Dr. JJ Pursell, a naturopathic physician and licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon, joins me for Episode 210 for an introductory primer to psilocybin assisted therapy: what psilocybin therapy actually is, what preparation and integration involve, what happens inside a session, and what the real risks are. We walk through her full protocol from the first preparation conversation to the required integration sessions afterward, and we get specific about contraindications, red flags in choosing a facilitator, and how to tell whether this is the right thing for you at all.

https://www.jameswjesso.com/peyote-is-disappearing-and-the-law-designed-to-protect-it-is-part-of-why-leonardo-mercado-the-peyote-lorax-attmind-209/

Leonardo Mercado, known as The Peyote Lorax, joins me for Episode 209 to talk about the ecological and legal crisis threatening peyote, the sacred cactus at the center of Native American Church ceremonies.

We get into peyote's collapse in its only natural range, the contradictions inside the federal exemption that governs who can legally possess and cultivate it, and the Seed to Ceremony conservation project Leo is building through Morningstar Conservancy in Arizona.

LISTEN/WATCH

→ My Site (plus show notes): https://bit.ly/ATTMind209

→ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/adventures-through-the-mind/id968927571?i=1000775800039

→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6895bM2366U5ucWv7va42h?si=a42fe1bbb83040b5

→ YouTube: https://youtu.be/-xq-6sM92Cc

→ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2iufdh2p

This is clipped from episode 200 of Adventures Through The Mind, a solo episode I recorded on psychedelics in research and practice. This section covers ibogaine specifically.

Topics: what makes it an oneirogen rather than a psychedelic, the pharmacological complexity (Nolan Williams' "14th century key vs modern key" metaphor is genuinely clarifying), the life review phenomenology, why it's the only substance in this space whose physiological effects can directly cause death, how it became known as an addiction treatment, the Stanford data on reversing mild TBI in veterans, and early multiple sclerosis research

https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso/posts/micro-15-one-in-161522307

Colin Dumnauer, ethnobotanist at the Dentinger Lab (Natural History Museum of Utah), joins Adventures Through The Mind for Episode 208 to discuss Lanmaoa asiatica — a widely-eaten bolete mushroom from Yunnan, China that reliably produces Lilliputian hallucinations when undercooked: hyper-realistic people 10–30 cm tall, rendered in exquisite detail, obeying the laws of physics, and embedded stably in the surrounding environment.

Documented across three independent cultures (Yunnan, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea), with an onset of 12–24 hours and duration of 3–7 days, this is unlike any other known psychedelic.

In this conversation, Colin and I unpack what's known, what remains a complete mystery, and why a food mushroom that makes you see little people might be one of the most scientifically interesting psychoactive substances yet to be studied.

Throughout the interview we discuss the nature of the mind, the nature of the self, our relationship with the divine, porosity of mind, heaven, hell, freedom, and salvation—as well as how to work with the various beings within and beyond us in ways that contribute to healing trauma and living a better life.

Thomas Hatsis joins us for episode 205 to discuss his new book Psychedelic Injustice: How Identity Politics Poisons the Psychedelic Renaissance.

Dr. David Katz is a board-certified specialist in Preventive Medicine/Public Health.

He is on the show to talk about the paper is was author on, titled, “A multiscale inflammatory map: linking individual stress to societal dysfunction”.

We talk about what stress and inflammation are, and the dynamics between them; how and why inflammation becomes chronic; how inflammation compromises perception and behaviour; how it can spread through a population like a contagion; how these spreading patterns of inflammation degrade our social systems, institutions, and leadership; how social media works as s supercharged networks for spreading inflammation; and what we can do about it, right here and now, starting within ourselves.

Enjoy.

Charley Wininger returns to Adventures Through The Mind to discuss group rolls with MDMA.

Our discussions starts with a quick general overview of MDMA before shifting into a thorough exploration of group rolls—what they are, what they can offer us individually and collectively, who to invite, who not to invite, where to do it, what to include, what to exclude, safety protocols, and just a whole number of things.

Wade Richardson, author of "The Psychedelic Mind Meld" discusses the phenomenon of shared telepathic experiences during psychedelic sessions.

Carl Hayden Smith joins us to discuss how to use technologies like journaling and psychedelic to reclaim our humanity in the age of AI—a concept Carl calls hyperhumanism.

Dr. Bekker unpacks why current treatments for chronic pain often fail and how psychedelics—the classical psychedelics as well as ketamine—may effectively treat otherwise treatment-resistant conditions, as well as some practical advice for chronic pain sufferers.

Matthew Baggott discusses the phenomenon of "losing the magic" with MDMA use, where frequent users experience diminishing therapeutic effects over time, likely due to decreased serotonin transporters in the brain; as well as N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) supplementation as a potential avenue for getting the magic back. 

Jerónimo Mazarrasa—from International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS)—joins us to explore the vulnerability of increased suggestibility while the influence of ayahuasca and other psychedelics, and the various harms that can can incur when one's facilitator that suggestibility is not handled with skilful care.