60 Years of Psychedelic Medicine (& What it Revealed to Him) with Raphael
Today we're going to talk about something that's always been really fascinating to me–the nature of consciousness. For 1000s of years, it turns out that humans have sought to move beyond the limits of ordinary perception and to understand the nature of consciousness itself. There's different ways to do this, including meditation, prayer, stillness, and in other cases, sacred experiences, which are induced by substances or medicines that alter awareness, and they're known as psychedelic medicine.
Today, modern science is beginning to explore psychedelic medicines in these different states of consciousness and what they have to offer humans from a healing perspective at institutions like Johns Hopkins, university researchers have been studying how psychedelic substances can produce profound shifts in your consciousness, and they sometimes can bring lasting changes in mood, perception and feelings of connection. These findings are extremely significant for people living with depression, trauma and other mental health concerns, because they can provide states of very deep insight and emotional release, opening up completely new and transformative waves of relating to pain, suffering yourself and the world around you.
I want to note that while research at Johns Hopkins and other institutions is conducted in carefully controlled settings, and while a lot of early results are promising from this research, psychedelic assisted interventions are not yet currently recognized by the American Psychological Association as an approved or established form of therapy. In most places, these substances do remain legal outside of sanctioned research, and their safety and efficacy continue to be studied.
But I also want to be transparent and share that for me, this subject is deeply personal, and it's one that I feel extremely passionate about. I live with bipolar disorder, which is a condition with one of the highest suicide rates of any mental health diagnosis, and so I'm really passionate about exploring every avenue of healing and every possibility for connection and greater meaning in life, and my own past experiences with psychedelics, which I undertook in safe and supportive settings, have just profoundly changed my life, and I wouldn't be alive today without them.
And while there are many resources that focus on the science in this conversation, I wanted to focus on the lived experience, which is one that numbers and data can't capture, and that's why today's conversation with Rafael is going to step outside the laboratory and into the live story of someone who has traveled these inner landscapes of his consciousness through the underground psychedelic community. He shares personal accounts of meeting his spirit being, leaving the body and entering what he says are majestic realms of consciousness that have just given him a profound understanding of feelings like gratitude, awe and connectedness.
This conversation isn't an endorsement, but rather an invitation to you to reflect on this question, which is: what is the true nature of consciousness and how can it help us? These views expressed are solely those of my guests, and are offered for educational and informational purposes only. This is not medical, psychological or legal advice, and I don't endorse any illegal activities, but enjoy this interview.
In this conversation, we discuss:
How different states of consciousness can give you insights into life that can be deeply healing
That our normal waking state is just a thin film over a much larger field of awareness and information and states of consciousness that are actually available to us
The different psychedelic medicines and their different therapeutic effects
The Spirit Being: which Raphael describes as the experience of profound healing when one accesses something within themselves, something that lies beyond the ego; a feeling of love, connectedness and what some might call the self
The way in which psychedelics can sometimes remind you of who you really are, creating a feeling of coming home to something that you've always been or known
The realities of how psychedelic medicine can make you very vulnerable, so safety, trust and the right environment are essential
How psychedelic medicine can help rewire the brain and nervous system in ways that can support healing from trauma and mental health
Victoria: So do you feel like it helps people go more inward when they do [Watsu]?
Raphael: I think they go inward. But I'm also inviting them to go outward, to learn how to become a spirit being. Rather than dragging your physical body around, you, lay your physical body to rest in this lovely watery environment and go out as a spirit being and witness who you are as a spirit being. Everything's connected. Everything has some form of a conscious connection with each other. Somehow, everything relies on everything else, and they all work together.
Listen to the full conversation on the Inner Calling Podcast here.
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