Modern Spirit Podcast

“Trees have all of this medicine…fruits, the bark is medicine, the leaves. All of that is waiting; it’s potent, it’s dormant.”Jason Grechanik has spent more than 25 years immersed in the study and practice of plants as medicine. As a tabaquero, he guides plant medicine dietas in Peru and internationally, weaving Amazonian tobacco traditions with Celtic tree wisdom. He facilitated for many years at the healing center Temple of the Way of Light and is the host of Universe Within Podcast.In this conversation, we hear about Jason’s path, from learning with Shipibo healers to training with a mestizo tabaquero, and eventually working with the medicine of North American trees and Celtic traditions. We highlight the importance of respect and reciprocity when learning from wisdom traditions from around the world. We speak about plant diets — especially with tobacco — and the practices involved like fasting, isolation and ingestion. Jason explains that dieting with a single plant can open a deeper connection to its spirit and describes the dreams during dieta as a “gateway to experience the teachings of the plant.”Timestamps:(00:00) Welcome and Opening(02:45) How They Met in Peru(05:37) Temple of the Way of Light(08:35) Ayahuasca, Female Healers + Podcasting(12:00) Working With Local Flora Abroad(14:40) Reciprocity and Respect(16:56) Plant Diets or Dietas(20:38) Dreams While Dieting Plants (23:44) Other Plant Teachers + Tree Medicine (Europe)(31:01) Dieting With Tabacco + Tobacco Varieties (34:46) Inside A Dieta Retreat(36:22) Purging & Dosing Safety(36:37) Diagnostic Tools + Further Training (41:30) Jason’s Tabaquero Teacher(45:25) Learning from Nature’s Patterns (52:53) How to Follow Jason’s Work

Great interview with my old friend and Modern Spirit Board Member Dr. Shamini Jain PhD.Dr. Shamini Jain is the Founder and CEO of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI), a collaborative accelerator that facilitates the transdisciplinary science and real-world application of consciousness and healing practices. As a clinical psychologist, as well as a research scientist in the fields of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and integrative medicine for over a decade, Shamini formed CHI through a deep understanding that major systemic transformations, which will place healing at the center of medicine and scientific inquiry, will most rapidly occur through a networked approach that fosters collaboration and innovation among key stakeholders. Rennaissance woman Shamini Jain guides us into her fascinating work with CHI and the world of evidence-based biofield therapies…helping us to understand how energy healing techniques are finding their way back into modern healthcare. Always a joy to talk with Shamini, please join us.Learn more at modernspirit.org.

Claudia Cuentas, Cantante, Terapista, Educadora comparta su alegría y su sabiduria en este fanscinante conversación sobre el valor de la medicina ancestral en nuestro mundo moderno. Sobre donde entra la espiritualidad y el misticismo en la práctica de la pscicología y la terapía. Aprende más sobre Claudia, originalmente de Peru, y escucha su musica inspirante en la pagina claudiacuentas.com Learn more at modernspirit.org.

Rael Cahn, MD PhD, joins us for a fascinating interview. Dr. Cahn is a clinician scientist at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute. He has extensive personal experience as a meditation practitioner and experience teaching mindfulness meditation practices to clinicians and patients alike. His research expertise is in the neuroscience of meditation and altered states of consciousness.Dr. Cahn is the Principal Investigator of the Modern Spirit Epigenetics Project, please support his work through the Modern Spirit Epigenetics Project Crowdfund. Join us for a fascinating discussion of altered states of consciousness, meditation research, brain waves and the EEG, psychedelic medicine, and much more.Learn more at modernspirit.org.

John Quintal, spiritual seeker and Canadian heavy machine operator, shares with us about his journey into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine and through early-stage prostate cancer. I had met him first years ago in Peru and have been hoping to follow-up with him on his progress. Please join us for an inspiring exploration in to the path of human healing. Learn more at modernspirit.org.

Rachel Harris, PhD, is a psychologist with both a research and a clinical background. She was in the 1968 Residential Program at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA and remained on the staff for a number of years. During the decade she worked in academic research, Rachel received a New Investigator’s Award from the National Institutes of Health and published over forty scientific studies in peer-reviewed journals. She also worked as a psychological consultant to Fortune 500 companies including the UN. Rachel was in private psychotherapy practice for thirty-five years specializing in people interested in psychospiritual development. Rachel is the author of Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD, and Anxiety. Visit Rachel at her website, https://www.listeningtoayahuasca.com.Dr. Harris is also a Modern Spirit Board Member, please support our ongoing research project, through the Modern Spirit Epigenetics Project Crowdfund. Join us for a fascinating discussion covering psychedelic medicine, epigenetics of trauma healing, and the mysteries of being human, and much more. Learn more at modernspirit.org.

David Rabin MD, PhD, Chief Innovation Officer, Co-Inventor & Co-Founder of Apollo Neuroscience joins us for a fascinating interview. Dr. Rabin is a psychiatrist and translational neuroscientist. He is also a member of the Modern Spirit Research Advisory Board. This is our first episode of the Emotional Biology 101 miniseries, exploring the intersection between biology, emotion, and spirituality. Join us for an interesting discussion covering modern mental health, emotional healing, psychedelic and vibrational medicine and much more.

Presenting theories related to the book "Fellowship of The River," and underlying ideas behind the the Modern Spirit Epigenetics Research Project, with questions and answers from the group. Special thanks to Yale Faculty Dr. Ben Kelmendi and Dr. Jordan Sloshower.Learn more at modernspirit.org.