We return to the world of Aurduin this week with the next two chapters of The Fate of Miraanni with chapter 15, "Fortune," and chapter 16, "Three Sisters." It's about an hour and a half worth of story time, so make yourself comfortable and welcome back to Aurduin. 

I'm joined by Austin West this week sharing his journey into psychedelic medicines, healing through crisis, why "safety" isn't always the best priority, and more. Austin leads men's groups, offers mentoring, and also provides holistic approaches to wellbeing through Entheos Holistics. We had a great conversation the other month and here it is for your listening pleasure. You can find out more about Austin on his personal webpage HERE and check out Entheos Holistics HERE. 

This week's episode is all about my personal creative process. I'm taking 5 tracks off my new album, "The Alchemist and the Eagle," and sharing with the listeners about the stories behind the stories behind the music. With each song, I share about what went into creating it, how it fits with the novel, and how events and experiences in my personal life shaped the characters and plot developments in the first place - so we get into some of my psychedelic experiences, my time as a grad student studying at the Mescalero Apache reservation, experiences at Burning Man, and more, and how it all helped shape the story. I get into how I worked to create the songs to go with the particular chapters and how it influenced the sounds, textures, and instruments used in the songs. You can stream the entire album HERE for free, if you'd like to hear the entire thing. I hope you enjoy this exploration of the creative process with me. 

This week I'm welcoming back to the podcast Canada-based 5-MeO-DMT facilitator, Chad Charles. Chad has just launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for a one-of-a-kind 5-MeO-DMT research project. As he shares with us here on the podcast, he's collected a wealth of notes and data from all of his sessions and is now looking to comb through this trove of data to find patterns, results, and insights. You can support his project at www.gofundme.com/f/support-chad-charles-project and also learn more about him at ChadCharles.net

Also, Sarah Knapik has a new offering for women's work with 5 here

We return to the mythical world of Aurduin for this week's episode with chapter 13, "The Motu Secret," and chapter 14, "The Temple of the Serpent King" from The Fate of Miraanni audiobook. In more Aurduin news, book 3, The Alchemist and the Eagle, is now available in audiobook format and can be found along with books 1 and 2 at Audible, Amazon, and the Apple Bookstore, along with my many other audiobooks. And, the soundtracks for all 3 audiobooks are available wherever you get your digital music. 

I'm taking a detour from my regular rhythm on the podcast this week to share some of my thoughts on the current state of the US and the fascist regime change underway, orchestrated with maximum chaos, brutality, corruption, and incompetency. Here I'm reading from three essays I've previously posted online where I'm applying my background as a professor of Religious Studies. The first, "What is a Cult?" comes from Jan, 2021. The next, "A Brief Guide to the 'Spiritual' Forces at Play in Trumpism," was from Nov, 2024, and the final, "On the Apotheosis of Loyalty as the Ultimate Virtue in the Trump Cult Kakistocracy" is also from Nov, 2024. 

I'm joined this week by Nick Sun from the Land Down Under - Psychedelic comedian, author, podcaster, and fun time medicine man. We hope this interview puts a smile on your face. You can learn more about Nick at NickSun.com.au

Story time continues with the next two chapters of the audiobook of The Fate of Miraanni. In chapter 11, Ashi attempts to rejoin her people, the Djinari, after leaving Laftandiar-Urya, and in chapter 12, Ashi's grandfather, Kulan, and cousin, Anlin are joined by a mysterious stranger while on their quest to find the missing Orobai.

Tales of Aurduin update: I'm now finished with the soundtrack for the next novel in the series and will be spending this week integrating the music into the audiobook, which will then go out for digital distribution. The Alchemist and the Eagle is coming soon! 

This week's podcast is a conversation between Stephan Kerby and myself about my upcoming class on 5-MeO-DMT Integration Specialist Training via Mindscape Institute. There are now only 3 spaces left in my class, so if you want in, the time to act is NOW. Class starts on Feb 26th (and next 5-MeO facilitator training starts April 27th).

Also speaking of 5, I'm giving another shout-out to Pyasa and her upcoming 5-MeO women's retreat

Here are the next two chapters from The Fate of Miraanni for your listening enjoyment. In chapter 9, the reclusive Motu leader, Kalzhat, calls for a creation of a resistance movement to the incursions and abuse of the expansive western empire, and in chapter 10, Kalisha learns of the moon-moth and the magwin tree from  Ulanishar via a story within the story.

Also: Pyasa is hosting a women's 5-MeO-DMT retreat! You can lean more here at her website