The Entheogenic Evolution

My guest this week is Spencer Burton, founder of Iboga Rebirth, the first and only legal entheogenic church in the state of Oregon that provides Iboga retreats. This interview adds to my growing collection of conversations about entheogenic churches and is another addition to those that are specifically in the great state of Oregon. Spencer and I had a lengthy conversation about his own initiation into Iboga, his time with the Bwiti, and how he sees Iboga as assisting in the process of rebirthing oneself into a more authentic and present way of being and living life.

My guest this week is Jeffrey Stevens from Psyched Wellness which has developed an effective and safe amanita muscaria extract product, "Calm." Having used it myself, I can attest to its calming, relaxing, and dreamy effects - completely unlike psilocybin mushrooms. It's primarily marketed as a sleep aid, but can be used for enjoyment as an alcohol alternative, as well. We discuss the product, sleep, and more.

My guest this week is Hamilton Souther of Blue Morpho Academy. In our conversation we get into Hamilton's spiritual awakening, his controversial apprenticeship in the world of ayahuasca, and the development of Blue Morpho and its programs for serving ayahuasca and dietas.

The other week, as part of the course I'm helping teach with the Mindscape Psychedelic Institute, I, along with several of the students, visited The UnChurch in Iowa for in-person training. This week's episode recounts my impressions and reflections on the week, what I feel the students got out of it, why instruction on both theory and practice are important, as well as a few comments made by the students themselves of what they feel they've gained by participating in the course.

My guest this week is Pyasa Neko Siff who's here to share her beautiful and moving 5-MeO-DMT-inspired spoken word piece, which is also available as a visually captivating video HERE. We have a deep conversation about the 5-MeO experience and the process of articulating deep truths from the experience, such as is available here with her spoken word.

My guest this week is director and filmmaker, Jeffery Lando, who's here to share all about his new film, "Lissa's Trip". A young actress accidentally takes too much LSD and has to take an inner and outer trip across Los Angeles for an audition in this delightful indie film which makes novel use of AI in a variety of ways, including the production of psychedelic visuals. Jeffery joined me for a lively discussion all about it. You can find the film online HERE.

Continuing with my ongoing theme of collecting narratives from founders of modern entheogenic churches, this week's episode features a lengthy conversation with James Hin, founder of the Psilo Temple in Eugene, Oregon. James shares his story and his emphasis on Psychedelics, Sound, Integration, Love, and Oneness (P.S.I.L.O.), his personal journey into entheogens, his experience of operating the church, membership, offerings, community relations, and more. You can find out more about the church online at Psilotemple.org.

My guest for this week's episode is founder of the Universal Shamans of the New Tomorrow Bufo Alvarius Church in Texas. Brooke and I discuss her process of her coming into working with Bufo, the inspiration for founding the church, how church services work in her outside ceremonial space, and also their integration services and facilitation training through developing a relationship with the medicine. You can find out more about the church at their website, USNTchurch.com.

This week I'm joined by Madison Callahan to discuss her work with Iboga Healing Retreats in Portugal as well as her work as an integration coach specializing in Iboga and Bwiti traditions. We discuss being a parent, raising kids outside of the US and in the context of traditional medicine work, her time with the Bwiti, and more. You can find out more about the Iboga retreats at IbogaHealing.com and learn more about her integration work at Roots Integration

Inspired by his recent post about receiving religious freedom tax exempt status, I invited Ian Wallin of Ashland's Psilo Sangha for an interview to share his story of the process of setting up a religious ministry for psilocybin sacraments. We met at Ian's downtown Ashland office where he shared his emotionally raw and surprising story of attempting to work through two different psilocybin assisted services facilitator training programs for the state of Oregon, which did not go well, to put it bluntly. In this lengthy and very personal interview, Ian gives us an intimate inside look at some of the problems in the state-run program, and how it inspired him to take his mission into his own hands and make Psilo Sangha official.And here's an additional statement from Ian: "I'd like to start by saying thanks again, Martin, for giving me the opportunity to share my experience in creating Psilo Sangha and giving me the opportunity to introduce our church to the community. I want to give a big shout out to our amazing team and board of directors, Jaron Riddle, Anna keppen, Dani Thomas, Urith Davis, and Caleb Upperton, along with all of our beautiful supporters. We're an eclectic group from different backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities, and I'm just extremely thrilled we've found each other and united in support of this spiritual work and practice. I also want to bow and thank my mom, Jaymie Lujan, for being so supportive of me as I've tripped and stumbled and crawled and dusted myself off along this path. We've often had a difficult relationship but this medicine has been very healing for both of us. Our board is going to visit her where she lives in Oaxaca next year, and she's going to connect us with a traditional curandera, in support of our efforts to better honor and understand the indigenous roots of these practices. I know we're all really excited to deepen our relationship with this medicine and hopefully build a bridge with that community in Oaxaca."

My guest this week is author Paul Karasik who's here to discuss his newly released book, Getting High on Leadership. In addition to being an author, Paul is from the old school psychedelic world who has found new life in the modern psychedelic movement and is the founder of the Psychedelic Institute of Los Angeles and is the organizer of the Psychedelic Awakening event in LA, which got started in 2023 and will be returning for 2024. In this interview we discuss his early experiences with psychedelics, his renewed interest in the "psychedelic renaissance," and of course, his new book.

This week I'm joined by author, Astraeus Amori, to discuss his new book, Psychedelic Sacred Sexuality. We discuss the role of various psychedelics in sexual experiences and how to work with your consenting partner. You can find out more about him and his book at his website.

My guest this week is Pablo Lopez, a psychotherapist in Spain, who is interested in how the nonduality and energetics of the 5-MeO-DMT experience relate to human development, egoic blocks, sexuality, and more. We have a wide-ranging conversation on these and other topics in this interview. Due to its length, the last 3rd of the conversation has been posted to my Patreon page exclusively for my Patrons. Also, as a special treat this week, we've got the track "Love is the Law" from musician Coren Smith who has just released his newest album, "Divine Will". The album is out now on all digital music platforms and you can find it at Spotifiy here

A few weeks ago, The Church of the Sacred Synthesis released information to the public that their year-long research into the chemistry of their sacrament, the novel compound of Psilomethoxin (4-HO-5-MeO-DMT), had yielded promising results. To help us understand what they've done and what they've found, I've invited their science officer, Adam McKay, and Ian Benouis to join me in a 3-way conversation about the research, the results, and where they're going from here. Just a reminder to my listening audience: I am not a chemist! Adam presents as a careful researcher and his findings seem interesting and compelling to me, but again, I'm not a chemist. Listen in and hear what he has to say . . .

Entheogenic Religious Rights lawyer, Greg Lake, returns to the Entheogenic Evolution Podcast this week to discuss a pro bono case he's currently litigating in Detroit where a Black-run entheogenic church has been raided and shut down. Greg tells us all about the case and why he feels it's important for broader issues in religious freedom. If you're interested in supporting Greg's pro bono work, then I encourage you to visit his Patreon Page

We are now into the appendices for the audiobook of Faciliating 5-MeO-DMT. Appendix A is one of my own contributions and is "Integrating 5-MeO-DMT: Embodying Your Relationship to Yourself as the Divine." The sharing of this selection just so happens to coincide with the release of my newest book, 5-MeO-DMT Integration: Embodying Nonduality is Not What You Think - Education and Empowerment for Working with the God Molecule, which is now available in paperback and ebook on Amazon and Kindle, and also as a full-color PDF at my Patreon Shop. The new book is basically a fully-fleshed out expansion of the ideas expressed in this appendix. The audiobook is forthcoming, but in the meantime, you can find my 12 other audiobooks at Audible, Amazon, and the Apple iBookstore.

Starting in late March, TheUnchurch University is offering an 8-month weekly training program for those who are looking to facilitate with 5-MeO-DMT. The course is designed by Stephan Kerby, and I will be serving as a lecturer and adjunct professor with the training program, teaching 1-2 classes each month. In this podcast episode, we have some back-and-forth about 5-MeO-DMT, what makes it unique, what we're looking to offer in the training program, and more. There's still a spot or two left in the program. Use the link in the description if you want more info.

My guest this week is April Pride, founder of Of Like Minds website and host of The High Guide Podcast. April joins me to discuss the topic of women and psychedelics, touching on issues of women in the psychedelic and cannabis space, how women's shifting hormones impacts their sensitivity to psychedelics, women and microdosing psilocybin, being an entrepreneur and podcast host, and more.Also, I'm inviting listeners to download a free 5-Chapter Sampler of my AI-Illustrated Novel, "The Solandarian Game." You can use THIS LINK to get your free copy.

This week on The Entheogenic Evolution we're exploring a different kind of altered state of conscious: that of sleep and the many in-between states. My guest is author and sleep expert, Philip Carr-Gomm. For the interview, we did a book swap where I read his book about getting better sleep, The Gift of the Night: A Six-Step Program for Better Sleep, and Philip read my medical memoir, A Sleep Story: an Unintentional Exploration of the Altered States of Being Awake. We have an enlightening, personal, and practical discuss about sleep, how things can go wrong, what the experiences are like, and what to do (and NOT do!) about it.

This week my guest is Andrew Tansil from Sayulita Wellness Retreat in Mexico. We talk about what brought Andrew into running a psychedelic retreat, how they function, and what they offer, as well as Andrew's own transformative experiences with psychedelic medicines. You can find the retreat online at www.sayulitawellnessretreat.com

Psychedelic toads, AI gods, rogue avatars, feral humans, a galaxy-spanning society, nonduality, and Burning Man come together for epic story-telling in this brand new AI-imagined art illustrated version of my 2016 novel, The Solandarian Game. This new illustrated version, available in PDF and ebook, features over 600 carefully curated AI-generated images, bringing the story, characters, and locations to life in beautiful and colorful detail. What better way to bring a story about an enlightened Artificial Intelligence to life than with AI art? This was an epic project to embark upon, and I’m extremely pleased with the results. The full color PDF version is now available for purchase at my shop at www.patreon.com/martinwball and also as an ebook at Kindle and the iBookstore. To help promote the new version of the book, I'm sharing the first two chapters from the audiobook to bring you into the story and hopefully get you excited about this new illustrated version. I've also made a free 5-Chapter Sampler of the illustrated novel available for download. You can get the FREE SAMPLE HERE

My guest this week is Jon Kamin, creator and curator of the Frshminds website where Jon complies information about psychedelic retreat centers with loads of information to help people navigate and choose which retreat might be best for them. We discuss how he sought to personally visit as many retreat centers as possible, find reliable information about them, and how he's sorted it all to help those looking for the perfect psychedelic retreat.

My guest this week is "Caps," a 5-MeO facilitator in the American Midwest, who shares his unique approach to inspiring creativity with low-dose 5-MeO-DMT experiences (but significantly, only AFTER a full-release dose!), how he got into serving. We also get into his interest in long-distance endurance running, the topic of suffering during psychedelic experiences, and what brought him into first experiencing personally and then facilitating 5-MeO. It's a long one, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!

This week my guest is Edwin Jansen, who was inspired to reach out after listening to the "A Marine, A Monk, and a 5-MeO-DMT Facilitator Walk into a Bar . . ." episode, given his shared enthusiasm for the Enneagram and 5-MeO-DMT. We talk more about the Enneagram (I took a test and we talk about it), get into Edwin's regular practice of using the M-Pen (www.mind-fully.co) for microdosing and meditation, and what he experienced when he went all the way. Plus, we talk a little about Edwin's interest in using AI for coaching services.

It's all about the music this week with my guest "Hewkii" (AKA Helgi Freyr Tomasson) whose new album, "Ecstasy Juice from God," is coming out this Dec. We've got an exclusive pre-release listen here on The Entheogenic Evolution. We talk about music, creativity, entheogens, inspiration, and of course, get into the tracks themselves, several of which Helgi brought me in on as a guest voice and musician. You can find Hewkii online via this link: https://linktr.ee/hewkii

The other week I was invited to co-facilitate a psychedelic retreat for personal growth and transformation using psilocybin mushrooms and 5-MeO-DMT. This episode recounts my experience of the participants requesting that I engage in nondual energy work with them during their medicine sessions, a practice from which I've been retired for the past seven years. Here's my take on diving back into this practice, how it went, and why the participants were keen on receiving this kind of work from me during their medicine sessions.

This week we continue with the conversation with Sarah Knapik, discussing her practice with Bufo, what caused her to walk away and the reassessment that occurred, and why, after a couple of months of reflection, she decided to step back into her role as Bufo facilitator.

This week my guest is Sarah Knapik and she's here to share her own healing and transformation journey and her work as a Bufo facilitator. Due to the lengthy nature of our conversation, which was then followed up by an additional conversation/interview, I've split it into two parts, with part II coming out next week. Sarah is an interesting case in that she worked as a facilitator, was intending to found an entheogenic church, and then walked away from it all . . . only to come back a couple of months later. These two podcast episodes will share all the details, so enjoy!

The other month I was contacted by a person looking to make use of my nondual entheogenic integration services with a twist - he proposed that we record the integration call and make it available as a podcast episode. So, that's exactly what we've done. As an additional bonus, we've got a surprise twist for you at the end of our conversation ;). If you'd like to set up a consultation for yourself, check out www.nondualentheogenicintegration.com for more info.

This week my guest is the fascinating and dynamic Acacea Lewis. Acacea shares her story of personal struggles, being a precocious youth, studying astrophysics, alchemy, her work with Mike Crowley, Kilindi Iyi, and Tom Lane, her use of high-dose mushrooms and her efforts to educate people on the topic, and so much more. It was my pleasure to not only meet Acacea and get to hang out, but also speak with her for this podcast episode. Enjoy!

Approximately 2.5 years ago, completely out of the blue, Psymposia came along and weaponized a then-five-year-old video of one of my public talks and through blatant distortion and radical decontextualization, launched an abusive campaign against me. Despite engaging in clearly unethical journalism, Psymposia's labeling of me as an "abuser" has been widely accepted, promoted, and complacently repeated throughout much of the psychedelic world. Their smear campaign has been very successful in getting me "cancelled," with a few notable exceptions. Because I'm continually coming up against the wall of exclusion that Psymposia created, I'm revisiting the issue here on the only real platform I have - my podcast. In this episode, I discuss what things were like before Psymposia, what Psymposia did and why it's unarguably unethical journalistic abuse, how I've been personally and professionally harmed and blacklisted, and issue a re-exploration of the context that Psymposia purposefully neglected. Ultimately, this is my request to have my case reconsidered by the public, hold Psymposia accountable for their abuses, and to encourage supporters to push back against the narrative they've created about me, my work, and who I am as a human being. Thank you for listening.

Stephan Kerby of The Unchurch (www.theunchurchchurch.com) returns to the Entheogenic Evolution Podcast to share about his upcoming certification course on being a "Trauma Informed Entheogenic Guide." In addition to talking about the course, we cover more info about the UnChurch and Kerby's desire to move from facilitation to more education. There's still time to sign up for the course and Kerby is offering a discount to listeners from the podcast and you can use this affiliate link: https://theunchurchchurch.mykajabi.com/affiliate_users/sign_up

My guest this week is author, Mike Marinacci, discussing his just-released book, Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches: LSD, Cannabis, and Spiritual Sacraments in Underground America. It's a fascinating historical read and brings to light both well known and obscure religious movements in the US where psychedelics have been used as part of religious practice, covering from the formation of the Native American Church all the way up to internet religions in 2021.

It's a great pleasure to welcome back Rachel Harris to the podcast. In this conversation, Rachel shares all about her new book, "Swimming in the Sacred," which documents the practices of female underground psychedelic practitioners who have no intention to going "above ground" in their work with entheogenic medicines. Listen in and find out more.

My guests this week are Carson Barker and Clif Haley from the marketing firm, IcaroConnect.com, which specializes in marketing for legal psychedelic services such as therapy and entheogenic churches. Based in Austin, Texas, a progressive island in a sea of reactionary conservatism, we talk all about how they got into the business, what they offer, and how it's a sign of the times as the legal landscape shifts and grows.

Joining the Entheogenic Evolution Podcast for her interview debut, my guest is Jessica Marie who shares her own healing story with a chronic health condition and psychedelic medicines, her work with Bufo, her experience with Tom Lane and the ceremony of the deified heart, and her entheogenic church, the "One World Heart." You can find out more at www.oneworldheart.love

This week Lama Mike Crowley comes back on the podcast to discuss his new book, Psychedelic Buddhism: A User's Guide to Traditions, Symbols, and Ceremonies. It's always great to have Mike - a vast reservoir of knowledge of Buddhism and Indian religions - back on the podcast. His new book is available now.

My guest this week is the founder of the Center for Cinesomatic Development (www.cinesomatics.org), Andrew Daniel. We get deep into his own story of discovering his authenticity and how traumas and patterns are encoded in the body and our expressiveness, and how he developed the cinesomatic program to help others release and transform themselves

This week's episode is my reading of an essay I've been working on since returning from The Church of Psilomethoxin's event, EntheoGenesis, last weekend in Austin, Texas. While no definitive answers are provided, I explore the topic of Usona's "study" that psilomethoxin is "fiction" and "placebo effect" by taking a well-rounded look at claims made, the context of the church and their practices, and as a participant-observer in a truly wonderful and nurturing event.

This week's episode is all about healing with Iboga with Tisha Ingram of www.discovertheroot.com. Tisha is trained in traditional use of Iboga with the Bwiti in Gabon and seeks to bring healing to others with grounded ceremony and conscientious use of this powerful entheogen.

My guest this week is man from the land down under, John Wood, the founder of www.rageheart.co, which focuses on helping people navigate and integrate psychedelic experiences with an emphasis on emotional expression and somatics, especially for men. Listen in and learn more about "The crazy Aussie who doesn't believe in meditation" . . .

My guest this week is author Paul Austin and we talk about all things microdosing - health and wellbeing, flow states, creativity, problem solving, leadership and more! He's the author of the book, Mastering Microdosing, and is also the creator of the mircodosing support and education website, www.thethirdwave.co, which offers information about the practice, coach training, and molecule-specific instructions. Additionally, Paul was a co-founder of Synthesis (and is no longer associated with the business), which recently went bankrupt while in the process of training the first generation of psilocybin assisted therapists here in Ashland, Oregon, so we get into what went down and how others are picking up the pieces.

My guest is 5-MeO-DMT facilitator, Stephan Kerby, who is also the founder of The Unchurch, (www.theunchurch.com), Wounded Healer Outreach (www.woundedhealeroutreach.com) and The Entheogenic Explorers Podcast. We discuss his personal story, helping those in need, founding the non-doctrinal "Unchurch," facilitation, and integration.

My guest this week is Marik Hazan, founder of Tabula Rasa, a psychedelic healthcare investing venture. We discuss how psychedelic healthcare is being invested in and developed, and also how he's undertaken to bring awareness around the topics to the wealthiest of the wealthy at Davos. You can learn more at: www.tabularasa.ventures

My guest is Samala, who has come into the practice of helping others integrate their entheogenic experiences with Universal Mindfulness after her own introduction to the world of psychedelic medicines via MDMA and 5-MeO-DMT with Nyx Ingen in Iceland.

The conversation around Psilomethoxin and its official church continues with one of the church founders and entheogenic religious freedom lawyer, Ian Benouis. We dive into the history of entheogenic religious rights (and rites), the burgeoning movement to create legally recognized entheogenic churches, psilomethoxin, and some of our other favorite molecules.

For this week's episode, I'm joined by underground 5-MeO-DMT facilitator, Jason, discussing his unique approach to addressing mineral health and use of art and color therapy as adjuncts to both preparing for and integrating 5-MeO-DMT experiences.

My guest is Susannah Rose Stokes, former marine turned medicine worker, discussing her healing path and journey into psychedelic medicines and the formation of the "House of Metamorphosis" as a religious non-profit to help others along on their path of transformation

The team at www.BridgingHeaven.com of Rak Razam, Eugene Alliende and Quilley Powers are welcomed back to The Entheogenic Evolution Podcast to discuss how their first meditation and low-dose 5-MeO-DMT retreat went in 2022 and what they're reflecting on for their upcoming 2023 retreats.

Two of the founders (and newly married couple) of the Church of Psilomethoxin, Greg and Jenna Lake, are my guests this week. We discuss the formation of the new entheogenic church whose sacrament is an edible form of 5-MeO-DMT, "psilomethoxin," which is produced by introducing 5-MeO-DMT to psilocybin mushrooms, which then go on to produce 4-OH-5-MeO-DMT rather than psilocybin and psilocyn for a true merging of science and religion. You can learn more at www.psilomethoxin.com