My Psychedelic Roots

Amy Bartlett
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Biweekly

My Psychedelic Roots shares stories from people from a broad swath of lived experience to explore their psychedelic beginnings, or roots: what motivated them to start using psychedelics, what those early experiences were like, and how those roots have impacted their understanding of themselves and the world around them. My goal in these conversations is to give voice to the unique, transpersonal and human side of psychedelics and non-ordinary states of consciousness--- allowing guests to talk about their personal stories, not just their professional ones. I hope that listeners of the podcast will have an opportunity to gain insight into the lived reality of psychedelic experiencing (both the shadow and the light), hear about how people found their way into the psychedelic space, and to have an opportunity to get curious about the resonance, contrasts and connections between the podcast guests experience and their own psychedelic roots.

  1. 1d ago

    Ep32: Scott Wright on a harrowing first encounter, rekindling curiosity much later in life, and learning to connect with others and himself

    Scott Wright is a filmmaker and producer who is on the cusp of premiering his new film The Next Chapter - Psychedelics, Healing, and the Second Half of Life: a documentary following adults over 55 as they have a shared psychedelic experience in a facilitated group setting. Through intimate, story-driven portraits, his film looks beyond the science to the human experience pf psychedelic experiencing — what it means to reflect, heal, and begin again in the later years of life. In our conversation together, Scott shares about what led him to make this film, and the rich and varied life that led him to his first supported psychedelic experience in his late 60s. Scott spent 25 years of his life on the radio, rising from his high-school station in suburban Chicago to become America’s most-listened-to DJ throughout the 1980s on Z-100 in New York and his nationally syndicated show “Hitline USA” (listeners knew him as “Shadow Steele” or simply “The Shadow”). He turned later in his career to film, and his latest offering was inspired by his transformative psilocybin experience in Mexico over three years ago. In our conversation, we hear about his spiritual experiences with music, his harrowing and unexpected first experience with LSD when he was 16, and staying away from psychedelics until he picked up Michael Pollan’s book in 2018 and rekindled his curiosity about the healing potential of these experiences—eventually leading to his profound experience of connection and compassion, and transforming into what he calls “Scott 2.0” Shownotes The Next Chapter's website, where you can access the film as of June 25, 2026: https://thenextchapterfilm.com/Scott's personal website: https://www.wise-rabbit.com/The Michael Pollan book "How to Change your Mind" that Scott references a few times, that opened him to the idea of reengaging with psychedelics after many years: https://michaelpollan.com/books/how-to-change-your-mind/ Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    47 min

  2. Jun 6

    Ep31: Ariel Fuenzalida on his childhood of tumult, finding flow and presence, and coming to the threshold of what is

    Ariel Fuenzalida is an Adjunct Professor for the Classics and Religious Studies Department and core faculty of the Psychedelics & Consciousness Studies M.A. Program at the University of Ottawa, while also teaching for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University. With apologies for the temporary rough audio in the introduction to this episode, in our conversation together, Ariel and I wend our way through his tumultuous childhood: from his experiences as a child growing up in Chile and losing contact with his mother for a year during the political unrest, escaping to Canada with his family, and finding grounding and community in what became eventually their new home. As he came to settle in Canada, Ariel talks about his early experiences of presence, flow and wonder that he accessed in his early years, and the influences and motivations that eventually brought him to his first psychedelic experience with friends as a curious and maybe a little naïve university student at a Chinese restaurant in Ottawa. Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    53 min

  3. May 15

    Ep30: Matthew Skinta on a life of groundlessness, mindful presence, and finding home wherever you are

    Dr. Matthew Skinta is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Affiliated Faculty of Women and Gender Studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago, USA. He has had a recurring role as Visiting Professor of Ethics of Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness in the Master's program in Psychedelics and Consciousness Studies at the University of Ottawa and has provided many invited lectures and workshops on culturally competent psychedelic-assisted therapy, from Harvard and Yale to the MAPS Psychedelic Science conference. He is also a peer-reviewed trainer of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, a certified Functional Analytic Psychotherapy trainer, and a certified teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training. As we will also hear in our conversation, Matthew also does global work on the adaptation and advancement of cognitive behavior therapies for work with sexual orientation and gender diverse people, a passion born out of his own experiences growing up queer and experiencing a childhood full of contrasts, challenges and changes that provided very little grounding as he literally made his way through the world, moving around as a military kid. As we explore this chaotic context of childhood, we learn about Matthew’s deep connection to mindfulness and meditation that he cultivated in early adulthood, and which continues to be an important spiritual anchor as he continues to access home and interconnection in himself and with the world around him. We also talk about how his spirituality has deepened since his first psychedelic experience at a supported retreat in the Netherlands a few years ago, and learn about the beautiful experience of connection and witnessing he had there. It was a lovely to have the chance to sit down and hear his story, and also to get to enjoy some time with Matthew’s wisdom, gentle spirit and compassionate heart. Shownotes Links to Matthew's academic profiles: https://www.roosevelt.edu/profile/mskinta and https://psychedelia-stiftung.de/en/about-us/His current temple home, with links to recommended books, talks, and courses: https://www.ancientdragon.org/ - as well as one of his favorite retreats that he says are incredibly novice friendly (and the basis of his metaphor on the music and rolling hills of the Algarve that we end on): https://www.maitri-retreats.com/A primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT in Steps (https://academic.oup.com/book/28735) and and his ACT/FAP book: Contextual Behavior Therapy for Sexual and Gender Minority Clients: A Practical Guide to Treatment (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780429030307/contextual-behavior-therapy-sexual-gender-minority-clients-matthew-skinta)A primer on Functional analytic Psychotherapy (FAP): Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Distinctive Features, 2nd Edition. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781032687179Read more about his experience in the "Queering Psychedelics" book he mentioned: https://chacruna.net/queering-psychedelics-an-introduction/Link to the ACT/FAP-based provider training in the Netherlands that he will be co-leading with Sergio Perez as a part of Psychedelia Stiftung: https://psychedelia-retreats.com/Finally, making a plug for diving into emptiness, spirituality, and queerness, Matthew wanted to reference this brilliant volume: Queering Shantideva's the Way of the Bodhisattva: A Buddhist Classic in Contemporary Queer Vernacular (https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/queering-shantidevas-the-way-of-the-bodhisattva-a-buddhist-classic-in-contemporary-queer-vernacular/9798896861478.html) Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    46 min

  4. May 1

    Ep29: Deva Arani on early challenges, embodiment, self-trust & compassion

    Deva Arani’s life and work explores what it means to integrate profound experiences into our lives. A teacher of yoga and meditation for over two decades, she has walked the intertwined paths of somatic healing, contemplative practice, and sacred plant medicine—learning that insight alone is not what transforms us, but the way we come back into the body, into relationship, and into presence. She is the author of Integration Alchemy: The Real Ceremony Is Your Life, a book devoted to the art of integration-- and The Mother Ache, which explores healing early relational wounds through compassion, embodiment, and feminine wisdom. In our conversation together, we hear about Arani’s complex and painful childhood, and the embodied connections to nature and her body that helped resource her as she navigated these confusing foundational experiences. We also learn about her deep mediation experiences of non-duality and self-compassion, all of which set the stage for her first psychedelic encounter with ayahuasca in Peru many years ago. Shownotes Arani's personal webiste: www.devaarani.com Integration Alchemy: The Real Ceremony Is Your Life --- link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Integration-Alchemy/Deva-Arani/9781591813675 The Mother Ache: Healing The Wounded Daughter Within --- link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mother-Ache/Deva-Arani/9781591813750 Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    54 min

  5. Apr 15

    Ep28: Pam Kryskow on learning to ground in complexity, and embracing the abundance of the world around her

    Dr. Pamela Kryskow is a medical doctor, advocate, practitioner and life-loving human. She serves as the medical lead of the non-profit “Roots To Thrive” Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program in BC, volunteers as a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada, and serves as the Medical Chair of the Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine Assisted Therapy. Prior to studying to become a doctor, she was a City of Coquitlam Firefighter for 8 years and provincial forestry firefighter for 4 seasons. Pam is someone who thrives in complexity, abundance and the ‘and’ of the human experience. Wending our way through her roots, in our conversation we explore her childhood moving all over North America with her professional-hocky-playing father and family, and the resilience and groundedness she cultivated in that unique childhood context. We explore her evolving relationship with religion and spirituality, from her Catholic roots to her deepening relationship with nature. And we dive into what she calls her ‘meandering’ life path, and talk about what she is learning about herself, her truth and the world around her, all while her roots continue to nourish and ground her unfolding. Shownotes Psychedelic Association of Canada: https://www.psychedelicassociation.net/ Roots To Thrive Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program: https://rootstothrive.com/ "Quiet the Sirens" documentary: https://quietthesirens.com/ Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine Assisted Therapy: https://www.viu.ca/programs/health/psychedelic-assisted-therapy“Fantastic Fungi” documentary: https://fantasticfungi.com/pages/the-film Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    53 min

  6. Apr 3

    Ep27: Bradford Martins on his feral childhood, and reconnecting with a sense of community and home

    Bradford Martins, MD, PhD is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist based at a psychiatric clinic in New Haven, Connecticut where he supports folks navigating substance use disorders, including through implementing community-based models for the prevention and treatment. Dr. Martins is also an Assistant Professor Adjunct at Yale University conducting research in both the Bassir Nia Lab to study the therapeutic potential of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) for alcohol use disorder, and the ENACT Lab to study the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on OCD, while also working towards greater equity and accessibility in the psychedelic space. We hear about the origins of that community and equity focus in Brad’s psychedelics roots, exploring his experience growing up as a self-proclaimed 'feral child' in the woods of Arkansas, later leading him to his first psychedelic experience where he deeply reconnected to the land he grew up on while in community with friends and fellow ‘Children of the Forest’. Shownotes For anyone in the US looking for SUD or Mental Health treatment: Home - FindTreatment.govA link to the DMT study for alcohol use disorder: Study Details | NCT06070649 | The Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelic, N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) | ClinicalTrials.govBrad’s favourite quote from ‘Helplessness Blues’ by Fleet Foxes: https://youtu.be/7HHgedNNQco?si=x8SPUWQZBX8Fco90 -- “If I know only one thing, it’s that everything that I see of the world outside is so inconceivable, often I barely can speak”Erowid, a non-profit educational & harm-reduction resource with 60 thousand pages of online information about psychedelics and associated topics: https://www.erowid.org/ Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    39 min

  7. Mar 19

    Ep26: John Gilchrist on connection and community in childhood, a complex first experience, and supporting end-of-life advocates

    John Gilchrist is Director of Communications at TheraPsil, a Canadian not-for-profit working for psychedelic access for folks at end of life and other issues about accessibility, regulation and choice in the psychedelic space. In our conversation, we talk about his own personal psychedelic roots: his connection to community, family and lived experience, and a first experience that contained both the light and the shadow of psychedelic trips in a lot of ways. This conversation with John is being published as part of the Podcasthon movement, an annual global initiative that encourages podcasts to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice, and to release these episodes in a coordinated effort in mid-March to shine a light on some of the good work being done in communities around the world. And so, beyond John's personal psychedelic roots, we also talk a bit about the work of Therapsil, and he shares about some of the end-of-life patients who have been supported by Therapsil, and some of the ways he has been personally touched by his role working there. Shownotes Therapsil’s website: https://therapsil.ca/To donate to their work: https://therapsil.ca/donate/For volunteering inquiries: https://therapsil.ca/volunteer/To sign up to their newsletter: https://therapsil.ca/newsletter/You tube channel, to watch videos John mentioned of Thomas Hartle and Janis Hughes, two patients supported by Therapsil: https://www.youtube.com/@TheraPsil/featuredLearn more about the Podcasthon movement: https://podcasthon.org/ Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

    41 min

  8. Mar 6

    Ep25: Karen Pascal on experiencing a ‘life quake’, finding relief with ketamine therapy, and rediscovering connection with the natural world

    Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidality Karen Pascal was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, and spent much of her childhood outdoors, birdwatching and camping with her family—feeling playful, carefree, and deeply connected to the natural world. This was an anchoring Karen lost touch with as life unfolded, and as she grew older, she struggled with anxiety and depression. After exploring many different therapeutic approaches without lasting relief, it wasn’t until her marriage unexpectedly ended and she experienced what she calls her “life quake” that psychedelics entered her life and she began ketamine-assisted therapy. We talk about what the clinical experience was like for her, the benefits she received, and how that led her to deepen her work with an experienced facilitator. We also talk about her deep reconnection with nature and how she has worked to resource herself with the community and experiences that have helped to ground in her body and the world around her. A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidality. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing. Shownotes Karen's email if listeners would like to reach out about her forest walks: GroundedEarthTherapy@gmail.comKaren's birding account on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birds_unshuttered/ Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support: Crisis Services Canada: https://988.ca/Befrienders Worldwide (crisis lines serving 32 countries): https://befrienders.org/International Directory of Mental Health Helplines: https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htmThe Fireside Project (US-only psychedelic-specific support): https://firesideproject.org/Psychology Today (to find a therapist in North America): https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay #psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

    35 min
See All (32)

About

My Psychedelic Roots shares stories from people from a broad swath of lived experience to explore their psychedelic beginnings, or roots: what motivated them to start using psychedelics, what those early experiences were like, and how those roots have impacted their understanding of themselves and the world around them. My goal in these conversations is to give voice to the unique, transpersonal and human side of psychedelics and non-ordinary states of consciousness--- allowing guests to talk about their personal stories, not just their professional ones. I hope that listeners of the podcast will have an opportunity to gain insight into the lived reality of psychedelic experiencing (both the shadow and the light), hear about how people found their way into the psychedelic space, and to have an opportunity to get curious about the resonance, contrasts and connections between the podcast guests experience and their own psychedelic roots.

Information

You Might Also Like