Tim McKee is publisher at North Atlantic Books, an educational non-profit publishing house that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives; nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing; and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.

Tim is interviewed today by S. Rae Peoples, Associate Director of

Diversity & Inclusion Education at Tufts University. She has over 25 years of experience serving in leadership roles that revolve around social justice in the arts, education, political, and nonprofit sectors. Her expertise lies in advising organizations on how best to create internal conditions that allow equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice to flourish. Her opinions and writings have been featured in The Washington Post, Oakland Post, BlogHer, and YFS Magazine. A native of California with a Midwest upbringing, S. Rae is currently rooted in motherhood, love, and community in Somerville, MA.

To ground this interview, S. Rae People’s writes: “The conversation with Tim McKee, publisher for North Atlantic Books, is of unique importance

particularly for white men who want to engage in the collective work toward racial justice. Both candid and coming from a seat of compassion, the conversation explores the distinct role and

responsibilities white men have in moving the needle forward on racial justice – given their location within a racialized society where they are beneficiaries given the fact that they are both

white and male."

Photo credit of Tim McKee: Anna Blackshaw

Dr. Brian Pace is a lecturer who teaches Psychedelic Studies at The Ohio State University. He is trained as an evolutionary ecologist, specializing in phytochemistry, ethnobotany, and ecophysiology. He believes in grassroots drug decriminalization efforts and hopes to find alternative policies to the imperial drug war. For more than a decade, Brian has worked on agroecology and climate change.

Dr. Nese Devenot is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Institute for Research in Sensing (or IRiS) at the University of Cincinnati; an Affiliate Scholar at the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research & Education at Ohio State University; and the Medicine, Society & Culture Research Fellow with Psymposia. She also researches and teaches bioethical approaches to psychedelic medicine. She was a Research Fellow with the New York University Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study, where she participated in the first qualitative study of patient experiences.

Dr. Pace and Dr. Devenot are authors of a paper entitled “Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity and Political Pluripotency,” a piece they created to rebut the common cultural assumption that psychedelics have the potential to improve society because of inherent characteristics that tend to point their users to a liberal, free-thinking ideology.

in the discussion that follows, they suggest that psychedelics are non-specific amplifiers of their set and setting, which, they take pains to remind me, is within the capitalist realm, and that contrary to the de facto cultural credo, conservative, hierarchy based ideologies are quite able to withstand the face melting effects of a few hits of LSD. They speak about many cases where psychedelic users either remained authoritarian in their views or became conservatively radicalized after taking psychedelics.

We also get into conservative thought leaders who happen to be psychedelic cheerleaders, like Jordan Peterson, as well as the moneyed individuals who are central players in the corporate psychedelic world, like Peter Thiel and Rebecca Mercer.

I have taken the liberty of importing some clips that I found on YouTube of these famous folks up for discussion, in the hopes of better illustrating the points being made. Hope you enjoy.

Emily Ladau is a disability rights activist, writer, storyteller, and digital communications consultant whose career began at the age of 10 when she appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate children about her life with a physical disability. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, CNN, Vice, and Huffington Post.

She is the author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally.

With co-host Kyle Khachardurian, Emily is the host and creator of the podcast The Accessible Stall.

Our interview touches upon representation of folks with disabilities in the media, how to make podcasts and other forms of media more accessible for all people, working from home and what that means in terms of creating inclusivity and equity in the workplace, how she feels about educating people about disability, and what people could do to meet her halfway, ableism and internalized ableism, tropes and cliches of disability inspiration, tokenization, intersectionality, and much more.

Transcript of this episode:

https://www.esalen.org/podcasts/emily-ladau-on-disability-awareness-and-the-accessible-stall-podcast

Sign up for Words I Wheel By, Emily's newsletter:

https://emilyladau.com/#email-sign-up

Check out The Accessible Stall podcast:

https://www.theaccessiblestall.com/

D’Lo is a queer/transgender Tamil Sri Lankan-American actor/writer/comic whose work ranges from stand-up comedy and solo theater to plays, films, short stories and poetry. His acting credits include: LOOKING, TRANSPARENT, SENSE 8, Mr. ROBOT and Issa Rae-produced MINIMUM WAGE.

His solo show “To T or Not to T” premieres June 25th at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. Together we talked about transmasculinity and what it’s like being a trans man in a world dominated by toxic masculinity, his relationship with his mother and father, his journey from gender nonconforming to someone who passed as male, what cis gender folks should never EVER ask about being trans, who he makes his work for, what solo performers inspire him (Whoopi and Leguziamo!), how hip hop was his ally, how he became politicized as a kid growing up in Lancaster, California , and what is his secret superpower as a comic.

https://www.dlocokid.com

Ismail Lourido Ali, J.D. is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Ismail advocates to eliminate barriers to psychedelic therapy and research, develops and implements legal and policy strategy, and supports MAPS’ strategy, organizational development, and ethics work. Ismail is a founding Board member of the Psychedelic Bar Association and also presently serves on the Board of Directors for Sage Institute in the California Bay Area. Ismail advises, is formally affiliated with, or has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations in the drug policy reform ecosystem, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Chacruna Institute, and the Ayahuasca Defense Fund. In addition, Ismail works with clients on legal matters related to the religious use of psychedelics as sacrament.

Together we talked about the remaining legal hurdles before MDMA-assisted therapy is FDA approved, why state legislatures (like Texas!) are beginning to experiment with psychedelic policy, why the DEA just Proposed Adding five more psychedelics to the list of Schedule 1 controlled substances, and much more. Great interview, great guy, so much to learn.

. . .

Coming soon at Esalen:

Spring Equinox: Journey Through the Chakras With Sacred Sound & Wonder - March 21, 2022 - March 25, 2022 with Deva Munay.

Sacred Sound & Wonder invites you to celebrate the first week of Spring as we find connection, levity, and light through the alchemy of crystal singing bowls and sound healing.

Each day will include a blend of nourishing sound journeys, experiential activities, breathwork, movement, journaling, and group discussion. We welcome you to unwind, connect, and feel empowered to bring new practices home with you to restore your balance and connectivity to yourself and the world around you.

Learn more and apply today at

https://www.esalen.org/workshops/spring-equinox-journey-through-the-chakras-with-sacred-sound-wonder

. . .

Wild Pilgrimage: Backpacking Journey to Esalen (Integration Weekend for April 10-17 Wildtender Program)

April 15, 2022- April 17, 2022 with Fletcher Tucker and Emily Linders

Embark on an intentional wilderness journey through the sublime and seldom-traveled backcountry of Big Sur, concluding at the coastal grounds of Esalen. Among the fleeting gifts of Spring – free-flowing creeks, boundless wildflower fields and vibrant wildlife – immerse in the wild with an intimate cohort (up to twelve participants), practice awareness and community, and learn fundamental skills to feel at home on the earth.

Learn more and apply at

https://www.esalen.org/workshops/wild-pilgrimage-backpacking-journey-to-esalen-integration-weekend-for-april-10-17-wildtender-program

Payton Nyvquest is Co-founder and CEO of Numinus, a for-profit psychedelic company based in Canada that empowers people to heal and be well through the development and delivery of safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies. Payton has more than 15 years experience working in finance, investment and retail banking. He pivoted to the emerging psychedelics industry not long after ayuasahca helped him experience deep relief from a lifelong battle with chronic pain. At Numinus, he guides teams in strategy, innovation, research and clinic network expansion and is responsible for raising more than $70 million for Numinus in the past year.

Together we talked about the difference between a for-profit and non-profit psychedelic organization, how he works in conjunction with MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (which is a non profit), how he sees psychedelic services intersecting with existing health care protocols in the united states, why Numinus is a publicly traded company, why he believes his company’s stock price will rise, and how being a father to a young child has influenced the direction his life has taken.

Coming soon at Esalen:

Live and learn at Esalen for 4 weeks as part of our Live Extended Education Program or L.E.E.P.  Under the guidance of our skilled faculty and surrounded by a cohort of twelve other learners, students will be challenged to expand their personal growth edges and open up to greater discoveries of self and community. Our next program cohort runs from February 12 to March 11. Participants will study Esalen® Massage: Principles and Practice, with Brita Ostrom, Oliver Bailey, and Char Pias. Applications are now open, so go to

https://www.esalen.org/learn

Jon Hopkins is a Grammy-nominated electronic musician and producer who’s collaborated with the likes of Brian Eno and Coldplay, scored award winning films such as Gareth Edwards’ "Monsters," and has recently released his sixth studio album, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, which aims to function as a trusted and luminous guide for an hour-long psychedelic experience. We unpack his creative process and hopes for this hour-long album, which is specifically designed to mirror length of a therapeutic ketamine journey. We also got into a fascinating conversation about what other recording artists provided inspiration for creating music for psychedelic journeys.

Coming Soon at Esalen:

If you can’t come to Big Sur, our Digital Extended Education Program (DEEP) will offer an online Esalen workshop you can experience from the comfort of your home. The first six-week online workshop, We’re All Gonna Die, led by Bodhi Be, kicks off on January 10, 2022. Bodhi Be will lead students through an exploration of how a healthy life includes a healthy relationship to death, how that awareness can help shape who we are as a community, and how we care for each other now and when we are dying.  

The second online course, Moon Lodge, begins January 17, 2022. Moon Lodge is a six-week online workshop focused on celebrating the body of Woman+ and the sacred feminine within. Through ritual practices, instructors Lucia Horan and Dr. Julia Von will share in the sisterhood of humanity and all that it encompasses. 

https://www.esalen.org/learn

Live and learn at Esalen for 4 weeks as part of our re-imagined four-week experience, the Live Extended Education Program (L.E.E.P.).  L.E.E.P. IS designed for people who want to explore new ways of thinking and being.

Under the guidance of our skilled, compassionate faculty and surrounded by a cohort of twelve other learners, students will be challenged to expand their personal growth edges and open up to greater discoveries of self and community.  The first program cohort begins January 15 and runs to February 11.  Applications are now open.  

Learn more and apply today.

https://www.esalen.org/learn

Esalen End of Year Campaign: You Can Still Help Us Reach Our Goal

There’s still time to help us reach our goal to raise 450K by the end of 2021.  Please consider making a donation today.  You can become a paid Friend of Esalen or you can do your holiday shopping with us in person or online to help us reach our goal. Every contribution ensures that  we can continue to keep our doors open for generations to come.  

Donate Today: https://www.esalen.org/give

Jazsalyn is the creative and curatorial Director of black beyond, a radical space for artists and activists to define alternate realities for Blackness. As an anti-disciplinary artist, she combines new media and community organizing practices to reimagine Black futures and to decolonize and re-indigenize social and creative practice. Her work has been featured in CULTURED Magazine, Vogue, The New Yorker, and Huffington Post.

Jazsalyn was interviewed for today’s episode by Michelle McCrary. Michelle is a daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, mother, wife, and friend who lives on occupied Duwamish land in the Pacific Northwest.  She has roots in Coastal Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  When she's not leading the Communications team at Esalen, she's training to become a facilitator with the Healing and Reconciliation Institute, tending to her winter garden, reading her way through a massive pile of books on her nightstand, and working on the screenplay for her horror anthology. 

some links from this great conversation:

SUPPORT

black beyond at https://www.nyfa.org/

EXPLORE

https://newart.city/show/blackbeyond XR on New Art City

SHOP

black beyond

https://blackbeyond.myshopify.com/

FOLLOW

https://www.blackbeyond.xyz/

Instagram @blackbeyond_

Twitter @blackbeyond_

#blackbeyond

And here’s a dublab mix from black beyond — alternate realities

Featured artist KESSWA reps Detroit and explores afro surrealist soundscapes across genres on this continuum of alternate realities.

https://www.dublab.com/archive/black-beyond-alternate-realities-w-kesswa-07-28-21

And in Esalen news:

Last year, Friends of Esalen helped us to survive closures due to the pandemic, fires and mudslides.  We're here today because of you. When you become a Friend of Esalen with a donation, your contribution helps us finance our day to day operations in Big Sur-from staff to infrastructure. This year, our goal is to raise 450K and make 300 new friends so that we can continue to keep our doors open for generations to come.  

Become A Friend Now: https://www.esalen.org/give

Give Yourself the Gift of More Time

Are you ready to gift yourself more time at Esalen this winter season? With the weeklong Self-Guided Exploration program, you’ll have more time to learn, connect, and reflect. Spend five days and four nights in Big Sur and soak in the baths, experience Esalen massage, and explore our menu of open classes. 

As an added bonus, when you reserve premium plus, point house, and point house plus accomodations for a weeklong Self-Guided Exploration program, an Esalen Massage will be included with your stay. You’ll receive the promo code for your complimentary massage in your confirmation email after booking your stay. Dates from November to December are still available, but going fast.  

Book now  https://www.esalen.org/learn/self-guided-explorations

A New Way To Experience Esalen

If you can’t come to Big Sur, our Digital Extended Education Program (DEEP) offers an online Esalen workshop you can experience from the comfort of your home. The first six-week workshop, We’re All Gonna Die, led by Reverend Bodhi Be, kicks off on January 10, 2022. Bodhi will lead students through an exploration of how a healthy life includes a healthy relationship to death, how that awareness can help shape who we are as a community, and how we care for each other now and when we are dying.  

The second online course, Moon Lodge, begins January 17, 2022. Moon Lodge is a six-week online workshop focused on celebrating the body of Woman+ and the sacred feminine within. Through ritual practices, instructors Lucia Horan and Dr. Julia Von will share in the sisterhood of humanity and all that it encompasses. 

Register Now for We’re All Gonna Die

https://www.esalen.org/online/were-all-gonna-die

Register Now for Moon Lodge

https://www.esalen.org/online/moon-lodge-2022

Sandor Katz has taught hundreds of workshops demystifying fermentation and empowering people to reclaim this transformational process. His book, "The Art of Fermentation" received a James Beard award and was a finalist at the International Association of Culinary Professionals. in 2009, he was named one of Chow magazine’s top “provacateurs, trendsetters, and rabble-rousers.” This self-described "fermentation fetishist" treats us to a discussion of his new book, Fermentation Journeys. We talk about food writing and favorite food writers, the benefits of fermentation, being an adventurer in the kitchen, and what's fermenting in his refrigerator.

Coming soon at Esalen:

Gratitude Healing Wisdom for Modern Times

Join wisdom keeper Erika Gagnon November 8–12 for Healing Wisdom For Modern Times: You are Your Greatest Healer, a sacred journey to explore the healing wisdom of the “Americas.” Students will learn about the importance of ancestral lineage, rites of passage, ceremonies and rituals, sacred altars, medicinal plants, and the origins of dis-ease in our physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual bodies. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a water prayer blessing, a sound healing journey, and a traditional South American healing ceremony.

Book your spot now: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/healing-wisdom-for-modern-times-you-are-your-greatest-healer-110821

Esalen End of Year Campaign: Help Us Make 300 New Friends

Last year, Friends of Esalen helped us to survive closures due to the pandemic, fires and mudslides. We're here today because of our friends. When you become a Friend of Esalen with a donation, your contribution helps us finance our day to day operations in Big Sur-from staff to infrastructure. This year, our goal is to raise 450K and make 300 new friends so that we can continue to keep our doors open for generations to come.

Become A Friend Now: https://www.esalen.org/give

Becoming Of The Land: Right Relationship Without Dominance - Understanding The Terrains We Inhabit

In this workshop which runs from December 17-20 Vivien Sansour will guide students to humble themselves so they can become one with the ground under their feet, and listen to the world around them. Through a series of exercises that involve contemplation, walking meditation, and explorations of plants, writing, and storytelling, students will unlock the sacred trilogy of bird, soil, and plant in order to develop a deeper understanding of the terrain.

Sign Up Today https://www.esalen.org/workshops/becoming-of-the-land-right-relationship-without-dominance-understanding-the-terrains-we-inhabit

Vivien Sansour is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. Trained in the field of Anthropology, Vivien has worked with farmers worldwide on issues relating to agriculture and independence. She is a 2020-2021 Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative Fellow at Harvard University where she is working on an autobiographical book documenting her work saving seeds in Palestine and around the world. Together we discussed how food sovereignty aligns with the struggle of Palestinian resistance , how biodiversity reflects and intersects with cultural diversity, how the military occupation of Palestine affects the farming practices that go on there, and how love is the greatest form of resistance to colonial oppression. She's brilliant.

Coming up at Esalen:

Esalen Hosts Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Virtual Book Tour with Susanna Barkataki

October 21 at 5:00 PST, Esalen is honored to host a virtual book tour with Susanna Barkataki, author of Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.  An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence.  Join Susanna for a conversation with Danny Fluker Jr., queer Atlanta native and the creator and executive director of Black Boys OM. Danny is a Esalen Teacher in Residence alum and a yoga/meditation teacher, writer, and activist whose vision is to uplift the Black community, Black boys in particular, with programs centering on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. 

 

Tickets to the event are $35, but as part of our End of Year Campaign, Esalen is offering free tickets to the first 50 people who sign up to become a Friend of Esalen between October 1-October 21.   You’ll receive the comp code when and the RSVP link to the event when you become a friend.. 

Become a friend today:

https://www.esalen.org/give/friends-of-esalen

Grief Into Beauty: Creating Nature Altars to Transform and Heal from This Year

October 29-31, internationally renowned author and artist Day Schildkret of Morning Altars will teach students how to use nature, art, and ritual to transform, heal, and make meaning from this chaotic time. 

Book your Spot https://www.esalen.org/post/whats-happening-at-esalen-nature-altars-to-heal-grief-spirit-dive-and-a-gratitude-retreat

Embodying Grace in times of Change: Rising into Spiritual Maturity  

Join Miranda Macpherson October 25–29, in a course that shares a holistic and feminine approach to surrender and nondual realization based on a practice she calls Ego Relaxation — embracing the totality of our experience as a gateway into our deepest nature.