The Evolving Man Podcast

Ben Sessa is a psychiatrist based out of the UK and a leading doctor in pushing the movement of psychedelics as medicine forward. Throughout his career, he has specialized in working with children and adolescents, but also has worked with adults who struggle with addiction. He has always been interested in bringing psychedelics into the medical community and has played a part in shifting the conversation about these drugs over the past decade.

Ben joined me to discuss why our traditional way of dealing with “mental illness” is insufficient and what is coming in the future. He shares his own experiences of use and research regarding MDMA - which has historically been viewed as a party drug - to heal trauma and PTSD. This is the next generation of psychiatric care.

In this interview we discuss: 

• Ben’s long history of working with psychedelics.
• How our current medical model is ineffective and doesn’t fit patients’ needs.
• Why traditional drugs are just a band-aid to issues.
• How societal factors play a major role in the healing process.
• Why no drug will work on its own, including psychedelics.
• Holistic approach vs. biological approach to medicine.
• Ben’s research on MDMA and PTSD.
• Why mild to moderate depression and anxiety are the most over prescribed illnesses.
• Where psychotherapy comes into play in the healing process.
• Why we attach ourselves to drugs that hide symptoms.
• How psychedelics can assist psychotherapy and counseling in a productive way.
• Why the therapy effectiveness rate for trauma survivors is very low
• How MDMA can help trauma survivors and is a trauma therapists dream.
• Why MDMA is incredibly safe even when used recreationally.
• Why we shouldn’t let politicians and the general public make decisions about the legality and safety of psychedelics.
• The biggest hurdles with psychedelic research.
• The pros and cons of the capitalization and medicalization of psychedelics.
• How Ben has been working to find a language to bring the psychedelic and medical community together.
• Why having a connection in the medical community is necessary to get a change in psychedelic policy.
• How trauma can still surface internally even after external factors have changed.
• The definition of addiction - it’s not about drugs.
• What is the best way to tackle addiction?
• How psychedelics get to the heart of the issue when it comes to trauma.
• Ben’s role in opening the world’s first psychedelic assisted psychotherapy clinic.

Links 

Ben’s Website: http://www.drsessa.com

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Anna Rova is a feminine embodiment coach. She is the host of the Girl Skill Podcast - soon to be called “Claimed” - where she shares insights and tools for women to embrace their wild feminine nature. She also runs a program for successful single women who are looking to attract their ideal "masculine man". She joins me to answer questions about embracing femininity and how to create sexual polarity.

In this episode we discuss: 

• How women can connect to their wild feminine nature.
• The movement of polarity: understanding aspects of our masculine and feminine nature. 
• The opposition of the feminine and masculine being anything but a social construct. 
• How pregnancy can change your point of view about your feminine nature and allow for a shift of the femininity inside yourself.
• Why feminine and masculine polarity is what creates attraction and sustainability in any relationship, hetero or otherwise.
• How a woman’s power comes from her fulfillment and being in her body, rather than having to “be” and “do” everything in life.
• Why being independent doesn’t mean a woman can’t be interdependent or shouldn’t trust a man.
• The twisted idea of womanhood: femininity equals weakness.
• Medicalizing birth: the disconnection we have from birth and the reverence of femininity.
• How the feminist movement plays a role in why we don’t give femininity the power it deserves.
• The woman who has it all - wives, mothers, ambitious and successful, and also wants a masculine man.
• The type of woman a man wants once he starts to own his maturity and step into his own masculine core.
• What women need to do to learn how to step into their feminine power. 
• How Anna teaches women to shift from overthinking and creating stories in their heads, to existing in their bodies. 
• The importance of women getting to a place where they can attract a man who is ready, available, has done his work, and stands strong in his masculinity. 
• Why men need guidance from other men to stand in their masculinity. 
• What it means to be a claimed woman.
• 3 ways to embody masculine essence - PCP (presence, claim, and penetration).
• Why women should lean on the masculine within themselves and the men in their lives for support.
• The difference between a circadian and infradian rhythm and how they impact men and women in society.
• How women have become disconnected from their natural cycles and the importance of scheduling day-to-day life around these cycles.

Anna can be found at: 

Web: https://girlskill.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annarovafan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annarova

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This episode covers what you need to know about psychedelics and their therapeutic benefit. I sat down with James Jesso - a man who is well-equipped to discuss psychedelics and their benefits. He shares advice about how to approach psychedelic experiences, for new and experienced practitioners.

James has been investigating, researching, and exploring the realm of psychedelics professionally for the past 7 years. He is the author of three books, “Decomposing the Shadow,” “Soundscapes and Psychedelics,” and “The True Light of Darkness,” which cover topics about working with Psilocybin mushrooms for personal development, healing, and spirituality. He is also the host of the podcast, “Adventures Through The Mind.”

What do you need to know about psychedelics?

In this episode, we delve into discussing psychedelic basics and the details surrounding the psychedelic revolution happening around the world. Plant medicine is becoming increasingly popular and people are awakening to their benefits, but psychedelic experiences still require a measured approach.

In this episode we cover: 

• “The Psychedelic Renaissance” - how psychedelics-as-medicine are entering the mainstream consciousness.
• The criminalization of cannabis - the United States’ role in this movement’s relation to racism and oppression.
• The shift in consciousness regarding cannabis and how that conversation relates to psychedelics.
• The various ways people are trying to intentionally engage in psychedelic experiences as a way to seek healing and personal growth - and the prevalence of underground healing circles.
• How prohibitionist rhetoric causes more harm than good.
• Where do beginners start? Questions to ask when invited to an ayahuasca ceremony. 
• The challenge confronting our deepest wounds - it’s normal to be scared. 
• Why it can be beneficial, especially as beginners, to experience psychedelics with people you trust.
• Every person has a different reason for wanting to do psychedelics - the way in which we go about the experience depends on who you are as a person.
• Intentions and expectations - their role in psychedelic experiences. 
• Tips for preparation and how to show up in a psychedelic experience. 
• The immense value and importance of integration and how to debrief what occurred after a psychedelic experience.
• The difference between telling a story vs. actively utilizing the opportunity a psychedelic experience gives you.
• Party atmospheres and shifting how to approach psychedelics.
• Fear based “bad trips” - how they hold people back from exploring, how and why they may happen, and their unfair representation in the media.
• Discomfort and pain during a psychedelic experience. Why you should go into it expecting it.
• Other resources James has created in regard to micro-dosing, psychedelics, and more.

You can find James at: 

Website: https://www.jameswjesso.com

Patreon Site: https://www.patreon.com/jameswjesso

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jameswjesso

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameswjesso

This episode sponsored by Let's Get Checked - an online, easy to use, personalized health testing service. From hormones, to vitamin levels, to cholesterol - they make at-home-testing easy.

I used LGC myself, and am now a customer for life. Go to my link at TRYLGC.com/evolvingman and use the Coupon code EVOLVINGMAN for 30% off your first purchase.

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Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers had a friend who was deep in the throws of opioid addiction. They wanted to help, so they went looking for solutions and grabbed their camera. Research led them to psilocybin mushrooms, and the result was a documentary film called “Dosed”.

Dosed follows the journey of Adrianne as she uses psychedelics to heal her Opioid addiction. After touring the world and receiving immensely positive feedback and film nominations, Tyler, Nick and Adrianne joined me to discuss the significance of using psychedelics as medicine for the future of addiction recovery.

In this episode we discuss:

• The use of psychedelics for treating depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.
• Finding a profound shift in consciousness after using psychedelics.
• Uncovering that assumptions about psychedelics are not all based in truth – there are many misunderstandings.
• Adrianne’s internal struggles with opioid addiction and trying to introduce other drugs as a healing method.
• How different treatments may work for people attempting to overcome various struggles including Iboga, Ayahuasca, and “magic mushrooms”.
• Adrianne’s challenging yet rewarding experience of cutting her physical cravings of opioid addiction through Iboga ceremonies.
• Non-traditional entryways to recovery from addiction.
• The importance of having a support system and community to rely on while recovering from addiction.
• The need to release oneself from strict expectations from oneself, family members, and support groups.
• The importance of spiritual connection while healing.
• Facing challenges reconciling multiple world views and accepting there is not one specific path to recovery – choosing your own path is the most important.
• The process of legalizing psychedelics for therapy use and the importance of decriminalizing drug use for the success of society.
• How to get connected to and find access to people who are passionate about the medical use of psychedelics.
• The future of treatment centers: what services they will provide and how they will function.
• Psychedelics aren’t just for people who are addictive or mentally ill – there’s benefits for everyone.
• How psychedelics can connect you to your deepest self and help you become the best version of yourself.
• The difference between psychedelics and other drugs – their anti-addictive properties and using them recreationally versus medicinally.
• Where the root of addiction lives - intention or lack thereof.
• Multiple resources for more information on psychedelics

The Dosed team can be found at: 

Instagram - @dosedmovie

Web - DosedMovie.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DosedMovie/

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClfg-wBDeA_3sEbkmRgI0fg

Twitter - https://twitter.com/dosedmovie

Please leave a review of the film here: 

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9787524/

For the latest in psychedelic therapeutic therapy research, check out MAPS.org.

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Connor Beaton is the founder of Mantalks, a men's personal growth brand that is dedicated to creating better men. Using the Mantalks Podcast and his online men's community, Connor influences thousands of men to do their inner work to be better fathers, husbands, and brothers to each other.

Connor joins to discuss what he's seeing in the world and in his clients during the worldwide lockdown and dramatic change in society. Stay tuned to the end of this episode to witness some straight talk where Connor and I model a process called Active Constructive Appreciation.

On this episode we discuss:

• The panic and collective fear Connor is seeing in the world.
• What happens in the nervous system when our sense of normalcy is eroded.
• The illusion of control over our future, and how much comfort we derive from that illusion.
• The dramatic emergence of conspiracy theories - where is this coming from?
• How reliant we are on the system that provides for us.
• The first time in many people's lives where they've faced the question "how am I going to protect and support my family?".
• Taking the right actions despite uncertainty.
• Living with virtue within a fear state.
• How isolation amplifies our mechanisms for coping and survival.
• The coping mechanisms are at an all time high: Movies, alcohol, drugs, porn, etc.
• Self-mentoring - Looking at your own amplification in this time.
• Looking outward to relieve our stress - we need to look inwards and find our own personal freedom.
• Being alone - facing one's self - the ultimate challenge.
• Your life isn't happening to you, it's happening for you.
• Seeing your own coping mechanisms and intervening to change them.
• The collective unconscious - we are all connected emotionally to each other.
• Boundaries - setting our own boundaries to stay grounded as society spins out.
• Coping Mechanisms VS Thriving Mechanisms.
• Death - acknowledging the micro-deaths and the death-rebirth cycles in our lives.
• A key to evolution - Letting go of what must die.
• Putting anger, fear, and protesting in its place. Taking action in your own life.
• Acknowledging grief and giving it a seat at our table collectively.
• Self-care: What Connor has been doing for self-care in isolation.
• Breath work, phone calls to supportive friends, limited media time, and lots of time in nature.
• Quality screen time - using screens for social connection vs. entertainment.
• Tip for connecting socially via screens: Active Constructive Appreciation.
• Connor and I model how to give one another constructive appreciation. This is one element of men's-work practice that we use in our men's groups.

Connor can be found at:

Instagram @mantalks
Website ConnorBeaton.com
The podcast - Mantalks

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COVID-19 has flipped the world - and the lives of everyone on it - upside down. Many jobs have been lost, everyone's plans have been cancelled, and half the world has entered a self-quarantine lock-down state. People are in isolation either alone, with their families, or with a partner.

Relationships that may have been struggling prior to the lockdown, are now under major stress, because we're all forced in. Being forced to isolate with each other is not always easy. And, some people are isolated alone. This is especially hard for the extroverts who thrive on being in physical connection with others.

In this episode Sheleana and I discuss ways you can take care of yourself and make the best of this time. We also share some strategies for couples to keep their relationship healthy at this challenging time.

If you're alone in isolation, or cooped up with your romantic partner, this episode is for you.

On this episode we discuss:

• Coping with physical isolation.
• Choosing how to accept reality and make the best of it.
• The witch-hunt - a way that people lash out at each other to look for control over their fear.
• Addiction and substance use at this time.
• Creating a routine and structure for self-care.
• Digital detox. More important now than ever.
• Digital dates with friends or romantic partners.
• Consuming media VS interacting with real people online.
• If you're struggling: we share our tips. Reach out, find the resources you need.
• Somatic tools for de-stressing and calming the nervous system.
• Breathwork - A powerful tool for immunity and nervous system regulation.
• Fear and the link to the immune system.
• The challenges Sheleana and I are facing in isolation.
• What couples are facing right now in isolation.
• How to deal with loss of attraction and polarity when in close quarters consistently.
• How to meet each others' needs in isolation.
• Negativity in dialogue, and how to deal with it.
• Powerful simple exercises for connecting in quarantine.
• Mirroring in dialogue.
• Sharing appreciation with your partner - a very good tool.
• How to honour your partner's needs and resolve disagreements about Covid precautions.
• Creating safety - learning to listen with non-reactivity.
• Successful couples are able to solve big problems together.
• Using competition to strengthen relationship.

You can follow Sheleana with Rising Woman at:

Instagram - @risingwoman and @sheleanaaiyana
Youtube.com/risingwoman

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Bevacqua is a holistic nutritionist who works with addicts and other populations to transform their lives through diet and nutrition. He joins me for an informative discussion about the basics of addiction, dependencies, and recovery. We bust myths and shed light on how addicts find recovery. We also talk about how important nutrition and exercise are in the process of healing all mental illnesses, including addiction.

Here is what we cover on this show:

• What is addiction? What is it not?
• The myths about common addictions?
• The difference between an addiction and a dependency, and how to discover that you have one.
• Positive addictions versus negative addictions.
• Where addiction lives in the brain. What part of the brain.
• What is the cause of addiction? Pain, trauma, disconnection.
• Addiction isn't only caused by genetics.
• The impact of early childhood environment on addiction outcomes.
• The environmental risk factors that contribute to addiction later in life.
• The steps to recovery: Remove the substance/behaviour, address the underlying pain, and build a life that supports recovery.
• Can we heal an addiction?
• First stage recovery and second stage recovery.
• Second stage, deeper healing.
• Deeper healing in second stage recovery - Conscious Relationship work, psychedelics, and plant medicines.
• Addiction does not live in the substance.
• Rat Park - The experiment that proved that drugs aren't the problem. Our society is the problem.
• Ideal recovery from addiction = building a rat park in your own life.
• Lost Connections, by Johann Hari, a useful book about depression and addiction.
• How to build a successful recovery plan, and how to get rid of things that are too triggering in the early days.
• How does nutrition play in to recovering from addiction?
• Healing the damage that drugs and alcohol do to the body.
• The double standard of coffee, cigarettes, sugar, and energy drinks in recovery circles.
• The benefits of quitting all substances at once.
• The best way to beat sugar cravings.
• The power of exercise in assisting addiction recovery.
• Recovery boosters - Running, H.I.T. workouts, and Yoga.
• Passion and Purpose - The special ingredient in successful recovery.
• Spirituality - connection to deeper self, or beyond self.
• The importance of open-mindedness in finding tools that work for you.
• Nutrition: Avoid sugar, white carbs, low quality oils. Move towards whole foods, healthy oils, wild meats, fermented foods.
• The power of switching from carbs to fat, for fuel.
• Treating depression with diet and exercise.
• Dr. Georgia Ede on carnivore diets and more.

Chris operates a coaching business that helps clients deal with addiction and mental health issues with nutrition, exercise, and mindset. He helps you get your body and mind in the right place, so you can do the healing you need to do.

Contact him for coaching here.

Follow Chris on Instagram @good_n_healthy

Chris is very active on Twitter @chris_bevacqua

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At this point, nearly everyone in North America knows someone who is addicted to (or has died from) Opioid use. The problem has reached epidemic proportions in the US and Canada. In this episode, I sit down with a man who has been treating Opiate addiction for years.

Garyth operates an Ibogane Treatment Centre called Inner Realms that detoxifies Opiates from the system in a matter of days. He helps addicts free themselves from the stranglehold of withdrawal symptoms and physical dependency, and then points them towards long term recovery.

Opiate addiction has one of the highest relapse rates and highest death rates of any drug use, so solutions that can fully detox addicts and give them a strong chance at recovery are very unique.

In this episode, we cover:

• Garyth's story of alcohol and opiate addiction.
• The Peace Convoy in the 80s - unemployed hippie drug culture.
• How Garyth experienced a breakthrough on LSD that lead him to get clean from Alcohol.
• Garyth's story going to rehab.
• The two crucial steps to recovering from addiction - Getting off the drug of choice, and learning to deal with the stress of regular life without using.
• The importance of community in addiction recovery. Can not be overstated.
• How Garyth found Ibogane, and saw it's powerful effects.
• What is Iboga and Ibogane, and where does it come from?
• What are the traditional uses of Iboga.
• What Ibogane clinics look like.
• The dark reality of Methadone and Suboxone for Opioid addiction.
• The documentary that best shows opiate addiction - DOSED.
• Legal barriers to the use of Ibogane and Iboga.
• What the future of Opiate treatment looks like.
• The best aftercare treatment for Ibogane patients.
• How the best addiction treatment works.

• The proper use of psychedelics for later recovery.

• The importance of diet in addiction recovery, and how diet can sabotage recovery.

You can find Garyth at his website - innerrealmscenter.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Sol is a coach for Create The Love, a group facilitator, and a public speaker. He is a director and facilitator for The Samurai Brotherhood men's community in Vancouver, BC.

Nick was on the show two years ago, and since then he has stepped deeply into his purpose of helping others through coaching, leadership, and mentorship. On this first episode of 2020, we talk about the process of choosing the right goals in your life and how to move past the resistance we all have to stepping in to most fulfilling pursuits.

On this episode, we discuss:

• Running a marathon
• The process of setting goals, and knowing how to set the right goals.
• Finding your way towards your purpose in your 20's.
• The quarterly goal process Nick does with his men's groups.
• Getting distracted stuck in the details, and losing track of the big things that matter.
• Using substances like Cannabis to be creative.
• Resistance and procrastination. We resist the things that call to us the deepest.
• Superficial goals versus goals of depth.
• Personal growth work is really self-acceptance work.
• Why Nick joined a men's group.
• The power of the men's Warrior Weekend.
• The rising tide of men's work, the movement towards conscious warrior-hood.
• The choice to model the Samurai Warriors and their code in The Samurai Brotherhood. 

Nick is on Instagram @nicksolconsulting

The Samurai Brotherhood Open House is on January 15th. Streaming online @samuraibrotherhood.com

To join an online Samurai Brotherhood squad, go to SamuraiBrotherhood.com/online-squad

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Austin is a birth professional on a mission to educate the world on the truth about birth. The information she carries is not just something that some people need to know; it’s information that everyone needs to know.

I particularly want men to listen to this episode, because many men don’t know how crucial of a moment-of-truth it will be when they are facing proposed 'interventions' on their partner during a birth process. This is an important moment to have your woman's back in the most vulnerable moment of her life.

What most people think the science says about birth, is not what the science about birth says.

Most people think that hospital birth is the safest and most prudent way to give birth. What I learned on this episode - amongst many other realities - is that it’s not that simple. Tune in to this episode for a very educational discussion on the topic of the most sacred human process.

On this episode we discuss:

• What is a doula?
• Why someone would need or want a doula for birth.
• Birth is not what you see in the movies
• Why the statistics for PTSD are virtually the same for birth as they are for war
• Hospital birth VS home birth: Which is safer? 
• Why morbidity statistics are higher in hospitals
• The problem with inducing birth with medication versus letting it happen on nature’s time
• Why everyone who has had a caesarean section thinks they HAD to have it done.
• Fear, and how it controls us in our decision making process with birth.
• The actual statistics for children dying in birth.
• Emergency caesarean section are not always emergencies
• Breach birth - does it need to be done via caesarean?
• Haemorrhage - one of the main causes.
• Why birth progress stalls when women arrive at the hospital.
  Why your comfort and intimate space helps your birth process progress naturally.
• How men can support women in the hospital.
  
  Myth busting - these myths are discussed at the end of the episode:
• My baby is too big, so I need a caesarean section.
• Dilation speed - Friedman’s Curve.
• We are lucky to have the medical system, because everyone was dying before hospital births came in to play.
• The hospital has more tools for birth than midwives (who do home births).
• Home birth isn’t safe.
• The umbilical chord can get wrapped around the neck - this is an emergency.
• The stakes are too high. We need to do a hospital birth.

Jessica Austin has been supporting women in giving birth for over 10 years. She is a doula, a trainer of doulas, and a pre-natal instructor.

Her website: BirthTakesaVillage.com

Instagram @jessicaaustinchildbirth

Facebook: facebook.com/austinjessica

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