Transcending paradigms at the intersection of science, spirituality and psychedelic medicine
In eclectic conversations navigating psychological growth, psychedelic spirits and everything in between, Onaya welcomes wide-ranging guests from neuroscientists and musical healers to Shipibo curanderos.
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Episode 1: Ontology and Psychedelic Perspectivism with Dr David Luke
Dr David Luke has been teaching the Psychology of Exceptional Human Experience at the University of Greenwich for 15 years. He is also a Lecturer at the Alef Trust as Programme Leader of the Professional Certificate in Psychedelics, Altered States and Transpersonal Psychology, and tutor on the MSc Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology.
In a wild and varied research career, he has focused on transpersonal experiences and altered states of consciousness, especially via psychedelics, having published more than 100 academic papers in this area, including thirteen books, most recently DMT Entity Encounters: Dialogues on the Spirit Molecule (2021).
Here, Simon and Dave discuss the more extreme end of psychedelia, how they can alter our understanding of reality and connection to nature, and the future of the psychedelic movement in light of transpersonal experiences that are hard to explain within a Western scientific framework.
Dr Luke is one of many experts on Onaya's new 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme, with the first cohort launching in September 2024.
Episode 2: Indigenous Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies (IPAT)
How can we develop models of psychedelic-assisted therapy that incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, and acknowledge that we heal together in community - models that have cultural safety at the forefront, that are accessible and of benefit to Indigenous peoples and Westerners alike?
IPAT is an Australian organisation dedicated to this mission, acknowledging the Indigenous wisdom that has underpinned the use of plant medicines for thousands of years, and Indigenous peoples globally as the knowledge keepers in their use.
Here, IPAT co-founders Jem Stone, Kirt Mallie and Dr Bianca Sebben present Simon with IPAT's vision for a safe and healthy cultural ecosystem of psychedelic usage, navigating obstacles and facilitating intercultural synergies. All three are experts on Onaya's new 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme.
Jem is a First Nations woman of mixed heritage, a cultural Educator, wellness practitioner, trainer and co-founder of IPAT; Kirt is a Mualgal man, an Indigenous therapist, cultural educator and spiritual counsellor; Bianca is a clinical psychologist with a special interest in complex trauma, dissociative disorders and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Episode 3: Ayahuasca, Animism and Anthropology with Dr Jeremy Narby
"These are smart people: bright, hard-working, truth-telling and funny, and they have this whole approach to the living world that's off the charts compared to ours.
They have lots of knowledge that we won't even recognise. We're ready to rip it off if we can make remedies with it, but actually taking them seriously, in terms of what they say about how they know things? No way!"
Jeremy Narby is a renowned anthropologist, author, and advocate for indigenous knowledge systems, particularly in the Amazon. His influential book, The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge (1998), explores the parallels between shamanic visions and molecular biology, proposing a connection between indigenous knowledge and our scientific understanding of DNA.
He has conducted extensive fieldwork with indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, advocating for their rights and the preservation of their traditional knowledge. His involvement with NGOs like Nouvelle Planète supports sustainable development and highlights the importance of indigenous perspectives in addressing global environmental challenges.
Episode 4: Intuition and the Psychedelic Body with Dr Esme Dark
“Knowledge is just a rumour until it’s in the muscles.” ~ Proverb from the Asaro people of Papua New Guinea
In this episode, Simon talks to Dr Esme Dark about the special interplay between felt intuition, embodied knowledge and psychedelic experience for facilitating healing and transformation.
Esme Dark is a psychedelic and somatic therapist with over 15 years of experience working as a clinical psychologist, including a decade of refugee mental health work in Australia, Thailand and the UK. She works as one of the core trial therapists as part of the Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab at Monash University, having supported participants through the largest psychedelic trial in Australia to date, exploring psilocybin-assisted therapy to treat anxiety. Esme also has a private practice offering in-person and remote services.
Dr Dark is one of many experts on Onaya's new 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme. Find more information and enroll on our next cohort here.
Episode 5: Cultivating the Fire with Julian Vayne
“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” ~ Gustav Mahler
From Simon's misadventures with a not-so-traditional Shipibo treatment for tinnitus, to the connection between spirituality and madness, this episode is a ride through all things weird and wonderful at the fringes of spiritual scholarship with Julian Vayne.
Julian's obsession with group ritual practice began within the Western Esoteric Tradition when he was 16. Since then he has worked in ceremony with practitioners from many different lands and lineages, as a senior member of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros and widely recognized as one of Britain’s leading occultists.
Today, Julian is the author of books, essays, journals and articles in both the academic and esoteric press, including Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony (2017). He sees his work as part of the process to help re-imagine an earth-centered, non-dogmatic, open-source spirituality.
Julian is one of many experts on Onaya's new 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme, which Simon outlines at the start of this episode. Find more information and enroll on our next cohort here.
Episode 6: Buddhism Meets Shamanism with Dr Isa Gucciardi
“The Earth is a huge field of sentience..."
Dr Isa Gucciardi holds degrees in cultural and linguistic anthropology, comparative religion, and transpersonal psychology. She has spent over 30 years studying spiritual, therapeutic, and meditative techniques, working with master teachers of Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Sufism, as well as expert indigenous and shamanic practitioners from around the world.
She has trained thousands of students in Depth Hypnosis, her therapeutic model that blends elements of ancient wisdom and contemporary psychological thought, alongside her unique programmes of Buddhist Psychology and Applied Shamanism. She also lectures at UC Berkeley and internationally.
In this episode, Isa and Simon discuss the influence of her unusual upbringing in Hawaii; the common stream running through different spiritual traditions, and their different layers of orthodoxy; the idea of Jesus as a curandero, and the possibility that he spent time learning in India; attitudes towards psychedelics within Buddhism; companionship and resonance between different plants; the fallibility of shamans and dangers of glorifying indigenous cultures; the dark sides of shamanism compared to the ethical framework of the Dharma; impermanence, interconnection and the place-based teachings of the earth; and other topics.
Dr Gucciardi is one of many experts on Onaya’s new 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme. Find more information and enroll on our next cohort here.
Episode 7: The Psychedelic Enlightenment? with Alexander Beiner
With challenges to the so-called psychedelic renaissance, do we now need a ‘psychedelic enlightenment’ that changes not just ourselves, but our culture?
Alexander Beiner is an author, journalist and facilitator focused on bringing new ways of seeing and being from the margins of culture into the mainstream.
Last year, Ali published a bestselling book, The Bigger Picture: How Psychedelics Can Help Us Make Sense of the World (2023), and now writes a popular Substack with the same name.
He is an executive director of Breaking Convention, Europe's longest-running conference on psychedelic medicine and culture. He was also one of the founders of Rebel Wisdom, a popular alternative media platform that explored the cutting-edge of systems change and cultural sensemaking.
This episode focused on how we might use psychedelics in the effort to fix our systems and change our cultures, exploring: Ali's background and early fascination with altered states; crisis, meta-crisis, and the need for systems change; ‘E-Cognition’ and cultural frameworks that shape our thinking; the problem of false insights under psychedelics; the need for discernment and collective interpretation; 'saving the world’ vs changing culture; artificial intelligence and the prospects of an animist revival; AI interactions as entity encounters; Shipibo perspectives on progress and technology; and other topics.
Ali Beiner is one of many experts on Onaya’s new 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme. Find more information and enroll on our next cohort here.
Episode 8: Plants and Partnership with Dr Bia Labate
Dr Beatriz Caiuby Labate is a Brazilian anthropologist based in San Francisco. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology, and is the author, or co-author or co-editor of twenty-eight books and many peer-reviewed articles, focusing on the study of plant medicines, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, religion, and social justice.
She is Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines and serves as Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), amongst other roles.
In this episode, Simon and Bia explored:
frustrations with academia and the story behind Chacruna
psychedelic justice and the work of the Institute
building bridges and mending fences
the commodification of psychedelics
tokenistic representation of Indigenous people
anthropology and the role of social science in understanding psychedelics
building partnerships and the importance of unlearning
why cultivating diversity of perspectives is so essential
Bia Labate is one of many experts on Onaya's 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme, where we're currently offering a special 25% discount until Monday 2nd December, with the code 'AFONAYA25'.
External podcast appearances
The Drug Science Podcast (113)
Dr Simon Ruffell explores the psychological impact of ayahuasca and the Shipibo people's plant medicine traditions, discussing the dangers of drug tourism, the ayahuasca diet, and the cultural evolution of DMT from shamanic use to mainstream media.
The H-Hour Podcast
Dr Simon Ruffell and Dr WaiFung Tsang explore the healing potential of ayahuasca, its impact on mental and physical health, and the blend of Indigenous wisdom with modern scientific research.
Unfollow the Blind Leader
The language of nature: weaving poetic reflections on nature and transformation with Dr Simon Ruffell's insights into merging Western psychiatry and Amazonian shamanic healing.
The Lucas Rockwood Show
Dr Simon Ruffell explores ayahuasca's traditional Amazonian use, its potential in modern mental health treatment, and the challenges of its ceremonial versus clinical applications.
Accidental Gods
Plant teacher medicine: this episode bridges modern science and ancient plant wisdom as Dr Simon Ruffell goes on a journey through Peru, blending cutting-edge research with Indigenous traditions.
Seeking - Sony Music
A conversation about the psychedelic renaissance with Amanda Feilding and Dr Simon Ruffell.
Isn’t Life Curious?
Explore the science and philosophy of ayahuasca, with conversations on the booming psychedelic retreat industry and the team's immersive research on ayahuasca in Peru.
The Psychedelic Leadership Podcast
Dr Simon Ruffell discusses how Onaya Science's research on ayahuasca in Peru merges ancient healing wisdom with modern science, unlocking new insights into trauma, epigenetics, and mental health.
The Drug Science Podcast (12)
Dr Simon Ruffell explores the psychological impact of ayahuasca and the Shipibo people's plant medicine traditions, discussing the dangers of drug tourism, the ayahuasca diet, and the cultural evolution of DMT from shamanic use to mainstream media.