Jonathan talks with Veterans For Enthegenic Therapy (VET) Founder and President Ryan LeCompte about healing psychological wounds, being a dad, and helping to change the world!

Jonathan and Ryan met at Psymposium 2015 where they were both speakers (watch both talks here). When Jonathan found out that Ryan was a dad, he couldn't wait to include Ryan in the conversation.  In this talk, Jonathan and Ryan also share their collective debt to Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and how much both consider him an example and personal inspiration

From VET's Website:

Ryan LeCompte is a former United States Marine Infantryman (MOS 0311) who served on active-duty from 2007-2011. He has served out of Camp Lejeune, Quantico and White House operations in Washington, D.C.

While still on active duty, he served with his fellow combat Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD, yet observed that they risked being labeled “failure to adapt” and/or discharged if they talked about their problems. The heart-ache became more personal when he found one of his brothers, a fellow infantryman Sgt. Jorge Leon-Alcivar  in his barracks room the morning after he took his own life.  Sgt. Leon had just returned from deployment to Iraq with 3rd Marines 2nd Battalion and was clearly struggling with PTSD.  Shortly thereafter, Ryan decided to retire from the military in order to help his brothers and sisters from outside the confines of military structure. He began by volunteering hours in the waiting rooms of VA clinics talking to and assisting vets awaiting treatment. He started collecting data for his undergraduate on the prescription medications being given to veterans diagnosed with PTSD, and found the same kind of cocktails being prescribed to almost every one of them. (Anti-depression, sedating anxiolitics, and heavy barbiturates for sleeping.

"These drugs seem to shut out experiences associated with trauma by numbing them.", Ryan states, "and this came across to me to be not only exacerbating the symptoms, but also creating new ones. It went against the values and virtues that we as veterans came to embody while on active duty, a few of them being courage and commitment."

Shortly thereafter, he began his search for alternative treatment options not being used by the VA. Recently, Ryan has organized a trip to the jungles of Peru with a group of vets suffering from PTSD  to experience an ayahuasca ceremony and plans future excursions for healing.

VET Website

VET Facebook Page

Psymposia.com

In our debut episode, Jonathan talks with his good friend "Mark" about his volunteer experiences, about his recent trip to Peru, and the lessons learned there. We dive deep into the Psychedelic Family Value of Radical Honesty, and "Mark" discusses how this value has given him, his children, and their mother the space to redefine the meaning of family in the wake of divorce. An amazing conversation! Check us out on PodOmatic!

Links to sites discussed in the podcast:

Challenge Day: "Motivated by memories of their own experiences of being teased and bullied in school, Yvonne and Rich Dutra-St. John created the award-winning Challenge Day program in 1987. As parents of four young children, their goal was to create a program that brought everyone together. 'If we settle for tolerance, we have failed. Our goal is love' they said. In the last 28 years, Challenge day has reached over a million people across the world and received numerous awards for this life-changing work. Challenge Day is the world leader in providing empowering and transformational workshops for teens as well as adults. Our life changing programs create safe, open, and caring space for people to connect in a nurturing and fun environment, helping us realize that we are not alone in the issues we face (bullying, drugs, violence, abuse, poverty, prejudice, racism, etc.)."

Nihue Rao Center: "Under the guidance of master Shipibo healer and primary owner Ricardo Amaringo, Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual provides visitors with profound experiences in Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine, specializing in traditional ayahuasca ceremony.  Ricardo Amaringo is one of the most talented and generous Shipibo healers of his generation and is dedicated to sharing this vital medicine to those who need it the most.  At Nihue Rao, he is assisted assisted by his gifted Shipibo colleagues. Ricardo leads the center with his partners and apprentices Colombian-American Family Physician Joe Tafur MD and Canadian Artist Cvita Mamic."