Can the secret to our spiritual awakening be found within the delicate petals of a flower? Anyone who has experienced the power of plant medicine knows that plants have healing wisdom. In today’s episode of The Psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin, interviews Elizabeth Blake, a spiritual teacher and guide who has had a transformative journey using plants for inner alchemy and spiritual embodiment.

Michaela and Elizabeth discuss the unique qualities of ayahuasca, blue lotus and rose, and illuminate the reality that whether “visionary” or not, plants possess a consciousness and intelligence that can support our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Elizabeth teaches that by honoring and respecting the plants around us, we can tap into their healing power and experience a greater sense of harmony and balance in our lives.

In Part 2 of The Psychdelic’s Mom’s exploration of The Shadow, Michaela Carlin offers a guided somatic journey into hidden aspects of ourselves to help illuminate and integrate them into our wholeness.

Guiding us through a mesmerizing shadow work exercise, Michaela leads us to find a tranquil space, close our eyes, and attentively focus on bodily sensations so that we can begin to contact and connect to different dimensions of our shadow. By exploring uncomfortable sensations and emotions with open acceptance, compassion, and curiosity, we invite them to be felt without judgment.

Throughout this exercise engaging in a dialog with our unconscious and subconscious, Michaela highlights the significance of embracing all parts of ourselves, including resistant protector parts. Delving into memories, images, and emotions that surface, we gain insight, while working with child parts nurtures the holistic healing of deep wounds.

In the first of a two-part series on The Shadow, The Psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin, guides us towards an understanding of why meeting the aspects of ourselves we are not conscious of is critical to both our personal and collective healing and transformation.

The shadow refers to those parts of ourselves that we unconsciously suppress or disassociate from, yet influence our lives in profound ways. It develops from a young age as we adapt to societal and familial expectations, creating personas to fit in and hiding rejected aspects of ourselves. Michaela reveals that by iIlluminating and integrating the exiled parts of ourselves through shadow work, we can move towards a deeper inner coherence and freedom from suffering.

This week Dr. Gabrielle Pelicci returns to the Psychedelic Mom to share even more deeply about her journey healing from childhood trauma through therapy, earth medicines and personal growth work. Dr. Gabby candidly speaks to her process facing her early wounding and the profound grief and healing that confronting it catalyzed.

Through her story, she highlights the therapeutic value of writing, nature connection and self-care practices for integration, especially after immersive healing experiences. Dr. Gabby also previews her upcoming book, a companion piece to her memoir, All This Healing is Killing Me, where she will share in detail about her experiences with different earth medicines and the power of plants for healing and transformation.

Can psychedelic integration coaching help us unlock true transformation?

Listen in to today’s episode of the Psychedelic Mom as Michaela Carlin dives into the world of psychedelic integration coaching with Deanne Adamson, CEO and founder of the global coaching and training platform, Being True to You. Being True to You offers transformational coaching for people from all walks of life who sincerely desire change and are ready to stop looking outside of themselves for solutions and “do the work”.

Being True to You’s comprehensive coach training program is geared towards stakeholders in the psychedelic space, including sitters, guides, facilitators, therapists, medical professionals, and clinic and retreat owners. With an emphasis on character and communication, it covers many dimensions of personal growth and spiritual development and is a profoundly transformative process for trainees. Michaela herself is a graduate of Being True to You’s coach training program.

Today on The Psychedelic Mom, Michaela offers a Q&A episode exploring the profound world of magic mushrooms: dosing, benefits, safety… and how psilocybin brings us into intimate contact with our shadow and also our beauty.

She begins by addressing common questions surrounding psilocybin mushrooms and their growing popularity. Are they legal? Are they safe? How much should you take? In what context and with what support?

Michaela also shares with clarity and inspiration about the ability of psilocybin mushrooms to enhance creativity, support the release of traumatic memories and emotions, and help us shed unhealthy patterns while gaining a deeper understanding of ourselves, our relationships and our world.

In this rich conversation with Stuart Adam and Stepfanie Cohen, Michaela Carlin leads an exploration of the alchemy of prayer, the power of the heart, and the significance of being present to the suffering we can create through our inner narratives.

Stuart shares about his personal awakening to the consciousness of the heart and its profound impact on his life. He suggests that by bringing our mental stories into the heart we can more easily access the alchemical magic that lies within us. Stepfanie, who is Michaela’s collaborator in medicine work and also a client of Stuart's, offers her own perspectives on what it means to orient more towards the heart.

Stuart guides us through a meditation that helps focus on the vortex of the heart, enabling us to dive deeper into our own awareness and tap into the wisdom and guidance that reside within. He also highlights the significance of stories and agreements in our relationships and the need to cultivate self-worth and learn from our experiences, regardless of their outcomes.

As a healer, Stuart's facilitation work has included medicines like ayahuasca and kambo as well as subtle plants such as blue lotus and rose. With respect to kambo, Stuart explains how the power of prayer in combination with the power of the medicine can create a deeper healing. He approaches kambo not just as a physical medicine but as a metaphysical movement of energy, capable of clearing the darkness of disease and anxiety.

Join Michaela Carlin and Dr. Gabrielle Pelicci as they discuss Gabrielle’s unique healing journey and the transformative power of earth medicines in trauma recovery. Gabrielle helps us understand that unlike traditional modalities, earth medicines offer a unique type of healing by reframing the context of trauma through a direct connection to source wisdom.

Gabrielle's rich and adventurous journey ultimately led her to discover her true identity through writing her book, All This Healing is Killing Me. Drawing from her own experiences growing up in a challenging environment of domestic violence, mental illness and addiction, Gabrielle emphasizes the significance of forgiveness and self-acceptance in the healing process, at the same time cautioning against an excessive focus on healing work.

Ultimately, Gabrielle's story serves as inspiration to explore the transformative potential of earth medicines, embrace one's true self, and nurture a supportive community on the healing journey.

Can a plant hold the key to both personal transformation and cultural preservation? Today on the Psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin delves into the work of the organization Blessings of the Forest with its co-director, David Nassim. Blessing of the Forest’s mission is to reclaim and restore areas of the forest in Gabon, Africa affected by aggressive agriculture while empowering local communities to cultivate iboga using traditional methods.

Central to this conversation is the vital importance of listening to and involving the Gabonese people in the decision-making process. Blessings of the Forest recognizes that the traditional wisdom and practices associated with iboga are deeply rooted in Gabonese culture and must be protected. By engaging and respecting the local communities, the organization seeks to create a context that acknowledges their traditions and ensures their active participation in the preservation and sustainable use of iboga.

David Nassim emphasizes the need for a gradual and mindful approach to working with iboga, rather than rushing to exploit its potential. He highlights the profound effects that iboga can have on individuals, including reevaluations of beliefs and behaviors. This transformative power underscores the importance of approaching iboga with reverence as well as caution, ensuring its use is guided by respect for the plant and the cultural heritage it embodies. cological importance.

How can somatic therapy help us move from embodying our wounding to embodying our wisdom? Join Michaela Carlin in conversation with Dr. Carista Luminare, a psychotherapist who has spent over 40 years exploring this very question using her unique, holistic approach. Carista shares about how she works with the most common wounds that show up in her practice – unworthiness, shame, abandonment, and feeling insecure and unsafe in relationship – and the importance of expressing authentic emotions in real-time to help release stored trauma in the body.

Carista and Michaela also touch on the potential of working with plant medicines in the healing process, the roots of addiction, adaptive vs. maladaptive ‘parts’, and the role of early conditioning in shaping our lives. The interview wraps up with an exploration of Carista's comprehensive assessment methods with her clients, a deeper look into the concept of 'big T' and 'small t' traumas, and the overarching notion of healing as a journey of self-discovery.

Can we truly understand the value of sacred plant medicines without understanding the indigenous cultures who have been holding them for millena? Listen in as the Psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin, explores this question and more with Andrea Valeska and Ana Medina, two women of indigenous ancestry who are deeply embedded in the movement for the decriminalization of sacred plant medicines in Colorado.

The pair express disappointment about the lack of consultation with indigenous people in the development of Colorado’s Proposition 122, “Access to Natural Psychedelic Substances”. They underscore the need for awareness, inclusivity, and respect for indigenous traditions in the psychedelic renaissance, urging listeners to reconnect with the land and develop decriminalization and legalization policies from a place of love and connection to the earth.

This episode can be considered a wake-up call to the importance of respecting indigenous voices and seeking permission when working with sacred plant medicines. Ana and Andrea make a case for the need to decolonize our thinking, slow down, and learn from indigenous elders before attempting to work at scale with “natural psychedelic substances”.

What happens when we tap into the deepest layers of our consciousness, and what role might psychedelics play in this exploration? Join The Psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin, in conversation with Dr. Angelo Dilullo, a highly respected non-dual teacher, as they discuss awakening and the synergy between psychedelics and consciousness, offering novel perspectives on reality, self and healing.

Dr. Angelo emphasizes dismantling the illusion of separateness – a shift away from the conventional "fixing" model of healing towards accepting and integrating all experiences. By challenging the perception of self as a fixed entity and acknowledging the value of personal exploration, Dr. Angelo invites us to navigate beyond the conditioned mind to discover true freedom.

Join Michaela Carlin and Tyson Adams as they engage in a profound discussion on porn addiction, sexual trauma, and the therapeutic use of psychedelics. Tyson shares about his history with pornography and how it led to a deeper understanding of his sexuality, He shares intimate details of his practice involving sacred sexuality and the deliberate and mindful engagement in sexual practices.

Tyson’s personal journey of porn addiction beginning at a tender age and how it became normalized during his college years. He highlights the impact of pornography on men's perception of women and how it can outsource pleasure to the women, thereby deflecting men's responsibility for their own pleasure.

Tyson's approach involves dealing with unattached burdens and energies through unique methods, such as N,N-DMT mirror work, which he attests led him to one of his most profound ego death experiences. He also uses tools like Internal Family Systems and bioelectric massage machines to address porn addiction and sexual trauma, coupled with micro or macro doses of mushrooms. His approach is rooted in the belief that trauma is stored in specific parts of the body and in decommodifying ourselves to truly understand our worth as soul beings.

What is it like to receive an extended dose of intravenous DMT? Listen in as Alexander Beiner candidly shares about his recent experiences doing just this as part of a research study at Imperial College London.

In this conversation, Alexander unpacks some of the symbolism embedded in these wild and profound psychedelic journeys, connecting them to our collective need to engage with the intricacies of “complex” systems – both micro and macro – with a flexible and curious approach.

His participation in the DMT study reveals his awe at the possibilities of deriving knowledge from alternate states of consciousness. Reflecting on his encounters with various intelligences during his DMT experiences, Alexander highlights the spiritual teachings he received, especially the centrality of love.

Join Michaela Carlin, The Psychedelic Mom, as she speaks with author and conscious entrepreneur, Dom Farnan. Dom vulnerably shares about the profound impact that plant medicines, specifically ayahuasca, have had on her self-awareness, self-love and inner healing – transforming not only her self-perception, but also her approach towards motherhood and leadership.

In her book, Now Here: A Journey from Toxic Boss to Conscious Connector, Dom maps her trajectory from a work-obsessed, perfectionistic boss in the corporate world to a conscious leader who has managed to infuse her heart-centered ethos into her company culture.

This conversation also broaches the broader subjects of the role of earth medicines in uncovering the unconscious, the impact of both ‘big T’ and ‘little t’ traumas, inherited generational behaviors, and the role of empathy and understanding in breaking the cycles of oppressive systems.

Sheleana Aiyana is an international best selling author of Becoming the One, and founder of Rising Woman, a growing community of more than 3 million readers. Her training and immersion in couples facilitation, inherited family trauma, family systems, conscious relationship, somatic healing, and plant medicines inform her holistic approach to seeing relationship as a spiritual path. She lives with her husband, Ben and their dog Bodhi on xwәnen’әč, the unceded land of the Hul’q’umi’num’- and WSÁNE´ C-speaking Coast Salish peoples, now known as Salt Spring Island, BC.

In this heartfelt interview, Michaela Carlin, The Psychedelic Mom, and Amber Capone discuss Amber’s journey supporting her husband in his incredible recovery from PTSD through plant-based psychedelic therapies like ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT. At the core of Amber’s message is that it’s important to reframe cultural perceptions around psychedelic “drugs” to better appreciate their profound therapeutic potential. Her organization, VETS, stands at the forefront of her cause, offering financial assistance for a variety of therapeutic psychedelic modalities, aiming to help veterans and their spouses heal from trauma.

Amber holds a strong belief that psychedelics can serve as vital tools for healing, yet she underscores the fact that they aren't the only avenue for personal transformation and that each person's journey is distinctively their own. Reflecting on her own healing journey, Capone shares the transformative power of therapy, journaling, prayer, and self-care, emphasizing the ripple effect her husband's recovery has had on her own life.

Today's guest, Ben Malcolm, a seasoned pharmacologist, shares about his personal and professional experiences with an array of psychoactive drugs, including psilocybin, cannabis, ketamine, Ibogaine, DMT and MDMA. He characterizes 'good drugs' as those that foster enhanced well-being and circumvent addiction.

Malcolm delves into the subject of psychedelics during the critical periods of pregnancy and breastfeeding, suggesting a favorable risk profile, while also highlighting that from the standpoint of peer reviewed scientific study, safety remains unconfirmed. Malcolm also candidly shares his own spiritual shift following a DMT experience and his subsequent founding of Spirit Pharmacist, his online membership which provides psychedelic education.