Steve Elfrink, a pioneer with over 40 years of experience in psychedelic medicine and integrative healing, is the founder of OmTerra (www.omterra.org). In this podcast, Steve focuses on his groundbreaking hypothesis of Psychedelic Iatrogenic Structural Dissociation (PISD), which was recently published in Frontiers in Psychology (co-authored by Leigh Bergin). Drawing from his own deeply personal journey—from a transformative yet destabilizing ayahuasca ceremony in a sacred Southern Wisconsin valley to years of navigating dissociative trauma—Steve shares how these experiences led him to explore how psychedelics can deconstruct dissociative processes and potentially release trauma too quickly. With his expertise in legal psilocybin facilitation in Oregon and Psycholytic Somatic Integration Therapy (PSIT) using low-dose ketamine for PTSD and C-PTSD, Steve offers unique insights into the importance of cautious, titrated psychedelic sessions and somatic integration. Join him as he recounts his personal story, unpacks the science behind PISD, and discusses the transformative yet sometimes challenging nature of psychedelic therapy.
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Exploring Plant Consciousness and Photosynthesis Miracles
Rajnish Khanna, M.Sc. Ph.D., is a Senior Investigator, Biosphere Science and Engineering at Carnegie Science, Stanford. Rajnish is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of i-Cultiver, Inc.
TerreLocal, and co-founder and Executive Director of “Urban Green Project”. He is a strategic biotechnology consultant, plant and soil health scientist applying multidisciplinary approaches for research and development.
Known for empowering the industry through strategic partnerships with academic institutions, facilitating technology transfer into real world applications, and deploying advanced technologies such as CLASlite, a unique software to quantify and monitor crop and tree health at global scale for agro-eco projects. Rajnish applies photobiology to explore the science of consciousness. He has developed a unique and testable “Theory of Spatial Relativity” relating to the origins of consciousness, which aligns modern science with ancient concepts of spirituality.
Rajnish is the host of TerreScience podcast/YouTube channel focused on soil and planetary health. For a full bio, visit www.rajnishkhanna.com.
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The Original Psychedelic Artist - From NYC to the World
Isaac Abrams was born and raised in New York City.He is a self-taught artist who started painting in 1965.Based in Upstate New York, he continues to paint every day.
He first discovered psychedelics in 1962. He then discovered psychedelics again and again. He decided there had to be such a thing as psychedelic art and founded the Coda Gallery - the first gallery of Psychedelic Art in NYC in 1965. He had his first one man show in 1968 at Galerie Bischofberger in Zurich.
Other memorable moments include climbing a tree with Timothy Leary to discuss business, meeting Salvador Dali, shooting a film at Mickey Hart's Ranch in 1971 featuring Jerry Garcia and The New Riders of the Purple Sage, Reality One Group and David Crosby.
MEDIUMSHe’s worked across several mediums from oil to acrylic, sculpture to animation. From brushes to airbrushes, canvas to board, glass to bronze.
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Fungi, Ecology, and Bioremediation Technologies.
Howard Sprouse, CEO of the Remediators, Inc. and developer of bioremediation technologies since the mid 1990s. Howard previously worked as a consultant to Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim, Washington assisting with the development of mycoremediation technology. His work assisted projects aimed towards remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons, biological agents, pathogen degradation, and biofiltration of agricultural runoff.
Howard also worked for the Department of Botany, University of Washington and with US Forest Service, as a research assistant conducting fungal ecology research in Olympic National Park. Howard Sprouse is recognized in the bioremediation industry for commercializing mycoremediation and is a well known lecturer on the subject at universities across the United States. The Remediators have mentored student interns at Peninsula College in Washington State since 2005.
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Pioneering Seed Banking for Global Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration.
Jill Wagner has been a forester in Hawaii for 30 years. She started at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden as a horticulturalist for the garden, where she grew native Hawaiian species. She received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Hawaii in Ethnobotany. She has been conducting forest restoration projects for the State of Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, The Nature Conservancy, The National Park Service, Kamehameha Schools and other private land owners. She has trained people in ecosystems restoration and nursery management for decades.
She started the Hawaii Island Seed Bank in 2008, which banks seeds for large landowners on Hawaii Island. It also serves as a model for small, regional seed banks, called Seed Arks. She conducts training to people from all over the world so they can save their native seeds, and their food crop seeds. Seed Arks are off-grid solar powered seed banks that are built to keep seeds in the hands of the people.
In the Brainforest Café, Dennis McKenna discusses a wide range of topics related to philosophy, plant medicines, psychedelics and consciousness in nature. Guests are invited from diverse fields such as anthropology, neuroscience, and spirituality to explore various aspects of the human experience.
Some of the topics that are covered in the Brainforest Café include the history and the role of plant medicines in traditional healing practices and the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health. The Brainforest Café also explores the cultural, social, and political implications of psychedelic use.
Dennis McKenna shares his own personal experiences with plant medicines, offering insights and reflections on his own journey of self-discovery and transformation. The Brainforest Café is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of the intersection between science, spirituality, and culture, and offers a valuable perspective on the potential of plant medicines to transform our understanding of ourselves and the natural world.
Colombia