The intersection of dreams, psychedelics, and indigenous wisdom offers a powerful lens for understanding consciousness and healing. This week on The Psychedelic Mom, Mario Alonso Cordero joins Micheala to explore the significance of dreams as tools for psychedelic integration, discussing how they can reveal hidden layers of the psyche. 

By bridging modern psychedelic practices with ancient indigenous knowledge, Mario highlights the importance of honoring cultural traditions in the evolving psychedelic renaissance. His insights offer practical tools for dream exploration and advocate for a balanced dialogue between Western science and indigenous perspectives.

How do psychedelics alter brain function to improve emotional regulation and unlock new patterns of thinking and behavior? Can they truly reshape the way we think, feel, and experience the world? 

In this episode, Dr. Manesh Girn, a leading researcher in psychedelic neuroscience, unpacks the transformative effects of these substances on neuroplasticity and their potential for treating mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. The conversation dives into how psychedelics create profound changes in neural networks, enhance cognitive flexibility and promote long-lasting emotional and psychological growth.

Manesh and Michaela also discuss the critical importance of integration following a psychedelic experience, the growing body of research on microdosing, and how psychedelics can help individuals escape entrenched mental patterns. They touch on the challenges facing psychedelic research and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics beyond mental health, including creativity, innovation, meaning-making and flourishing.

What would you include in a medicine bag designed to support mind, body, and spirit in today’s world? In this episode, Michaela Carlin, The Psychedelic Mom, embarks on a fascinating journey to explore this idea, drawing from ancient traditions to imagine a future where psychedelics and earth medicines play a central role in fostering personal growth, community connection, and spiritual insight – and where we can all exercise our sovereign right to use them without fearing punishment.

Michaela shares her vision about the potential of medicines like psilocybin, ketamine, san pedro, and iboga, to support personal and relational healing and spiritual growth. She shares insights on the importance of ritual, the wisdom of elders, and the integration of these powerful tools into our lives, all while contemplating what it means to live in harmony with ourselves and the world around us.

Join Michaela Carlin, The Psychedelic Mom, as she welcomes mycologist Jasper Degenaars to explore the intricate relationship between fungi, consciousness, ecology, and personal growth. 

Jasper emphasizes that mushrooms are not just tools for the exploration of consciousness; they embody a higher intelligence and play crucial roles in ecosystems. He discusses how ancient cultures utilized fungi in spiritual practice and highlights the importance of community support and intentionality in harnessing their potential. Ultimately, he inspires listeners to engage with mushroom cultivation as a pathway to deepen their connection with nature, foster a greater understanding of themselves, and enhance overall health and well-being.

What is it like to serve an earth medicine that facilitates deep healing and spiritual awakening in the psychedelic underground?

In this episode, Michaela brings back Rose joined by her co-facilitator Rudra. Rose and Rudra (not their real names) agreed to share anonymously as two experienced facilitators who serve 5-MeO-DMT in underground ceremonies. 

Rudra shares his personal journey using 5-MeO-DMT to navigate his own trauma and challenges related to his identity as a gay man of South Asian descent. He describes how the medicine helped him reconcile his spirituality with his sexuality, leading to significant life changes, including his marriage.

The conversation also explores the powerful effects of 5-MeO-DMT, particularly its ability to promote self-acceptance, spiritual clarity and trauma healing. Rose and Rudra speak about creating a sacred ceremonial container by blending their diverse spiritual backgrounds; navigating the challenges of integrating profound mystical experiences into daily life; the interplay of energy and awareness; and the potential for psychedelics to reshape our understanding of self and spirituality. 

The episode further explores the broader implications of using earth medicines and psychedelics as a tool for personal sovereignty and consciousness expansion and the pros and cons of legalization and medicalization.

What is it really like to be an underground psychedelic facilitator? What are the joys and challenges of serving medicine in places where it’s illegal? What kinds of life paths bring a person to this work?

Join Michaela Carlin, The Psychedelic Mom, for the first episode in an ongoing series of interviews with brave medicine people working in the psychedelic underground who are willing to come forward and speak about their work anonymously.

In this inaugural episode of the series, Michaela speaks with ‘Rose’, a medicine woman serving 5-MeO-DMT.

Michaela and Rose dive into a profound exploration of what it’s like to guide individuals through the intense and often life-altering journey that 5-MeO-DMT offers. They share about the essential role of surrender in unlocking deep emotional and spiritual healing, the preparation and integration work required for such a powerful experience, and the vast range of reactions - from blissful unity to intense emotional catharsis - that clients encounter.

They also highlight a variety of ethical and personal considerations at play when working with this potent psychedelic in an underground setting.

Join The Psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin, in conversation with Brittney Hartley about their shared journey of spiritual deconstruction and reconstruction and role psychedelics have played in the process. They explore shedding religious dogma, embracing an embodied feminine spirituality, and what it feels like to traverse a profound existential crisis and emerge with a renewed sense of purpose.

Brittney shares her transition away from Mormonism and the deep philosophical inquiries that led her to become an atheist spiritual director. Also, her personal process of identity dissolution, the complexities of motherhood during her deconstruction, and ultimately finding meaning through connection and presence.

Can plant medicines catalyze both profound spiritual awakenings and physical healing from chronic illnesses?

On this episode, Michaela Carlin welcomes Mee Ok Icaro, a writer and sacred medicine advisor with an incredible story of healing a life-threatening autoimmune disease – and the sexual trauma that it was rooted in – through a spiritual and physical purification process guided by ayahuasca.

Mee shares the challenges of her initial solo ayahuasca ceremonies, her deep work dieting various master plants from both Amazonian and North American traditions, and her exploration of ancestral healing through Korean shamanism.

Michaela and Mee also discuss the challenges of Western medicine's limited perspective on healing; the potential of earth medicines in modern medical practices; and the remarkable power of plant intelligences to meet people across dimensions of mind, body and spirit.

How can ketamine and psilocybin assisted therapies help neurodistinct couples achieve enhanced safety and communication in their relationships?

Join the latest episode of the Psychedelic Mom podcast as Michaela welcomes back Dr. Jill Corvelli, a therapist with a specialization in working with ‘complex’ couples, to dive deeper into her approach to helping couples achieve smoother relationship dynamics.

Exploring the cultural, legal, and spiritual implications of psychedelics and the path forward for their use in modern society, this episode features Charles Eisenstein and Robert Forte in a conversation about freedom, the scared, and the potential dangers of commercializing these powerful tools.

They discuss the historical and cultural significance of psychedelics; challenges posed by their current legal status and the push to medicalize them; and what it might look like to move towards a system where psychedelics are recognized as sacraments with everyone possessing the right to carry their own “medicine bundle’.

Join Michaela Carlin on The Psychedelic Mom Podcast as she chats with psychonaut scientist Zeus Tipado about his evolving research on the brain under the influence of DMT. Zeus elaborates on his thesis about various states of consciousness, the complexities of visual processing while under DMT, how ‘predictive processing’ plays into hallucinations, and the use of virtual reality in DMT research.

Listen in as Michaela Carlin, ‘The Psychedelic Mom’, and Tanja Schelling explore the intersection of art, awakening and psychedelics. Tanja discusses how her art – unique creations combining visuals, audio and poetry – encapsulates themes of introspection, interconnectedness, growth and understanding, and how Instagram has helped her voice resonate with many.

Tanja also shares her personal journey with psychedelics, including transformative experiences with DMT and Amanita Muscaria, and discusses how these substances have influenced her art and perspective on life while also guiding her emotional healing. Tanja also delves into the intuitive nature of creativity, the importance of tapping into one's inner voice, and the role of suffering in unlocking deeper truths.

Exploring the cultural and spiritual depths of psychedelics, Acacea Lewis offers perspectives on the importance of cultural and historical context in the use of sacred plant medicines. Acacea, a cultural anthropologist and spiritual practitioner, shares her personal experiences with psilocybin mushrooms beginning from a young age, and how they aided her in overcoming suicidal thoughts. She also offers insights into the global history of entheogenic plants and the effects of their commercialization in Western society.

The discussion expands into spiritual practices, including the profound healing potential of Buddhist chanting, advanced meditation techniques and tea ceremonies. With reflections on profound personal loss and the journey through grief, this conversation highlights the integration of ancient traditions with contemporary practices for personal and collective transformation and offers heartfelt insights into self-discovery and continuous spiritual practice.

This week on Psychedelic Mom Podcast, Michaela continues her conversation with Mikaela de la Myco as they further reflect on the vital need for cultural competency, safety, and the inclusion of feminine voices in the psychedelic space.

Mikaela shares about the deep influence of the Ma’at tradition on her work, explaining how the teachings of Ma'at, the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth and justice, can be applied to create support and accountability systems within contemporary psychedelic communities.

She also advocates for the integration of traditional practices, such as Yoni steaming, natural birth control, and traditional midwifery into modern healthcare for women, and touches on the broader implications of ‘re-matriating’ entheogens.

Can psilocybin mushrooms support mothers in their journey of healing and empowerment?

In this week's episode of the Psychedelic Mom Podcast, Michaela Carlin and Mikaela de la Myco express their shared passion for raising the voices of women in the psychedelic space. They explore stories of mothers using mushrooms at various stages of their journey from preconception through postpartum; the importance of culturally competent, inclusive, safe facilitation; and the roles of advocacy and ancestral healing in their work.

Join Michaela Carlin and Dr. Bill Brennan on the Psychedelic Mom podcast for a deep dive into the complexities, uncertainties and profound transformations being revealed at the frontier of psychedelic therapy.

Dr. Brennan, who has extensive experience in psychedelic clinical trials, has co-developed their EMBARK model with Dr. Alexander Belser. Brennan discusses the various domains of this ‘whole person’ therapeutic approach, unpacking the EMBARK acronym: existential-spiritual, mindfulness, body awareness, affective-cognitive, relational and keeping momentum.

Join Michaela, The Psychedelic Mom, for a special bonus episode as she guides you through a meditative journey to help you connect to your true nature … beyond thought and ego … right here, right now.

This meditation invites you to drop your familial and societal conditioning – of only for a few precious moments – so that you can tune into the direct experience of your essence through sensation, sensory awareness, self-inquiry and pure presence.

This week on The Psychedelic Mom, Josh Putnam shares the extraordinary journey of awakening that led him to become a non-dual teacher, beginning with his tumultuous childhood and how his experience of homelessness and an extremely painful relationship with his mother amplified his survival instinct to an emotionally unsustainable level.

The conversation then opens up into vivid stories about life-altering moments of spiritual awakening, the intense process of facing emotional shadows, and the intricate relationship between suffering, awareness and identity.

Michaela and Josh also explore perspectives on the potential benefits of psychedelics in the awakening process, the vastly different effect psychedelics have before and after awakening, and the continuous dance between form and emptiness.

Can ketamine and psilocybin assisted therapies help ‘complex’ couples where one or both partners identify as neurodistinct?

Join Michaela Carlin for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Corvelli as they explore a groundbreaking type of psychedelic assisted therapy for couples seeking support in transforming relationship dynamics when diagnoses such as autism and ADHD are present.

Dr. Corvelli shares in depth about her ND Compass approach, which offers an innovative framework to meet the unique challenges of neurodistinct couples in safely navigating diverse communication styles and perceptual lenses that keep triggering and retriggering them.

Michaela and Dr. Corvellil explore concepts such as ‘differentiation’, ‘niche construction’, and ‘autonomic reset’ as key for both repairing and enhancing relationships as part of Dr. Corvelli’s forward-looking perspective on psychedelic therapy's potential to reshape relational healing.

This week on The Psychedelic Mom, Norman Ohler shares about his personal exploration of psychedelics, his writings on the topic, and his mother's Alzheimer's treatment with LSD. Norman and Michaela discuss the untold history of drugs in Nazi Germany, the historical use of drugs in warfare, the influence of psychedelics on societal and cultural shifts, and the complexities of global drug policy stemming from historical figures such as Harry J. Anslinger, long time US Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

The conversation also navigates through topics such as the societal implications of drug legalization, the media’s evolving perspective on psychedelics, and the intricate relationship between psychedelics, empathy, and personal growth. Norman’s reflections on his upcoming book, 'The Magic Mountain', weave in a contemplation of personal relationship dynamics and the state of the world, illustrating the profound and potentially paradoxical effects psychedelic exploration can have on both individual lives and society at large.