Voices in the Dark

You don't know what you're talking about!'

We've all said it, at one time or another. When we receive criticism and feedback that disrupts our confidence or seems to utterly miss the point of what we were trying to do. So we reject it – screw them, screw their stupid views!

But that's a mistake. We can't travel through life without calibrating ourselves to the environments and people we encounter. The trick is learning to discern which feedback is important and what the feedback is actually expressing.

Not all opinions are equal, and in this episode we lay out the ground rules for telling which is which. 50 Cent used both drug addicts and fan forums to shape his strategy; Eleanor Roosevelt asked the nation to write to her; and Vincent van Gogh listened to no one. Who was right?

This episode is all about avoiding delusion while staying true to your vision. Is listening to your gut a good thing, or is it another illusion? Should we apply a Tim Ferriss-like scientific method to problems, or is this just another way to keep a safe distance between ourselves and experiential reality?

We push you to get into some uncomfortable situations and be open to the lessons you'll learn; explain why witness testimonies cannot be trusted; and how to decide whether you're making art for its own sake, or if you really want to find a connection with a broad audience.

In fact, do creators even know what they're doing? Most of the time, not consciously, it turns out...

There's also time to hear about Dre's time-travelling coaching service and his superiority complex (which is complex), while Jon recalls the time he was told he doesn't know anything about a subject he's spent 10 years researching, and then makes a deeply ill-advised 'your mum' joke.

• Serving your audience without betraying your vision
• Why the customer is always wrong
• Whose opinions actually matter
• Semantics and how to overcome them
• 9/11 memories and how they warped over time
• Ugliness mirrors

• Breaking Convention 2017 – the psychedelics research conference we attended
• Our exclusive interview with Rick Doblin – the founder of MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
• The brilliant world of Rick and Morty
• Brené Brown on whose opinions you should care about
• Our super popular interview with Don Howard Lawler: The Shaman's Path
• Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy
• Peter F. Hamilton's work involving Gaia – check out a short story, A Second Chance At Eden
• The complexities of 'treason'
• Yoval Noah Harari's book, Sapiens
• Rolad Barthes's essay, 'The Death of the Author'
• Iain M. Banks's Culture novels, including The Player of Games and Use of Weapons
• Carpool Karaoke with Adele

We're on the cusp of a profound cultural shift. Amidst a depression epidemic and huge numbers of veterans and others suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychedelic-assisted therapy offers a powerful new – and scientifically-proven – hope for the future.

For decades, Rick Doblin, the founder and Executive Director of MAPS – The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies – has worked to bring psychedelic medicines into the mainstream. And now his hard work is paying off.

We spoke to Rick at Breaking Convention 2017, one of dozens of major psychedelics research conferences now taking place around the globe.

The USA is both at the forefront of prohibition and clinical research in these areas. We dig into the upcoming FDA rulings on Phase 3 clinical trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for people suffering from PTSD, and what the Trump administration means for the future of this groundbreaking work.

Rick explains why he's so optimistic about the future of non-profit drug development, despite Big Pharma's love of patents and profits above the health and wellbeing of the population.

If today we're experiencing a Psychedelic Renaissance, we ask Rick to reflect on the lessons we have to learn from the '60s so that it doesn't all go up in flames once again.

A key strategy which Rick strongly advocates is a worldwide Psychedelic 'Coming Out'; he reveals that MAPS has been assembling a list of high-profile people ready to come out of the psychedelic closet en masse – and we encourage you to join their ranks.

But beyond the policies and cultural trends, there are deeply personal stories to tell. Rick opens up about his ow history and what's driven him to pursue this mission despite decades of opposition.

He talks about his relationship with fear, growing up in the shadows of the Holocaust and the Cold War, as well as sharing a beautiful story of how taking MDMA and speaking with his grandmother opened up a whole side of family history that she'd never been able to share before.

Jon and Dre share their own stories of using psychedelics for mental and social health, and we reflect on how to cultivate the best life we can live, together.

• The history of MDMA and psychedelic research
• Treating depression and healing family traumas
• How Britain has grabbed the marijuana market
• Countercultures and repression
• Cultural insanity and how it can be harnessed
• Autism and MDMA therapy
• Finding your purpose

• MAPS website – check it out and please consider donating to support their work
• The MAPS Benefit Corporation
• Aldous Huxley's novel, Island
• John Lilly's book, Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer: Theory and Experiments
• The Beckley Foundation – supporting psychedelic research in the UK

We know it when we feel it. Sometimes we hate it. Sometimes we crave it. But how does authority work?

In these modern times, we often distrust authority by default, but in this episode we reveal how deeply we screw ourselves over in the process.

What if we think of authority as the act of authoring something new – leading people forward, willingly, with dynamism and creativity, even if it means pulling them uncomfortably out of their stupor?

This is a deep exploration of one of the core elements of our tribal nature. We dissect charisma (it's learned and honed, not simply gifted by the gods); aggression (it's necessary, but rarely); and the need to set and police your personal boundaries at all times.

We disagree with Robert, too, and argue it's not better to be feared and respected than to be loved... but it's more complicated than you think.

There's lessons to be learned from 50 Cent, but also Adolf Hitler, and drag queen extraordinaire RuPaul.

We learn how to use the term 'wanksta' correctly, debate the ever-fraught subject of gender pronouns and whether we should use the litany of new ones, and wonder how we can be 'men' or 'women' in a culture that exhorts us to embody impossible ideals.

Dre curses his nemesis, Elon Musk, and the guy who broke his jaw in high school, while Jon embraces his role as a fashion icon and promptly unleashes the most disturbing chat-up line yet coined.

• Setting an example without being a dick
• The limits of morality
• Roots of charisma
• When and how to punish people for bad behaviour
• Edison vs. Tesla
• Being the best parent you can be

• Our amazing interview with Don Howard Lawler
• Aubrey Marcus
• The troublingly familiar planning powers of South Park's underpants gnomes
• The original Hitler Downfall scene
• English trailers for the German film Look Who's Back Jon mentioned
• RuPau's Drag Race
• Creepy Text Theatre
• The amazing medicine t-shirts at Spase

Will you stand your ground? Do you get what you want? Are you prepared to be uncomfortable to do what's right?

Probably not. In our society, we're taught to fear confrontation and to consider it dangerous and destructive. We call it being polite, but this emotional avoidance can lead to fundamental dishonesty with yourself and turn you into other people's doormat.

This episode is all about setting personal boundaries and refusing to let others walk all over you. It isn't about becoming a bully, but about refusing to be bullied by anyone.

Democracy is meant to involve intense disagreements and confrontations, so why are we so scared of it and think 'consensus' is inherently a good thing?

If 'aggression' sounds bad, what if we saw this as sparring, haggling, or playing a game with other people?

And why do we avoid confrontations in our society, yet simultaneously worship individuals who doggedly pursue their goals and get their way?

We take a trip to Southside Queens to hear about 50 Cent's mind-games with Ja Rule, and how aggression underlaid with humour was the key to success. But we also dig into relationships and how to spot the toxic types – the passive aggressive, the hopeless cases, and the hidden narcissists.

Guest stars this week include Catherine the Great, Thelonious Monk, Abraham Lincoln and Sherlock Holmes!

There's also time for Jon to recall his short-lived hit-and-run career; and Dre forces Apple to see things his way, punks out some bullies, and makes Jon to describe 10 years' work in 3 seconds.

• Fear of confrontation and where it comes from
• Always being prepared to walk away
• Setting strong personal boundaries
• Is violence ever necessary?
• Why successful people have pre-made scripts for everyday life
• Knowing when to cut people out of your life

• White Guys Finish Last podcast, now called Probably Offensive

We're all creatures of habit, but creativity dies on the vine of inaction. Change is the only constant in the world, but why are we so resistant to it?

This episode shoves us all unceremoniously out of our comfort zones: We change, or we simply fade away. But things aren't as bleak as that makes them seem: all we need is a little momentum.

Momentum is manufactured in the mind – it's not something mystical or outside our control. This week we learn how to harness the power of Emotional Flow; it's like Stoicism on steroids.

We also learn how 50 Cent changed the game on the streets, but also in the record industry. Ossified systems couldn't resist his disruptive momentum – and these are lessons we can take into our own lives (with considerably less gun violence, too).

It's time to pry open your death-grip from the impossible ambition of controlling everything: the micromanager isn't just the death of business, but also the death of joy. We can't control it all, so we have to learn how to flow with the needs of the moment. This means always challenging your assumptions and to beware those who say they've found the truth.

From Leonardo da Vinci to Apple Computers; Nazi war crimes to jazz music; Lady Gaga to hipster vampires, this episode's got it all. Dre also hatches fresh plans to rule his own world, Jon tries to escape his university training, and both of them debate hairstyles of the future.

• Why consistency isn't the same as strength of character
• Becoming comfortable with discomfort
• Conflict resolution in relationships
• Outsourcing your morality to the state
• Adopting a persona without being a charlatan
• Balancing chaos and order in your life
• Rehabilitating the Jack of All Trades

• The excellent psychology book, Changing the Conversation
• The classic HBO show, The Wire
• The IT crowd's piracy warning

For the last five decades, Don Howard Lawler has been practising shamanism, using his deep knowledge of plant medicines such as Ayahuasca and Huachuma (San Pedro) to heal people's depression, addictions, and to help reconnect them with their purpose and the world around them.

Jon's met Don Howard before. Eighteen months ago, he went to SpiritQuest Sanctuary, the shamanic healing centre Don Howard set up in the Peruvian Amazon, and drank Ayahuasca for the first time. The medicine turned his life upside down, but Don Howard was always there to guide the often immensely challenging process with wisdom and deep compassion.

As regular listeners know, Jon headed back to SpiritQuest for the second time to learn more, and this time he took a microphone with him.

Few people know more than Don Howard about the history, power and practices of plant medicines. With a background in biology and natural sciences, he forms a bridge between the worlds of shamanism and western science, although he's committed to 'shamanising the west', rather than 'westernising shamanism'. Whatever your perspective on psychoactive plants, there's plenty to get your teeth into in this episode.

Don Howard also shares his own personal, emotional journey to the plant medicines, from rural Kentucky to the Amazon Rainforest; seeking out Ayahuasca to heal a period of intense depression; and his mission to reconnect us with the rituals and practices – the technology – of our ancestors, whose knowledge of the plants far outstripped our own.

At Voices in the Dark, we're 'Learning How to Human'. Or, in Don Howard's words, 'In order to serve, first you have to become fit for service'.

• Ayahuasca, Peyote, Huachuma (San Pedro), and Vilca: What are they, and how to use them responsibly
• Why we must heal ourselves before we can help others
• Drugs vs. Medicines
• The roots of the depression 'epidemic' in the West
• 'Ayahuasca Tourism'
• How to use psychoactive substances for spiritual growth and creativity
• Integrating psychedelic experiences: where the real work begins

• SpiritQuest Sanctuary's website
• Jon's personal Ayahuasca vlog series
• Jon's article on Ayahuasca and what he wished he'd known before drinking it the first time
• Aubrey Marcus's beautiful and inspiring documentary on Ayahuasca, filmed at SpiritQuest (free to stream)

Shit is abundant – a near infinite supply of it as available to you at any given moment. But like most things that're easy to come by, it's not what we want or what we value. So how can we transform it into something sweeter?

This week we explore how to turn negatives into positives without disappearing up our own asses in a cloud of glitter and new-age platitudes. Instead, we tease out the crucial difference between believing 'everything happens for a reason', and rising to the occasion to turn shitty situations into something better.

'Turning shit into sugar' is Stoicism made real for modern times, pushing us into becoming the venture capitalists of our own life experience. That's how 50 Cent turned nine bullet wounds and a lost record deal into the springboard that launched him to superstardom. Thankfully, you don't need to get shot to do the same in your own life.

Opportunism gets a bad rap, but we reveal how this really stems from power structures designed to keep you down. Haven't people always praised ingenuity and the ability to seize the moment? So why does doing it today get labelled 'opportunism', as though you're some dodgy character dedicated to screwing everyone else over?

We dive into the archetypes of Greek and Roman and Norse mythology; weigh up whether cramming or planning reaps the best rewards; and ask what kind of intelligence is really the most useful?

And there's plenty of time to lay into the stupidity of clinging to 'strong and stable' systems, Donald Trump, and people who go to the gym and do nothing to challenge themselves.

• Opportunism vs. Ingenuity
• How to play the Trickster
• Turning bugs into features
• Building momentum in every aspect of life
• Escaping the Fight or Flight binary
• Why waiting for 'the right moment' is a one-way ticket to failure

• Ryan Holiday's superb book on Stoicism, The Obstacle is the Way
• Jocko Willink's book, Extreme Ownership
• Robert's later book, Mastery

Eighteen months after Ayahuasca turned his life upside-down, Jon headed back to the jungle to see what would happen this time around. For one thing, this time it was a veritable plant medicine odyssey: Four Ayahuasca ceremonies, one Bobinsana ceremony, three Huachuma ceremonies, and a final, terrifying Vilca ceremony.

Recorded the day after he got back to the UK over a ceremonial mapacho 'cigar', we reflect on the experience from Jon's perspective, and Dre breaks down the neurochemistry and psychology of how and why these things unfold.

We consider how modern societies screw us up and how plant medicines can reconnect us with the world and with ourselves; we talk about ritual and its place (and absence) in Western life; and we explore what people are really trying to communicate when they say 'everything is love', or 'it's all connected'.

Whether it's how to find a way to authentically express yourself, how to avoid bitterness when a life path hits a dead end, or how to overcome your inner critic, there's plenty to get into in this episode.

All in all, Jon's come back with a new understanding of his motivations and and purpose in life – and what ultimately drives all of us to choose the paths we follow. This is the only time he's going to talk about these things, too, to avoid fading the memories through repetition.

And now for the hard work: integrating the insights and lessons into everyday life, and not just slipping back into familiar patterns... Here goes.

• The theory that the Amazon might be manmade
• Our interview with Neo – homeless singer and social activist
• Some pictures of the mesa and the Lanzón stone
• Jon's personal Ayahuasca vlog series
• Jon's article on Ayahuasca and what he wished he'd known before drinking it the first time
• Aubrey Marcus's beautiful documentary on Ayahuasca (free to stream)
• SpiritQuest Sanctuary in Peru

Who owns you? Think about it. Who controls your time, your work, even your sense of self-worth? If someone else controls any of these things, you're neither free, nor powerful. But breaking those chains is a daunting challenge.

For 50 Cent, this was a tale of crack hustling, escaping the vampiric embrace of the record industry, and seizing control of his art and image. But the dynamics at play in all these areas can be related directly – and often pointedly – to the rest of us, too.

Making everything your own isn't simply about material possessions. This is about self-ownership and finding the fullest expression of yourself. In this episode, we explore how Robert taps directly into powerful wisdom that's been passed down through ancient philosophies and religions, but which most of us continue to ignore.

In the end, we all die alone: we can't live our lives only calibrating our self-worth to the opinion of others. Unless we grow and develop, we stagnate, give up, and lose ourselves. Our uniqueness is our strength, yet we all scurry to fit into society's pigeon holes. We're not talking special snowflakes and being a self-righteous prick, though. Things are more nuanced and complex than that, as we explore.

We challenge you to ask: What's the true worst-case scenario if you go All In, and is it really something you couldn't come back from after a few months? Plus: How to be honest with yourself – are you a follower or a creator? Whether pre-nups or start-ups, we explain why you have to make clear agreements and boundaries before you enter any relationship. And why, really, it's fear that stops us from striking out on our own and taking responsibility for what happens next.

We unleash the idea of Brain Yoga to unify the body, mind and spirit and cut out the bickering and confusion in ourselves. Jon grapples with the fear of hurling himself out of all safety nets, and Dre opens up about the times he's accidentally ended up working himself to death trying to fulfil other people's dreams.

And it's time to get excited for our brand new, fool-proof seduction one-liner...

• Avoiding the toxic effects of pity
• Personal sovereignty and how to cultivate it
• Turning Dead Time into Active Time
• Learned Helplessness and how to avoid it
• Owning your legacy
• Why you must be either the first or the best

• Our Election Special episode
• The Go Pro founder's promise to an old friend
• Helicopter madness – 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand
• Derren Brown's excellent book, Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine
• Robert's excellent book, Mastery
• The terrifying ballad, My Cubicle
• The article Jon mentioned about Fernando Alonso at the Indy 500

In this special episode, we sit down with musician, rapper and political activist Kayne Anthony to break down the upcoming UK General Election.

Where are British and world politics in 2017? Are we looking at a picture of apathy and chronic social inequality? Or are there glimmers of hope for a new politics to be found in this mess?

We ask what can we do, really, to effect change in the modern world; whether going on protest marches changes anything; and if young voters may actually be more conservative than their parents.

We argue that critical thinking needs to be taught in schools if we're ever to have an informed electorate, but wonder if music – especially rap – might be the most effective way to get more people thoughtfully engaged in politics.

We also dig into race, class and ideological divides and question where they come from and if they even really exist. Don't boundaries always divide us, but can open borders and non-geographical constituencies work?

Time to envision a Star Trek-like world in which people live in peace with a sense of comradeship across all divisions... but how can we get from here to there?

On top of all this, tune in to find out why Dre thinks that a certain Donald Trump is actually a Good Thing for America, if not the world.

• On Facebook
• On SoundCloud