This episode is an interview with Nilson Tuwe Huni Kuin, translated by Gabi Dias. Tuwe is a spiritual leader and Chief of his tribe, the Huni Kuin people of the Brazilian Amazon. Tuwe is from a long tradition of medicine people. He shares with the support of all his ancestors and community. Tuwe has a clear connection with the spiritual world and strives to build harmony for all people.

Tuwe lives in the Huni Kuin (Kaxinawá) Indigenous Territory of Rio Humaitá, São Vicente village, in the city of Tarauacá in Acre, Brazil. This is a 5 day boat ride from the nearest town. He is a filmmaker and has already produced a documentary about the indigenous peoples who still live voluntarily isolated in the Western Amazon, located on the border strip between Brazil and Peru.

As an Agroforestry agent, he also works in the Environmental Territorial Management of his homeland and surroundings. He is also a leader, thinker and messenger for his people, both domestically and internationally.

He has been researching his culture, cultivating his native spirituality and following the path of sacred medicines from a very young age with his father. Tuwe is the youngest son of the Tribal leader, Vicente Saboia Nawa Iba Nai Bai Huni Kuin, who worked for the protection of the Rio Humaitá Indigenous Land and for the rights and empowerment of his people. Although his father is no longer on this physical plane, he lives on as a warrior and a patriarch of the Huni Kuin Land of the Humaitá River.

Kufikiri comes on the podcast to talk about his journey in this life and a new project, called A Table of Our Own. 

The goal of A Table of Our Own is to create a documentary about a gathering of Black luminaries, highlight those doing great work in the psychedelic space and expand the reach of these important ways of healing to more Black people. Another wish is to further de-stigmatize these substances so that they’re no longer seen as “White people stuff” and more as the natural balms and salves to Black people’s psyches that we’ve been using for millennia.

The conference will be a three-day, invite-only, all-Black affair. It will focus on those who’ve had experience in the areas of psychedelics and the arts, activism, academics, sciences, entrepreneur, cultivators, and those still working in the underground scene. The documentary will cover not only the conference but the current state of Black people in the psychedelic space as a whole.

Link: https://www.atableofourown.org/

Insta: @kufikirihiariimara

Bio: Kufikiri Imara; born and raised on unceded Huichin territory of the Ohlone people (Oakland, California). With parents that were involved in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960's and 1970's, he grew up in a family and community that strongly emphasized cultural awareness and social responsibility. He volunteered with Green Earth Poets Society in NYC, bringing poetry to incarcerated African-American youth. He was an early member of the Entheogen Integration Circle in NYC, supporting marginalized communities within the larger psychedelic community. His past studies with Sacred Garden Community were focused on deepening his understanding as someone who holds space, and was focused on growing diversity. A former member of the Decriminalize Nature Oakland grassroots collective, after his efforts to help see the landmark resolution passed, he went on to head the DNO committee on Outreach, Education, Access, & Integration. He was part of the team of instructors for the first of its kind above ground training, with the former OLP, in Jamaica, on psychedelic assisted therapy that included engagement. He lent his voice to the Horizons Media documentary film Covid-19, Black Lives, & Psychedelics. He was the inaugural facilitator for the BIPOC Entheogen Integration Circle in partnership with the San Francisco Psychedelic Society. Kufikiri Imara is a globally recognized voice on championing the important issues of access, education, and inclusion within the larger psychedelic community.

Ana Holub, MA comes on the show to talk about edges, forgiveness, letting go, and psychedelics.

Ana teaches about forgiveness, recovery from addiction, and psychedelic integration. She holds a BA in Peace Studies and an MA in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law. Ana was honored as a Champion of Forgiveness by the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance in 2018. She is a frequent speaker on peacemaking and the use of psychedelic medicines for addiction recovery, trauma healing and spiritual liberation. She has a private practice in Ashland, Oregon. www.anaholub.com

***Forgiveness: an essential practice for Psychedelic Navigation - class coming up May 18th, 2022 from 8:30-10PM EST***

In this workshop, you'll learn how to let go of traumatic memories from a respected expert on forgiveness and peacemaking. Ana will teach her simple and profound method that unites emotional healing with spiritual awakening. It's the perfect way to connect with yourself before diving into a medicine journey, and it's a skill you can practice to enhance your navigation of psychedelic states. No prior experience is required. This workshop is spiritual and non-religious. Everyone is welcome in the world of forgiveness!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/forgiveness-an-essential-practice-for-psychedelic-navigation-tickets-318021891037

Laura Mae Northrup, MFT is an author, educator, somatic psychotherapist, and podcaster. Her book Radical Healership is a spiritually-informed and anticapitalist guide for healing practitioners who seek to build a values-driven healing practice. She is the host and creator of the podcast Inside Eyes, an audio series about people using entheogens and psychedelics to heal from sexual trauma. Her work focuses on defining sexual violence through a spiritual and politicized lens, mentoring healing practitioners in creating a meaningful path, and supporting the spiritual integrity of our collective humanity. 

In this episode, Laura comes back on the Psychedologist to discuss her new book, Radical Healership. I *highly* recommend this book for anyone thinking of or already in a helping or healing profession. Laura helps me talk through some challenges that I have faced in my coaching practice, we discuss the process of birthing this book, and the many challenges and opportunities of building a values-driven practice in a profit driven world.

Use the Code: "psychedologist" (no quotes) to get 35% off AND free shipping on your copy of Radical Healership!! Available from 2/22-3/22, valid for both e-copies and print

Socials -

Instagram: @lauramaenorthrup

Twitter: @inside__eyes

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

Links -

https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/radical-healership/

lauramaenorthrup.com

Shelby is a volunteer with the community organization Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, who recently advocated for decriminalization in Easthampton, MA. Shelby has an interest and background in environmental and biological science, as well as culinary and visual arts. They sustained a traumatic brain injury as a child; this shaped the way they live and the way their mind works. 

In this episode, we talk about prohibition, decriminalization and public health. Shelby shares about their experience with having a TBI, and their thoughts about pharmaceutical medications, the medical system, at home psychedelic use, and community psychedelic use. The conversation turns to identity, and the trap of putting people into boxes. Shelby recounts their experience of growing up nonbinary in a rural area without a lot of support. We wrap up the conversation by talking about gender, nudity, and our mutual love of plants.

IG: @baystaters

Michou is an intuitive self-realization and psychedelic guide. She is a wisdom keeper, a seeker and speaker of truth, and lover of life advocating for facing fears, female masculinity, and living with integrity and authenticity. Michou is called to help connect people to their truth and higher consciousness though psychedelic medicine. 

For several years people from around the world have found her on social media for guidance in overcoming adversities in life, rewiring negative thought patterns, and  navigating health/mental health and addiction challenges. She holds space for peoples' journeys and educates the public about safe psychedelic consumption, sharing wisdom in helping people integrate their psychedelic experiences. Originally from Half Moon Bay, California, and Michou has called western Massachusetts home for the last several years.

James is a volunteer for Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, a grassroots community group educating city leaders on plant medicines and the war on drugs. His passion is rooted in experiences growing up in a neighborhood plagued by prohibition-linked violence and seeing loved ones struggle with addiction. 

In his day job, he works as legislative director to a Massachusetts state representative that chairs the legislature's cannabis committee and formerly did legislative work for the City Council of Berkeley. He holds a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) from USC and a B.A. in economics and history from Columbia. His views do not necessarily represent his employer's.

https://www.instagram.com/baystaters/

John and Leia discuss important considerations for approaching work with psychedelics, such as managing expectations, setting intentions, being open and allowing of experience, trusting the value of what comes up and trusting the process, working with disappointment, sliding back into old patterns post-experience, coming back to ourselves in honoring and accepting where we are, recognizing the non-linearity of psychedelic healing and transformation.

We touch on the larger structures that we live in, the times we are in today, and how those can make it difficult to integrate and be fully integrated in ourselves. That metamorphosis can be painful, but is also part of a larger process of becoming more beautiful and full. Becoming empowered and standing up for what we believe in. 

The topic of becoming more whole comes up, through integration in ourselves and in the collective. John speaks to the value of integrity, developing our character, being responsible and honest, especially as we hold space for others. Psychedelics can help us connect to the deepest sense of self, seeing hard truths, welcoming them and integrating them. 

John talks about his upcoming course, R/Evolution, a deep dive for psychedelic explorers who want to develop, expand and deepen their practice and make the most of their experiences. 

Bio: John is a psychedelic explorer, activist, and guide. His work focuses on access, empowerment, and community – and his current mission is to spread the wondrous gifts of psychedelics by helping people learn how to use them effectively. John blogs at Maps of the Mind. You can find him on Twitter at @mapsofthemind. 

Links:

www.mapsofthemind.com/r-evolution

Jemie Sae Koo and Matt Zemon share about the life events that led them to finding their current path with Psychable, the #1 trusted and comprehensive online community dedicated to connecting those interested in legally exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy with practitioners who can support them.

Walking the walk, embodying the work

Matt reached out to me after the recording to give the correct name of the experiment that he referenced in the show: Rick Doblin's long-term follow-up and critique of Pahnke's Good Friday Experiment.  You can learn more about this experiment and Rick's critique here:

https://maps.org/articles/5414-good-friday-drugs-mysticism

Bio: