Adventures Through The Mind

Many people struggle with addiction their whole lives. Their story one of (hu)man vs. addiction, their story often ending with addiction the victor. But what if that is not the way the story needs to be written? What if there is a way out that helps us suffering to reach into the root of our pain and find our love for life again? The guests for this episode of the podcast, Elizabeth Bast and Chor Boogie, believe true freedom from addiction is possible with an ancient African root bark called Iboga. They believe this not only because of the growing scientific research and the countless anecdotes about iboga's potential available on the internet but because it is also their lived experience. Elizebeth and Chor join us on the show to talk about heroin addiction, how it impacted their intimate relationship, the redemption they found in Iboga, and what iboga taught them about what it takes to heal the pain at the root of addiction in oneself and the hearts of those we love. ***** See Full Show Notes and all related links: http://bit.ly/ATTMind60 Connect with me for a Skype call: http://www.jameswjesso.com/contact/je... Buy HEART MEDICINE: a true love story by Elizabeth Bast: http://www.ebast.net/heart-medicine.html   ***** Support The Show. If you are enjoying this content and want to reciprocate the value you are receiving from it, I kindly invite you to become my patron on Patreon, or drop me a PayPal donation. Thank you ❤ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso ❤ PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/JWJesso   *** Episode Breakdown The problematic language around addiction. A portrait of an addiction-impacted romantic relationship. A journey into heroin addiction. Heroin's impact on the trust, honesty, and intimacy in their relationship. How Iboga found its way in. What iboga taught them about what it means to be in a sacred partnership. Iboga's potential role in the ongoing opioid crisis. A poignant and pointed discussion on what it takes to heal addiction. The traditional origins of the Bwiti and the mythic origins of Iboga. The challenges iboga and iboga culture will face with its growth in a global marketplace and colonialism in general. The cultural impact of connecting with iboga for the African diaspora in North America.

There are some commonalities sewn into the foundation of the human experience: we are all subject changes we'd rather not be subject to, we all have the capacity to love and to hate, we all suffer and we all desire freedom from suffering, we are all born and we will all die and furthermore so will everyone we know and care for. Today's guest is a man with a propensity to contemplate big questions around dying and a long history of being on the front lines of what he calls "the death trade". Welcome, Stephen Jenkinson to Adventures Through The Mind. *** Check out the full show notes to this episode and links to Stephen's books at http://bit.ly/ATTMind59 Support The Show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso Leave a One-Time PayPal donation: https://www.paypal.me/JWJesso *** Episode Breakdown A society gone wrong. A case for wisdom. What it means to die well. Designer dying, euthanasia, and choosing not to die at all. What your dying means beyond you. Our greatest fears around dying. Looking back to move forward. Grief is not to be mastered. The nature of mystery, and things mysterious, and the end of good luck. Choosing to die hope-free.

James Kent has been studying psychedelics for over twenty-five years. He was the editor of Psychedelic Illuminations Magazine, publisher of Trip Magazine, and founder of DoseNation.com. His book, Psychedelic Information Theory, is an examination of the physical processes behind psychedelic hallucination. His latest project is the final ten episodes of the DoseNation podcast, where he explores the darker side of psychedelics and the psychedelic community. His 'Final Ten Episodes Of DoseNation' is an unapologetic and unbarred exploration of his questions criticisms, and exposures of the psychedelic culture from his 25 years of immersion and his first-hand experiences of psychosis, psychotic episodes, and even ketamine addiction. I am happy to have him on the show to explore some of the themes of psychosis, psychotic episodes and delusional mania in the psychedelic community. This is not only because I consider them essential for the ongoing psychedelic discourse but because they have been personally impactful and helpful for myself.   *** Support Us On Patreon! Http://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso Leave A One-Time PayPal Donation: https://www.paypal.me/JWJesso   *** Check out 'The Final Ten Episodes Of DoseNation': http://www.dosenation.com/ Head to http://www.bit.ly/ATTMind58 for all other related links and my blog entry on the theme of this episode.   *** Episode Breakdown: Where these ideas came from and why, despite years of keeping them private, he has chosen to go public with them. The psychological implications of speaking out on unpopular ideas and perspectives. How do you know if you have a "fragile psyche"? Psychedelics, psychosis, psychotic episodes, and mania. The European intellectuals and the purpose of psychedelics Shamanism and delusional megalomania. Ayahuasca: a ritualistic poisoning? Similarities between ayahuasca dieta and cultural indoctrination or military brainwashing techniques. Heart Of Darkness (ayahuasca edition) Social displacement from psychedelic experiences. The challenges of living in western culture post-transpersonal awakening.  Trying to change the world.  Loneliness in the psychedelic community.   *** Follow and subscribe! Twitter: https://twitter.com/jameswjesso Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jameswjesso Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameswjesso/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdventuresThroughTheMind?sub_confirmation=1   *** Support Us On Patreon! Http://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso Leave A One-Time PayPal Donation: https://www.paypal.me/JWJesso

Back in the summer of 2017, I was invited to go to Mexico by author and Toad (5-MeO-DMT) facilitator Dr. Gerry Sandoval. He wanted me to come with him to Oaxaca, Mexico up to eat the wild psilocybin mushrooms that grow there. It was already an amazing offer and it hit a new level when he told me both Julian Palmer and Kilindi Iyi would be there as well. For this episode, I release to you the recording of Julian, Kilindi, Gerry, and I talking about our mushroom experiences the day after the ceremony. I knew this was going to be an opportunity of a lifetime, not only for myself but for you as well! There was a unique dynamic between us that morning and I knew I wanted to catch it for you. Enjoy. Hear more about my trip and see some exclusive photos at bit.ly/ATTMind57   Episode Breakdown Introductions What is the "landslide mushroom"? The modern history of mushrooms in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Each of our specific experiences with the landslides the night before. Exploring the differences between different strains of mushrooms. Ayahuasca vs. Mushrooms; the vast potential of psilocybin. Communicating with plants. Entities, plant spirits, or manifestations of personal mind? Reality: oneness or multiplicity? Making sense of the psychedelic experience; the role psychedelics have played in each of our journeys.  The ecological instability and threat encroaching these mushrooms. The different strains we have tried and which are our favorites. Advice for dosing mushrooms at that high, entheogenic level.   Did you hear about my big news and all that goes with it? Please help me in this journey by becoming my patron on Patreon http://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso

Christopher Timmermann is the cognitive neuroscientist leading a project at Imperial College London focusing on the effects of DMT in the brain and human consciousness. He is interested in the use of methods bridging the relationship between the phenomenology evoked by the psychedelic experience and changes in brain activity using diverse neuroimaging tools. We have him on the show to ask him some nerdy questions about his research on DMT, psychedelic research in general, and the relationship between neural activity and Altered Consciousness. Please Support The Show One-time PayPal Donation: https://www.paypal.me/JWJesso Become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso   Episode Breakdown What is DMT and why Chris is researching it. The most common and baffling reports on the DMT experience. The value of psychedelic research for understanding consciousness and the brain The research that has been done on DMT in the brain. What do we know already and what's next? The relationship between psychedelics and the 'default mode network' and its impact on our sense of self. Using light/sound frequencies and brain entrainment to produce DMT experiences. Does DMT have an inherent positive effect on the brain? Could it become a clinical medicine? All about that machine that provides a continuous DMT infusion, keeping a person under for 20mins or more. Is there DMT naturally occurring in our bodies and, if so, what is its role? The neural relationship between brain function, psychedelics, death and consciousness in general. Psychedelic therapy is coming; what impact people regularly experience DMT or psilocybin have on society? See Full Show Notes: http://bit.ly/ATTMind56

Julian Vayne is an occultist and the author of numerous books, essays, journals, and articles in both the academic and esoteric press. While his name is closely associated with chaos magic Julian is also an initiated Wiccan, member of the Kaula Nath lineage and Master Mason. We talk magical traditions, self-transformation with psychedelic, religious history, and the nuances around cultural appropriation in the neo-shamanic and nonaboriginal cultures of the modern world. We also talk about different activities or games we can play while tripping to endow a greater sense of meaning in not only our psychedelic adventures but in our daily lives as well. Full Show Notes at bit.ly/ATTMind55 Become My Patron On Patreon SUPPORT ONE-TIME (PayPal)   Episode Breakdown Disambiguating "magic", "self-transformation", and "spirituality". The legitimacy of the recreational use of psychedelics. The root of, and dissociation from, ectasis in religious history. The herding of the mind. Neoshamanism and cultural appropriation. The principle of ceremony and how to make your own. Welding (chaos) magick to craft meaning in psychedelic experiences. The importance of PLAY!!! (and games to play while tripping). Differences/similarities between magick & Jungian depth psychology.  

We welcome French cultural anthropologist and philosopher Martin Fortier on the show for this episode to discuss his research into how culture influences cognition. His current PhD research project consists of exploring the interplay between neurobiological processes and culture in hallucinogenic experiences. His main fieldwork is located in Shipibo communities of the Middle Ucayali, in the Peruvian Amazon. Martin Fortier, Ph.D. Candidate, is currently a doctoral student at Institut Jean Nicod (a lab hosted by the Department of Cognitive Studies of ENS-Paris) and at the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of EHESS-Paris. He is also a visiting student researcher at the Department of Anthropology of Stanford University. *** If you are enjoying the show, I ask you to please contribute to the show by way of a one-time donation or by becoming a continuous supporter on Patreon. PLEASE SUPPORT (ME AND) THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso OR VIA A ONE-TIME PAYPAL DONATION: http://paypal.me/JWJesso ***   Full Show Notes at bit.ly/ATTMind54 Episode Breakdown Martin's educational history and experience. The Sense of Reality; how we build models of the world and how/why we believe it to be real. Feeling "reality" vs. judging "reality". The experiential differences between serotonergic/psychedelic drugs (psilocybin, mescaline, LSD, etc) and anticholinergics/deliriants (datura). Experiential qualities: waking state vs serotonergic psychedelics vs. cholinergic psychedelics vs. dreaming vs. psychosis. .Ayahuasca/hallucinogenic visions as metaphorical perceptions Unpacking how the most valuable things in life are fiction / the hard problem of consciousness. Rationally exploring the hallucinogenic entities/spirits phenomenon. The role of the shaman. Honouring the indigenous cosmology while researching it from a western scientific framework / mitigating cultural appropriation within anthropological research. Scientific framework vs. indigenous cosmology. The nature of schizophrenia and psychopathologies and the potentials of ayahuasca shamanism as a potential treatment. Will psychedelics be important to philosophy? Should philosophers take psychedelics?

Simply put, Changa is a powerful psychedelic smoking blend. It is a combination of herbs infused with dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and containing some form of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOi). However, describing the "simply put" physical parameters of a psychedelic compound is as gross an understatement as saying sex is, simply put, a penis penetrating a vagina.... there is SO MUCH MORE to it than "simply put", which is why we have Giorgia Gaia on the show. Giorgia Gaia---author of "Changa's Alchemy - Narratives of Transformation in Psychedelic Experiences"---is an independent researcher with a masters degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology and another MA degree in Theology, specifically Western Esotericism, at the University Van Amsterdam. Since her early twenties, she has been working as an electronic musician and event organizer, also in international festivals. *** If you are enjoying the show, I ask you to please contribute to the show by way of a one-time donation or by becoming a continuous supporter on Patreon. PLEASE SUPPORT (ME AND) THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso OR VIA A ONE-TIME PAYPAL DONATION: http://paypal.me/JWJesso *** Episode Breakdown The scope of Giorgia's research What is Changa? (pharmacology, history, cultural impact) Changa within the underground electronic music culture. What denotes "transformation" within the context psychedelic use. The importance of narrativizing profound psychedelic experiences. Prevailing themes or commonalities in the metaphysics and cosmology of changa users. The implication and complications of studying changa culture as an anthropologist whilst directly participating in that culture. Safety, caution, harm reduction advice. *** See Bit.ly/ATTMind53 for full show notes and other bonus content! AND featured image courtesy and copyright of Mugwort Designs

Darcia Narvaez, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame. Her prior careers include professional musician, classroom music teacher, business owner, seminarian and middle school Spanish teacher. Dr. Narvaez's current research explores how early life experience influences societal culture and moral character in children and adults. She integrates neurobiological, clinical, developmental and education sciences in her theories and research about moral development. *** If you are enjoying the show, I ask you to please contribute to the show by way of a one-time donation or by becoming a continuous supporter on Patreon. PLEASE SUPPORT (ME AND) THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso OR VIA A ONE-TIME PAYPAL DONATION: http://paypal.me/JWJesso *** We are a traumatized people, a people silently bequeathed a heritage of toxic treatment, under-care, and various forms of violence. It is encoded into us during our early years, directing the development of our neurobiology, personality, and morality. We then pass it down accidentally as an extension of an ignorance propagated by a society founded on SHITTY advice on raising children. But we are not lost, nor are we locked into this cycle. We have an opportunity to make a profound difference on the future world by raising healthier, happier, and more well-adjusted kids. The guest on this episode, Darcia Narvaez, Ph.D., is here to gives perspective on what that might look like. She walks us through the influence Western conventional culture's child rearing tendencies has on the individual and the collective, from neurobiology to psychology to society and ecology. We also specifically explore several conventional practices, their harm, and alternative options. FULL SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/ATTMind52 Episode Breakdown: *****Episode Breakdown: -How early life experiences influence neurological and moral development -The impact of the parent/child relationship on the child's nervous system -The elements of The Evolved Nest; aka The evolved Developmental Niche ------Soothing birth experience ------Responsive care giver ------Breast feeding ------Multiple adult care givers ------Touch -The good development of the human -The role of epigenetics on moral and neurological development -The slave self; the empty self -The ecological impact of the broken nest -Our mistaken understanding of the baseline of human behavior -Disambiguating childhood trauma (undercare / toxic stress / trauma) -Limbic memory and how we perceive the world -Unpacking what the science shows are the impacts of: -----breast milk vs. formula -----cry it out sleep training -----spanking -----circumcision  -----common Birthing Practices: Pitocin, cesarean, epidural

Tobias Ton is a Kambo facilitator based in Berlin, Germany. His work with the Amazonian 'frog medicine' takes a "more-therapeutic-than-traditional" approach as it is intended to specifically accommodate people living under the burdens of Western industrialized civilization. He specializes in intensive one-on-one sessions and on the synergetic integration of various other healing modalities, addressing the underlying energetic issues that manifest as physical and psychological disease.He advocates a holistic and deeply spiritual understanding of Kambô that goes both beyond traditional indigenous cosmology and beyond the mechanistic interpretations of a supposed "frog poison vaccination". Instead, he recognizes it as the highly intelligent and deeply benign spirit of an animal that can generously impart its own strength, serenity and extraordinary capabilities of transformation. Tobias is on the show for this episode to teach us all about Kambo, from the origins and biomedical science to the underlying spiritual root of disease Kambo helps to cleanse. Check below for a full episode breakdown and of course, please subscribe to the show! Full Show Notes at http://bit.ly/ATTMind51 Support The Podcast   PayPal Donation Patreon Other Options (including bitcoin)   Episode Breakdown What is Kambo? The mythic and traditional Origins. How it's used (traditional and modern). The Kambo process. Biomedical actions of Kambo. Is it a poison? The nonphysical root of disease Tobias' unique practice. My personal experiences. Kambo, ayahuasca, and spiritual purification. Animal vs. plant vs. fungi entheogens. Physical dangers of Kambo? The politics of Kambo Could our society ever accept this?   *** Featured Image Courtesy Jean-Marc Hero - http://calphotos.berkeley.edu