Documentary: www.peakingdocumentary.com

Brian Hawkins: www.brianhawkinsmd.com

What happens when military service, medicine, trauma healing, and psychedelics intersect?

In this episode of Trauma, Psychedelics & Buddhism, I sit down with Dr. Brian Hawkins—an eight-year Army veteran and former Green Beret, board-certified emergency medicine physician, and practitioner exploring integrative approaches to healing.

Brian is also a central subject in the new film Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness @peakingdocumentary, which explores personal journeys with all major psychedelics and alternative pathways toward healing and well-being by taking viewers inside dosing rooms for extremely rare looks at the remarkable power, emotion, and speed of psychedelic healing in action.

In our conversation, Brian shares that some of the deepest hardship he has carried originated not in his military experiences, but much earlier in childhood. We explore developmental trauma, resilience, Kambo, integrative medicine, and the many ways our histories shape both who we become and how we heal.

It’s a fascinating conversation about trauma, transformation, and the different paths we take in the pursuit of healing.

🎬 Look for Dr. Brian Hawkins in Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness, premiering in Portland, Oregon at @cinema21_portland + more cities on September 24th. Visit peakingdocumentary.com for showtimes.

Karen Sprinkel - https://www.karensprinkel.com/

Deborah Sweet - https://drdeborahsweet.com/

🎙️ New Episode: Healing Trauma Takes More Than Talk

What does it really take to heal trauma?

In this episode of Trauma, Psychedelics & Buddhism, I sit down with trauma therapist Deborah Sweet, Psy.D., to explore why understanding our trauma is important—but often isn’t enough to transform it.

Trauma doesn’t live only in the story we tell. It can become embedded in our nervous system, bodies, emotions, relationships, and habitual responses. That’s why healing often requires tools and experiences that go beyond traditional talk therapy.

Deborah and I discuss the importance of helping people experience something different—not simply understand why they feel the way they do. We explore practical and experiential approaches that can help people regulate their nervous systems, work with traumatic activation, build greater capacity, and create new pathways toward healing.

✨ We explore:

• Why insight alone may not resolve trauma

• The importance of body- and nervous-system-based tools

• Moving from talking about trauma to actively working with it

• Helping clients develop resources they can use outside the therapy room

• How experiential approaches can support deeper and more lasting change

If you’re a therapist—or someone on your own healing journey—this conversation is an invitation to think beyond “What happened?” and toward “What tools can help the system heal now?”

#TraumaHealing #TraumaTherapy #SomaticTherapy #NervousSystemRegulation #TraumaInformed #MentalHealth #HealingTrauma #Psychotherapy #TraumaPsychedelicsAndBuddhism #Havening

Machan Taylor, singer for Pink Floyd, Sting, Foreigner, Pat Benatar and more, joins Karen Sprinkel to discuss childhood trauma, belonging, and how psychedelic-assisted therapy became part of her healing journey.

👉 Karen Sprinkel: http://www.KarenSprinkel.com

👉 Machan Taylor: http://www.MachanTaylor.com | Book: https://a.co/d/0iNSNaNp

In this conversation, Machan shares:

• Growing up between cultures and never fully feeling she belonged

• How guided psychedelic therapy helped uncover buried childhood trauma

• What psychedelic therapy opened up that years of talk therapy had not

• The difference between youthful experimentation and intentional healing

• How trauma can remain hidden beneath success and performance

• How this journey transformed her sense of identity, self-worth, and healing

Special Thanks:

Konstantin Alexander - Podcast Production http://www.KAStudiosHQ.com

David Starfire - Music

http://www.davidstarfire.com

Ryan Bell - Logo Design

Karen introduces her new concept of energy, focusing on maintaining vertical energy to stay balanced amidst external influences. She explores the interaction of physical, emotional, mental, subtle realms, past lives, and future potentials, emphasizing the importance of verticality for thriving in life. Karen also shares that the podcast will be taking a seasonal pause, creating space for integration and what comes next.

In this episode, Cindy, founder of the In Her Name Foundation, shares her journey inspired by her late sister, Carla J. Baker (1955–1976). A former college athlete, long-distance cyclist, yoga instructor, physical therapist, and high school tennis coach, Cindy discusses the many stages of healing from trauma. The conversation highlights the often-forgotten family members affected by tragedy, emphasizing the importance of honoring the life of a loved one and recognizing the impact on the community, especially siblings.

https://inhernamefoundation.org/team

Special Thanks to:

Konstantin Alexander (KAStudiosHQ.com) - Podcast Production

Ryan Bell (@IG bellphoto11.com) - Logo Design

David Starfire (davidstarfire.com) - Music

In this episode, Ilana a previous programmer on the Space Shuttle turned Buddhist and psychedelic psychotherapist, describes how presence and deep listening are the keys to awakening.

https://deepbow.org/about

Special Thanks to:

Konstantin Alexander (KAStudiosHQ.com) - Podcast Production

Ryan Bell (@IG bellphoto11.com) - Logo Design

David Starfire (davidstarfire.com) - Music

CEO of the Cabin in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sudi has a unique insight into all the layers needed to provide a sustainable healing path to clients. Sudi shares how his own experiences helped shape the Cabin’s comprehensive offerings from classic psychotherapy, trauma and addiction treatment, to holistic services with the containment of the dharma. From the set and setting, to the community, he describes the many facets of well being.

https://www.thecabinchiangmai.com/about-the-cabin/

Special Thanks to:

Konstantin Alexander (KAStudiosHQ.com) - Podcast Production

Ryan Bell (@IG bellphoto11.com) - Logo Design

David Starfire (davidstarfire.com) - Music

A musician turned psychotherapist, Adam Kadmon LCSW, reflects on how Buddhism and psychedelics helped his own trauma healing. He described his wisdom to bring these deep depths of healing to his clients on the healing path - a rare find in the psychotherapy space. 

https://kadmoncpt.com

Special Thanks to:

Konstantin Alexander (KAStudiosHQ.com) - Podcast Production

Ryan Bell (@IG bellphoto11.com) - Logo Design

David Starfire (davidstarfire.com) - Music

Sharon Niv, Cognitive Psychologist, the co-founder of Joyous, a public benefit company helping make psycholytic, or low-dose, ketamine assisted care more accessible and affordable than ever before discusses her passion to improve health care for all.

https://www.joyous.team/

Special Thanks to:

Konstantin Alexander (KAStudiosHQ.com) - Podcast Production

Ryan Bell (@IG bellphoto11.com) - Logo Design

David Starfire (davidstarfire.com) - Music

Dr. Radhikesh Das is a physician-turned-astrologer who bridges modern medical science with ancient Vedic wisdom. After earning his Doctorate of Medicine in 1999 and serving over two decades in clinical and executive roles, he followed his family’s multigenerational lineage of Ayurvedic doctors and astrologers into the study of Vedic and Medical Astrology. Now a full-time astrologer, meditation teacher, and international lecturer, he offers deeply informed consultations that blend spiritual insight with medical precision, guiding individuals toward clarity, balance, and holistic healing.In this episode, Dr. Radhikesh and Karen explore the intersections of astrology, divinity, and the healing path. Dr. Radhikesh shares how Vedic Astrology reveals the soul’s blueprint, illuminates life lessons, and supports emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. Together, they discuss how understanding planetary influences can help people make aligned decisions, navigate challenges, and connect more deeply with their purpose. This conversation offers a grounded yet expansive look at how ancient wisdom can guide modern healing and transformation.

https://www.radhikeshdas.com/

Special Thanks to:

Konstantin Alexander (KAStudiosHQ.com) - Podcast Production

Ryan Bell (@IG bellphoto11.com) - Logo Design

David Starfire (davidstarfire.com) - Music