The Universe Within Podcast

THE UNIVERSE WITHIN PODCAST — EP. 206 - MINGTONG GU

In this episode, I speak with Mingtong Gu about his childhood in China during the Cultural Revolution, being adopted and moving from home to home, and eventually moving to the United States. We explore his lifelong longing to understand who he was and find a sense of home, his discovery of Qigong and deep immersion in the practice, spirituality, embodiment, the times we’re living through, AI, and much more. Mingtong brings a beautiful presence, depth, and wisdom to the conversation.

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THE UNIVERSE WITHIN PODCAST — EP. 205 - LUCAS BERGENDAHL

In this episode, I speak with Lucas Bergendahl about his childhood, his memories of past lives and how those memories began to fade, his experience of the dark night of the soul and the process of remembering, the development of his telepathic abilities, spirit guides, demons, healing people and animals, and much more. It was a fascinating conversation, and Lucas speaks from a place of deep experiential wisdom and a unique perspective on consciousness and the unseen world.

Connect with Lucas

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THE UNIVERSE WITHIN PODCAST — EP. 204 - ANDY LETCHER

In this episode, I speak with Andy Letcher about Druidry, Celtic cosmology, European ancestral traditions, animism, plants and fungi, and deep ecology. We explore the role of plants and mushrooms in traditional European cultures, the more-than-human world, and the connections between these ancient traditions and the Amazonian plant medicine traditions that have shaped my own work.

Andy was recommended to us by Dennis McKenna and brings a deep knowledge of these subjects and a thoughtful perspective on spirituality, ecology, and the revival of older traditions.

Co...

THE UNIVERSE WITHIN PODCAST — Ep. 203 - ALAN SCHEURMAN

In this episode, I speak with Alan Scheurman about his journey into psychedelics, spirituality, and the Shipibo-Konibo tradition. We explore how encounters with ayahuasca and peyote changed Alan's worldview and opened him to spirit; his work with initiation and dieta in the Shipibo tradition; his experiences guiding ceremonies and diets; and his critiques of contemporary psychedelic practice and the so-called “Psychedelic Renaissance.” Alan has been working in this field for many years and brings a depth of experience, perspective, and curiosity to these subjects.

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Hey everybody! Episode 202 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Aviaja Rakel Sanímuinaq Kristiansen. I think this one of the more beautiful conversations I’ve had on this podcast. Rakel is a shaman of the Inuit people of Greenland. I think she speaks beautifully from a place of a deep experience knowledge of what she has discovered for herself, in her own journey of being born into a shamanic lineage, her struggles and shamanic illness, her journey of remembering, connecting with her ancestors and spirit, overcoming her fear through ceremony, and finding her calling and...

Hey everybody! Episode 201 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Adam Butler. Adam and I sat down and had a really interesting conversation about his background, his struggle with depression and how that led him to DMT, what DMT is and how it helped him, the space and entities that are encountered there, his views on healing and the work he is doing. He has a genuine passion for this work and wrote a great little book called Butler’s DMT Field Guide. I hope you enjoy this conversation and gain from Adam’s experience and...

Hey everybody! Episode 200 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called The Psychedelic Podcast hosted by Paul Austin. Paul has a great podcast and I was happy to be invited on. We spoke about my work, ayahuasca, tobacco, dietas, lineage and deeper aspects of this work. Paul has been involved in this work and field for a number of years so he led a great interview. I hope you all enjoy it. And if it resonated, consider supporting his work. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus...

Note: For the english version, see the previous episode

Hola a todos! Ya está disponible el episodio 200 del pódcast. En este episodio conversé con Jacques Mabit. Jacques es el fundador de Takiwasi, el centro de medicina tradicional amazónica más antiguo y reconocido del Perú. Conozco el trabajo de Jacques desde hace muchos años, prácticamente desde que comencé a dedicarme a este camino. En 2013 visité Takiwasi y tuve la oportunidad de recibir un recorrido personal por sus instalaciones. Quedé muy impresionado por el lugar, el equipo humano y su enfoque terapéutico. Takiwasi no solo es u...

Hey everybody! Episode 199 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Jacques Mabit. Jacques is the founder of the oldest and most renowned traditional Amazonian medicine center in Peru, Takiwasi. I have know about Jacques for many years, ever since I started doing this work. In 2013, I visited Takiwasi and was given a personal tour there. I was very impressed with their space, staff, and system of healing work. Takiwasi is not only a healing center but also a research center as well as producing their own products of a very high quality. Takiwasi has specialized...

Hey everybody! Episode 198 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Matteo Politi. Matteo is an independent researcher who has specialized in pharmacology, phytotherpay, naturopathy, amongst other things, and for a number of years has been doing research at the renowned Peruvian Amazonian Medicinal center Takiwasi. We sat down and spoke about his background, the pharmaceutical industry, phytochemistry, Amazonian indigenous medicinal practices, his work at Takiwasi, and a more holistic approach to plants and human well-being. Matteo is a very deep thinker and I think is really creating a beautiful bridge between world views to create...

Hey everybody! Episode 197 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Jeff McNairy. Jeff is the Chief Medical Operator at Rythmia, one of the larger and more well-known ayahuasca healing centers. I knew some about Rythmia but not a lot and it was a pleasure to have Jeff come on and share about his journey and vision of Rythmia, his background in medicine and psychology, his many paths of working to help and heal people, ayahuasca, trauma, true healing, and many other topics. I was really impressed by Jeff’s presence, his story, and what he...

Hey everybody! Episode 196 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called The Evolving Man Podcast hosted by Ben Goresky. Ben has a great podcast I was happy to come on his platform and speak about my work with tobacco and trees. He is involved in similar fields and so has a good knowledge of these subjects and was able to lead a really good interview and bring out some good subjects from within me. I really appreciated his style, presence and questions and I hope you gain some insight from this interview...

Hey everybody! Episode 195 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with White Walking Feather, also known as Rob in the Pagé family. WWF is a deeply fascinating man. I was very grateful he came on the show to share his story and wisdom. After struggling in life he found a calling of what it meant to be a truly free person. He emancipated himself from the system of governance that seeks to control us, returning all of his identity documents, stopped paying taxes, or receiving any benefits from the State. He questioned deeply what it means t...

Hey everybody! Episode 194 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Robert Gourlay. Robert is a scientist, in, I think, the best definition of that word, someone who is an innovator, a pioneer, a philosopher, and who looks at the world through a holistic lens. He has dedicated his life to the study of water and how structured, negatively charged water supports and helps humans and life to flourish. We spoke about his background, how an NDE helped to open him to his passion for water, what structured water is and the benefits, how to improve...

Hey everybody! Episode 193 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Jessica Begin. I have known Jessica for many years since we met working together at the Amazonian Shipibo ayahuasca center, The Temple of the Way of Light. Jessica has dedicated her life to a deep spiritual curiosity and calling. For many years, she has apprenticed with a well-known and respected family of Shipibo maestras, where she also helps to run their center. She has a deep and experiential knowledge of the plant medicine world, and we spoke about her journey into Santo Daime...

Hey everybody! Episode 192 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Paul Austin. I was recently on Paul’s podcast, Third Wave, and was happy to welcome him on mine. We sat down and spoke about his background, being raised in a very religious family and how his early experiences with psychedelics began to shift his worldview, his work with micro-dosing, practitioner training, religion, plants, legalization, and a number of other topics. Paul speaks from a place of having been immersed in this field for many years and has thought deeply about a lot of these to...

Hey everybody! Episode 191 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Kelly McCann. Dr. Kelly McCann is a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, trained in Functional, Integrative, and Environmental Medicine. I was really happy to have Dr. Kelly on and share in her life’s journey, her study of medicine, her holistic view of health, and her very beautiful integration of ideas of spirit and, as we spoke about, the role of unknowing as tools to access the root cause of the human ailment. It was really a pleasure to connect, and I kn...

Hey everybody! Episode 190 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Natasja Pelgrom. We sat down and spoke about her background, how at 14 years of age she had an experience with mushrooms that shaped her life, her work in the field of psychedelics, the power of ritual, initiations, the sublime, and psychedelic facilitation. I enjoyed speaking with Natasja and feel she speaks from a place of deep experiential wisdom and I trust you all will gain a lot from this episode. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q...

Hey everybody! Episode 189 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called Ayahuasca Podcast hosted by Sam Believ. Sam runs an ayahuasca center in Colombia and we’ve gotten to know each-other and I was happy to come on his podcast for an interview. We spoke about a lot of topics in this plant medicine world such as my time in Peru working at an ayahuasca center, my work with tobacco, the idea of cosmovisión, and what the path of apprenticeship entails. Sam did a great job with questions and I hope you...

Hey everybody! Episode 188 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Marta Wanderlust for her second appearance on the podcast—the first was five years ago, back in episode 16. Since then, Marta has become a mother of two, and this conversation centers largely on motherhood and the birthing process. We explore the parallels between birth and plant medicine ceremonies, birth as an initiation and threshold, the medicalization of childbirth and its downsides, and how birth itself can be a path to God. Marta also speaks to the role of Christ and faith, the reclamation of...

Hey everybody! Episode 187 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Nathan Bryan. Dr. Bryan is a doctor who has spent much of his life studying the effects and benefits of the molecule nitric oxide and its relationship to health. We spoke about how he first came to know it, the correlation and potential causation of a lack of nitric oxide in various health conditions, ways to improve endogenous production, the role of the oral microbiome in health, and holistic health in general. It’s a fascinating subject, and Dr. Bryan is doing really good wo...

Hey everybody! Episode 186 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Luis Eduardo Luna. Luis is one of the luminaries in the field of plant medicine as has a career that spans nearly seven decades. He has worked alongside and learned from some of the greats such as Richard Evans Schultes, R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hoffman, Pablo Amaringo, the McKenna’s, Dolmatoff, and many more. We spoke about his life growing up in Colombia, his early years in a Catholic monastery, how a chance encounter with Terrance McKenna and ingesting yagé changed the course of his lif...

Hey everybody! Episode 185 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Aaron Hartman MD. Dr. Hartman has a really grounded and holistic approach to health and I really enjoyed our conversation. We spoke about his background, medical school, his his interest in functional medicine, the journey that he embarked on helping to heal his daughter, diagnosis, chronic disease, environmental toxins, diet, the role of spirit in health, and a lot of other topics. I trust you will gain a lot from Dr. Hartman’s experience and wisdom. As always, to support this podcast, get early ac...

Hey everybody! Episode 184 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called Beyond the Courage hosted by Robert Canis. Robert has a really good podcast about holistic healing and I was happy to join him. We spoke about a lot of different aspects of my path and he also really focused on iboga which is not something I speak much about. It was a good interview and Robert did a great job of picking my mind and going into some subjects I don’t always speak about. Consider supporting his work if you ca...

Hey everybody! Episode 183 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Thoryn Stephens. Thoryn is the CEO and founder of Brain.One which is doing really interesting work in human optimization. We sat down and spoke about his life, how, as a young man, he came across huachuma in Ecuador and how that had a transformative impact on him, various other plant medicines, consciousness, BCI and AI, his work as a molecular biologist, and the future of technology. It was a really interesting conversation, and I think Thoryn has a lot of wisdom and insights to...

Hey everybody! Episode 182 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Dr Darren Schmidt DC. Dr Schmidt was recommended to me, and I really enjoyed some of his content on YouTube. We sat down and spoke about a variety of topics, including agriculture, nutrition, health, subsidies, detoxification, parasites, RFK, medicine, and a lot else. I think Dr Schmidt is doing great work at sharing more holistic medicine and think and trust you all will gain much from his experience and teachings. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q...

Hey everybody! Episode 181 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Simon Borg-Olivier. Simon was recommended to me by a listener of the podcast and I was very happy to connect with him. We spoke about his varied life and journey and really focused on his lifelong practice of yoga. Simon has a very nuanced and rooted view of this practice and much more than just sitting on a mat. We spoke about its history, his journey with Pattabhi Jois, Iyengar, and Desikachar, his time in India and China, Qigong, and many other things well. Simon...

Hey everybody! Episode 180 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called Beyond the Pills hosted by Josh Rimany. I was really happy with the interview. It was fairly concise and covered a lot of aspects of my work, predominantly with tobacco and tree medicines. We also spoke about ayahuasca, dieta, and some of Josh’s insights as well. I hope you all gain from this episode. Consider checking out and supporting Josh’s work as well. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, chec...

Hey everybody! In this episode, I spoke with Eva Hooft. Eva has an interesting story of being diagnosed with a number of childhood ailments that persisted into adulthood. After following a career in modeling she began to become disillusioned by her diagnoses and began a search into more holistic and integrative therapies. We spoke about her journey and a number of topics including her background, yoga, somatics, liver detoxification, mineral balancing, functional medicine, the power of the mind and beliefs, and much more. It was a really interesting conversation and I think her knowledge from her own discoveries, many...

Hey everybody! Episode 178 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Thomas Hatsis. Thomas’ books were recommended to me a few times and he was introduced to me through a mutual friend, Peter Boghossian. Thomas wrote two very good books that I am familiar with (as well as a number of others) called The Witches Ointment and Psychedelic Mystery Traditions. We spoke about these themes including the foundation of Western mystery traditions, their potential entheogenic roots, plant medicines, magic, witches, and a lot of other really interesting topics. Thomas is doing very good work and I tr...

Hey everybody! Episode 177 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Snow Raven (Suor). Snow Raven comes from a group of people in Siberia called Sakha. Snow Raven has a really beautiful presence and I was really happy to sit down and speak and with her. We spoke about her background, the cosmovison of her people, Sakha shamanism, the power of nature and animals, her calling as a singer, and bridging ancient wisdom with modern life. Snow Raven has a beautiful perspective and her wisdom comes through her words. I trust you all will gain much...

Hey everybody! Episode 176 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called The Mushroom’s Apprentice hosted by Shonagh Home. I was on Shonagh’s podcast previously and really enjoyed it and was happy to return. Shonagh has a beautiful wisdom and knowledge of this world and beyond and she did a great job picking my brain about plant medicine and healing. We especially spoke about my work with traditional healing via the mediums of tobacco and trees as well as the Celtic wisdom that infuses this work. We also spoke a bit abou...

Hey everybody! Episode 175 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Josie Castañeda. Josie and I share a mutual friend, Ian Darrah, so I was really happy to find that out and to sit down and speak with her. Josie has a really interesting life story that saw her pursue many different paths before returning to her roots. She wrote a beautiful beginners guide to curandersimo drawing upon her different practices and Mexican and Cuban roots. I found it a really good, concise read and was happy to have her share in her story, life e...

Hey everybody! Episode 174 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Andrew Michaels. I got to know Andrew when he came and worked with us. He’s an interesting guy with an interesting story. He is a lawyer by trade and recently released and will publish a paper entitled Ayahuasca and Religious Freedom. This is an important and prescient topic as ayahuasca is being brought to and worked with in the United States. Currently it is illegal and classified as a Schedule 1 drug. However there is now case law and precedent of groups attaining religious exemption un...

Hey everybody! Episode 173 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Rael Inshan. Rael is an interesting guy who specializes in the amanita muscaria mushroom. I was really happy to have him on to speak about this sacred medicine as its not a topic I have covered much. We spoke about his difficult childhood and how that led him to South America to work with different indigenous medicine traditions. This eventually led him to discover the amanita muscaria mushroom in the woods near him and to begin working with it and to learn, firsthand, it’s be...

Hey everybody! Episode 172 of the show is out. This episode is a podcast I was interviewed on called Embracing the Mystery with Dani Rhem. Dani had reached out to me a while back with interest in my work and was very kind to invite me on her podcast. She has beautiful presence and I was really happy with her questions and the depth of this interview. We spoke primarily about my work with the medicine of trees and tobacco. I hope you all can gain some insights and please consider supporting her work and great podcast as well. As...

Hey everybody! Episode 171 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Stephen Hussey. Stephen has a fascinating story of having survived a widow-maker heart attack in his 30s’ He went on to deeply research the role of the heart and how to optimize its health. It led him on journey to question many of the fundamental assumption of what the heart its, it’s role in the human organism, and how to keep it healthy. We speak about some of these fundamental assumptions, the role of structured water, infrared light, and the deeper meaning behind a pu...

Hey everybody! Episode 170 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Tricia Eastman. I recently came across Tricia’s work and was really impressed with all she has been doing. It seemed we had a similar journey. I was happy to sit down and learn more about her and as she shared was very impressed with her presence and wisdom. We spoke about her journey with ayahuasca, her time working in an ibogaine clinic, her Bwiti initiations with iboga, ancestral lineages she has studied with, and some of the wisdom of this work she has learned al...

Hey everybody! In this episode, I spoke with Adrian Freedman. Adrian recently came into my radar as he was performing in a festival that I knew about. We delayed our talk unit we could meet in person and I’m glad we did. Adrian has a really deep presence and we spoke about his journey being trained in classical music, his learning the Japanese shakuhachi flute and buddhism, his encounter with Santo Daime and ayahuasca, and what he has learned in many decades walking this path. We went over three hours and I really enjoyed speaking with Adrian and tr...

Hey everybody! Episode 168 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Ian McCall. I had known about Ian for many years as a mixed martial artist and recently with his advocacy in psychedelics as medicine. I was really happy to have him on to speak about his background, martial arts, his low points in life and the transformation psychedelics had for him, traumatic brain injury, the the organization he created to bring awareness and help people. Ian is a really fascinating guy with a great life’s story and I’m sure you will get much from...