In & Through: The Onaya Podcast

Onaya
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  • RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
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In times of political, ecological and psychospiritual crisis — the only way out is In & Through. Join Onaya as we welcome some of the most interesting people we know, to discuss eclectic topics from psychedelic medicine and Indigenous ways of knowing, to spirit entities, the meaning of dreams, and singing to the plants. Your main host is our founder Dr Simon Ruffell, a psychiatrist and research psychologist with a PhD in Amazonian ayahuasca and a student of Shipibo curanderismo. Onaya is dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional indigenous knowledge and modern science, including a not-for-profit research arm that studies ayahuasca and other Amazonian plant medicine practices. We offer one-to-one support, consultancy and accredited courses that combine shamanism and biomedical science to facilitate holistic individual and collective healing. For more information, please visit https://www.onaya.io/ or join our mailing list. *** For a special 10% discount to our 6-Month Psychedelic Mentorship Training, head to our website and use the code 'INTHROUGH10' *** Co-producers: Robbie Redway and Caspar Montgomery Music: United Freedom Collective

  1. #21 — Soul Retrieval and Nutrition as Medicine with Rory Lamont

    FEB 21

    #21 — Soul Retrieval and Nutrition as Medicine with Rory Lamont

    In this episode, Dr Simon Ruffell is joined by Rory Lamont, a former professional rugby union player who represented Scotland in two World Cups and earned 29 international caps, playing for Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks, and Toulon. Rory’s story is one of profound rupture and transformation. After years of injuries and repeated concussions, he suffered a career-ending leg break during the 2012 Six Nations. The loss of his career and identity, alongside multiple surgeries and pharmaceutical interventions, precipitated a deep physical, psychological, and spiritual crisis that brought him to the brink. What followed was a journey that took him far beyond the world of elite sport, including to Costa Rica, where he encountered the plant medicine Iboga. In this conversation, Rory speaks candidly about that experience: confronting his past, reckoning with the impact of his previous lifestyle, including the volume of pharmaceutical drugs inherent in being a professional rugby player, on his body and mind, and undergoing what he describes as a profound spiritual re-awakening. Together, Simon and Rory explore themes of soul loss and retrieval; experiences that can echo what we might clinically call trauma or PTSD; and the possibility of healing when parts of ourselves feel too unsafe to remain. They discuss the contrasts and complementarities between Western medicine and Indigenous traditions, the role of diet and detoxification, and the importance of community in recovery. Inspired by his own healing journey, Rory went on to co-found CAIM, a health and wellness retreat centre in the Scottish Highlands, offering breathwork, meditation, plant-based nutrition, and spaces for deep personal restoration. This conversation celebrates how collapse can be followed by reconstruction, the recognition of identity beyond performance, and the growing dialogue between science and spirituality in our collective understanding of health. Onaya is offering a 20% discount code on our Psychedelic Mentorship Training (next starting February 24th) to the CAIM community, which you can unlock at checkout with the code: CAIM20 Links CAIM’s website Life After Rugby (Rory’s Journey) Instagram: @rory_lamont

    1h 38m
  2. #20 — Death, Rebirth, Reclaiming the Witch with Tree Carr

    JAN 13

    #20 — Death, Rebirth, Reclaiming the Witch with Tree Carr

    Tree Carr is a dream worker, TEDx speaker, and the author of nine publications, whose work spans the thresholds of death, dreams, and consciousness.  A transpersonal psychologist with a focus on altered states, dreamwork, and psychedelic-assisted therapy, Tree is a graduate of the Alef Trust and a CPD Crossfields Institute Certified Death Doula. She teaches at the College of Psychic Studies, The Psychedelic Society UK, and has tutored lucid dreaming at the Royal College of Art. In the 20th episode of In & Through, host Dr Simon Ruffell and Tree explore the numinous beginnings of Tree’s journey into these liminalities, initiated by a near-death experience at the age of four, a pivotal moment that shaped her lifelong orientation toward liminal states and unseen worlds. This conversation then explores Tree’s work as a death doula, the specificities of supporting people at the end of life, and how death work is inseparable from questions of meaning, presence, and consciousness. They explore dreams as vital explorations of consciousness, discussing why dreaming has held such importance across Indigenous cultures worldwide, and why reconnecting with the dreamscape is especially necessary in the contemporary Western world. The episode also unpacks the concept of the tem “witch” as a practitioner of magic, wisdom, and embodied knowledge, and why reclaiming and redefining this term matters as magic begins to reawaken in the British Isles. Looking toward the future, Simon and Tree also discuss AI and its role in the evolution of consciousness, debating whether it could be a powerful tool for good or ill, depending on human intention. This episode concludes with reflections on interconnectedness, integrity, and the importance of hope in the face of global challenges. LinksTree’s websiteLucid Dreaming Course: Exploring the Dream Realms (starts 19 January 2026)Sessions and Services with TreeTechnomancy: Tech Magic and Spells for the 21st-Century Witch (Out May 2026, available now for pre-order!)  We are delighted to offer a 15% discount to Tree’s community to take part in Onaya’s 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training (Next Start: 24 February 2026) with the code: TREECARR15

    1h 33m
  3. #19 — Entheogenic iCloud: Mycelial Sciences with Darren Le Baron

    12/18/2025

    #19 — Entheogenic iCloud: Mycelial Sciences with Darren Le Baron

    Darren Le Baron is a world-renowned educator in ethnomycology and psychedelic studies, based between the UK and the Caribbean. A grassroots community activist with a background in creative arts, organic horticulture, and permaculture, he is a programme curator of Breaking Convention and the creator of the Shroomshop, a mushroom cultivation initiative that engages local communities, schools, and businesses while reconnecting people to fungi as teachers, healers, and allies. In this conversation, Darren Le Baron and Dr Simon Ruffell explore the cultural, spiritual, and communal significance of mushrooms, with a particular focus on African traditions and Indigenous practices. Darren traces the deep historical roots of psychedelic use across Africa, reframing psychedelics as ancestral technologies that have long supported healing, ceremony, and the transmission of knowledge across generations. The conversation weaves together history, spirituality, and lived experience, highlighting the role of mushrooms in both personal transformation and collective wellbeing. Darren speaks to the importance of maintaining balance across physical, psychological, and spiritual planes, and how respectful, intentional engagement with psychedelics can help restore harmony within individuals and communities alike. Together, Darren and Simon reflect on the contemporary psychedelic renaissance, examining both its promise and its challenges. Darren offers a grounded critique of extractive or commercialised approaches, while advocating for the ethical interaction of traditional cultural knowledge with contemporary scientific research. Central to this vision is education, community empowerment, and honoring the lineages from which these practices emerge. This episode also explores psychedelics as agents of spiritual journeying, facilitating connection with ancestors, access to higher knowing, and deeper self-understanding. Through his work, Darren reminds us that mushrooms are not only medicines for individuals but catalysts for cultural reverence, resilience, and collective healing. Links: Darren’s websiteNext Shroomshop learning opportunity (12 January 2026) Instagram: @darren_le_baronDarren Le Baron has gifted the Onaya community a 50% discount on his Psychedelics in Africa webinar series, with the code: ONAYA50 (Expires: 31 Jan 2026) We are delighted to offer a 15% discount on Onaya’s next 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training, a live, taught, accredited course led by Dr Simon Ruffell and Dr WaiFung Tsang to Darren’s community. You can find out more and sign up with the code: DARREN15

    1h 18m
  4. #18 - Plants, Intuition and Initiation with Nathaniel Hughes

    11/27/2025

    #18 - Plants, Intuition and Initiation with Nathaniel Hughes

    Herbalist and teacher Nathaniel Hughes works at the intersection of intuitive plant communication, traditional healing lineages, and contemporary Western herbalism. Founder of Ruskin Apothecary and author of several books on relational herbal practice, including  ‘Intuitive Herbalism’ (2014), ‘Weeds in the Heart‘ (2018), and ‘Wild Enchantments‘ (2024), Nathaniel’s path bridges early training in organic chemistry with a deep commitment to experiential, spirit-led plant study. In this conversation, Nathaniel shares his transition from academic science into a more embodied, animist understanding of the vegetal world shaped by apprenticeship, personal revelation, and an openness to plant intelligence. Together, Nathaniel and Dr Simon Ruffell consider how herbalism has been marginalized through colonial and reductionist histories, why conventional scientific models struggle to capture the complexity of human–plant relationships, and how reconnecting with ancestral approaches can restore a sense of reciprocity and reverence. This episode also explores the ethics of respectfully engaging with Indigenous science, the nuances of cultural appropriation, and the resurgence of interest in traditional healing practices, emphasising the importance of cultivating direct experience, listening beyond the measurable, and honouring the relational field that plants invite us into. Nathaniel is a practitioner, writer, and educator at The School of Intuitive Herbalism, advocating for an herbalism rooted in humility, curiosity, and deeper connection with the living world. Ways to engage with Nathaniel’s work and to learn from plants directly: Insight Herbalism’s WhatsApp Group for event notifications The School of Intiutive Herbalism’s Newsletter Engaging with plants respectfully is a core tenet of Onaya's six month Psychedelic Mentorship Training - next cohort starting January 20th, 2026. In the spirt of this we're thrilled to offer the Intuitive Herbalism community a 15% discount to join the course, with the checkout code: INTUITIVE15

    1h 12m
  5. #17 - Rediscovering Herbal Wisdom with Rebecca Lazarou (Laz the Plant Scientist)

    11/12/2025

    #17 - Rediscovering Herbal Wisdom with Rebecca Lazarou (Laz the Plant Scientist)

    Herbalist Rebecca Lazarou (Laz the Plant Scientist)’s research interests encompass plant and fungal medicines, herbalism, pharmacognosy, quality control of plants, cannabis and psychedelics, ethnopharmacology, neuroscience, holistic therapies, ethnobotany and botanical quality control, entheogens, healing, and wellbeing. In this episode, Laz shares her journey from a prophetic dream in her teens to a career dedicated to the study and preservation of medicinal plants, blending rigorous scientific inquiry with reverence for ancestral knowledge. The conversation touches on the marginalization of herbalism through colonial and patriarchal histories, the importance of re-integrating these ancient practices into a modern context guided by respect, curiosity, and care, as well as how herbal medicine works in harmony with the human body, why reductionist science often misses the bigger picture, and how reconnecting with the intelligence of plants can inspire both personal and planetary healing.  Rebecca is a scientist, writer, and speaker working at the intersection of ethnobotany, pharmacology, and culture. With a Master’s in Medicinal Natural Products and Phytochemistry, she has conducted research at Kew Gardens, serves on the board of the McKenna Academy, and advocates for democratizing access to plant-based medicine and education. Research and writings: https://www.rebeccalazarou.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laztheplantscientist/Shop: https://laztheplantscientist.com/collections/all

    1h 14m
  6. #16 — Activating Our Ancestry: Songs, Land and Ritual with Sam Lee

    04/15/2025

    #16 — Activating Our Ancestry: Songs, Land and Ritual with Sam Lee

    Sam Lee's work is a testament to the power of traditional songs and ritual to speak to modern audiences. A Mercury prize nominated singer, composer, folksong interpreter, passionate conservationist, song collector and creator of live events, Sam plays a unique role in the British music scene. During a stint as a burlesque dancer, he stumbled across traditional British folk song and embarked on a mission of song collecting, eventually spending years recording songs from Gypsy Traveller communities that continue to face societal oppression and persecution. Sam also released a novel, The Nightingale: Notes on a Songbird (Penguin 2023), a product of his ongoing Singing with Nightingales project where he performs live night-time concerts in the British countryside.  As a change-maker in the music industry, he is a co-founder of Music Declares Emergency and the pioneering artist to work with leading environmental charity Earthpercent to whom proceeds of his newset album 'songdreaming' will be donated. As well as his experiences with ayahuasca, Sam's passion for igniting and rejuvenating tradition in the modern world struck a chord with Onaya's work and anchored an important and nourishing conversation. *** We are now recruiting for the next cohort of our 6-month accredited Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme, beginning in April. For more information and to find out how to enroll, visit Onaya's website and use the code 'INTHROUGH10' for a special 10% discount. *** This podcast is part of Onaya’s Breaking Convention series, spotlighting speakers at the intersection of science and spirituality in the run up to the conference. For a 10% discount on your ticket purchase to Breaking Convention (17-19 April at the University of Exeter), you can use our code 'ONAYA10' at the checkout: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/breakingconvention.

    1h 18m
  7. #15 — Psychedelic Philosophy with Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes

    03/26/2025

    #15 — Psychedelic Philosophy with Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes

    Is the universe aware of itself, or is consciousness just a side effect of brain activity? What do Indigenous shamanism and theories like panpsychism have in common? Why is psychology blind to its huge limitations? And can dieting master plants show us what it's really like to be a bat? Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher, specialising in the philosophy of mind and metaphysics, and in fields relating to panpsychism, pantheism, and altered states of consciousness.    He lectures at The University of Exeter where he is a lead on the new Master’s programme in Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine, and Culture, the first of its kind in the world. Peter is also co-director of Europe’s largest psychedelics conference, Breaking Convention; author of two books, and co-editor of Philosophy and Psychedelics (Bloomsbury 2022); and the speaker of a popular TEDx Talk on ‘Consciousness and Psychedelics’. *** We are now recruiting for the next cohort of our 6-month accredited Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme, beginning in April. For more information and to find out how to enroll, visit Onaya's website and use the code 'INTHROUGH10' for a special 10% discount. *** This podcast is part of Onaya’s Breaking Convention series, spotlighting speakers at the intersection of science and spirituality in the run up to the conference. For a 10% discount on your ticket purchase to Breaking Convention (17-19 April at the University of Exeter), you can use our code 'ONAYA10' at the checkout: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/breakingconvention.

    1h 22m
  8. #14 — Tripping Over Prejudice: LGBTQ+ in Psychedelic Science with Dr Matthew X. Lowe

    03/18/2025

    #14 — Tripping Over Prejudice: LGBTQ+ in Psychedelic Science with Dr Matthew X. Lowe

    Psychedelic history has a complex relationship with queerness. In 1966, Timothy Leary declared LSD a "cure for homosexuality”, and the use of psychedelics in so-called 'conversion therapy' reinforced the pathologising of queerness for years. Times have changed, as gay and transgender rights movements intersect heavily with the world of psychedelics, but injustice and exclusion remain. Dr. Matthew X. Lowe is a research scientist, educator and advisor, specialising in human brain function and behaviour across a range of topics in cognition, perception, mental health, psychedelics, and cannabis use. Nowadays, his focus is on marginalised and underrepresented communities in psychedelic research.   Having previously worked as a scientist at MIT, Harvard, and Stanford, he leads research at Realm of Caring, and Unlimited Sciences, two non-profit organisations focused on cannabis and psychedelics, respectively. He is also a Scientific Advisor and Lead Educator for the Oregon Psychedelic Institute.   * * *   Links from this conversation: 'Long-term benefits to psychological health and well-being after ceremonial use of Ayahuasca in Middle Eastern and North African immigrants and refugees' by Matthew Lowe's team: published in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2024).Queering Psychedelics by the Chacruna Institute.Psychedelics and the LGBTQIA+ Community by Unlimited Sciences.Unverified archived transcript of Timothy Leary's interview with Playboy in 1966.LSD and Sexuality by Richard Alpert.Info Line by Unlimited Sciences: a free, 24-hour phone line offering research-based information on psychedelics. *** We are now recruiting for the next cohort of our 6-month accredited Psychedelic Mentorship Training programme, beginning in April. For more information and to find out how to enroll, visit Onaya's website and use the code 'INTHROUGH10' for a special 10% discount. *** - - - EDIT (1st April 2025) - - - After a fact-checking query from a listener regarding claims by Dr Matthew Lowe about the involvement of Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) and Timothy Leary in so-called 'conversion therapy', we have included links (above) to a paper from Alpert and an unverified but widely reported interview with Leary, as well as articles by Chacruna Institute and Unlimited Sciences. In the published paper 'LSD and Sexuality', Alpert (who was himself queer) describes efforts to treat a bisexual man for his homosexuality. Leary is not directly implicated in 'conversion therapy' but is quoted as saying "we've had many cases of long-term homosexuals" at his centre who 'converted', and that "LSD is a specific cure for homosexuality". Simon's shock described in the introduction about Matthew's claim regarding their involvement was not meant as definitive confirmation of it. Dr Matthew Lowe and Unlimited Sciences would be best suited to respond directly to any further queries!

    1h 1m
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In times of political, ecological and psychospiritual crisis — the only way out is In & Through. Join Onaya as we welcome some of the most interesting people we know, to discuss eclectic topics from psychedelic medicine and Indigenous ways of knowing, to spirit entities, the meaning of dreams, and singing to the plants. Your main host is our founder Dr Simon Ruffell, a psychiatrist and research psychologist with a PhD in Amazonian ayahuasca and a student of Shipibo curanderismo. Onaya is dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional indigenous knowledge and modern science, including a not-for-profit research arm that studies ayahuasca and other Amazonian plant medicine practices. We offer one-to-one support, consultancy and accredited courses that combine shamanism and biomedical science to facilitate holistic individual and collective healing. For more information, please visit https://www.onaya.io/ or join our mailing list. *** For a special 10% discount to our 6-Month Psychedelic Mentorship Training, head to our website and use the code 'INTHROUGH10' *** Co-producers: Robbie Redway and Caspar Montgomery Music: United Freedom Collective

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