94: Hunt Priest & Jessica Felix Romero – Ligare: Psychedelic Christians

Interview begins @ 6:02 In this episode of The Sacred Speak podcast, we explore the potential of the Christian church as a sanctuary for psychedelic healing. Our guests, Hunt and Jessica, seek to reconnect the worlds of psychedelics and organized religion, addressing the misinformation that has driven them apart for the past 50 years. They assert that the church must prioritize healing and work to rectify the damage caused by this disconnect. Throughout our discussion, we delve into the concept of the church as a nurturing environment for fostering profound experiences, self-love, and personal growth through the exploration of one's relationship with their body and the importance of firsthand experiences. We also lay the groundwork for defining a "psychedelic Christian" and how this integration could lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how a divine encounter can be paired with the Christian faith. Recurring themes in this conversation include social justice within the psychedelic movement, the democratization of psychedelics, the significance of mystical experiences, embracing one's true self within small community groups, the power of honesty and truth in community settings, the church's role in healing, and the experiences of people of color within psychedelic communities. Join us as we examine this thought-provoking and transformative topic. Bio: Hunt Priest is a priest in The Episcopal Church and the founding Executive Director of Ligare: A Christian Psychedelic Society, a non-profit network of Christian leaders educating themselves and those they lead about the intersection of open-hearted Christianity and the Psychedelic renaissance. A participant in a psilocybin study in early 2016, he had two life-changing mystical experiences under the care of a research team. His encounters with psilocybin opened him to the healing and consciousness-raising power of psychedelic medicines and changed the landscape of his work. Hunt believes the healing power of psychedelics should be in the toolkits of all who are healers of bodies, minds, and souls and can’t wait to be part of providing access for legal, safe, and guided experiences in a Christian setting. In April 2021 Hunt took an extended break from full-time parish ministry to expand his priesthood out into the emerging psychedelic landscape. Jessica Felix Romero has over 16 years of experience in social justice advocacy, organizing, and communications. With a doctorate in conflict analysis and resolution, she integrates holistic system analysis and transformative design to help nonprofits advance social change. She is Vice President & Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at Sojourners, a faith-inspired nonprofit that works with Christians to put their faith into action in the passionate pursuit of social justice, peace, and environmental stewardship. Jessica loves all things about food and spirituality — her pioneering doctoral research in El Salvador documents the transformational possibilities of conflict-resolution oriented food systems that feed people and nurture peace. She is a student of somatic writing and practitioner of embodied leadership. Her current work explores the intersections of spirituality, ancestral wisdom, psychedelics, and Christianity. www.ligare.org www.sojo.net Website for The Sacred Speaks: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ @thesacredspeaks Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: https://www.thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com