Our conversation begins 7 minutes in - please feel free to skip the intro!
In today’s episode I’m talking with Sameer Patel about the strange intersection of paranormal research, consciousness, psychedelics and purpose. We start with the secret Pentagon program at Skinwalker Ranch and what it suggests about the relationship between so‑called “paranormal” phenomena and human consciousness. From there, we explore how non‑ordinary states—through psychedelics, meditation, yoga, rave culture and Kundalini awakening—can both heal and destabilise, especially when they bring old trauma and questions of meaning to the surface.
Sameer shares his own journey from corporate and music-industry careers into a profound spiritual awakening, and we look at what it might mean to treat trauma healing and inner work as a form of collective evolution, rather than just a way to become “better worker bees” in the existing system.
Sameer is a filmmaker and co-founder of the Kundalini Collective, an organisation established in 2018 to support individuals experiencing spiritual awakenings. His own awakening in 2006 profoundly changed his life, leading him to explore spiritual and shamanic cultures worldwide. Prior to this, Sameer worked in film finance but inspired by his transformation, he pursued a creative path, and his films have been acquired by Sony and Sky Arts. As a producer, he recently completed a British-Iranian feature adaptation of a Rainer Fassbinder film titled 'The Bitter Tears of Zahra Zand'. He is currently developing a documentary on ‘Non-Ordinary Transformative Experiences’ and their implications.
References:
Books
Skinwalkers at the Pentagon – James T. Lacatski, Colm A. Kelleher, George Knapp
Hunt for the Skinwalker – Colm A. Kelleher, George Knapp
Yardie – Victor Headley
Key People & Organisations
Paranormal / UFO / Consciousness Research
James T. Lacatski – Defense Department scientist behind the Skinwalker program
Colm A. Kelleher – Scientist and lead researcher at Skinwalker Ranch
George Knapp – Investigative journalist on UFOs and Skinwalker Ranch
Robert Bigelow – Founder, Bigelow Aerospace; funder of Skinwalker and consciousness research
National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS)
Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies (BICS)
Jeffrey Mishlove – Parapsychologist, Thinking Allowed host, BICS essay winner
Jacques Vallée – UFO and consciousness researcher
Psychedelics, Spirituality & Mental Health
Ram Dass – Spiritual teacher and author
Terence McKenna – Ethnobotanist and psychedelic philosopher
Katie Mottram – Mental health and spiritual awakening advocate, co-creator of The Elephant Collective
Institutions, Places & Concepts
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
Pentagon Special Access Program on anomalous phenomena (as discussed in Skinwalkers at the Pentagon)
Skinwalker Ranch – Utah site of high-strangeness research
“Hitchhiker Effect” – term used for phenomena following investigators home from Skinwalker Ranch
Kundalini awakening – energetic/spiritual awakening process
Non-duality – view/experience of reality as fundamentally unified
Double-slit experiment – quantum physics experiment related to observation and measurement
Film & Media
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Football Factory – dir. Nick Love
The Business – dir. Nick Love
Thinking Allowed – Jeffrey Mishlove’s interview series
Projects & Communities
The Kundalini Collective – support group for Kundalini/spiritual awakening experiences
The Elephant Collective – community and documentary project on non-ordinary experiences and trauma healing
ACER - ACER Integration is a transformative program to deepen connection to self, others and the natural world.
