While Mark and Michele are deep in sabbatical retreat in the Brazilian rainforest, we're revisiting some of our most-loved conversations from the archives.

And this one is legendary!

In this featured favorite episode of Medicine With the Medals, renowned ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna shares the origin story of his psychedelic path, the accidental mushroom awakening that reshaped his worldview, and his take on the future of plant medicine.

This conversation bridges the scientific, the spiritual, and the deeply personal, offering a masterclass in sacred medicine, integration, and inner ecology.

Whether you're plant-curious or walking the ceremonial path, this episode is your compass.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why psilocybin was the real “teacher” that emerged from a failed search for the Amazonian ukuhe

• How set and setting shapes the healing of psychedelics, and why “the set is you”

• The key differences between ayahuasca, iboga, psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT

• A cautious but grounded approach to microdosing for anxiety, energy, and integration

• How psychedelics act as perceptual instruments, revealing sacred geometry and nature’s hidden design
  

Episode Highlights:

• 04:08 – LSD, Berkeley, and the myth of Dennis’s first trip with Terrence
• 13:22 – Discovering mushrooms instead of ukuhe at La Chorrera: an origin myth retold
• 23:47 – The “mushroom agenda” and how they became the real teachers
• 31:10 – Microdosing vs. pharmaceuticals: Dennis weighs the mental health potential
• 41:29 – Comparing psychedelic medicines: iboga for addiction, ayahuasca for the heart, and 5-MeO for ego
• 50:02 – Why sacred geometry appears in altered states, and what it tells us about perception
• 58:14 – Shared psychedelic visions, ancestral lineages, and mentoring the next generation
• 01:06:00 – Dennis reflects on ritual, ceremony, and respecting Indigenous medicine while walking your own path

👤 Meet the Guest

Dennis McKenna is an ethnopharmacologist, co-founder of the McKenna Academy, and one of the world’s most respected voices in entheogenic science and Indigenous plant medicine research.

Tools, Frameworks, or Concepts Mentioned:

• Psychoecology: Understanding how mind and environment co-create perception

• Default Mode Network (DMN): How psychedelics disrupt mental conditioning

• Neural Gating: The brain’s mechanism for filtering sensory overload

• LDO Integration Loop (implied): Awareness → Surrender → Meaning-making → Action
  

Closing Insight:

“Psychedelics are tools we can use to become better lovers of ourselves, others, nature, and reality.” – Dennis McKenna

This timeless episode reminds us that plant medicine is more than a trend; it's a path of remembering, reconnection, and responsibility. Whether you’re listening from ceremony, city, or solitude, may this wisdom meet you where you are.

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What if cancer wasn’t a punishment, but an invitation to transformation?

In this deeply personal and paradigm-shifting episode, cancer survivor and Healing Cancer Journeys founder Dan Callahan opens up about his 21-year battle with multiple cancers and how psychedelic medicines helped him confront fear, reduce suffering, and find meaning in the face of mortality.

Dan’s story isn’t just about surviving cancer; it's about learning to live with it. Through therapeutic psilocybin journeys, guided breathwork, and a return to childlike curiosity, Dan reshaped his relationship with illness, death, and healing itself.

This episode breaks open the triple stigma surrounding cancer, psychedelics, and mortality while offering hope, community, and a new framework for integrative healing.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why psychedelic medicine can transform how cancer patients process trauma, fear, and grief

• How microdosing psilocybin + breathwork became part of Dan’s emotional recovery protocol

• A new perspective on “talking to cancer” during a guided therapeutic journey

• How Healing Cancer Journeys is building digital community and storytelling platforms for survivors

• The practical and legal challenges of accessing psychedelic care for cancer patients
  

Episode Highlights:

• 03:01 – Dan shares his dual diagnosis: testicular and thyroid cancer
• 08:19 – “Cancer doesn’t say a damn thing.” A guided psilocybin journey reveals radical acceptance
• 13:42 – Why psychedelic healing often starts with suffering and breaks you open
• 17:50 – Microdosing + breathwork as a therapeutic tool, not a daily ritual
• 24:26 – Addressing the “triple stigma”: cancer, death, and psychedelics
• 30:45 – The birth of Healing Cancer Journeys and the StoryCorps-inspired Voices initiative
• 36:13 – Legal gray zones, affordability, and barriers to psychedelic access
• 39:40 – What dying can teach us about living well with or without cancer

👤 Meet the Guest:

Dan Callahan is a two-time cancer survivor and founder of Healing Cancer Journeys, a nonprofit building community and education for people exploring psychedelic medicine as part of their cancer journey. He is an advocate for de-stigmatizing both psychedelics and mortality in public discourse.

Tools, Frameworks & Strategies:

• Therapeutic Psilocybin Journeys – High-dose, guided sessions for confronting trauma

• Microdosing + Breathwork Protocol – Low-dose psilocybin paired with intense breathwork

• Healing Cancer Voices – A StoryCorps-style project for cancer patients using psychedelics

• Digital Community Outreach – Leveraging Instagram, TikTok, and podcasting to reduce stigma
  

Closing Insight:

“Cancer doesn’t have to be cosmic punishment. Sometimes, it’s just random. And sometimes, that randomness is your path to meaning.”

Dan’s story is a courageous testament to the power of vulnerability, storytelling, and non-traditional healing. If you or someone you love is exploring psychedelics on a cancer journey, let this episode be a signpost: you are not alone.

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What if the root of your trauma isn’t just emotional but parasitic?

In this extraordinary episode, plant medicine facilitator Jules Rivers (aka Julio Rivera) reveals how he blends high-dose psilocybin therapy with spiritual parasite extraction to catalyze breakthroughs in trauma release, addiction recovery, and identity transformation. His method, SHAPE (Spiritual Healing by Astral Parasite Extraction), invites a bold new paradigm in the healing arts, one that bridges neuroscience, epigenetics, and the metaphysics of consciousness.

Whether you're exploring psychedelic medicine for the first time or guiding others through non-ordinary states of consciousness, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and expand your healing vocabulary.

What You’ll Learn:

• The hidden role of “astral parasites” in chronic trauma loops and emotional relapse

• Why high-dose psilocybin sessions may reach deeper than ayahuasca for some types of healing

• How to differentiate between trauma-based identity and true self

• A new model of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy built around energetic extraction

• Why SHAPE attracts CEOs, clinicians, and spiritual seekers seeking permanent breakthroughs

Episode Highlights:

• 04:15 – The double life of a bank executive and underground healer

• 09:02 – The moment that led Jules to drink ayahuasca for the first time

• 14:37 – What SHAPE really is and why mushrooms revealed what ayahuasca couldn’t

• 21:50 – “Astral parasites”: a new paradigm for trauma-based identity

• 28:04 – How deep healing requires voluntary ego death and entity separation

• 36:40 – SHAPE retreat protocols: why consecutive heroic doses are essential

• 44:00 – The neuroscience behind ego dissolution and default mode deactivation

• 51:12 – When integration becomes transformation and the truth behind relapse

Meet the Guest:

Jules Rivers, a retired banking executive turned entheogenic healer, is the founder of SHAPE (Spiritual Healing by Astral Parasite Extraction). With over 27 years of experience in plant medicine, he’s facilitated thousands of ayahuasca ceremonies and now guides high-dose psilocybin retreats in Jamaica designed for deep trauma release and multidimensional healing.

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned

• SHAPE: Spiritual Healing by Astral Parasite Extraction

• Heroic Dose Protocol: 4-day consecutive high-dose psilocybin journeys (7–12g)

• Lemon Tek Method: Enhanced psilocybin absorption and onset acceleration

• Quantum Model of the Psyche: Multiplicity-based inner architecture

• Egregore Theory & Jungian Shadow Integration: Spiritual and psychological entity work
  

Closing Insight:

“Your entity is not your identity. True healing begins when you learn to separate the two.”

If you’ve tried everything and still feel stuck in a trauma loop, this episode offers a radically new path forward. Tap into the transformative power of psilocybin, entity extraction, and integrative soul work.

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Quick Summary:

What happens when a Silicon Valley-raised anthropologist gives his life back to spirit and becomes the first Western-trained Amazonian shaman?

In this transformative episode of Medicine With the Medals, Maestro Hamilton Souther shares his path from modern disillusionment to sacred mastery. We explore the intersection of plant medicine, digital sovereignty, and the psychedelic renaissance while unpacking frameworks that support safe, integrative, and culturally respectful psychedelic practice.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why integration is more important than the ceremony itself

• The true nature of Amazonian apprenticeship and how it builds spiritual and psychological resilience

• How Gaia Labs bridges Web3 infrastructure with sacred economies

• Why Blue Morpho Academy trains facilitators in ethical psychedelic practices

• How to create safe containers for plant medicine without relying solely on clinical systems

Episode Highlights:

• 02:12 – Hamilton's spiritual turning point: giving his life back to spirit
• 06:08 – What it takes to become a traditional Amazonian maestro
• 09:40 – When your family joins the medicine path with you
• 12:36 – What is Gaia Labs? Bridging Web3 and consciousness work
• 16:11 – Why starting a psychedelic business is still a radical act
• 20:04 – Inside Blue Morpho Academy: Foundations and facilitator pathways
• 24:39 – Cannabis as a misunderstood ancient visionary medicine
• 28:45 – Integration: the real work of healing begins after the ceremony

Meet the Guest:

Maestro Hamilton Souther is a master shaman, founder of Blue Morpho Retreats and Blue Morpho Academy, and co-founder of Gaia Labs. He is among the first Westerners to be fully trained and initiated into Amazonian plant medicine lineages.

Tools, Frameworks, and Concepts Mentioned:

• Blue Morpho Academy – Online training in plant medicine facilitation

• Sacred Container Design – Practices for safe solo or group psychedelic work

• Gaia Labs – Web3 venture linking blockchain with spiritual technology

• Ethical Psychedelic Facilitation – Value-based model inspired by indigenous rites

• Psychedelic Neurointegration – How integration supports long-term brain healing
  

Closing Insight:

"The time on the mat is only a few hours, it's the integration that shapes the rest of your life." — Maestro Hamilton Souther

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What if your next breakthrough in mental health came not from a lab, but from the forest floor?

In this powerful episode of Medicine With the Medals, hosts Michele and Mark Medal sit down with mushroom cultivation expert Adrian to explore the healing intelligence of psychedelic and functional fungi.

From the legendary Golden Teacher to high-performance cordyceps, Adrian breaks down the science, spirit, and semantics of mushroom medicine.

Whether you're microdosing for mental clarity or navigating a deep journey, this episode reframes fungi as frequency medicine—bridging ancient mycology and modern neurobiology.

What You'll Learn:

• Why Golden Teacher remains the “OG” mushroom for healing and introspection

• How alkaloid synergy may be more important than psilocybin percentage

• The truth about strain potency vs. dosage in microdosing protocols

• How functional mushrooms like lion’s mane and cordyceps impact brain health and athletic performance

• Why mushroom medicine is about recalibration, not recreation

Chapters & Timestamps:

04:11 – Adrian’s origin story: from tech entrepreneur to ethical mycologist
11:02 – What makes mushroom growing closer to science than farming
14:45 – Golden Teacher as the archetypal psychedelic strain
21:20 – Are alkaloids the missing link in mental health medicine?
28:55 – Comparing Mamados’ four new strains: GT, Bluey Vuitton, Mechilogorilla, Albino Penis Envy
36:07 – The vibrational frequency theory of mushroom healing
41:33 – Functional fungi decoded: lion’s mane, cordyceps, chaga, and reishi
48:10 – Why sourcing, testing, and trust matter in the mushroom supply chain

About the Guest:

Adrian is a mushroom cultivator with 12+ years of experience in cannabis and mycology. Based in Los Angeles, he specializes in both psychedelic and functional mushrooms—partnering with researchers and growers to uncover the healing potential of fungi.

Tools, Frameworks & Strategies Mentioned:

• “Alkaloid Synergy”: the idea that multiple compounds—not just psilocybin—create therapeutic effects

• The Three Pillars of Use: medicinal, recreational, and mental/spiritual healing

• Resonance-Based Healing: a perspective that treats alkaloids as vibrational agents of recalibration

Closing Insight:

“You are your own guru. These medicines just help you see what's already inside.” — Michele Medal

Ready to explore what fungi can do for you? For the best in products and education, visit Mama Dose.

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What happens when a seeker turns decades of psychedelic experimentation into a disciplined spiritual path?

In this episode, Vinaya shares his 50-year journey from spontaneous LSD use in 1970s Germany to intentional ceremonies with ayahuasca, mushrooms, and 5-MeO-DMT in Peru. But the real medicine, he says, begins after the ceremony: through careful integration, facilitator training, and neuroplastic change.

This is not a highlight reel of trippy experiences. It’s a masterclass in how to use psychedelic medicine to dissolve fear, embody joy, and walk an authentic path of transformation, with safety, sovereignty, and service at the center.

What You'll Learn:

• The difference between recreational use and structured psychedelic healing

• How integration activates neuroplasticity to create lasting life change

• Why safety protocols, harm reduction, and facilitator vetting are non-negotiable

• A practical example of how Bufo journeys + integration rewired one woman’s creative career

• What makes psychedelics sacred—and what makes them dangerous

Episode Highlights:

00:42 – The first LSD experience that opened a lifelong search for deeper truth
02:15 – Early ayahuasca encounters: overwhelm, insight, and returning to the medicine
03:48 – From party use to intentional practice: how set, setting, and safety changed everything
05:10 – Discovering Bufo (5-MeO-DMT) and experiencing total ego dissolution
07:02 – Why preparation and four-week integration are essential for transformation
08:35 – Neuroplasticity explained: how psychedelic insights become lasting change
10:14 – The critical role of trained facilitators—and how to spot unsafe practices
12:07 – A real example: how integration empowered a creative breakthrough
13:01 – Final reflections: fearlessness, joy, and walking an intentional path

About Our Guest:

Vinaya is a longtime practitioner and guide who has walked the psychedelic path for over five decades. He now assists his partner in offering safely facilitated Bufo ceremonies, with deep emphasis on preparation, integration, and sacred intention.

Core Concepts and Terms:

• Neuroplasticity & integration

• Agentic self-healing through plant medicines

• Psychedelic safety protocols & harm reduction

• Conscious facilitation and trauma-informed care

• Sacred use vs. recreational use of entheogens

Final Insight:

“Without integration, the most beautiful ceremony becomes just a memory. With it, you can become someone new.”

If you’re considering a psychedelic journey—or support others who are—this episode offers powerful, grounded wisdom from lived experience.

#PsychedelicIntegration #Neuroplasticity #PlantMedicineHealing #5MeODMT #TraumaInformedCare #medicinewiththemedals

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What happens when trauma meets transformation?

In this episode of Medicine With The Medals, Keith Kurlander—co-founder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute—shares the powerful story of how a psychedelic experience at age 19 altered the course of his life.

This isn’t a conversation about trends in therapy—it’s a deeply personal case study in how lived experience becomes clinical wisdom.

Listeners will explore the intersection of survivorship and medical authority, the risks of spiritual bypassing, and why trauma-informed frameworks are essential for ethical psychedelic therapy.

What You'll Learn:

• Why psilocybin can catalyze self-discovery—and what happens when it’s unsupported
• The hidden trauma behind high-functioning behavior
• How the Integrative Psychiatry Institute is reframing who gets to teach healing
• Why spiritual bypassing can slow or even reverse recovery
• How providers and survivors can co-author better therapeutic paths

• 04:12 – Keith’s first psychedelic experience and the emotional revelation that changed everything

• 14:30 – The thin line between healing and bypassing in psychedelic journeys

• 22:05 – How early trauma drove Keith into the mental health profession

• 34:47 – Introducing the Integrative Psychiatry Institute’s mission and reach

• 44:20 – “You don’t need a white coat to speak truth to suffering”

• 53:38 – Why so many clinicians carry invisible wounds

• 01:03:10 – Reclaiming authority as a survivor: redefining medical leadership

About the Guest:

Keith Kurlander is the co-founder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and a global educator on trauma-informed, psychedelic-assisted therapy. His work draws from his own personal journey with trauma, and he’s helped train over 2,000 practitioners worldwide.

Tools, Frameworks, and Themes Mentioned:

• Trauma-Informed Psychedelic Therapy

• Survivor’s Wisdom as Medical Insight

• Co-created Healing Models

• Spiritual Bypassing vs. Grounded Integration

• The Invisible Curriculum of Lived Experience

Closing Insights:

“You don’t need a white coat to speak truth to suffering.”
This episode is a reminder that authentic medicine comes not just from textbooks, but from lived experience. Whether you’re a clinician, survivor, or seeker, the conversation offers a grounded, powerful lens on healing.

Connect With Keith Kurlander

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Read the full transcript

Quick Summary

What happens when decades of trauma meet the healing power of plant medicine?

In this moving episode, Paula Bianco—a mother, grandmother, and survivor of unthinkable loss—shares her raw and transformative journey through depression, grief, chronic pain, and addiction into deep personal healing using microdosing, ayahuasca, and ceremonial psychedelics. This is more than recovery—it's reclamation.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why Paula turned to psychedelics after 30 years on prescription medications
• How microdosing psilocybin helped her overcome suicidal ideation and anxiety
• What it’s like to experience a deep ayahuasca ceremony with intergenerational trauma
• The role of women’s circles and integration therapy in long-term healing
• How to build emotional resilience and healthy boundaries after trauma

• 01:02 – The traumatic event that set Paula on a 30-year path of pain and prescriptions

• 03:45 – Why traditional mental health care failed her—and what was missing

• 06:18 – Discovering microdosing and joining the Plant Medicine Path community

• 09:02 – Paula’s first ayahuasca ceremony and how it reopened joy

• 11:15 – Facing childhood trauma and grief in a second, deeper ceremony

• 13:40 – Using Combo and Peyote for physical healing and emotional release

• 16:22 – Integration, family support, and what life looks like now—medication-free

  Meet The Guest:

Paula Bianco is a 55-year-old mother, grandmother, and trauma survivor whose healing journey through ceremonial plant medicines is a testament to resilience, self-inquiry, and community. Her story illustrates the power of intentional psychedelic use for emotional and physical recovery.

• The Plant Medicine Path (community and support platform)

• Microdosing protocol (4 days on, 3 days off)

• Ayahuasca, Bufo, Peyote, Combo

• Breathwork, yoga, and integration circles

• Trauma-informed healing and support systems

For the best in microdosing products and education, visit Mama Dose.

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Link to Full Transcript:

What if psychedelics could help people face death without fear—and even with peace, connection, and spiritual insight?

In this transformative episode of Medicine with the Metals, host Michelle welcomes back Christine Caldwell, founder of End of Life Psychedelic Care (EOLPC), for a wide-ranging discussion on using psychedelics like psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT to support people with terminal illnesses.

Christine shares how these medicines, when administered with proper preparation and trained facilitators, can reduce end-of-life anxiety, ease physical and emotional pain, repair family relationships, and offer a glimpse of what may lie beyond.

Grounded in science, spirituality, and real-world case studies, this episode explores the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted dying and what it means to have “a good death.”

What You'll Learn:

Why psychedelics offer a unique path to relieve death anxiety, fear of separation, and spiritual distress

How different medicines (MDMA, psilocybin, ketamine, and 5-MeO-DMT) can be used for forgiveness, peace, and transcendence

How trained facilitators, proper dosing, and informed consent shape safe, meaningful end-of-life experiences

The growing shift in Western medicine toward embracing psychedelics for palliative care

What Christine’s research with end-of-life doulas, physicians, chaplains, and therapists reveals about the future of psychedelic death work

03:22 – Christine’s path from Silicon Valley exec to psychedelic end-of-life advocate
07:45 – What psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, and 5-MeO-DMT each offer for terminal patients
15:00 – How psychedelic journeys help patients release guilt, reconnect with family, and face death
22:14 – The role of spiritual experiences vs. medical models in psychedelic care
30:29 – Why ketamine is often the most accessible and safe option at end of life
35:03 – Stories of real patients and their healing experiences with psychedelics
42:18 – The importance of trained facilitators, family support, and medical clearance
50:11 – Christine’s vision: group microdosing for grief, caregiver inclusion, and community models

About The Guest:

Christine Caldwell is the Founder and Executive Director of End of Life Psychedelic Care (EOLPC), a nonprofit advancing the use of psychedelics to support patients with terminal illness. Christine’s work spans education, practitioner connection, and advocacy, and she is a leading voice in building legal, safe, and compassionate access to psychedelic therapies at the end of life.

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

• End of Life Psychedelic Care (EOLPC) ecosystem model

• “Start low, go slow” psychedelic dosing framework

• Psychedelic Death Worker Survey (100 responses, 36 interviews)

• Models inspired by Theracil (Canada) and Roots to Thrive (British Columbia)

• Group microdosing for grief and family reconciliation

Closing Insight:

“All psychedelics are death work, and all death work is psychedelic.” As the veil thins, Christine reminds us that psychedelics aren’t just about reducing fear—they’re about reconnecting to purpose, nature, family, and spirit.

Visit eolpc.org to learn more, or email Christine at [email protected] if you’re ready to explore training, partnerships, or advocacy opportunities.

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Is Bufo the key to "Escaping The Matrix?"

In this powerful episode, Karina and Niko, co-founders of Plug In Mind, share their personal transformation from conventional life in Canada to becoming facilitators of deep psychedelic healing work in Costa Rica.

Through plant medicine, trauma integration, and sovereignty-focused practices, they guide people in breaking free from inherited limitations and reconnecting with their authentic selves. This conversation explores how true healing begins with radical responsibility and the courage to change from within.

🔍 What You’ll Learn:

• Why the journey of healing begins with integration—not the medicine

• How bufo (5-MeO-DMT) can facilitate direct connection with source consciousness

• How trauma-informed retreats help rewire generational patterns

• The role of discomfort, discipline, and ego work in sustainable healing

  How raising conscious children begins with healing yourself

00:00 – Meet Karina & Niko: How they left Canada to follow a deeper calling
05:10 – Niko’s departure from the education system and pivot to healing
10:35 – Discovering ayahuasca, bufo, and the power of sacred medicines
15:45 – What does it really mean to “escape the matrix”?
22:20 – Healing inherited trauma and reclaiming personal sovereignty
28:50 – Why integration—not the ceremony—is the core of true transformation
36:00 – Inside the 7-day healing retreat: preparation, ego work, and action planning
43:15 – Bufo explained: direct access to source consciousness
51:05 – Raising conscious kids through self-healing and awareness
59:45 – Why discomfort is necessary for growth—and how to embrace it
01:07:30 – Final thoughts on radical responsibility and authentic living

👤 Meet the Guests, Karina & Niko, Founders of Plug In Mind:

Karina and Niko are trauma-informed plant medicine facilitators based in Costa Rica. With backgrounds in science, education, and somatic healing, they offer immersive retreats centered on personal sovereignty, integration, and self-responsibility. Their mission is to help others liberate from inherited trauma and awaken to their true power.

🧩 Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

• Bufo (5-MeO-DMT) – fast-acting psychedelic for ego dissolution

• Kambo Cleanse – detoxification and emotional reset

• Ice Baths & Breathwork – nervous system training and grounding

• Custom Integration Plans – personalized post-retreat guidance

• Radical Responsibility – foundational mindset is key for long-term change

💬 Closing Insight & Call to Action:

“The medicine is the smallest part. What you do with it is everything.”

Karina and Niko remind us that the journey doesn’t end with the ceremony—it begins there. Healing is a choice, a responsibility, and a daily practice. If you’re ready to reconnect with your truth and live from your heart, start with radical honesty and follow it with aligned action.

🪷 Learn more at https://pluginmind.com

📥 Download the full transcript

Learn more about Plugin Mind

For the best in microdosing products and education, visit Mama Dose

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