60. Did JFK Take Psilocybin in the White House? A Psychedelic History of Power, Politics and Persuasion with Robert Forte

Frank Yang, a Taiwanese YouTube sensation, rose to fame through his captivating performance art and intense workout videos. However, his journey transcended mere physicality as he delved into the depths of spiritual exploration, overcoming personal battles with bipolar disorder and sex addiction. With the same precision and intensity he applied to fitness, piano, violin, and the arts, Frank pursued awakening, ultimately achieving full liberation and declaring the status of an arhat in Theravada Buddhism, signifying the highest level of enlightenment.

Today, Frank is revered not only for his artistic talents but also for his role as a non-dual teacher. He teaches meditation and guides others in awakening to nonduality and their true nature, offering transformative insights and profound wisdom through his videos and coaching. With pure clarity, Frank illuminates the path of self-realization and liberation for countless seekers around the world.

Episode Highlights

• Exploring the potential of psychedelics for awakening
• What is non-duality?
• The paradox of suffering and awakening
• Frank’s story: from mania to enlightenment
• Can psychedelics help in deepening self-realization?
• The role of suffering on the path to enlightenment
• The process of ‘unbinding’
• How psychedelics dissolve conditioning
• Understanding the physicality of the awakening process
• The end of suffering 
• The role of love on the path to enlightenment
• The experience of relationships after awakening
• The luminous nature of existence
• The illusion of progress and the commentator in your head!
• Letting go of attachments and expectations
• The illusion of control and the nature of conditioning
• The holographic nature of existence
• Understanding desire and craving
• The paradox of existence and non-existence
• The impact of social conditioning on the ego
• More on the potential role of psychedelics in awakening
• The end of the journey: embracing the simplicity of existence

Frank Yang’s Links 

• Website: www.frankyang.wtf
• Instagram: @being_frank_yang
• YouTube: Frank Yang

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley

Maria Camille is a nomad entrepreneur and citizen of the world. As an author, publisher, independent TV producer, and extreme sports world champion, Maria’s mosaic life has taken her to all corners of the world. Her newsletter, ‘Masters, Misfits and Mentors’, follows her amazing early years as the wife of a mafia gangster and the lessons she learned to start over, reinvent herself, and find her personal power.

Maria currently lives in San Miguel de Allende, in Mexico, where she hosts psilocybin retreats for middle-aged entrepreneurs who are reinventing their future.

Episode Highlights

• Maria's early life and marriage to a mafia gangster
• Experiences and challenges as a mafia wife
• The tragic loss of Maria's son and its aftermath
• Maria's courageous escape and new beginning
• Extreme sports adventures and achievements
• Maria's first encounter with psychedelics
• Maria's journey of healing and self-discovery
• Entrepreneurial ventures and global travels
• Discovering the need for healing in middle-age
• Impact of COVID-19 on Maria’s business and personal life
• Moving to Mexico and starting a new chapter
• Challenges and triumphs of starting over
• The power of the psychedelic therapy Maria offers
• Challenges and rewards of serving others
• Breath and meditation in healing
• The critical importance of psychedelic integration
• The power of psychedelics in uncovering hidden traumas
• The importance of self-care in serving others
• A vision for the future: documenting the psychedelic journey of people in later life
• The potential of psychedelics in helping to reorient life direction

Maria Camille’s Links 

• Website: www.mariacamille.com
• Substack: Masters, Misfits and Mentors

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda

Talia Eisenberg, MBA, is a serial entrepreneur who lives in Mexico with her husband, Tom, cofounder of Beond, and their sons. She received an undergrad degree from New School in NYC and earned an MBA from Presidio Graduate School in SF. Talia is a person in long term recovery from harmful mind-altering drugs and substances. Her passion for supporting others in healing through Ibogaine is personal, as it was the treatment that catalyzed her recovery in 2009.

Episode Highlights

• Understanding ibogaine and its origins
• The discovery of ibogaine's healing properties
• Talia's recovery story
• The birth of Beond, an ibogaine clinic Talia co-founded in Cancun
• Ibogaine’s impact on Talia's personal journey
• Understanding the root cause: trauma and addiction
• Beond’s mission
• The role of trauma in healing and recovery
• The power of ibogaine in addressing trauma
• Preparation and arrival at Beond
• On-site programming and complementary therapies offered at Beond
• The treatment process and experience
• Post-treatment and integration
• Ibogaine for optimization and neurodegenerative disorders
• The future of ibogaine treatment and research
• Psychedelics and parenting
• Hope for those struggling

Talia Eisenberg’s Links 

• Website: www.beondibogaine.com
• Instagram: @beond.us

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle by Mark Wolynn
• Book: A Course in Miracles by Foundation for Inner Peace
• Ibogaine Study: Ibogaine-Magnesium: the Stanford Traumatic Injury to the CNS (MISTIC) Protocol – A Pilot Study in Special Operations Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries

A mystic at heart, psychotherapist by trade, entrepreneur by calling and a psychonaut in spirit. Kevin Cannella is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Thank You Life, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that exists to expand access to psychedelic therapy by eliminating financial barriers to treatment. By providing grants for people who would otherwise not have access to treatment, Thank You Life is on a mission to revolutionize mental healthcare and participate in helping the world to heal.

Kevin spent his 20s searching for truth, purpose, and methods to alleviate suffering. After many years of deep inquiry and spiritual practice, he returned to the world and entered into graduate school at Naropa University in Boulder, CO to study Mindfulness-based Transpersonal Counseling. Kevin has been working in private practice as a psychotherapist since 2018, specializing in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

Episode Highlights

• Discussing the mission of 'Thank You Life'
• Understanding the true cost of psychedelic therapies
• Exploring the legal aspects of ketamine
• The therapeutic approach to ketamine
• The benefits and potential risks of ketamine
• Comparing ketamine to other psychedelics
• Personal experiences and reflections on ketamine
• The power of compassion in psychedelic facilitation
• Kevin’s journey to self-discovery and spiritual awakening
• Overcoming personal challenges and embracing his life's purpose
• The role of psychedelics in personal transformation
• Unpacking core wounds and healing through psychedelics
• The birth of 'Thank You Life' and its mission
• Impressive results from Thank You Life’s psychedelic offerings
• Promoting health equity and expanding access to psychedelic treatments
• The future of 'Thank You Life' and how to support its mission

Kevin Cannella’s Links 

• Website: www.thankyoulife.org
• Instagram: @thankyoulife_fund
• Facebook: Thank You Life

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: A Dose of Hope: A Story of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy by Dr. Dan Engle
• Transformational Coaching & Training: Being True To You
• Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy: Polaris Insight Center
• Nonprofit Community: Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI)
• Oregon-based Psychedelic Training & Education Program: Alma Institute

Jemmita Gawned walks a Sacred Shamanic Path as Medicine Woman, Healer and Ceremonialist offering deep transformational work globally. Initiated into the Sacred Ancestral Medicines by her Maestros in the Andes and adopted into their lineage in 2012, she is deeply honored to share the profound Medicine and teachings of the Andes Cosmovision, woven in with well over 20 years of wisdom and experience from walking her own Spiritual path of Awakening.

Her path of service through ‘Anchoring the Light’ is to guide and empower others to remember their own true divine nature, power and innate Magic. Weaving Ancient Ritual and Ceremony with Wisdom for the Path to Awakening - offering tools and modalities to heal, empower, liberate and transform.

Through her online Ceremonial work and trainings such as the 3 month Wilka Suyu Shamanic Cacao Ceremonialist Apprenticeship and the 12 month Hampiq Ńust’a apprenticeship - the Path of the Modern Medicine Woman, taught alongside her Andean Maestro Puma Fredi Quispe Singona, Jemmita is now able to reach many more of our Global Family, building a much needed sense of community and camaraderie as we move collectively through this profound time of transformation as one family.

Her in person programs, including yearly Pilgrimages to the Andes Peru, and the Global Reset and Rise Retreats and Ceremonies are designed to take you deep into Remembering your Divinity.

In respectfully and generously sharing her wisdom through Ceremony and Mentorship, her wish is to assist others to become creators of their own reality and transform their own lives, in the way it has profoundly transformed her own.

Episode Highlights

• Jemma's path into shamanic healing
• The power of ceremonial cacao in healing
• The role of ancestral medicine in awakening
• Jemma's journey to the Andes
• The role of plant medicine in Jemma's personal transformation
• Superfoods and spiritual healing
• The vision that led to the creation of Jemma’s raw food business, Naked Treaties
• The Andean Cosmovision and its influence on Jemma’s work
• The importance of creating sacred space in ceremonies
• The role of San Pedro/Huachuma in spiritual awakening
• The three worlds in the Andean Cosmovision
• The wisdom of the high mountains
• The healing power of humility and simplicity
• Holding space for energy transformation
• Generosity in service
• The importance of respecting ancestral spirits
• The journey of soul retrieval
• The healing power of black tobacco 

Jemma Gawned’s Links 

• Website: www.anchoringthelight.com
• Instagram: @anchoringthelight

For over 15 years, Dr. Ben Sessa has been at the forefront of psychedelic and cannabis research and clinical medicine in the UK through his affiliations with Imperial College London. Ben qualified as a medical doctor from UCL in 1997 and went on to specialize in psychiatry. For 25 years he has worked as a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with young people and adult patients in the field of addictions and trauma-related psychiatry.

Ben started studying psychedelics as a junior doctor and has taken part in research projects at Bristol University, Cardiff University and Imperial College London with LSD, psilocybin, DMT, ketamine and MDMA – receiving and/or administering all of these compounds in legal research settings.

One of the first doctors to develop the field of contemporary psychedelic research in the UK, he was the former co-founder, former CEO, and subsequently the former Head of Psychedelic Medicine at Awakn Life Sciences, a Bio-Tech company carrying out psychedelic research into addictions. Awakn opened four clinical centers in the U.K. and Europe, providing psychedelic psychotherapy with ketamine, for a wide range of psychiatric indications, as well as an extensive R&D psychedelic research program.

Ben was one of the first Medical Cannabis psychiatric prescribers in the UK and is a trained MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin therapist. He has led research into MDMA-assisted therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder and is published widely in the academic and medical press. Dr. Sessa is the co-founder and past president of the Breaking Convention conference. He is the author of The Psychedelic Renaissance (2012/2017), the novel To Fathom Hell or Soar Angelic (2015) and Altered States (2021). 

Episode Highlights

• Understanding MDMA and its potential in psychiatry
• Exploring the mechanism of MDMA
• First MDMA study outside of MAPS: focus on addictions
• The role of psychotherapy in sustaining long-term behavioral and mood changes
• Unexpected psychedelic experiences with MDMA
• The intersection of Dr. Ben’s personal experience and professional interest in psychedelics
• The importance of holistic approach in mental health treatment
• The impact of early attachment on mental health
• Understanding intergenerational trauma 
• Exploring the use of psychedelics for personal growth
• Psychedelics and trauma healing: a new perspective
• The flaws of categorical diagnoses in psychiatry
• The role of trauma in mental disorders
• The potential of psychedelics for treating psychosis
• The current and future state of psychedelic research
• The economic implications of psychedelic therapy
• The need for a shift in mental health care paradigm
• The role of politics and racism in drug policy
• The case for regulated market for drugs

Dr. Ben Sessa

• Website: www.drsessa.com

Stefanie Cohen

• Website: www.harveymountainhealing.com

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• TED Talk: Is MDMA psychiatry’s antibiotic? with Dr. Ben Sessa

Episode Highlights

• MDMA 101: properties and history
• The rising interest in MDMA within the psychotherapy world
• The therapeutic potential of MDMA
• The unique qualities of MDMA
• The history of MDMA
• The role of MDMA in healing PTSD
• How MDMA works in the body
• Safety considerations for MDMA use
• The role of MDMA in therapy
• Personal experiences taking and facilitating MDMA
• The legal status of MDMA
• Is MDMA right for you?
• Comparing MDMA and magic mushrooms
• The future of MDMA

Michaela’s Links

• Website: www.thepsychedelicmom.com
• Instagram: @thepsychedelicmom
• Book an Introductory Consult: www.thepsychedelicmom.as.me/introconsult

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy--And the World's Getting Worse by James Hillman and Michael Ventura

Tommy Rosen is an internationally renowned yoga teacher, meditation instructor and addiction recovery expert with over 30 years of continuous recovery from addiction. Through his classes, workshops, courses and destination retreats, Tommy has helped thousands of people to overcome their addictions and to be free.

Rosen is the founder of Recovery 2.0, a global organization dedicated to inspire and unite people in recovery from addiction through the practice of yoga and meditation so that they can heal and thrive. He is also the host of the In The Circle podcast, offering insights and inspiration to those on a path of discovery in recovery.

Tommy’s first book, Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life (Hay House), was published to International acclaim and continues to transform the lives of readers across the globe today.

Episode Highlights

• Understanding addiction and recovery
• The intersection of yoga and recovery
• Defining addiction
• The role of negative thinking in addiction
• The dangers of substance dependence
• The role of psychedelics in recovery and personal growth
• Tommy’s journey to recovery
• Tommy’s relapse 
• The turning point: embracing sobriety
• Comparing traditional addiction treatments and Recovery 2.0
• Redefining the 12 Steps for a new era
• The power of choice in recovery
• The role of yoga in recovery
• Understanding addiction as an entity
• The importance of embodiment in recovery
• The role of trauma in addiction
• The role of yoga in healing trauma
• Programs offered by Recovery 2.0
• Advice for loved ones of those struggling with addiction

Tommy Rosen’s Links 

• Website: www.r20.com
• Instagram: @recovery2point0
• Facebook: Tommy Rosen
• Podcast: In The Circle with Tommy Rosen
• Recovery 2.0: Welcome
• Recovery 2.0: Universal Meetings
• Recovery 2.0: Community Gift
• Recovery 2.0: Life Beyond Cannabis - Online Yoga and Recovery Program

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: RECOVERY 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life by Tommy Rosen
• Book: The Missing Element: Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition by Debra Silverman
• Spiritual Journey to India with Tommy Rosen
• Life Upgrade: A 40-Day Guided Journey Through the Recovery 2.0 Book with Tommy Rosen

Elizabeth Bast is the cofounder of SoulCentro Iboga Retreats in Costa Rica, along with her husband, ordained Bwiti Nima and visionary artist "Chor Boogie." Bast experienced the Missoko Bwiti initiation, rite of passage, and immersive traditional Iboga provider training. She is a twice certified, trauma-informed yoga teacher and has completed the transformational coach certification course for psychedelic medicine integration and addiction recovery through Being True to You. Along with her husband Gnyangou, she traveled to Gabon numerous times to study the traditional Bwiti ways of knowing. Her Bwiti name is Mbeye, which means the medicine of the river.

Episode Highlights

• Elizabeth’s husband’s journey overcoming heroin addiction
• The healing power of iboga
• Elizabeth and Chor’s first journey to study iboga in Gabon
• The challenges and preparation for a trip to Africa
• Motherhood and lessons from iboga
• The journey to self-healing
• Building ancestor altars
• The power of surrender and ancestral guidance
• The resonance of love and trust: gifts of the medicine
• The miracle of natural birth and the role of medicine
• The power of presence and listening in motherhood
• The soul's wisdom: a guide to parenting
• The sacred role of mothers in medicine
• The power of self-love and self-care
• Potential of medicine in consciousness evolution
• The importance of sovereignty and choice
• The role of medicine in healing generational trauma

Elizabeth Bast’s Links 

• Website: www.ebast.net
• Website: www.soulcentro.com
• Instagram: @soulcentro_retreats
• Facebook: SoulCentro Retreats
• LinkedIn: Elizabeth Bast

Robert Forte has traveled the psychedelic path over the past 45 years, an adventure in consciousness that has taken him to very far and deeply personal realms. He has been a student, a researcher, a producer and a distributor of forbidden drugs, taught at university and graduate level. Robert has done field work in South America and had close personal relationships with many of the most significant instigators of the various psychedelic movements of our time. He considers that it is time we cultivate discernment of these several movements and to move the beneficent properties and effects of these drugs to the fore, while we separate ourselves from those who exploit them for deceptive or nefarious agendas. 

Episode Highlights

• Exploring the modern psychedelic movement's origins
• Robert Forte's journey into the psychedelic realm
• The Psychedelic Renaissance and its implications
• Robert's early experiences with psychedelics
• The role of psychedelics in ancient civilizations
• The dark side of psychedelics
• The true story of Timothy Leary
• Controversies surrounding MDMA
• The future of psychedelics
• Psychedelics and consciousness expansion
• Legalization and sovereign rights
• The industrial complex and psychedelics
• The possible influence of psychedelics on political figures such as JFK
• The impact of psychedelics on political activism
• The weaponization of the term 'Conspiracy Theory'
• The future of psychedelics and the Anti-War Movement

Robert Forte’s Links 

• Website: www.alteredstatesofamerica.net
• Facebook: Robert Forte

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: Timothy Leary: Outside Looking In: Appreciations, Castigations, and Reminiscences by Ram Dass, Andrew Weil, Allen Ginsberg, Winona Ryder, William ... Huston Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, and Others by Robert Forte
• Book: The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness by Alan Watts
• Book: How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
• Book: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Book: The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley
• Book: The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia by Alfred W. McCoy
• Book: Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion by Gary Webb
• Book: The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name by Brian C. Muraresku
• Book: The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries by R. Gordon Wasson
• Book: Mary's Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace by Peter Janney
• Book: Flashacks: An Autobiography by Timothy Leary
• Photo Essay: Seeking the Magic Mushroom by R. Gordon Wasson
• Speech: President John F. Kennedy’s Commencement Address at American University
• Video documentary: Giving LSD to Soldiers