Neurons to Nirvana

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From across the pond comes alternative singer/songwriter Billy Nomad, a successful independent musician who has used songwriting and music to bridge the gap of self-expression and social interaction. At 15, Billy was diagnosed with a chronic illness. His illness and high-functioning autism inspired Billy to funnel his energy into all aspects of music as a creative outlet.

Now a writer, performer and budding record label producer, Billy talks with Tom about his life as Billy Nomad —the past, the present and his vision for the future. Learn the stories behind some of his songs and his upcoming production plans. For more information visit BillyNomad.net

It isn’t just his accent that put a smile on my face, but some of his insights on curiosity, creativity, and mental health. Bill brings an authentic voice and story and his lyrics are often healing and direct. He speaks of suicide and darkness, using music to cope and escape horrendous bullying and mitigate emotional burnout.

Listen to Billy Nomad on bandcamp:

https://billynomad.bandcamp.com/

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From the NOLA streets to the stage to the studio, two-time grammy nominated band Cha Wa delivers an organic sound, an authentic story and an undeniable energy. This brass band-meets-Mardi Gras Indian outfit shares their electric energy and thoughts on their unique style of music. Tune in and hear about the history behind the funk and feathers.

http://www.chawaband.com/

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Does passion for life include an experience of joy? Indra shares that joy may indeed be part of the overall experience, yet folks seem to be both tormented as well as excited in living their passions. 

This week’s guest is Indra Rinzler and he's a life-time spiritual seeker.  He has traveled to 56 countries and has a broader view of society than most in his 75 years of life. 

Indra shares wisdom from the observations and life experience he's had. We discuss his vocation with Vedic astrology and use of the enneagram.  You'll really need to explore the rest of the story as we explore other interesting points of connectivity.

Connect with Indra: www.indrarinzler.com

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What does it mean to be a man in 2022? How do we integrate psychedelics into rites of passage in a safe and effective way? Join me as I speak with Keith Gilmore, a writer, speaker and coach who writes primarily on culture, ethics, psychology, spirituality, philosophy, and psychedelics. He’s the co- founder of Texture Life Coaching and offers one of the top ranked psychedelic integration coaching programs in the country. 

Keith offers a 12-week community program called The Integrated Man, which is a free program for men to have support, get real and share wisdom.

Sit in on this fun conversation and time travel with us as Ivan FunkBoy Bodley shares hilarious and heartbreaking stories from his search for fame, financial stability, and peace of mind through the joy of playing music with some of the all time greatest musicians across many genres. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/funkboynyc https://www.abebooks.com/9798711152200/Famous-Memoir-Working-Class-Rock-Star/plp

Continuing the exploration of the power of music to heal, inspire, and inform, on this episode I bring on Maven Avila, the frontman for Dead Letterman. Maven is a budding artist from Kentucky and he brings a strong viewpoint to his music and his political advocacy. We discuss music and creativity as an avenue for healing from abuse, the state of our nation, social equity, and Maven's pursuit of his passion.

www.surj.org

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/deadletterman/departures

This episode is one is for the music history lovers. Join Tom Hartridge and today's guest, Eric Alper as they go on a deep dive, exploring some of the greatest musicians of all time and exchange a wealth of details about music history.  Eric Alper has worked with Bob Geldof, Natalie MacMaster, Carole King, Matt Dusk, Randy Bachman, Ringo Starr, Slash, The Wiggles, Snoop Dogg, The Smashing Pumpkins, Ray Charles, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Palmer, and many more legends.

Eric Alper is a Canadian music correspondent, blogger, radio host and former director of media relations at eOne Music Canada based in Toronto, Ontario. Since 2016 Alper has run a music public relations company That Eric Alper and is the host of @ThatEricAlper show on SiriusXM. 

Connect with Eric: 

Twitter: @ThatEricAlper

www.thatericalper.com

Should it be illegal to heal ourselves? Mental health is becoming an epidemic in itself yet there is a real opportunity for another viable and readily available option to help ease pain, anxiety, and depression. The cannabis industry is growing fast, and while many US states have legalized its use, we have a long way to go before full legalization. 

This is why Tom opened a dialogue with Scott Berman, co-founder and president of the Panther Group who has spent years researching cannabis products, companies, and legislative developments around marijuana. Together we take a deep dive into this fascinating and powerful topic.

Scott also serves on the Board of Directors for Athletes for CARE (A4C), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with a community of athletes finding support, opportunity and purpose in life after a career in sports by using their influence for social change.  

LinkedIn | The Panther Group: Overview

Website | The Panther Group

In a very heartfelt and vulnerable discussion, Tom and Lisa Xochitl Vallejos, Ph.D., LPC (Dr. V) discuss the origins of mental health treatments in the US. Dr. V offers her root cause analysis of how a lack of community denies us sufficient time to properly grieve and heal from traumatic experiences. Hitting on social inequities, gender disparities, and racial biases, Dr. V challenges our thinking, arguing that in order to address the mental health crisis, we must first disassemble the framework of mental health treatment in Western societies. Recognizing how therapy is neither affordable for a large segment of underprivileged individuals nor profitable under a managed care insurance-only model for the therapists themselves, Dr. V speaks from her heart about social injustice on how traditional psychology and counseling focuses on the individual and often ignores the collective.

Dr. V. has been teaching at the college and graduate level since 2009 and has been a therapist since 2004. Over the years, Dr. V has been increasingly dismayed by the lack of culturally proficient therapists and has made it a priority to challenge the status quo. Dr. V believes that therapy and psychology need to be radically overhauled to be effective and accessible to clients who hold marginalized identities. While Dr. V works with training therapists on addressing multiple systems of oppression, her specialty is anti-racism in therapy.

Dr. V has her Ph.D. in psychology and is a licensed professional counselor. Lisa authored Shattered, How Everything Comes Together When It All Falls Apart and believes that until all of us are free, none of us are.

We continue with part 2 where Shane Mauss pulls no punches in this interview as he dives into psychedelic exploration, the evolution of his career and mental health since the release of his documentary Psychonautics: A Comic’s Exploration of Psychedelics, and the merits, or lack thereof, of microdosing. Shane flexes the depth of his scientific knowledge and natural skepticism in a healthy and complex discussion of psychedelics, cognitive bias, creativity and apathy. Shane's interview was separated into two parts.  

Shane Mauss been a stand-up comedian since 2004 and touring full-time since 2007. He has been interviewing scientists each week since 2014 for the Here We Are Podcast. In 2019 He released the documentary Psychonautics. In 2021 Shane joined artist Ramin Nazer to form Mind Under Matter. Originally from La Crosse, Wisconsin this former factory worker skipped college to become a stand-up comedian. He has had five appearances on Conan, several on Comedy Central, and many other spots on Kimmel, Showtime, Epix, and more.

Shane's newest project Mind Under Matter combines passions for comedy, science, philosophy, and art into one show.