Brainforest Café

A former medical doctor shares his transformative journey from conventional medicine to shamanism and plant dietas. He reflects on his disillusionment with prescriptive practices, his powerful experiences with ayahuasca, and how tarot readings nudged him towards spiritual exploration. Nissan discusses the deep empathy gained from his psychedelic experiences and the valuable lessons learned from plant spirits. The conversation touches on cultural respect, the healing potential of psychedelics, and finding allies in the plant kingdom.

Zina Brown is the writer and director of The Faerie Rings, an upcoming narrative feature filmabout the promise of visionary plant medicines, and the cruelty of those who would outlawthem.Zina’s unique visual and narrative style has been awarded in film festivals across the world,including the Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival, Kyiv Film Festival inUkraine, Mexico City International Film Festival, Amsterdam International Film Festival, SanAntonio Film Festival, and the Woods Hole Film Festival.He has over 25 years of writing and directing experience, including numerous music videosand festival favorite short films. His short film, Dreams of the Last Butterflies, was screenedat 50 Film Festivals in 13 countries, as well as winning many awards.

Kevin Reed, founder of the Entheogen Stewardship Project, shares his extensive journey in psychedelic science and indigenous wisdom. He emphasizes the importance of protecting sacred plant species and fostering respectful collaboration with indigenous communities. Kevin discusses his early influences, from Sasha Shulgin to Rick Strassman, and his hands-on experiences in cannabis and mycology. He outlines plans for conservation efforts with the Diné Nation and highlights the need to view plant medicines as teachers and sacred entities, promoting ethical wildcrafting and stewardship.

Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His forthcoming book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Oct 7, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK.

Graham St John, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist and historian of transformational events, movements, and figures. His forthcoming book Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna (MIT Press, Sep 30, 2025) is the latest among his ten books, which also include Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (North Atlantic Books 2015). Graham is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield, UK.

Tony Acworth, a visionary herbalist and psychedelic advocate, shares his journey from indulgence to wisdom keeper. He discusses the fascinating intersection of psychedelics and AI, raising ethical questions about technology reflecting human values. The conversation explores nature's fractal patterns, morality in AI development, and the concept of syntropy. Acworth invites listeners to consider altered states of consciousness as a pathway to deeper understanding, while touching on the mysteries of DMT and the guardians of consciousness. This thought-provoking discussion challenges our perceptions of reality.

Dr. Harry Shirley holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Oxford and has a fervent passion for Jungian thought. He discusses the captivating relationship between the Buddhabrot—a unique visualization from the Mandelbrot set—and consciousness. The conversation traverses the universal language of mathematics in nature, linking fractals to psychological insights. They explore the Buddhabrot's implications for art and perception, touching on psychedelics and ancient wisdom, while also delving into concepts like 'time wave zero' and its resonance with the I Ching.

Dr. Andrew Gallimore is a computational neurobiologist, chemical pharmacologist, and writer, living and working in Tokyo. He has a master’s degree in chemical pharmacology and a PhD in biological chemistry from the University of Cambridge and has held postdoctoral research fellowships in computational neuroscience at the Universities of York, Oxford, and Okinawa. He has been fascinated by the neuropharmacology of psychedelics for more than two decades and is the author of three books: Alien Information Theory -- Psychedelic Drug Technologies and the Cosmic Game; Reality Switch Technologies -- Psychedelics as Tools for the Discovery and Exploration of New Worlds.; and the forthcoming Death by Astonishment -- Confronting the Mystery of the World’s Strangest Drug, which focuses on the history of DMT and science’s continuing struggle to understand how such a simple naturally-occurring molecule can have such astonishing effects on the human mind. His current interests lie in implications of DMT in understanding the nature of reality, and how it might be developed as a tool for extended communication with non-human intelligences inaccessible to normal waking consciousness.

Luke served in the Marine Corps for six years and two years in the National Guard, deploying to Afghanistan with an Airborne infantry unit. After his deployment, he faced severe PTSD, a loss of purpose, and a transformative “dark night of the soul.” Seeking healing, Luke explored various modalities, eventually traveling to the Amazon basin in Peru to experience Ayahuasca. This profound encounter brought him personal healing and a spiritual awakening, revealing the vast, interconnected nature of the universe. Inspired by this experience, Luke delved into shamanism, including rediscovering lost Northern European traditions. Along his spiritual journey, he encountered neurofeedback and QEEG brain mapping, recognizing their transformative potential for healing and spiritual growth—what he calls “spiritual neuroscience” or “electronic yoga.” These tools became central to his evolving vision. In 2019, Luke met Dr. Richard Soutar, whose mentorship profoundly deepened his understanding of consciousness, healing, and the neurological foundations of spiritual development. Since December 2023, Luke has been leading retreats in Peru’s Sacred Valley, combining diverse healing modalities into a unique and transformative experience. He has also conducted groundbreaking research using QEEG brain mapping to study plant medicines, including the first longitudinal study on Ayahuasca and the first brain imaging study of Huachuma. Through these studies and future research, Luke hopes to deepen humanity’s understanding of plant medicines, consciousness, and spirituality. His work aims to inspire a greater recognition of our spiritual nature and the boundless potential for personal and collective transformation.

Paul Stamets, speaker, author, mycologist, medical researcher and entrepreneur, is considered an intellectual and industry leader in fungi: habitat, medicinal use, and production. He lectures extensively to deepen the understanding and respect for the organisms that literally exist under every footstep taken on this path of life. His presentations cover a range of mushroom species and research showing how mushrooms can help the health of people and planet. His central premise is that habitats have immune systems, just like people, and mushrooms are cellular bridges between the two. Our close evolutionary relationship to fungi can be the basis for novel pairings in the microbiome that lead to greater sustainability and immune enhancement. Paul’s philosophy is that “MycoDiversity is BioSecurity.” He sees the ancient Old Growth forests of the Pacific Northwest as a resource of incalculable value, especially in terms of its fungal genome. A dedicated hiker and explorer, his passion is to preserve and protect as many ancestral strains of mushrooms as possible from these pristine woodlands. His research is considered breakthrough by thought leaders for creating a paradigm shift for helping ecosystems survive worldwide.Paul´s most recent book (2025) is called "Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats".oms in Their Natural Hbin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats