Hello Ayahuasca Talks listeners! This is just a short announcement to let you know that I will be recording more episodes, however, they will no longer be quarterly. I decided this as I’d rather bring you an episode when there’s an opportunity for a conversation that I feel is important and worthwhile rather than producing them on a schedule. So stay tuned for more great discussions on Ayahuasca Talks and thanks for listening!

At the beginning of this episode and throughout, we establish the striking similarities between Ayahuasca experiences and Near Death Experiences in their effects at times and their lessons. Cailin describes her ongoing relationship with her spiritual guide Damon Michael and shares the lessons around remaining lucid in this dream of the world and how to navigate it through our focus and awareness of our thoughts. These will be familiar lessons to those who experience Ayahuasca and helpful to revisit as we integrate. Cailin's links: Website & Youtube channel https://www.crackedpotpublishing.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@Imagifestor1      

Henna and I talked about our journey through plant medicines from activism to a greater focus on what we would like to see and be in the world. Henna discusses how she is making her vision of a healthier, more respectful and harmonious community happen in Finland. Henna shares her experiences of bringing people together, the hurdles she has overcome in this endeavour, what she has learned and how she is using a values based agreement to create an inspired community. We talk about how we see this happening in the wider world, what we're learning from what is unfolding and the opportunities it presents for all of us to find and move into a better way of being. We also share some of the values specified in the community Henna has formed and here is the page where you can find the complete list of values: https://kotiinpaluuheimo.com/privacy-policy/ - you can use the DeepL translator to translate these values into your own language: https://www.deepl.com/en/translator

Jerry talks about his extraordinary spiritual experiences: his NDE and other amazing out of body experiences and interactions with healing entities. We talk about love and the importance of it and the kinds of frequencies and elevated states that help us move forward in life. Jerry describes how he began to heal people at a distance and touches on the quantum nature of this healing. We discuss the reality of phenomenal healing at distances and how this indicates the power of our thoughts, focus, intentions and emotions. We talk about awareness and harnessing these aspects of ourselves to move us forward in life in a positive way.

Tracy shares her story of working with plant medicines and how they ultimately led her to create a healing community in Costa Rica. Tracy and Rebecca share stories around some dark/difficult medicine experiences relating these experiences themselves to an initiation of sorts which make us stronger. We discuss her integration journey and some of the things that happened along the way to help her heal and prepare her for becoming the leader she is today. We talk about how our relationships help us to grow. We discuss forgiveness, inner child healing and stepping into power. We discuss some additional powerful alternative therapies including equine therapy and hypnosis and Tracy shares about the Garden of Divine community in Costa Rica.

Lori shares openly about her experiences both before and mostly after Ayahuasca. She talks about her own suicidal thoughts as a result of the challenging situations that she was dealing with post-pandemic and how this led her to the medicine. We discuss the themes/issues that came up during and after her ceremony and how she addressed them. Discussion topics involve harmful thought patterns about self & others, and how this can be addressed through self discovery, self care and self love. Lori discusses her relationship with trees and how trees are great healers and teachers. Lori had trees show up in both her Aya experience as well as her hypnotic journeys. She recalls her childhood experiences with trees, her reconnection with them and how they now play a role in her own practice helping others. We also talk about the growing popularity of psychedelics, how the business sector responded and how we might respectfully consult/include indigenous elders in this new and growing field moving forward to benefit all.

Integration Themes: Trust, Money & Social Acceptance. Doug shares the story of his integration journey beginning with him leaving the corporate financial world and creating organizations that are more aligned with his values and interests. Doug discusses some important themes of his integration path including his relationship with money, his heightened concerns over what others think of him and his empathetic nature. We talk about how his social/professional life since his plant medicine experiences with mushrooms and Ayahuasca have provided him with opportunities to work through these issues. We discuss his hypnotic journeying experiences and how they provided him with insights and support as he navigated these life experiences in new and better ways.

Neil shared openly about his early childhood and about his integration journey so far. He talks about how he has become more open and authentic. He brings up the topic of ‘transactional relationships’ and we discuss this in terms of not only our own social experience but also within the larger psychedelic industry. We talk about making mistakes and how important it is to accept this part of our reality and growth. We talk about how we can respond better to this part of life and this part of the growing psychedelic industry. We share ideas about the industry and how things can be improved as we continue to learn more about ourselves and how to approach our lives and businesses differently.

Tammy shares her experiences integrating Ayahuasca. She shares about how she confronted a dark energy that attached itself while she helped to facilitate a ceremony and what she learned from that. She also discusses some of the figures that showed up during her own Aya experiences and how she began to understand more about them afterwards through hypnotic journeying. Tammy shares how she healed herself by exploring and admitting her feelings and how she healed her relationships by understanding her own reactions and deciding to respond in healthier, more compassionate ways. She effectively embarked on her ancestral healing path by using these techniques to heal her relationship with her mother. She discusses her interaction with spirits, including her own father and spiritual ally, and how they are supporting her through her own unique integration path that is still unfolding. Tammy talks about certain messages that she received during her Ayahuasca journeys – some of which she had to unravel afterwards through hypnotic journeying and decide whether or not it served her to pursue them. She generously shares about the themes of her empowering integration journey including presence, open heartedness, humility, innocence, simplicity and connection with the land, trees, spirits/spirituality and with others.

Ehren talks about his studies of South American Indigenous cultures, the ugly realities of colonization and how this inspired him to explore plant medicines. He shared about his initial post-psychedelic experience of narcissism as a reaction to the overwhelming nature of this profound event in his life and his sense of mission. This led to him making changes motivated by the rejection of those around him. It ultimately taught him about himself and helped him to begin to grow in a more positive direction. We discuss how narcissistic themes are apparent in our society and that recognizing this helps us to grow as well. We talk about darker medicine experiences and different perspectives on these events and their value. Ehren shares about his spiritual ally and we discuss how this experience of guidance can be powerfully supportive in self-discovery and personal growth. Ehren and I talk about parenthood and how we are changing the patterns of parenting that were laid down for generations before us. We reflect on the positive impact this is having in our world because of the growing number of people who are transforming their lives in this way and healing ancestral trauma.

A common inner physical reaction, such as tension, can produce a whole host of unintended effects that we experience as ‘reality’. Becoming conscious of the specific beliefs that cause our inner tension and how they impact the role we play in our lives, can help us reduce/eliminate suffering and create opportunities for positive change.

Jared shares his experiences of coming back from his Ayahuasca ceremonies and the transitional period that took place in his life as he moved out of his traditional military career into a career path that was more reflective of his gifts. We discuss the inner voice and guidance we have received since our Aya experience and how it shows up for us – often with humour. Jared explains how he responded to his anger issues and worked through his feelings as he found his way to a more authentic career. We share our experiences with taking what can be perceived as annoyances, distractions or disruptions and turning them into helpful tools. We talk about trusting our path and seeing the work of spirituality and intentionality in it despite how challenging it can be at times. We discuss our experience with intentions and the importance of love and self-love.

We discuss some of the important messages and themes that shaped Greg’s integration journey including ‘You Cannot Fail’. We discuss how the idea of failure in life can prevent us from taking chances and how the idea of failing is introduced to us very early in life via school exams etc. Greg shares a story about how he internalized a minor incident when he was young and how that impacted him in life. We talk about anger – why it’s there and how it’s connected to inner beliefs that may be dissolved but how it can be helpful at certain stages of growth and integration. We discussed the challenges involved in moving out of unhealthy workplaces and the growth that this process brings. We also talked about what’s happening in medical care and how some practitioners like Greg are moving away from the corporate model to provide more personalized, compassionate care. We discussed the current social polarization and the increase in harsh social interactions that we often see today as an opportunity for change.

This discussion encompasses a few themes:  healing and/or moving away from unbalanced relationships & the grief associated with that, recognizing challenging situations as opportunities to apply themes that came up in ceremony and seeing/feeling what lies beneath the surface of relationships or situations. We talk about recognizing our intuitive abilities and applying them to assist along the integrative path rather than falling back into familiar patterns. We also cover the topic of respect for each person's uniqueness and creating opportunities for us to do this in a way that inspires connection rather than conflict.

Our discussion begins with being called to the medicine, what this felt like. We talk about how the process of integration involves many chaotic episodes that are the prelude to a rebirth and that this is how we can interpret the events that are externalized in the world right now. We talk about the evolution that is taking place from being a follower society to being more self reliant and focused within and as Helen puts it, finding our inner shaman.. We discuss ways of moving through these times and how these cycles always lead to better opportunities for ourselves. We discuss how during the integration period we often change how we measure success and end up following what truly makes us fulfilled and happy. We talk about the challenges that arise in doing that as part of the integration journey. We also touch on the impact of our ancestry and the healing opportunities that exist there too. 

In this episode, we discuss the power of fluid perspectives – of being open to changes in worldview and perspectives. Vyolet shares the changes she made in her life, the challenges she faced and how this transition ultimately moved her forward. We talk about the power of surrender and trust that things will work out in the end. Vyolet reaffirms how the problems she anticipated in making these changes were resolved once she made them. We discuss how these challenges can be gifts in disguise. By honouring the nudges we get to make changes in our lives, we are rewarded down the line. We discuss the underlying concept of unity, how it's being challenged today and that even though we may be confronted by separation and other dark elements these days, just as in our personal work, we are being invited to confront this and move through it into another way of being. We discuss this new way of being and how it’s inspired by the natural elements around us and within us. We speak about this being part of our own evolution, respecting the deep wisdom within us that is connected to everything and how that is changing our experience.  

Emileena and Rebecca discuss the value of creativity. Plant medicines and psychedelics celebrate and cultivate the creativity within us. Creativity is often discouraged or devalued in society and those who have this particular talent are often guided away from pursuing it professionally. However, most of the products that benefit us originated from someone’s creativity, so if we limit creativity to a small category of people, we do so to our own detriment. It’s understood that solving problems creatively can be beneficial so it’s no wonder that medicines cultivate this in us – this secret super power. Studies show that we use more of our brains when we’re thinking creatively and studies show that we’re using our minds creatively when we’re in these altered states. We discuss the benefits of creativity and how it shows up in our lives. Plant medicines often teach us how we are creating our experience and how we can create our lives differently to our benefit. Because creativity is a natural part of us, it’s an act of self love to recognize this and to use it.

Judith and I share our thoughts on the true nature of the long and often challenging path of integration. It can become a way of life. We share about our patterns and how they often continue to emerge in different ways to remind us and to help us work on these things as part of our integration. It can be difficult when patterns emerge again and it's important to remember that we have made progress and that this is part of growth. We explain the importance of self-compassion, support and community.

We discuss a more expansive concept of illness that we discover through Ayahuasca. We talk about both individual illnesses and how this relates to the greater illness of humanity and the opportunities we have to heal it. The ACEs study that is known to the mainstream world of medicine indicates a clear connection between childhood abuse/trauma and illness. Dr. Tafur talks about getting to the root cause of illness and how this unfolds with medicine and work with various medicines including Ayahuasca. Conditions like depression and crohn’s disease can be messengers bringing into our awareness something deeper that needs to be healed. We discuss the importance of agreeing to move on once we have sufficiently grieved. Dr. Tafur emphasizes that people need to feel a sense of agency for them to be well and we talk about how spiritual practices can provide that agency.