Today’s episode is a heartbreaking and heartwarming human journey. Mark Walker lost his wife, Vanessa, to a rare disease shortly after their marriage. Their final year was colored by caregiving, and tearful goodbyes. After her death, Mark was left with profound grief and PTSD. But with the help of psychedelic therapy, Mark was able to reconnect with himself, with his grief, and with the memory of his lost love.

Mark also opens up about what comes next: writing a book about wounded healers, exploring PTSD treatment for veterans and conflict zones, completing facilitation training in the Netherlands, and figuring out how to bring his lived experience into the emerging psychedelic space. This episode is for anyone navigating loss, supporting someone through illness, or wondering whether healing after trauma is actually possible. If you’ve ever needed proof that beauty and devastation can exist in the same story, this conversation will stay with you. 

In this conversation:
01:55 — A rare diagnosis, and a relationship that had only just begun
04:19 — Becoming a full-time caregiver through COVID
05:50 — 130 nights in the hospital, and the start of PTSD
06:43 — Therapy, EMDR, and the turn toward psychedelics
10:05 — 2013, 2017, and the timing that finally worked
13:45 — The hardest thing a person can do
16:36 — Eight months after losing Vanessa: the first journey
18:42 — Vanessa hands over the baton
20:34 — The protocol, and three intentions
22:58 — Inside eight hours of MDMA therapy
25:13 — "Relationships don't end when people die"
31:06 — "Grief is just love with nowhere to go"
34:55 — Six journeys, and why healing isn't linear
39:07 — Rebuilding a life, and what comes next

Learn more about Mark:
Mark Walker is a media executive, philanthropist, and curious seeker. Following profound personal loss, he began exploring psychedelics as a path toward understanding grief, trauma, and the unconscious mind. His journey has grown into work supporting veterans exploring psychedelics for PTSD, as well as writing a memoir about his own experiences with healing, transformation, and personal growth.

Connect with the host:
Instagram: @jasonnajum
LinkedIn: Jason Najum

Follow States of Mind:
YouTube Channel — @statesofmindhub
Spotify — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind
Apple Podcasts — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind

LinkedIn — States of Mind
Instagram — @statesofmindhub 

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

Today’s episode is a true Human Journey, as Ukrainian war veteran Stanislav Hibadulin shares his story of tragedy and recovery. Severely injured during the war, Stanislav not only lost his leg but also lost a dear friend. Suffering from severe PTSD, he discovered psychedelic therapy and is now fighting a new battle — to help others get the help they need.

In this conversation:
00:36 — "I'm a Ukrainian soldier, and I got healed"
03:55 — The childhood traumas behind the path of the warrior
08:24 — 2018: the injuries, and losing his soulmate
11:44 — Back to the front line: a missile, then a landmine
14:46 — Life after the army, and the first panic attacks
19:01 — A year and a half of antidepressants
20:43 — "War is the strongest drug in the world"
24:11 — The stranger who worked with PTSD
31:15 — The session: meeting his friend again, and meeting God
35:01 — Four hours did what years of pills could not
39:40 — Ukraine as a future leader in healing trauma
44:26 — "It's not a magic pill": set, setting, and professionals
47:13 — "Would you go to war again, knowing everything?"

Learn more about Stanislav:
LinkedIn: Stanislav Hibadulin
Ukrainian Psychedelic Research Association (UPRA)
Stanislav's Story
Advocating For Veteran Psychedelic Therapy in Ukraine

Connect with the host:
Instagram: @jasonnajum
LinkedIn: Jason Najum

Follow States of Mind:
YouTube Channel — @statesofmindhub
Spotify — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind
Apple Podcasts — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind

LinkedIn — States of Mind
Instagram — @statesofmindhub 

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

Today's guest is Edward Crowe, a music business executive and entrepreneur. His journey with psychedelics began with a chance encounter with mushrooms and turned into a lifelong journey of healing and personal growth. His unique human journey crosses the worlds of music, media, and magic.

Mushrooms didn't just change Edward Crowe's life — they pulled him out of alcohol, ego, and self-destruction and gave him a new way to see himself, other people, and the world. In this conversation, he shares the wild, deeply personal path that took him from magician and graffiti artist to psychedelics and a practice he now treats with reverence, discipline, and gratitude. 

Edward opens up about the first mushroom experience that cracked everything open, the years it took to understand what psychedelics were teaching him, and the moment he realized they weren't just a substance — they were a mentor. 

In this conversation:
00:40 — Magician, muralist, weed dealer: how the mushrooms found him
01:45 — "I had to survive them to understand what they had to teach me"
02:18 — Hard-headed and in the dark: the mushroom becomes a mentor
04:14 — Growing up in Antioch, and the smile he wouldn't show
05:42 — Popping the hood on your psyche: perspective instead of ego
07:50 — A heavy dose under the meteor shower
09:40 — The Superman blanket: permission to be your own hero
10:59 — Stepping outside the hypnosis
12:32 — Considering everyone in the room, from the CEO down
14:19 — Ceremony and the music business: touring with Yelawolf
15:42 — Educating Nashville: the Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy
18:09 — From clinical to cultural: psychedelics for the average person
21:18 — His mother's last words: "That's good"
22:42 — Jason on losing his mother inside the hospital system
24:32 — Through the eyes of a wise stranger: ego, conflict, and kindness
28:00 — "I don't have any regrets" — and why he stepped away from drinking
31:21 — The dancing goddess and the moment everything changed
33:01 — Twenty-six years to build the ceremony he uses now
35:58 — Safety first: locked gates, locked phones, no sharp objects
38:05 — Sharpening your superpower: you don't have to be broken to benefit

Learn more about Edward:
Instagram: @edward.crowe
Yealwolf Music Manager

Connect with the host:
Instagram: @jasonnajum
LinkedIn: Jason Najum

Follow States of Mind:
YouTube Channel — @statesofmindhub
Spotify — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind
Apple Podcasts — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind

LinkedIn — States of Mind
Instagram — @statesofmindhub 

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

What happens when two podcast hosts trade the mic and interview each other?

In this special double-feature episode, Human Journeys host Jason Najum sits down with fellow host Max de Rosnay to share the stories they usually draw out of others. Max opens up about a drug addiction that started young and escalated fast, the family intervention that sent him to rehab at seventeen, and how psilocybin later helped him return to the twelve steps with a sense of self-love he'd never felt before. Jason shares his own reckoning with anxiety, a childhood shaped by his parents' divorce, and the night he broke down on his couch and realized his "default setting" was no longer joy. Two very different paths, both leading to psychedelics, and both leading here.

#Addiction #Recovery #Psilocybin #Ayahuasca #MentalHealth #Anxiety #TwelveSteps #HumanJourneys

In this conversation:
00:00 — Intro
00:27 — Welcome to the double-feature episode
00:57 — Two hosts, one mic: why they're swapping roles
02:25 — Jason's story: childhood in Montreal and a family shaped by history
04:05 — Noticing the shift: when "not great, but alright" stopped being enough
06:05 — The couch moment: hitting a breaking point
08:59 — Max's story: childhood in London and his parents' divorce
13:17 — From class clown to first experiments with drugs
15:12 — Escalation: ketamine, opiates, and heroin by fifteen
16:06 — Family intervention and rehab at seventeen
17:55 — Living with shame, making amends, and finding peace
23:25 — What actually causes addiction: escapism, chemistry, and circumstance
26:17 — Jason's gateway: microdosing psilocybin after the couch moment
32:49 — Peeling back the armor: what surrender looks like in ceremony
34:51 — Max's relapse in Sydney and the voice that told him to stop
38:11 — Finding Psychedelics in Recovery (PIR) and deciding to try psilocybin
40:09 — "I experienced self love for the first time"
43:32 — Comparing experiences: presence, quiet, and seeing the world clearly
54:55 — Max's ayahuasca ceremony in Colombia: purging and sudden gratitude
57:03 — Using psychedelics as a reset, not a rescue
1:02:04 — Closing thoughts: gratitude for the road that got them here

Connect with the hosts:
Instagram: @jasonnajum
LinkedIn: Max de Rosnay and Jason Najum

Follow States of Mind:
YouTube Channel — @statesofmindhub
Spotify — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind
Apple Podcasts — Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind

LinkedIn — States of Mind
Instagram — @statesofmindhub 

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of drug addiction and mental health. Jason and Max's experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

After years of untreated PTSD from her time as a US Army military police officer, layered on top of childhood trauma and an unspoken struggle with her sexuality, Lisa Tamez found herself in the darkest depression of her life. Isolated in her apartment in Germany, she was drinking heavily, mixing medications, and quietly battling suicidal ideation while nothing else seemed to work.

In a candid look at raw psychedelic integration, Lisa, a US Army veteran, details the turning point that changed everything: an Ayahuasca retreat in Mexico with the Heroic Hearts Project, held in Shipibo tradition specifically for LGBTQIA+ veterans. She explains how the medicine helped her purge years of buried trauma, access healing inner-child memories, and unlock a form of embodied self-knowledge she calls "noetic knowing." Today, Lisa continues to integrate these lessons, blending her tough military mindset with a newfound gentleness toward herself.

Follow Lisa Tamez on IG: @honey_badger011 

Stay connected
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033zquD...
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
LinkedIn:   / statesofmindhub 
Instagram:   / statesofmindhub 

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform their lives.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

After 20 years of severe intravenous cocaine and heroin addiction, multiple prison stints, and failing every traditional treatment center imaginable, Todd Youngs finally found continuous sobriety.

In a candid look at raw psychedelic integration, Todd (now a dedicated addiction specialist) details a critical turning point: a 2009 Ayahuasca ceremony that unlocked a felt sense of self-compassion when Alcoholics Anonymous alone wasn’t enough for addiction recovery. He explains how he bypassed the severe depression of Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) by grounding plant medicine insights directly within the structured principles of the 12 Steps. Today, Todd bridges this personal transformation with groundbreaking academic research at UCSF to help others find a new path to genuine healing.

#Ayahuasca #AddictionRecovery #Sobriety #PlantMedicine #12Steps #HeroinAddiction #PsychedelicIntegration #Transformation #MentalHealthRecovery #HumanJourneys

Learn more about Todd Youngs:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddyoungs/
https://www.joyofsoberliving.com/

Like what you heard? Subscribe and follow us for weekly conversations on psychedelic healing, mental health, and human transformation — https://www.youtube.com/@statesofmindhub

Stay connected
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/statesofmindhub
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statesofmindhub

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, is a life-changing conversation about personal healing. Join Jason Najum as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform their lives.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

Can microdosing actually rewire a paralyzed body? 

After a car accident left Kacia Julius paralyzed from the chest down, she began self-experimenting with low-dose psychedelics to activate her muscles and stimulate neuroplasticity. This is her honest and brave journey of hard work, positivity, the power of the placebo effect, the role of belief and mindfulness in healing, and how Kacia found true presence and hope in the face of sudden, massive life change.

#Microdosing #paralysisrecovery  #spinalcordinjury  #neuroplasticity  #spasticity  #SelfExperimentation #CitizenScience #HumanJourneys

Connect with Kacia Julius:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaciajulius 

Follow States of Mind:
YouTube Channel — https://www.youtube.com/@statesofmindhub
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/statesofmindhub
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/statesofmindhub

Note: This is Kacia's personal story of recovery. Psychedelics are not yet an approved treatment for spinal cord injuries. Speak with your physician or therapist before beginning any alternative treatments. 

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

Is it actually safe to use psychedelics for addiction recovery, or is it just playing with fire?

In this episode of the Human Journeys Podcast, researcher and addiction specialist Anne Rossignol joins Max De Rosnay, Partnerships at Pink Elephant,  to explore psychedelics in recovery and the critical role of firsthand experience in psychedelic science. After three years of clean, abstinence-based sobriety, Anne’s own experiences with ayahuasca for addiction and microdosing for recovery completely transformed her understanding of mental health and long-term healing.

Today, she works as a consultant on the ground-breaking Psilopioid clinical trial at Imperial College London, looking at how psilocybin for opioid relapse prevention can bridge the gap between traditional alternative addiction treatment and institutional data. Anne’s role is to keep the science grounded in the real-world mechanics of dependency, ensuring clinical trials are designed around the actual realities of recovery, not just laboratory theories. This is an incredibly honest conversation about harm reduction, the dangers of spiritual bypassing in recovery, and what the psychedelics and 12 steps movements might be getting wrong about spirituality.

#AddictionRecovery #PsychedelicResearch #ImperialCollege #HarmReduction #OpioidRelapse #MentalHealth #PsychedelicIntegration #HumanJourneys #12Steps

In this conversation:

00:00 — Intro
02:06 — "My mission was to be successful — and I got lost"
02:44 — Revenge as a life mission: Gaining and losing everything
05:27 — Hitting rock bottom: The moment change became unavoidable
06:39 — Entering rehab and learning what humility actually feels like
07:12 — What it’s really like to be an addict from the inside
17:19 — How psychedelics entered Anne's recovery story
21:16 — Microdosing: The first step and what she experienced
24:42 — The first ceremony and facing a large dose
27:21 — Max and Anne on the real meaning of self-love
28:11 — Integration: How Anne approached her next ceremonies
30:30 — How Ayahuasca surfaced years of denial and anorexia
32:17 — The taboo of psychedelics in traditional recovery meetings
33:42 — What the 12-Steps might be getting wrong about spirituality

Learn more about Anne Rossignol:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-rossignol-829306b9/
https://breakingconvention.co.uk/performers/anne-rossignol

Like what you heard? Subscribe and follow us for weekly conversations on psychedelic healing, mental health, and human transformation — https://www.youtube.com/@statesofmindhub

Stay connected
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/statesofmindhub
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statesofmindhub

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform their lives.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

The psychedelic renaissance is booming, but who's keeping it honest?

Dennis Walker, founder of Mycopreneur, joins Jason Najum on the Human Journeys Podcast to explore the role of satire, humor, and independent thinking in the psychedelic space. As a self-described modern-day court jester, Dennis uses comedy to challenge corporate power, expose hypocrisy, and advocate for small mushroom entrepreneurs driving an increasingly commercialized industry.

This is a rare conversation about what psychedelic healing looks like outside the clinical setting and why fun, creativity, and personal agency might be just as transformative as any ceremony.

In this conversation:

 00:00 Intro
 00:41 Dennis's Background and the Birth of Mycopreneur
 01:21 The Court Jester: Why the Psychedelic Space Needs Satire
 02:51 Critiquing Corporatization From the Inside
 03:35 Small Mushroom Entrepreneurs vs. Crony Capitalism
 05:50 Why Humor and Fun Are Legitimate Healing Tools
 08:21 The Limits of Medicalizing Psychedelics
 10:11 Psychedelics for Lifestyle Design and Creative Breakthroughs
 12:15 "Lose the Loser Attitude" — On Personal Agency and Healing
 14:55 Creating Answers, Not Expectations

Learn more about Dennis Walker:
https://www.instagram.com/mycopreneurofficial/
https://linktr.ee/mycopreneur
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-walker-19684927


Like what you heard? Subscribe and follow us for weekly conversations on psychedelic healing, mental health, and human transformation — https://www.youtube.com/@statesofmindhub

Stay connected:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/108322941
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statesofmindhub/

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, is life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join Jason Najum as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform their lives.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.

What happens when a 68-year-old has a psychedelic experience and decides it's not too late to change everything?

Scott Wright joins Jason Najum on the Human Journeys Podcast to share how a single profound psychedelic journey in his late 60s cracked him open and sent him on a mission to document the stories of older adults doing the same. His upcoming film is a testament to the idea that healing has no age limit.

In this conversation:

 00:00 Intro
 00:41 Scott's Background and Road to Psychedelics at 68
 01:21 The Experience That Changed Everything
 02:51 Why Older Adults Are Turning to Psychedelics
 03:35 Healing Depression, PTSD, and Decades-Old Wounds
 05:50 Generational Shifts: From "Just Say No" to Psychedelic Therapy
 08:21 Honoring Indigenous Roots as Psychedelics Go Mainstream
 10:11 The Power of Community Through Shared Experience
 12:15 Making the Film: Vulnerability, Transformation, and Hope
 14:55 What Scott Wants Audiences to Take Away

Learn more about Scott: 
https://www.wise-rabbit.com/in-production
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-wright-65266b300/
https://www.instagram.com/wiserabbitfilms/

Like what you heard? Hit subscribe and follow us for more conversations on healing and transformation — https://www.youtube.com/@statesofmindhub

Stay connected:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/108322941
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statesofmindhub/

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, is life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join Jason Najum as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform their lives.

Note: This episode includes candid discussion of psychedelic use and mental health. Guests' experiences with psychedelics are personal and not a substitute for professional treatment. If you're struggling with substance use, please reach out to a qualified professional or a support service in your area.

Human Journeys Podcast, by States of Mind, features life-changing conversations of personal healing. Join us as we explore how psychedelic therapies are helping people grow, heal, and transform.