinks we need a lot of reflection on the language we use The questions that are the most important are the ones rarely asked "One of my favorite parts of Whitehead is the reframing of language, our words carry inertia that we are not aware of" - Joe Whitehead Word Book: A Glossary with Alphabetical Index to Technical Terms in Process and Reality (Toward Ecological Civilzation) (Volume 8) The reason there are 36 universities for process studies and 0 in the United States, is because in the US, process isn't as fundamental as substance Kyle Shares his Near Death Experience Kyle got in a snowboarding accident, ruptured his spleen and lost about 5 pints of blood It became mystical when he was in the MRI machine and he was standing on one side of the room with the doctors and in his body at the same time There was an orb of light, and an external voice or 'experience' that said "you're going home, back to the stars where you came from, this is just a transition, the more you relax into it, the easier it will be." Kyle describes it as a blissful experience, but he had a hard time integrating it back into his life. Whitehead has done a remarkable job to describe process, and exceptional experience and putting a language to it Joe says that Whitehead's work has helped put the psychedelic experience into words "Do you recall the first time you heard something that made you interested in the impact of psychedelics?" Lenny Gibson was probably one of the first people that opened his eyes to the positive uses "Today, it would be remarkable if 10% of the world's population survived without civilization" -John He is confident that there are good things that come from psychedelics He says Whitehead has made him understand the changes that might make us behave in responsible ways, so he doesn't feel the necessity of having a psychedelic experiences "What kind of changes?" We have to change from our substance thinking to process thinking We need to shift from thinking that every individual is self-contained, we are all products of our relationships with each other. In the Whiteheadian view, any individual is, the many becoming one. To be an individual is being a part of everything. Links Website Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition Other books by John Cobb Jr. A Christian Natural Theology, Second Edition: Based on the Thought of Alfred North Whitehead Jesus' Abba: The God Who Has Not Failed Grace & Responsibility: A Wesleyan Theology for Today For Our Common Home: Process-Relational Responses to Laudato Si' About John B. Cobb Jr. John B. Cobb, Jr., Ph.D, is a founding co-director of the Center for Process Studies and Process & Faith. He has held many positions, such as Ingraham Professor of Theology at the School of Theology at Claremont, Avery Professor at the Claremont Graduate School, Fullbright Professor at the University of Mainz, Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt, Harvard Divinity, Chicago Divinity Schools. His writings include: Christ in a Pluralistic Age; God and the World; For the Common Good. Co-winner of Grawemeyer Award of Ideas Improving World Order.

Download In this episode, Joe gets on the mic to chat about some current events in the psychedelic space such as the recent passing of psychedelic icon Ralph Metzner, the Psilocybin decriminalization initiatives in Denver and now Oakland, and psychedelic use in the Military. 3 Key Points: Psychedelic Icon, Ralph Metzner passed away on March 14th, 2019. He had a remarkable career and published a ton of books around psychedelics in his time. A recent study found that a single dose of Psilocybin can enhance creative thinking and empathy for up to 7 days after use. Activists are planning an initiative to decriminalize Psilocybin in Oakland. Denver will vote on decriminalization on the May 7th ballot. 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. Get Educated Navigating Psychedelics or Navigating Psychedelics: 5-Week Live Online Course Trip Journal Integration Workbook Show Notes Ralph Metzner Ralph Metzner passed away on March 14th, 2019 He was a part of the Leary, Alpert trio Ralph was a psychologist, writer and researcher who participated in psychedelic research in the 60's. He had a remarkable career and published a ton of books: The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead Maps of consciousness;: I Ching, tantra, tarot, alchemy, astrology, actualism The Unfolding Self: Varieties of Transformative Experience Green Psychology: Transforming Our Relationship to the Earth Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanácatl: A Sourcebook on the Psilocybin Mushroom Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca The Expansion of Consciousness (Ecology of Consciousness) Alchemical Divination: Accessing your spiritual intelligence for healing and guidance (The Ecology of Consciousness) Ecology of Consciousness: The Alchemy of Personal, Collective, and Planetary Transformation Overtones and Undercurrents: Spirituality, Reincarnation, and Ancestor Influence in Entheogenic Psychotherapy Searching for the Philosophers' Stone: Encounters with Mystics, Scientists, and Healers The Toad and the Jaguar a Field Report of Underground Research on a Visionary Medicine: Bufo Alvarius and 5-Methoxy-Dimethyltryptamine Psilocybin and Creativity A single dose of Psilocybin enhances creative thinking and empathy for up to 7 days after use It was a 55 participant study in the Netherlands Decriminalize Psilocybin in Oakland Activists plan to decriminalize Psilocybin in Oakland Decriminalize Psilocybin in Denver It will be voted on, on May 7th Joe believes all drugs should be decriminalized We need to have a compassionate drug policy Placing people in jail for non-violent offences tears apart families We should not favor one drug over another in terms of decriminalization Use of Psychedelics to do War More Effectively Harm Reduction Joe mentions conversation he had with a friend of the show He mentioned that Ayahuasca sometimes has mold on it Ayahuasca is labor intensive to make, so they make it once and then it grows mold Then people come and drink the mold infested Aya and it can make a person more sick than they need to be "If you have the option to be more safe, should you be?" If we have less harm and less deaths in the drug world over time, in the next 5 or 6 years we are going to see huge benefits with these substances Staying out of jail, not dying, and by being safer with drugs we have more of a chance to influence policy and make these substances and drug checking more available for the future culture 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.

Download In this episode Kyle and Joe sit down and discuss Esketamine, a new FDA approved drug that is a derivative of Ketamine. They invite quotes from professionals who have experience with generic Ketamine and to voice their opinions. 3 Key Points: Janssen Pharmaceutica has announced an FDA approved derivative of Ketamine, Esketamine, called Spravato. The new drug is facing critique on its pricing, route of administration as well as functional differences when compared to the traditional, generic Ketamine. Joe and Kyle invite professionals in the field who have experience with generic Ketamine to voice their opinions, hopes and concerns about Spravato. 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 Trip Journal Integration Workbook Show Notes Esketamine Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary has created a derivative of Ketamine called Esketamine and has gone through the whole FDA approval process There has been some concern about a big pharmaceutical company, Janssen coming in and creating a 'new molecule' and introducing an FDA approved 'psychedelic' to make generic Ketamine obsolete Pricing There is going to be price differences based on routes of administration (Intravenous vs lozenges) $1.59 at 100 milligrams (93% bioavailable when administered IM) The list price of Esketamine through Janssen will be $590-$885 per treatment session based on the dosage taken which will vary between patients During the first month of therapy, that would add up to $4720-$6785 After the first month, maintenance therapy could range from $2300-$3500 Joe says Ketamine should be cheap Scott Shannon Scott Shannon, Director of the Wholeness Center Joe reads a quote from Scott that says that the new Janssen Esketamine product is overpriced, the research data showed that only 2 out of 5 studies demonstrated effectiveness, and generic Ketamine is much more effective and cheaper than Esketamine Insurance Insurance might cover Esketamine Kyle says he hasn't heard of too many generic Ketamine sessions being covered by Insurance Jessica Katzman The approval of Esketamine by the FDA is controversial based on the route of administration, cost and functional differences Only 8-50% of the Esketamine dose is effective Some of the benefits of Esketamine are it's legitimizing of the existing generic Ketamine use as well as an Insurance overview of Ketamine and Esketamine via cost analysis Esketamine is not new, it has been around for a long time Dr. Matt Brown Physicians have been able to provide Ketamine for decades Janssen was able to get the FDA to approve literally half of what generic Ketamine is There are a lot of unknowns for Esketamine yet, it hasn't even hit the shelves yet Kyle says Ketamine has been used to bring patients internally, like most psychedelic sessions Kyle also says Ketamine is more dissociating, where classic tryptamines like psilocybin are more activating Contraindications Hypertension, stroke, intracranial mass/hemorrhage and cautions like pregnancy, substance abuse, etc. It's pretty available in the underground, so it could have the potential for risk of abuse Recreational experiences have the opportunity to be the most therapeutic and eye-opening experience Audiobook - Function of Reason by Alfred North Whitehead "I need not continue the discussion. The case is too clear for elaboration. Yet the trained body of physiologists under the influence of the ideas germane to their successful methodology entirely ignore the whole mass of adverse evidence. We have here a colossal example of anti-empirical dogmatism arising from a successful methodology. Evidence which lies outside the method simply does not count.We are, of course, reminded that the neglect of this evidence arises from the fact that it lies outside the scope of the methodology of the science. That method consists in tracing the persistence of the physical and chemical principles throughout physiological operations." - quote from Function of Reason Opinions Joe invites listeners to ask questions and leave a message of opinions and such (either anonymously or using your name) Google voice 970-368-3133 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 is currently pursuing 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.

Download This is an exclusive interview with Elizabeth Gibson from Dreamshadow, a segment from the Psychedelics Today, Navigating Psychedelics Masterclass, Lessons on Self Care and Integration. 3 Key Points: A common mistake people make is thinking all of the work happens in the session, when really only a portion of the work happens in the session, and the rest happens afterward during integration. It's important not to isolate yourself after this work, it's important to search out people who will be understanding of your experience. Elizabeth compares journeywork to planting a seed. You can't grow a whole plant in one session, you simply plant the seed. You determine how it grows by how you water and cultivate it (integrate it), it's a process that can't be rushed. 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 Trip Journal Integration Workbook Show Notes Integration Integration is one of the most important aspects of work with extraordinary experiences "How do you take material that's come up and bring it into your everyday life? How do you realize the benefit of the intense work that you've done?" - Elizabeth Elizabeth's Background Elizabeth has been facilitating Breathwork for 23 years She was a part of MDMA trials in the 80's when it was legal Elizabeth helped edit the MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy Manual Integrating the Experience A common mistake that people make is thinking all of the work is in the session itself, but really that's only half of the work. The other half of the work happens after leaving the session, the integration. Integration is about being more present with ourselves in every moment, not just yearning to get back to the state of the session The long term subtle changes that happen over time are the most important Stan Grof says that aerobic activity like swimming, running, etc is a way of connecting with energy and feelings that operate at deeper levels Elizabeth says she likes drawing immediately after an experience to work with it symbolically, and then journaling a day or two later once she is able to verbalize her experience "Just do it before you think too much about it" Community Benefits It's important not to isolate yourself after this work "The principle of community is really important. We can't do this work completely on our own." - Elizabeth We are all the descendants of successful tribes It's important to search out people who will be understanding of your experience If there is somatic stuff happening in the body, it is a good idea to do some body work, such as deep tissue massage On the other side, if we are holding the space for others who went through a session, it's important for us to make ourselves available for them Just to talk and to be heard is so important on its own Email follow up is tricky because a person can pour their heart out or be very vague or not get deep in their email The email follow up method is also tricky because of difficult response time and interpretation of responses Facebook groups can be a helpful way of finding the others and creating community to be able to reach out to understanding individuals Elizabeth says it's like the analogy of seeds being planted, you decide how you want it to grow and how you cultivate it Acting too quickly after an experience isn't always the best idea, its best to keep it slow Journeywork Tips Safe setting Access to people who will be able to support you afterwards Links website About Elizabeth Elizabeth Gibson, M.S., holds a bachelor's degree in literature and a master's degree in biology from The University of Tulsa. She has completed Herbert Benson's Clinical Training in Mind/Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously she worked as a consultant at Arthur D. Little, Inc., and Radian Corporation in the areas of environmental protection and food research. She is a writer, editor and homemaker with interests in environmental literacy, yoga, music and gardening. Elizabeth is the editor of Stanislav Grof 's The Ultimate Journey: Consciousness and the Mystery of Death and a contributor to the teaching manual MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, both published by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. For the past 12 years, she has been responsible for local news for the Town of Pawlet, and from 2008 – 2014 she was the editor of the weekly environment section for the Rutland Herald and Montpelier Times Argus newspapers in Vermont.

Download 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: Meditation and psychedelics have a lot of overlap such as ego dissolution and unity. Dr. Sapiro believes that meditation and mindfulness bring personal awakening in order to create collective transformation. 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.

Download In this episode Joe interviews, Richie Ogulnick, a long time Ibogaine provider and enthusiast. During the show they discuss Ibogaine and Addiction-Interruption Therapy. 3 Key Points: Ibogaine is a compound found in the Tabernanthe Iboga plant that has been used to treat opioid and other addictions. Ibogaine has shown to have the power to reset the biochemistry of a person to a non-addictive state, and reduce/eliminate the agonizing symptoms of withdrawal, allowing a person to heal from an addiction. The combination of Ibogaine, relocation and integration therapy is the best scenario for healing someone and preventing them from relapse. 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 Richie In 1989 he was Introduced to Ibogaine while visiting family and friends in New York Its an alkaloid extracted from a West African shrub He was ready to fall in love with doing something with purpose He came across an article about a corporation called NDA created by Howard Lotsof When Howard (a heroine addict) was 19 years old, a chemist gave him a dose of Ibogaine A few days later, he realized he "wasn't afraid" and then he realized he wasn't having opioid withdrawals In "Needle Park", a park in New York, heroin addicts come there for free needles Richie's dream was to dose all the addicts with Ibogaine, and that only a quarter of them would show up to Needle Park because they were not addicted anymore He brought 13 grams of Ibogaine back from Africa with him He received a chapter from a book (Healing Journey) called Ibogaine: Fantasy and Reality by Claudio Naranjo People were coming from all over the world to receive Ibogaine treatments It was 15 years where he conducted over 750 psycho-spiritual and addiction-interception sessions underground Upon training people, those people would then go and open their own treatment centers in Mexico, abroad, etc. What is Iboga Tabernanthe Iboga is the plant Ibogaine Hydrochloride is the best product to use to interrupt addiction and symptoms of withdrawal from an addiction Ibogaine is safe as long as someone has had an EKG that has been looked at very closely for any red flags Other than cardiac risk and previous suicidality, schizophrenia, psychotic breaks there aren't many more threats to being treated with Ibogaine The Miracle Compound "There is a miracle compound in ibogaine. There is nothing I have come across on the planet that can reset the biochemistry to a pre-addictive state, that can bring a person to make a choice without the agony of the symptoms of withdrawal." - Richie There is a 36 hour window where a person has a life review, what brought them to the addictive process in the first place, the person's willingness and maturity It creates a symbiotic relationship for a person to explore themselves with insight Relapse is possible if they don't work on the reason they became addicted in the first place It's the witness component that Ibogaine delivers that helps people process through their addiction Ibogaine as a molecule has a really pharmacologically complex, alien like structure Relapse Justin Hoffman, a DJ in Las Vegas runs Holistic House, a facility where people get to relax and get out of their previous context for a week or two after treatment If a family wanted to help out their family member who is addicted to heroine, Richie says that he asks the family about relocation because it's a big part of reducing relapse He also says that finding a proper therapist to help afterward is huge too The combination of Ibogaine, relocation and integration therapy is the best scenario for healing someone and preventing them from relapse Big Pharma's Impact Joe says how he got a message from Dana Biel, talking about how the harm reduction movement has been manipulated by the 'Big Pharma' industry, especially suboxone Richie says that drugs like suboxone are prescribed to be used everyday for the rest of someone's life, and Ibogaine is a "one-time-only" style drug that doesn't require alot of money to heal people Ibogaine is not profitable so its not attractive to Big Pharma "Ibogaine will never hit the streets like LSD did. It's not a recreational experience, it's a long, daunting 3 stage process." - Richie Use Cases He knows of a story where these two ladies took Ibogaine daily for their Parkinson's, and as soon as they stopped taking Ibogaine, they got their symptoms back He knows of another lady who had been walking with a cane and upon taking Ibogaine she was walking a mile around her neighborhood without her cane Final Thoughts Joe asks if Richie thinks we are over harvesting Iboga There is the Wakanga tree that contains a small amount of Ibogaine, so he thinks we are okay Ibogaine is an important subject because a lot of people are dying from opiates Ibogaine is available in Portugal but it hasn't had much activity It can be used for therapeutic use as well as addiction-interruption Links website Richie Ogulnick is a long time Ibogaine provider and enthusiast Over the course of fifteen and a half years, he conducted about 750 sessions, including addiction-interruption treatments. He spent the next several years referring close to 1,000 more people to other ibogaine providers. During that time, he also trained doctors and ex-addicts who opened ibogaine centers throughout the world. Richie feels a pull to focus again on the more therapeutic and psycho-spiritual treatments where he is able to offer his expertise in ibogaine treatment along with his knowledge of reintegration with individuals who are looking to deepen and enrich their life experience.

Download In this Episode, Joe interviews Brad Burge, Director of Strategic Communications at MAPS. In this episode they discuss the Phase 3 Trial for MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy, contradictions and Expanded Access. 3 Key Points: MAPS is about to run Phase 3 Trials of MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy If MDMA passes this third phase, it will still be tricky to get insurance involved. But the cost of one series of MDMA Therapy is much cheaper than a lifetime of typical pharmaceutical drugs and therapy sessions to heal PTSD. The only reason for-profit companies haven't gotten involved before was because there wasn't a promise on their investment. Finally, for-profit companies (like Compass Pathways) are interested in advancing these medicines (Psilocybin and MDMA). 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 MAPS Brad Burge is the Director of Strategic Communications at MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies MAPS started out as just a few employees in 2009 and has grown to over 40 now Phase 3 Study They are now in Phase 3 Trials They started recruiting at 14 sites (US, Canada and Israel) and are recruiting 150 volunteers with severe PTSD Participation The Future of MDMA Assisted Therapy Breakthrough Therapy Designation The FDA categorized MDMA as a breakthrough drug for PTSD After phase 3 trials, if all goes well, it would mean that MDMA would be the drug to be used (only) alongside Psychotherapy MAPS is training therapists, counselors and social workers One way to get more people educated who are interested in this would be taking therapy interns in and having them gain credits for interning and learning alongside trained therapists Access Expanded Access is known as 'compassionate use', a program by the FDA that allows people to receive a treatment that is still in trials In order to administer the therapy you are required to get a DEA schedule 1 license "If there's one thing that changes public perspective on psychedelic therapy, its individual stories of people who have been healed, transformed by or positively or even negatively affected by them in some way" - Brad They have published many studies of the trials The most recent was the Boulder study, 76% of people didn't have PTSD a year after MDMA assisted therapy Insurance won't cover expanded access, it will have to pass Phase 3 trials until insurance can be used in MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy The MDMA is a very small cost (fraction) of the total cost, it's the hours on hours of psychotherapy that cost so much But the cost of one MDMA Therapy Session process is much cheaper than a lifetime of pharmaceutical drugs and therapy sessions to heal PTSD Argument Joe says he hears this strange argument that people say "giving soldiers MDMA just makes war easier" Brad says it's not about putting these people back into war, it's about healing the retired veterans to help them adapt back into their everyday life "MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy is going to make them a better lover not a better fighter" - Brad "If there's one commonality in psychedelic experiences, its that things are connected." - Brad Compass Pathways Joe mentions that people are scared to see a business come in that's acting like a normal pharmaceutical company MAPS is not tied at all with Compass Pathways Out of the top two things Americans are mad about, at least one of them is the Pharmaceutical Industry Finally, for-profit companies are interested in advancing these medicines (MDMA) The only reason for-profit companies haven't gotten involved before was because there wasn't a promise on their investment Capitalism has a tendency to put profit first "Money can be used for good as well as evil" - Brad MAPS has raised over 70 billion dollars all from donations Compass owns its own safety data Part of the goal of a patent is to protect the investment Zendo Project MAPS Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Peer Support resource Tim Ferriss has volunteered for Zendo They are always looking for new volunteers They offer trainings on site at the events They will be hosting a harm reduction webinar right before festival season Rave Act The Department of Justice announced that providing free water and harm reduction education are not violations of the rave act Amend the Rave Act Pharmaceutical MDMA The pharmaceutical grade MDMA costs 800,000 for one kilogram It won't be available in bottles, it will be available in bubble packs More than one is never needed Involvement 2021 or 2022 is the next Psychedelic Science Conference Joe is starting a Psychedelic Club in Breckenridge, CO Links Twitter Facebook Website About Brad Brad Burge is Director of Strategic Communications at the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Brad earned his B.A. in Communication and Psychology from Stanford University in 2005 and his M.A. in Communication from the University of California, San Diego in 2009. He began working with MAPS in 2009, where he engages daily with journalists and media producers around the world to enhance public knowledge about psychedelic research, while also helping develop and evolve MAPS' brand and outreach strategy. Brad is passionate about finding healthier, more effective, and more compassionate ways for humans to work with the pharmaceutical and digital communications technologies of the 21st century. When he's not plugged in, you'll find him in the mountains, carrying a backpack, somewhere down a long trail.

Download In this episode, hosts Joe and Kyle sit down and engage in conversation together, covering topics such as Kyle's capstone project, Trauma and Breath: A Clinical Approach to Trauma Resolution Utilizing Breathwork, current events, upcoming plans and the hurdles as a Psychedelic education and information company in a space of both ethical and unethical findings. 3 Key Points Kyle will be soon finishing his capstone project, Trauma and Breath: A Clinical Approach to Trauma Resolution Utilizing Breathwork. The project is on the clinical application of Breathwork Therapy. The goal will be to use an Integrative Breathwork Therapy model that can be used adjunct to Psychedelic Therapy. Joe and Kyle find out about a lot of things that are potentially harmful in the psychedelic world. They are "journalists", but without money for legal defense. It's a difficult time, where a lot of unethical stuff is happening around psychedelics, and Joe and Kyle feel responsible for the safety of the community. 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 Kyle Kyle's been doing an internship a few days a week and has been doing undergraduate student counselling He's been working on his capstone project that has consumed a ton of his time and energy He wants to thank Elizabeth Gibson and Alan Davis who have been reviewing his capstone project for him Breathwork Therapy Capstone Writing the capstone in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program means it needed to have clinical applications Kyle went to the MDMA Training in 2016, and he talked to Michael Mithoefer, who told him that if he wants to get involved, to figure out something that can be an adjunct to psychedelic therapy Kyle thought that he could use an Integrative Breathwork Therapy model that could then be used adjunct to Psychedelic Therapy Styles of Breathing A deep, slow belly breath can be very activating to the parasympathetic nervous system that calms the body down A fast, intense breath can be more active and can bring out traumas The Phases Phase 1: Grounding and Emotional Regulation (slow, deep breath, the therapeutic alliance) They screen for people that have had a traumatic experience, spiritual emergence or psychosis in the last 6 months so they know where to start with a patient They use a capscore (a test that looks at the severity of someone's PTSD) to determine where to start in therapy Joe mentions that it would be beneficial to see what level of capscore a patient responds positively or negatively to a Breathwork session Phase 2: Using Breathwork in a somatic processing phase Stage 1: Somatic experiencing (helping people breathe into the sensations in the body) The body has a 'secret language', of how our body holds onto trauma Turning inward and being more in touch with inner sensations (tightness, heat, etc) Stage 2: A more activating of "blockages" by intensifying or speeding up the breath Phase 3: Outside of the clinical scope, placing someone in a full group, 3 hour Breathwork that might bring up collective traumas or spiritual experiences The goal would be to get people through therapy to get them to the larger group process, create community and form social connections It needs to start with the clinical space, one-on-one to generate trust. Once they have that trust and confidence, they can go out and explore the more transpersonal and spiritual aspect of themselves Bandwidth in Communication We have modems, cable, fiber optics, 3g, 4g, 5g cell networks, etc. Video communication, phone conversation is great, but it's 2D When its in person, depth of field kicks in, you're able to see body language and intonation Living in a tribe of 150 people and creating community, we'd be using our full bandwidth, bringing the human organism back to its full capacity "Therapists get taught clinical practices, but they aren't taught about theory and practice of trauma" - Joe Psychedelic News Responsibility MAPS just published an article about an online Breathwork workshop Joe says its not a bad thing, but there are risks by not having an in person facilitator "We find out about a lot of things that are potentially harmful in the psychedelic world, our relationship to coming out about that stuff is tricky. Yes, we are "journalists", but without money for legal defense." - Joe Joe says he feels responsibility for safety in the community Kyle says the psychedelic community sometimes feels like the wild west due to the lack of education. "When unethical stuff arises, what is our responsibility?" - Kyle "We are trying to understand our future, and not put ourselves in a bad place, all while keeping you all safe and continuing to serve the community" - Joe How LSD alters our consciousness Psychedelics Today Books Trip Journal Integration Workbook Both books will be on Amazon for purchase in the next few weeks Arizona Psychedelic Conference Arizona Psychedelic Conference Joe and Kyle will be guiding 2 Breathwork workshops They are excited to connect and meet people Kyle and Joe will be going to another conference in March The title of the conference is "Can Exceptional Experiences Save Humans, from Ecological Crisis" "If were going to survive on earth, we've got to be a little more global. We are all linked to this spaceship that we are traveling through space on, and there are limited resources on this thing. We are answering a lot of these questions through psychedelics" - Joe 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 is currently pursuing 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.