Psychedelic Passage

In this Episode:

Clinical research often excludes the diversity of everyday life, making real-world access to psychedelic therapy look very different than a trial setting. As Dr. Alan Davis highlights, thorough preparation and a safe, trusting therapeutic relationship are essential to preventing harm and fostering genuine healing.

Key Takeaways:

• The Human Connection to Healing: Clinical trials often try to isolate a drug’s biological effect, but decades of psychotherapy research show that therapeutic alliance and thorough preparation are the primary drivers of positive outcomes.
• Clinical Trials Exclude Real-World Realities: Rigid screening criteria in research leave out the complex, diverse realities of everyday people, highlighting a need for naturalistic and community-based settings to understand how psychedelics work in practice.
• Internal Protection Isn’t Brokenness: Trauma-response mechanisms like dissociation or hypervigilance are protective strategies built for survival; healing requires a slow, gentle approach rather than trying to “demolish” one’s defensive structures overnight.

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:08:00 - Alan's Story
00:18:19 - Clinical Trials
00:36:18 - Dosages
00:41:39 - Addiction, Safety, Healing
00:51:25 - Treatment and Diversity
00:58:15 - Gurus and the System
01:10:07 - The Harm of Doing Good
01:25:57 - Psychedelic Hopes and Dreams

More From Our Guest:

• Follow Dr. Alan K. Davis on LinkedIn
• The Center for Psychology Drug Research and Education at the Ohio State University

Read the companion article on our blog.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

Key Takeaways 

• Preventing Post-Journey Crashes: Supplying the physical body with proper nourishment before and after psychedelic experiences help prevent post-journey depletion, ensures a smoother, more sustainable recovery.
• Trauma Impacts Physical Healing: In Dr. Quinn’s experience, physical treatments like stem cell therapy can plateau until underlying psychological trauma is addressed, proving how deeply emotional states influence bodily recovery. 
• Healing & Personal Agency: Sustainable wellness relies on taking accountability, but that doesn’t mean you have to rely on yourself to heal. Professionals can give us tools to help shift our focus from an external fix to internal accountability. 

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro 
00:05:19 - The Physician’s Path 
00:11:33 - Psychedelics in Practice 
00:28:05 - Rethinking Healing Models 
00:38:08 - Whole-Person Health 
00:51:22 - Preparing the Body 
00:58:16 - Root Cause Medicine 

Quinntessential Journey makes supplements designed to provide support before, during, and after your medicine journeys.

Use code PASSAGE for 10% off your order at:

https://quinntessentialjourney.com/aff/Psychedelic_Passage

Dr. Jordanna Quinn is a board-certified physician and founder of Kore Regenerative Medicine in Golden, Colorado, where she practices at the intersection of regenerative, longevity, and psychedelic medicine.

One of the early physicians in longevity medicine to focus on the connection between cellular and mental health, she treats the body as an interconnected system rather than a set of symptoms, a lens that shapes how she approaches psychedelics.

Nearly two decades of work in human physiology and performance have shown her that the body one brings into an altered state matters as much as their mindset. She founded Quinntessential Journey to translate that physiology into practical, evidence-informed preparation for those experiences.

Carrying a working physician's perspective into the field, her psychedelic work centers on the core pillar that physical readiness is a vital component of the medicine experience.

Read the companion article at psychedelicpassage.com. 

More From Our Guest: 

• You can find Dr. Quinn through Quinntessential Journey on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
• Kore Medicine 

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

Nigel Denning joins us to talk about his work with altered states of consciousness, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and holotropic breathwork. In each of these cases, integration is an important part of the experience, and is an ongoing process with multiple aspects that can unfold over time. We also talk about the therapist’s role, including the need for presence, minimal intervention, and how to support people without imposing a fixed interpretation.

Key Takeaways

• Nigel Denning is a counseling psychologist with nearly 40 years of experience in psychedelics, non-ordinary states of consciousness, and psychedelic-assisted therapy.
• Holotropic Breathwork: A method of entering altered states, developed from Stanislav Grof’s LSD psychotherapy work, that does not involve any substances at all, but uses accelerated breathing, music, and supportive bodywork.
• Integration of Non-Ordinary States: A triphasic model that involves first capturing the experience, then translating it into language and story, then finding meaning — which often happens over time, in tandem with traditional therapy.

Chapters

00:00:00 - Podcast Opening and Guest Intro
00:05:15 - Nigel’s Psychedelic Beginnings
00:17:55 - What Is Holotropic Breathwork?
00:24:24 - The Symbolic Mind
00:30:56 - Rethinking Psychedelic Integration
00:53:00 - The Triphasic Integration Model
01:00:48 - Rapid-Fire Reflections
01:06:20 - Psychedelic Futures in Australia

Read the companion article at psychedelicpassage.com.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

Welcome to our first Community Member Spotlight. In this premiere episode, you'll hear a conversation between Bree, our Community Steward, and Leah, a program participant and online community member. 

Leah shares some major transitions in her life. She worked as an ICU nurse for 15 years, and recently left that job to focus on homeschooling and raising her two sons. We talk about the emotional weight of these life changes, including grief, uncertainty, and a sense of rebirth. Leah reflects on motherhood as one of the hardest things she has ever done, and says her children have influenced her to want to become better for herself and for them. 

Leah had been curious about psychedelics. After researching meditation, and reading Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind, she eventually scheduled a ceremony with Psychedelic Passage. We discuss how psychedelic experiences have influenced her decision-making, what she's learned on her journey so far, and how it's shaping her outlook going forward. Support from facilitators, the community, her therapist, and her family have all been crucial in her growth and healing. Leah also talks about how important integration is, and how her work still continues, long after her ceremonies. 

Key Takeaways

• Psychedelics act as a catalyst for change, not a magic bullet: Long-term transformation requires moving beyond a “pop a pill” mindset to view the medicine as sacred, and healing as an ongoing, multi-faceted process.
• Support systems and alignment are crucial: Navigating deep inner work effectively relies on finding the right fit in facilitators, securing a supportive network (such as a partner, community, or therapist), and feeling safe enough to be fully vulnerable.
• Integration is an ongoing, lifelong process: Realizing the benefits of a journey unfolds gradually over months or years, often showing up as subtle shifts in self-talk, personal values, identity, and relational patterns rather than immediate overnight fixes.

Chapters 

00:00:00 New Beginnings and Spotlight
00:02:50 Grief and Rebirth
00:04:40 Leaving Nursing Behind
00:09:28 The Call to Psychedelics
00:12:49 First Ceremony Experience
00:14:57 Medicine Feels Sacred
00:19:02 Healing Through Integration
00:23:37 Exploring Other Medicines
00:25:30 Community and Support
00:31:19 Gratitude for the Journey

Read the companion article at psychedelicpassage.com.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

In A Short, Strange Trip, author John O’Connor explores the mystical legacy of Terence McKenna to look beyond the "cheerleaderism" of the modern psychedelic renaissance. By journeying from the Amazon to American subcultures, O’Connor reveals how raw curiosity cultivates the deep connection and community necessary for true human understanding.

Key Takeaways 

• Psychedelic therapy is not a standalone solution: Based on his father's experience, O'Connor emphasizes that psychedelic interventions require deliberate preparation and integration to work, warning against the uncritical "cheerleaderism" prevalent in mainstream media. 
• Terence McKenna laid the groundwork for the modern psychedelic renaissance: O'Connor's book, A Short, Strange Trip, chronicles McKenna’s 1971 expedition to the Colombian Amazon, framing him as a foundational yet frequently overlooked figure in psychedelic history. 
• Field-based journalism bridges cultural divides: By directly engaging with subcultures like from Bigfoot researchers to Indigenous leaders in the Amazon, O'Connor proves how immersive, genuine reporting fosters connection and nuanced understanding across the many subcultures of humanity. 

More From Our Guest 

• John O’Connor's website: https://www.johnmoconnor.com 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforhighenergymetaphysics 
• Find his book, A Short, Strange Trip, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or bookshop.org 

Chapters 

00:00:00 Intro and Guest Introduction
00:05:18 From Travel Writing to Bigfoot
00:08:53 Belief, Myths, and Psychedelics
00:19:21 Bigfoot, Wilderness, and Longing
00:29:05 McKenna’s Amazon Journey
00:36:43 Discovering Terrence McKenna
00:40:59 A Father’s Search for Healing
00:50:06 La Chorrera in Person
00:59:53 Journalism, Responsibility, and Community
01:05:32 Psychedelic Futures and Regulation

Read the companion article at psychedelicpassage.com.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

Daniel McQueen utilizes mindfulness-enhanced psychedelic therapy and multimodal, multi-substance programs to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed healing and advanced spiritual exploration. Through his innovative work with psychedelic cannabis blends and extended-state DMTx journeys, McQueen emphasizes safety, client autonomy, and deeply ethical facilitation practices, while keeping a healthy curiosity of psychedelic medicine and what it can achieve.

Key Takeaways

• Psychedelic Cannabis is a Distinct Modality: By intuitively blending full-spectrum sativa, indica, and hybrid strains, Daniel McQueen developed a somatic, trauma-informed practice that induces a waking, dream-like state capable of psychedelic visuals with client autonomy fully intact. 
• DMTx Extends the Psychedelic Journey: To overcome the brief 5-to-15-minute window of standard DMT, McQueen pioneered "DMTx," a multi-hour experience utilizing an infusion pump method that allows journeyers to ground into and explore the space over an extended period.
• The Foundation of Deep Healing is Skill and Ethics: Daniel believes that deep healing relies heavily on the "Set, Setting, and Skill" framework—where established everyday mindfulness practices enhance a client's ability to surrender to the experience.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

This is Part 2 of Jimmy's conversation with Jeff Chilton. If you haven't already listened to Part 1, we recommend you check that out first.

Jeff Chilton is an unsung hero of the mycology world whose decades of expertise in mushroom cultivation have helped expose the mislabeling and economic adulteration rampant in the modern supplement industry. Ultimately, his life's work and research all point to one simple piece of advice: reconnect with nature and eat mushrooms.

Key Takeaways

• Pioneering Mushroom Cultivation: Jeff Chilton fundamentally shaped the modern mushroom industry by co-authoring the definitive 1983 guide The Mushroom Cultivator, launching Nammex to introduce organic functional mushrooms to the US, and securing a landmark Health Canada permit to research and standardize 20 different Psilocybe species.
• The Fight Against Mislabeling: Chilton actively campaigns against "economic adulteration" in the supplement industry, using rigorous scientific testing to expose companies selling myceliated grain products (which are mostly starch) under the guise of true mushroom products.
• Prioritizing Nature Over Medicalization: Believing that healing stems from natural connection rather than synthesized or heavily commercialized products, Chilton advocates for full-spectrum mushrooms and the profound, grounding "ecstatic experiences" that come from reconnecting with nature.

Learn More:

• nammex.com
• realmushrooms.com

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

This is Part 1 of Jimmy's conversation with Jeff Chilton.

Jeff Chilton is an unsung hero of the mycology world whose decades of expertise in mushroom cultivation have helped expose the mislabeling and economic adulteration rampant in the modern supplement industry. Ultimately, his life's work and research all point to one simple piece of advice: reconnect with nature and eat mushrooms.

Key Takeaways

• Pioneering Mushroom Cultivation: Jeff Chilton fundamentally shaped the modern mushroom industry by co-authoring the definitive 1983 guide The Mushroom Cultivator, launching Nammex to introduce organic functional mushrooms to the US, and securing a landmark Health Canada permit to research and standardize 20 different Psilocybe species.
• The Fight Against Mislabeling: Chilton actively campaigns against "economic adulteration" in the supplement industry, using rigorous scientific testing to expose companies selling myceliated grain products (which are mostly starch) under the guise of true mushroom products.
• Prioritizing Nature Over Medicalization: Believing that healing stems from natural connection rather than synthesized or heavily commercialized products, Chilton advocates for full-spectrum mushrooms and the profound, grounding "ecstatic experiences" that come from reconnecting with nature.

Learn More:

• nammex.com
• realmushrooms.com

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

Jimmy welcomes Nancy Rassbach, a long-time member of the Psychedelic Passage community. Now in her eighties, she talks about her journey through altered states of consciousness, and how she’s finally come to know the best version of herself.

Key Takeaways

• Integration is a Long-Term Commitment: Nancy’s profound transformation didn’t happen overnight from her initial psilocybin macrodoses; rather, her macrodoses laid the groundwork and her healing was sustained by five years of disciplined, routine inner work and therapeutic support. 
• Cannabis May Be A Helpful Integration Tool: By leveraging an intentional 10mg THC routine twice a week, Nancy discovered that “stoned journaling” and meditation could reliably replicate the conducive, reflective states of a psychedelic experience in a highly controllable container. 
• The Power of the Biphasic Experience: Nancy’s routine masterfully mirrors the natural flow of cannabis by using the initial phase of racing thoughts to clear her mind via journaling, followed by the secondary phase of physical calm to transition into deep meditation.

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.

Key Takeaways

• The Power of Local Action: Meaningful change often begins at the municipal level through grassroots organizing, with the possibility to connect with likeminded individuals across the country and grow to a national scale. 
• Medicalization vs. Legalization: Recent executive orders favor a “capitalistic” model of progress, prioritizing patented, pharmaceutical versions of substances while often leaving natural plants and the communities most impacted by the War on Drugs behind.
• The “People-to-Law Pipeline”: To ensure that new policies actually meet community needs, advocates must move from simply “asking for a seat at the table” to actively drafting their own legislation and building coalitions that force political incorporation.
• Psychedelic Passage: Your Psychedelic Concierge — The easy, legal way to find trustworthy psilocybin guides, facilitators, and psychedelic-assisted therapy near you in the United States.

A community organizer by trade, Jason Ortiz is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for The Last Prisoner Project, focusing on policy and advocacy for incarcerated individuals affected by drug laws. He is currently focused on cannabis legalization at the federal level through the Cannabis Unity Coalition, the nation’s largest cannabis advocacy coalition. 

He also serves as the Vice President of the Latino Cannabis Alliance and as the Chair of the Policy Committee of the Puerto Rican Psychedelic Collective.

A cannabis justice advocate since he was arrested for smoking on the way to school at age 16, Jason co-founded the Minority Cannabis Business Association and helped draft Connecticut’s 2021 cannabis equity framework. 

He is the former Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, where he trained students to combat the war on drugs, and has served as the Policy Director for Connecticut for Accessible Psychedelic Medicine and as President of the Connecticut Puerto Rican Agenda, where he mobilized support for Puerto Rico’s independence.

Ever get frustrated by your Governor or local government, or feel like your voice isn’t heard? Or maybe you don’t feel represented by the politicians around you. Don’t you wish you could call up the president and tell him what he’s doing wrong? Well, Jason Ortiz is the person you want to know. 

He forces politicians to do things they don’t want to do. Believe it or not, politicians get away with what we let them, and it may feel like we don’t have a voice, but we very much do.

Jason wears many hats, and while we won’t get to learn about them all today, we’ll instead get to focus on the actionable side of government: the intergenerationality of politics and advocacy, the political machine at work, how ideas become reality, and what that process looks like.

Learn from a true agent of change about what you can do to make the world a better place, because it’s true: the power is with the people. By discussing the ins and outs of drug policy and the recent executive orders on cannabis and psychedelics, we hope to help folks find their own path to how to get involved in their communities to change their governments and their laws.

More From Our Guest:

Last Prisoner Project:
lastprisonerproject.org

Latino Cannabis Alliance:
latinocannabisalliance.org

Jason Ortiz on Instagram:
instagram.com/jasonjortiz

This podcast is edited by Chad Eschman. 

Our music is by Mic Coats. 

Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise.

Start your free Match Making Process, join our Online Learning Community, and explore a range of educational articles at psychedelicpassage.com.