One-Degree Shifts

Nectara
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Welcome to One-Degree Shifts. A psychedelic podcast where we explore the big questions of meaning at the intersection of psychedelic therapy, integration, wellness, and the heartfelt stories of transformation that connect us all.

  1. 42: Beyond Love and Light: Systemic Healing, Social Justice, and Sacred Rage w/Daniel Miceli

    5d ago

    42: Beyond Love and Light: Systemic Healing, Social Justice, and Sacred Rage w/Daniel Miceli

    Daniel Miceli grew up watching addiction and systemic harm move differently through different parts of his own family, depending on how dark someone's skin was. That early awareness followed him into the Amazon at twenty one, into years of ayahuasca and bufo ceremonies, and eventually into the work he does now, helping people feel the difference between healing themselves and healing the systems they live inside of. This conversation moves through some hard territory. Daniel talks about watching Western facilitators drift toward far right politics while insisting their spaces are apolitical. He talks about anger as something the psychedelic world tends to push aside, and why he thinks that instinct causes harm, especially for people whose grief has real political roots. He talks about extraction, not just of plants and medicines, but of attention, labor, and land, and what it might look like to build psychedelic spaces that don't quietly repeat the same patterns they're meant to help people heal from. What stays with you isn't the critique though. It's the hope underneath it. Daniel believes the discomfort so many people feel right now is part of something waking up, not something falling apart. He talks about his son, about bearing witness without bypassing, and about why he still believes, after fourteen years in this work, that a better world is possible even if he doesn't live to see all of it.  This episode asks a little more of you than some of our other episodes do. It moves through addiction, grief, violence, and some of the harder history underneath this work. If you feel comfortable, I invite you to lean into it. There's something at the other end of it worth reaching.

    1 hr
  2. 41: Ayurveda and the Art of Preparing w/Dr. Sujatha Kekada

    May 28

    41: Ayurveda and the Art of Preparing w/Dr. Sujatha Kekada

    What if the most important part of a journey is everything you do before it begins? Pascal sits down with Dr. Sujatha Kekada, an Ayurvedic physician and co-founder of AmrtaSiddhi Ayurvedic Center in Bali, who has spent more than twenty years helping people prepare their bodies and minds for powerful experiences. Most of us get handed a list of things to cut out before a journey. No alcohol, no red meat, no caffeine. Dr. Sujatha spends this conversation on what to tend to instead. We move through the doshas, through agni, the fire that digests food and experience alike, through ojas, the reserve we either build or burn, and through ama, the residue that collects when we don't digest what we take in. She keeps returning to one image. You can't dye a dirty cloth and expect a clean color. The medicine fills whatever vessel you bring it. Whether you're preparing for a ceremony, sitting with the residue of one, or just curious how an older tradition thinks about all this, this conversation offers a slower, more embodied way in.

    51 min
  3. 40: Whose Meaning Is It Anyway? w/Guy Simon

    Apr 12

    40: Whose Meaning Is It Anyway? w/Guy Simon

    What does it actually mean to make sense of something that broke you open? In this episode, Pascal sits down with Guy Simon, a psychotherapist, trauma researcher, and PhD candidate at Bar-Ilan University, to explore what actually happens when people try to make meaning after a challenging psychedelic experience. Drawing on 48 in-depth interviews with people who had difficult experiences outside clinical settings, Guy shares a map of five distinct patterns of meaning-making, and the specific conditions under which those patterns help, and when they don't. This is one of the most honest and grounded conversations we've had on the show about what integration actually looks like, and what can go wrong when the story you come out with isn't really yours. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction 02:49 About the research 11:16 Having your own internal framework for meaning making 16:21 Patterns 1-2: "The Mind Goes Looking" - Somatic Discovery and Embodied Re-Experiencing 29:37 Pattern 3: "The Experience as Instruction" 40:32 Pattern 4: "The Recursive Healing Project" 49:55 Pattern 5: "When the Framework Fails" 01:03:23 When a facilitator is going beyond holding space and imposing a framework on you 01:07:55 Pattern 6: "The Pressure to Have a Good Story" 01:14:57 Fetishizing the psychedelic insight, undervaluing the mundane 01:23:16 Advice for someone carrying a story that isn't yours into integration 01:27:05 Advice for someone preparing for a journey WHAT WE COVER The five patterns of meaning-making after a challenging psychedelic experienceThe difference between finding a framework and being handed oneSomatic discovery and embodied re-experiencing: when the body becomes the textWhat happens when something comes up in a session that you can't verifyThe only way out is through: when it helps and when it causes harmThe recursive healing project and when more medicine isn't the answerThe social pressure of integration circles and the cost of sharing too soonWhy the best facilitators act like carpetsWhy not knowing is itself a form of knowingAfter the ecstasy, the laundry: finding meaning in ordinary lifeNOTABLE QUOTES "Not knowing is knowing.""You are not a Gabor Maté book. You are very unique and very fragmented and not clear to yourself, and that's okay.""The only way out is through is a framework that can do much more damage than it can support.""The best facilitator should be the best carpet they can be. It's not about you.""Psychedelics are not silver bullets. They act as a compass. You still need the car." "You don't need to fight the dragon. There is no dragon."ABOUT GUY SIMON Guy Simon is a psychotherapist, trauma researcher, and PhD candidate at Bar-Ilan University, based in Amsterdam. His work focuses on how people make meaning after difficult psychedelic experiences outside clinical settings. He is clinical director of Impulse, an integrative mental health center, and a collaborator with the Challenging Psychedelic Experience Project. 🌐 guysimon.com RESOURCES MENTIONED Guy Simon: guysimon.comChallenging Psychedelic Experience ProjectBessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the ScoreJack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy the LaundryAdam Aronovich, Temple of the Way of LightGabor Maté

    1h 31m
  4. 39: Staying Human When the World Feels on Fire w/Daan Keiman

    Feb 3

    39: Staying Human When the World Feels on Fire w/Daan Keiman

    How do we stay human and compassionate when the world feels like it's on fire? In this episode, we sit down with Daan Keiman, a Nectara collaborator, Buddhist practitioner, psychedelic care giver, and someone deeply committed to holding both grief and joy in these turbulent times. Daan brings the wisdom of years of spiritual practice, the honesty of someone still learning, and the courage to face the most difficult questions without pretending to have all the answers. Together, we explore the tension between spiritual truth and lived experience, between rage and compassion, between the desire to change the world and the acceptance of what we cannot control. Daan shares what Buddhism teaches about responding versus reacting, the fierce energy of anger and how to transform it, and what it means to practice love amid suffering...even when that practice asks everything of us. Whether you're navigating grief, anger, confusion, or simply trying to stay present in an increasingly turbulent world, this conversation will meet you where you are and invite you deeper into the questions that matter most. Come join us as we explore what it means to go against the stream with an open heart. This episode is for you if you're....Struggling to balance spiritual practice with activism and social engagementNavigating grief, anger, or despair about the state of the worldWondering how to stay compassionate without spiritually bypassing difficult emotionsCurious about Buddhist perspectives on suffering, impermanence, and compassionSeeking to integrate psychedelic insights into meaningful actionTrying to understand what it means to "live love" in times of injusticeExploring the relationship between personal healing and systemic changeLooking for guidance on working with fierce emotions like anger and rageKey themesFinding joy amid suffering: Buddhist practice in turbulent timesResponsibility vs. reactivity: creating space for compassionate responseThe tension between spiritual truth and lived human experienceWorking with anger as compassionate energy rather than spiritually bypassing itGoing against the stream: individual practice and cultural resistanceAcceptance and impermanence in the face of death and uncertaintyThe myth of individual problems: understanding systemic causes of sufferingIntegration as engagement with the world, not retreat from itSmall acts of love as meaningful resistanceDevotion to compassion while acknowledging our capacity for violenceThe role of community and relational practice in transformationNormalizing difficult emotions and violent impulses on the spiritual path

    1h 15m
  5. 38: Psychedelic Integration Skills for Practitioners w/Marc Aixalà

    2025-12-05

    38: Psychedelic Integration Skills for Practitioners w/Marc Aixalà

    If you’ve spent any time working in the psychedelic space, you’ve likely felt the strain growing beneath the surface. Integration has become a buzzword, yet the actual skills needed to support people after deep experiences have not kept pace. New facilitators are entering the field every week. Training programs multiply. But practical foundations, ethical clarity, and real world competency are often missing. Many practitioners find themselves navigating complex cases with little guidance. Personal experience gets mistaken for professional readiness. Some trainings offer inspiring ideas but lack depth. Others promise certification without preparing people for the realities of supporting someone through confusion, fear, overwhelm, or unfinished processes. This gap affects everyone. It creates uncertainty for clients, frustration for practitioners, and a field full of well intentioned people who simply need better tools. To help illuminate these challenges and the path forward, I’ve included a 30 minute talk in this email where you can hear Marc Aixalà speak directly about the state of integration work today. His reflections come from more than a decade of responding to over a thousand real integration cases through the ICEERS Support Center. It’s a rare chance to listen to someone who has actually been doing this work at scale. This talk also introduces why the ICEERS Integration Training is so valuable. Unlike many programs on the market, this one is built entirely from practical experience. It gives facilitators and care providers real frameworks, scenario based tools, and a clear model for supporting both positive and challenging psychedelic experiences. If you work with journeyers, or hope to, this program offers essential grounding in a field that urgently needs it.

    28 min
  6. 37: Psychedelic Integration: Beyond the Hype w/Marc Aixalà

    2025-12-01

    37: Psychedelic Integration: Beyond the Hype w/Marc Aixalà

    What happens after the journey ends? Why do insights fade? Why does healing feel so hard to hold? In this episode, we sit down with Marc Aixalà, founder of the ICEERS Support Center, clinician in psilocybin research, and someone who has walked beside more than a thousand people navigating the aftermath of psychedelic experiences. Marc brings the clarity of an engineer, the presence of a therapist, and the embodied wisdom of years spent holding space through vulnerability and transformation. Together, we move past the buzzwords and into the lived terrain where expectations soften, insights meet resistance, and healing unfolds in its own quiet rhythm. Marc shares what he's learned about inner challenges, the myths of integration, and the support that makes real change possible. Whether you're a journeyer, facilitator, or simply walking the path of inner work, this conversation will help you understand better how to root your integration into daily life; where the real transformation happens. Come join us as we step into the heart of integration.

    56 min
  7. 36: Rooted in Healing: Iboga, Bwiti, and the Path of Transformation w/Troy Valencia

    2025-09-24

    36: Rooted in Healing: Iboga, Bwiti, and the Path of Transformation w/Troy Valencia

    Pascal sits down with Troy Valencia to explore the world of Iboga and the Bwiti tradition. Troy shares his own journey of initiation and healing with Iboga, offering insights into how ancient practices and modern science can come together in respectful and effective ways. He emphasizes the importance of community, sustainability, and ethics in the use of this sacred plant medicine. We also dive into the science of Iboga and Ibogaine, their therapeutic potential, and the risks and safety considerations that must be understood. This is a conversation about healing as both a personal and collective process—where science, spirit, and community all play a role. 🌿 Who this is for 👉 Journeyers curious about Iboga as a healing path, and what makes it distinct from other medicines 👉 Seekers who want to engage responsibly with the Bwiti lineage and support ethical, sustainable practices 👉 Anyone interested in the intersection of traditional knowledge, conservation, and modern therapeutic science ✨ Key themes Iboga as a powerful plant medicine with deep cultural rootsThe Bwiti lineage: community, lineage, and spiritual growthSustainability and conservation: protecting Iboga’s futureIboga vs. Ibogaine: whole plant and single alkaloid approachesThe role of intention, safety, and preparation in the Iboga experienceIntegration and community as the foundation of lasting transformationEthical sourcing and questions to ask providers before choosing to work with them 🗣️ Notable quotes “The only way to really understand what the Bwiti is, is to sit in ceremony yourself. Words can’t capture the beauty and depth—it’s a way of life, a collective heartbeat.”“Life doesn’t just happen to you—it happens for you, with you, and eventually as you. Iboga taught me that.”“Community isn’t optional—it’s the soil where healing takes root and blossoms.”“Iboga is the rainbow. Ibogaine is just the color red.”“The medicine is powerful, but it’s what you do with your life afterwards that matters most.” ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Introduction to Iboga and the Bwiti Tradition 03:07 – Troy’s Journey and Connection to Iboga 06:08 – Understanding the Bwiti Tradition 08:47 – Living a Bwiti Life in the Modern World 11:52 – The Earthy Connection of Iboga 14:55 – Sustainability and Conservation of Iboga 17:47 – Finding Ethical Iboga Providers 20:35 – The Science Behind Iboga and Ibogaine 29:33 – Understanding Ibogaine and Its Medical Context 31:29 – Risks and Considerations for Iboga and Ibogaine 34:08 – Navigating the Experience: Control and Intention 36:39 – The Importance of Environment and Support 39:16 – The Healing Journey: More Than Just a Quick Fix 40:12 – Psycho-Spiritual Journeys: Deep Healing Through Iboga 48:16 – Empowerment and Community in Healing 51:19 – Preparing for an Iboga Retreat 55:01 – Integration: The Key to Lasting Change 58:31 – The Role of Community in Healing

    1h 2m
  8. 35: Shadows, Light, and Responsibility w/Mee Ok Icaro

    2025-06-29

    35: Shadows, Light, and Responsibility w/Mee Ok Icaro

    Mee Ok shares her powerful personal story of healing from chronic illness through Ayahuasca and her deep relationships with Shipibo teachers in the Amazon. As a queer, transracial adoptee and survivor, her lens is uniquely attuned to the intersections of identity, power, and healing, and how those dynamics show up, often unconsciously, in psychedelic spaces. Together, they unpack the uncomfortable but necessary themes of spiritual superiority, cultural appropriation, unconscious harm, and the ongoing impact of colonial mindsets—especially in Western facilitation of sacred plant medicines. This episode is for: - Facilitators and space-holders who are willing to reflect on how harm, even with good intentions, can still be present in healing spaces—and what humility, feedback, and reparations might look like in practice. - Journeyers and medicine seekers who want to engage more responsibly with the traditions they benefit from, make conscious choices about who they sit with, and understand their role in the larger ecosystem of healing. **THEMES** - Shadows and light in sacred spaces - Why Mee Ok believes Westerners should not be serving sacred plant medicines - What “reparations and sacrifice” mean in a healing context - Cultural and spiritual contamination vs. sacred exchange - How feedback is an act of love and a pathway to integrity - The danger of pedestal culture in spiritual work - Indigenous sovereignty and supporting lineage-led healing - Ways to be in right relationship with sacred traditions This is a conversation about truth-telling, leaning into challenging topics, and healing as a relational, not personal, path. It’s about becoming the kind of people—and the kind of community—the medicine has been asking us to be all along. **CONNECT** Book a 1:1 session with Mee Ok: https://www.nectara.co/guides/mee-ok-icaro Join Mee Ok's BIPOC circles on Nectara: https://www.nectara.co/membership Explore her private offerings: https://www.HoldingCompassionate.space Mee Ok's Substack: https://meeok.substack.com/

    1h 7m
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About

Welcome to One-Degree Shifts. A psychedelic podcast where we explore the big questions of meaning at the intersection of psychedelic therapy, integration, wellness, and the heartfelt stories of transformation that connect us all.

Information

  • Creator
    Nectara
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Nectara
  • Show Website
    One-Degree Shifts

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