Life is a Festival Podcast

To celebrate four years of Life is a Festival, today I'm sharing a conversation I had with my friend Ian MacKenzie about how to conduct a good interview. Whether you want to start a podcast or are simply interested in being a better conversationalist, I think you'll find this helpful. On the show we go over how to research your guest so you can bring more to the party, how to create a roadmap for an engaging, spontaneous conversation, and how to make your guest feel safe to offer their most vulnerable storytelling. Ian and I share some of our favorite pre-recording rituals. We discuss how to offer precise, lean questions and find out what is most important to you. We end with a discussion of the creative spirit and how to cultivate your relationship with the Holy Ghost. Ian is a documentary filmmaker and host of the Mythic Masculine podcast. This conversation came from his Podcast Accelerator which is launching a new cohort in January. You can get sneak peak of Ian's newest documentary Tamera, The Village of Lovers during their preview weekend: Reimagining Village, Dec 3 & 4, 2022. Links Ian MacKenzie: https://www.ianmack.com/ Ian's Podcast Accelerator: https://www.ianmack.com/accelerator2022 Mythic Masculine Podcast: https://www.ianmack.com/mythicmasculine Tamera, The Village of Lovers: https://thevillageoflovers.com/ Reimagining Village, Dec 3 & 4: https://thevillageoflovers.com/reimagining-village Neil Pots interview: https://rolfpotts.com/podcast/tim-ferriss/ Tiimestamps :07 - Do good research so you have a lot to bring to the party :14 - Create a roadmap - not a list of questions :18 - Make your guest feel safe to create on their own terms :25 - Use pre-recording rituals :30 - Ask precise, lean questions that are important to you :38 - Practice your technique so you can let the Spirit move you

As Colorado's Natural Medicine Health Act goes to voters, it's the perfect time to consider how powerful psychedelic molecules should enter mainstream consciousness. Today on Life is a Festival Ismail Lourido Ali, Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) explains the various pathways to legalization including the Decriminalization movement, medicalization, religious exception, and legal adult use. The first half of our conversation is dedicated to Ismail himself, whose life journey gives him a unique philosophy on ending prohibition and a toolkit for helping us get there. We open with Ismail's cultural identity and his spiritual journey from Islam to the rave scene. We discuss Izzy's exploration of queerness and gender identity and his work from Drug Policy Reform to becoming a lawyer for MAPS. Izzy clearly articulates the key paths to legalization and his philosophy around each. We discuss key pieces of legislation including California's SB 519, Colorado's Natural Medicine Health Act which goes to voters in this month, and Oregon's Bill 109 which will legalize and regulate adult use of psilocybin in that state. We conclude our conversation with an invitation to psychedelic entrepreneurs and Izzy's personal perspective on why Life is a Festival. As MAPS' Director of Policy and Advocacy, Ismail advocates to eliminate barriers to psychedelic therapy and research, develops and implements legal and policy strategy, and supports MAPS' governance, non-profit, and ethics work. Ismail earned his J.D. at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2016, after receiving his bachelor's in philosophy from California State University, Fresno. Ismail has previously worked for the ACLU of Northern California's Criminal Justice & Drug Policy Project, and Berkeley Law's International Human Rights Law Clinic. Ismail is licensed to practice law in the state of California, and is a founding board member of the Psychedelic Bar Association. He also currently serves on the board of the Sage Institute, contributes to Chacruna Institute's Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, and participates on the advisory council for the Ayahuasca Defense Fund. Ismail is passionate about setting sustainable groundwork for a just, equitable, and generative post-prohibition world. Links: Izzy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sage_izzy/ Izzy Twitter: https://twitter.com/sage_izzy MAPS: https://maps.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MAPS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapsnews/ Psychedelic Science 2023: https://psychedelicscience.org/ Psychedelic Bar Association: https://thepsychedelicbar.org/ Chacruna Institute: https://chacruna.net/ Sage Institute: https://sageinst.org/ MAPS analysis regarding Oregon's Measures 109 and 110 passed in Nov 2020. MAPS analysis regarding Colorado Proposition 122 MAPS analysis regarding our work on SB519 in CA to decriminalize the personal use of all psychedelics. Timestamps :09 - Blending cultural identities from religion to the rave scene :15 - Ismail's updated view on Islam, the way of peace :22 - Queerness and Izzy's personal gender conversation :33 - From drug policy reform advocate to lawyer for MAPS :40 - Experimenting with psychedelic legalization in different US States :52 - Paths to above ground use of psychedelics: Decriminalization :56 - Paths to above ground use of psychedelics: Medicalization :59 - Paths to above ground use of psychedelics: Religious Exemption 1:02 - Paths to above ground use of psychedelics: Adult Use 1:06 - California SB 519, Colorado's Natural Medicine Health Act, and Oregon Bill 109, 1:14 - Izzy's challenge to entrepreneurs who use psychedelics 1:20 - Life is a Festival

Mayan Warrior is one of the most iconic mutant vehicles at Burning Man and its impact goes far beyond the Playa. This week on Life is a Festival, founder Pablo González Vargas talks about gifting, Mayan culture, and the challenges of bringing an art car 8,000 kilometers to That Thing in the Desert. On the show Pablo shares his initiation into Burning Man culture and the difficulties the car faced in its first years. We talk about the physical, communal, and spiritual value of Burning Man. We explore gifting, Mayan culture, and collaboration. Finally we talk about how Mayan Warrior brings the best of Burning Man back to Mexico. Pablo is the founder and designer of the Mayan Warrior Mutant Vehicle, a collaborative project that has united artists, craftsmen, photographers, designers, technologists, architects and musicians from Mexico City and Northern California. He is the founder of Mexico's Sr. Pago, one of Latin America's leading e-payment platforms, Vargas as well as EXA Radio and TV. Director of multiple productions for the Dish/MVS TV network, Vargas remains a passionate supporter of the Visual and Performing Arts. Pablo is also a cofounder of the foundation Planet Buyback who's mission is to inspire and motivate people around the world to take actions in their own communities that lead to a better quality of life and a healthier planet. You can catch the Mayan Warrior in LA for their Halloween party Sat, Oct 29, in San Francisco Sat, Nov 19, and at this year's Art Basel in Miami. Links Mayan Warrior Halloween in Los Angeles, October 29: https://dice.fm/event/agog7-mayan-warrior-halloween-full-art-car-29th-oct-location-tba-los-angeles-los-angeles-tickets?lng=en-US Mayan Warrior in San Francisco, November 19th: https://dice.fm/event/bypqk-mayan-warrior-san-francisco-full-art-car-19th-nov-cow-palace-daly-city-tickets?lng=en-US Mayan Warrior: https://mayanwarrior.com/ Mayan Warrior Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_mayanwarrior_/?hl=en Pablo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pablogv/ Planet Buyback: https://www.planetbuyback.com/ Timestamps :04 - Pablo's early work in sound for parties :09 - The challenges of brining Mayan Warrior to Burning Man :14 - Three values of building at Burning Man - physical therapy, community, and spiritual :22 - Gifting & the cost of Mayan Warrior :33 - Mayan Warrior's relationship to Mayan culture :43 - The intention of Mayan Warrior and bringing the playa back to Mexico :48 - The inspiration of Mayan Warrior's collaborators :53 - Pablo taking his father to Burning Man

In the countryside of Ibiza there is a strange and challenging movement practice called Primal Moves. Founder Nick Brewer's personal history is stranger still. Today on Life is a Festival, Nick shares his incredible life story from South American smuggler to yogi and the daily practice which became his refuge and his dharma. On the show, Nick shares his story from his time as an alpine skier, to smuggling cocaine in South America, to isolation in the bowels of an Argentinian prison. Nick talks about discovering yoga and building a daily practice in prison. He shares his deep insights from breakdown to breakthrough. Finally he describes developing the technique of primal movement and how the practice went global with the help of passionate burners. Nick Brewer is the Founder of the movement space ‘Primal Moves' in Ibiza which has become home for a community of movers from an array of backgrounds around the world. This community is now spreading across the Americas and Europe. Professional Hand Balancers, performing Artists and Yogis, mums and dads have been enjoying the vast benefits that come from the practice. Links Primal Moves: https://primalmoves.com/ Primal Moves Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primalmovesibiza/ Bhagavad Gita: https://www.amazon.in/Bhagavad-Gita-Original-English-As/dp/B07MDTX8BR Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: https://archive.org/details/yoga-sutras-of-patanjali Timestamps :06 - Depression leads to selling drugs in France :17 - Smuggling cocaine in South America :28 - The hell hole of an Argentinian prison :39 - Building a daily practice during four years in an isolation cell :55 - Breakdowns, breakthroughs and blueprints 1:13 - Building a yoga teaching practice after prison 1:21 - The methodology of Primal Moves 1:27 - How Primal Moves went global through passionate burners

If we want to actually live in our bodies, sexuality should be a daily practice. Today on Life is a Festival, Chloe Macintosh, founder and CEO of Kama, teaches us the importance of pleasure for healing and growth. On the show we talk about the importance of embodiment and the gap in adult sex education. We explore pornography addiction, erectile disfunction and the magical art of squirting. Chloe shares her four part daily practice and we finish our conversation diving into BDSM and polyamory. Chloe is the founder and CEO of Kama, a sexual wellness brand focusing on sex and pleasure education. She was the Chief Creative Officer for the Soho House Group and co-founded Made.com in 2010. Chloe is also a dear friend who recently interviewed me about kink at Burning Man. Links Chloe Macintosh: https://www.instagram.com/chloe_macintosh Kama: https://kama.co/ Kama Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kama.lab/ Life is a Festival #132: Eamon Armstrong with Chloe Macintosh (Live from Burning Man): https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/daddy Erotic Blueprints: https://missjaiya.com/ Timestamps * 06 - The importance of embodiment * 11 - The gap in adult sexual education * :19 - Sexuality as an experience for self-discovery * :29 - Pornography addiction and over indexing with eyesight * :33 - Chloe's daily practice * :42 - Erectile dysfunction and somatic solutions * :50 - Get out of your head and squirt! * :59 - BDSM and embodiment * 1:04 - Opening relationships

Have you found yourself caught up in a never-ending healing journey? Are you rushing from workshop to ceremony to retreat trying to peal all the layers of your existential onion? Maybe what you need is healing from your healing! Today on Life is a Festival, Adam Andros Aronovich, creator of “Healing From Healing” offers us levity and a much needed reprieve from our hyper-individualistic personal development. On the show we discuss the fundamental importance of community in healing work. We talk about diminishing returns in chasing peak experiences. We review the modern preoccupation with trauma, the hero's journey, and “cinematic epistemology.” Finally Adam helps us learn to serve with our full being without becoming narcissists and how joy and celebration are potent healing modalities. Adam is the creator of Healing from Healing, a social media platform that casts a critical, skeptical and humorous gaze at Healing Culture. He is a doctoral candidate at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Spain, focusing on Medical Anthropology and Cultural Psychiatry. He is an active member of the Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC-URV) and part of the Ayahuasca Community Committee at the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. Adam spent more than four years conducting research and extensive fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, where he also facilitated Ayahuasca workshops in the context of shamanic and medical tourism. Adam also facilitates preparation and integration processes in private practice, and helps clients reframe “Healing” within relational and recreative frameworks and a secular, humanistic, grounded and open-ended interpretive and epistemic orientation. Links Healing From Healing: https://healingfromhealing.com/ Healing From Healing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingfromhealing/ Articles on Memory Wars and Recovered Memories: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691619862306 https://www.psypost.org/2014/08/memory-wars-scientific-evidence-repressed-memories-27571 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-30132-001 Timestamps :11 - Adam's research in the Amazon showed that ayahuasca healing was largely about community: Communitas :21 - Diminishing returns on perpetual peak experiences :31 - Preoccupation with trauma, memory wars, and narcissism :47 - Hero's Journey, celebrity culture and cinematic epistemology :55 - How to serve without becoming narcissistic | Transformation happens both inward and outward 1:07 - Joy and celebration as healing modalities

Today on Life is a Festival in a talk recorded live at Burning Man, I share my personal kink journey and how I learned to alchemize adolescent sexual shame through the archetype of “Daddy.” I was interviewed by the brilliant Chloe Macintosh, founder of the sexual wellness app, Kama, who will be a guest on a forthcoming episode. On the show we discuss where kinks come from and how accepting, embracing, and embodying them can be healing for you and your lovers. We discuss creating safe containers in specific experiences and overall relationship dynamics. Finally we end with questions and a playful Daddy embodiment practice. Kink, like psychedelics and Burning Man itself, can be a powerful transformational technology, if used wisely. Links Life is a Festival #112 “Sex and Shamanic Shadow Hunting” https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/ista Life is a Festival #119 “I Kink, Therefore I Am: The Art of Liberating Desire”: https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/cat-meyer The Erotic Blueprint: https://missjaiya.com/ BDSMtest.org “The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment” by Jack Morin: https://www.amazon.com/Erotic-Mind-Unlocking-Sources-Fulfillment/dp/0060984287 Ask a Sub: https://www.askasub.com/ Timestamps :10 - Where do kinks come from :21 - How expressing and integrating kinks leads to healing :27 - How your kinks can be healing for your lover :35 - How embodying my kinks has influenced my life beyond my sexuality :42 - Safe words and the stoplight system :46 - Audience questions about solving for unconscious material, shame, and creating a safe container 1:00 - Daddy Embodiment practice

For those about to Burn! I have procrastinating my own packing for That Thing in the Desert by making you this compilation of my best Black Rock City conversations. From asking the Big Meow Marian whether Burning Man is a festival, to fumbling towards inclusivity with activist Nexus, from Burners without Borders to the Nordic Borderland, these are some of my favorite BRC moments from Life is a Festival. I've also added a few PSAs including how to talk to cops (Don't!), how to protect yourself and loved ones from fentanyl adulteration, and how to help someone having a difficult psychedelic experience. Serendipitously this journey also maps well to the 10 Principles, so you can beef up your cultural acumen on your way to the playa. May you pack all the things but waste nothing and I'll see you soon in the dust! GIFTING (:09) Caveat Magister (Burning Man Philosophical Center) Episode #28: What's the Point of Burning Man? https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/caveat-magister RADICAL SELF-RELIANCE (:17) Marian Goodell (The Burning Man Project) Episode #79: That One Time We Saved Burning Man https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/marian-goodell RADICAL SELF-EXPRESSION (:23) Adah Parris Episode #68: Visions of an Afropunk Futurist Parrishttps://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/adah-parris CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY (:33) Gustaf Tadaa (The Borderland) Episode #2: Leaderless Leadership at the Nordic Burn https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/gustaftadaa SAFETY THIRD PSA (:40) How to Deal with Cops at Burning Man by Mark Atwood https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lFAWDVzbRLkTM43Y588-ffFxuH7BfXzFbQ8ms7XF_xw/edit HARM REDUCTION PSA (:51) Mitchell Gomez (Dancesafe) Episode #120: In the Age of Fentanyl, Test Your Drugs! https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/mitchell-gomez IMMEDIACY (1:00) Sara Gael (The Zendo Project) Episode #51: How to Help Someone Having a “Bad Trip" https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/sara-gael RADICAL INCLUSION (1:10) JR Nexus Russ Episode #32 Fumbling Towards Inclusivity https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/nexus DECOMMODIFICATION (1:15) Ashoka Finley Episode #83: Power & Privilege in Intentional Communities https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/ashoka-finley LEAVING NO TRACE (1:23) Jamie Wheal (Stealing Fire) Episode #80: Live From the Infinite Playa https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/infinite-playa COMMUNAL EFFORT (1:33) Christopher Breedlove (Burners Without Borders) Episode #50: Serve in the Way that Feeds You Most https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/christopher-breedlove PARTICIPATION (1:41) Life from BMIR (Burning Man Information Radio) Episode #29 It's Better With You Here | Life is a Festival #29: Live From BMIR https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/bmir

The Wizard of Awe, Jason Silva, returns to Life is a Festival to discuss festival consciousness and how we, the refugees from the mundane, can unleash the brave and reckless Gods we really are at Burning Man and beyond. On the show we discuss freedom from self and expanded circles of moral concern. We talk about using avatars to explore and create our true selves. We touch on ontological and peak experience addiction. We explore the predictive brain theory and solving the problems of the world. We review flow state through the lens of festivals, bicycles, and cannabis. Finally we discuss festival consciousness and how we can grow through fun at Burning Man and Beyond. Jason Silva is an Emmy-nominated and world renown TV personality, storyteller, filmmaker, and sought-after keynote speaker and futurist. He is known for hosting 5 seasons of the Emmy-nominated, global hit TV series Brain Games and his inspirational videos, Shots of Awe, which have received over 100 million views on topics such as futurism, technology, creativity, the science of awe, disruptive innovation, relationships and mental health. Links Jason Silva's Website: https://www.thisisjasonsilva.com/ Jason Silva's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonlsilva/ Shots of Awe: https://www.youtube.com/c/ShotsOfAwe “The Wizard of Awe Goes to Burning Man” Life is a Festival #30 with Jason Silva: https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/jason-silva Timestamps :07 - Liquid time, freedom from self concern, and expanded circles of moral concern :16 - Using avatars to unleash the brave reckless Gods we really are. :23 - Refugees from the mundane :28 - Ontological addition and experience junkies and freedom within boundaries :31 - Cultivating flow with festivals, bicycles, and cannabis. :40 - The predictive brain theory and how to make everything new :48 - How do we solve the problems of the world :54 - Festival Consciousness is a way to grow through fun

This podcast has highlighted many long-standing issues with New Age spirituality and the dark side of “good vibes only,” but according to today's returning guest, rockstar philosopher Alex Ebert, dunking on the New Age has become boring and there is much that is still valuable and relevant from its perspective and rituals. On the show we begin with a review of the issues with spiritual communities from the dark side of manifestation to how toxic positivity functions like cancer. Alex explains how the critique of New Agism can become its own shtick. He shares his experience with meditation, heroin addiction and death rituals. We discuss the issue of the antifragile ego and how language is the raw material for subjective reality. Finally we end with an exploration of what is still valuable from New Age spirituality from psychedelics to new ideas of gender. Alex Ebert, famous troubadour from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros now shares a philosophical substack called Bad Guru where he explore these and other timely topics. Notes: Alex Ebert: https://www.instagram.com/alex_ebert/?hl=en Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: https://www.edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.com/ Bad Guru: https://badguru.substack.com/ Jules Evans: https://www.philosophyforlife.org/ King Warrior Magician Lover: https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/king-warrior-magician-lover/38348343/ "Mindfulness can make you selfish” study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210414100147.htm Timestamps :09 - The dark side of personal manifestation :17 - How toxic positivity functions like cancer :23 - Dunking on New Age is boring now :29 - Alex's experience with heroin addiction and death rituals :37 - Bringing back the boons to the community :42 - Dealing with an anti fragile ego :47 - Language as the raw material of subjective reality :59 - The best of New Age healing from psychedelics to therapy 1:10 - Spiritual Gender from King's to Goddesses

We who attend Burning Man and other multi day mass gatherings have long felt that these events are personally and lastingly transformational. In May of this year, Dr. Molly Crockett and their team at Crockett Lab at Yale University published research demonstrating what we always believed. Today on Life is a Festival, Dr Crockett explains their findings and what they mean for harnessing the transformative power of festivals. On the show we talk about what transformation is and how it can be studied, specifically focusing on generosity and expanded circles of moral concern. Dr Crockett explains how their team conducted research at six field sites over a number of years. We discuss their controls for the research including for psychedelic use. We explore morality and tribalism and finally Dr Crockett shares how their research can help us make our lives more like a festival. Dr. Crockett is a behavioral neuroscientist who studies human morality, altruism, decision making, and moral outrage. They have just accepted tenure at Princeton University after serving as an Associate Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Their research on transformational experiences at events was published in Nature Communications on May 27, 2022. Notes Crockett Lab: http://www.crockettlab.org/ ‘Transformative' effects of mass gatherings like Burning Man are lasting” in Yale News: https://news.yale.edu/2022/05/27/transformative-effects-mass-gatherings-burning-man-are-lasting “Prosocial correlates of transformative experiences at secular multi-day mass gatherings” In Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29600-1 Transformative Experience by L. A. Paul: https://www.amazon.com/Transformative-Experience-L-Paul/dp/0198777310 Timestamps :08 - Self Expression as path to transformation at Burning Man :16 - How the research was conducted at :22 - Secular Multiday Mass gatherings :27 - Expanded circle of moral regard :32 - How did the researchers control for psychedelic use? :41 - New relationships, gifts given and received and dancing all correlated with transformative experiences :55 - Dr Crockett's work in morality and future research 1:01 - How Crockett's research can help us make our lives more like a festival

Do you want to be a healer? From psychedelic medicine to therapy to bodywork, after experiencing an awakening many hear the call to serve in the healing arts, but how do we create a practice that is both ethical and sustainable? Laura Mae Northrup, author of Radical Healership, breaks it down on today's episode. On the show we discuss why people get into the work of healing others, as well as what Laura calls “shadow whys.” We discuss managing money as an act of love and how both overcharging and undercharging for services is unethical. Laura shares her perspective of marketing, and her experience of writing a book to support healers. Finally we discuss humility and doing your own healing work, because the client must be the hero in the journey. 
Laura Mae Northrup is an author, educator, somatic psychotherapist, and podcaster. Her book Radical Healership is now available for purchase. She is the host and creator of the podcast Inside Eyes, an audio series about people using entheogens & psychedelics to heal from sexual trauma. Her work focuses on defining sexual violence through a spiritual and politicized lens, mentoring healing practitioners in creating a meaningful path, and supporting the spiritual integrity of our collective humanity. She is a champion of living more fully engaged and responsible lives through the healing use of entheogens, psychedelics, play, and psychotherapy. Timestamps :08 - Who are healers and what is healing? :15 - The “Shadow Why” and how not to do harm :29 - Overcharging and undercharging and managing money as an act of love :41 - Marketing healing services :45 - Writing a book while on psychedelics :51 - Your client is the hero in the journey Links: Laura Mae Northrup: https://www.lauramaenorthrup.com/ Radical Healership: https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/radical-healership/ Inside Eyes Podcast: https://insideeyes.libsyn.com/ Laura on Psychedelic Therapy Podcast: https://www.mayahealth.com/podcast/laura-northrup The Soul Wound by Eduardo Duran: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Soul-Wound-Multicultural-Foundations/dp/0807746894 Why You Shouldn't Write a Book: https://scribemedia.com/not-write-book/

Here's to the women who don't give a fuck! But should we give a fuck about gender at all? Today on Life is a Festival we meet feminist beat poet and author Janne Robinson, to discuss authenticity, gender, and her no bullshit approach to creating the life you want. On the show Janne shares how she learned not to give a fuck and to create a life and thriving business as a poet and coach. We discuss staying authentic and truly vulnerable while building a brand out of your art and healing. We get into a meaty conversation about gender polarity and language. Finally we discuss how to integrate our utopian visions into our daily lives. Janne Robinson is a feminist poet, entrepreneur, speaker, and surfer. She is the author of two books of poetry, “This Is For The Women Who Don't Give a Fuck,” and “There's Cobwebs on Her Vagina.” Janne is also a personal development coach and is available for one-on-one mentoring. Some Buddhists say we are 33 parts masculine and 33 parts feminine, well Janne is 100% badass. Enjoy. Links Janne Robinson: https://www.jannerobinson.com/ This Is For The Women Who Don't Give a Fuck: https://www.amazon.com/This-Women-Dont-Give-Fuck/dp/1945796413/ There's Cobwebs on Her Vagina: https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Cobwebs-Her-Vagina-Collection/dp/1734042109 Timestamps :07 - Learning not to give a fuck :11 - Falling in love with poetry :20 - Staying authentic in the face of audience capture :33 - Can we determine truth about gender? :50 - Integrating utopia

At their best, festivals are platforms for personal and communal transformation by creating temporary immersive worlds, ripe with participation and opportunities for growth. Few gatherings do this with the theatrical flair of BoomTown Fair, a choose-your-own-adventure playground in the English countryside. Today on Life is a Festival, visionary leader, Lak Mitchell, shares how his vast team creates a living, breathing town once a year and how why they are now starting again with Chapter One: The Gathering. On the show we discuss English festivals from Glastonbury to the Free Part movement. Lak shares his evolution from crafting speaker boxes to building worlds. We discuss leading large creative teams and tools for staying still in the center of a whirlwind creative process. We talk about Boomtown as political storytelling and their new focus on eldership, indigenous wisdom, and six essential principles. Finally we discuss the decision to reset Boomtown to Chapter One and the new amazement park “Wake the Tiger.” Lak Mitchell is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Boomtown Fair, an independently owned festival that has grown into one of the largest and most celebrate in the UK. After getting his start building speaker boxes for Europe's Free Parties, Lak co-founded Boomtown Fair in 2009. He is also the Co-founder and Creative Director of Wake the Tiger, the world's first Amazement Park in Bristol opening this year. :07 - The essence of an English Festival from Glastonbury to the Free Party movement :14 - Dreamy Lak learns to build speaker boxes :20 - Building a living breathing town :26 - Leadership and worldbuilding :31 - Tools for staying in a still center during the creative process :37 - Boomtown as a political storytelling process :43 - Eldership, indigenous wisdom, and principles :53 - Reseting the Boomtown Storyline to Chapter 1 1:03 - Boomtown's Amazement Park Links Lak Mitchell: https://www.instagram.com/lakmitchell/ Boomtown Fair: https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/ Wake the Tiger: https://www.comingsoon.wakethetiger.com/ Mac Macartney: https://macmacartney.com/

On a little known shore inland from Los Angeles lies a post apocalyptic seaside town and one of the art world's most interesting happenings. Founded in 2015, Bombay Beach Biennale is a renegade celebration of art, music, and philosophy. Pushing through a few hours of sleep, cofounder Tao Ruspoli and I sat down at the Biennale for a conversation. On the show we discuss the ecological and philosophical paradox of the Salton Sea and the strange fate of Bombay Beach. Tao shares why great art is made from irresolvable contradictions and inhospitable environments. We explore this year's “Questioning Hierarchy” theme and Tao reveals how Bombay Beach changed him. We invite festival producer Dulcinee DeGuere and Neuroscientist Dr. Patrick House on stage to share the art of facilitation and intrusive déjà vu. Finally Tao shares his vision of life as a festival and how the existence of death is what makes meaning possible. Tao Ruspoli an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and co-founder of The Bombay Beach Biennale. His films include Fix, Being in the World, and the 2017 exploration of polyamory, Monogamish. Dulcinee DeGuere is also a filmmaker, this was her first year producing the Biennale. Tao hosts the Being in the World Podcast with neuroscientist Dr Patrick House. Bombay Beach Biennale transforms abandoned housing, vacant lots, and decaying shoreline into a unique canvas for creative expression. Artists, philosophers, creators and makers across many mediums donate their time and talents to the volunteer-led happening. Timestamps :04 - Martin Heidegger and Being in the World :10 - The fate of the Salton Sea :17 - Great art is made from irresolvable contradictions and inhospitable environments :26 - Honoring the memory of one of Bombay Beach's great artists Steve “Shig” Shigley :34 - Questioning Hierarchy :41 - How Bombay Beach changed Tao :46 - Festival producer Dulcinee DeGuerre and the art of facilitation and the challenge of self-care :59 - Neuroscientist Dr. Patrick House and the intrusive deja vu of Bombay Beach 1:16 - How to live your life like a festival Links: Tao Ruspoli: https://www.taoruspoli.com/ Bombay Beach Biennale: http://www.bombaybeachbiennale.org/ Being in the World Podcast: http://www.beingintheworld.com/ Dulcinee DeGuere: https://www.dulcinee.fyi/ “Greetings From the Salton Sea: Folly and Intervention in the Southern California Landscape, 1905-2005” by Kim Stringfellow: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Greetings-Salton-Sea-Intervention-California/dp/1935195328

Can we take Burning Man principles and apply them to refugee situations? Mike Zuckerman has spent the last six years creating a toolkit for refugee-led spaces that help instill creativity, connectivity, and hope. Now he's in Poland welcoming 4 million refugees from Ukraine who are crossing over into Europe. Our conversation starts with a brief overview of the situation on the Polish border. We discuss Mike's history creating spaces from Temple nightclub, to [freespace]. We talk about Burning Man and Mike's idea of a Leave a Trace Festival which he wanted to implement in Greece. Mike shares his work with Patrick Muvunga Trickpa in creating Uhuruland, an artistic “playa” in the middle of the 64 year old Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. We turn our attention to the Polish border where informal volunteers are creating a festival to welcome refugees. We finish with the necessity for self-care for volunteers and how we can help. Mike Zuckerman has designed everything from environmental nightclubs to a global network of [freespaces]. For the last 6 years he has focused on the global human migration crisis setting up alternatives to traditional refugee camps where the refugees themselves take a leading role in their design and implementation. He was project manager for Elpida Home in Greece in 2016, Uhuruland in Uganda, Bangladesh and more. He is currently on assignment with Alite, formerly the American Refugee Committee, at the Polish border. Links: Mike Zuckerman: https://www.mikezuckerman.com/ IRL: https://www.irl.com/ Uhuruland https://www.habitas-rise.org/project/uhuru-land Alight: https://wearealight.org/ Timestamps :06 - A brief overview of the refugee situation on the Polish Ukrainian border :14 - Mike start with Temple nightclub and free space, :24 - Burning Man principles in refugee environments and the Leave a Trace festival :34 - Uhuruland the playa within a refugee settlement in Uganda :42 - Assessing the situation on the Polish border with Ukraine :47 - The role of the media in crisis :59 - How informal volunteers are making the border feel like a festival 1:06 - Self-care in disaster relief and service 1:16 - What can we do to help

“And finally, you would dream ... where you are now. You would dream the dream of living the life that you are actually living today.” - Watts Do you lucid dream? The kind where you awaken inside the dream and can bend it to your will? Do you fly? Make love? Or maybe just let the dream play out? Would you maybe create a festival? Today's guest Jonah Gabriel Haas is the cofounder and marketing director for Lucidity Festival, a dreamy annual adventure amidst the coastal California Oaks of Santa Barbara. Before we get into the festival, we discuss lucid dreaming and how to cultivate the practice in your own life. We go over the origin story and the seven core values of the gathering. Then we get heady on transformation, in trilogies, circles and seasons. We discuss a four stage model for developing conscious awareness and how that fits in with Lucidity's twelve chapters. We end our conversation with the reveal of the Lucid Multiverse NFT adventure and the mint that dropped right as we published this podcast. Lucidity Festival lands in Live Oak campground outside of Santa Barbara on April 8th. This will be the 9th edition of the popular transformational festival. Jonah is the cofounder and marketing director of Lucidity and has been designing experiences for over 10 years. He is an avid lucid dreamer, has a Masters Degree in Cultural Anthropology, and loves otters. Links Jonah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucidjonah/?hl=en Lucidity Festival: https://lucidityfestival.com/ Lucidity on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucidityFest The Lucid Multiverse NFT-Based Treasure Hunt: https://lucidmultiverse.com/ Lucid University: https://luciditycommunity.com/lucidity-project/lucid-university/ The Art of Dreaming by Carlos Castaneda: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Dreaming-Carlos-Castaneda/dp/006092554X/ Stephen LaBerge's The Lucidity Institute: http://www.lucidity.com/ The Bloom Series: https://thebloom.tv/ Transformational festivals: Jeet Kei Leung at TEDxVancouver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8tDpQp6m0A Jill Littlewood: littlewoodart.com Ken Wilber - Developmental Stages of Consciousness: https://integralwithoutborders.org/sites/default/files/resources/Overview%20of%20Developmental%20Levels.pdf Timestamps :09 - What is lucid dreaming, techniques, and how to cultivate lucid dreaming into your life :26 - The origin story of Lucidity Festival :31 - The seven core values of Lucidity :36 - Transformation in trilogies and seasons :45 - The four stage model of developing conscious awareness :52 - Maybe you manifested it, maybe it's privilege :56 - Regenerate Earth, the final chapter of world-centric view 1:05 - The Lucid multiverse NFT adventure

Today's show is with an old friend. Ned Buskirk is the big-hearted, emotive MC of “You're Going to Die, Poetry Prose and Everything Goes” an open mic on the subject of death, dying, and grief. Embracing impermanence is one of the paradoxical keys to a life like a festival, to live in the moment we have to learn to let go. On the show we discuss the important impermanence of a festival and how the shorter lives of our pets teach us to cultivate sacredness. Ned shares how the process of losing his mother and step-mother led to the creation of his unique open-mic. We talk about tears and masculinity and Ned's special presence as Master of Ceremonies. He tells us about bringing his offering to San Quentin as “Alive Inside.” We share our favorite quotes about loss and death. Finally Ned talks about the You're Going to Die podcast and we talk shop about making art. Ned is the host and CEO of You're Going to Die (YG2D), a 501(c)3 nonprofit which started as a poetry night in 2009. In addition to the iconic open mic, the nonprofit supports two programs “Alive Inside” and “Songs for Life.” Alive Inside hosts a version of the above shows for the incarcerated. Songs for Life is a free program where musicians offer their talents & companionship, playing music & writing songs for hospice patients & their communities. YG2D's most recent venture is a popular podcast where Ned interviews many of his heroes in holding space for grief. There are two truths that Ned shares. One is that you're going to die. The other is that you haven't yet. The rest is up to you. Links Ned Buskirk: http://www.nedbuskirk.com/ You're Going to Die, Poetry Prose and Everything Goes: http://www.yg2d.com/ Alive Inside: https://www.alive-inside.com/ Songs for Life: https://www.songsforlife.info/ You're Going to Die: The Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/youre-going-to-die-the-podcast/id1504333055 “See You in the Morning Light” by Scott Ferreter: https://scott-ferreter.bandcamp.com/releases Timestamps :12 - Death and the impermanence of a festival :19 - Why I keep a meditation on dying in my bathroom
:28 - Sacredness in letting go of pets :35 - How Ned lost his mother and step-mother and created You're Going to Die :52 - Tears and masculinity in MCing grief and death :59 - “Alive Inside” the YG2D prison project 1:15 - Quotes about loss and death 1:24 - Meaninglessness creates space for meaning 1:30 - Podcasting: Share the thing you most don't want to share

In 2020 almost 100,000 people died of drug-related incidents in the US, many of those were due to fentanyl adulteration. It's not just opiates, no white powder is safe and so the cognitive libertarians need to get wise and help each other stay safe. Luckily today on the show we have Mitchell Gomez, Executive Director of DanceSafe, to help us understand why this is happening and how to prevent these unnecessary deaths. We begin with a nuanced understanding of overdose and harm reduction. We review Mitchell's personal journey as well as the rise of DanceSafe in response to drug prohibition and issues with pressed pills in the 90s. Halfway through the show at the hour we talk about fentanyl adulteration, why this is happening, how to use fentanyl test strips appropriately, and how to use Narcan if someone is experiencing an overdose. We end our conversation with Mitchell's vision for a regulated drug market. Mitchell is the Executive Director for DanceSafe, a health education and harm reduction 501(c)(3) based in Denver, Colorado. He is a Harm Reduction Consultant at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, and has sat on the CU Denver MURPAA (Master of Urban and Regional Planning Alumni Association) board, the Jefferson County Community Development Advisory Board, and the Denver Drug Strategy Commission Data Subcommittee. If you love altering your consciousness like I do, test your shit and let's end prohibition together. LINKS Mitchell Gomez: http://www.mitchellgomez.com/ Dancesafe: https://dancesafe.org/ Fentanyl Test Strips – Pack Of 10 (FREE SHIPPING): https://dancesafe.org/product/fentanyl-test-strips-pack-of-10-free-shipping/ Dancesafe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancesafe_/ Mitchell Gomez Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MitchellGomezAcamapichtli Prohibition-Driven Misrepresentation and How We Can Fix It Together: https://maps.org/news/bulletin/prohibition-driven-misrepresentation/ Finding Carcan: https://www.narcan.com/ NARCAN training video - Instructions for administration of NARCAN® Nasal Spray 4mg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdUFMrCRh4 TIMESTAMPS :09 - Benefit enhancement is a better term than “harm reduction” :13 - An “overdose” is actually a “prohibition created drug adulteration deaths” :20 - How Mitchell became a cognitive libertarian :26 - Intentionally manipulated data on MDMA leads to the “holes in the brain” theory :33 - Festivals as an initiatory container for psychedelic consciousness exploration :42 - From Tupperware full of MDMA to pressies and the rise of DanceSafe :53 - The Rave Act 1:05 - Why we're seeing Fentanyl adulteration in non-opioid markets 1:21 - Use Fentanyl strips to test your whole bag 1:34 - How to use Narcan 1:48 - A vision for regulated drug markets

Happy Valentine's Day my fellow travelers! In honor of the Day of Love, we're diving into the wonderful world of BDSM with Dr. Cat Meyer, a specialist on embodied sexuality. Our exploration begins with Cat's struggles with self acceptance and libido before she discovered kink in her early twenties. After briefly discussing styles of play, we jump right into why BDSM is a path not only to pleasure and surrender but to healing and growth. Cat explains how to create a safe container and the alchemizing effect of polarity in both the kink and tantra communities. We touch on Miss Jaiya's erotic blueprint before sharing a few kink archetypes. We close with consideration of kink mishaps, how to vet potential partners, and why aftercare is indispensable regardless of how you like to play. Dr. Cat Meyer, PsyD, LMFT is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in sex, trauma, and ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP), author, yoga teacher, and international speaker dedicated to evolving the relationship we have surrounding sexuality and our bodies.  She is the host of podcasts Eat Play Sex and Erotically Wasted and the founder of SexLoveYoga.com, an online platform for education and programs on relationships, sexuality, and embodiment.  Whether you're a shy neophyte or a kinky little rockstar, this episode will have something for you to help use desire to expand the width of you being. Enjoy! Links Sex Love Yoga: https://www.sexloveyoga.com/ Cat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexloveyoga/?hl=en Eat. Play. Sex. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eat-play-sex/id1192876328 Erotically Wasted: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/erotically-wasted/id1499038381 BDSM Test: BDMStest.org Timestamps :06 - When Cat had zero libido :12 - Styles of BDSM :24 - The kinky road to surrender :34 - Creating a safe container :42 - Kink archetypes and creating polarity :54 - Kinky mistakes and mishaps :59 - Aftercare is indispensable 1:07 - Safe, sane and consensual kink is healing

Over the past two years the optimistic spirituality of many within the psychedelic community has morphed into pessimism and paranoia. This synthesis of wellness and conspiracy thinking isn't unique to the Covid pandemic. As today's guest, philosopher Jules Evans explains, “Conspirituality” has been a feature of New Age thinking since its gnostic beginnings. Our conversations opens with Jules' own spiritual experiences, including traumatic teenage drug use, a near-death experience, and an ayahuasca-induced spiritual emergency. We then dive into our current crisis of Conspirituality and how spiritual elitism and the dark specter of eugenics has been running through New Age thinking since its origins in mysticism and magic. Finally we discuss how we can obtain real spiritual insight and live life like a festival, while still maintaining good mental hygiene. Jules is a writer, speaker and practical philosopher who focuses on ideas which help beings suffer less and flourish more. He is the author of four books including Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, The Art of Losing Control, Holiday from the Self, and Breaking Open: Finding a Way Through Spiritual Emergencies. His popular articles about Conspirituality on Medium have made him one of the most sought after critics of today's crisis of meaning in the wellness community. So, level up your many-mindedness, and let's give our magical lives a healthy dose of skepticism. Links: Philosophy of Life: https://www.philosophyforlife.org/ Jules Evans on Medium: https://medium.com/@julesevans ‘Conspirituality' — the overlap between the New Age and conspiracy beliefs: https://julesevans.medium.com/conspirituality-the-overlap-between-the-new-age-and-conspiracy-beliefs-c0305eb92185 Breaking Open (2020): https://www.philosophyforlife.org/published-works/breaking-open Holiday from the Self (2019): https://www.philosophyforlife.org/published-works/holiday-from-the-self The Art of Losing Control (2017): https://www.philosophyforlife.org/published-works/the-art-of-losing-control-canongate-2017 Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations (2012): https://www.philosophyforlife.org/published-works/philosophy-for-life-and-other-dangerous-situations-rider-books-2012 Jules on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulesEvans11 Timestamps: :08 - Why Jules started writing about Conspirituality in 2020 :14 - From teenage psychedelic use to a near-death experience :19 - Stoicism, Greek philosophy and rationality :26 - The search for ecstatic experiences :32 - Many-minded Aldous Huxley :40 - Spiritual Emergencies and the value of the funky gritty bits of life :55 - How optimistic oneness becomes pessimistic conspiracy thinking 1:00 - Charles Eisenstein and the strain of primitivism in deep ecologists 1:12 - How do we know we've obtained real insight 1:20 - How Spiritual Elitism leads to Spiritual Eugenics 1:28 - Class Privilege 1:32 - Don't shame the unvaccinated 1:36 - How we can still make life like a festival

Psychedelic decriminalization is on the move throughout the United States and Colorado is at its epicenter. Today on Life is a Festival Matthew Duffy (Duffy), co-founder of the reform and education platform SPORE, explains Colorado's upcoming legislation in poetic mushroom metaphors. We begin with Duffy's initial experiences with permaculture and how a fungi's mycelial network is the ideal model for organizing political change. We discuss psychedelic decriminalization vs legalization and why the two must happen simultaneously. We review the issue of psychedelic exceptionalism and how to re-perspectivize identity politics. Finally we discuss SPORE's upcoming Right to Heal campaign and how you can get involved with Colorado's legislation. Duffy is an ecofuturist organizer, myco-poet, and Co-Ecosystem Director at SPORE, The Society for Psychedelic Outreach Reform and Education. After teaming up with Decriminalize Denver in 2018 for the Denver Psilocybin Initiative, Duffy went on to co-found SPORE and enroll in the Resilient Leadership MA at Naropa University where he completed his master's degree in May 2021. Duffy and SPORE are currently focused on the Right to Heal campaign to prioritize marginalized community empowerment, access, equity, leadership, and stewardship within the psychedelic movement. Generational healing will happen in beloved community so let's make like mushrooms and get into some radical collaboration! Links SPORE: https://www.thespore.org Right to Heal Campaign: https://www.thespore.org/the-right-to-heal My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem: https://www.amazon.com/My-Grandmothers-Hands-Racialized-Pathway/dp/1942094477 Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown: https://www.amazon.com/Emergent-Strategy-Shaping-Change-Changing/dp/1849352607 Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson : https://www.amazon.com/Caste-Origins-Discontents-Isabel-Wilkerson/dp/0593230256 The Ancestors Project: https://www.theancestorproject.com/ Decriminalize Nature: https://www.decriminalizenature.org/ Chacruna: https://chacruna.net/ Timestamp :08 - Sparkle ponies and spiritual bypassing :12 - Social Permaculture applied to the psychedelic movement :21 - Mycelial networks as an organizing principle for political change :25 - Psychedelic decriminalization vs legalization :32 - Psychedelic exceptionalism :37 - Identity politics and queering psychedelics to heal our identity crisis :47 - Right to Heal Campaign :57 - Colorado is the epicenter and what to do about it.

If we are committed to healing and a joyful life, we must look at our culture's longest shadows, and change the way we understand justice. The opposite of the expansive freedom of a festival is the national nightmare of mass incarceration. Today on Life is a Festival. Sonya Shah, a specialist in restorative justice, is here to shine a light in our collective darkness and a possible path out. The show begins with an exploration how to live a meaningful life and how to cultivate joy in activism. We discuss the US prison system, why incarceration doesn't serve society, and ways to support reform. Then we dive into the alternative practice of restorative justice with all its benefits and challenges. I share my own experience participating in a community accountability process. We finish our conversation with a discussion of masculinity and gender violence, and how we can create space for healing by learning to sit with our own triggers. Sonya is an Associate Professor at California Institute of Integral Studies and has been teaching and facilitating restorative justice circles for over 15 years. She has trained hundreds of facilitators in trauma healing, and helped communities design their own group healing processes. She initiated the Ahimsa Collective in 2016 which facilitates circles for survivors of sexual harm and people who have committed sexual harm within prisons and other environments. She is a Buddhist, a first-generation immigrant from India and a shining example of joyful service. Links: Ahimsa Collective: https://www.ahimsacollective.net/ Life Comes From It: https://www.lifecomesfromit.org/ Zehr Institute: https://zehr-institute.org/ Justice in America Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0wb6JtwN3qBgGiwKKmqj1i bell hooks The Will to Change Men, Masculinity, and Love: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Will-to-Change/bell-hooks/9780743456081 Thirteenth (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_(film) You're Going to Die: http://www.yg2d.com/what-is-youre-going-to-die Timestamps :06 - bell hooks and patriarchal harm :14 - What does it mean to live a meaningful life? :18 - How to cultivate joy in activism :25 - The prison system, privilege and how we become aware of our collective shadow :37 - How we can take action for prison reform and advocacy :47 - Switching to restorative justice :53 - Eamon's experience with a community accountability process 1:05 - Reframing from perpetrator to “person who caused harm” 1:14 - Gender violence and patriarchy 1:20 - Sitting with triggers and reactivity 1:25 - Facing challenging truths

In the tradition of the English troubadour, Nick Mulvey is a soulful multi-instrumentalist, an Earth protector, and a student of Celtic Shamanism. Most importantly, he is generous with his insights for young artists. This podcast flows in three parts, first we discuss Nick's musical background from studying in Havana at nineteen, to playing hang drum with Portico Quartet, to his embodied solo career as a singer-songwriter. We then discuss Nick's pilgrimage to Embercombe in Southwest England where Mac McCartney taught him the spiritual nourishment of Northern European indigeneity and shamanism. Finally we explore Nick's work as an environmental protector and his recent experience at COP26. Throughout the conversation, Nick drops beautiful gems of wisdom for emerging artists and offers playful backstories for some of his most popular songs. Nick Mulvey is an English musician and a passionate environmentalist. He studied ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London where he was a founding member of the band Portico Quartet. Nick released his Mercury Prize-nominated solo album “First Mind” in 2014, following it up three years later with “Wake Up Now.” His most recent album “Begin Again,” explores reconnection to his ancestral roots. Links Nick Mulvey: https://www.nickmulvey.com/ Portico Quartet: https://www.porticoquartet.com/ Mac Macartney: https://macmacartney.com/ Wilderness Festival Movie: https://vimeo.com/155444107 Timestamps :06 - Calling in ancestors with a candle :10 - Studying music in Havana at 19 and Nick's advice to young artists :17 - Busking with the hang drum and forming Portico Quartet :27 - Nick's solo career and the felt sense of songwriting from the body :35 - “In Your Hands” - Telling stories about where lyrics come from :41 - Nick's Pilgrimage to Southwest England :45 - The Elder Mac McCartney and Celtic Indigeneity :52 - “The Shores of Mona” and the Ancient Celtic Institutions of Dreaming Technology 1:08 - Nick's experience as an environmentalist at COP26 1:15 - Party Heal Serve 1:25 - Sharing your small self on a big stage

Recently on a trip to Ibiza I met a remarkable young woman, Chabeli Chain. Chabeli is an Indigenous refugee and advocate from the Venezuelan Amazon, who is at the beginning of her DJ career. On the show we discuss growing up the in the Amazon and her people's medicine Yopo, a visionary snuff which contains DMT, Bufotenin, and 5-MeO-DMT. We talk about becoming a political refugee as the result of an instagram post and Chabeli's journey from Venezuela to Panama, Mexico, Milan and finally Ibiza. Chabeli shares her passion for music and Indigenous advocacy through her work with the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet. Finally we review Chabeli's daily practices and how she cultivates joy, enthusiasm, and resilience. Chabeli is a DJ, model, and Indigenous advocate. She is the Indigenous Rights Advisor for the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet (Gasp) and author of “Increasing Resilience Through Education, Inclusion and Cultural Preservation.” This was her first interview. Links Chabeli's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chabelichain/ Wayuu Taya Foundation: https://wayuutaya.org/ Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet: https://gasp.world/ “Increasing Resilience Through Education, Inclusion and Cultural Preservation” https://gasp.world/improving-education-and-wellbeing-for-indigenous-youth-while-preserving-cultural-heritage-and-increasing-resilience-in-venezuela/ Timestamps :10 - Growing up in the Amazon :14 - Chabeli describes the Yopo medicine :22 - How Chabeli became a political refugee :31 - How Chabeli became first a DJ and then a producer :39 - Why Chabeli moved to Ibiza :44 - Chabeli's vision for Indigenous resilience :54 - How to find joy, enthusiasm, and resilience

I am always available for psychedelic service. When I am called to serve, there's nowhere I'd rather be than sitting calmly beside someone going through the challenging journey known colloquially as a "bad trip." I recently had the opportunity to offer psychedelic peer support, also called "trip sitting," at a party. Although I've covered trip sitting before in episodes with Sara Gael of MAPS' Zendo Project and the TeaFaerie a legendary tripsitter, I thought it would be instructive to share a story of my firsthand experience of offering peer support in the wild. If you'd like to learn more about trip sitting, I highly recommend the Zendo Project which offers trainings, and the Fireside Project, the first ever psychedelic peer support hotline (dial 62-FIRESIDE). If you'd like to hear more about my own background and the history of psychedelic peer support, check out the article I wrote about Zendo and trip sitting back in 2015 called “I Did Psychedelic First Aid at a Festival in Costa Rica.” May we all have opportunities to serve and be served. The psyche you calm… may be your own. Links I Did Psychedelic First Aid at a Festival in Costa Rica: https://medium.com/@eamonarmstrong/i-did-psychedelic-first-aid-at-a-festival-in-costa-rica-edf0d96eaeeb Zendo Project: https://zendoproject.org/ Fireside Project: https://firesideproject.org/ Sara Gael (Zendo Project) on Life is a Festival” https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/sara-gael The TeaFaerie on Life is a Festival: https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/the-teafaerie Fireside Project on the Psychedelic Therapy Podcast: https://www.mayahealth.com/podcast/fireside-project

I've been wanting to train in sexual, shamanic healing at the International School of Temple Arts (ISTA) for years. Today on Life is a Festival I discuss the my ISTA Level 1 training with two of my facilitators Ohad Pele & Jasmeen Hana. On the show we talk about temple arts and why a training like ISTA is so valuable. We discuss the practice of bringing life force to interrupt patterns and liberate sexual energy. We review the four stages of Shamanic Shadow Hunting and other techniques to bring consciousness to all areas of the body. We finish with how healing the erotic depolarizes us politically and the benefits and challenges of ISTA in the era of Me Too. The International School of Temple Arts works with spirituality and sexuality as two expressions of the life force. Their vision is a world where humans have a peaceful, delightful, shameless, fearless and loving relationship with their own bodies, sexuality, emotions, hearts, minds and spirit. Ohad Pele, a lead facilitator in ISTA, has been teaching Kabbalah, Sacred Sexuality and Conscious Relating for more than 30 years. A former traditional Kabbalist Rabbi in Jerusalem, he is well known as one of the most influential and radical spiritual teachers in Israel. Before joining ISTA Pele was heading “Neviah – the Hebraic Academy of Universal Spirit” in Tel Aviv. Pele is an artist, photographer and a song writer and author of the historical fiction "Kedesha - A timeless tale of a Love Priestess", Jasmeen Hana has studied Vipassana meditation, Ayurveda, kundalini yoga, plant medicine, and ancient Egyptian embodiment practices. She organizes and co-facilitates Kemetic/ African shamanic yoga teacher trainings in Luxor and offers Egyptian Mystery retreats, blue lotus ceremonies, facilitating with ISTA and holds a point at Highden Mystery School in New Zealand. Timestamps :12 - What are Temple Arts :15 - Jasmeen and Ohad's initiation to magic :22 - Why ISTA? :31 - Bringing life force to interrupt patterns and liberating sexual energy :37 - The four stages of Shamanic Shadow Hunting :50 - Bringing consciousness to all areas of the body :57 - The structure and facilitation of ISTA 1:05 - How healing the erotic depolarizes 1:12 - ISTA in the era of Me Too Links: ISTA Website: https://ista.life/ Pele Ohad: https://ista.life/profile/pele-ohad Ohad's books on Amazon: "Kedesha - A timeless tale of a Love Priestess", Kabbalah Love: https://www.kabalove.org/ Jasmeen Hana: https://www.egyptian-templearts.com/ Caitlyn Cook: https://ista.life/profile/caitlyn-cook Autobiography in Five Short Chapters: https://palousemindfulness.com/docs/autobio_5chapters.pdf Wheel of Consent - Betty Martin: https://bettymartin.org/videos/

LIAF 111: “Queer is Questioning” From The Spaces Between Podcast with Al Jeffery What does it mean to call yourself queer? Today on Life is a Festival, I'm honored to share an interview I did on Al Jeffery's brilliant show, “The Spaces Between,” discussing queerness as a form of radical curiosity. We open with a comparison of vulnerability and openness, and how to use embodiment to support good mental health. We discuss what it means to “queer” something and how psychedelics and identity-expanding practices are in and of themselves queer. We talk about temperament, attachment style, character and identity and how you can release your own personal mythology by getting down to basic physiology. We close with learning to love the questions themselves, which in our binary culture can be the most difficult love, and yet the most rewarding. Al is a facilitator, community-designer, Top 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, keynote speaker, author and leadership virtuoso. He is dedicated to understanding disconnection and restoring connection in our lives, leadership and communities. Al hosts the Spaces Between Podcast, an open-inquiry into restoring community in the 21st Century, which I highly recommend. Timestamps :13 - Courageous vulnerability vs. social media openness :23 - Embodiment and mental health :35 - What it means to “queer” something :44 - Focusing on physiology and releasing your personal mythology :55 - Temperament, attachment personality, character, and identity 1:03 - Can you queer your depression? 1:08 - Masturbation and digital sex addiction 1:08 - Learn to love the questions themselves Links Al Jeffery: https://aljeffery.com/ Inside by Bo Burnham (Netflix show): https://www.boburnham.com/ Finite and Infinite Games (book): https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1476731713? Sacred Sons (podcast): https://open.spotify.com/show/13MNzScptw2xqgkCTrgAEJ?si=a4700281b7c746bd&nd=1 Tara Brach Podcast (podcast): https://open.spotify.com/show/37McjD0j2cdu4GExcFQgm0?si=dcc3018f51b248b9&nd=1 Your Brain on Porn (website): https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/ Johari's Window: https://www.communicationtheory.org/the-johari-window-model/

What started as a festival bringing together elders from around the world has become a platform of superheroes! Aniwa is a movement to amplify the voices of Indigenous leaders and today's guests founders Vivien Vilela & Rudy Randa share what that means in the time of Covid. We start with Vivian and Rudy's initial awakenings, which started like many of ours. at outdoor dance parties. We discuss what is known as the Rainbow Prophecy and how that gave birth to the Aniwa Gathering. We talk about some of the Indigenous leaders they represent like Benki Piyãko, Mona Polacca, and the mysterious Mamos of the Sierra Nevadas. Finally we explore how we might transmit elder knowledge to a Western context and how we could scale Indigenous wisdom in our modern world. The Aniwa Gathering is a non-profit event produced by The Boa Foundation bringing together 40 of the world's most respected indigenous leaders and elders to share their wisdom over 4 days of cultural exchange and sacred ceremonies. Links Aniwa: https://www.aniwa.co/ The Boa Foundation: https://www.theboafoundation.org/ Brazil: Reject Anti-Indigenous Rights Bill: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/24/brazil-reject-anti-indigenous-rights-bill Aniwa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aniwa.co/?hl=en Boa Foundation on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theboafoundation/?hl=en Timestamps :07 - Vivian and Rudy both first opened up through outdoor parties :18 - The Rainbow Prophecy and the Aniwa Festival of Indigenous wisdom :29 - A superhero team of indigenous elders :47 - Transmitting elder wisdom to a Western context :59 - Scaling access to indigenous wisdom

The 2021 Renegade Burn was a marvel of self-organization. Today on Life is a Festival I share my own reflections and a collection of interviews from drone artists to temple builders. The show begins with my own experience. I answer questions, share my philosophy of why we Burn, respond to criticisms, and report on the vibe. Then I interview Nathan Rolshoven, a young, passionate burner and an amateur historian of Burning Man culture. Following that I discuss swarm dynamics with Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift who put on three breathtaking drone shows. Next, we hear from four organizers of the Plan B Facebook group: Howard Davis, Joel Briggs, Mike Lee, and Lofax. Then I share the touching friendship between veteran volunteer Ranger Maverick and Happy Mutant, an EMT with Guardian Elite Medical Services (GEMS). Our final interview is with Monera Mason, a lead organizer of the Temple. To top it off I include a snippet of my rant about burning man philosophy at sunrise on playa with music and culture journalist Katie Bain for her Billboard Magazine article. This podcast is dedicated to Kamp KISS and of all my amazing campmates who gave me a home on the playa and helped make this podcast happen. Links Studio Drift: https://www.studiodrift.com/ Black Rock Plan B Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/368518897848763 “The Temple of Constaints: by Monera Mason: https://moneram.medium.com/temple-of-constraints-cdbb7913f35d Katie Bain Billboard article: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/9626976/burning-man-free-burn-unofficial-nevada/ Timestamps :02 - My reflections on the Renegade Burn :26 - Nathan Rolshoven :47 - Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift at 47 Minutes 1:12 - Plan B including Howard David, Joel Briggs, Mike Lee, and Fayadas Lofax 1:48 - Maverick, Volunteer Ranger, & Happy Mutant, EMT with Guardian Elite Medical Services 2:17 - Monera Mason, one of the temple leads 2:44 - My short interview with music and culture journalist Katie Bain

With the rapid fall of Afghanistan, veterans in our communities need our care and support now more than ever. So I called up Army Ranger Jesse Gould who supports psychedelic healing for soldiers to talk about his experience and what we can do to help. On the podcast Jesse explains the complex reactions veterans are feeling about the end of operations in Afghanistan. We discuss PTSD and why both the causes and healing of trauma are more complex than many realize. Jesse explains how ayahuasca and other psychedelics help to repattern hyper vigilance and an overactive nervous systems in soldiers returning from war. We discuss his nonprofit, Heroic Hearts, which takes veterans to ayahuasca ceremonies for healing. Finally we discuss how serving communities makes life more like a festival. Jesse holds an important voice for military veterans in the psychedelic community and beyond. A former Army Ranger with three tours of duty in Afghanistan, he is the Founder and President of the Heroic Hearts Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pioneering psychedelic therapies for veterans. Jesse works to spread awareness of plant medicine as a therapeutic method and has spoken globally about psychedelics and mental health. He is best known for his own inspiring battle with PTSD and his recovery through psychedelic therapy. Links: Heroic Hearts Project: https://www.heroicheartsproject.org/ Heroic Hearts on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heroicheartsproject/?hl=en Timestamps: :10 - The veteran response to the fall of Afghanistan is complex :17 - Jesse's history in the military :28 - PTSD in the context of a war setting :40 - How Ayahuasca repatterns hypervigilence :47 - How Jesse learned to integrate his ayahuasca ceremonies :53 - How serving community makes life like a festival 1:00 - The model of the nonprofit Heroic Hearts

What is our responsibility for kinship and reciprocity as we explore the healing power of plant medicine? Sutton King of the Menominee and Oneida Nations, Head of Impact at the psychedelic drug development company Journey Colab, can show us the way. On the show we explore Sutton's commitment to healing and service from her early days dancing jingle dress to her work with the Urban Indigenous Collective in New York. Sutton explains her perspective on kinship and the Seven Generations Principle. We discuss Journey Colab, the psychedelic startup that is developing mescaline for treating alcoholism. Finally we review the responsibilities of psychedelic entrepreneurs as well as individual psychonauts to be in right relation with the honorable harvest. A descendant of the Menominee and Oneida Nations of Wisconsin, Sutton King is a nationally recognized indigenous heath advocate, researcher, and social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and President of Urban Indigenous Collective, a nonprofit advocating on the behalf of Urban Natives in the tri-state area, she is Head of Impact at Journey Colab, a start-up led by Sam Altman and Jeeshan Chowdhury developing psychedelic treatments for mental health, and she is the Co-Founder of ShockTalk, a culturally tailored telemental health platform that facilitates culturally appropriate patient-provider relationships. With psychedelic exploration booming, we need leaders like Sutton King to make sure our transformational self-inquiry and healing doesn't simple become another kind of hedonic consumption. Links Sutton King on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sutton.king Sutton King on Twitter: https://twitter.com/suttonking_ Urban Indigenous Collective: https://urbanindigenouscollective.org/ Journey Colab: https://www.journeycolab.com/ ShockTalk: https://www.shocktalk.io/ Decolonizing Wealth: https://decolonizingwealth.com/ Braiding Sweetgrass: https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass Transcript :10 - A day in the life of a psychedelic activist :15 - Dancing Jingle Dress as a calling to help heal her people :24 - Kinship and the Seven Generations principle :32 - Peyote, Journey Colab, and the Indigenous Reciprocity Trust :39 - Cheif Oshkosh, and Menominee sustainability :44 - Right psychedelic entrepreneurship from the Nagoya Protocol to “Free, Prior, and Informed Consent” :53 - Urban Indigenous Collective :59 - Reciprocity on an individual level

Recently, in the bouldered desert outside of San Diego, I joined the Embodied Masculine Experience created by Sacred Sons. Today on the podcast, I'm honored to bring you the co-founder and the voice of Sacred Sons, Adam Jackson, for a deep dive on modern mens work. On the show we discuss the need for embodied masculinity and the evolution of Sacred Sons from the Mythopoetic Men's Movement and the Mankind Project to today. Adam describes men's work and the philosophy behind the organization. Then we get into my experience at the gathering from ritual connection in a cave to ritual combat in the “Brotherdome.” We finish our conversation with the Father's Circle and how to integrate this work. Adam is the Director of Operations & Co-Founder as well as the host of the Sacred Sons podcast. His spiritual background includes Inipi (Sweat Lodge), men's circles, plant medicine ceremonies, and transformational gatherings. He is fittingly known by his brothers as Lionheart Sacred Sons is offering a series of gatherings across the United States in the month of September if you or a man you love are interested. Links Events Calendar: https://www.sacredsons.com/events-calendar Sacred Sons: https://www.sacredsons.com/ Adam Jackson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adam___jackson/?hl=en Sacred Sons and the Rise of the Embodied Masculine by Ian MacKenzie: https://ianmack.medium.com/sacredsons-5cf03070b28d Timestamps :08 - All of you is welcome, inclusivity in mens work :15 - Brotherhood is the medicine, what is the sickness? :23 - Why Adam is called LionHeart :27 - The origins of Sacred Sons from Adam's life to the Mankind Project :37 - What is men's work? :46 - My story of ritual connection at Sacred Sons :54 - Ritual combat in the Brotherdome 1:01 - The Father's Council 1:05 - How to integrate

Today we welcome back the mighty Tony Moss for a deep dive on ayahuasca healing for ancestral trauma and post traumatic slave syndrome. On the show we discuss Tony's first experiences with ayahuasca over 20 years ago through the Santo Daime church. Tony shares his own experience healing ancestral trauma in ceremony. We talk about epigenetics and the current understanding of ancestral healing from indigenous to modern worldviews. Tony describes his first experience leading an all-Black ceremony and finally we discuss the state of race in America today. Tony Moss is a musician, artist, and founder of I.AM.LIFE, a non-profit event production project focused on interconnectivity. He has been working with ayahuasca for 20 years in jurisdictions where it is legal and is a public advocate for the decriminalization and responsible use of all plant medicines. Tony is passionate about the synthesis of indigenous and modern world views. Links Tony Moss: TonyMoss.me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mosstony/?hl=en Rachel Yehuda: Studying the Science of Psychedelics and PTSD: https://www.mayahealth.com/podcast/dr-rachel-yehuda Timestamps :07 - When you first discovered ayahuasca? :13 - The Judeo-Christian ayahuasca tradition of Santo Daime :23 - How Tony discovered his own ancestral trauma :33 - Epigenetic and healing ancestral trauma :47 - Tony's experience leading all-Black ayahuasca ceremonies :57 - Ayahuasca and the state of race in America

“Stay awake, build stuff, and help out.” Jamie Wheal's masterful new book Recapture the Rapture is a wokeup call for all of us hedonistic Lizard Brain Fuck Monkeys who need to get our shit together and save the world. On the show we talk about the Pareto effect for peak experiences; protocols for a global nervous system reboot; the unintentional outcomes of intentional communities; designing vibrant anti-fragile transformative culture; the sexual yoga of becoming homegrown humans; and a DNA Jesus fish. Above all this is a conversation about building an open-source operating system for transformational culture. Jamie is the best-selling co-author of the 2017 hit Stealing Fire and founder of the Flow Genome project. He is a dear friend of the show and also taught me how to wakeboard for the first time. His new book Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex, and Death in a World That's Lost Its Mind is a must read for anyone who wants to optimize their psychedelic journey or start an intentional community. 
Links Recapture the Rapture: https://www.recapturetherapture.com/ Stealing Fire: http://stealingfirebook.com/ Flow Genome Project: https://www.flowgenomeproject.com/ Timestamps :08 - Who is this book for? :14 - The Pareto Effect for peak experiences :22 - Practices for a global nervous system reboot :35 - Stay Awake, Build Stuff, and Help Out :45 - Unintentional outcomes for intentional communities :58 - Designing vibrant, anti-fragile transformational culture 1:08 - Sexual Yoga of Becoming 1:18 - Homegrown humans and a DNA Jesus fish 1:35 - Building an open source operating system for transformational consciousness and culture 1:47 - Book clubs and shared vernacular

I first experienced the actor Adrian Grenier, like many of us did, as the charismatic boy prince Vincent Chase on the show Entourage. We met in person at a masculinity talk at Burning Man as a man going through a profound spiritual journey, which is the subject of today’s podcast. On the show we look at Adrian’s life through an archetypal lens from the puer aeternus (the boy who won’t grow up) to the four mature masculine archetypes outlined in the book King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. We discuss his time on the set of Entourage and how life imitates art. Adrian explains his own trail of ashes, the portal to growing up, and some of the specific tools, like embodiment, that Adrian used to catalyze his growth. Finally we discuss his new community project outside of Austin, Texas named Kintsugi after the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold. Adrian is an actor, director, producer, musician, environmentalist and now, a rancher. He is best known for his starring role in the HBO series Entourage and has appeared in films such as Drive Me Crazy and The Devil Wears Prada. He serves as a United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador. A Note: Discussions of gender are incredibly nuanced, especially now. There is no one size fits all way of looking at gender polarities in ourselves and our culture. Neither Adrian or I are gender theorists and so we endeavor to share our own experiences. Whether you identify as a man or woman or any other beautiful constellation of gender identity, I hope you find something in today’s episode that gives you greater insight in how to expand the width of your own being. Links Shot in the Dark (film): https://www.amazon.com/Shot-Dark-Adrian-Grenier/dp/B00SR38NTC King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine: by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=king+warrior+magician+lover Iron John: A Book about Men by Robert Bly https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064 Elana Meta (Intimacy Specialist): https://www.elanameta.com/menswork Teenage Paparazzo (film): https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Paparazzo-Adrian-Grenier/dp/B004U8VWOQ Timestamps :06 - The adolescent desire to take risks in order to live an epic story :14 - The Father wound and The Warrior’s healthy anger in service of boundaries :23 - Cultivating your own dangerous nature to be a good protector :30 - Entourage and becoming the archetype of immature masculinity :39 - The Trail of Ashes :47 - Embodiment, seamen retention and other tools for navigating the underworld 1:00 - Adrian’s community project in Texas and the opportunity for humble service.

Feeling a little nervous about post-pandemic gatherings? You’re not alone. Luckily we have a master community builder, Radha Agrawal of the sober morning dance party Daybreaker, to give us some wise words and a gentle nudge back to IRL connection. Our show starts with Radha’s own experience intentionally crafting a new group of friends in her 30s. She shares some social alchemy techniques from her book Belong including the C.R.A.W.L. method and the Four Phases of Community. We discuss what she learned when Daybreaker went digital during the pandemic. Finally we explore reintegrating into in-person experiences for both attendees and producers. Radha Agrawal is the co-Founder, CEO and Chief Community Architect of Daybreaker, the sober morning dance party vibing on five continents with almost half a million people. Her book Belong is a blueprint for building community. Radha is currently teaching joy practices on D.O.S.E., Daybreaker’s science backed platform, which supports members on their journey to joy. She is also busy pioneering the field of Functional Happiness and writing her next book, The Joy Ride. Radha’s Website: https://www.radhaagrawal.com/ Daybreaker: https://www.daybreaker.com/ Radha’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love.radha/ Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life: https://www.amazon.com/Belong-People-Create-Community-Connected-ebook/dp/B075G4W7MV Greater Good Science Center: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUE2QJS Timestamps :07 - How Radha learned to be intentional about choosing her friends :17: - Radha’s CRAWL method for community building starting :22 - Women’s safety and leadership at events :36 - How being forced online by the pandemic brought Daybreaker into people’s homes :41 - Using Radha’s Four Phases of Community to reconnect post-COVID :48 - How to find a sense of safety resocializing :53 - Ways of stimulating your happy chemicals dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins (D.O.S.E.)

Today’s guest, Aaron Orsini, has leveraged his own experimentation of self to become a masterful steward of a vibrant community that supports the responsible use of psychedelics for nuerodivergent people. On the show we discuss autism as a neurological diagnosis and a cultural label. Aaron shares his experiences experimenting with LSD as a tool for socialization, healing trauma, and ultimately building community. We talk about the Autistic Psychedelic Community and what real leadership means. Aaron Paul Orsini is the author of Autism On Acid: How LSD Helped Me Understand, Navigate, Alter & Appreciate My Autistic Perceptions and the just released neurodiversity-minded anthology of psychedelic essays Autistic Psychedelic. He is also the cofounder of the Autistic Psychedelic Community, a peer support group for neurodivergent individuals interested in discussing psychedelics. Notes Autistic psychedelic: https://www.autisticpsychedelic.com/ Autism on Acid: https://www.autismonacid.com/ Timestamps :07 - The label “Autistic” :17 - Aaron’s first encounter with LSD :20 - The neurology of autism :25 - LSD, socialization and trauma :42 - Aaron’s use of other substances :50 - Is LSD best as an ongoing neurological contact lens? :56 - Leadership in community

For the 100th episode of Life is a Festival, I’m honored to bring you this conversation with my dear friend and spiritual teacher Benjamin. On the show we discuss the consequences of self-indulgence and how to construct a yang container in order to bring structure to an overripe yin. We talk about mentorship through the mirror of deep listening and we explore Benjamin’s lifestyle of radical openness. Finally, we conclude with the next frontier of festivals and the future of this podcast. Benjamin has a big white beard and doesn’t live anywhere. He travels the world helping his friends of whom I am deeply grateful to be counted. Timestamps :04 - The consequences of self indulgence :14 - Deep listening as a mirror :21 - A radical openness to life :27 - The home as a metaphor for the constructed self :31 - Mentorship and the art of reflection :39 - The Yang Container :46 - The next frontier for the festival :56 - The middle place between hedonism and activism 1:02 - Benjamin and I discuss the future of Life is a Festival

Does your inner world sometimes feels like a squabbling family, always reacting to the outside experience and to itself? You’re not alone. In fact there’s an entire style of therapy that specifically seeks to bring harmony to our Internal Family Systems. As part of the inner work I undertook over this winter, I had the honor of working with IFS founder Richard Schwartz. After a series of sessions, we recorded this podcast to share what we learned together. On the show Dick explains the Internal Family Systems model, from the way our different “parts” interact, to how our fundamental Self can create harmony and healing within the system. We explore the process of IFS healing and the shamanic experience of unburdening core wounds. We discuss the unique and potent pairing of psychedelics and IFS and why this model is so helpful in intimate relationships. Trained as a systemic family therapist and academic, Richard Schwartz developed Internal Family systems in the 80s. He is also the founder of the Center for Self Leadership, now called the IFS institute and the author of a number of books and papers. His forthcoming book “No Bad Parts” comes out this year. IFS Institute: https://ifs-institute.com/ TIMESTAMPS :06 - Dick gives his “parts” a prep talks and describes “parts,” the “Self,” and the “8 Cs of Self Leadership” :11 - Hindu Mythology, the Odyssey, and inner children :19 - Three different kinds of parts: exiles, managers, and firefighters :23 - The process and goals of IFS therapy :37 - Unburdening wounded parts :45 - IFS and psychedelics :56 - IFS in intimate relationships

To succeed as artists, the muse must find us working, but how do we maintain the play and passion that lit our creative fire to begin with? Today’s guest, the delightful Autumn Skye, is a luminary in the Visionary Art world and a true artist of the creative life itself. On the show we discuss Autumn’s artistic childhood and how she developed her craft. We talk about the gap between vision and ability, light and shadow in the Visionary Art world and using art as a tool for weathering difficult times. All along the way, Autumn models the whimsy and play that breathes life into her paintings and shows us how to find balance in creative work. A self-taught artist, Autumn lives and works in the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. She teaches and exhibits worldwide and is passionate about supporting other creators in the Visionary Art world and beyond. Links Website: https://autumnskyeart.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumnskyearts/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnskyeart/ Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AutumnSkyeART Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/autumnskye Artique Artists’ Cooperative: https://artiquebc.ca/ Timestamps :07 - An artistic childhood :12 - The balance of work and play in creative endeavor :19 - The gap between vision and ability :27 - The light and shadow in visionary art :37 - Art as a tool for difficult times :41 - The Artique Gallery and community of artists :46 - How to avoid deadening the creative process :55 - The dance of play and work

This week the Life is a Festival Saturday Club continues with the second installment of Healing New Age Narcissism. Alex Ebert, enigmatic frontman of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros returns with his ideas for “Refestivalizing Spirituality.” On the show Alex gives us a robust history of the dark side of New Age thought from the Law of Attraction to the Power of Positive Thinking to the Secret. We talk about the problems with Burning Man and the liberating power of celebrating death. Finally we discuss how we can refestivalize our spiritual culture through communal effort. The show also features insight from returning panel guests and members of the audience. Turquoise shares her thoughts on partying with a purpose, Arjuna provides a parallel history through the Human Potential Movement, and Jamie Wheal reads from his forthcoming book Recapture the Rapture. Alex Ebert is a musician, activist, and increasingly a philosopher. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. He won a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for the film All Is Lost in 2014. Check out his instagram where he is increasingly posting interesting and hilarious social commentary. Links Alex’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex_ebert Timestamps :09 - The most philosophical emoji is the shrug :15 - The permissiveness of a naked parent :20 - The history of New Age Narcissism :32 - The shadow side of Burning Man :45 - Alex’s ideas for refestivalizing spirituality :51 - Turquoise shares about pulling into purpose with a party :55 - Arjuna provides parallel trajectory of Human Potential movement 1:01 - Alex talks about celebrating death: “Yes my destruction!” 1:15 - Jamie Wheal talks about the connection between narcissism and nihilism 1:23 - Jazz, who built the Burning Man temple in 2015 shares the power of humor 1:29 - Jamie shares a reading from Recapture the Rapture

The Life is a Festival Saturday Show on Clubhouse is heating up! This week, Jamie Wheal joined in place of Alex Ebert who had a tooth infection, but we ended up getting Alex too! We also had a guest appearance from the psychedelic luminary Erik Davis, as well as musician and community leader Turquoise Sound. On the show we define narcissism and bemoan the worrying prevalence of dark triad personality types in transformational communities. We speak of the importance of history and eldership and extol the virtues of public criticism and humor. Alex gives us a brief history of the Power of Positive thinking and then we open the floor for questions. Jamie is the bestselling author of Stealing Fire, his upcoming book is called Recapture the Rapture and you can hear his show by the same name on Clubhouse on Friday’s at 1pm pst. This Saturday at 10am PST, we’ll do Part 2 with Alex Ebert where we’ll learn how to go about “refestivalizing” spirituality. Timestamps :12 - Have you ever wondered that you might be a narcissist? :22 - The importance of history and eldership from psychedelic academic Erik Davis :29 - Turquoise Sound asks about dark triad personality types and Jamie reads from Recapture the Rapture :40 - Erik Davis extols the virtues of public criticism and humor :45 - Alex Ebert shares a history The Law of Attraction :55 - We open the floor for questions

I’ve gotten a lot of requests through the Life is a Festival survey to interview large-scale installation artists. Well, today we’re going to hear from one of the biggest: Daniel Popper, the South African creator of Tulum yogis and Boom shamans. On the show we go deep into Daniel’s creative process and what it takes to build big art. We discuss instagram culture, Disney World, and building with bronze. Finally Daniel offers his advice to young artists. Daniel is a multidisciplinary installation artist from Cape Town. He has produced iconic sculptures for festivals around the world including Electric Forest in the US, Boom Festival in Portugal, Rainbow Serpent in Australia, and Afrikaburn in South Africa. His next big upcoming project is the ‘Human+Nature’ Exhibition at the Morton Arboretum in Chicago this April. Links Daniel Popper: https://www.danielpopper.com/ Daniel Popper on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielpopper/?hl=en ‘Human+Nature’ Exhibition: https://secretchicago.com/human-nature-morton-arboretum/ Life is a Festival Survey: http://bitly.com/festival-survey Timestamps :10 - How Daniel starting making large-scale art :14 - Daniel’s creative process :22 - How to get started making big art :26 - Why has Daniel’s work captured people’s attention now? :35 - What medium is next for Daniel to explore :40 - Advice to young artists

As the Psychedelic Renaissance heats up, people are experiencing spiritual emergence left and right. At times like these we need a healthy dose of a healthier dose. Luckily Dr. Molly stopped by the Life is a Festival Club on Clubhouse to share her wisdom. 
 On the show we talk about harm reduction, pseudo-shamanism, and the unfortunate prevalence of bad medicine. We discuss how to prepare your body before a psychedelic experience and how to manage a difficult integration after. We talk nootropics, nutrition, and the current understanding of neurotoxicity. Life is a Festival favorite Jamie Wheal stops by to caution against ontological addiction and we go into an hour of wide-ranging questions from the room. Dr. Molly Maloof is a physician, an entrepreneur a medical advisor, a Ketamine practitioner, and a Stanford lecturer. She has advised over 42 companies throughout the world and has lectured extensively. You can catch her with Dr. David Rabin on the Psychedelic News Hour on Fridays at 11:30 am PST on ClubHouse. Dr. Molly is also the first person I ever interviewed for this podcast! If you’re on iPhone, you can stop by the Life is a Festival Clubhouse and chat with our community on Saturday mornings. Links Dr. Molly: https://drmolly.co/ Psychedelic News Hour: https://www.psychedelicnewshour.com/ Dr Molly on Life is a Festival: https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/dr-molly How Silicon Valley rediscovered LSD: https://www.ft.com/content/0a5a4404-7c8e-11e7-ab01-a13271d1ee9c Integration resources: MAPS Psychedelic Integration List: https://integration.maps.org/ Psychedelic.Support Community Directory: https://psychedelic.support/community-directory/ TRIPP Network: https://trippnetwork.co.uk/ Timestamps: :13 - Harm reduction for macrodosing in 2017 :20 - Be careful about pseudo-shamanism and bad medicine :24 - Cleansing and preparing your body before a psychedelic experience :32 - Molly discusses her own experience with spiritual emergence :41 - Molly shares her advice for me :46 - Nootropics for stress and anxiety :51 - Exercise for mental health :55 - Is MDMA neurotoxic and is Ketamine-assisted therapy right for my Mom? 1:02 - Jamie Wheel hops on to talk about ontological addiction 1:14 - Questions 1: How do we integrate when we don’t have a therapist available? 1:20 - Question 2: Neurotoxicity of ketamine? 1:26 - Question 3: Additional thoughts on neurotoxicity of MDMA 1:28 - Question 4: Are ketamine clinics safe? 1:34 - Question 5: What helps focus and concentration? 1:39 - Question 6: Psychedelic wellness for hospital staff and those who can’t afford it 1:50 - Question 7: How to think about the general building blocks of wellness

The great LSD psychiatrist Stanislav Grof referred to the collection of cognitive, emotional, and spiritual disturbances that can follow a powerful psychedelic experience as a “spiritual emergence.” He saw this an evolutionary crisis rather than a mental disease. So how do we know if we are in a soul’s initiation or simply a Sisyphean loop of our tormented mind? Like many of us in this difficult pandemic winter, I have been going through my own dark night, so I called up one of my favorite iboga experts, Dr. Joseph Barsuglia to understand how to navigate my experience. On the show, we discuss initiation through the lens of the powerful plant medicine iboga and the Bwiti tradition in Africa. We explore where it might be appropriate to turn to psychotropic medication for stability during protracted healing. We also talk about how to understand the liminal space of transformation and when healing is complete. Finally we review various ways to find refuge and solace in these difficult times. Joseph is a PhD neuropsychologist and was the Director of Clinical Assessment and Research the former iconic ibogaine facility, Crossroads Treatment Center. Trained with MAPS and initiated in the Bwiti tradition in Gabon, Joseph advises on psychedelic medicine and alternative healthcare. He first appeared on Life is a Festival with his partner Tricia Eastman on episode 41: “Iboga, the Mount Everest of Psychedelics.” Joseph Barsuglia: https://www.josephbarsuglia.com/ MAPS Integration List: https://integration.maps.org/ Psychedelic Support: https://psychedelic.support/community-directory/ The Aware Project: http://awareproject.org/ “Iboga, the Mount Everest of Psychedelics” - https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/tricia-eastman-dr-joseph-barsuglia Life is a Festival Survey: https://bit.ly/festival-survey Timestamps: :10 - Neuropsychology in the context of psychedelic experiences :18 - Initiation through the lens of the plant medicine Iboga and the Bwiti tradition :36 - When in a protracted initiatory experience, is it wise to use psychotropic medication to cope? :54 - When is our healing process over? 1:05 - Other ways to find refuge and solace in difficult times

The image of the QAnon Shaman in the United States Senate is the perfect symbol of how unfortunate members of the psychedelic community have fallen down QAnon trapdoor during this pandemic. Today on the show Erik Davis, renowned psychedelic author and wizard of the weird, returns to Life is a Festival to address the worrying trend of “conspirituality” and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against it. On the show we discuss the metaphysical mud that can flow in psychedelic experiences. Erik acknowledges his ethical responsibility to help foster discernment and shares tools we can use to protect ourselves and each other. We explore our own vulnerabilities to conspiracy thinking and discuss the practice of “withering self-observation.” Finally we rap about the evolution of the Life is a Festival philosophy for these difficult times. Erik is journalist, author, and public speaker. His is best known for his works Techgnosis and High Weirdness, as well as his essays on Burning Man and the human potential movement. He is also the author of Burning Shore, a sub stack that I high recommend subscribing to. This is his second time on the show after his appearance extolling the virtues of psychedelic weirdness on episode 23, Keep Psychedelics Weird. Links Burning Shore Substack: https://www.burningshore.com/ High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BT6DBKT Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information: https://techgnosis.com/ Keep Psychedelics Weird: https://www.eamonarmstrong.com/lifeisafestival/erik-davis The Emergence of Conspirituality: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537903.2011.539846?journalCode=cjcr20 “Conspirituality” by Jules Evans: https://julesevans.medium.com/conspirituality-the-overlap-between-the-new-age-and-conspiracy-beliefs-c0305eb92185 Timestamps :11 - Metaphysical mud and extremist rabbit holes :20 - Ethical responsibility to strengthen discernment :31 - How to inoculate yourself with an inner superhero team :48 - Recognizing your own vulnerabilities and having compassion for others’ :59 - The practice of “withering self-observation” 1:10 - How life is like a festival in difficult times

Today on Life is a Festival I am honored to share the delightful and mesmerizing voice of one of Europe’s most renowned storytellers. Jan Blake has been tellings stories around the world for 35 years and has recently been going through a transformational process herself! Our conversation unfolds through six stories, beginning with “Abiyoyo,” Jan’s favorite tale as a child and ending with “The Keys to the Devil’s Kitchen” for her ancestors. Along the way we talk about why folk tales are transformational, we touch on mythopoetic masculinity, and we explore whether it is possible to become lost in a story. Jan specializes in stories from Africa, the Caribbean and Arabia, and she has been performing myths and folktales for 35 years. In addition to performing in every major storytelling festival worldwide, Jan has been the Storyteller-in-Residence for the Hay Literary Festival, the curator for Shakespeare’s Stories at the World Shakespeare Festival, and the recipient of the British Award for Storytelling Excellence. Jan is also performing in the upcoming Gathering of Stories event organized by my friend and the host of the Mythic Masculine Podcast, Ian McKenzie. It’s is a two day live streamed festival that brings together storytellers, musicians, and poets from around the world to provide new insight and perspectives for tending the soul of the masculine. You can register for that at https://bit.ly/g-stories. Also if you have yet to fill out the short Life is a Festival audience survey you can do so here: https://bit.ly/festival-survey Links Jan Blake: https://www.janblakestories.co.uk/ Jan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janblakestoryteller Gathering of Stories: https://bit.ly/g-stories The Fisherman: A Tale of Passion, Loss, and Hope | Jan Blake | TEDxManchester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAV6eXaS6dk Stories 1. Abiyoyo 2. Nyar Opoku 3. Who Suffered the Most? 4. The Fisherman: A Tale of Passion, Loss, and Hope 5. The Odyssey 6. Keys to The Devil’s Kitchen

The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk, is a seminal work in the field of trauma studies. I had the privilege of interviewing Bessel last year for The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast, which I host for Maya, a software platform that supports psychedelic practitioners. To start 2021 on a hopeful note, I wanted to share that episode with you. On the show we discuss Bessel’s work with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and their clinical trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Bessel explains how early attachment wounds can actually be more difficult to treat than acute trauma but that psychedelics can help reimprint the feeling of being a lovable child. We also talk about why we get can addicted to our own trauma and we review other psychedelic compounds. Bessel is an author, researcher, and sought after public speaker. In addition to founding Boston’s Trauma Center and his popular books, Bessel is also the Principle Investigator for MAPS’ MDMA trials at its East Coast hub in Boston. If you have 5 minutes to support the show, I would be so grateful if you could fill out a short survey. It will be invaluable for the next chapter of Life is a Festival! LINKS Life is a Festival Podcast survey: https://bit.ly/festival-survey The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast: https://www.mayahealth.com/podcast Bessel van der Kolk: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/ The Body Keeps the Score: https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748 The Faces of Phase 3: Principal Investigators in MAPS’ Clinical Trials of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD: https://maps.org/news/bulletin/articles/427-bulletin-winter-2017/6957-the-faces-of-phase-3-principal-investigators-in-maps%E2%80%99-clinical-trials-of-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-for-ptsd TIMESTAMPS :07 - Bessel’s first experience with psychedelics :12 - The iconic American image of the veteran with PTSD :16 - Why psychedelics and trauma. :21 - How psychedelic practitioners can work with trauma :29 - Psychedelics and ancestral trauma :34 - How we get addicted to our trauma :38 - Attachment wounds vs acute trauma :46 - MDMA therapy and psychodrama therapy :58 - Ketamine as a trickster molecule 1:10 - Bessel speaks directly to psychedelic therapists

Today’s podcast is all about the healing power of steam and was recorded early last year before the pandemic. I’ve decided to release it now during this difficult winter to help us remember the power of ceremony and communal healing and because I have myself been recently working with other traditional sweat ceremonies. My guests are none other than Sasha Baibarin and Boris Ryabov founders of the Steamology Institute and the Art of Steam camp at Burning Man. On the show we talk about ceremony and ceremonial intention. We discuss the history of steam as a pre-semantic tradition, and the mythology of Russian banyas including the mischievous bath house spirit, the Bannik. We talk about the medical benefits of steam bathing, including for mental health and trauma. Our conversation concludes with a discussion of communal healing which will be so important when we finally emerge from this pandemic. Both originally from Moscow, Sasha and Boris are powerful and dedicated steam masters. They are the founders of the Steamology Institute and the Art of Steam camp at Burning Man where they bring a traditional Russian banya all the way to Black Rock City. LINKS Steamology Institute: http://steamology.org/ Steamology Institute on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steamologyinstitute/ Contact Steamology Institute: contact@steamology.institute The Art of Steam camp at Burning Man: https://www.facebook.com/artofsteamcamp/ TIMESTAMPS
:13 - How Sasha and Boris envision an ideal world :16 - Ceremony is an invitation to another world :20 - Ceremonial intention is not desire :25 - How the Banya entered Sasha and Boris’ life :37 - The history of steam in pre-semantic traditions :43 - Russian mythology the banya as a portal and the mischievous Bannik spirit :51 - The inspiration and lineage of their practice :57 - The medical benefits of steam 1:09 - Communal trauma healing in the steam 1:20 - Launching a culture through Burning Man

We all need a little silliness in our lives right now so today on the show I have the king of “lowbrow visionary art” to give us his own version of making lemons into lemonade. Brad Rhadwood has spent years crafting strange beings from plywood and building a following in the festival world. Today he shares his personal life philosophy: You must always derp the flail, but you must never flail the derp. Like many ridiculous dance floor philosophies, there is method to his madness. On the show we discuss pareidolia, our ability to see faces in inanimate objects. We talk about the derpiness of Canadian festival culture. We chat cat butts, mushrooms, and turd eyes. Finally, Brad introduces me to the wonderful world of collectable limited edition pins. Brad has been making derpy art since 2005 and has built a significant following in the festival world and beyond. He is part of the Wood Vibe Tribe and has been live painting in the psychedelic war zone that is a festival for a decade. If you’d like to catch up with Brad and snag some of his sought after pins, join the THE RHADWOOD FOREST /// Derp Tribe on Facebook. Can the a strategic infusion of derp save us from the flailing scourge of self-seriousness? Asking for a friend. Links THE RHADWOOD FOREST /// Derp Tribe: https://www.facebook.com/groups/240386673783316 Brad Rhadwood on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradrhadwood/?hl=en Brad Rhadwood on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BradRhadwood/ Wood Vibe Tribe: https://woodvibes.ca/ Timestamps :06 - Derping the flail :13 - Western Canada is the Mecca for derpiness in festival culture. :17 - Brad’s rules for finding pareidolia (faces) in wood. :23 - Why does Brad always see cats, cacti, and mushrooms? :30 - Brad shares a noteworthy flail :35 - Cat butts, turd eyes, and anal gazing :42 - The wonderful world of collectable limited edition pins :55 - Can the derp save us from our own self-seriousness?