Ep. 50 - Julian Vayne - The Occult, Entheogens, & the Individual vs Collective Process

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Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 50 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Julian Vayne. Julian was introduced to me through a mutual friend. Julian is an independent author and scholar on esoteric traditions including shamanism and entheogens. It was a real pleasure for me to sit down with Julian and pick his brain on a number of different subjects. We got into myriad topics including the occult, esoteric traditions, plant medicines, individual versus collective processes, and optimism for the future of humanity. I find Julian to be a scholar in the true sense of the word, a student of many traditions, and he has a beautiful ability to weave them together and find through-lines that join them. He is also a natural teacher and I imagine you all will learn a lot from this episode, much as I did. 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

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over three decades of experience within esoteric culture: from Druidry to Chaos Magic, from indigenous Shamanism through to Freemasonry and Witchcraft. 

Growing up in the Britain of punk and then rave culture Julian immersed himself in the philosophy and techniques of magic. His journey into group ritual practice began within the Western Esoteric Tradition when he was 16. Since then has worked in ceremony with practitioners from many different lands and lineages. Julian is a senior member of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros and widely recognized as one of Britain’s leading occultists.

In the 1990s Julian edited Britain’s best selling pagan newspaper Pagan Voice and in 2001 published one of the first books of the modern psychedelic renaissance, Pharmakon: Drugs and the Imagination. In addition to exploring traditional sacred medicines, Julian’s work includes the first published accounts of the entheogenic ritual use of ketamine and several novel psychedelic sacraments.

Today Julian is the author of books, essays, journals and articles in both the academic and esoteric press. He sees his work as part of the process to help re-imagine an earth-centered, non-dogmatic, open-source spirituality. He shares his practice through mentoring, workshops, online teaching and retreats. Julian’s style is highly collaborative. With an academic background in teaching and learning, and as co-author of numerous texts, Julian’s style emphasizes curiosity, collaboration and creativity. His approach is informed by chaos magic, deep ecology and lineages within Wicca and Tantra.

Julian is a co-organizer of the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention, and a Trustee of The Psychedelic Museum Project. A founding member of the post-prohibition think-tank Transform, Julian sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies, and has been a visiting lecturer at several British universities. He is an advocate of post-prohibition culture and supporter of psychedelic prisoners through the Scales project. Julian facilitates psychedelic ceremony, as well as providing one-to-one psychedelic integration sessions and support. He is the author of the celebrated Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. Since 2011 he has been sharing his work through The Blog of Baphomet.”

For more info about Julian and his work, visit: https://julianvayne.com/

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 and in the Sacred Valley of Peru on September 1-29. 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. 49 - Bill Park - Permaculture, Matsés and Indigenous Wisdom, & Climate Solutions

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Hey everybody! Episode 49 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Bill Park. Bill and I met in the Peruvian Amazon about a decade ago. Bill created an Amazonia superfood company that works with indigenous communities and aims to empower them and preserve and regenerate the biodiversity of the jungle. He also started an NGO, Acaté Amazon Conservation, that works with the Matses community, aimed at “preserving the Amazon Rainforest in partnership with its protectors.” I had the opportunity to visit the Matses with Bill, working on a project of creating a plant medicine encyclopedia in Matses, by the Matses, and for the Matses. I learned a lot on that trip and have a lot of respect for Bill and the projects he is working on and the knowledge that he has. I think Bill is putting real solutions into action and I always enjoy talking to him. I consider Bill a philosopher in the truest sense and he has a lot of wisdom to share. I hope and imagine you all will get 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

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"Bill brings a strong understanding of sustainable agriculture and natural products to Acaté. His interest in ecological agricultural practices and agroforestry was strengthened during his years living in Perú and exploring the Amazon. Bill is co-founder of Eco Ola, a company based in Perú that is pioneering application of permaculture techniques to revitalize eroded and abandoned areas of deforestation. As Acate’s Co-Founder and Director of Acaté Perú, Bill believes that strengthening local economies and providing choices for renewable resources in conjunction with the local communities is a critical element for conservation. His relationship with the Matsés began in 2003.”

For more info about Bill and his work, visit: https://acateamazon.org/ and https://www.eco-ola.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/

This episode of the show is also sponsored by Xstatic Dance - online every Saturday at 10am Vancouver, 1pm New York, 6pm London, and 7pm Central Europe time. Join the Dance for free and make a donation after. Visit Instagram @xstaticdanceonline & Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/xstaticdanceonline. Music: Soundcloud.com/Xstaticdanceonline & mixcloud.com/xstaticdanceonline

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 on May 1-29 and September 1-29. 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. 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

Ep. 48 - Kerry Moran - Tibetan Buddhism, Psychotherapy, Sacred Plant Medicines & Integration

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Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 48 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Kerry Moran. Kerry and I met while working together at the Amazonian plant medicine center, The Temple of the Way of Light. Kerry came down as a teacher of integrative practices, combining her knowledge with the plant medicine work that was being offered. She has a long background in Tibetan Buddhism, psychotherapy, integration, and plant medicine work, of which we addressed all of these in our talk. I really enjoyed this conversation, often quite personal, and getting to know Kerry and her journey on a deeper level, and learning from all of her wisdom. I hope and imagine you all will get 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

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"Kerry Moran, M.A., LPC is an American psychotherapist and writer who's been working with ayahuasca integration since 2014. She brings decades of experience in depth psychology and Buddhist meditation to her practice, combining a big-picture understanding of the dynamics of the integration process with a deeply compassionate regard for each individual. Among other things, she's a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, an archetypal astrologer, and an apprentice tabaquera. A former journalist based in Kathmandu, Nepal, Kerry is the author of several books, including Kailas: On Pilgrimage to the Sacred Mountain of Tibet. She lives in the Sacred Valley of Peru, where she offers integration sessions online and writes about ayahuasca and integration.”

For more info about Kerry, visit her website: https://ayahuascawisdom.com

Check out the blog: https://ayahuascawisdom.com/blog

More on the 10-week Integrating Ayahuasca Online Program: https://integrate.ayahuascawisdom.com/p/integrating-ayahuasca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ayahuascawisdom

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/

This episode of the show is also sponsored by Xstatic Dance - online every Saturday at 10am Vancouver, 1pm New York, 6pm London, and 7pm Central Europe time. Join the Dance for free and make a donation after. Visit Instagram @xstaticdanceonline & Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/xstaticdanceonline. Music: Soundcloud.com/Xstaticdanceonline & mixcloud.com/xstaticdanceonline

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 on May 1-29 and September 1-29. 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. 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

Ep. 47 - Publio Valle - Yoga, Buddhism, Sacred Plant Medicines & Life

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Audio version:

Hey everybody! Episode 47 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Publio Valle. Publio and I met while working together at the Amazonian plant medicine center, The Temple of the Way of Light. Publio has taught yoga, meditation, and self-inquiry there, facilitated ceremonies, and also managed the center. Publio has a varied background of practices including yoga, meditation, Buddhism, and plant medicine work. He is a gentle and beautiful man and has a beautiful ability to convey many topics into easily digestible words. It was a pleasure for me to be able to sit down with him and hear him share his many years of varied knowledge. I hope and imagine you all will get 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

Apple  :  bit.ly/AppleUW

Spotify:  bit.ly/SpotUW

Google:  bit.ly/GooglUW

Amazon: bit.ly/AmazonUW

"My journey began in São Simão, a small town in the Brazilian countryside. My father, a healer from a traditional Brazilian lineage of curanderos,  was my first teacher. I grew up watching him find very concrete ways to serve -- by feeding people, by building a school to offer the most disadvantaged children in our region access to quality education. He also continues to help people on an energetic level, providing healing for emotional wounds, family problems as well as physical ailments.

I earned a degree in International Relations at the University of Brasilia, a city where I first experienced transpersonal psychology - mainly through a body of work known as Core Energetics. During my university years, I came into contact with the ancient wisdom of South American indigenous people. Traveling through Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia, I became fascinated by the beauty of this land and by the chants of its people. I traveled to the city of Pucallpa in the Peruvian Amazon for an experience with ayahuasca with Shipibo healers. It changed my life forever.

After university and South America I left for India. In Bodh Gaya, the village where Lord Buddha sat under the famous Bodhi tree and became enlightened, I received deep learning as a volunteer and then coordinator of the Alice Project, a school teaching and researching meditation techniques with children from some of India’s poorest villages.

In Asia I also discovered Insight Meditation, and trained in Vipassana meditation in India, Indonesia, Thailand and at the Pa Auk Monastery in Burma. In South India, I studied at Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, a yoga university where, in 2013, I earned a post-graduate degree in Yoga Therapy. During this time, I was able to realize yoga’s scientific aspects while working at a yoga hospital, a place that used ancient Indian techniques to help people to deal with different ailments such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, migraines and cancer.

 Back in Brazil I worked as coordinator of the “Living in Group” program at the University of Light, one of the most mature communities in Brazil, deeply inspired by Findhorn, in Scotland. 

Today, I spend much of my time working in my home town and surrounding areas with a range of different experiential therapies including yoga, breathwork, acupuncture, chanting, dharma talks – and of course meditation. Twice a year, for two months, I take over as Director of the Temple of the Way of Light in Peru, a very unique place in the Amazon jungle, where I’ve spent extended periods over the past few years as a facilitator and yoga and meditation teacher.

Observing my father as I was growing up, and seeing how healthy he was as a result of this work, I learned a deep insight. A key part of my work and process is not just to locate and support the healing of the emotional wounds that can act as blocks to our healthy mental and physical well-being. Through the process of going deeper, below the limits of the conscious mind, we can also locate the precious gems which exist in each one of us: those unique gifts that are waiting to be discovered – and amplified – in service to something bigger than ourselves.”

To learn more about Publio or to contact him, visit: https://www.publiovalle.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/

This episode of the show is also sponsored by Xstatic Dance - online every Saturday at 10am Vancouver, 1pm New York, 6pm London, and 7pm Central Europe time. Join the Dance for free and make a donation after. Visit Instagram @xstaticdanceonline & Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/xstaticdanceonline. Music: Soundcloud.com/Xstaticdanceonline & mixcloud.com/xstaticdanceonline

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 on May 1-29 and September 1-29. 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. 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