#363 Can Ayahuasca Heal What Therapy Cannot? - Sam Believ

#363 Can Ayahuasca Heal What Therapy Cannot? - Sam Believ

From The Being Human Podcast with Richard Atherton by Richard Atherton

March 27, 2026 · 1h 21m · Episode 363

About this episode

In this episode, Richard Atherton interviews Sam Believ about his journey with ayahuasca and its potential to heal trauma.

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/ What if your healing journey that took you years could have taken months and the tool to get there is growing in the Colombian jungle? In this episode of Being Human, Richard Atherton is joined by Sam Believ, marine engineer and founder of Lawayra, an ayahuasca healing retreat in the Colombian countryside. Born in the Soviet Union and raised in post-independence Latvia, Sam grew up in a household shaped by intergenerational trauma: alcoholic, abusive father, an emotionally unavailable mother, and a culture where emotions were a sign of weakness. He channelled everything into his engineering career, built the life he was supposed to want, and found himself empty. After quitting his job and travelling South America, Sam discovered ayahuasca in Colombia. Initially it was out of curiosity, he then rediscovered it in a crisis. When the lockdowns forced him to stop for the first time in his life, everything he had suppressed caught up with him. A ceremony gave him both his healing and his purpose. He never left. Today Sam has guided close to 3,000 people through ceremonies at LaWayra, where the…

People in this episode

Host: Richard Atherton

Guest: Sam Believ

Topics covered

  • ayahuasca
  • healing
  • therapy
  • intergenerational trauma
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • ayahuasca
  • healing retreat
  • intergenerational trauma
  • therapy
  • personal growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: LaWayra

Places: Colombia, Soviet Union, Latvia

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