Stephen Harrod Buhner has been called an Earth poet, bardic naturalist, and an herbal philosopher, as well as one of the most accomplished writers on medical herbalism in the United States. He is the multiple-award winning author of 23 books, a score of memoir and fictional short stories, and numerous nonfiction articles.

He is a tireless advocate for the reincorporation of the exploratory artist, independent scholar, amateur naturalist, and citizen scientist in American society - especially as a counterweight to the influence of corporate science and technology.

I was first introduced to Stephen’s work through my encounters with Lyme Disease–of which Stephen is (in my words) the preeminent expert. He essentially wrote the Bible of how to understand the disease and treat it effectively yourself with herbs (spoiler, it works).

Later I discovered Stephen wrote twenty two other books on far-ranging topics across many disciplines, incorporating radically subversive ideas about intelligence, ecology, environmentalism, science, mental health, and perception.

I wanted to discuss “Gaia Theory” with Stephen–the idea that the Earth is a sentient, self regulating organism, and how that overlaps with the ayahuasca experience–and discuss we did.

Also in this episode are:

• Western Science's origins in the Protestant Revolution (and why that's bad)
• Rationalism and the dissection of nature into discrete parts
• The Journey of the Self, learning to think for yourself and discard inherited beliefs
• "Who Am I?" 
• Reframing painful experiences as part of your personal myth
• Plant and Bacterial Intelligence
• The function of psychedelics in ecosystems
• Invasive species as a natural reorganization of Earth’s ecosystems
• Lyme Disease
• Herbalism, the deeply ingrained societal beliefs that dismiss it
• How to present information that bridges two paradigms
• The limiting trap of trying to win approval and mainstream acceptance with fundamentally paradigm shifting ideas ("Trying to make Daddy proud")
• You cannot control or suppress nature--humans are destined for some tough lessons.

And so much more that if you're not curious already,  there is no point in me typing the rest of it, so go to the mall instead (and pick me up a Cinnabon).