The HighExistence Podcast

You may be having the most extraordinary psychedelic experiences. You may be communicating with DMT-entities. Mamma Ayahuasca might be visiting you nightly. But if it's not making you a kinder person. Then it's just a holiday. It's just a thrill. You might as well just be watching a movie. You might as well be watching Disney's Fantasia because it's not making you kinder person. It's not making you a more loving person. It might even be making you a worse person because you're becoming a self-regarding, vein dick.

— Jules Evans, HEx Podcast #19

If you look at the literature on ecstatic experiences, it often just focuses on psychedelic experiences, and it says this is the type of experience you can have when you're on LSD or magic mushrooms or MDMA and so on. That's a rather narrow way of looking at it. In fact, people have similar kinds of ecstatic experiences in lots of different domains, in lots of different fields of human activity. I'm a big admirer of Aldous Huxley, because I think he more than anyone else had this kind of bird's eye view of all the different ways in which people get out of their heads and go beyond their ordinary egos.

— Jules Evans, HEx Podcast #19

Jules Evans is a practical philosopher, writer, helps run the largest philosophy club in the world, and played a key role in the modern resurgence of Stoic philosophy. Jules' first book Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, explores how ancient Greek and Roman philosophies (particularly Stoicism) can help us flourish today. His second book, The Art of Losing Control, explores how people find ecstatic experiences in modern western culture.   In this episode, we discuss:

• The wonders and limits of Stoic philosophy
• Near death experiences
• Why Aldous Huxley was so great
• The value of ecstatic experiences
• Ayahuasca retreats stories
• The dark side of psychedelics
• Jules' most recommended books
• And tons more...

NOTABLE MOMENTS

What to you is the point of philosophy? [02:54]

How Jules became interested in Stoicism and Greek philosophy. [04:10]

Was your PTSD triggered by a bad LSD experience? [07:27]

What Jules could have done differently to manage the fallout from his difficult LSD trip. [10:06]

Jon discusses how he believes his levels of neuroticism has declined as he's gotten older. [11:36]

Jon shares his interest in Stoicism. [12:36]

Jon explains how he used Stoic techniques to help him cope with the fear of jaw surgery. [13:21]

How Jules used Stoicism to help him cope with social anxiety. [14:09]

Was simply learning about CBT and Stoicism enough for you to reduce your social anxiety, or was there a practical element too? [16:46]

Jules explains how cognitive bias, perfectionism, and poor coping strategies prevented hindered hindered his recovery from anxiety. [19:35]

Jules explains what happened in his near death experience (NDE). [22:02]

How Jules' epiphany from his near death experience led him to CBT. [30:54]

Stoicism is about being true to the god within you. [32:28]

How Jules connected his mystical experience with Stoicism, CBT, and eventually Buddhism. [32:54]

Jules explains his role in the modern resurgence of Stoicism. [34:17]

Some of the areas of human nature Stoicism doesn't address. [37:01]

Why did you call your second book The Art of Losing Control? [39:34]

Jules explains the wide-ranging states of ecstatic experiences. [41:04]

What are the main paths to losing control that you discovered in your research? [43:54]

Alcohol as a means to escape ordinary consciousness. [45:44]

Jules explains what he calls "The Festival of Ecstasy." [46:59]

Jules discusses how war, violence

"If someone says, “I’m a fucking loser,” that’s a form of dishonesty. What you actually are is a collection of atoms talking to each other. To say that you’re a loser isn’t accurately describing yourself. To say, “right now I’m having a thought that I’m a loser and engaging in some self-pity around that,” that’s more accurate." — Dan Munro, from HEx Podcast

“When I say I was working with criminal offenders, really I was just coaching people, and now I’m still coaching people it’s just they’re less likely to be in a gang these days.”

— Dan Munro, from HEx Podcast

I heard about Dan Munro from a friend who had received coaching from him. My friend was telling me how amazing this coach was and that he was even going to receive more coaching from him in the future.

I wanted to talk to Dan about coaching, so I arranged a call with him to pick his brains about this topic as well as connect in general. I was blown away by Dan's groundedness and willingness to share his ideas with me. As the call progressed, it turned out that Dan and I were already connected.

Dan told me that Donald Robertson, the Stoicism writer, was writing the foreword for Dan's new book on honesty. Quite the synchronicity considering I had recorded a podcast with Donald a few days prior.

Who is Dan Munro?

Dan Munro is a Confidence Coach based out of Auckland, New Zealand who now lives in the Czech Republic with his fiancé. Dan created the Brojo men's mastermind group which is growing every day, and is the author of The Legendary Life and Nothing to Lose. Dan also worked for many years as a probation officer where he learned how to make lasting change with the worst coaching clients you could wish to have—people who didn't want coaching.

Dan used to really struggle with authenticity, honesty, and making "real" connections. And as we know, it's usually the people who suffer in a particular area that go on to master it and become the best teachers.

There is nothing quite like hearing Dan's ideas straight from the man himself, however, so If you'd like to live a more authentic life, and walk through the world with more ease and confidence, give this episode a listen:

In the podcast, we discuss:

• The role of honesty in confidence
• The difference between good and bad coaching
• How to deal with manipulators
• The dark side of the pick up industry
• What it means to "be yourself"
• Dan's confidence boosting 30-day challenge

(Please remember to leave a review because it helps us to improve the podcast!)

NOTABLE MOMENTS

• What who Dan? [04:25]
• Why do you focus so heavily on "confidence"? [05:27]
• What is confidence? what does the word mean to Dan? [08:15]
• The power of having core values. [11:55]
• What did you used to be like and how'd you end up here? [14:15]
• Dan's time studying pick up artistry and how it relates to authenticity? [20:25]
• What kind of effects does "honesty" have on your coaching clients’ dating life? {25:25]
• Jon Brooks talking about his experience with authenticity and dating. [30:25]
• Should a self-hating person “be themselves”? [32:25]
• The power of focusing on accuracy when trying to be honest. [36:15]
• Do you ever lie or tell white lies, what is your relationship with the truth on a day to day basis. What would it take for you to tell a lie? [39:25]
• How would you deal with coaching clients who are caught up in pathological relationships that are founded on

Donald Robertson is the expert of experts when it comes to Stoicism—the ancient blueprint for living the good life.   Donald spends his days now residing in Canada writing books and creating online courses on how Roman and Greek philosophy can help us live more wisely. Prior to this, Donald spent over 20 years working in London as a psychotherapist.   What's so amazing about Donald is that he interweaves his academic career as a clinical psychologist with his love of philosophy to bring to life a very practical, wise, and ultimately healing ideas that we can all benefit from.   If you are at all interested in Stoicism, this podcast episode is a "must-listen."   Some things we discuss in the podcast:  

• The best books on Stoicism you've never heard of
• The overlap between Buddhism and Stoicism
• The intersection between psychotherapy and Stoicism
• The Stoic version of enlightenment
• How to think like Marcus Aurelius
• Some of the criticisms about Stoicism
• And tons more...

BOOKS RECOMMENDED

• Stoicism and the Art of Happiness by Donald Robertson
• How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald Robertson
• Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault by Pierre Hadot
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus (Handbook and Discourses)
• The Moral Epistles by Seneca
• Dialogues and Essays by Seneca
• Tusculan Disputations by Cicero
• On Moral Ends by Cicero
• The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
• A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
• Philosophical Regimen of Antony, Earl of Shaftesbury by Benjamin Rand
• The Memorabilia: Recollections of Socrates by Xenophon
• Euthydemus by Plato
• The Last Days of Socrates by Plato

PEOPLE MENTIONED

• Ryan Holiday

"For those who would say that sugar is addictive, if that was truly at the root of the addictive nature that people have with some foods, you wouldn't see them seeking out cookies, you'd see them seeking out sugar packets. You'd want that raw cut at its most basic form. Heroin addicts don't want things cut with their heroin. So I think we need to think about it in a broader perspective."

Eric Helms is one of the most insightful, unbiased, and respected figures in the nutrition and exercise industry. For most of Eric’s career, he has worked as a coach for drug free strength and physique competitors at all levels.

But he’s not just a coach. Eric is a competitive athlete himself, and has pro status with the Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association and competes with the IPF at the international level as an unequipped powerlifter.

As if that wasn’t enough Eric has also published multiple peer reviewed articles on in exercise science and nutrition journals. He’s taught undergraduate and graduate level nutrition and exercise science and speaks internationally at academic and commercial conferences for fitness, nutrition, and strength and conditioning. He has a Bachelor of science in fitness and wellness, one masters in exercise science, a second masters in sports nutrition, and PhD in strength and conditioning.

Eric is perhaps most well-known for being one of the 3D Muscle Journey coaches and his amazing Nutrition and Strength Pyramid books. 

If you’re even slightly interested in your health or physique, this episode cannot be missed. Eric and I discuss intermittent fasting, how to spot bullshit advice, the problem with formulaic diets, whether sugar is toxic, how you can educate yourself properly, the benefits of lifting weights, and a ton more.

Sometimes I don't really like the word enlightenment because it suggests something final. It suggests an end point, and I don't think there is an end point. You can think in terms of a landscape of expansive experience which different traditions or different individuals view in different ways. They may just be sitting or standing on different parts of the landscape so they obviously interpret it in slightly different ways.

— Excerpt from Steve Taylor Interview

Steve Taylor is a British psychology lecturer at the university of Leeds.

He is also the author of several best-selling books including The Fall, Waking From Sleep, Back to Sanity, The Leap, and his most recent book Spiritual Science: Why We Need Spirituality to Make Sense of the World.

Eckhart Tolle described Taylor’s book The Leap as containing “a great deal of precious wisdom, expressed in the straightforward, clear, and down-to-earth language that Steve Taylor is so good at.”

Taylor’s primary interest of study is in the field of transpersonal psychology, where he explores the science of higher states of consciousness, wakefulness, and the claims many of us are familiar with in popular spirituality.

In my talk with Steve, we discuss...

• The problems of the materialistic worldview
• The best way think about enlightenment
• How we can define consciousness
• The three ways we can achieve awakening experiences
• The unlikely benefits of extreme emotional turmoil
• The uses and dangers of psychedelics
• Why telepathy is scientifically possible
• And a lot more...

I really loved my conversation with Steve. He is a very calm, grounded presence but is also able to clearly put forth very important, profound ideas on how we can live a more enriched spiritual existence.

It's a tendency in some spiritual traditions, also in some forms of Buddhism, to denigrate the natural world and the material world, almost as if we're trying to transcend it. In a similar way, some spiritual traditions tend to denigrate the body as well, almost as if the spirit is trying to transcend the body, and the spirit and the body are two different things. So it's important not to fall into that kind of dualistic attitude, I think. You've gotta see the natural world as spiritual—it's full of spirit, it's sacred, and it's alive.

— Excerpt from Steve Taylor Interview

Paul Austin (@PaulAustin3W) is the founder of The Third Wave, a website designed to improve psychedelic literacy so these powerful tools with great potential can be used in a safe, structured, and responsible way. Paul is also co-founder of Synthesis, the world’s first legal psilocybin truffle retreat in Amsterdam.

This interview was conducted fresh after Paul returned from Burning Man, so he is in a state of new beginnings and processing what I gathered was an extraordinary journey. In the episode we discuss Paul’s path from socially awkward teen to charismatic speaker and entrepreneur, the uses of microdosing, his thoughts on leadership, his current passion projects, favorite books, and much more.

This podcast is brought to you by Synthesis, the world's first safe, professional, legal psilocybin retreat. Paul Austin and HighExistence's own Martijn Schirp co-founded this revolutionary psychological program. The retreat is based in Amsterdam and is primarily focused for healthy individuals to get a mystical experience or a breakthrough in a personal or professional problem. If you would like to experience psychedelics with expert supervision and carefully designed integration procedures, check out Synthesis and tell them you came from HighExistence.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Connect with Paul Austin:

PaulAustin.co | Twitter | TheThirdWave | Synthesis

• Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Dave Logan
• Paul Austin on Microdosing: Psychedelics for Leadership Development | TNW Conference 2017
• Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content by 

I’d like to use me as living proof that nobody was worse than me that I’ve ever met, and nobody was darker or closer to death or more sad. And to have this thing happen... if it happened to me, it can happen to anyone. So just give it a chance and give yourself a chance.

— Gerry Powell, The HighExistence Podcast

Gerry Powell, according to his website, “was the personification of the American businessman: rich, powerful, and unhappy.” In fact Gerry was one of the most miserable people on the planet. Even though he sold his cosmetic surgery company for $94 million dollars, had 5 houses, 20+ cars, and 2 planes, he was suicidal and addicted to drugs and sex.

But if you met him now, you would not see an unhappy man. Instead, you’d see a beaming, glowing, radiant, compassionate guy who is truly addicted to living a tranquil life and seeing others thrive and grow.

So what happened?

Gerry took Plant Medicine:

I realized something was very wrong because the more I acquired the more I suffered. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and travelled the world on my journey to heal myself through every self-help and healing modality I could find. A friend introduced me to Plant Medicine and in one night I had an experience that transformed my existence and liberated me from a lifetime of suffering. That was 2 years ago and my life continues to unfold in an extraordinary way.

When Gerry was experiencing his transformation through Plant Medicine, he received instructions in a vision to start a new company:

As a result of my experience I decided to open a center in Costa Rica that would offer all of the modalities that had the greatest impact on my life, enabling me to share them with as many people as possible at a price they could afford. I modeled it after the Club Med philosophy of an all-inclusive resort experience offering modalities, accommodations, organic meals, and first class amenities.

The center that Gerry opened in Costa Rica is called Rythmia. The HighExistence team went here to interview Gerry and experience the Plant Medicine ceremonies firsthand.

Gerry is an amazing, charismatic, hilarious speaker. This is one of our most entertaining podcasts to date. In our interview, we cover such topics as:

• Gerry’s transformation after drinking Plant Medicine
• The reason Gerry created Rythmia
• The HighExistence team’s experience at Rythmia
• How you can introduce a close one to Plant Medicine
• Gerry’s vision for the future of Rythmia
• And much more.

If you are interested in plant medicine …

Visit Rythmia

If you were inspired by the podcast and want to visit Rythmia, you can book your place on their website here. 

Plant medicines such as Ayahuasca are big news. More and more shamans are popping up offering their services to create inner-change and healing for those who are willing to drink from the magic cup.

But are there any real shamans left? Are the true masters of plant medicine anywhere to be found? And what negative consequences are coming from trying to heal the world at large with psychedelics? 

To truly consider these questions with an open mind is too painful for those who blindly follow, and likely too unorthodox for those who blindly reject. But for those somewhere in the middle, this podcast is for you.

Jonathon Weisberger was born in California but raised from a very young age in Ecuador. For over 15 years, he has been leading avid adventurers into remote regions of Ecuador, Peru, and Costa Rica to rediscover Nature's beauty and intelligence.

For over 10 years (1990-2000), Jonathon lived and collaborated with 5 distinct indigenous tribes in the Upper Amazon, including the Secoya tribe where he learned to cook the sacred plant medicine Yagé. This plant shares many similarities to Ayahuasca.

In the following mind-bending episode, we ask Jonathon how we deal with life if we're feeling lost, how we can learn to experience the world in an animistic way, and what "real" shamanism is all about.

This discussion is electric. You may feel overwhelmed by the speed at which Jonathon is able to connect raw knowledge with his poetic perspective on life, but it's one hell of a ride.

“Shamanism explores an area that contemporary Western science knows little about- the mind.”
― Jonathon Weisberger

A shaman is someone who can choose the moment of their own death. The shamans are few. People who practice shamanic practices are many.

― Jonathon Weisberger

Jonathon challenges the conventional wisdom on ayahuasca drinking and the new culture that surrounds it as well as how phenomenological truths hold a sacred space in our world of objects and scientific facts.

“If science is defined or understood as a mode of seeking knowledge, a means of interpreting nature in a way that can be demonstrated to others, then the plant-medicine traditions of the Amazon as they have been practiced constitute an authentic scientific discipline.”
― Jonathon Miller Weisberger

Jonathon also talks about his time spent with the Secoya Tribe, explaining their philosophy and warrior way of life. Yagé is for more than just healing, it can make you stronger.

“Among the Secoya, clear guidelines regulate preparation of the medicine. They are adamant about this preparation method and insist that the guidelines be followed. I've already discussed some fundamentals of harvesting the plants. When respected, all the elements and subtle factors combine to make a potent and efficacious medicine, necessary for a positive and healing ceremony.”
― Jonathon Miller Weisberger

We also explore in the discussion with Jonathon:

• The role of a "bad trip" when drinking plant medicine
• What a "dieta" is and how following one may benefit us
• The amazing character traits of Jonathon's Secoya mentor
• How we can improve our spiritual position
• What it means to "sin" and alternatively live a sin-free life

Recommended Products:

Apotheosis: The Ultimate Spiritual Retreat

Jonathon helped facilitate the Yagé ceremony at our first ever HighExistence retreat. To come to one of our upcoming retreats, apply here. 

Jonathon's 

Can psychedelics cure Autism? It's a question researchers are only beginning to ask, but Andrea Domenichini has already run the experiments – on himself.

Over the past few years, he's taken MDMA and LSD to help connect the parts of his brain that allow most people to understand others, feel their emotions, and make lasting connections.

But before we get to that, what even is Autism Spectrum Disorder? Probably not what you think it is. Most people on the Autism spectrum aren't Rain Man or maths geniuses. They're people whose brains function differently, but in myriad different ways. It's called a spectrum for a reason, and that spectrum involves dozens of symptoms (each highly variable) which are then bundled together under the 'Autism' label.

Dre shares his personal journey from alienation to deep human connection, beginning at a point in his life where jobs and relationships just weren't working out. He stopped, took stock, and asked himself the question that most of us are too scared to ask: Am I the problem?

For me, Autism was being a featureless white room, without windows or doors. MDMA opened a door in that room. Suddenly I could see outside to where "real people" lived. LSD allowed me to leave that room.

These experiences were revelatory: until MDMA, he'd never felt music before. Until LSD, he'd never felt a true sense of peace in himself.

Using his biomedical background, Dre explains how these substances can do such incredible things, what they meant for his own development, and why it's essential that more research is done to help people with Autism.

But do people with Autism even want to be 'cured'?  And is 'cured' the right word to use?

For many people, there's immediate resistance: Autism is a part of their identity and sense of self. And Autism is simply a different way of thinking, not some kind of disease.

For Dre, he wanted to change – he wanted to understand other people and to be able to grow as a person and pursue his dreams in a world that simply isn't set up to accommodate or understand Autistic people. With such potent psychedelic tools available to make that change, at the very least, more Autistic people should be made aware of the possibility of change, if they want to experience it for themselves.

More From Dre:

• Hear more about Dre's experiences with Autism and psychedelics HERE
• Dre's podcast, Voices in the Dark

[EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR PODCAST SUBSCRIBERS]

Take the ultimate life experiment, our 30 Challenges to Enlightenment Course, a complete spiritual path to help you overcome the limitations of your mind and to embody the highest philosophical realizations.

Use the code ‘WISDOM’ at checkout to get a huge 25% off the course, available only to podcast subscribers at store.highexistence.com.

Talking to Daniel Schmachtenberger is like having an audience with a prophet. His vast knowledge extends across health, economics, technology, strategy and philosophy. More importantly, he’s a brilliant communicator dedicated to bringing those often disparate fields into dialogue, in order to make powerful, genuine change for the betterment of our individual and collective lives.

Last time I met Daniel, we spoke about the collective future of humanity in the face of imminent ecological and economic disaster. This time, we bring the focus back to you and me: the individual life and how we can become the best, most fulfilled and conscious versions of ourselves.

This is a conversation about unlocking our individual potential through empowered responsibility. What steps can and should we make to create the foundations for a truly high existence? Crucially, the aim here is not to feel responsibility as a burden to be shouldered, but as the wellspring of personal power and agency.

[EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR PODCAST SUBSCRIBERS]

Take the ultimate life experiment, our 30 Challenges to Enlightenment Course, a complete spiritual path to help you overcome the limitations of your mind and to embody the highest philosophical realizations.

Use the code ‘WISDOM’ at checkout to get a huge 25% off the course, available only to podcast subscribers at store.highexistence.com.