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Hey everybody! Episode 140 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Matthew Toussaint. Matthew came highly recommended to me and I was really glad we could make this podcast happen. Matthew is an anthropologist who came to plant medicines at a young age. It brought him to the Peruvian Amazon where he began a deeper dive and apprenticeship with ayahuasca and a lineage of curanderismo. We spoke about his background, ayahuasca, dieta, apprenticeship, tradition and lineage, myth, tree medicine, martial arts, christianity, imagination, meditation, and other topics. I think this is a really in-depth interview and one of the better and more informative talks you will find about these specific subjects in regards to plant medicines. It’s a testament to Matthew’s work and dedication and I trust you all will gain much from his wisdom. 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

“Matthew Toussaint is originally from upstate New York. He has a background in Cultural Anthropology, where he conducted original ethnographic research on the emergence of ayahuasca shamanism in Western contexts. He first went to Peru to drink ayahuasca in 2008, and that experience was life-changing.

For the next six years Matthew continued to deepen his relationship with the plants until he relocated to Peru in 2014. Since then he has worked professionally with plant medicine in a variety of contexts: at two retreat centers, in private groups, and in one-on-one sessions. He teamed up with Maestro Alberto and Casa Del Maestro in 2021.

Matthew helps coordinate and manage the administration of our retreat programs, translates for guests, supports the guest experience, and serves as an apprentice to Maestro Alberto. He loves the work and is honored to share this medicine with the world.”

To learn more about or contact Matthew, visit their website at: https://www.casadelmaestromedicina.com/

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

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!

I will be guiding our next plant medicine dietas with my colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) in the Sacred Valley of Peru in November (SOLD OUT) and again in the Sacred Valley in February. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org

To book an integration call with me, visit: https://jasongrechanik.setmore.com

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.

To support this podcast on Patreon:

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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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Hey everybody! Episode 75 of the show is out. This is an interview I did with Gary Haskins on his podcast, The Conscious Perspective. Some of you have asked for some more interviews where I am speaking, so I thought this interview I recently did with Gary would serve that purpose well. In the interview, we talk about sacred plant medicines, their ceremonial uses, the importance of tradition, and what these plants may be pointing towards. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do as well. Check out Gary’s podcast and consider supporting his work if you can. 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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"Jason began learning holistic systems of medicine such as herbalism, Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and nutrition in his 20s. That curiosity eventually led him to the Amazon where he began to work with plants to learn traditional ways of healing. His experience combines many different modalities of working with plants. The plants of the Amazon, and the ways in which the peoples of Amazon work with them, have had a revelatory effect on his life.

After having worked with ayahuasca quite extensively, he began the process of dieting plants. He has dieted in the Shipibo tradition and began working with maestro Ernesto Garcia Torres in 2013, delving deep into the world of dieting. Through a prolonged apprenticeship and training, involving prolonged isolation, fasting, and dieting of plants, he was given the blessing to begin working with plants as a tabaquero, and was eventually given the ability to administer diets; to share in the tradition from which he had learned and which has taught him so much. He has been living, learning, and working in the jungle for the last seven years. He currently runs dietas with his colleague, Merav Artzi, in the Sacred Valley of Peru and works at the Temple of the Way of Light as a facilitator of ayahuasca ceremonies. In the past seven years, he has helped guide over a thousand people in ceremonies.

Jason has practiced and taught yoga and enjoys practicing regularly Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Plants truly are our food, our life, our medicine, and they are alive and here to help us learn from them. They can open us to a world that we perhaps never could have imagined: the world of who we are. When we approach them with respect, honor, humility, and a genuine desire to learn, they can open the doors of life and heal us on all levels. Jason is deeply grateful to all of his teachers, everyone that has helped him in this journey to where he is, and to wherever it may lead."

To view Gary’s podcast, the Conscious Perspective, visit him on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BigGuknowme and on Apple at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conscious-perspective/id1528073394 and on Discord at: https://discord.com/invite/Bp8Kf3eyPQ

For more info about Jason and his work, visit: https://www.NicotianaRustica.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

Join this channel on YouTube to get access to perks: https://bit.ly/YTPerks

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

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

https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com

Thanks and until the next episode!

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Ep. 140 - Matthew Toussaint - Ayahuasca, Apprenticeship, Tradition, & the Art of Medicine

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Ep. 75 - The Conscious Perspective - Plant Medicine Ceremonies, Tradition, & the Sacred

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