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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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>> One of the more important
and forgotten aspects

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of psychedelic experiences is
the shadow side of all people,

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all events, and life itself.

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The side of the
coin less involved

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with profound visuals, "aha"
moments, and inner healing,

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and more involved
with hidden aspects

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of the psyche, misguided,
or under-educated use,

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and even malicious intent.

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Since the dawn of time,
it's in the shadows that

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lurk the predators and blind
spots that have timelessly

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intimidated humanity.

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Some steer clear of the
darkness and keep safe.

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Others use the dark to
cover their hidden agendas.

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And a rare few venture into the
dark shadows to bring light.

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A tool that has been used
since the dawn of art

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and human expression to
illuminate the darkness

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is the judicious use
of psychedelic plants.

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But these plants
are tools that can

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be used for the light, the dark,
and every gradient in-between.

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So, what do psychedelic
researchers and experience

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psychonauts suggest for
newcomers when considering

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a plant-medicine experience?

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>> I'm the faculty advisor for
the psychedelic club at Naropa

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University, where I
teach herbal medicine.

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And there's a concern
that a lot of young people

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are taking these
substances and maybe

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having a difficult or
dangerous experience.

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And personally,
I think that when

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you're doing these substances
at a concert with thousands

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of people and very loud music
that may not have the highest

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intentions, it might
be music that's

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coming from a place of ego
and only junk food and alcohol

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being served.

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I see that as something
that's going to not give you

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a deep personal experience.

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>> For me, I try to avoid
festivals and concerts

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in general when I'm
on psychedelics.

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I don't think that I get a
lot of deep inner work done

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when there's music blaring and
a light show and all of that.

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It can be fun.

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It's not that I
never do it, but it

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can be a little overwhelming
for a lot of people, I think,

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or just not productive.

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>> And you have to choose if you
want to use the full potential

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of psychedelics or if you want
to play kind of psychedelic

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roulette.

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People have taken it under a
lot of lousy circumstances,

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of course.

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The raves that people
go and get it--

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they don't know what
they are taking,

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how much they are taking.

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They know they're doing
something illegal,

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the police can come--

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just a lousiest possible
setting I can imagine.

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>> In the 1950s around London,
wild Bohemian parties called

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the raves began popping
up in youth culture.

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Their evolution moved
through the psychedelic craze

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of the '60s.

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And once the '80s rolled
around, drugs and dancing

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became the mantra.

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These raves have
been the setting

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for many psychedelic
experiences gone wrong.

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The music is typified
by monotonous drums

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and catchy hooks that go
for extended amounts of time

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to afford people long
soundscapes upon which

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to dance.

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Others claim it's a revival of
shamanic trance rhythms taught

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to our elders by the plants.

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Newer renditions of
these scenes seem

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less interested in
community bonding and prayer

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and more into
recreational drug use.

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However, there is also a
resurgence of ceremony, prayer,

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and oneness once you leave
the typical rave scene

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and enter festivals like Burning
Man, Boom, Lucidity, Envision,

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Spirit Weavers, and Symbiosis.

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But as culture moves farther
away from our shamanic past,

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the safe containers for
psychedelic journeys

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are less understood
by our youth.

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>> A couple of years ago, I
went to a Shpongle concert.

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I was signing books.

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It was in Austin.

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And I smelled more DMT
coming from the dance floor

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than I smelled pot.

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So, afterwards, I asked Simon
Posford, one of the Shpongle

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members, about that.

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I said, well, I smelled more DMT
than marijuana from the floor.

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Does that happen?

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He said, yeah, it
seems to happen.

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So, there's a lot of people
smoking DMT at dance events.

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And I asked one kid that
I was signing a book for,

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what was the deal
on the dance floor.

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He described that you
would smoke a small amount

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on the dance floor and it
would just kind of enhance

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your sensory experience.

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And if you wanted the
full-on DMT effect,

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you would go outside,
or you stay along

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the wall of the hall,
kind of out of the way.

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>> Some believe that just as
our ancestors had no rulebook

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for the responsible
use of psychedelics,

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the youth today are finding
their own ways to explore

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the depths of consciousness
while remaining in modern-style

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gatherings.

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But perhaps the
biggest difference

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is traditional
ceremonies included

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only those participants
that the shaman would allow.

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Today, anyone with
any intention is just

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a ticket fee and a few
travel arrangements

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away from being in your space,
in your sphere of influence,

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and therefore, in your
psychedelic journey.

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But gathering together
for music, dance,

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and psychedelic
journeys is not new.

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In ancient Greece,
the Dionysia festivals

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were a time for people to
gather, dance, and sing, even

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perform plays and partake in
psychoactive herbs infused

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in alcohol.

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Across the Atlantic in
present-day Mexico City,

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the Aztecs worshiped the
god of dance, pleasure, joy,

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and psychoactive plants,
named Xochipilli.

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It's hard to know how safe
the set and setting were

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at these ancient festivals.

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But we know they were highly
celebrated as opportunities

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to depart from daily labor.

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So, in these moments
when thousands of people

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are unleashing their
day-to-day stressors

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onto the same patch of
land, at the same time,

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just like modern
music festivals,

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is there more in the
air than meets the eye?

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Modern-day regression
therapist and healer,

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Marion Boon explains the dangers
of uncontained ceremonies.

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>> What I do as an
advanced-regression therapist

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is postmodern shamanism,
because we are doing, in fact,

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similar of the shaman approach.

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But we teach our client to go
there under the right guidance.

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So, when I'm opening up
at a trance festival,

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and thousands of people
are doing the same,

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and we go trance,
trance and open up,

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there is always some
shadow that can enter.

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And when you are
hurt inside, you

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will attract a similar kind
of hurt from somebody else.

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That is seen as darkness.

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That is seen as shadow.

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So, to work with this is
what ancient shamanism does.

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They have the courage,
and the tools,

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and techniques, and the focus
to go into the darkness.

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That doesn't allow fear.

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There is no fear.

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There is light to
gain in the darkness.

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And that light has
to be retrieved.

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That's a soul retrieval.

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>> There hasn't been enough
medical research to make any

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scientific claims regarding the
dangers of psychedelic journeys

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around thousands of strangers.

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But postmodern shamans
see the damaging effects

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and pick up the slack where
modern health care lacks.

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And the best methods seem to
be the empowerment of others

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to understand and engage
with their own healing

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by listening to their
own words, and therefore,

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their own subconscious.

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>> The client is
the expert of life--

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not me.

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My client is.

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They only took the wrong
exit on the highway.

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And I am indicating
how to go back.

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But you cannot go back
by ignoring the mistakes.

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You go back by going
into your mistake,

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seeing how did it happen,
regression in time,

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back to where you still
are good, onto the future,

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and back on track.

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And that's why it's so
exciting, because it works.

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People may say, I'm so sad.

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I'm so sad.

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My mother died, and
I can't handle it.

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Under the sadness is anger.

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She went too soon.

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She was supposed to stay here.

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I'm so angry.

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I'm all alone.

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So, under anger is loneliness.

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And then we go for
the loneliness.

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And we find inner children
and probably past lives

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where you have lost soul parts
that need to be retrieved.

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They can go there themselves.

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So, when they leave,
the side-effect

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is they feel empowered,
because they did it.

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Of course, I guide them.

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That's my job, but
the client does it.

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And that is the big difference
in the postmodern shamanism,

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as I use the term, as opposed to
the shaman who travels for you.

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>> By educating people about
the energetic anomalies that are

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yet to be scientifically
proven, this calls them to rise

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to the occasion of acknowledging
just how much we don't know.

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Once this is acknowledged,
receptivity and sensitivity

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to psychic phenomena
can be addressed.

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This is the first
step to safeguarding

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against life's shadow elements.

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However, there is also the
flip side of this coin.

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Those who are overly fascinated
by the world of psychedelics,

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yet naive to the landscape,
are in danger of delusion,

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and vulnerable to the
shadows that lurk therein.

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It is believed by mystics, as
well as some psychotherapists,

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that people can be hypnotized by
forces that work through them.

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And it is believed that
these individuals become

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driven to climb
corporate ladders

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or inject themselves
into positions of power.

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As ayahuasca tourism
is growing, newbies

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are fascinated
with medicine work

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and believe they will
be the next shaman.

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Medicine worker,
Boa Cowee has seen

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many accounts of this naivety
in ayahuasca communities.

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>> It's kind of crazy.

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In shaman, it's become
almost a dirty word in a way.

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People start doing
medicine or maybe

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drink ayahuasca
for the first time,

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and they want to
become a shaman.

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I've even met people who have
never drank ayahuasca who said,

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I'm going to become a shaman.

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I'm going down to Peru,
and I'm going to be that.

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And drinking ayahuasca
does not make you a shaman.

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Working with your
spirit helpers,

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working with your people
can make you a shaman.

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But it takes so it
takes a long time.

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It takes five to seven
years to get to that point.

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And it's diets, yes, it's
wisdom, it's learning.

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But what happens is
this psychic dredging.

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And when you get to that point,
you are that hollow bone.

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You're that clear
person that can be there

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without judgment for somebody.

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And people who are just drinking
ayahuasca for the first time--

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so what happens is that
people are going down there,

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and they're drinking ayahuasca.

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They think that they're
going to be the one that's

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going to be the shaman.

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But there is no
relationship-building, there's

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no association,
there's no giving back.

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Their ego gets
inflamed, and they

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think that they're the
ones that are doing it.

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And even if they
are, the medicine

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will teach you that you
don't work like that.

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The medicine works through you.

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You are that hollow bone.

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And to get to that point,
it takes a long time.

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00:12:00,970 --> 00:12:04,050
>> The "hollow bone" is a
term to represent the space

249
00:12:04,050 --> 00:12:07,020
an authentic healer or
facilitator must cultivate

250
00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:09,520
within themselves--

251
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,040
an attentive presence with
a focus on the illness

252
00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,910
being healed rather than
the appearance it takes on.

253
00:12:15,910 --> 00:12:19,540
Being a hollow bone means
to leave fear, excitement,

254
00:12:19,540 --> 00:12:23,560
urgency, unnecessary judgment,
astonishment, and even

255
00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:26,860
hope, out of the equation.

256
00:12:26,860 --> 00:12:29,350
The healer understands
they are equivalent

257
00:12:29,350 --> 00:12:32,080
to an electrical current
that closes the loop in order

258
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,310
for universal currents of life
to flow freely to the ones

259
00:12:35,310 --> 00:12:38,340
seeking healing.

260
00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:41,040
In this way, healing
is not seen as being

261
00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,160
done from one healthy
person to a sick one.

262
00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:46,680
Rather, illness is the
result of disconnection

263
00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:49,660
from the flow of life.

264
00:12:49,660 --> 00:12:51,910
So, the dangers of
psychedelic plants

265
00:12:51,910 --> 00:12:54,520
is in their power to
connect or disconnect you,

266
00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,310
depending on the
set and setting.

267
00:12:57,310 --> 00:12:59,650
>> Set and setting is
of paramount importance.

268
00:12:59,650 --> 00:13:01,870
There's nothing more important.

269
00:13:01,870 --> 00:13:05,700
I have seen also people
20 years in a back ward

270
00:13:05,700 --> 00:13:09,570
because they bad a trip,
which was also poorly handled

271
00:13:09,570 --> 00:13:10,900
by psychiatrists.

272
00:13:10,900 --> 00:13:15,300
They're given a big dose of
tranquilizers in the middle

273
00:13:15,300 --> 00:13:18,570
and then put on
maintenance dosages

274
00:13:18,570 --> 00:13:21,660
to make sure that the experience
will never complete itself.

275
00:13:21,660 --> 00:13:26,760
And there are people who get
stuck in that in-between place.

276
00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,550
>> Not only can the improper
use of psychedelics lead

277
00:13:29,550 --> 00:13:32,670
to psychological illness,
but those who are genetically

278
00:13:32,670 --> 00:13:36,240
predisposed to mental illness
find that psychedelic plants

279
00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,360
may cause the issue to surface.

280
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,630
>> In our studies, we screen
out people that have any kind

281
00:13:42,630 --> 00:13:44,520
of mental illness,
psychosis in the family,

282
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,840
first-degree relatives just to
prevent precipitation of sort

283
00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,730
of an acute psychosis.

284
00:13:50,730 --> 00:13:52,489
There are people out there--

285
00:13:52,489 --> 00:13:54,280
you probably met them,
we've all met them--

286
00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,654
who, you look at that guy,
and if you would think of them

287
00:13:56,654 --> 00:13:59,370
taking a psychedelic, you
go, that person should never

288
00:13:59,370 --> 00:14:00,750
take a psychedelic.

289
00:14:00,750 --> 00:14:02,550
They're just not all there.

290
00:14:02,550 --> 00:14:05,520
There are people with
bipolar disorder,

291
00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,010
schizoaffective
disorders, things

292
00:14:08,010 --> 00:14:09,990
like that-- shouldn't
be taking these,

293
00:14:09,990 --> 00:14:12,690
because they're powerful
psychoactive drugs.

294
00:14:12,690 --> 00:14:16,350
Schizophrenia typically
hits late adolescence, early

295
00:14:16,350 --> 00:14:17,290
adulthood.

296
00:14:17,290 --> 00:14:18,665
This is a time
when a lot of kids

297
00:14:18,665 --> 00:14:20,370
are experimenting with drugs.

298
00:14:20,370 --> 00:14:22,970
And I get cases from
email every once

299
00:14:22,970 --> 00:14:24,720
in a while, where
someone has taken a drug

300
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,300
and clearly, they've
become schizophrenic.

301
00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:29,490
And they go, did the
drug do this to my son?

302
00:14:29,490 --> 00:14:31,560
Did the drug do
this to my daughter?

303
00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,749
And what I say
is, probably, this

304
00:14:34,749 --> 00:14:36,540
would have happened
anyway, because they're

305
00:14:36,540 --> 00:14:38,730
at the right age.

306
00:14:38,730 --> 00:14:43,170
And typically, stress will
produce an onset of psychosis.

307
00:14:43,170 --> 00:14:46,560
>> Psychedelic plants open the
user up to far more unfiltered

308
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,440
information, and therefore,
is akin to sending more

309
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,320
electricity to a light bulb.

310
00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,690
Those with predispositions
to mental illness

311
00:14:54,690 --> 00:14:57,180
are perhaps unable to
handle the sudden influx

312
00:14:57,180 --> 00:14:58,620
of new experience.

313
00:14:58,620 --> 00:15:01,390
And eventually, they burn out.

314
00:15:01,390 --> 00:15:03,540
Even those without
mental health issues

315
00:15:03,540 --> 00:15:07,660
are at the risk of hidden
dangers of psychedelic plants.

316
00:15:07,660 --> 00:15:13,140
>> Some of the unknown dangers
that psychedelics can have

317
00:15:13,140 --> 00:15:19,140
for newcomers would include,
being overly excited about it,

318
00:15:19,140 --> 00:15:22,530
overly excited about the
life-transforming nature of it,

319
00:15:22,530 --> 00:15:25,110
having done it once, and
then wanting to do it again

320
00:15:25,110 --> 00:15:26,100
and again.

321
00:15:26,100 --> 00:15:30,670
And regular use like that,
overuse, is unhealthy.

322
00:15:30,670 --> 00:15:32,790
And not a lot of
people talk about that

323
00:15:32,790 --> 00:15:34,620
in the psychedelic
community, particularly

324
00:15:34,620 --> 00:15:37,490
in like recreational settings.

325
00:15:37,490 --> 00:15:39,900
They're non-addictive,
generally speaking.

326
00:15:39,900 --> 00:15:43,200
So, people think that
they're always safe to use.

327
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,410
But there can be
moments where you've

328
00:15:46,410 --> 00:15:51,480
had fun every time you've taken
them hanging out with friends,

329
00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,550
and then all of a sudden,
you take it one time,

330
00:15:53,550 --> 00:15:58,550
and you drop into a space
that you had no idea existed

331
00:15:58,550 --> 00:16:00,630
and weren't prepared for.

332
00:16:00,630 --> 00:16:04,920
And those can cause
mental-health crises.

333
00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,650
And in uncontained
settings, the dangers

334
00:16:07,650 --> 00:16:10,600
would be having
the police called,

335
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,080
or trying to
intervene unskillfully

336
00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,170
in a situation that
may look really weird,

337
00:16:16,170 --> 00:16:18,930
but isn't dangerous in itself.

338
00:16:18,930 --> 00:16:22,860
There are also people who use
these medicines in unsafe ways

339
00:16:22,860 --> 00:16:25,320
intentionally--

340
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,340
practitioners that might
not have the best intentions

341
00:16:29,340 --> 00:16:33,090
either to get money from
someone or to manipulate them

342
00:16:33,090 --> 00:16:35,620
emotionally, psychologically.

343
00:16:35,620 --> 00:16:37,260
>> So, it only
takes about a year--

344
00:16:37,260 --> 00:16:40,170
not even-- to become a brujo,
a witch, a witch doctor.

345
00:16:40,170 --> 00:16:42,960
Somebody who practices
sorcery can actually

346
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,800
really hurt somebody just
by thinking about it.

347
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,360
>> "Brujo" is the Spanish
word for witch, or magician.

348
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,040


349
00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:55,440
There are benevolent
brujas and white witches

350
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,980
that are basically shamans
and medicine workers.

351
00:16:58,980 --> 00:17:01,600
But in some ayahuasca
circles, "brujo"

352
00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,290
refers to a dark or
black witch, meaning

353
00:17:04,290 --> 00:17:07,140
they use the same medicine
or methods as shamans,

354
00:17:07,140 --> 00:17:11,160
but with deception, ill will,
and harmful intent to gain

355
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,540
power over others.

356
00:17:14,540 --> 00:17:16,510
But how are the newcomers
to plant medicine

357
00:17:16,510 --> 00:17:19,810
supposed to identify the
ulterior motives of shamans

358
00:17:19,810 --> 00:17:22,839
before deciding with
whom to do ceremony?

359
00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:26,290
>> I don't know if there is any
way to spot somebody that you

360
00:17:26,290 --> 00:17:29,130
can say, well, this
guy is a brujo.

361
00:17:29,130 --> 00:17:30,730
And I should not be here.

362
00:17:30,730 --> 00:17:33,340
And you have to hang out
with them for a while

363
00:17:33,340 --> 00:17:35,500
before you really know that.

364
00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:39,820
One sign, I think, in
the context of Peru is

365
00:17:39,820 --> 00:17:44,530
if they're putting toé, if
they're putting Brugmansia

366
00:17:44,530 --> 00:17:48,010
into their brew,
that's a bad sign,

367
00:17:48,010 --> 00:17:50,920
because Brugmansia
is a drug of power.

368
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:56,860
And they use it sometimes
by itself to essentially

369
00:17:56,860 --> 00:18:04,840
make you very confused and
very susceptible to suggestion.

370
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,890
>> Toé-- is from the Brugmansia
of flowers of the Solanaceae

371
00:18:07,890 --> 00:18:11,580
family, better known as
angel's trumpets, Datura,

372
00:18:11,580 --> 00:18:13,690
or thorn apple.

373
00:18:13,690 --> 00:18:18,050
These contain scopolamine,
which is a tropane alkaloid that

374
00:18:18,050 --> 00:18:22,120
causes extreme suggestibility,
and even paralysis, which

375
00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:25,030
has been used in dark circles
to convince people to give them

376
00:18:25,030 --> 00:18:28,120
money, unwittingly
accept sexual advances,

377
00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:31,270
or even to induce harm.

378
00:18:31,270 --> 00:18:33,700
There are accounts of young
women from around the world

379
00:18:33,700 --> 00:18:35,560
traveling to South
America for ayahuasca

380
00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:40,900
and waking up after being
drugged and taken advantage of.

381
00:18:40,900 --> 00:18:43,610
Even though these
situations are not the norm,

382
00:18:43,610 --> 00:18:45,490
it is important to
know that dark magic

383
00:18:45,490 --> 00:18:49,330
or deceitful
medicine work exists.

384
00:18:49,330 --> 00:18:51,940
The best advice from those
deeply invested in healing

385
00:18:51,940 --> 00:18:54,910
with plant medicine is
to do your homework.

386
00:18:54,910 --> 00:18:56,200
Travel with friends.

387
00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,720
And use your intuition
about the people you meet

388
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,090
and the situations
you fall into.

389
00:19:01,090 --> 00:19:03,580
And remember that the
best dark magicians

390
00:19:03,580 --> 00:19:06,310
will be the best at
disguising their intentions

391
00:19:06,310 --> 00:19:09,880
and getting close under the
guise of friendship or wisdom.

392
00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,850
But when the invisible
forces you're experiencing

393
00:19:12,850 --> 00:19:16,180
seem too great to withstand,
remember that even

394
00:19:16,180 --> 00:19:18,700
the most powerful
shadows are obliterated

395
00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:21,360
by the smallest hint of light.

396
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,790
>> We are more than meets
the eye, especially--

397
00:19:24,790 --> 00:19:28,510
and usually our limited sensory
world of the third dimension--

398
00:19:28,510 --> 00:19:32,500
that we often, unless
we can see spirits--

399
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:34,990
there are some
individuals-- but most of us

400
00:19:34,990 --> 00:19:37,930
are limited in our
five senses until we

401
00:19:37,930 --> 00:19:40,060
take a psychedelic
or something happens

402
00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:41,530
that opens up our perception.

403
00:19:41,530 --> 00:19:45,790
But in that moment where we
might be having a difficult

404
00:19:45,790 --> 00:19:51,250
time, people from the beginning
of time have found that there

405
00:19:51,250 --> 00:19:55,900
are other energies that exist
that we cannot necessarily see,

406
00:19:55,900 --> 00:20:00,370
but that exist nonetheless,
and that if we asked

407
00:20:00,370 --> 00:20:06,400
for their help, that they
can guide us and assist us.

408
00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,690
In some cultures, we
call them the angels.

409
00:20:09,690 --> 00:20:11,710
Or it could be
Michael or Gabriel.

410
00:20:11,710 --> 00:20:14,930
Or it could be even Yahshua
or Buddha in some cultures.

411
00:20:14,930 --> 00:20:16,900
In the Native American,
it might be the spirit

412
00:20:16,900 --> 00:20:18,760
of the bear or the elk.

413
00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,950


414
00:20:21,950 --> 00:20:25,430
>> Spirit guides,
angels, patriarchs,

415
00:20:25,430 --> 00:20:28,370
and matriarchs from
timeless myths--

416
00:20:28,370 --> 00:20:31,610
all of them serve
the same purpose.

417
00:20:31,610 --> 00:20:34,550
Human consciousness
is free of all form,

418
00:20:34,550 --> 00:20:38,090
yet becomes most powerful in
this world when it's given form

419
00:20:38,090 --> 00:20:40,590
to work through.

420
00:20:40,590 --> 00:20:43,800
This is how our limited
minds grasp unlimited power

421
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,180
and give it direction.

422
00:20:46,180 --> 00:20:49,000
No matter which guides
or helpers we choose,

423
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,810
the importance is to acknowledge
that we, too, all of us

424
00:20:52,810 --> 00:20:55,210
are capable of
directing consciousness

425
00:20:55,210 --> 00:20:58,680
for harm or protection.

426
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,890
And psychedelic plants
amplify this innate power.

427
00:21:02,890 --> 00:21:05,040
So, how is it that the
same plants can be used

428
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:06,555
for two polar opposite results?

429
00:21:06,555 --> 00:21:09,430


430
00:21:09,430 --> 00:21:12,880
>> I now have the
feeling that science,

431
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,150
current materialistic science,
no matter how sophisticated,

432
00:21:16,150 --> 00:21:20,710
is naive if it does not
include these hidden dimensions

433
00:21:20,710 --> 00:21:22,370
of reality.

434
00:21:22,370 --> 00:21:24,540
We had years ago, a
wonderful conference where

435
00:21:24,540 --> 00:21:25,930
Humphrey Osmond was present.

436
00:21:25,930 --> 00:21:27,920
And he addressed this issue.

437
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:32,935
And he said, can you imagine
a discussion about a knife?

438
00:21:32,935 --> 00:21:35,820
Is the knife this very
diabolical weapon,

439
00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:38,080
or is it a useful tool?

440
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,540
And imagine that you
would have a debate where

441
00:21:40,540 --> 00:21:43,750
one of these persons
who would be present

442
00:21:43,750 --> 00:21:46,000
would be Chief of New York
Police who would be talking

443
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,300
about all the murders that were
committed in back lanes in New

444
00:21:49,300 --> 00:21:50,620
York City.

445
00:21:50,620 --> 00:21:52,420
And you would have
the Surgeon General

446
00:21:52,420 --> 00:21:53,980
who would say, wait a minute.

447
00:21:53,980 --> 00:21:57,160
With the right kind of training,
you can do fantastic things

448
00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:58,510
with a knife.

449
00:21:58,510 --> 00:22:00,880
And you would have
a housewife who

450
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,220
would be thinking
about it as a tool

451
00:22:03,220 --> 00:22:05,060
to cut salami or a vegetable.

452
00:22:05,060 --> 00:22:09,310
And you would have an artist
who would think about carving

453
00:22:09,310 --> 00:22:11,214
beautiful things from wood.

454
00:22:11,214 --> 00:22:12,880
That we would understand
that we are not

455
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:14,470
talking about the knife.

456
00:22:14,470 --> 00:22:19,010
The knife is a tool that can
be used in many different ways.

457
00:22:19,010 --> 00:22:22,190
And the same with psychedelics--
there are used for healing.

458
00:22:22,190 --> 00:22:25,880
They are used for inducing
spiritual experiences.

459
00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,530
But they're also used
by the military--

460
00:22:29,530 --> 00:22:30,690
horrible experiments.

461
00:22:30,690 --> 00:22:35,540
The CIA-- including experiments
on our own population

462
00:22:35,540 --> 00:22:42,100
and in San Francisco and so on.

463
00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:44,050
I have tremendous
awe and respect

464
00:22:44,050 --> 00:22:47,170
for what psychedelics can
do on both sides, depending

465
00:22:47,170 --> 00:22:50,380
on the set and setting,
depending how they are used.

466
00:22:50,380 --> 00:22:53,410
They are powerful tools.

467
00:22:53,410 --> 00:22:55,840
Aside from dark magicians
or medicine workers

468
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,140
using these plants as
personal power moves,

469
00:22:59,140 --> 00:23:00,910
it must be noted
that psychedelics

470
00:23:00,910 --> 00:23:03,070
have been used by
governments experimenting

471
00:23:03,070 --> 00:23:04,840
on their own people.

472
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,140
In the mid-1900s, the
Central Intelligence Agency

473
00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:11,020
was fascinated with
psychedelics for mind control,

474
00:23:11,020 --> 00:23:13,840
as well as other wartime
tactics and began

475
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,620
conducting experiments on
soldiers and college students.

476
00:23:17,620 --> 00:23:22,600
Then on August 16 of 1951,
the town of Pont-Saint-Esprit

477
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:23,570
was dosed with LSD.

478
00:23:23,570 --> 00:23:24,370
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

479
00:23:24,370 --> 00:23:27,890
- The CIA funded Fort
Detrick to an experiment

480
00:23:27,890 --> 00:23:34,360
there involving aerosol LSD
sprayed in the small village.

481
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:37,120
That affected 500
people in that village.

482
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:39,250
There were three suicides.

483
00:23:39,250 --> 00:23:43,900
And about 40 people were carted
off to a nearby insane asylum

484
00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:45,500
as a result of that experiment.

485
00:23:45,500 --> 00:23:46,300
[END PLAYBACK]

486
00:23:46,300 --> 00:23:48,508
>> Although much of these
accounts can be frightening

487
00:23:48,508 --> 00:23:51,940
to accept, by taking a
sobering look at human behavior

488
00:23:51,940 --> 00:23:54,730
throughout the ages, we
shouldn't be surprised that

489
00:23:54,730 --> 00:23:58,030
those with ill intentions will
seek advanced means of getting

490
00:23:58,030 --> 00:24:00,440
what they wish.

491
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,520
So, the way forward, in a
safe and intelligent manner,

492
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:08,070
is to understand the protections
we have available to us.

493
00:24:08,070 --> 00:24:10,410
The power of psychedelics
to open the mind

494
00:24:10,410 --> 00:24:13,590
to new information is not
simply to make the world look

495
00:24:13,590 --> 00:24:15,460
better than it is.

496
00:24:15,460 --> 00:24:19,350
It's to address the
shadow side of all life.

497
00:24:19,350 --> 00:24:22,260
In Buddhism, there are three
steps to truly honoring

498
00:24:22,260 --> 00:24:24,630
the whole of existence.

499
00:24:24,630 --> 00:24:26,880
First is right sight.

500
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,610
Second is right understanding.

501
00:24:29,610 --> 00:24:33,090
And thirdly is right action.

502
00:24:33,090 --> 00:24:36,540
Even though action is the way
to bring change into this world,

503
00:24:36,540 --> 00:24:38,340
that action will
always be polluted

504
00:24:38,340 --> 00:24:41,770
if you do not see the
world as it truly is.

505
00:24:41,770 --> 00:24:46,530
And if you don't see it clearly,
understanding it is impossible.

506
00:24:46,530 --> 00:24:49,410
Psychedelics help
achieve this goal.

507
00:24:49,410 --> 00:24:51,720
They don't spoon-feed
us the answers,

508
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:56,080
but they do dismantle unhealthy
beliefs that muddy our vision.

509
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:58,650
They offer new
perspectives to worldviews.

510
00:24:58,650 --> 00:25:01,350
And because of this, a
new and more relevant

511
00:25:01,350 --> 00:25:04,020
understanding of the
actual world we live in

512
00:25:04,020 --> 00:25:07,050
can organically assemble itself.

513
00:25:07,050 --> 00:25:08,790
So, how did the
spiritual traditions

514
00:25:08,790 --> 00:25:12,660
of the ancient past view and
deal with the shadow side?

515
00:25:12,660 --> 00:25:15,420
>> Well, the concept of the
shadow side and the way that

516
00:25:15,420 --> 00:25:18,240
you talk about it is big
in many different cultures.

517
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:22,230
I think, as it relates to yoga,
it tends to be talked about

518
00:25:22,230 --> 00:25:26,590
in a kind of new-agey way,
that from my experience,

519
00:25:26,590 --> 00:25:29,340
from the traditional
yoga standpoint,

520
00:25:29,340 --> 00:25:33,390
I would say that the shadow
side is more this idea

521
00:25:33,390 --> 00:25:37,710
of the unconscious
or the subconscious--

522
00:25:37,710 --> 00:25:39,570
the idea of Samskara.

523
00:25:39,570 --> 00:25:43,350
In yoga, the word "Samskara"
means a habit or a pattern.

524
00:25:43,350 --> 00:25:46,590
It's like this deep,
grooved pathway

525
00:25:46,590 --> 00:25:49,380
that we just tend to fall into.

526
00:25:49,380 --> 00:25:52,230
The mannerisms that we
do, the way that we speak,

527
00:25:52,230 --> 00:25:54,600
the emotional
habits that we have,

528
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,009
the things that we keep having
show up in our life over,

529
00:25:58,009 --> 00:25:59,550
and over, and over
again, we're like,

530
00:25:59,550 --> 00:26:02,270
how am I still in
the same thing--

531
00:26:02,270 --> 00:26:03,810
that's a Samskara.

532
00:26:03,810 --> 00:26:08,280
It's this it's almost like we're
being ruled by another force.

533
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,530
But in yoga, we would
say that we're just being

534
00:26:10,530 --> 00:26:13,080
ruled by our unconscious self.

535
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,900
>> It might seem that if the
shadow side is merely our own

536
00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:19,860
subconscious mind, then other
individuals or entities cannot

537
00:26:19,860 --> 00:26:24,310
penetrate this realm and
complicate our experience.

538
00:26:24,310 --> 00:26:27,750
However, it was postulated
by Carl Gustav Jung

539
00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:29,720
that there is a collective,
unconscious realm

540
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,690
that all people share.

541
00:26:32,690 --> 00:26:35,930
If this is true, the
landscape of the unconscious

542
00:26:35,930 --> 00:26:39,320
would be a shared territory
that other sentient beings can

543
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:43,800
use to enter other subconscious
minds, meaning that the yoga

544
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,010
perspective might fit perfectly
with psychic attacks reported

545
00:26:47,010 --> 00:26:50,070
by shamanic and
spiritual practitioners.

546
00:26:50,070 --> 00:26:52,260
Even though there is
currently no technology

547
00:26:52,260 --> 00:26:54,870
to verify the existence
of these realms,

548
00:26:54,870 --> 00:26:56,610
countless people
are still imbibing

549
00:26:56,610 --> 00:27:00,030
psychedelic substances,
entering the unknown,

550
00:27:00,030 --> 00:27:03,000
and coming back with tales
of spirits and entities

551
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,790
with all kinds of motives.

552
00:27:05,790 --> 00:27:08,910
University of Pennsylvania
neuroscientist Dr. Andrew

553
00:27:08,910 --> 00:27:12,450
Newberg has been studying the
relationship of brain function

554
00:27:12,450 --> 00:27:14,280
and states of consciousness.

555
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,920
He found that the parietal
lobe of the brain in Tibetan

556
00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,350
Buddhist monks becomes
deactivated while

557
00:27:19,350 --> 00:27:20,670
in meditation.

558
00:27:20,670 --> 00:27:22,440
This area of the
brain is said to be

559
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,080
responsible for giving us
a sense of our orientation

560
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:26,860
in time and space.

561
00:27:26,860 --> 00:27:30,600
So, as meditation causes this
brain region to go offline,

562
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,960
the sensation of leaving the
body and the suspension of time

563
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:35,520
ensues.

564
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:39,700
Dr. Newberg has called this
the "neurotheological model."

565
00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:42,510
In other words, brain
function is the phenomenon

566
00:27:42,510 --> 00:27:47,500
which gives rise to mystical
or religious-type experiences.

567
00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:49,800
However, some believe
that mystical events

568
00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:54,120
are not caused by the brain,
but simply correlated.

569
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,550
Symptoms in the brain are
seeing at the same time

570
00:27:56,550 --> 00:27:58,680
as the experience.

571
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:00,720
So, if there are
really shadow entities

572
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,030
with their own
capacity to think,

573
00:28:03,030 --> 00:28:05,220
or if these are just
unknown compartments

574
00:28:05,220 --> 00:28:08,790
of human intelligence, what
communication mechanism

575
00:28:08,790 --> 00:28:11,800
allows us to become
aware of them at all?

576
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,210
Ancient and shamanic cultures
may have proposed the idea

577
00:28:15,210 --> 00:28:19,300
that through cycles of time
and in vibrations of matter,

578
00:28:19,300 --> 00:28:22,050
these may account for all
phenomena and the unity

579
00:28:22,050 --> 00:28:27,000
between our individual conscious
minds and the Universal Mind.

580
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:34,180
>> Many indigenous cultures had
an idea that the basis of all

581
00:28:34,180 --> 00:28:41,370
of manifested creation is either
sound, or certain geometries,

582
00:28:41,370 --> 00:28:45,780
or certain frequency
patterns-- certain numbers.

583
00:28:45,780 --> 00:28:47,880
And the Mayans and the Aztecs--

584
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,570
they encoded this into
not only their calendar,

585
00:28:51,570 --> 00:28:56,160
but in their system of how
they structure their society.

586
00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:00,000
And they recognize that our
body is a set of vibrations.

587
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:05,160
Our part is pulsing, our
breath, our brain waves,

588
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,900
every cell of our
body is vibrating.

589
00:29:07,900 --> 00:29:09,480
And then we have
all the rhythms.

590
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,860
And if they knew that there was
a certain set of frequencies

591
00:29:13,860 --> 00:29:20,030
that were the fabric, that just
these certain notes or numbers

592
00:29:20,030 --> 00:29:24,510
were what we encoded into
our system of culture, then

593
00:29:24,510 --> 00:29:26,880
we would be in harmony
with the cosmos.

594
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,140
They would even use
breathing practices,

595
00:29:29,140 --> 00:29:32,130
along with meditation
and intention,

596
00:29:32,130 --> 00:29:34,350
to align themselves
with these patterns.

597
00:29:34,350 --> 00:29:36,810
And from this,
they would achieve

598
00:29:36,810 --> 00:29:39,420
altered or expanded states.

599
00:29:39,420 --> 00:29:42,330
This is where yogis, just like
other shamanic traditions,

600
00:29:42,330 --> 00:29:44,670
actually start to use sound.

601
00:29:44,670 --> 00:29:48,360
So, there's an understanding
that sound is vibration

602
00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:51,120
and that vibration is at
the essence of everything.

603
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:55,530
And usually, our awareness
is caught in all this noise

604
00:29:55,530 --> 00:29:56,985
and sound of the outside world.

605
00:29:56,985 --> 00:30:03,090
So, as we sit, we breathe, we
start to draw awareness in,

606
00:30:03,090 --> 00:30:06,420
and then we focus the
awareness on something--

607
00:30:06,420 --> 00:30:08,010
one-pointed concentration.

608
00:30:08,010 --> 00:30:13,410
So, we work with quieting the
mind, withdrawing the senses,

609
00:30:13,410 --> 00:30:19,290
and merging with and resting
in this place of awareness that

610
00:30:19,290 --> 00:30:24,890
is beyond just the ups and downs
of the mind and the emotion.

611
00:30:24,890 --> 00:30:26,760
And while both are real--

612
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,570
because your mind still exists,
your emotions still exist,

613
00:30:29,570 --> 00:30:31,540
they're never going to go away--

614
00:30:31,540 --> 00:30:34,860
we just start to
step away from that

615
00:30:34,860 --> 00:30:36,901
that's our only identification.

616
00:30:36,901 --> 00:30:40,200


617
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,100
>> There are some that say
identifying with darkness

618
00:30:43,100 --> 00:30:47,850
and shadow is the way we
hand over power to it.

619
00:30:47,850 --> 00:30:49,470
But the traditional
practices that

620
00:30:49,470 --> 00:30:51,780
have survived thousands
of years acknowledge

621
00:30:51,780 --> 00:30:53,760
that the shadow side
is a phenomena that

622
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,800
will never go away.

623
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,720
It's merely the way
that light works

624
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,660
in a world of objects and form.

625
00:31:01,660 --> 00:31:06,020
Day fades to night, and
light goes into hiding.

626
00:31:06,020 --> 00:31:08,380
The daily activity
falls into sleep.

627
00:31:08,380 --> 00:31:11,470
And waking consciousness
goes dormant.

628
00:31:11,470 --> 00:31:15,430
Light touches a leaf
and casts a shadow.

629
00:31:15,430 --> 00:31:17,800
These are natural and
beautiful phenomena.

630
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,070
And when all is said and
done, the dark aspects of life

631
00:31:21,070 --> 00:31:23,680
are our greatest teachers.

632
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,860
The sages and adepts
of times long ago,

633
00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:30,160
as well as wise gurus
and savants today,

634
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:31,690
have only one thing
to say when they

635
00:31:31,690 --> 00:31:34,000
peek behind the veil
of their own mind

636
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,910
and see the darkness
of the world.

637
00:31:36,910 --> 00:31:38,470
Thank you.

638
00:31:38,470 --> 00:31:41,230
Thank you for calling
attention to my blindness

639
00:31:41,230 --> 00:31:43,510
and giving me the
gift of right sight

640
00:31:43,510 --> 00:31:47,050
so that I may rightly understand
what lurks in the shadows

641
00:31:47,050 --> 00:31:52,150
and act in love and
protection of all life.

642
00:31:52,150 --> 00:31:54,430
Up next, join us
as we shed light

643
00:31:54,430 --> 00:31:56,920
on the expanded states of
consciousness in the dream

644
00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:01,800
state and what this can teach us
about psychedelic experiences.

645
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:11,342