Life is a Festival

Can we still live life like a festival when there are no festivals for the foreseeable future? When there are no gatherings at all? With a global pandemic, a faltering economy, and profound uncertainty moving through the world, can life still be looked at through the lens of open hearted celebration? Life is a Festival is guided by the belief that we can kinder, more open, and more expressed by taking the lessons and collective effervescence we experience at festivals and bringing them into our daily lives. Today’s episode is a repost of an interview I did on Nils von Heijne’s podcast World of Wisdom. We speak about how festivals are to social interaction as psychedelics are to the mind. We explore life as a festival, as a garden, as a movie, and as a song. We ask “What if the virus is the medicine?” and “What if Donald Trump is a teacher?” With acknowledgment of our profound privilege and deep respect for those suffering around the world, we ask, how can we use this time to grow? I believe that keeping the fire of celebration burning inside is part of our resiliency. While I am personally learning to be humbler, to be softer, and to be more oriented towards serving the most vulnerable, my heart is still full of joy. Image: Marco Cochrane's R-Evolution from Burning Man 2015 shot by Galen Oakes LINKS World of Wisdom Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/58LnE3qSDSjOOu9DodDNws What if the Virus is the Medicine? by Jonathan Hadas Edwards & Julia Hartsell: https://www.heartwardsanctuary.org/post/what-if-the-virus-is-the-medicine My Calendar: https://calendly.com/eamonarmstrong TIMESTAMPS :09 Is Life a Festival Right Now? :12 A Festival is Like a Psychedelic :17 How do we grow from gatherings if we can’t meet right now? :20 How do you make your life a festival :25 How do you create a garden of your life when you see nothing but concrete. :32 Holding Space, Zendo & Gender :37 What if the virus is the medicine? :46 Donald Trump is a Teacher :48 Life’s Like a Movie, Write Your Own Ending :53 Life is a Song & and Depression is a Teacher :56 We are the Earth

This episode goes out to all the healthcare workers in the fight against coronavirus. If you are an EMT, a doctor, nurse, or hospital janitor… bless you! Richard “Wolverine" Gottlieb is the king of festival medicine. His company RGX Medical manages 30-40 festivals per year including favorites like Lightning in a Bottle, Envision, and Desert Hearts. RGX emphasizes a harm reduction approach and works closely with the Zendo Project psychedelic peer support to provide nonjudgmental, compassionate care for all festival attendees. Given the current state of the world and the enormous burden on our healthcare system, I wanted to talk to Wolverine about what we civilians can do to support in the current crisis. At this point we’re all staying home, social distancing, and washing our hands… you’re all doing that right? Well, what else can we do? Wolverine and I discuss how to avoid injuring yourself and what to do if you get hurt. We talk about managing mental health and how to hold space for others. We discuss donating personal protective gear (ie those extra N95 masks you bought but never used at Burning Man this year), which you can do that through Burners Without Borders. Finally, Wolverine talks about the unique value of festival medicine in our current crisis as he prepares to join the fight. Do you have a medical professional in your life? Call them and thank them. Stay safe and stay home my friends! LINKS RGX Medical: http://www.rgxmedical.com/ Zendo Project: https://zendoproject.org/ Dancesafe: https://dancesafe.org/ BWB PPE Mobilization: https://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/projects/covid-bds National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ Tim Ferriss Podcast “How to Support Healthcare Workers Now”: https://tim.blog/2020/03/21/how-to-support-healthcare-workers-now/ TIMESTAMP :07 - Checking in about the coronavirus crisis and how we can avoid hurting ourselves with an overburdened healthcare system :16 - How Wolverine got involved in festival medical from volunteering to running RGX Medical :22 - The non judgemental, harm reduction approach to festival medicine :25 - The state of festival culture and how Wolverine is helping connect people who want to work in medicine :30 - How can we support medical professionals right now, including donating personal protective gear and taking care of yourself :38 - Tips for how to take care of your own mental health. :52 - How is festival medicine specifically useful now.

With self-isolation and shelter in place proliferating the globe, here’s some good medicine from a yogi who spent 5 weeks in lockdown in a small apartment in China. Nino Mendes is a rockstar yoga teacher who speaks seven languages and has taught massive classes with over a thousand students Beijing, Shanghai, and across China. At the time of this recording, on March 10th, Nino had just emerged from five weeks in lockdown in a small apartment in Chengdu. Before I understood that the corona virus outbreak would become a full-blown pandemic, toppling markets and leading to a global campaign of social distancing, I was impressed by Nino’s public displays of optimism and spiritual maturity. “Locked up...no worries ...making the best out of my time in china...🤙🏿...you create your reality!!! Peace and love world.” Time moves fast in a pandemic! I am publishing this podcast on March 17th and the Bay Area, where I live, just officially ordered a mandatory “shelter in place.” It looks like we’re all going to be spending time slowing down. 
On the show we talk about going inward, reading stoic philosophers, and returning to your breath in times of intense challenge. Nino shares how he got more improvisational after yoga studios closed and rediscovered the feeling of aliveness that comes with the hustle. We talk about the specific case of lockdown in China and what that can teach us about our own experiences. What if the virus is the medicine? A beautiful essay by Jonathan Hadas Edwards & Julia Hartsell suggests that this bitter medicine with all of its pain and unfairness to those living at the margins of society may ultimately lead to healing and transformation of the global body. Medicines like ayahuasca often lead us through purgative, liminal spaces that force us to surrender before revealing that we are lighter without all that we’ve been holding on to. This lesson is echoed in Nino’s humble, playful optimism: let go, go inward, improvise, serve others, build community, and slow down. LINKS Nino Yoga: https://www.instagram.com/ninoyogaspirit/ Heartward Sanctuary - What if the Virus is the Medicine?: https://www.heartwardsanctuary.org/post/what-if-the-virus-is-the-medicine TIMELINE :09 - Rockstar Nino teachers a class for 1700 people in Beijing. :12 - If you've got a six, two black dude full of tattoos, looking like fricking Dennis Rodman teaching yoga.. that’s something different :15 - A lot of people in China get into yoga for the fitness aspect, Nino wants to help them awaken. :17 - Nino’s experience when the coronavirus first hit China. :26 - Sudden quarantine and Nino’s experience with social distancing :32 - Stoic philosophers and self-discipline :36 - As long as there is breath, there’s hope :40 - Surrender to the experience, get improvisational, and come alive :44 - What are things in China like now and how does Nino support himself? :50 - How do you support your neighbors? 1:00 - If you had to be quarantined again what would you do differently?

What I can personally offer to support you, my dear listener, during this period of global turbulence and necessary self-isolation? Only what has been helpful to me. When you work from home, as I do, it’s important to segment your day and create ritual space for nourishing practices. Otherwise the week can feel like one long unproductive day of scrolling and task switching. Since we’re all going to be spending a lot of time at home in the coming weeks, I want to share a sacred morning ritual that I have been cultivating like a garden over the last five years. A morning ritual tailored to your personal needs is a wonderful way to pack in all the incremental changes you’d like to see over time, whether that’s in physical health, mental wellness, creativity or new hobbies. Today on the show I talk about my morning ritual and how I slowly developed it over time. This bonus episode of Life is a Festival is my first solo-cast and I hope it helps to bring balance and ease during a difficult time. Links Life is a Festival Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lifeisafestival Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier - Harvard Health: https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier Jeremy Falk’s 7 Minute Energizer: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9m8hh5nFNq/ University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address - Admiral William H. McRaven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70 Tara Brach’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tara-brach/id265264862 Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713 The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252 Timetamps 6:40 - Wake up and inhabit the body 12:10 - Morning Movement 12:48 - Shower and make the bed 15:18 - Meditation 21:49 - Prayer 23:24 - Playing guitar 27:30 - Reading 31:45 - Journaling 35:41 - Let the world rush in

Why do our hearts long for renown and how might we meet that longing in a way that actually fertilizes a garden of rich, creative pursuits? Lately I’ve been re-examining a lingering desire for fame. I experience it in flavors of lack, or envy, or regret as if I somehow missed out on the grand adventure of celebrity. Do you sometimes feel the same? No matter my personal growth, there’s a small of me that still believes I might be happier if the whole world knew my name. This week on the podcast I pose this question to the eloquent rockstar Alex Ebert, frontman of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. What follows is a passionate love letter to earnestness. On the show, we discuss social anxiety and how the stage is the only place where Alex feels completely authentic. We talk about unmuting kink and how sex is a portal to permissiveness. We rage against the gatekeepers of cool and wax on the importance of being earnest. Finally, fame may seem to be a way to transcend death, but if every life is an epic, we are all already famous. In addition to his work with the Magnetic Zeros, Alex is the former frontman of the band Ima Robot. He also has a successful solo career including one of my favorite songs, Truth, which appears on this podcast. He won a Golden Globe for his film score for All Is Lost. He is also a political activist and a technologist, and his latest album I vs I, features the song Stronger with a splendidly avant-garde performance on The Colbert Show. LINKS Alex Ebert: https://www.5amedude.com/ Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: https://www.edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.com/ Ima Robot: http://imarobot.com/anothermanstreasure/ Tuners.io Alex Ebert: "Stronger" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQQKvEaq1kI The Avalon Village in Detroit: http://theavalonvillage.org/ Finite and Infinite Games: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713 King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064 TIMELINE :01 There’s something legitimate about the desire to be famous :08 Does Alex feel social anxiety recording with me :14 Why the stage is paradoxically the only place we can escape social anxiety :17 The world of sex is a portal to our permissionful selves in a way that almost nothing else is :24 The possible unmuting of kink :34 The Gatekeepers of Cool and the Importance of being earnest :45 Social anxiety boils down to a fear of death from being exiled from tribal belonging :51 Fame is a way to transcend death :56 Every life is an epic 1:00 Suicidal thoughts and the nimble dance on the edge of depression 1:07 Life is a game of courage, go fearward my friend 1:11 What would a home run look like? 1:19 YES MY DESTRUCTION! How do we allow death to turn life into poetry 1:26 We’re all already famous

Remember a few years ago when LSD brain imaging went viral on social media? Those images were taken at Imperial College London in an fMRI study conducted with the Beckley/Imperial Research Programme. Today on Life is a Festival, I’m speaking to psychedelic royalty… literally. Who better to discuss the magical molecule lysergic acid diethylamide, than the Countess of Wemyss and March, and the founder of the Beckley Foundation, Amanda Feilding? I ask the sphinx of psychedelia all my favorite acid questions, like whether medicalization is the best path to legalization and how to avoid unnecessary emotional downturns (sugar it turns out). We dive deep into her research, the nature of the ego, and the jealousy between different psychedelic compounds. Amanda has toiled tirelessly in drug policy reform and now in her late seventies, she isn’t stopping. So tune in and drop in with the Acid Countess and learn all about a life of psychedelic research. Links The Beckley Foundation: https://beckleyfoundation.org/ Amanda Feilding: https://beckleyfoundation.org/amanda-feilding/ LSD brain scans at Imperial College London: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/171699/the-brain-lsd-revealed-first-scans/ How you can support: https://beckleyfoundation.org/get-involved/ Timestamps :09 - The great loss and the great win in discussing psychedelics :12 - Will the medicalization of psychedelics defang the dark fruits of its subversive nature? :21 - Amanda’s ideas about the ego and how LSD can both dissolve and aggrandize :26 - Amanda’s theories about blood sugar and how time-released vitamin C allows you to maintain coherency through the psychedelic experience. :40 - How Amanda started experimenting with fMRI scans to understand the effect of acid in the brain :47 - Amanda and I look at fMRI scans of individuals under the influence of LSD and talk about how the default mode network, ie the ego, is like the government of the brain :53 - Amanda’s experience with ayahuasca and how there’s a certain jealousy between the goddesses of the different compounds. :57 - Trapanation, the shamanic drilling a hole in the head 1:12 - Where the Beckley foundation is going now in terms of research? 1:17 - What about the hippies from the 60s who were burnt out? 1:22 - What research is Amanda most excited about now? 1:28 - Issues with the medicalization of psychedelics

Whatcha know about vasogenic shock? Can you treat an open pneumothorax? Better learn your ABCs if you want to save a life! If you’ve been following this show for a while you may recall in episode 33 when Jamie Wheal challenged me to do a Wilderness First Responder training. Well, friends and countrymen, I DID THE THING! I scooted over to the Hygiene, Colorado fire station and spent 10 days learning wilderness medicine and splinting broken femurs. Today on the show I’m speaking to one of my instructors from that course, Mr Ryland Gardner. We talk about leadership, transformational experiences, and how to metabolize trauma. I share about my emotional experience during the mock night rescue and we offer a very brief crash course in Wilderness First Aid. Ryland has been teaching Wilderness Medicine since 2005. He has also taught environmental studies at Prescott College. He’s a volunteer firefighter with the Lyons fire department and when he’s not teaching or patching folks up he can be found surfing in Mexico and operating a bed and breakfast with his wife Shari. Life can still be a festival when it all goes wrong, but only if we develop our resiliency and practice the skills necessary to keep everyone safe. LINKS Ryland Gardner: https://www.nols.edu/en/employee_directory/profile/ryland-gardner/ NOLS Wilderness First Responder Program: https://www.nols.edu/en/coursefinder/courses/wilderness-first-responder-WFR/ Paragon Guides: https://paragonguides.com/

It’s Mardi Gras season, oh Carnival Kings and Queens! Today’s guest arrived in New Orleans as Karina Nathan and shortly thereafter Hurricane Katrina blew through. With no krewe for women under 30, she started her own, the Bearded Oysters of which she remains the Mother Shucker. She has many names but is known most widely by the hurricane’s namesake: Katrina. Today on the show we go deep into the history of Mardi Gras with fabulous parades and exclusive balls, prideful showings and pubic wigs. Katrina shares why Mardi Gras beads are the hotdogs of the plastic world and how they clogged the sewers of New Orleans. Much like a life, there is a tender section where we discuss Katrina’s work advocating against gun violence, microdosing for mental health, and throwing a lemonade party when life gave her its sourest lemon. Katrina Brees is the parade leader of the Bearded Oysters and the Krewe of Kolossos. She is the designer of the Mardi Bra and Fantastic Caskets as well as the founder of I Heart Louisiana for greening Mardi Gras. Finally, she is the proud author of the “no guns” self-registry called Donna's Law. This episode is permeated with death and celebration, so listen in to learn about jazz funerals and why washing a dead body is like doing acid with God. LINKS Katrina Brees: https://www.facebook.com/KatrinaBreesArtist/ The Bearded Oysters: https://www.beardedoysters.org/ Krewe of Kolossos: https://kolossos.org/ I Heart Louisiana: https://twitter.com/greenthegras?lang=en Fantastic Caskets: https://fantasticcasket.com/ The Upful LIFE Podcast with Katrina Brees: http://www.upfullife.com/the-upful-life-podcast-005-katrina-brees-j-a-talks-kasvot-vaxt/

Do you know what to do if a friend or a stranger is having a difficult psychedelic experience? Sometimes called a “bad trip,” these challenging journeys can actually be catalysts for healing and personal transformation. The key is to keep them safe and trust their inner healer. Sounds simple right? In fact, it’s a profound art, which requires specialized training and can be incredibly personally rewarding. In this episode, I speak with Zendo Project Director Sara Gael. The Zendo Project is a part of MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) that creates a safe space within festivals and similar gatherings for people having difficult psychedelic experiences. “Trip sitting,” as it is sometimes called, is a specific kind of peer support that follows four key principles: 1. Create a Safe Space 2. Sitting, Not Guiding 3. Talk Through, Not Down 4. Difficult is Not the Same as Bad On the show, we talk through each principle in detail. We also discuss the differences between trip sitting and psychedelic therapy, the state of the psychedelic renaissance, and how to create a community around compassionate care. Sara has been working with MAPS to coordinate psychedelic harm reduction since 2012. She also supports the MAPS clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder, and spent two years working as a Ketamine-assisted psychotherapist at the Boulder Integrative Psychiatric Healing Center. Sara maintains a private practice as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma, integration, and non-ordinary states of consciousness. You can be a safe container for someone having a difficult psychedelic experience, you just need to learn how to make yourself empty. LINKS Sara Gael, Soul-Centered Counseling: http://www.re-membering.com/ The Zendo Project: https://zendoproject.org/ Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS): https://maps.org/ The Manual of Psychedelic Support: https://psychsitter.com/ Other Psychedelic Peer Support The Sanctuary at Shambhala Festival: https://shambhalamusicfestival.com/info/ Kosmicare at Boom Festival: https://www.boomfestival.org/boom2020/guide/kosmicare/ Ranger’s Green Dot Program at Burning Man: https://rangers.burningman.org/ranger-teams/ Full Circle Tea House: https://www.facebook.com/FullCircleTeaHouse/ Harmonia Sanctuary in Asheville: https://www.harmoniasanctuary.org/ Rock Medicine (White Bird Clinic): https://whitebirdclinic.org/rockmed Tatva Center in Goa: https://www.tatvacenter.com/ The Nest at Rainbow Serpent Festival: https://rainbowserpent.net/community-responsibility/the-nest/ I Did “Psychedelic First Aid” at a Festival in Costa Rica: https://medium.com/@eamonarmstrong/i-did-psychedelic-first-aid-at-a-festival-in-costa-rica-edf0d96eaeeb

Burners Without Borders (BWB) is a community organization within the Burning Man Project that works in disaster relief and civic works projects in communities around the world. From building composting toilets at Standing Rock, to permaculture action at Hoover Elementary in West Oakland, to building a Youth Center in the Calais refugee camp, BWB is Burning Man at its finest. Christopher Breedlove is the Director of Civic Activation at the Burning Man Project where he oversees the Burners Without Borders, Regional Network, and Civic Arts programs. Hailing from Chicago, he is an also an artist, educator, and an inspiring public speaker. On the show we talk about Hurricane Katrina and the origin of BWB. We get into the technicalities of how a theme camp became an NGO. We talk about Standing Rock, Calais, and Uhuru Land, a refugee camp in Uganda. We discuss the Burning Man Sustainability Road Map for 2030 and an initiative to create an asset map for Burning Man infrastructure around the world. The through line of this conversation is the value of service: how to get involved, how to support each other, and how not to burn out. Above all, how can we weave service into our lives for the betterment of our communities, our friends, and our own mental health? Today’s episode is dedicated in loving memory to Affinity Mingle. Affinity, was a beloved member of the Burning Man community, a dear friend, and a huge supporter of this podcast. It is fitting that an episode about service would be dedicated to Affinity, as she was so committed to volunteerism that Burning Man’s first award for volunteers was named after her and awarded to her at the Artumnal Gathering in 2012. Thank for for your wonderful big heart, mentorship and inspiration Affinity. We all miss you deeply. LINKS Christopher Breedlove: http://www.mrbreedlove.com Burners Without Borders: https://www.burnerswithoutborders.org GET INVOLVED: bwb@burningman.org Volunteer for BWB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/volunteersBWB/ BWB Newsletter: http://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/joinus BWB Eco-Sprints: https://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/BWB-EcoSprint-OnePagers-v01-11072019.pdf BWB Spring Summit 2020: https://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/projects/bwb-spring-summit-2020 BWB Resource Partners: https://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/resource-partners BWB Feast: https://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/projects/borderfeast Burning man Theme Camps in the World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H13n8vZeHU8 From Burning Man to Standing Rock: https://realitysandwich.com/321039/from-burning-man-to-standing-rock/ The Jungle: A Refugee Camp Served by the Burners of Calais: https://journal.burningman.org/2016/03/global-network/burners-without-borders/the-jungle-a-refugee-camp-served-by-the-burners-of-calais/ Burning Man Sustainability Road Map: https://medium.com/@burningman/burning-man-project-2030-environmental-sustainability-roadmap-c79657e18146 LAGI 2020 Challenge: https://lagi2020flyranch.org Chiditarod: https://www.chiditarod.org Burning Man Chicago: http://www.burningmanchicago.org Katrina Documentary: https://vimeo.com/8057642 Communitere: https://communitere.org Give Love: https://givelove.org Human Centered Design: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-centered_design Permaculture Action Network: https://www.permacultureaction.org Shrine (artist): http://www.shrinetheworld.com Uhuru Land: https://www.habitas-rise.org/project/uhuru-land Opportunigee: https://www.facebook.com/opportunigee/ Global Coralition: https://www.globalcoralition.org Footprint Project: https://www.footprintproject.org Sail Relief: https://sailrelief.team Ecosystem Restorations Camps: https://ecosystemrestorationcamps.org