How to Choose a Psychedelic Guide

This week I sit down with Cathy Raven Toldi, an instinctive meditation teacher, Zen priest, and sacred Eros guide. We jammed about expanding our concepts of Eros and sex and how that connects us with our own deep spiritual practice and the wild world around us. Plus, Raven shares one practice that we can all try right now to tap into our own Eros energy from a more wholistic perspective.In this special Episode, you will learn:// How Cathy became so connected - and dedicated - to reshaping concepts of Eros and sex// How a limited view of Eros and sexuality leads to unnecessary suffering // Myriad ways to connect to the sensual world around us// How society has perverted the concepts of Eros, sex, and intimacy and how we can choose to be more healthy  about it instead (this does not mean boring;)// ALL the ways Eros can be deeply connected to our spiritual path (and there’s a lot ;)// Where masculine and feminine energies can come into play// One practice you can start with today to connect with your own experience of Eros Resources:// Episode 139: Nature and Reconnecting// Episode 143: The South + Wounded Children// Episode 195: Going Beyond Our 5 Senses// If you want to stop putting off what really matters - and get more clear about what really matters to YOU - come join me and a group of like-minded souls in living the next 9 months as if they are our last. Remembering our limited time here on Earth creates clarity and inspires action like nothing else. Dive more deeply into practices that help create a life of inner and outer freedom - come join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets. It’s a deep dive into exploring our own life legacy, the gift of impermanence, intimacy with death + life, and living a life of no regrets.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.// Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here.

Welcome to a VERY special episode of the podcast… this week I interviewed my first ever GUEST, Spring Washam. Spring is one of my beloved Buddhist teachers, but also a real pioneer in terms of offering entheogens, along with the Buddhist spiritual path. And she’s been an inspiration for me in many ways.In this interview, Spring and I talked all about what she’s learned about plant medicine and altered state experiences in the jungles of South America and how that’s translated to her work here in the United States. We also talked about where all that fits into her own Buddhist beliefs and how she faces opposing views from other Buddhist practitioners.In this special Episode, we jammed on:// How we both began working with plant medicine & ayahuasca// Why we find exploring the medicine’s place in Indigenous culture so important to its uses in Western society// Why there’s an absence of integration and post-journey support in our industrialized, western society// The importance of ceremony and community in our healing journey// Whether altered-state experiences ACTUALLY go against the teachings of Buddhism (and if that even matters)// Our advice for those who are considering plant medicine on the spiritual path// Death and the possibility of rebirth, and the implications in journey workResources:// Learn more about Spring Washam (and stay tuned for her 2025 event schedule)// Follow Spring on Instagram or Facebook//  Check out my previous Episodes on psychedelics and entheogens:Episode 97: Psychedelics and Spiritual PracticeEpisode 153: Psychedelic ExceptionalismEpisode 225: How to Choose a Psychedelic Guide// Episode 122: Come See for Yourself - Ehipassiko// If you want to dive more deeply into practices that help create a life of inner and outer freedom, come join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets. It’s a deep dive into exploring our own life legacy, the gift of impermanence, intimacy with death + life, and living a life of no regrets. To get on the waitlist, head over to AdventureMastermind.com. You’ll be the first to know when early registration opens in a few days, with special early bird rates, extra bonuses, and first dibs on the limited-capacity in-person retreat on the Big Island of Hawai’i…and more.  // If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a strong foundation for self-coaching, consciousness exploration, and creating a life of freedom, adventure, and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place. // If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics. // Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here.

You know how sometimes you feel tired for no apparent reason, or maybe you want to check the f*ck out, or run away from it all?  Me too. Thing is, these things are all signs that we might be at a personal “growth edge.” This week we’re going to jam on how to know you’re at an edge, and why it’s SO important to identify what your “edge behaviors” are.You will learn:// What a growth edge is - and how knowing how we react to one helps us more effectively move through them.// How to identify our growth edge behaviors and why learning this is THE place to start// How to know the difference between a growth edge and burnout or fatigue// Common growth edge behaviors you might see in yourself and others// What to do once we identify our growth edge behaviorsResources:// Episode 44: The Power of the Pause// Episode 199: What Is Liminality? The Space Between Transitions// Episode 211: Navigating Our Edges // If you want to dive more deeply into practices that help create a life of inner and outer freedom, come join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets. It’s a deep dive into exploring our own life legacy, the gift of impermanence, intimacy with death + life, and living a life of no regrets.To get on the waitlist head over to adventuremastermind.com. You’ll be the first to know when early registration opens later this month, with special early bird rates, extra bonuses, and first dibs on the limited-capacity in-person retreat on the Big Island of Hawai’i…and more.// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a strong foundation for self-coaching, consciousness exploration, and creating a life of freedom, adventure, and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.// Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here.

This week we explore ideal things to look for when choosing a psychedelic sitter - facilitator - guide, or professional psychedelic-assisted therapist. We consider the different needs that arise around journeys for consciousness exploration and personal growth vs therapy, as well as things to think about if there is a significant medical or psychiatric history.You will learn:// Specific questions to ask when interviewing a potential guide// Why it’s important for a guide to have both a technical skill set for the safety of the mind and body AND the capacity to hold sacred space// What I - and others - believe a skilled guide offers, and why a fancy degree or training doesn’t mean someone is good…or ethical// How a great guide has many parallels to a great midwife// LOTS of great tips and questions to help you find the best psychedelic facilitator/guide/therapist for YOU// Why these tips and questions might change depending on where you are in your journey… and where you want to goResources:// FREE course on Mental Health First Aid through Johns Hopkins University// Episode 161: Healing vs Curing// Episode 73: How to Be Your Own Guru// Episode 97: Psychedelics and Spiritual Practice// Episode 153: Psychedelic Exceptionalism// Gratitude to Michelle Janikian for her suggestions and research around this - check out her book Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion  // If you want to dive more deeply into practices that help create a life of inner and outer freedom, come join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets. It’s a deep dive into exploring our own life legacy, the gift of impermanence, intimacy with death + life, and living a life of no regrets.To get on the waitlist head over to adventuremastermind.com. You’ll be the first to know when early registration opens later this month, with special early bird rates, extra bonuses, and first dibs on the limited-capacity in-person retreat on the Big Island of Hawai’i…and more.// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a strong foundation for self-coaching, consciousness exploration, and creating a life of freedom, adventure, and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.// Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here

This week we’re talking about the Deep Seeing of others - and ourselves. Deep Seeing helps us create more authentic and connected community, and a more enriched daily life. We’ll debunk the idea that what we DO is who we ARE, and jam on how to get to the core of other peoples’ essence (and our own). Plus, I’ll give you some ways you can practice deeply seeing and understanding others starting today.You will learn:// Why we often reduce others' identities (and our own) to what we DO, and how we can dive deeper in every interactions//How Deep Seeing makes life way more interesting on the daily (and I’m all about not being bored more than necessary;) // How we can shift our focus from what people DO to who they ARE and their lived experience// How deep seeing can transform our relationship with others and ourselves - and our communities// Ways we can practice deep seeing and wise attention in our daily lives - starting today.Resources:// Episode 71: How to Find Your Purpose// Episode 134: What You’re Meant to BE// Episode 178: The GIft of Wandering - Exploring Our Purpose// If you want to dive more deeply into this practice and all the juicy goodness for a life of inner and outer freedom that it offers, some join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets.Get on the waitlist at adventuremastermind.com, and if you get your name on that, you’ll be the first to know when early registration opens later this month, with special early bird rates, extra bonuses, and first dibs on the limited-capacity in-person retreat at our epic phat pad on the Big Island of Hawaii…and more.// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a life of more freedom, adventure and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place to build a foundation for a lifetime of self-exploration and freedom.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.// Have you benefited from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here.

This week, we’re going to dive into the most common insecurities that keep us from letting go of our beloved STUFF and declutter our physical space and minds. I’ll talk about my own experiences and insecurities when it comes to getting rid of things - despite my years of work on trying to let go of attachments to it all. Plus, we’ll talk about some ways we can reframe our thoughts around our possessions, keeping only those items that bring us true joy and freedom.You will learn:// Why so many of us have such a strong attachment to our STUFF, keeping us from getting rid of the clutter// Common insecurities that make it hard for us to let go// How to learn from our insecurities that we come into contact with as we try to clear out space for the new// Simple ways we can be more intentional about the purpose things have in our lifeResources:// Episode 40: Desire and Attachment// Episode 55: Letting Go to Grow// Episode 69: Having Enough - Finding Your Balance// If you want to dive more deeply into this practice and all the juicy goodness for a life of inner and outer freedom that it offers, some join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets.Get on the waitlist at adventuremastermind.com, and if you get your name on that, you’ll be the first to know when early registration opens later this month, with special early bird rates, extra bonuses, and first dibs on the limited-capacity in-person retreat at our epic phat pad on the Big Island of Hawaii…and more.// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a life of more freedom, adventure and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place to build a foundation for a lifetime of self-exploration and freedom.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.// Have you benefitted from even one episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast? I’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on iTunes by clicking here

In this week’s Episode we jam on a daily practice we can do to decrease unnecessary suffering - which is what this podcast is all about! It’s completely natural that things end - relationships, careers, objects we adore, and more. Yet we have so much resistance when things do come to an end, often feeling like it wasn’t supposed to happen. We’ll talk about the concept of “little deaths” that we experience in everyday life, plus the difference between when an ending is more easily accepted vs when we have more resistance. We also dive into how our modern industrialized consumerist society encourages resistance to endings, and how to counter that. Plus I’ll tell you the one thing we should spend more time thinking about to help accept the little endings for a life of more freedom.You will learn:// How our modern industrialized consumerist society feeds into our resistance to endings// How treating “little deaths” / endings with more respect and sacredness can lead to less unnecessary suffering and more joy + freedom// Why we feel the need to control our endings and how to let go of that feeling// The one thing we should spend more time thinking about to help accept the little endings (hint: it’s not what you’d think!)Resources:// Episode 9: Impermanence, Death, and Other Sexy Things// Episode 77: Change is Inevitable// Episode 110: The Miracle of Being Alive// Check out this free training on What Really Matters// You can see how the power of accepting the ending of things is a deep practice - one that opens us to so much more joy and freedom and peace. True inner liberation. If you want to dive more deeply into this practice and all the juicy goodness for a life of inner and outer freedom that it offers, some join me in my NEWEST program, called No Regrets.Get on the waitlist at adventuremastermind.com, and if you get your name on that, you’ll be the first to know when early registration opens later this month, with special early bird rates, extra bonuses and first dibs on the limited-capacity in-person retreat at our epic phat pad on the Big Island of Hawaii…and more.// I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a review on the Rebel Buddhist Podcast on iTunes by clicking here// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a life of more freedom, adventure and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place to build a foundation for a lifetime of self-exploration and freedom.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.

This week is a Greatest Hits throwback to one of my fave topics: death and impermanence! We’re gonna jam on why we often avoid thinking about death… and what acknowledging it can teach us about living now. I’ll also open up about one of my own biggest regrets in life and how it pushed me to create the life I wanted and live in integrity.In This Episode You’ll Learn:// How to stop avoiding thinking about death – and how to instead acknowledge what facing it can teach you about living now// A few ways to shift your mindset about impermanence + use it to mentally reframe your own narrative // About one of my biggest regrets in life and some life-altering decisions I made along the way – how they pushed me to create the life I wanted and live in integrity// Why your fear of death is actually your deeper fear that you have not lived your truest life (Steve Chandler)// How to stop putting off the things that make us happy for ‘another time’ and start living fully now// Why we must recognize the preciousness of human life in order to take real action toward making the most of the time we haveResources:// Episode 93: Wake The F*ck Up// Episode 110: The Miracle of Being Alive// Read this Elephant Journal piece I wrote about The Buddhist Way to Wake the F*ck up & Really Live your Life// My brand new program is HERE! I created the No Regrets experience to help you actively live with fewer regrets and more authentic living, full of deep soul work. Let’s not wait to live our life fully, putting things off until “later”… After all, we don’t truly know how long we have, right? In this transformative program we’ll do a deep dive into exploring our relationship with our own impermanence so that when our time comes - no matter when that might be - we can genuinely feel we are proud of how we lived our life. Our greatest masterpiece. Join the waitlist now and be the first to learn about all the juicy details in the coming weeks.// I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a review on the Rebel Buddhist Podcast on iTunes by clicking here// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a life of more freedom, adventure and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place to build a foundation for a lifetime of self-exploration and freedom.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.

This week we talk about why we feel obligated to finish everything we start - even if we’re miserable in it. Careers, relationships, even small things like movies and a bad meal. Often it’s because we think changing our minds equals failure or some sort, but there are many others I’ll cover in this episode. I also share how we can make every choice worth it... even when that means walking away from something we’ve put a lot of time, money, and energy into.You will learn:// Why we force ourselves to complete something we’ve started – even if we hate it // How to decide whether to stick with it something // Whether the “right” decision exists (hint: no) // How to make every choice worth it – even if that choice is to walk away Resources:// Episode 8: How to Get Clear About What You Want// Episode 66: How to Fail Perfectly// Episode 121: Clarity Is a Decision// I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a review on the Rebel Buddhist Podcast on iTunes by clicking here// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a life of more freedom, adventure and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place to build a foundation for a lifetime of self-exploration and freedom.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.

This week we dive into the concept of Self-like parts - those parts of us that SEEM like well-intentioned, wise, compassionate parts of us, but that ultimately still feed the immature ego and false sense of self. We also explore the concept of Self in Internal Family Systems and how Buddhist philosophy can help us know when we’re driven by our True Self vs our Self-like parts.You will learn:// What the Self is and how it relates to the theory of Internal Family Systems… and our core essence// How self-like parts affect our Manager and Firefighter parts, and why they never actually help us as a result// The difference between self-like parts and our true Self and how to identify our self-like parts// Why true healing and development can only come from our true Self// How to build a mindful, compassionate relationship with our true Self AND our self-like parts.Resources:// Episode 166: No Bad Parts// Episode 167: Near Enemies of Good Qualities// I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a review on the Rebel Buddhist Podcast on iTunes by clicking here// If you want to dive deeper into this Soul-level work and create a life of more freedom, adventure and purpose, head over to JoinFreedomSchool.com. It’s got everything you need in one place to build a foundation for a lifetime of self-exploration and freedom.// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.