PsychedelicIQ

In this vulnerable and expansive episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, host Gv Freeman takes the mic as a guest, interviewed by Wilde Lawson-King. Together, they explore Gv’s journey from Nebraska to Peru, from corporate burnout to spiritual awakening, and how that journey shaped his work as a coach, ceremonialist, and author of Healing with Psychedelics. Topics […]

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In this playful yet powerful episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, Dr. Betty Martin—creator of the Wheel of Consent—joins host Gv Freeman to explore boundaries, touch, and trust in therapeutic and psychedelic relationships. Drawing on decades of experience as a chiropractor, somatic sex educator, and consent expert, Betty unpacks the four quadrants of the Wheel, shares […]

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In this spiritually rich episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, Gv Freeman speaks with David Luce—a former Zen monk, ayahuasca apprentice, somatic therapist, and meditation teacher—about the sacred overlap between psychedelics, Eastern traditions, and Western psychology. David shares profound insights on meditation, subtle energy, trauma, and the importance of apprenticeship and personal experience. They also explore spiritual awakening, healing philosophy, and what it means to work for the client while serving God. A must-listen for facilitators on the path of personal growth, integration, and holistic healing. Subscribe for more grounded wisdom.

[00:00] Introduction: Mystic traditions, psychedelic healing, and a unified thread

[01:37] David’s background: orphaned teen, Buddhist monk, plant medicine seeker

[02:11] Training in Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Amazonian ayahuasca, and somatic therapy

[03:30] Intention for the episode: to benefit guides and healers

[04:53] Interweaving paths of meditation, psychedelics, and Western psychology

[05:55] “Somatic psychedelics”—exploring healing in the body and subtle energy field

[07:25] Suffering as the catalyst for spiritual and psychedelic paths

[10:18] David’s first mystical experience: cannabis and spinning into the light

[12:43] Wachuma, seasickness, and spiritual discombobulation

[14:18] Maración: the moment of mystical nausea and separation

[16:46] “Stick the landing”: integration and re-combobulation

[17:31] Four years in Korea as a former Zen monk—bridging mysticism and daily life

[18:39] LSD psychotherapy leading to ayahuasca apprenticeship in the jungle

[19:59] Meeting the spirit of ayahuasca—and healing clinical depression

[21:51] “Your consciousness wasn’t in your body, so I put it back in.”

[23:20] Bodhisattva medicine work—healing through service, not ego

[25:52] Medicine, mysticism, and psychology as a multidimensional healing path

[28:06] Earth connection, nature as teacher, and the modern need for reconnection

[30:00] Non-conceptual awareness and changing internal narratives

[31:38] Meditation and psychedelics: cultivating altered states and emotional space

[33:40] Micro-meditations within a journey—“coming up for air”

[35:28] Meditation as a skillful container for guides and clients alike

[37:20] A “trained user” model—medicine as a long-term spiritual practice

[39:59] Importance of direct experience for facilitators before serving others

[41:50] Dietas, purification, and soul-strengthening in apprenticeship

[43:33] Intersubjectivity, trust, and clients sensing your experience

[47:24] Above-ground vs underground facilitation—who is doing their own work?

[50:18] Receiving permission from the medicine vs. from human teachers

[53:30] Using meditation as an integration tool—simple somatic practices

[55:21] Meditation resources: Soma Sangha, Reggie Ray, Will Johnson

[57:34] Belly breathing and the wisdom of relaxing into awareness

[58:29] When clients don’t know how to breathe—start with the body

[59:44] Interoception: helping clients feel their bodies and stay grounded

[01:03:00] “Original people” traditions of embodied mindfulness through living

[01:04:45] David’s take on psychedelics and Kriya Yoga compatibility

[01:07:32] Teachers’ perspectives: attachment, insight, and path orientation

[01:09:34] When the friction shows up, it may be time to move on from medicine

[01:10:33] Healing vs awakening—is there a difference?

[01:11:52] “I want to see”—on lifelong curiosity and the spirit of discovery

[01:12:57] Meditation and medicine each uncover shadow and support each other

[01:14:53] Vipassana, 1500 hours, and the difference between thinking and stillness

[01:16:09] Subtle body, energy flow, and how psychedelics open new channels

[01:18:22] What to do when atheists have spiritual awakenings in ceremony

[01:20:33] Using “energy body” or “emotional body” instead of spiritual language

[01:23:00] Just treat it as a phenomenon—describe, don’t explain

[01:24:00] Do plants have spirits? Or do spirits come through plants?

[01:26:24] All spirits serve God—medicine beings as agents of the divine

[01:27:33] LSD as the Tao; Stan Grof’s “beneficial nonspecific amplifiers”

[01:29:09] Two overlooked medicines: huachuma and cannabis

[01:31:53] Cannabis as sacred or numbing—right relationship is key

[01:34:06] Tobacco at the center of the medicine wheel—poison or prayer

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I was born in the Bay Area just in time for the 1960s. Like many people, I experienced much suffering in my early life, which culminated in my being orphaned as a teenager. In my search for a response to all of my pain, I discovered Buddhism, Taoism, and Plant Medicines at the age of 15. I’ve spent my life since then practicing these intertwining paths as deeply as possible.

After a short encounter with an Ivy League University, I spent 16 years living in Zen and Tibetan Buddhist dharma centers, including 4 years as a Zen monk in Asia. I’ve practiced in 7 years of cumulative retreat, which led me to 4 years of solitary retreat in a cabin here in the mountains of Northern California. My practice has been guided by masters of the Buddhist and Taoist traditions.

As part of my medicine path, I spent 3 years in the Amazon training with traditional healers and I also completed a long apprenticeship in the western approach to medicine work. I am trained in Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychology, Acupressure Massage, and Hypnotherapy. I am a teacher in the Hollow Bamboo School of Meditation and have also been given permission to teach by Zen Master Dae Bong Su Nim.

My many paths combined naturally with a love of nature, writing, music, language, and travel to distant lands and cultures of many kinds. For me, this work is a remembering, an awakening, and—first and always—a path of the heart.

In 2005 I founded Two Rivers Sangha, dedicated to the meeting of the Buddhist path with earth wisdom traditions.

I currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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In this intimate and practical episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, host Gv Freeman speaks with holistic therapist and psychedelic doula Benedicte Mannix. With over 30 years of global experience and a client-centered, non-directive approach, Benedicte shares her full psilocybin protocol—from screening and preparation to session design and integration. They discuss trauma, somatics, safety, ethics, and […]

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In this episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, Gv Freeman welcomes Cory Firth—psychedelic safety advocate and co-founder of NUMA and FIVE—to explore the future of psychedelic harm reduction. They discuss the critical gap in psychedelic safety training, the emotional journey of fatherhood and legacy through men’s retreats, and the evolution of functional medicine and integration practices. […]

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In this intimate and essential episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, Gv Freeman sits down with intimacy and embodiment coach Ted Riter to explore the intersections of psychedelics, sex, intimacy, and trust. With over 30 years as a rabbi and relationship guide, Ted brings wisdom and nuance to working with couples and individuals in altered states. […]

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In this inspiring episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, Gv Freeman is joined by Bill Protzmann, musician and founder of Music Care Inc., to explore the profound role of music in psychedelic healing. From navigating trauma to anchoring integration, Bill reveals how music can trigger emotion, unlock memory, and serve as a full-spectrum spiritual tool. Together, they unpack practical and ethical considerations for facilitators, offering insights on playlist creation, personal soundtracks, and musical intention. Tune in for a deep dive into sound, self-care, integration, and healing through music. Subscribe to keep learning and growing.

[00:00] Introduction: the power of music in psychedelic journeys

[02:00] Guest intro: Bill Protzmann’s background in music and self-care

[04:30] What is Music Morphic and its deeper intention beyond therapy

[07:00] Music as emotional and spiritual medicine—not just background noise

[10:00] Subjective experience of music and meaning-making in the listener

[13:00] Bill’s story of healing from suicidal ideation using music as therapy

[20:00] Using music as a tool for emotional release and inspiration

[23:00] Early work with Alzheimer’s patients and brain-stem level responses

[26:00] Music’s role in physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation

[28:00] Beyond fixing: music for spiritual self-care and expanded states

[31:30] How to help others expand their musical vocabulary and awareness

[35:00] Gv shares guidance on avoiding generic playlists in sacred work

[37:00] Consent, preparation, and co-creating meaningful music journeys

[40:00] Role of music in anchoring and supporting deep emotions

[42:00] Neuroplasticity and music-intention pairing in altered states

[45:00] Full MAPS: engaging mental, emotional, physical, spiritual at once

[48:00] Practical advice for music use during psychedelic experiences

[50:00] Facilitator responsibility and musical consent in group journeys

[53:00] Can music manipulate? Dangers of lyrics and verbal suggestion

[58:00] Using movie scores and tribal drums to tap unconscious material

[01:02:00] Anchoring integration through key musical pieces post-journey

[01:05:00] Using playlists as integration tools and long-term healing anchors

[01:08:00] Questions to ask during preparation: What’s the music on your heart?

[01:10:00] Using personal music history to identify emotional triggers and comfort

[01:12:00] What guides should consider when using music in ceremony

[01:14:00] Closing reflections: honoring the sacred power of music

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Free Gift: What is Psychedelic Integration, or Integration Itself?

Bill Protzmann’s personal mission is to raise awareness of the power of music as self-care.

He has more than 30 years’ experience teaching people the power of music for mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, and his students range from leaders in the C- suite to people living on the street.

In 2011, Bill launched Music Care Inc, a for-purpose corporation, to teach and advocate for practical ways music can be used for your self-care. In 2014, the National Council for Behavioral Health recognized him with an Award of Excellence – the industry equivalent of winning an Oscar. In 2023, Music Care Inc launched Musimorphic, an innovative brand with a mission to improve wellness, transformation, and joy.

Bill operates as a consciousness coach. Improved consciousness means better results, so whether he is working with someone discovering integration practices for the psychedelic journey or an established coach who wants to expand their client base and take their influence to new heights, the quantum consciousness technology at the core of popular culture that Bill uses is the same: music.

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In this powerful episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, host Gv Freeman is joined by Joel Brierre, founder of Tandava Retreats and leading voice in the 5-MeO-DMT space. Together, they explore the science, spirituality, and ethical challenges of serving one of the most potent psychedelics known to humanity. Joel unpacks preparation, integration, ego inflation, and the importance of trauma-informed care. He also shares how entrepreneurial wisdom and ancient yogic teachings converge in psychedelic facilitation. A must-listen for anyone supporting psychedelic healing, therapy, and personal growth. Subscribe to stay connected to this evolving movement.

[00:00] Welcome and introduction to Joel Brierre and the importance of 5-MeO-DMT

[01:11] Why integration is often skipped with 5-MeO and why that’s a problem

[01:42] Joel’s background: CEO of Tandava, FIVE, and 5-MeO education and training

[03:11] Groundbreaking research with EEG and brain mapping at Tandava Retreats

[06:15] Joel’s spiritual path: chaos, yoga, India, and ashram life

[08:30] Moving from N,N-DMT to 5-MeO and blending yogic and clinical frameworks

[09:40] Adapting to clients in crisis with trauma-informed team support

[10:46] Wu-Tang-inspired business model: a collective of masters

[12:23] Entrepreneurship as medicine: the pressure cooker of self-awareness

[14:36] Spiritual vs clinical models of facilitation and their appropriate use

[15:53] Importance of individualized preparation, private sessions, and ongoing care

[17:28] Tools used: IFS, Hakomi, somatics, and biofeedback

[18:11] Gv’s early experience with toad medicine: no preparation, no integration

[19:29] Red flags: lack of preparation, unrealistic expectations, and “white light or bust”

[21:49] Survey findings: many traumatized due to poor integration practices

[23:59] Nirvikalpa Samadhi: why you often “don’t remember” the experience

[25:39] Healing is not linear—normalizing extreme emotional responses

[27:28] Mystical experiences ≠ enlightenment—honoring the shadow

[29:56] Advice for destabilized clients or under-prepared facilitators

[31:33] The need for standards, mentorship, and trauma-informed community

[33:34] Who is drawn to 5-MeO: spiritual seekers, psychonauts, and people in crisis

[35:36] The problem of untrained practitioners and one-time users becoming servers

[37:57] Messiah complex and the danger of ego inflation in the facilitator role

[41:22] Leave no residue—humility and spiritual responsibility

[42:27] Lineage, shadow, and ego inflation: a throughline of practitioner challenges

[47:34] The shadow self needs integration, not eradication

[49:07] Ego dissolution vs ego inflation—knowing the difference

[50:38] Self-check? Better to rely on community, co-mentorship, and visibility

[53:31] Keep learning—shadow senior facilitators and stay in student mindset

[54:30] Toad vs synthetic: sustainability, safety, and spiritual dogma

[57:03] Why synthetic 5-MeO is safer and more scalable

[59:13] Common mistakes: no trauma training, white-light-only mindset, blaming clients

[01:02:00] FIVE’s 9-month training: 40+ teachers, trauma-informed, integrative, and spiritual

[01:05:22] Why do this work? Service to consciousness and collective healing

[01:06:05] Most important lesson? Replacing answers with “I don’t know”

[01:06:12] Best advice to new facilitators? Community, mentorship, and humility

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Joel Brierre is the Founder and CEO of the psychedelic retreat company Tandava Retreats, as well as co-founder of F.I.V.E., a 5-MeO-DMT training and data platform. Joel has been a leader in the modern psychedelic movement and has spent years creating data driven protocols around this molecule.

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In this episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, ethicist Dr. Sandra Dreisbach joins host Gv Freeman to explore the complex ethics of psychedelic healing. From informed consent and trauma awareness to power dynamics, accountability, and spiritual integrity, Sandra shares deeply personal insights and practical tools for facilitators. Her story weaves together decades of experience in philosophy, […]

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In this deeply engaging episode of PsychedelicIQ: Guidance for Guides, Gv Freeman welcomes mindfulness-based somatic counselor and psychedelic educator Kristina Hunter. Together, they explore the nuanced intersection of psychedelics, therapy, spirituality, and somatic awareness. Kristina shares insights from her 20 years of experience and her work at UC Berkeley’s Psychedelic Facilitation Program, touching on the complexities of field phenomena, emotional processing, spiritual cosmology, and ethical facilitation. This episode is a must-listen for guides, therapists, and seekers navigating psychedelic healing, integration, trauma, and personal growth. Subscribe now to keep exploring the future of safe and sacred transformation.

[01:06] Guest intro: Kristina Hunter’s background and deep experience

[02:56] Kristina’s early interest in psychedelics, meditation, and consciousness

[03:29] South American apprenticeship and integration into Western frameworks

[04:00] Role at UC Berkeley and consulting for psychedelic practitioners

[05:00] The “interference” and initiatory challenges of recording this episode

[05:38] How proximity to medicine amplifies phenomena and signals

[06:56] A deeper dive into worldview: psychedelic medicines as portals

[08:30] Contacting spiritual energies and the invisible world

[09:55] Trusting the universe as loving awareness; organic unfolding

[10:31] Wholeness and evolution as the foundation of healing

[11:17] Discussion of evil: Buddhist and Tantric perspectives on darkness

[13:37] Technical difficulties as a metaphor for spiritual resistance

[14:01] The necessity of shamanic tools when love alone doesn’t transmute

[15:15] Working with anger in sessions: allow vs. repress

[20:29] Recognizing when trauma turns into possession or dense energy

[23:57] Shamanic intervention and calling in spiritual protection

[25:33] Dangers of shutting down client expression in love & light culture

[27:31] Importance of personal experience for psychedelic facilitators

[30:00] The limits of clinical models without a transpersonal cosmology

[33:11] The shaman’s cosmology and holding “everything” in the field

[35:37] Kristina on teaching at Berkeley: bridging science and ancestral traditions

[38:49] Weaving diversity, ethics, and spiritual care into guide training

[41:11] Pineapple after ayahuasca: psychedelics and sensory magic

[42:44] Should guides be trained therapists? When psychology helps

[46:27] What clinical therapists must learn about expanded states

[49:26] Somatics and body-based awareness as key to integration

[51:00] Ethics of touch: Oregon law and the principle of “leave no residue”

[54:37] Who is this for? Consent, subtle harm, and facilitator responsibility

[58:22] Ketamine clinics and unconscious harm through lack of attunement

[01:03:00] Field phenomena: Instagram in your pocket, in your client’s journey

[01:05:38] The value and limits of large-scale training programs

[01:09:13] Real mastery comes through apprenticeship and ceremony

[01:13:00] Transmission vs instruction: becoming through being

[01:14:33] Rupture, repair, and the subtle power of the field

[01:20:16] A personal story about a comment that caused unintended harm

[01:27:03] How to hold space, work with projections, and repair consciously

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Kristina Hunter is a mindfulness-based somatic counselor, writer and educator specializing in psychedelic integration. She has spent 20 years studying the transformative potential of expanded states of consciousness with teachers in both South America and the US who integrate expanded states work with psychotherapeutic approaches. She has also studied and practiced Vajrayana Buddhism with Tibetan and American teachers for the past two decades. Kristina’s passion is the intersection between psychology, expanded states of consciousness, and Buddhist contemplative practice with the guiding question of how these paths can help us become more awake, compassionate humans.

Kristina consults with clinicians on individualized approaches to psychedelic facilitation with an emphasis on preparation and integration, ethics, and harm reduction. Kristina is the Program Coordinator and an instructor for the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics’ Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program. Kristina is the co-author of Consciousness Medicine (2019) and is working on a new book to educate seekers on ways to approach psychedelic healing safely and thoughtfully from a place of personal empowerment.

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