Adventures Through The Mind James W. Jesso

Dr. Adele Lafrance joins us to explore psychedelics and the healing power of Love.
Our conversation begins with an exploration of emotional processing and how difficulties and deficiencies in emotional processing both our mental health, our relationships, and our general wellbeing. We then step into psychedelics and the role they play in supporting our emotional processing capacities.
From there we turn towards Love, what it is and all the accidental ways we conflate it with things that can include love but aren’t love itself: romance, lust, infatuation, attachment, obsession, etc. We talk about the healing power of Love, both in our day-to-day lives and in various forms of healthcare, and why as a society we need to better learn how to wield and integrate that healing power of love. We then talk about encounters with Love as a transpersonal force during psychedelic experiences, the role of love in supporting people in their psychedelic experiences, and even the strange phenomenon of being harmed by too much Love on 5-MeO-DMT.
Of course, although love itself is not sex, with any mention of love we evoke consideration of sexuality, sexual dynamics, and sex itself. Thus, we also talk about sexual healing, the complexity of sexual energy and behaviour in therapy, and even the risks, challenges, and opportunities of having sex while on psychedelics.
...
STUDY SURVEY HERE: https://psychedeliclove.org/survey-study
For links to Lafrance's work, full show notes, and a link to watch this episode in video, head to bit.ly/ATTMind180
*** FULL TOPICS BREAKDOWN BELOW**


 
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Patreon: https://patreon.com/jameswjesso Paypal Donation: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=383635S3BKJVS Tip Me on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/jameswjesso Merchandise:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/shop/ More Options: https://www.jameswjesso.com/support Newsletter:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/newsletter Telgram Channel:  https://t.me/jameswjesso *** Huge thanks to my patrons on Patreon for helping keep this podcast alive!
In particular my $23+ patrons: Andreas D, Ian C, Yvette FC, Alex F, Eliz C, Nick M, Joe A, James S, Heather S, & Heartwood Mushrooms —— 
 
Episode Breakdown
(0:00) Opening (1:35) Episode overture and guest bio (5:45) Patreon thanks (6:43) Interview begins (7:44) Emotional processing and the damaging impact of poor emotional processing (12:49) Culturally conditioned deficits in emotional processing (19:50) Learning to own triggers, rather than project them (22:14) The role of psychedelics in emotional processing (and vice versa) (28:02) Our emotions are the most reliably true aspect of our psychedelic experiences (31:18) Disambiguating “Love” (37:01) Love as a transpersonal force (40:01) Love in psychedelic experiences (44:08) Being harmed by too much love on 5-MeO-DMT (48:03) Our sociocultural context can negatively impact our psychedelic integration (50:05) The role of love in our healing journeys (51:48) The role of love in supporting people in psychedelic experiences (53:59) We need to acknowledge love is a transpersonal force (56:40) The complexity of sexual energy and behaviour in therapy (1:05:11) Psychedelics and sexual healing, and sex on psychedelics (1:15:57) The Love Project: what it is, how it came to be, and how you can get involved (1:23:33) Closing regards (1:24:25) Outro

Here is a short but important update to the Podcast release schedule.
TLDR: Rather than every two weeks, podcasts will now be released every 4 to 6 weeks for the next few months in order to allocate more time to writing a book: a follow-up to my first book, Decomposing The Shadow: Lessons From The Psilocybin Mushroom 
 
--- SUPPORT THIS PODCAST —
► Donate monthly on Patreon: https://patreon.com/jameswjesso ► Tip Me on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/jameswjesso ► Donate via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=383635S3BKJVS ► Crypto Donations: https://www.jameswjesso.com/bitcoin/ ► Merchandise: https://www.jameswjesso.com/shop/ ► More options: https://www.jameswjesso.com/support/ -- STAY IN TOUCH --
► Newsletter: https://www.jameswjesso.com/newsletter ► Telegram Channel: https://t.me/jameswjesso  

Rachel Harris, PhD joins us to talk about her new book, Swimming In The Sacred
Swimming in the Sacred offers a revelatory look into the past half-century of psychedelics use via in-depth interviews Harris conducted with women elders who have worked underground guiding sacred entheogenic journeys to cultivate insight, healing, and spiritual development.   
Specifically, we talk about working with unseen worlds and unseen others; thin veils, absorption, and being accidentally overdosed by psychedelics; the uncanny connection between guide and journeyer during ceremony; and how psychedelic guiding work is NOT therapy and how therapy and guiding are two different skill sets.
Furthermore, we talk about the complexity of good dosing; the value of lower doses and the risks of putting larger doses on a pedestal; the strange emerging phenomenon of “competitive ego deathing”; and learning to work with life in a bigger way by learning to let our psychedelic insights work on us over time.
We talk about the risks of harm and abuse in both under- and above-ground psychedelic therapy; the difference between certification and qualification; how we lose our capacity to properly skill psychedelic guides in our rush to certify as many as possible to meet a massive demand; how to assess if a provider is trustworthy and skilled; and why psychedelic therapists NEED to experience psychedelics themselves.
...
For links to Rachel's work, full show notes and supportive materials, and a link to watch this episode in video, head to bit.ly/ATTMind179
 
*** FULL TOPICS BREAKDOWN BELOW**
>>> Episode Art is a modified version of La Medicina Vive En Mi by the incredible Luis Tamani
 
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Patreon: https://patreon.com/jameswjesso Paypal Donation: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=383635S3BKJVS Tip Me on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/jameswjesso Merchandise:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/shop/ More Options: https://www.jameswjesso.com/support Newsletter:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/newsletter Telgram Channel:  https://t.me/jameswjesso *** Extra BIG thanks to my patrons on Patreon for helping keep this podcast alive!
Especially my $23+ patrons, Andreas D, Ian C, Yvette FC, Alex F, Eliz C, Nick M, Joe A, Nanci BF, Heather S, and Heartwood Mushrooms —— 
 
Episode Breakdown
(0:00) Opening (4:08) Guest Bio (6:23 ) Patreon thanks | Support The Show (7:55) Interview begins (10:08) The research behind Swimming In The Sacred (12:10) Focusing on the value of the wisdom of women guides, specifically (14:22) How women have been doubly silenced in psychedelic circles (21:11) These guides aren’t therapists; their work is not therapy (24:14) The capacity to work with unseen worlds is not necessarily available to all of us (29:21) Thin veils, absorption, and being accidentally overdosed by psychedelics (30:57) The complexity of good dosing | “Competitive Ego Deathing” (34:11) Therapists DO NOT need to dose with their client (34:44) Psychedelic therapists NEED to experience psychedelics | sitting and therapy are separate skills (41:47) The uncanny connection between guide and journeyer during ceremony (45:20) Modern psychedelic research is lacking collaboration with the wisdom of the underground (49:40) We lose capacity for skillfulness in psychedelic guidance when we rush to certify psychedelic therapists (53:18) The difference between certified and qualified (53:52) What to ask a psychedelic guide to determine if they are trustworthy (55:28) What is lost when psychedelics become a mainstream institution (56:14) Psychedelic guidance is not about symptom reductions (57:51) Addressing the risk of abuse in psychedelic therapy (1:07:27) Therapists, heal thyself | “Waking up” does not amount to “cleaning up” (1:08:51) Waking up, Cleaning up, Growing up, Looking around (1:11:13) Working with life in a bigger way (1:13:59) The value of lower doses and the risks of putting larger doses on a pedestal  (1:24:29) The stra

Today’s episode is a bit of a lateral step from psychedelics specifically as we are going to talk about bipolar with Sara Schley, the author of the highly-acclaimed memoir BrainStorm: From Broken to Blessed on the Bipolar Spectrum. 
We talk about bipolar as a spectrum and the different variations of bipolar disorder; why it is that so many people with bipolar are misdiagnosed and the issues this presents to those individuals and their families; major triggers for bipolar episodes and why medication isn’t enough to keep people stable; the self-care system Schley has developed for living with a bipolar brain; and how to support your friends/family that are in a bipolar crisis.
Enjoy.
...
For links to Schley's work, full show notes, and a link to watch this episode in video, head to bit.ly/ATTMind178
*** FULL TOPICS BREAKDOWN BELOW**

 
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Patreon: https://patreon.com/jameswjesso Paypal Donation: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=383635S3BKJVS Tip Me on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/jameswjesso Merchandise:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/shop/ More Options: https://www.jameswjesso.com/support Newsletter:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/newsletter Telgram Channel:  https://t.me/jameswjesso *** Extra BIG thanks to my patrons on Patreon for helping keep this podcast alive!
Especially my $23+ patrons, Andreas D, Ian C, Yvette FC, Alex F, Eliz C, Nick M, Joe A, Nanci BF, & Heartwood Mushrooms ——  and to Laurie A for their generous one-time donation.
 
Episode Breakdown
(0:00) Opening (1:52) Guest bio and episode summary (3:40) Patreon thanks | Support the show (5:45) Interview Begins (8:37) The story of Sara discovering that she has bipolar (12:34) The bipolar spectrum and the different variations of bipolar disorder (16:55) Traditional SSRIs do NOT work for bipolar (18:21) The epidemic of misdiagnosis of bipolar (21:52) How undiagnosed bipolar (and mental illness in general) can destroy your relationships and your life (27:17) Why there are so many mentally ill people in our society (30:25) The genetics, epigenetics, and neurology of bipolar (35:34) Does life context “activate” bipolar or is it inevitable regardless of context? (43:49) PECS self-care system (Physical, emotional, creative, spiritual) (49:56) Pharmaceutical vs non-pharmaceutical treatment for bipolar (1:00:39) Having a practical PECS moment (1:02:19) Keeping bipolar stable and major triggers (1:08:39) Why isn’t medication enough to keep stable? (1:14:16) James’ morning practice (1:16:07) How bipolar made Sara a better person (1:20:41) What Sara wants you to remember from this podcast (1:21:31) The emergency ally toolkit (how to support your friends/family that are in a bipolar crisis) (1:23:04) Follow up links for other content, social media, and Sara’s book Brainstorm (1:24:33) Closing, socials, and gratitude

This episode features Matthew Baggott of Tactogen Inc. and will explore entactogens, which are drugs like MDMA, 2C-B, and Methalone.
We start with setting a basic framework for what an entactogen is and a few example drugs, before exploring the complexities in their various effects, mechanisms of action, and both the legislative and technical process of the development of novel or new entactogenic drugs.
...
For links to Baggott's work, full show notes, and a link to watch this episode in video, head to bit.ly/ATTMind177
*** FULL TOPICS BREAKDOWN BELOW**

 
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Patreon: https://patreon.com/jameswjesso Paypal Donation: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=383635S3BKJVS Merchandise:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/shop/ More Options: https://www.jameswjesso.com/support Newsletter:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/newsletter Telgram Channel:  https://t.me/jameswjesso *** Extra BIG thanks to my patrons on Patreon for helping keep this podcast alive!
Especially my $23+ patrons, Andreas D, Ian C, Yvette FC, Alex F, Eliz C, Nick M, Joe A, Nanci BF, & Heartwood Mushrooms —— 
 
Episode Breakdown
(0:00) Opening (2:44) Guest Bio (4:06) Patreon thanks | Support The Show (5:42) Interview begins (6:31) What is an entactogen and what does it do? | The difference between entactogens and psychedelics (8:37) A short discussion about 2C-B (11:47) A list of different entactogens (15:30) r-MDMA vs s-MDMA (19:48) Methalone, aka bk-MDMA (21:52) 3-MMC and 4-MMC: patents, development, and legality (23:13) Why Schedule 1 makes drug development difficult (25:02) The qualities they are trying to design OUT of new entactogen drugs (pt1) (26:31) “The loss of magic” with MDMA (33:11) Serotin transporters and MDMA neuro-oxidization (36:27) Using NAC to bring back the MDMA magic | enhanced plasticity, antioxidants, and homeostasis (44:13) The qualities they are trying to design OUT of new entactogen drugs (pt2) (48:52) Why we need “take home” entactogenic drugs (53:20) Can a drug still be medicine if it’s fun, too? (58:13) The process of justifying off-label MDMA prescriptions (1:03:01) Will there be a moral backlash against the development of “good feel” drugs? (1:11:10) The negative social consequences of prohibitionist law enforcement (1:15:58) We can’t just give people psychedelics and expect society will get better (1:18:46) Problematic moves in the psychedelic biotech industry (1:25:01) Psychedelic Patent Trolling (1:32:15) How Tactogen is trying to give back to psychedelic users (1:44:16) Increasing access to health care, not just to psychedelic substances (1:49:40) Follow-up link and contact details (1:51:25) closing

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Andrew Gallimore to explore the content of his new book 'Reality Switch Technologies: Psychedelics as Tools for the Discovery and Exploration of New Worlds'.
We discuss how the brain builds an experiential world model from patterns of information at the neural level; how all of those worlds are correlated with specific neural patterns; how we can disturb that neural pattern to encounter new worlds; essentially, using psychedelic molecules to explore alternate worlds. 
We explore how different classes of psychedelics affects the brain differently and thus switch us to different potential worlds, focusing specifically on the neural and world-switching effects of classical psychedelics, tropane alkaloids, and ketamine.
We also explore why the brain doesn’t care if its models are true, only if their adaptive; how perception of reality flows from conceptual hypothesis down, not from sensory information upwards; the self-model and its disintegration (ego death); we talk about schizophrenia and hearing voices; and about how every experience is “real” but not all experience is accurately mapped to our environment.
...
For links to Gallimore's work, full show notes, and a link to watch this episode in video, head to bit.ly/ATTMind176
*** FULL TOPICS BREAKDOWN BELOW**

 
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Patreon: https://patreon.com/jameswjesso Paypal Donation: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=383635S3BKJVS Merchandise:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/shop/ More Options: https://www.jameswjesso.com/support Newsletter:  https://www.jameswjesso.com/newsletter Telgram Channel:  https://t.me/jameswjesso *** Extra BIG thanks to my patrons on Patreon for helping keep this podcast alive!
Especially my $23+ patrons, Andreas D, Ian C, Yvette FC, Alex F, Eliz C, Nick M, Joe A, Nanci BF, & Heartwood Mushrooms —— 
 
Episode Breakdown
(0:00) Opening and introduction (3:10) Guest bio (4:38) Patreon Thanks | Support the Show (6:14) Interview Begins (7:38) All experience is “real”; all experiences are of models made by the brain (10:45) DMT worlds are made of the same stuff as our normal waking world (13:15) The brain builds a world model from patterns of information at the neural level (18:31) The Interface Theory of Perception; not every experience is an adaptive model of the environment (22:07) The brain doesn’t care if its models are true, only if it's adaptive. (24:26) Perception of reality flows from conceptual hypothesis down, not from sensory information upwards; predictive coding (35:40) The world falls out of the brain; how the brain builds the rich complexity of an entire reality (40:50) The self-model and its disintegration (ego death) (45:08) Schizophrenia and hearing voices (52:21) How the brain builds the world space of consensus reality, and how we can explore new world spaces by changing our brains with psychedelics (59:59) The C-Switch: how classical psychedelics affect the structure and dynamics of our models for reality (1:07:32) How classical psychedelics offer us profound insights and increase creativity through their effect on our brain’s hypotheses about reality (1:11:39) Ego death is the result of classical psychedelics producing a loss of distinction between self and other (1:14:20) Increased wonder and insights resulting from classical psychedelics destabilizing the brain’s hypotheses (1:23:08) Considering the difference between 5-MeO-DMT and DMT in the context of classical psychedelic effect on “the world space” (1:27:34) The M-Switch: how tropane alkaloids (aka datura) affect the structure and dynamics of our models for reality through acetylcholine, the M1 receptor, and the management of error signals (1:36:38) Tropanes, attention, and coming in and out of reality and hallucinations (1:39:30) The N-Switch: how ketamine and PCP affect the structure and dynamics of our models for reality through the NDMA receptor, the push-pull dance between anesthesia a