Interview with Trent Banyan

While recently attending an Esoteric Accupuncture event facilitated by Alison Clarke-Daly, I had the pleasure of meeting Trent Banyan.  Feeling his uplifting vibes and hearing about the range of natural therapies he offers, including a unique approach to rehabilitation, prompts me to interview him.  Thanks Trent for sharing these insights.

Thanks for the opportunity! As we say, "peace and chi!"

Who is Trent Banyan? What led you to where you are today?

There have been many key life experiences that have supported my growth, but the one that stands was in 2010. I was in a month-long meditation centre in Guatemala. I would meditate daily, perform yoga and learn esoteric studies. Daily, I touched the surface of spiritual practices of numerology, lucid dreaming and astral travelling, the hindu chakra system, sacred geometry and the Kabbalah. It was actually here that I found my calling to be a healer and later, to find this place planted the seed that started my yoga journey.

What you highlight is a concentrated experience of life-changing spiritual awakening. We often hear of people learning one modality and later complementing it with others. It really strikes me as exciting that you invited it all in as you did and continue to do.

Please identify 2 key experiences that shifted your life focus. 

Since graduating from university, I have been working primarily in a private rehabilitation setting. To support people struggling with mental health and addiction concerns, I offer acupuncture, yoga therapy and mindfulness trails. This experience has brought to light how supportive I can be in a number of ways.

Using natural therapies as part of an approach to rehab feels very valuable. Kudos for taking the intiative.  A former yoga teacher of mine became a yoga instructor in an Australian women's prison.  Her very presence and this peaceful practice completely shifted the energy and morale of participants.  You demonstrate we each have the power to share our gifts in ways that invite others to see and experience the world differently.

The second experience that shifted my focus was having a child. Easily the birth of my daughter is the closest I thing I have felt to source. The whole room when she came into this world was a divine portal. Being a father shifted my focus to stepping up as a provider, protector and to be the best partner and father to my wife and child. It put everything in perspective and my family its strength is one of my main focuses in my life.

Can definitely relate to how parenthood changes lives. I had my children later in life when we were ready for each other. Being around children blesses us in so many ways.  Theya re teachers in their own right for all those who are willing to be open to this.  

What would you describe was your Dark night of the Soul?

Short version would have been my experience meeting Ayuahuscua.  This was my dark night of the soul. I felt there was no return back to what I felt was normal. Throughout the experience I was fighting it and trying to break my way through the discomfort and ability to be in control. I was spiralling deeper into darkness and I sat with fear. Fear I would not be able to come out of it and won’t be able to see my daughter again. At times I was having full dissociation of my body and space I was in. The medicine was strong and I was burning up. I stripped fully naked and had continual feelings of paranoia. I remember even saying goodbye to my wife and daughter. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. The support of a dear brother’s words of ‘sovereignty’ and ‘surrender’ came through. These words acted as a mantra and supported the ability to fully surrender. I broke through not by fighting but by surrendering and feeling sovereign in my being. I felt invincible and that I could create anything I put my attention to. It was a long night where I went into the abyss and came out the other side with a death of a part of my ego and a new sense of awareness that will live on inside of me.

The intimacy of this sharing is very touching.  You may be familliar with ethnobotanist Terence McKenna.  He blatently says that "Ayahuasca loves to take prideful people and rub their nose in it. I mean it can make you beg for mercy like nothing..."  He reminds us "to approach it humbly," as it sounds like you did th best you could. 

 Share some of your most difficult choices. Any resulting shifts in priorities?

The most difficult choice was to opt to not stay in construction and take up an opportunity that was financially-driven. It was at that point I reflected if this was the path I wanted to pursue and see myself in a career for the rest of my life doing. I saw clairvoyants, palm readers and sat in meditation with this decision. Finally, I came to the conclusion I was to take a redundancy instead and travel around the world for the year. A few weeks in I found the meditation centre in Guatemala and my life’s trajectory was then completely changed for ever.

Wow! From rugged construction worker to trusting clairvoyants and your true self. Love the message that what suits us in one moment can alienate us in another. When willing to listen to the heart, big shifts tend to happen.

Share your greatest joy(s). In which ways do they take shape in your life?

My greatest joy is going on adventures and spending quality time with my wife and daughter. We have a day each week called adventure day and we get out of the house, into nature and explore.

Making the most of every moment with those we care about is an endearing message. 

Tell us, what is High on Chi? Why this 'umbrella phrase' of your endeavours?

High on Chi was created for people to learn to get in touch with the infinite potential and power of chi (energy), that they have available to them. Many people are chi deficient and this is caused through living a lifestyle out of balance and that is too yang in nature. High on Chi uses the 8 Pillars of Chi Flow as a blueprint to identify areas of one’s life where they are wasting/leaking their chi and how they can improve it. When you are high on chi you are in the flow of life, you feel incredible and your beliefs, perceptions and mental state feels more balanced. The yin and the yang of the body is in more balanced and you feel like you are able to achieve what you desire. It’s the highest of highs and the purest.

And how does this relate to emotions?

There is no side effects or emotions such as shame or guilt. You are simply tapping into ancient traditions of living to promote good health and longevity. There are a growing number of people relying on drugs and extrinsic rewards to feel good and receive a short-lived high. Rather than using chi practices and cultivation techniques such as breath, diet, exercise, chi cycle living, connection to nature, meditation, sleep hygiene, acupuncture and having a sense of purpose and meaning.  All these pillars when improved upon will cultivate and dramatically improve one’s chi levels. Thus, supporting a life that is full of abundance, balance and a feeling of being high on life.

Many people reach for abundance, balance and natural highs.  Sounds like you respond to the call.  What led to working with rehab clients? 

I was fortunate that a student in my yoga class was working for Noosa Confidential a leading private rehabilitation centre and informed me that there was a conflict of interest as the regular acupuncturist knew a client personally who was coming into the program. I went and did a few acupuncture and yoga therapy sessions and before not to long 75% of my business was working for Noosa Confidential contracting. Its been nearly 4 years since and I have provided support for 100s of people struggling with mental health, addiction and other concerns.

What do you love most? What do they teach you?

What I love most is observing the change in someone who has hit rock bottom or even on the brink of suicide and then to witness the journey and growth. They inspire me and also remind me of my own journey and how far I have come. I also become reminded from time to time of my core values and principles by which I live. One lesion I am constantly reminded of is how many clients I see have an abundance of money and material things and yet suffering from depression for example. A reminder of the old age saying money doesn’t buy happiness. I still feel I learn just as much from my clients as they do me. Sometimes I get triggered and it’s an opportunity to observe what that is, so I can do some work on myself that’s perhaps unresolved. 

How did you develop and integrate such a diverse skillset in this rehab setting? 

It was working in a rehabilitation centre that acknowledged my versatility and allowed me to provide a range of services to their clients. From yoga therapy private sessions, acupuncture and mindfulness trails, I was able to see a wide range of clients with various concerns and build my experience.

Now, that is trust in action! You know the saying, the more we trust the universe, the more the universe gives us new reasons to trust...

Who inspires you as your mentors? What wisdom do they impart that you take to heart?

My mentors are my wife and my close brothers that are in my life. I have been with my wife for nearly 16 years and we got together while I was a heavy pot smoker and drug taker and with a lack of purpose. She has been such a solid support for my continual growth and I owe her lots of credit to helping me become the man I am today.

Not everyone has the courage and strength to support a partner through addiction.  We hear about celebrities like Nicole Kidman who supported Keith Urban during rehab but we never really know the extent of Keith Urban's addiction. Regardless of the news, the support of those closest to us as we go through hardship matters.  Love of others helps to heal us but ultimately loving ourselves is the key to everything.

I have a group of men I regularly meet up with and we meet for sunrise, climb a mountain, connect over a brew and have good yarns. These men are an incredible source of inspiration for me. We help keep each other accountable and there is a huge amount of trust between us. They are all innovators and system changers doing incredible things out there to help all of humanity.

Bonding is so powerful for men and women.  We hear about men;s Circles and Sisters Circles like that run by Julie Cardillo that create a supportive healing space for growth.

Describe your 5 core values and how your bigger life vision is evolving to nurture this.

My 5 core values are ;

1.            I value being a respected trustworthy man in my community

2.            I value being the best father I can possibly be for my daughter

3.            I value having a well-balanced lifestyle between self-care, family, fun, friends and work

4.            I value travelling and exploring different places and cultures

5.            I value time spent in nature and sitting around a fire with close friends and family

I value these core values as well as many other I have so much that when I don’t give one attention for a while, I can feel my yin/yang harmony out of balance. Touching on all these values regularly maintains my self-worth and belief I have as well as stay connected to have a sense of purpose and meaning in my life.

That definitely invites us all to reflect on our own values and whether we are consistently living or truth, walking our talk, being in harmony with thought, word and action which Gandhi describes as the key to happiness.

If you could leave some advice for people, what would it be?

Go and challenge yourself. Ask for help and support when you need it and take full responsibility for your life. Be the master of your own destiny, don’t wait or rely on others.

Taking full responsibility for our live choices and consequences is indeed life changing. 

How can people contact you? Upcoming events? How can people work with you?

w. www.highonchi.com.au

e. trent@highonchi.com.au

p. 0429044187

Facebook: HIGH ON CHI -  https://www.facebook.com/highonchi.com.au/?ref=bookmarks

I have my own clinic called High on Chi in Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast and available for 1 on 1 sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

I have a bunch of events and workshops coming up. I will be back in Bali next month, this time to facilitate 3 events at The Pyramids of Chi in Ubud where I will also be providing some 1 on 1 private sessions in the Pyramids.

Monthly there is the Community Acupuncture and Sound Bath events held on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane monthly. For more info and book, see website or contact me directly.

Thanks again Trent for being so open.  Imagine what life would be like when people feel more open to choose to live based on love rather than be driven by fear. We are shifting in that direction.  Our own lives are our message. 

Interview with Rick Strassman

Dr Rick Strassman, is a medical physician, clinical researcher, visionary, and author of the seminal work, DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2000).  He also co-authored Inner Paths to Outer Space (2008) and more recently, is author of DMT and the Soul of Prophecy (2014) ebook & paperback.

His related documentary also receives widespread acclaim. You might say his cutting edge work prompts inner shifts, inviting us to envision and take steps to create a new kind of conscious future.

Intuition guides me to connect with specific people with perfect timing. Interviews that arise empower readers to see a bigger picture unfolding. At one stage of life, I engaged in psycho-pharmacology research, gained insight into the grant-writing process as well as politics of drug research trends.  It reflects shifts in collective consciousness, points to where we are heading.   

Thank you Dr. Strassman, for the presentations about mystical experience & spiritual scripture (@Horizons Perspectives on psychedelics), other work you do, and making yourself available for this dialogue. Interest in the effects of psychedelics (literally, "mind-manifesting") on consciousness is growing.

Due to your books and work, what is your view of changing public interest, understanding and receptiveness to new uses of hallucinogens? 

I’m glad to see that psychedelics are returning to the arena of public discourse. So far, however, there really are no “new” uses of psychedelics in the research environment. Rather, these new studies are confirming and extending older data that was generated during the first wave of human research. Perhaps the newer uses that you are referring to concern religious applications, which include both indigenous and more Western-religion-oriented type settings. By these, I’m referring to the ayahuasca churches and indigenous ayahuasca use.

Yes. New Yorker magazine recognizes a huge ayahuasca boom in the U.S. Well-intentioned researchers like yourself, aim to bring ayahuasca as ancient medicine, into the light of science.  The prospect of a fast track to awakening draws western travellers to the Amazon in droves. (For anyone considering it, invite doing soul-work first and read: things I wish I knew before drinking ayahuasca).  How do you feel about these social trends involving hallucinogens? 

It’s important not to prematurely close the door on with these drugs can do. That is the temptation I see people indulging in regarding a type of fundamentalism. Either these drugs “occasion mystical experiences,” “mimic psychosis,” “increase brain connectivity,” etc., as their means of producing their effects. We don’t really know what they do to exert their effects.

When do you see them being clinically legalized for therapeutic healing?

In the US, there are movements to place MDMA and psilocybin into less restrictive drug categories. These efforts are using the tools of normal pharmaceutical companies to get a drug into the clinical pipeline. Phase I, II, and III—safety and tolerability in normals, small-scale studies in patients, and then large-scale studies in patients.

That is encouraging.  It shows people are growing more open-minded, even legalizing certain drugs for public benefit. The view of cannabis, for instance, has shifted dramatically. Although marijuana is not a hallucinogen, it can have hallucinogenic properties.  

Business Insider (Mar 2018) says 29 U.S. states have legalized medical cannabis.  This article notes 23 health benefits, including, slowing the spread of cancer, reducing anxiety, and slowing the progression of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.  What stands out is cannabis offers huge pain relief and facilitates natural healing.  Civilized Life is presenting the World Cannabis Congress in June 2018. The widespread legalisation of cannabis reflects a shift in acceptable drug use.

In this light, Australian private insurers offer partial reimbursements for some alternative health treatments. In the Netherlands, various drugs can be obtained in cafes without prescription.  What is your feeling about the evolution of psychedelic drug use in the Western world?

We still don’t have the optimal setting worked out for the optimal use of psychedelics. What will probably turn out to be the case is that because of the wide range of effects of psychedelics, there will be various optimal settings for various desired uses: religious, medical, creativity, and so on.

Your research popularized the notion DMT is produced during dreams and near physical death. Both the general public and other researchers are interested in this. Please expand.

Unfortunately, those were educated speculations rather than objective data. Nevertheless, those ideas have spurred on bona fide research and we are closing in on the role of DMT in the dying process. 

Your research inspires other researchers to go deeper, conduct further studies.   Recent neuro-pharmacology studies begin to touch on dreams and psychedelics. One article states, "The broad overlap between dreaming and psychedelic states supports the notion that psychedelics acutely induce dreamlike subjective experiences which may have long-term beneficial effects on psychosocial functioning and well-being." Researches also envision more clinical studies.

Progress is being made.  We don’t have information about dreams yet though.

Existing computed tomography (CT) research proposes a calcified pineal may relate to aging and the onset of Alzheimer's. Current theories suggest DMT is produced naturally during waking states in the pineal.  Yet, calcification of the pineal appears to inhibit DMT production. Why?  

The pineal gland appears to make DMT both in humans and lower animals. We don’t know whether calcification has any effect one way or the other.

David Attenborough reminds us, “We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about and don’t understand." As you and he imply, new information is available to be discovered and examined. 

Research shows calcification prevents the pineal gland from functioning. Fluoride accumulates in the pineal more than any other organ. Fluoride exposure in animal studies has found to decrease melatonin and lead to accelerated sexual development in females.  When our pineal gland is calcified, one view is humans are out of balance with nature, impeding proper biological functioning. How do you sense this relates to DMT?

I don’t know how fluoride ties into the DMT scenario.

What do you envision happening as the pineal is de-calcified in more people?

I know of no way to decalcify the pineal gland.

Considering over one million people have watched DMT and the mysteries of the pineal gland, and huge audiences are focusing attention in this direction, this certainly warrants new attention.  How would you build on your  previous work in an international study if you could today? (I already know a few people who are ready and willing to volunteer)

There is one DMT study taking place in London right now. This is a brain imaging project. There are plans to actualize a continuous infusion study of DMT, wherein it is possible to maintain the state longer than is the case when it is given as a single bolus or smoked one time. There are ayahuasca studies taking place now in Spain and Brazil. Unfortunately none in the US or Commonwealth countries.

Traditionally, tribal shamans use plant substances to connect with spirit worlds and for healing. Shamanic schools now exist in different parts of the world, including the U.S. Shamanic healers offer services not covered under Medicaid or other insurance. When do you envision U.S. shamanic clinics emerging for the general population?

This relates to what kind of clinical models emerge for using psychedelics. While certainly not around the corner, I can see at some point “shamanic” use of psychedelics being considered “indigenous healing” which could be reimbursed. This is the case with, for example, certain indigenous healing practices of Native Americans and Hispanic cultures in New Mexico that at least one of the major insurers reimburses.

Your remark here echoes new changes in the air and echoes changes in collective consciousness. Helen Keller reminds us that the heresy in one Age becomes orthodoxy in another. George Bernard Shaw agrees. He echoes "all evolution in thought and conduct must first appear as heresy and misconduct.

How else do you imagine shamanic healing (DMT, ayahusca and other drugs) growing more accessible in the U.S. like medical opiates and marijuana? What about legalizing psychedelics for conscious tourism as is done in Costa Rica, South America and other part of the world?

This again relates to setting up environments in which people can take psychedelics for various reasons. The settings where there is direct benefit provided to patients for whom more traditional practices have failed are more likely to get off the ground first.

What does this echo on the state of collective consciousness and nature's harmonizing influence?

My late Zen teacher used to say that the balance between good and evil is always 51:49.

Midwives, health and well-ness practitioners such as chiropractors, naturopaths, ayurvedic doctors and others, are revolutionizing and changing the way people view health care services, integrative medicine and self-healing. What inspired your pioneering DMT research?

I was interested in the biology of spiritual experience. To the extent that psychedelics could bring about states of consciousness resembling those that occurred in non-drug religious states, I believed that there were common underlying biological denominators. The presence of endogenous DMT and its psychoactive effects made it a strong candidate for such a mediator.

Emerging technologies can record what the experiencer is sensing in altered states.  This is used for dream research, to track the brain in meditative states, channelling mediums and others. How do you see this, along with DMT, perhaps validating connections to the spirit world (i.e. higher vibrational states)?

First one needs to define “spirit world.” This needs to be done with more rigor than simply alluding to their having a higher vibrational state. I have more or less glibly wondered about dark matter cameras that could image those things that are comprised of it.

Agreed. John Chavez, who interviewed you before, suggests, we also need a clear idea of what Science means. Often people can be conversing about Science and spirituality and not be clear, and not be on the same page.

If the spirit worlds reside in normally invisible planes of existence, perhaps that type of imaging device could capture images of things existing in those planes. Then, one might compare those images with what one sees on DMT and related substances.

Many people are familliar with the psychedelics in the movies. Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Ridley Scott's original Bladerunner , Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey, are examples. Actor Jim Carrey took DMT and says his consciousness shifted dramatically as the result. How do you see the DMT experience is important for breaking through the matrix of individual and collective consciousness?

The existence of “things” in parallel, objectively verifiable, self-existent alternate planes of reality would be of great interest. However, simply establishing their existence without some goal in mind would only be tinkering rather than automatically being useful for the world.

In your Other Worlds, and your books, you suggest psychoactive substances like DMT allow the brain to bypass our five basic senses to unlock multi-dimensional realm of existence where other-worldly communication occurs.

This, of course, is only an hypothesis.

How do you account for the phenomena of synaesthesia, clairvoyance, and individuals with selectively magnified subtle senses, who do not ingest DMT yet access multi-dimensional realms spontaneously and at will?

It makes sense that nondrug states that resemble those brought on by giving DMT may be mediated by the same processes that are called into action when DMT is administered.

Also in Other Worlds documentary, you suggest the external search for alien life-forms is mis-directed.  Is our collective attention mis-guided when popular visionary sci-fi stories with aliens are the focus rather than the inner space world of our minds? 

Not necessarily mis-directed, but not the entire story.

Alien encounters are perhaps the most highly documented events yet are also the most downplayed. Sheer numbers of common stories, reports, and apparent abductions would, if on another subject, be substantial enough to make a huge statement in a traditional judicial system. That aside, if you view this from the perspective of your research with DMT, would this imply increasing numbers of people are expanding consciousness and producing DMT to access inner worlds of the mind?

We don’t know if endogenous DMT levels rise in states that resemble those brought on by giving DMT. Don’t gild the lily. Psychedelics can be used for terrible purposes. Just look at Charles Manson who used LSD to cement malignant beliefs and goals of his followers.

Why or why not? What other explanation could you suppose?

Humans are always living on the edge of disaster, the closer to the edge—that is, the more extreme the situation—the more extreme the potential solutions. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that LSD was discovered around the same time that the atomic bomb was developed.

Do you foresee DMT or related psychotropics being used more as a divination tool to gain greater insights into downloading visions for greater holistic technologies, mathematical and quantum understandings, as a think tank under controlled experimental conditions to improve upon the human condition?

There were some early studies using psychedelics to enhance creativity. This is an area that needs to be revisited.

Great composers and creative minds tune into the wide universe to download their masterpieces. What kind of world do you imagine as more people ingest DMT for clinical trials, healing or produce it naturally, to tap into conscious dream worlds? Would more of us get clarity faster and manifest our divine gifts?

It depends. I think that psychedelics provide a cementing of beliefs that previously were more or less conscious or about which people were more or less certain. This has to do with my notion of psychedelics as super placebos. Not wanting to beat a dead horse, it would be of use if you read the book about Manson and his use of LSD in his followers: Helter Skelter. It’s a sobering account.

It is suggested Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were aiming to contact the Afterlife with their emerging technologies. Tesla is known for saying the secrets of consciousness require an understanding of energy, frequency and vibration. He also said, “My brain is only a receiver, in the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know that it exists.” Which connections do you see emerging related to your work with DMT?

I have a predilection for the medieval Jewish philosophers. They suggest, based on Aristotle’s early work, that there exists an “Active Intellect” in which resides all past, present, and potential future information and events. The philosophers believe it is possible to “conjoin with” that information depending on one’s particular state—in particular, the state of one’s “intellect” and “imagination.” I think psychedelics stimulate the imagination, and to the extent that a more perfect imagination allows one to conjoin with the Active Intellect, there may be a little for them in tapping into what Tesla refers to as the “core.”

Indeed. Tesla's work still inspires shifts in what Science originally taught us to believe is impossible. Look at the electric car, free enegy and other technologies. Albert  Einstein also echoes, “The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.” 

Why do you sense the origin and function of the DMT- Spirit molecule frustrates many scientists?  

Most scientists are limited to what they can see, measure, observe externally. The properties of DMT are a little trickier to subsume in this way. For example, DMT is actively transported into the brain across the blood brain barrier using energy. This is something that the brain does only for required substances like sugar and certain amino acids. This indicates that DMT is necessary for normal brain function, and normal brain function translates into normal consciousness. In addition, the DMT synthetic machinery is active in retina. Thus, both general consciousness and visual consciousness in particular may be mediated by the maintenance of a homeostatic level of DMT. This is too mind blowing a notion for most of us.

As DMT production in the pineal is clincally proven in rodents, what can you add about human DMT production?

New data hone in more carefully on how DMT is produced in the pineal, and extends findings to the human.

What do you imagine is required for the assumed boundary between science and spirituality to dissolve?

It will never dissolve, but might become more porous. Even then, people believe what they want to believe.

One of your theories is that DMT may function as a type of cross species Esperanto, in that it allows communication among any organisms. If everything could tune into the same frequency at the same moment, what are the implications?

It might make people more compassionate. It also might open up a can of worms regarding mind control, loss of privacy, etc.

Your theory of Theo-neurology suggests God designed the brain for us to connect with the divine. Does your DMT research corroborate the idea the human body is a system of bio-circuitry?

My research didn’t address that.

Would you suggest the human body is like a radio dial and the level of DMT determines the channels or frequencies we tune into?

I speculate about this.

If so, do you suppose we regulate DMT release to change channels?

We don’t know anything about endogenous DMT levels in humans and their relationship to non-drug altered states. The “changing channels” notion is a metaphor, hopefully useful.

Many famous geniuses have drugs of choice. Graham Hancock's research led him to consume ayahuasca and he explains his journey on youtube. One thing he concludes is:“It may be that DMT makes us able to perceive what the physicist call "dark matter" - the 95 per cent of the universe's mass that is known to exist but that at present remains invisible to our senses and instruments.”  

Terrence McKenna and David Icke also advocate of the use of psychedelics to open the mind. Which ones have you or would you like to consume? What do you notice about your own shifts in consciousness with or without psychedelics?

I don’t talk about my drug use or non-use.

Terrence McKenna says “Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behaviour and information processing. They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong.” Please comment.

Psychedelics are illegal because of their adverse effects. I think it’s a counter-productive myth to point to their putative mind expanding effects as reasons for their illegality. There are enormously powerful drugs that can be misused and cause major problems. Thus, strict regulation is more helpful than not over the long run. I would rather fewer people with more supervision take psychedelics than more people with less supervision.

If you could leave a piece of advice for our readers, what would you share?

Psychedelics are not panaceas. One big trip may be all that you need, provide enough of a push for the rest of your life. After that, the rest is commentary.

Thanks again Dr. Strassman, for offering food for reflection about the ongoing shifts in collective consciousness. It is clear dialogue is ongoing in scientific, government and public spheres.  The jury may still be out on the best or most appropriate uses of psychedelics, but growing interest exists in exploring and testing out new possibilities.

Encourage visitors to check out Dr. Strassman's  books, Youtube presentations and to visit his blog. His visionary approach to psychedelic research is a sign of the times.

Nikola Tesla is right on point as he echoes, many people, much like Dr. Strassman, are doing research, and proposing theories that point the way in which humanity and collective consciousness is heading.  Invite you to tune into the vibe.