Jesse Gould is the Founder and President of Heroic Hearts Project. His mission is to help military veterans struggling with mental trauma and spread awareness of the benefits that ayahuasca therapies offer as an alternative treatment to pharmaceuticals.
Jesse has raised over $150,000 in scholarships from donors, has partnered with the world’s leading ayahuasca treatment centers, and is researching psychiatric applications with the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Georgia. Jesse has spoken globally about the benefits of psychedelics on mental health and has been recognized as one of the Social Entrepreneurs To Watch For In 2020 by Cause Artist.
This episode was recorded at Soltara Healing Center as part of the #SoltaraSeries. For more information about Ayahuasca retreats at Soltara, visit http://soltara.co/thoughtroom
Special Offers in This Episode:
→ $200 off Ayahuasca retreats at Soltara Healing Center with code THOUGHTROOM. Use link: http://soltara.co/thoughtroom
Topics Explored:
> 7:50 Jesse describes Heroic Hearts Project and how it relates to his own personal journey and life after his career as a US Army Ranger Veteran struggling to find fulfillment and joy in his life
> 12:30 The VA’s default treatment protocol for Veterans, using pharmaceutical drugs in conjunction with talk therapy
> 16:50 Jesse’s personal reasons for choosing an alternative treatment protocol and seeking a deeper, solution: Are pharmaceutical medications masking symptoms and not addressing root causes?
> 28:00 Struggling through his first experience with ayahuasca in Peru and the valuable, practical lessons Jesse learned
> 34:50 Hallie’s anecdote about the moth’s struggle to break through its chrysalis
> 37:00 Choosing your struggle
> 41:15 Discussing Jesse’s first hand experience of the positive effects of ayahuasca on mental health along with hard scientific evidence showing the benefits
> 46:20 The creation of Heroic Hearts Project in 2017 and connecting with Soltara Healing Center
> 51:10 How to support Heroic Hearts Project and the ‘Ayahuasca Now’ documentary
> 54:20 The lasting results of psychedelic therapies, including psilocybin, MDMA and ayahuasca
> 1:01:20 Why psychedelic therapies, particularly ayahuasca, speak to the Veteran community
> 1:06:20 How ayahuasca is a tool for some and how we can achieve similar states of consciousness without it
> 1:10:15 Jesse’s final thoughts on integration for veterans after their week long retreat at Soltara
> 1:13:25 The importance of integration after a deeply transformative experience like an ayahuasca retreat, what integration looks like in practice
> 1:20:30 How people can find Jesse and Heroic Hearts Project
Resources:
(Book) The Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson
(Documentary) Ayahuasca Now
(Research) Jessica Nielson, PhD - Ayahuasca for PTSD: Assessing Risks and Benefits through Anonymous Community Feedback
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCGp_nrU8AQ
Ayahausca Plant Medicine at Soltara Healing Center: www.soltara.co/thoughtroom
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Website| https://www.heroicheartsproject.org/
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Emmy-Award winning composer Kodomo (Chris Child) for allowing us to use his brilliant track Concept 1 as our theme song.
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The Thought Room is a combination of edge-of-your-seat storytelling and groundbreaking interviews with celebrated thought-leaders like Erick Godsey and many more from around the world.
Recorded everywhere from hotel rooms in New York City, to a camper van in Maine; from the coastal forests of Costa Rica, to a picnic blanket amongst grapes in a vineyard in Sedona—host Hallie Rose captures rich, face-to-face interviews and intimate storytelling in a variety of eccentric locations.
From musicians to mathematicians, life coaches to psychonauts, PhDs to professional athletes—we’ll invite them all to step into the Thought Room to spill their stories and share their most distilled wisdom. The show covers a breadth of topics including psychology, spirituality, sex & relationships, psychedelics, ayahuasca, non-violent communication, law of attraction, bio-hacking, fitness, nutrition, alternative health, personal development, business & entrepreneurship, mindfulness, yoga, and meditation.
Quotes from my guests on Psychedelics:
“Psychedelics are like a direct portal to the Psyche” - Erick Godsey
“What my experience with psychedelics has taught me is that all the magic is here!” - Kyle Buller
“The medicines have a way of changing one's perspective powerfully and profoundly.” - Luke Storey
“Psychedelics are not suppressed because they are dangerous to users; they’re suppressed because they provoke unconventional thought, which threatens any number of elites and institutions that would rather do our thinking for us.” - Dr. Dennis McKenna
Quotes from my guests on Consciousness:
“I’m a true believer that our lives are a product of our imagination.” - Ollie Ollerton
“Never let those who lack belief in themselves rob you of yours.” - Dorian Yates
“Your ability to feel good in any kind of environment is up to you.” - Dr. Craig Koniver
Quotes from my guests on Ayahuasca:
“And I am leaving, knowing — I don’t want my dharma revealed to me...I want to create it, I want to walk it, I want to dance it, moment by moment. Thank you, Ayahuasca.” - Erick Godsey
“Ayahuasca is a symbiotic ally of the human species.” - Dennis McKenna
Celebrated guests include Dr. Dennis McKenna, Justin Wren, Erick Godsey, Ollie Ollerton & Dorian Yates.
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