In this episode, Joe interviews Mareesa Stertz: lead of strategy/communications at the Global Psychedelic Society, co-founder of Lucid News, and filmmaker, currently finalizing her second feature film, “Confessions of a Psychonaut.”

She discusses her path to wanting to create the film: how she always felt like something was wrong with her but didn’t know exactly how to start her healing path, how seven ayahuasca trips didn’t give her the breakthrough experience she wanted, and how she realized over time that she didn’t have a hidden moment of trauma to overcome, but rather, lots of “little t” trauma – something that a lot of us have, without necessarily knowing it. She saw the true power of people sharing their stories of becoming healthier, and has found that aligning our stories to the classic framework of the Hero’s Journey and Carl Jung’s concept of individuation is the perfect formula for self-awareness, growth, and finding more meaning in life.

She talks about:

• How the Hero’s Journey makes sense of the abyss, and how the abyss helps us to see how much we’ve been programmed
• Her formula for a good story: who you were before the event, the event, and how it changed you
• Her Sphinx project, where she aims to bring giant sphinxes (from “The NeverEnding Story”) to Burning Man, as a way for people to determine if they are “worthy”
• Her “Talk Box” art installation, which involves strangers meeting in a confession booth to engage in meaningful conversations based on a wheel of questions
• The power of group coherence and how much stronger a healing container can become over time

and more! 

Stertz is offering a course on finding where the Hero’s Journey is in each of our lives: “Emerge: A Journey of Self-Authorship” begins on October 29. Click here for more info.

For links, head to the show notes page.