#768: What Happens When Israelis and Palestinians Drink Ayahuasca Together?

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Sep 17, 2024

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Shaina Shealy, a producer focused on psychedelics, joins peace activist Sami Awad and neuroscience researcher Lior Roseman to explore a unique approach to healing between Israelis and Palestinians through ayahuasca ceremonies. They discuss how these experiences foster empathy and confront collective trauma amidst ongoing conflict. The trio delves into the transformative power of shared rituals, highlighting personal healing journeys and the hope for understanding in a region marked by violence. Their conversations reveal the profound complexity of coexistence and the potential for peace.

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ANECDOTE

Sami's First Activism

At 12 years old, Sami Awad planted trees on disputed land with his uncle and Israeli and Palestinian activists.
Despite soldiers uprooting the trees, this experience ignited Sami's lifelong commitment to peace activism.

INSIGHT

Oslo Accords Aftermath

The Oslo Accords, initially promising peace, ultimately fueled further conflict and disillusionment.
Despite significant funding and NGO involvement, violence escalated, highlighting the need for deeper healing.

ANECDOTE

Auschwitz Visit

Sami's visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau exposed him to contrasting narratives surrounding trauma.
He observed Israeli teachers emphasizing Jewish victimhood, fostering distrust, and prioritizing security over peace.

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Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. For this episode, I’m doing something different. I’m featuring a very special episode from a brand-new podcast called Altered States.

Here’s the teaser for the episode you’re about to hear: “For the last couple of years, producer Shaina Shealy has been following Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who have been coming together to drink the psychedelic brew ayahuasca in an effort to heal their collective intergenerational trauma. It seemed to be helping them when suddenly the region erupts into chaos and violence.”

Shaina Shealy was a fellow from the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship, which offers ten $10,000 reporting grants per year to journalists reporting in-depth print and audio stories on the science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics. The fellowship is supported by my foundation, the Saisei Foundation, and made possible in collaboration with Michael Pollan, Malia Wollan, and others at UC Berkeley.

Altered States looks at how people are taking psychedelics, who has access to them, how they're regulated, who stands to profit, and what these substances might offer us as individuals and as a society.

[00:00] An intro to the Altered States podcast and its mission.

[00:02:24] Shaina Shealy explains what ayahuasca is and how it affects the human brain.

[00:03:47] Palestinian Sami Awad’s peace activism and ayahuasca journey.

[00:17:18] Dr. Rachel Yehuda and the science of intergenerational trauma.

[00:19:27] How the Israeli-Palestinian ayahuasca experiment came about.

[00:25:47] Participants share their experiences.

[00:38:35] How the violent events of October 7th affected the participants and the project.

[00:45:52] Reflections on the experiment’s effectiveness and participants’ continued commitment to peace.

[00:50:29] Closing credits.

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