Ep. 192 - Paul Austin - Psychedelics, Religion, &amp; Micro-dosing

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Music: Nuno Moreno: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound & Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

Ep. 190 - Natasja Pelgrom - Psychedelics, Facilitation, Wisdom & Ritual

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Hey everybody! Episode 190 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Natasja Pelgrom. We sat down and spoke about her background, how at 14 years of age she had an experience with mushrooms that shaped her life, her work in the field of psychedelics, the power of ritual, initiations, the sublime, and psychedelic facilitation. I enjoyed speaking with Natasja and feel she speaks from a place of deep experiential wisdom and I trust you all will gain a lot from 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!

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This episode is sponsored by Real Mushrooms (https://realmushrooms.com) As listeners, enjoy a discount of 25% off your first order at checkout using the Discount code: UNIVERSE

“Natasja Pelgrom is a facilitator, mentor, and educator working at the intersection of psychedelic care, leadership, and integration. With over 20 years of experience across the wellness, creative, and hospitality sectors, she supports individuals and organizations navigating long-term transformation with integrity and discernment. She is the founder of Awaken the Medicine Within retreats and the Eudaimonia Institute, and has held space in over 1,000 ceremonial contexts. Natasja’s work focuses on professional space holding, shadow integration, energetic stewardship, and ethical leadership. She works internationally as a speaker and supervisor, and hosts The Awaken Podcast, exploring the meeting point of science, spirituality, and culture.”

To learn more about or contact Natasja, visit her website at: https://www.natasjapelgrom.com

To view the recent documentary, Sacred Tobacco, about my work, visit: https://youtu.be/KB0JEQALI_w

I will be guiding our next plant medicine dietas with my colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) in:

June 7-14: Remote Online Dieta

June 29-July 5: Practitioner Training - Portugal

July 10-27: Westport, Ireland

November 2-30: Sacred Valley of Peru

If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do or about future retreats, visit my site at: https://NicotianaRustica.org

Integration/Consultation call: https://jasongrechanik.setmore.com

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Music: Nuno Moreno: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound & Stefan Kasapovski’s Santero Project: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4H

Ep. 113 - The Psychologizing of Society & Trauma Culture - A Discussion with Brian James, Adam Aronovich, & Jason Grechanik

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Hey everybody! Episode 113 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friends Brian James and Adam Aronovich. I met both of them when we all worked together at a big plant medicine center in the Peruvian Amazon. I interviewed both of them separately in previous episodes, Brian in episode 30 and Adam in episode 55, so you can check those out for a more in-depth look at them both. I have been impressed with both their abilities to speak out on more mainstream narratives that are happening in the psychedelic and plant-medicine movements. I think there are many narratives that gain traction and are not often questioned, and I respect both Brian and Adam for their ability to look at issues through different lenses to get closer to a wider truth. Two issues that I think that have been arising in this regard are the psychologizing of the plant-medicine world and the world at large. And the second is the over-emphasis on trauma. While both of these topics have validity and importance and a place in this work, they are but a part, and an over-emphasis on both can be an amputation of sorts of the wider use of plant-medicines and create downstream problems that many don’t consider. So it was a real pleasure and a bit of an experiment having this panel. I think it went really well and we went pretty deep on these issues which I think are quite important topics. So I feel confident you all will get a lot out of this episode and the wisdom of Adam and Brian. 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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This episode is sponsored by Real Mushrooms. As listeners, visit their website to enjoy a discount of 25% off your first order: https://www.realmushrooms.com/universe

"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

“Brian James is a transformational coach, yoga teacher, musician and shamanic practitioner currently living Vancouver Island, Canada with his wife Debbie and their dog Kingston.

A lifelong musician, artist, and curious seeker, Brian began exploring yoga and plant medicines over twenty-five years ago. After a crisis in his mid-thirties — burned out from his job in advertising and struggling with stress, anxiety and addiction — he began his own healing journey in earnest. He’s spent the last decade learning from master teachers and exploring in greater depth the medicine paths of yoga, music, shamanism and psychology. He shares conversations with some of the teachers he’s met on the Medicine Path Podcast and has written two books: Yoga & Plant Medicine, published in 2019, and Harmonic Movement, a vinyasa yoga practice manual.

Since 2012, Brian has dedicated his life to sharing the healing power of yoga and music, and has taught around the world — from Shanghai, China to the heart of the Amazon jungle. He regularly teaches group classes and workshops and works 1-to-1 with individuals, helping them develop a personal practice and supporting them in recovering a sense of wholeness and freedom. “

For more info about Brian and his work, visit: brianjames.ca

If you enjoy the show, it’s always a big help if you can 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 Like the video and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, Follow the show and 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 are guiding plant dietas in Boulder-Colorado in July, New York state in August, and the Sacred Valley of Peru in November. 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 join Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.

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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. 109 - Jerónimo Mazarrasa - ICEERS, Plant Medicine Facilitation & Harm Reduction

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Hey everybody! Episode 109 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Jerónimo Mazarrasa. This is Jerónimo’s second time on this podcast. Jerónimo works for a great organization called ICEERS (International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service). He came on this episode to speak about a new course that ICEERS is offering about harm reduction for facilitators of plant medicines in a non-traditional context. As this plant medicine work expands to the world at large, I think organizations like ICEERS play a crucial role in bridging traditions, bringing awareness and education, and offering support and assistance to practitioners as well as participants. I have a lot of respect for their organization and the work that they do, as well as their staff. Marc Aixalà and Irene Pérez, who both work for ICEERS, have also been on this podcast. I really enjoyed my last conversation with Jerónimo and was happy to have him on again to share about this new work. I think he speaks very well from a place of experience, wisdom, knowledge, humility, and as a bridgekeeper, and I trust you all will gain a lot from 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!

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This episode is sponsored by Real Mushrooms. As listeners, visit their website to enjoy a discount of 25% off your first order: https://www.realmushrooms.com/universe

"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/

And for the direct link to the course, with sign-up ending April 27, visit: https://iceersacademy.mykajabi.com/ayasafety-en

My colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) and I are guiding plant dietas in Portugal in May, Ireland in June, Boulder-Colorado in July, New York state in August, and the Sacred Valley of Peru in November. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

Integration/Consultation call: https://jasongrechanik.setmore.com

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https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

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Please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or contact at:

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