Psychedelics Today

Latest Episodes:

Breaking Convention Series: Dr. Torsten Passie - The Science of Microdosing Psychedelics Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

Download In this episode, Kyle sits down with Dr. Torsten Passie, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy with the Hanover Medical School in Germany. In the show, they cover a range of topics on Dr. Passie's studies on microdosing.

Dr. Torsten Passie will be taking part in a special panel dedicated to microdosing at Breaking Convention 2019 (August 16-18, Greenwich, London), also featuring Amanda Fielding of the Beckley Foundation, Dr David Erritzoe of Imperial College, London, Dr Devin Turhune (Goldsmiths), and Dimitris Liokaftos, exploring myriad aspects of microdosing, including its effects, unknowns, and media representation presented by BC director Nikki Wyrd. Find out more about Breaking Convention: https://www.breakingconvention.co.uk/

3 Key Points:

Psychedelic research in the University setting died off after 2004, but is finally seeing an increase as the psychedelic revolution continues to grow.
There is very little to no documentation of doctors doing self-experimenting with psychedelic drugs. It's becoming popular for therapists to use the substances used on their patients, more common to do the self-work before doing the work on others.
Even if microdosing does not produce any significant effects and it is all placebo, the trend is a new way to introduce it into our society.

The Science of Microdosing Psychedelics

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Show Notes About Dr. Passie

Dr. Passie has been researching psychedelics for 25 years
- He specializes in the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs
- He has found difficulties in researching psychedelics during prohibition
Dr. Passie had a mystical experience before using psychedelics and then became interested in psychedelic use
He had grown up as an atheist, a materialist, and his experience required him to change his psychological state
- His perception of reality was irritated and he had to see a therapist to integrate this experience
- He said that this was frustrating because he was young and still in search for his identity
Through all of this, he decided to study medicine and become a psychedelic doctor
- He became very conscious that he was on the right track

Research Studies

The researchers were the only ones doing studies on psychedelic states, there wasn't much happening at the Universities
- He did studies with cannabis, ketamine and even laughing gas
- The research then was on how cannabinoids can help with psychosis
- They were not successful with that, but it came to be that CBD was a neuroleptic and an anti-psychotic
Research pretty much stopped after 2004 due to new laws and the cost of the research
- Dr. Passie does mention that in the past 10 years research has really taken off again and that we are really seeing the renaissance of psychedelic culture
In most of the literature of doctors doing self-experimenting, there is very little to no documentation of doctors doing self-experimenting with psychedelic drugs
- Kyle mentions that MAPS has included into their training protocol to allow for therapists to have self-experiments with the substances that they are using on patients
- Kyle also mentions he can't imagine trying to hold space in breathwork without having had his own experiences with breathwork
- Dr. Passie says that the history of self-experimentation with psychedelics has shown that the participants can become 'gurus' and lose their objectivity, he uses Timothy Leary as an example
- But with only a few times of self-experimentation, maybe 2-4 times, he doesn't see risks

HPPD

Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is a disorder in which a person has flashbacks of visual hallucinations or distortions experienced during a previous hallucinogenic drug experience
Dr. Passie thinks there is a selection bias in what is published about HPPD
- Its more common to have a study published that talks about an adverse effect of LSD than a benefit of it
Hundreds of thousands of studies were conducted in the 50's, and no one claimed that this phenomenon came up
- And now one person has conducted a study, claiming that this phenomena exists
Dr. Passie says that this pattern happens among people who are prone to anxiety and who are dissociative
- He says that most subjects that claim to experience HPPD, have experienced visuals even before ever taking LSD

Microdosing

It has been known to not have any effects from 15-20 micrograms of LSD
- 20-50 micrograms of LSD is considered mini-dosing, where you can feel some type of effects from it, but not as much as the full dose
Dr. Passie says it is strange for people to claim to have increased cognition during microdosing based on conventional data that shows that LSD produces poor cognitive function
- He thinks that whatever the effects are of LSD at a high dose, that the effects at a low dose are the same, just less, not completely different effects
He believes that there is some placebo effect with microdosing
In terms of the microdosing trend, Dr. Passie is critical about the productivity factor, he does believe in the creativity factor though
- The flow state may also be increased with microdosing
- He claims that in his own experience with microdosing, he doesn't experience the flow state, in fact he experiences a feeling of agitation

Combinations

In a study, when patients took a microdose first, and then a little while later, they took a different full psychedelic dose, the microdose impacted the experience of the full dose
- It lessened the effects of the full dose psychedelic

Psychedelics and Sleep

Dr. Passie mentions a study where patients were given LSD, both high and low doses, during sleep
- What was found was that LSD impacts REM sleep patterns
- The dreams were not altered
- The REM phases got longer during the beginning of sleep, and then much shorter near the end of sleep
It shows that the impact of sleeping patterns brings someone to feel much different the next day

The Microdosing Trend

Microdosing has much to be explored yet
But even if microdosing does not produce effects, the trend is a new way to introduce it into our society
"Microdosing might be a new assimilation process of psychedelics into our culture" - Torsten
Instead of the 60's where we are taking huge doses, we are taking tiny doses as a slow approach to assimilate psychedelics back into society

Links

The Science of Microdosing Psychedelics

About Dr. Torsten Passie

Torsten is a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy affiliated with Hannover Medical School, and led the Laboratory for Consciousness and Neurocognition. He has conducted clinical research on psychoactive substances and has written several books including The Pharmacology of LSD (2010) and Healing with Entactogens (2012). Between 2012 and 2015 he was visiting professor at Harvard Medical School.

Breaking Convention Series: David Luke - Transpersonal Ecopsychology and Psychedelics Jul 23, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, hosts Kyle and Joe sit down with Psychologist, David Luke, Executive Director of Breaking Conventions, a conference on the better understanding of psychedelics. In the episode, they cover research on psychedelics and transpersonal ecopsychology.

3 Key Points:

Transpersonal experiences are super powerful and can be valuable if integrated properly.
Getting access to drugs at affordable prices for research is difficult for the progression of the psychedelic movement. There is a lot of red tape in studying psychedelics.
There is a growing field for mapping altered states of consciousness using science and research.

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Show Notes About David

David is a Psychologist
He works at the University of Greenwich
He is a co-founder of the Breaking Convention Conference

Breaking Convention

August 16-19, 2019 in London England
There are over 180 speakers, a variety of workshops, and more
David will be speaking about Shamanic perspectives and mapping altered states of consciousness
The topic of David's speech for the conference is Ecodelia: Towards A Transpersonal Ecopsychology Through Psychedelics.

Parapsychology

Parapsychology is a study of phenomena that questions what we think we know about science
David has conducted pre-cognition experiments with ayahuasca, san pedro, mescaline

Research

David says it's tricky doing this work because there is a serious amount of red tape around psychedelic studies
Getting access to the drugs and to get a lab to make them specifically for research is outrageously expensive
David says that Compass Pathways is making the research side of things easier
He says that he wants the proper research to be done so that it can be available for all those who need it, and for that he supports Compass Pathways, but if they were to pull something like what happened with Esketamine and making an isomer of Ketamine extremely expensive, then he will not support it

Nature and Psychedelics

Psychedelics provide a feeling of connectedness with nature
People prefer to take psychedelics outside, but overall prefer to have amazing, transformative experiences, which in turn makes them more tuned in to nature

Transpersonal Experience

An experience that is genuinely transpersonal can be useful
- Typically after a transformational experience, people question their sanity, they have cognitive dissonance, their world view just isn't suitable enough to contain a normal sense of reality anymore
- Its common for a lot of experiences to need a lot of integration afterward
David leads breathwork sessions
He sees people who have taken loads of psychedelics come in with skepticism about Breathwork, and then leave having the most transformative experience they've ever have
"There are no limits to the human mind, and there are many ways to get there, and psychedelics are just the more obvious route." - David
We get further and further away from figuring out psychedelics as a whole the more hyper-specialized we become in our individual fields
The psychedelic space is a really interesting territory
The things that Terrence McKenna would talk about years ago, we are finally starting to explore with science

Links

Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience (Muswell Hill Press)

About David

David is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich where he teaches the Psychology of Exceptional Human Experience. He was President of the Parapsychological Association between 2009-2011 and has published more than 100 academic papers on the intersection of transpersonal experiences, anomalous phenomena and altered states of consciousness. He has co-authored/co-edited four books on psychedelics and paranormal experience, directs the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon at the institute of Ecotechnics, and co-founded Breaking Convention.

David Krantz - Epigenetic Interactions on Substance Effects Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Kyle interviews David Krantz, Certified Epigenetic Coach, and an expert in nutritional genomics. In the show, they talk about the effects of substances via the implications on an individual's genetics.

3 Key Points:

Epigenetic testing is a bio-hack for boosting cognitive function and harnessing our creativity and ultimate human potential.
There has been a lot of research done on genetics and the effects of THC. The body produces cannabinoids that activate the THC receptors internally, which varies from person to person.
Each person should be seen on an individual level, and the more we know about our unique genetics, the more we can understand about our interactions with different substances.

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Show Notes About David

David works with clients on creating optimal epigenetic expression
He uses people's genetics as a guide to look at recommendations for diet, herbs, supplements, etc.
He began looking at cannabis for recommendations and found curiosity in psychedelics too
Epigenetics studies the effects of the modification of genetics
- It looks at chemical groups attached to the DNA itself and what happens to them over time

Cannabis and Genetics

The most robust area of research on genetics is THC
David said he has seen some research on Psilocybin and just very recently that liver enzymes are responsible for LSD interactions
It looks at the way people are metabolizing these substances
When you ingest something or smoke it, it has a higher impact on the body, edibles are a great example
- Kyle brings up the curiosity of edibles impact being either physiological or biological
Genetics show the body's cannabinoid levels
- The body produces cannabinoids that activate the THC receptors internally
- There are two enzymes that break down cannabinoids in the body, Anandamide and 2AG
There is a higher likelihood to use cannabis in a person with lower levels of endocannabinoids
- This makes some people high-functioning stoners, and others non-functioning stoners
- The substance is neutral, it's all about the body and how it reacts to it
When the liver breaks down an edible, it makes THC more potent
There is speculation that the slow metabolizers have a better chance of passing a drug test because they don't have a chance to convert 110HTHC to the COOHTHC

Food and Substance Effects

Kyle mentions someone who was drinking grapefruit juice everyday for 3 weeks, and it potentiated the effects of Ketamine
In order to psilocybin to be converted to psilocin, you need a chemical in your body called alkaline phosphatase
- Vitamin C deficiency and Vitamin B-6 deficiency all both correlated with alkaline phosphatase deficiency
David brings up his experience going keto, it worked really great for him, his energy levels increased, he lost weight, but his wife had a horrible time with keto
- Then he looked to genetics and it made perfect sense to him as to why it worked for him and why it failed for her
Metabolism, biochemistry, genetics, and so many other factors impact a person's reaction to substances

Gene Type Testing

Apeiron
- David also mentions that with companies like 23 and me, they get their money from selling people's genetic information
- He says Apeiron is focused on what you can actually do with the information, not just simply providing the results
David says its super valuable for people to know these things about themselves, how to mitigate stress, how the metabolism works, knowing what to eat, knowing vitamin deficiencies, etc.

Psychedelics in the Future of Epigenetics

David thinks were going to see that the epigenetics of psychedelics are going to show the ability to overcome trauma
When we look at people at an individual level, we all have our own idiosyncrasies and variations
"Because there is no such thing as an average human, let's stop treating people like average humans and start treating them like they are individual people. Let's stop leaving out the outliers." - David
Taking an individualized approach to the psychedelic space is highly beneficial

Links

Website

Instagram

About David

David Krantz is a certified Epigenetic Coach who specializes in boosting cognitive function and helping clients harness their creative and personal power. As a lifelong musician, David sees the various systems of the body as parts of a complex symphony. And, as a coach, he excels at fine-tuning those parts to create resonant harmonious health. David also serves as Director of Psychoacoustics at Apeiron Center in Asheville, NC where he develops sound-based tools for better mood, energy, and focus. Additionally, he's an expert in the pharmacogenetics of the endocannabinoid system and has developed a proprietary genetic test for looking at individual response to cannabinoids. A biohacker by training and artist by nature, David enjoys working with others who have a deep passion for enjoying life.

Breaking Convention Series: Sam Gandy - Psychedelics and our Connection with Nature Jul 09, 2019

Show notes

Download In this episode, Kyle joins in conversation with Dr. Sam Gandy. During the show, they cover topics including the implications psychedelics have for human well-being and the biosphere at large at a time of growing disconnection.

3 Key Points:

There have been a lot of recent threats to our planet and its survival if we continue on our current path of unsustainability. Feeling connected to nature increases the human desire to take care of and heal nature.
There has been an inverse correlation with our connectedness to nature and our connection with technology. Getting out in nature, as well as using psychedelics in nature, both help increase our connectedness to nature.
There has been a rise in cutting edge research that reveals the capacity of psychedelic substances to enhance human-nature connection, which Sam shares snippets of throughout the episode.

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Show Notes About Sam

Sam has a PhD in Ecological Science from the University of Aberdeen and a Masters in Entomology from Imperial College London
He has a lifelong interest in nature and wildlife and has conducted research in areas all over the world
He is a Scientific Assistant to the Director at the Beckley Foundation
He is a collaborator with the Psychedelic Research Group at the Imperial College of London
Sam's interest in psychedelics began in London when it was legal to buy mushrooms
- He was 'anti-drug' until he discovered psychedelics and began to explore consciousness and a love for nature
- His background in Ecology (the science of interconnection) has combined with the Psychedelic field
- Sam is interested in the capacity of psychedelics to increase human-nature connection and relatedness

Saving Earth

There is a huge threat that our planet won't survive past this century if we continue on our path of destruction
- Remedying our nature disconnect is something really important if we want to survive
This nature disconnection is inversely proportional from our technological connection
We cant live without nature
- We have to make room for all the other life going on, not just the life that directly serves humans, like crops and livestock
There is an increasing awareness of the need for nature connection
Sam mentions about humanity's screen addiction, it raises our cortisol levels and there are many consequences such as psychological and physiological effects
- "Contentment is the enemy of invention"
Psychedelics and the internet are growing alongside each other
- Timothy Leary would say the internet is the psychedelics of the future in terms of connection
- The internet is playing a pivotal role in access to information in this psychedelic renaissance
- "Technology is not good or bad, it's about how its used, the intent behind it" - Sam

Nature Disconnect

Sam thinks that the first step that took us away from nature is when we started farming, we became less hunter-gatherer minded and stepped away from the wild environment
- At that point we started living in large groups (creating cities)
- Then there was the division of labor and urbanization
Cities and technology are the main reasons for our disconnect with nature
"Long term sustainability would be one of the chief governing principles of how things are ran" - Sam

Psychedelics and Nature

There is something radical about psychedelics, they can convert the skeptics into appreciating nature
- The ego dissolution character of psychedelics are a key component in feeling connected to nature
- The default mode network (where the ego resides) becomes relaxed and dissolved, and when that happens there is a breakdown of perceived boundaries between self and others/nature
- That dissolution of boundaries is a key component in the psychedelic experience
- "When you feel part of it, it changes fundamentally how you relate to it" - Sam
One's knowledge of nature is a very weak predictor of one's concern for nature
- There isn't research of the use of psychedelics in natural settings yet, Sam hopes that as we research psychedelics more (in clinical settings) the research can evolve into studying their use in nature
- With psilocybin, most people have claimed to have a long-term fleeting change in their connectedness to nature, that the feeling of connection doesn't go away after the trip is over, it lasts for weeks, months, even the rest of their life

Rigid Egos and Nature Disconnection

Psilocybin decreases blood flow to the default mode network
"When we are destroying our own homes (our bodies and nature) are we falling out of love with our self?" - Kyle
- When we dissolve the ego, we increase connection, to ourselves, to others and to nature

Future in Psychedelics

We are going to see the rise of Psychedelic Therapy
We are going to see Psychedelic groups and communities on the rise
- From those groups, we will see projects and initiatives develop, which could bring decriminalization, integration circles, etc.
Sam believes the rise of depression and anxiety are a cause of our disconnection to nature, and he believes there is a lot of personal healing to be had if we get back into nature and actually play a role in healing nature too
- Instead of trying to save the world just for our children and our children's children, we need to look at this planet as if we were to reincarnate and come back to this planet, so we should want to look after this physical plane to make it better for future installments of ourselves

Get Connected with Nature

The direct, physical sensory experience with nature alone is well known to increase our connectedness with it
- Sam suggest listeners to get out in nature and do anything! Boating, gardening, bee keeping, a walk in the woods, whatever
- Sam really likes the art of Japanese Forest Bathing, which is about mindfulness and taking in nature, maybe combining it with breathwork exercises, etc.
- The more mindful you feel, the more connected to nature you are, and vice versa

Final Thoughts

Nature connection is just a single facet of the psychedelic experience, and Sam hopes for more research on this facet in the future
We have a decent amount of research on psychedelics effect on people with depression, PTSD, etc, but Sam hints toward some future research on the effects of psychedelics on the healthy-normal population
Make time for nature in whatever way works for you
2 hours of nature time a week are profoundly beneficial for health

Links

Facebook

Twitter

Email: greensam2512@hotmail.com

About Dr. Sam Gandy

Dr. Sam Gandy works on the cutting edge of psychedelic research, as Scientific Assistant to the Director of the Beckley Foundation, and as a collaborator with the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London. Sam has a lifelong love of nature and wildlife, and a PhD in ecological science from the University of Aberdeen. He has been fortunate enough to conduct field research in various parts of the world including the UK, Kefalonia, Almeria, Texas, the Peruvian Amazon, Vietnam and Ethiopia. Outside his work in the psychedelic field he has written papers, book chapters, articles and spoken at conferences and festivals on psychedelics and he is fascinated by their potential to benefit human lives.

Veronica Hernandez and Larry Norris - Decriminalizing Nature: A Win for Plant Medicines Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

Download In this episode, Joe and Kyle sit down and chat with Veronica Hernandez and Larry Norris of Decriminalize Nature Oakland. Decriminalize Nature is an educational campaign to inform Oakland residents about the value of entheogenic plants and fungi and propose a resolution to decriminalize our relationship to nature, which just recently had success in doing so.

3 Key Points:

Decriminalize Nature Oakland is a campaign that just recently found success in decriminalizing psilocybin mushrooms as well as other psychedelic compounds naturally derived from plants or fungi, such as ayahuasca, peyote and DMT.
The mission behind Decriminalize Nature is to improve human health and well-being by decriminalizing and expanding access to entheogenic plants and fungi through political and community organizing, education and advocacy.
These decriminalization initiatives are gaining traction across many cities in the US. It's about connecting to key people in the community and educating them, so they can use their reach to get information about these plants out there, to provide access to people everywhere.

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Show Notes About Veronica

Veronica is a clinical psychologist licensed in Peru
She has been working in the US as a Social Worker Clinician
She has been combining plant medicines and spirituality back into psychology
She is currently finishing her PhD at CIIS

About Larry

He is in the same PhD program as Veronica
Him and Veronica are the team that created ERIE
In between they have taken the time to run Decriminalize Nature Oakland

Decriminalize Nature

In this initiative, they had to convince 8 people of city council to agree to this, in comparison to the Denver Initiative, where they needed thousands of ballot signatures
- This bill included naturally occurring psychedelic compounds, not just mushrooms
Larry mentions they used the word entheogen instead of psychedelic, as a way to create new conversation around the plant medicines a reduce the stigma

A Win for Plant Medicine

From where Veronica comes from, Ayahuasca and other plant medicines are national patrimony, state and church can't touch them
- To be able to bring these to a place where it's considered schedule 1, Veronica is super inspired about being able to make this happen
Right now these plants are in a tug of war between money interest of the tax side and the government, and the other side of corporate interest
- The goal now is to educate people on what these plants do, safe practices and develop places and services to hold the space and make these plants available to people
- It's about connecting to key people in the community and educating them, so they can use their reach to get information about these plants out there
Starting city by city is typically easier to initiate, to then have a better hold on direct action and education afterward to be able to duplicate on the state level
- They have had 50 different cities from 30 different states reach out to make this happen in their communities
Veronica says that her first time trying San Pedro, she had felt an immediate connection to the plants
- It became her goal to combine conventional medicine with plant medicines and make it available to everyone
- "To be in touch with something bigger than yourself is one of the most important things" - Veronica

Sustainability

Although there was no verbiage in the bill, they are being mindful about sustainability of the plants when making them more available with decriminalization
- Synthesis is a better idea for ibogaine, 5-MEO-DMT and other compounds that are naturally derived but also pose a risk to their sustainability with decriminalization
- The landscape just doesn't allow for synthesis right now, so we start at decriminalization and then hopefully open doors to the route of synthesis to aid in the sustainability of these substances and resources
Larry's advice is that instead of spending your money and taking a trip to Denver or Oakland, to stay home and organize this is your own community because it can actually happen
- It starts now and it starts with education Joe says the most major push-back received in Denver for the decriminalization was the threat of people driving on mushrooms

Links

About Veronica

Veronica Hernandez, is a clinical psychologist and shamanic practitioner from Peru. Since 2006 she has been trained on shamanic facilitation. She received her clinical training at the Institute of Rational-Emotive Therapy, New York, under the supervision of Dr. Albert Ellis. She was assistant professor at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and research assistant at the Hospital Psiquiátrico Noguchi de Lima (Peru). In the United States, she worked as a Social Services Clinician at John Muir Health Hospital's Inpatient Psychiatric Adolescent Unit, California. Currently she is completing her doctoral degree at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco, where she is carrying out research on the healing and transformative benefits of entheogens, especially Ayahuasca.

About Larry

Larry Norris, MA, PhD Candidate is the co-founder and executive director of ERIE (Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education) 501(c)(3), a group dedicated to the development of entheogenic research and integration models. Larry is also a co-founder and on the Board of Decriminalize Nature Oakland and helped to co-author the resolution which received an unanimous decision from Oakland City Council. Beginning his studies in cognitive science as an undergrad at the University of Michigan, he is now a PhD candidate in the East-West Psychology department at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco. His dissertation reviews archived ayahuasca experiences to identify transformational archetypes that induce insights hidden within the experiences. As adjunct faculty at CIIS, Larry taught a graduate course called Entheogenic Education: Contemporary Perspectives on Ancient Plant Wisdom in order to discuss the concept of entheogens as educational teachers and cognitive tools. He was also an adjunct faculty at John F. Kennedy University teaching a class titled Paradigms of Consciousness. A dedicated activist and proponent of cognitive liberty, Larry's efforts are a contribution to not only change the Western legal status of these powerful plants, fungus, and compounds, but also to emphasize the potential sacred nature of entheogens given the right set and setting.

Tom Lane - Quetzalcoatl and the Ceremony of the Deified Heart Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

Download In this episode, Kyle talks with Tom Lane, author of Sacred Mushroom Rituals: The Search for the Blood of Quetzalcoatl. In the episode, they discuss the history of Quetzalcoatl, the ceremony of the deified heart and sacred mushroom rituals.

3 Key Points:

Quetzalcoatl is a feathered-serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture that can come to you when partaking in the ceremony of the deified heart. Quetzalcoatl teaches how to overcome fear and hatred and bring love.
The ceremony of the deified heart is a sacred mushroom ritual that when methods are combined correctly, can bring about Quetzalcoatl.
In the episode, Tom tells intriguing stories of his experiences with mushroom rituals and experiencing Quetzalcoatl, including a ceremony with Maria Sabina.

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Show Notes Quetzalcoatl

He was not an Aztec, he originated as a King in the Toltec civilization thousands of years before the Aztecs
As legend has it, where his blood fell is where the sacred mushrooms grew
Some people believe he was a Naga, a combination flow of energy, a male/female serpent
- A winged, jeweled, male/female, serpent
In the ceremony of the deified heart, the serpent will come to you

About Tom

He was building geodesic domes in a remote area in Mexico
He had some of his first mushroom experiences, and it led him to realize that the story of mushrooms was about Quetzalcoatl
His first experience with the mushroom was mild
He said the mushrooms found him, he takes them as a sacrament

Ceremony of the Deified Heart

The legend was that Quetzalcoatl gave cacao to participants as an aphrodisiac and it would help release serotonin
The goal is not to talk a lot
Then, the mushrooms are to be retrieved from the ground, fresh
Before the ceremony, Tom says he likes to put four candles placed in all four directions
The key to eating the mushrooms is eating them totally covered with honey
- You eat them two at a time, as it represents the male and female
- And when you eat the mushrooms, you actually never swallow
- You chew and chew and the mucous membranes of your tongue take the psilocin straight to the brain and spine
He says once it starts to take effect, it feels like there is a snake up your spine (He mentions his friends call this Kundalini)
Then you go out and Quetzalcoatl will come
- When he comes, he is like a rainbow jeweled serpent, an embodiment of pure light, pure energy, pure love
Tom says the next day it feels like you're 10 years younger
Its a pure force of love, an obliteration of the concept of time
Quetzalcoatl created this ceremony to bring about the serpent for healing, for a balance of male and female
This ceremony is best done during the night, with thunderstorms in the mountains

Ceremony with Maria Sabina

One night they went to see Maria Sabina
She agreed to do a ceremony at night
Her house was in the mountains and had a thatched roof with no windows or doors and sometimes clouds would come through her house
During a ceremony a lightning bolt came though the house, in one window and out the other
Maria's daughter gave him truffle like mushrooms and he brought them back with him
Maria's daughter really tried to learn his name, she repeated it a multitude of times until she said it exactly perfectly so she could say it during the ceremony

Quetzalcoatl Messages

God gave us love and pain
We have to learn how to celebrate the pain
God gave us knowledge, and tools of how to heal the pain
Tom's goal is to teach people how to take the sacred mushrooms to meet Quetzalcoatl and find healing, love and peace
"Once you get rid of the ego, you get rid of fear, and then you have love." - Tom
- The only way you can overcome hatred and fear is with love
The body is teaching the mind when consuming the sacred mushroom
It's best to just try to love people and be kind, and it's all acts of kindness and love that makes a person feel good

Links

Sacred Mushroom Rituals: The Search for the Blood of Quetzalcoatl

About Tom Lane

Tom, Author, has a Bachelors in Forestry from the University of Tennessee and a Masters from the University of Florida in Science Education and Middle School Education. He has worked full time in the Solar Energy field as a Contractor and Trainer and has a background in Mushrooms. Tom spent some time in 1973 living in the jungles of Palenque in Mexico and learn about mushrooms and mushroom ceremony. Tom is the Author of the book, Sacred Mushroom Rituals, The Search for the Blood of Quetzalcoatl.

Dr. Alexander Belser - How Privilege Affects Gender Inclusivity in Psychotherapy Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

Download In this episode, Kyle interviews Dr. Alexander Belser, a Clinical Researcher who has done a variety of works in the psychotherapy and psychedelic fields, helping patients heal from depression, OCD, suicide, and other illnesses, all while focusing on gender neutrality and equality. In this episode, they cover topics on privilege, inclusivity and recommendations for the psychedelic space.

3 Key Points:

Privilege is commonly seen in therapist roles and as well in an individual's access to treatment. It's important for the psychedelic community to be vocal about privilege and be inclusive of all types of people, all repressed groups.
Psychedelics have the power to help people come to terms with their own sexuality, as well as become accepting of other individuals sexual identification.
In order to see more equality in the psychedelic space, we need to confront structural heterosexism and transfobia, retire the male/female therapy diad, and develop acknowledgement in the psychedelic world of the stresses that LGBTQ people face.

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Show Notes About Alexander

Alexander started attending psychedelic conferences in college
He works at Yale currently, treating individuals with major depressive disorders with psilocybin assisted psychotherapy
He lives in New York and works on a team for the MAPS, MDMA trial for the treatment of PTSD

Queering Psychedelics

Queering Psychedelics is a Conference put on with the help of Chacruna
Its an opportunity for Queer folk to come together and talk about psychedelic medicine
Alexander's presentation was on Queer Critique for the Psychedelic Mystical Experience

Privilege and Inclusivity

People with more privilege have more power, more access to funding, more access to expanding the research agenda
- Many of the people in psychedelic research are privileged, white, cisgender individuals (and Alexander believes they are using the privilege for good)
- But it's important for the psychedelic community to be vocal about privilege and be inclusive of all types of people, all repressed groups
Alexander thinks that we need to eliminate the male/female diad
- The typical structure for psychedelic therapy is to have a male cisgender therapist and a female cisgender therapist
- But Alexander thinks this is gender essentializing
- Its totalizing of gender, assuming that the masculinity is held by the male therapist, and femininity is held by the female therapist
- Alexander thinks that the therapists should be more gender neutral
Its essential to assess the individual needs of the client for specific gender pairing

Recommendations

Alexander's Reccomendations
- Confront Structural Heterosexism and Transfobia
- Retire the Male/Female Therapy Diad
- Acknowledgement in the Psychedelic world of the stress that LGBTQ people face
We need to be able to run moderation analyses to see if a type of psychedelic treatment works the same for sexual minority populations as it does for straight folks
- Are there unique clinical considerations for sexual minorities?
The psychedelic Renaissance is maturing and reaching a point where our approaches can be more inclusive
- He thinks it's important for straight folks to think about this too
- "We all suffer, including straight folks, in a world where the idea of gender and sexuality is firmly printed as either being A or B. It's a disservice to our identities." - Alexander
It is common to feel "oneness" after a psychedelic experience, and it's common for gender roles to change throughout the process
- And on the flip side, maybe our perception of other people's gender (homophobia) transforms from a psychedelic experience, and we can become more accepting of other forms of gender

Mystical Experience

When people score higher on the mystical experience questionnaire (profound unity, transcendence of time and space) its predictive of their improvements on depression and anxiety
It's important to be mindful of what value we put on marginalized people's psychedelic experiences
The most common issue Alexander sees is people feeling 'stuck' in these bodies Psychedelic medicine encourages (at least in appeal) embodiment

Final Thoughts

First, we need to come to terms with our own internalized homophobia, transphobia and racism
Together, we learn from each other, how to dismantle types of patriarchal, homophibic and transphobic structures
MDMA expanded access may probably end up being very expensive, we need to think about privilege and access to mental healthcare broadly
It's not just about diversity, Alexander encourages people to create allies
- He has hope that we can proceed with integrity in these topics

Links

Alexander's website Center for Breakthroughs

About Dr. Alexander Belser

Alexander Belser, Ph.D., is a Clinical Research Fellow and clinical supervisor at Yale University. He is the Co-Investigator of two studies at Yale exploring psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to treat OCD and depression. His research with sexual minority people has focused on preventing suicide among adolescents and on the protective role of gay-straight alliances for students. Dr. Belser was a founding member of the Psychedelic Research Group at NYU in 2006, and he is currently an Adjunct Faculty member in NYU's graduate program in Counseling Psychology. He has been a researcher on various psychedelic studies of depression, anxiety, OCD, addiction, trauma, and among religious leaders. He is a study therapist for the MAPS study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Dr. Belser serves as a peer reviewer and has published peer-reviewed articles on topics such as psychedelic mysticism, altruism, patient experiences in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, cancer and psychedelic therapy, case studies, psilocybin treatment and posttraumatic growth (forthcoming).

Ido Cohen - Re-Turn to Wholeness: Jung and Integration Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

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

3 Key Points:

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

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Show Notes About Ido

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

Integration

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

Ego and Self

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

Transformative Experiences

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

Environment

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

Spiritual Bypass

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

Final Thoughts

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

Links

Integration Circle Website

Instagram

Facebook

About Ido Cohen

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

Raquel Bennett - Properties and Paradigms of Therapeutic Ketamine Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

Download In this episode, Joe interviews Raquel Bennett, Psy.D. at Kriya Institute. In the show, they cover topics surrounding the properties and paradigms of therapeutic Ketamine use.

3 Key Points:

The Kriya Institute is devoted to understanding the therapeutic properties of Ketamine. Raquel Bennett specializes in using Ketamine therapy for patients with severe treatment resistant disorders.
There are three questions that should be used when determining if someone is fit for Ketamine therapy. Is it safe? Is it legal? Is it ethical?
There are many different paradigms for Ketamine Therapy, but determining the best method for each individual patient is the goal.

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Show Notes Kriya Institute

The Kriya Institute deals with how to work with Ketamine specifically in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Kriya provides clinical services to patients, training for other clinicians, and Kriya conference
- The conference is a big collaborative meeting
Raquel is trying to create a patient assistance fund to make services more available to people

Ketamine

Ketamine isn't addictive physically It is possible to become psychologically addicted to Ketamine Raquel thinks its a property of the person not of the object It's possible to become addicted to anything, shopping, sex, etc.

About Raquel

She first encountered Ketamine in 2002 when she was suffering from severe depression
- She was seeing a therapist that took her to a psychedelic shaman where she took Ketamine
- From the way she felt after taking Ketamine, she wanted to know if it was replicable for other people
She is interested in people with treatment resistant mood disorders, such as severe depression, unusual bipolar disorder and people living with active suicidal ideation
She remembers her teachers (who gave her Ketamine) saying they don't use it often, and don't know if it will work
- They were not seeking an antidepressant effect, they were helping her to connect to the cosmos and the universe, to find out why she was having such severe depression
- The fact that it acted as a rapid-acting antidepressant was a surprise to them, and that's what triggered her curiosity with it
- "Most of what I know of being a Ketamine provider, I learned from being a patient" - Raquel

Ketamine and Patents

Johnson and Johnson just came out with a filtered Ketamine product that they patented
- $850 for 84mg of filtered Ketamine
- $1.59 for 100mg of generic Ketamine
They are only providing it as a nasal spray
Companies tried to make a new molecule, but they couldn't
- Instead, they modified it, and filtered it, and then patented it (Esketamine)

Ketamine Treatment Paradigms

There is a lot of disagreement on the route, the dose, the setting importance, etc
This was the reason she created the Kriya conference, to share ideas, to find the best possible methods
One way is to give it as a low dose infusion out of the anesthesiology model (0.5mg of Ketamine per kg of bodyweight in an infusion center)
- They aim to get enough ketamine in the patient's body without the psychedelic effects
- They take the normal dose, divide it by 6, and space it out to avoid the psychedelic nature
- The patient is being forced into a passive role, they aren't being called to heal themselves, they are just showing up for the medicine
- Raquel says that's not all that there is to it, the medicine is only half of it
Another paradigm for using Ketamine is facilitated Ketamine Psychotherapy
- In this way, the Ketamine is used as a lubricant for talk therapy
- We are using Ketamine to help people to talk about material that is too painful or too shameful to get to otherwise" - Raquel
- In this paradigm, the emphasis is on the therapy, not the Ketamine, the Ketamine is a lubricant and a tool
- In this way, the patient and the therapist are both participating 50%, the patient is not passive
- She says the psychedelic effects are to be avoided, or else the patient becomes too far out
The third paradigm would be to induce mystical experience on purpose
- As a provider, it is believed that the visions are meaningful
- Only about 1 in 6 patients are actually a good candidate for psychedelic dosing
- The patient is willing to offer their body up as a vessel, and the messages they receive are from God
- The provider's role is to make sure the journey is safe, and then help the patients to help construct meaning from what they saw, create actionable steps on how to change their lives
Raquel says that all of these paradigms are helpful, different methods work for different patients
- That's her job as a Ketamine Specialist, to determine which method is best for patients
- "This is where the direction of the field needs to go, being aware of the spectrum of the services available, and then matching the treatment to the patient. Individualized treatment." - Raquel

Proper Use

Is it safe? Is it legal? Is it ethical?
Is it appropriate to give Ketamine Treatment to someone without a profound impairment or disorder?
The literature supports the use of Ketamine for the following psychiatric or psychological disorders; major severe refractory depression, bipolar depression, physical pain with depression, recurrent suicidality and obsessive compulsive disorder
Do the potential benefits verify the potential risks?
Raquel doesn't believe that making this experience available to everyone is the right way, her goal is to demonstrate that Ketamine is safe and useful for refractory problems

Group Administration

They can work with 6 clients at a time
It includes carefully selected individuals that all fit into the group
This provides a much lower cost for patients

Ketamine Types

There are 3 Types of Ketamine
The molecules themselves are not flat, they are 3 dimensional and fold in space
Some molecules are 'right handed' and others are 'left handed'
Right handed molecules are Arketamine and left handed are Esketamine
Generic Ketamine is an even amount of Arketamine and Esketamine molecules
What Johnson and Johnson did with Esketamine was patenting the filtration process of removing Arketamine from the Esketamine molecules

Kriya Institute Site

Kriya Conference in November
A list of providers working with therapeutic Ketamine
A resource list of books and journey music
A Contact option

Links

Website

About Raquel Bennett

Dr. Bennett is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology (PSB 94022544), working under the supervision of Dr. Bravo. Dr. Bennett primarily works with people who are experiencing severe depression, who are on the bipolar spectrum, or who are contemplating suicide. She has been studying the therapeutic properties of ketamine since she first encountered it in 2002. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Bennett's practice has evolved to include consultation services for medical professionals who wish to add ketamine services to their offices. She also lectures frequently about therapeutic ketamine. Dr. Bennett is the Founder of KRIYA Institute and the Organizer of the KRIYA Conferences.

Ben Eddy - Jiu Jitsu, Psychedelics and Flow State May 28, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Joe and Kyle interview Ben Eddy, a Black Belt from Eddy Bravo's 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu system. In this episode, they cover a range of topics on Jiu Jitsu, Psychedelics and flow state.

3 Key Points:

Before Jiu Jitsu, Ben says he was very analytical, thinking of the most efficient, fastest way to complete anything. Jiu Jitsu is an 'in the moment' type of game, and it allowed him to tap into a flow state.
Psychedelics have the ability to imprint you and change your thought patterns, and when combined with a sport like Jiu Jitsu, you're able to achieve a type of embodiment you wouldn't have before.
We do not need to rush into psychedelics at a young age. It is important to experience life for what it is first, and to feel that fully to have a comparison to after diving into the psychedelic realm.

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Show Notes About Ben

Ben got into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when looking for a way to get in shape
- He was in San Francisco in the tech scene
- He was into wrestling in his past and competition and he found that Jiu Jitsu was similar
His main instructor, Eddie Bravo, was training for a match
- He wanted to be around the energy of this event
- He moved down to southern California and that is where his psychedelic use began
- Ben knew that when he was going to do psychedelics, there was going to be a before and after, that there were going to be doors that were going to be opened
- He says he took the time to really understand the sober life before psychedelics, in order to know the difference
- Ben describes it as a cool opportunity to wait to use psychedelics, he had the choice to wait and experience life and figure out what life is before psychedelics
- Joe says for the younger listeners "meditate on that", figure out life first before diving into psychedelics

Strategy vs Flow

Before Jiu Jitsu, Ben says he was very analytical, thinking of the most efficient, fastest way to complete anything
- Jiu Jitsu is an 'in the moment' game, where there is more of a 'flow state'
He was running into people that could just 'find answers in the moment', there was no plan or no strategy, it was a natural flow

Psychedelics and Training

Training with an active dose was hard to get to at the start
Ben trains now with active doses
It has the ability to imprint you and change your thought patterns
Ben's active dose is 2 grams of mushrooms during a practice
- Ben does mention that all people are different and his active dose is different than anyone else's
Jiu Jitsu makes you bring everything that you have up to the forefront in that moment
- Feeling is a way of knowing, especially in these flow states
He says that weed is commonly used in Jiu Jitsu, but he hasn't seen a whole lot of Psychedelic use yet
- Ben says that weed helps you drop into the one instrument that you're trying to play, get into that flow state
Jiu Jitsu is a sport of form, technique, and dance, it's not about strength

Origins

Jiu Jitsu came from Japan and their Judo
- Then it came to Brazil and mixed with the beach vibes and turned into Jiu Jitsu
- Then it came to the west and our beaches and developed into what it is today
Kyle mentions the idea of using Paul Stamets 'microdosing', psilocybin, lions mane and niacin
- In that state we are creating new neurogenesis and neural pathways and being in that state may make us learn differently
- Kyle says its an interesting application for performance and new ways of learning
- Ben says the goal is to get to a certain level of embodiment, at every point you're trying to be present in the here and now

Music

After Jiu Jitsu, music took on a whole new color, feel and wave for Ben than it did before
- He thought music was a distraction
- Once he started to play with flow more, he began to open up to music to live in it
Jiu Jitsu and the flow state really start with the breath
- Its like breathing in and accepting life, and the exhale is where it all lets go

Links

10th Planet Jiu Jitsu

About Ben

Ben Eddy is a Blackbelt at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu system. Starting off in the tech scene in San Fransisco, Ben relocated to southern California, where he began his journey into Jiu Jitsu, psychedelics and tapping into the flow state. He currently travels and competes.

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