Ep. 70 - Jerónimo Mazarrasa - ICEERS, Ayahuasca, Reciprocity, Psychedelic Renaissance and Beyond

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Hey everybody! Episode 70 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Jerónimo Mazarrasa. Jerónimo is the Social Innovation Coordinator for ICEERS (International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service). I was familiar with ICEERS as they collaborated with the Temple of the Way of Light, where I have worked, on one of the largest studies on the therapeutic use of ayahuasca. Jerónimo has been involved in this work for a long time and I really enjoyed this conversation. In fact, it is probably one of my favorites in terms of the topics covered, the knowledge shared, and the wisdom presented. We spoke about a number of topics from the history of ayahuasca, the different groups and ways it is used, how to navigate and think about its global spread, how to honor the traditions from which it came, and what the future of these medicines may resemble. I trust this episode will impart a lot of knowledge and thought and I felt I myself learned a lot from this dialogue. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

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"Jerónimo M.M. is an ayahuasca community activist and independent researcher. He has produced and written two documentaries about ayahuasca. The first about the Brazilian Ayahuasca churches, the second about the use of Ayahuasca in the treatment of drug addiction. In the last 20 years he has travelled extensively through South America, researching a broad range of Ayahuasca practices, and has lectured internationally on ayahuasca tourism and the appropriation of indigenous knowledge. He works as Social Innovation Coordinator for the ICEERS Foundation, and is a founding member of the Plantaforma (Platform for the Defense of Ayahuasca in Spain) in the last 5 years he has devoted most of his energy to figure out how ceremonial plant practices can be integrated outside of their cultures of origin. He curates a list of ayahuasca news, a facebook account, and a blog."

For more info about Jerónimo and his work, view above links or visit: https://www.iceers.org/

This episode of the show is sponsored by the Temple of the Way of Light. To learn more or sign up for a retreat, visit: https://templeofthewayoflight.org/

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running diets in the Sacred Valley of Peru beginning again in February of 2022. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

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Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

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Ep. 55 - Adam Aronovich - Ayahuasca, Medical Anthropology, Research & Meaning

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Hey everybody! Episode 55 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Adam Aronovich. Adam and I met in the Amazon jungle working at the plant medicine center, The Temple of the Way of Light, where he originally came down working on his doctoral thesis. He ended up living, studying, and working in the jungle for five years. I think Adam brings a really unique and important perspective to this work, being able to merge his academic work and observations with his time spent learning from plants and working as a facilitator with guests going through a ceremonial experience. This podcast ending up going quite long, over four hours, which I thought it may, but it’s filled with a lot of insights, observations, and knowledge from Adam’s time and life. It was a pleasure for me to catch up and converse with him and I think you all will gain a lot out of this episode. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

YouTube: bit.ly/YouTubeUW

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"Adam is a doctoral candidate focusing on Medical Anthropology and Cultural Psychiatry. He is an active member of the Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC) and part of the Ayahuasca Community Committee at the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. In the last four years he has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, where he has been doing qualitative research in collaboration with ICEERS, the Beckley Foundation, and, more recently, the Centre for Psychedelic Studies at Imperial College, where he is also a visiting student. Beyond his work conducting and coordinating research, Adam facilitated workshops in the Peruvian Amazon and he regularly facilitates workshops in Mexico. He is also a process facilitator and integration support coach in private practice, the co-host of the upcoming podcast "Healing from the Healing Path", and the co-founder of Hidden Hand Media, a creative agency in the space of transformation and technology.”

For more info about Adam and his work, visit: https://www.healingfromhealing.com and https://linktr.ee/adamandros and https://www.hiddenhandmedia.com

This episode of the show is sponsored by the Temple of the Way of Light. To learn more or sign up for a retreat, visit: https://templeofthewayoflight.org/

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I will be running diets in upstate New York on July 10-27, in the Sacred Valley of Peru on September 1-29, and in the Sinai desert of Egypt October 10-27. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March of 2020 and the future is uncertain.  If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik 

Music courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

This will help me with ideas for future shows.

Thanks and until the next episode!

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Ep. 10 - Claude Guislain - Anthropologist and "Bridgekeeper," Indigenous Wisdom & Modern World

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Hey everybody! Episode 10 of the show is out. In this show, I spoke with my friend Claude.  Claude is a Peruvian anthropologist and ‘‘bridgekeeper,” an apt title for what he has become. I met Claude working at the Peruvian Amazonian plant medicine center, The Temple of the Way of Light. I find Claude to be a truly great bridge between many of the indigenous cultures he has studied and worked alongside with, and the outside world. He holds a depth of wisdom and an ability to communicate complex and different ideas in a very human and simple way. I could speak to Claude for hours, as we ended up doing in this show. Its three hours long but I think you will find Claude’s insights invaluable and very enlightening. This was one of my favorite conversations. I always enjoy talking to him and I think you will too. Enjoy!

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“With experience living and studying in the West, and apprenticing with Peruvian and Ecuadorian curanderos, Claude calls his mission at the Temple “bridge keeping”: the art of establishing and facilitating smooth communications and understanding between different worlds.

Claude was born and raised in Lima, geographically close but very far away from the medicine traditions of the Peruvian jungle. While living in Europe he learned about Peruvian shamanism, and the idea of teacher plants such as San Pedro and ayahuasca fascinated him enough to return to Peru. But Claude’s first experience with San Pedro sent him directly back to Europe to study anthropology before he traveled to Iquitos for his first experience with ayahuasca in 2003. 

Here, he found the perfect setting for his research fieldwork as he became deeply engaged in how local ayahuasquero traditions were being understood by Westerners and how traditional medicine practitioners were interacting and understanding their foreign guests. Right before graduating with an Anthropology License, Claude met an Ecuadorian mestizo curandero who traveled often to Europe and chose him as a helper and apprentice. After five years working with this man and his beautiful medicine in Europe and Ecuador, Claude again decided to return to the roots of the medicine in Peru. He has been working and learning from Maestra Ynes Sanchez and her family since early 2013 and collaborating with the Temple of the Way of Light since June 2015.”

These are the links Claude mentioned:  https://www.facebook.com/bridgekeepers and https://chaikuni.org

If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth.  If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!

If you would like more information on plant medicine and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org    

And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March and the future is uncertain.  If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated.  For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin  

To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik 

Another way you can support the show is if you are ordering anything from Amazon.com, and you use this link, the show will get a small commission with no additional cost to you: https://amzn.to/2Gw51PS

Music courtesy of Nuno Moreno. See his work at: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/  

And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

This will help me with ideas for future shows.

Thanks and until the next episode!

https://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

https://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast