StephenGray Vision

Acacea Lewis has traveled beyond deep into the spiritual and healing realms of the sacred mushroom Teonanacoatl, or psilocybin. Not only that, she has a brilliant mind and the verbal chops to communicate her knowledge and insights clearly and eloquently. I believe this is essential information for just about anyone looking to really learn the secrets of the amazing psilocybin mushrooms. And I do mean "secrets" in the sense that few people have learned what the mushrooms are ultimately capable of. As well, this isn't just information for a few brave psychonauts. This wisdom is becoming increasingly necessary for a troubled planet in transition and under duress. Note: This interview is also available in video format on the StephenGray YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/sPE7jLqG5I0 And: Please consider subscribing to the StephenGray Vision newsletter. It's free, infrequent, and purely for educational/informational/inspirational purposes. https://www.stephengrayvision.com/

G. William Barnard is a brilliant expositor of the Santo Daime path of awakening with the holy ayahuasca sacrament, or as they call it, the "Daime." Professor Barnard has had many deep spiritual journeys with the Daime, encountering powerful Spirit beings in the Astral, and working through his own shadow material. Not only is he wise and insightful, he's a beautiful and clear-eyed writer. And if that wasn't enough, he exudes the warmth, kindness, and joy that one would hope for from advanced spiritual warriors.   Please learn from, enjoy, and share this interview for the benefit of all beings at this unprecedented historical moment of great upheaval, great change, and great possibility for the birth of the new human and a mature planetary civilization.   NB: Professor Barnard will also be one of two dozen brilliant spokespeople on behalf of psychedelics and consciousness transformation at the iconic 12th Spirit Plant Medicine Conference, Nov. 3 to 5 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Info and tickets at: https://spiritplantmedicine.com where tickets are still 20% off. You can also use my personal discount code "savetheworld" for an additional 10% off the regular price. NB: This interview is also available in video format on on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel

Seeing Through the Smoke by Peter Grinspoon MD is poised to be a game changer around cannabis. Dr. Grinspoon skillfully "untangles the truth about marijuana" with a balanced and thorough examination of the evidence around cannabis and psychosis, addiction, trauma, pregnancy, driving, cognition, adolescence, opioid withdrawal, cancer, sleep, autism, ADHD, PTSD, CBD, and more. Cannabis has been badly mistreated and misunderstood for the past 90 years. Much of the public discourse and research is unfounded in reality or reliable evidence. This book sets the record straight. Seeing Through the Smoke: A Cannabis Specialist Untangles the Truth About Marijuana is absolutely a must read for policy makers, researchers, health care providers (Get with the program doctors!), retailers, growers, and anyone who wants to know what this amazing plant can do - as well as those claims for which there's no reliable evidence (yet). And in case that all sounds daunting, it ain't. The book is written in an accessible, user-friendly style often spiced with warmth and humor. Note: This interview, and all the others with leading influencers on StephenGray Vision, is also available in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. Here is the YouTube link to this interview. https://youtu.be/eTK530rnkgw

Dr. Dominique Morisano, clinical psychologist and professor, shares important insights on how psychedelics can help with trauma, addiction, depression, and other conditions. Dr. Morisano's experience is deep and wide. She is knowledgeable about several psychedelics and has much experience using ketamine in her therapy practice. Other topics we covered were: • How ketamine leans more toward the positive than some other psychedelics and can help with addictions, including cigarette addiction • cannabis dependency and ketamine for that dependency • pros and cons of MDMA in therapeutic work • problems with long-term use of anti-depressant pharmaceuticals like SSRIs • the necessity of follow-up care after medicine sessions (integration) NOTE: Please subscribe to my newsletter at www.stephengrayvision.com for updates, new interviews, and occasional gems of insight. It's free to join and I use it sparingly and respectfully. Please also note that this and over over dozen other interviews with leading influencers in fields related to psychedelics and consciousness transformation are also available on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel.

Flavio Santi is a rare wisdom carrier with essential messages for the world. He holds an ancient lineage of Ecuadorian healers working with plant medicines. In my experience, Flavio's knowledge of how to heal with plants is deeper than anyone else I've encountered or heard about. Flavio works with several master plants, especially ayahuasca, wayusa, and tobacco (nothing like industrial cigarette tobacco). In this interview he talks about the connection between the plants, the land, and the Spirits, or as he sometimes says, the ancestors. As Flavio says in the interview, his grandfather charged him with the responsibility of telling the people of the "North" about this deep knowledge for the benefit of all humanity. A central aspect of Flavio's work is the reclamation of their ancestral land in Ecuador to be protected for the generations to come. They're raising money to buy back 5000 acres of forest and to build a school—the Wayusa School— for children from around the world to learn these powerful traditional ways of healing and of protecting Mother Earth. NOTE: To hear about future interviews, special educational events in Psychedelics, and the occasional nugget of hard-earned wisdom, subscribe to the StephenGray Vision newsletter. It's free and won't bombard your inbox with frequent messages. To subscribe, click on "Join the Community" on the homepage of www.stephengrayvision.com. ANOTHER NOTE: As always, these interviews with remarkable humans on subjects related to plant medicines and the work of individual and collective transformation are available in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. Here is the direct link to this interview: https://youtu.be/eoiJXEX5G7c

Jessica Rochester is an incredible font of wisdom, insight, and knowledge on many aspects of healing and spiritual awakening. Her bona fides are impeccable. She is an ordained Inter-Faith Minister with a Doctorate in Divinity. She trained with the legendary Stanislav Grof and among her numerous responsibilities is the director and primary ceremony leader of Céu do Montréal, the ayahuasca-using Santo Daime church she founded in 1997. Dr. Rochester has written an all-but-exhaustive two-volume book that gathers her long decades of experience into a highly accessible and practical guidebook on just about everything anyone needs to know and consider on healing pathways.  The book's title is: Ayahuasca Awakening: A Guide to Self-Discovery, Self-Mastery, and Self-Care. As implied by the subtitle and my comments above, the contents of the book extend far beyond discussions around ayahuasca. "Ayahuasca Awakening" actually refers mainly to the source of much of Dr. Rochesters's inspiration and understanding. She also has a delightfully positive and warm presence in this hour-long interview. Note: This interview is one of over two dozen with leading influencers in fields related to psychedelics and consciousness transformation. All of the interviews can be viewed on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel.  This interview with Jessica Rochester is here: https://youtu.be/Ty7CaMohvPc And: Please consider subscribing to the YouTube channel. I'm far too old to care about career development fame and fortune 🙂. This is about sharing important and perhaps essential information and inspiration as the planet gets pulled ever more strongly into an extremely challenging period of transition. More subscribers means the channel is easier to find in searches. Another "And": For similar reasons and to be informed of new interviews, please consider subscribing to my newsletter. I use it sparingly and mostly to let people know about a new interview. Until I learn a simpler method, I believe you'll have to email me and ask to be signed up. stephengraymedicine@gmail.com.

Keith Lowenstein MD is an authentic wisdom carrier with a great deal of beneficially guidance to share. He has over 40 years of experience teaching and practicing Kriya yoga, and 35 years of clinical experience in integrative medicine, psychiatry, and nutrition.    Perhaps even more important for our purposes here, he also has extensive experience in psychedelic healing modalities and has direct understanding of the potential of skillfully combining plant medicines with yoga and meditation. This is a challenging area of development that is certain to take an increasingly prominent role in healing and awakening work.   Arguably the most important component of Keith's journey toward wisdom and working in these ways was his studies under legendary "crazy wisdom" cannabis guru and Kriya yoga master Sri Mahant Swami Ganesh Anand Giri Saraswati, more popularly known as Ganesh Baba. Keith was Ganesh Baba's last main student, working closely with him for 5 years. In fact it was Baba who directed Keith to become a doctor.  Keith is the author of "Kriya Yoga for Self-Discovery." Note: As always these interviews, now over 2 dozen, are also available in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/-CyGcF24Rxo And: Please subscribe to the StephenGray Vision YouTube Channel. It's not for my career, my ego, or any other version of ambition except that the pro's tell me that more subscribers means they're easier to find in searches and therefor more people can find out about this essential information and inspiration for a world in crisis and transition.

Salvia divinorum has great potential as a gentle and kind yet direct healing medicine when used in carefully protected low-dose settings, preferably with a guide or at least a sitter. Christopher Solomon is a clear and articulate advocate—as well as a guide—for this misunderstood healer.  Most people who have encountered Salvia in unstructured contexts, such as with the "extracts" like the 5X, 10X, 20X etc, want nothing further to do with its often bizarre and sometimes frightening effects. But Christopher understands that in low doses, Salvia is almost like a different medicine altogether. It relaxes and nurtures. It works in a somatic fashion—directly with the felt body rather than through cerebral insights.  This unique member of the mint family has been badly misunderstood. When encountered with this knowledge in hand, Salvia divinorum has an important role to play in the healing and awakening journey. Note: Along with two dozen other interviews with leading influencers in psychedelics and the future of humanity, this interview is also available on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/Ffo88r36GCk Subscribe to the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. You'll be notified immediately of new interviews. More subscribers also means more search engine exposure for this essential information and inspiration. Newsletter: To be notified of future interviews, please sign up for my newsletter. I use it sparingly, without ads or come-ons, and mostly to inform recipients of the most recent interview.

Jeremy Narby​ is a cultural treasure with decades long experience as an anthropologist with plant medicines in their traditional settings in South America. He's the author of several important books, including the iconic The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge. In this interview, Jeremy shares eye-opening, and highly relevant, knowledge on ayahuasca that even the experienced among us often don't know, like concerns about commonly-used admixtures: the importance for us Westerners of seeking out yellow (sky)) ayahuasca over black ayahuasca; the dangers of sorcery and of power corruption among ayahuasqueros, how the common DMT-heavy brews emphasize tripping over healing; the Banisteriopsis vine itself without a DMT-containing plant as the master teacher, and much more. The knowledge he shares on tobacco is almost more remarkable. This plant is badly misunderstood and misused, especially in the commercial tobacco industry. The Asháninka people of South America say tobacco is the number one plant teacher. It is used as a diagnostic tool and has multiple healing properties. The "real" tobaccos (up to 20 times more nicotine than industrial tobacco) are powerful and can be dangerous. This sacred medicine needs a proper hearing and Jeremy is perfectly positioned to help provide it. As always, these interviews (now nearly two dozen) with leading figures in psychedelics and consciousness transformation for a world in crisis are available in video form on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. Here's the direct link to the interview with Jeremy. 

Dr. Maya Shetreat is one of the "new" brilliant and compassionate visionaries and influence leaders in the psychedelic field. The depth and breadth of her healing, leadership, and educational work is remarkable. In this interview she talks about the necessity of establishing a strong relationship with the plant medicines, bringing scientific and traditional knowledge together, the urgent need for enlightened leadership in this field, concerns about medicalization and corporatization, the spiritual bypassing trap among psychonauts, her upcoming Summit, and much more. The interview will also be available in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. Direct link here: https://youtu.be/7ku9vz_2gOU. Note: To be informed about the next interview with leading figures in psychedelics and consciousness transformation, send me your email address on Facebook Messenger and I'll add you to my mailing list. I use it very sparingly, mainly for announcements like that, and I never share addresses or have advertising. 

William A. (Bill) Richards is a psychologist in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research in Baltimore, USA. He's been at the forefront of psychedelic research for decades, for eg. implementing groundbreaking and headline-grabbing psilocybin studies at the iconic Johns Hopkins U. Bill is truly one of the great figures in this work, also author of the remarkable Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences, and one of the kindest souls I've ever met. Bill truly walks the talk. In this 45 minute interview for StephenGray Vision, he talks about the roles and responsibilities of the guide/therapist; differences between psycholytic and psychedelic therapy; altered traits vs. altered states; how the medical and "Oregon" models (unregulated, ceremonial etc) need not exclude each other, and much more. Note: This interview can be heard on several audio platforms, including Spotify, and in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/4ZAqj4SB6I0, where you can also find over 20 other interviews with leading figures in psychedelics and consciousness transformation like Chris Bache, Dennis McKenna, Martina Hoffmann, Jamie Wheal, etc. Please also consider sharing this information. It's not about marketing or career building, (too late for that anyway😉), it's about the urgent need for a deep and widespread consciousness transformation on our beloved and beleaguered planet. 

Marguerite Rigoglioso has gone deep on this subject through extensive, often primary-source research. Strange and implausible as it may seem, there is a wealth of historical (and some contemporary) evidence pointing toward the reality of divine, virgin birth. This is not your conventional (ultimately anti-women, anti-sex, and yes, anti-life) dominator-male concocted Christian fairy tale of the pure virgin unsullied by human sexuality. It's actually about advanced spiritual practices, perhaps with the assistance of entheogenic plant medicines; female empowerment; and the rise of the sacred feminine as an essential balancing component for the urgently needed global consciousness transformation. Regardless of the inevitable skepticism many of us feel about this, you can't fault Marguerite on her rigorous research and her talent for articulating the argument. Listen for yourself and decide. As always, this interview is also accessible in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/q6LDvdlb7R4 And . . . Check out the over 20 other interviews on anchor.fm and the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel with brilliant spokespeople on psychedelics and consciousness transformation. 

Legendary anthropologist Wade Davis has an encyclopaedic knowledge of coca. The Inca called it The Divine Leaf of Immortality. It is central to life in tropical regions of South America. In this interview Wade makes an eloquent, passionate, and unimpeachable case that coca needs to be legalized and be welcomed into mainstream culture. As Wade says, "Of all these commonly used stimulants [coffee etc], without any doubt, the most benign, the most pleasant, the most effective, the most helpful, is coca."  Wade says that comparing coca to cocaine is like comparing potatoes to vodka, and that is only illegal because it has been caught up in the ongoing, ineffective, absurdly expensive, and incredibly violent drug wars. Not only is coca the superior plant for daily use, there is huge potential benefit for farmers in tropical South America. We have to give the campesinos a legal market for their product. Note: This interview was originally done for Casey McFarlane's Consciousness Continuum YouTube channel and is also accessible on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel.

Tom Lane is a treasure chest of little known, valuable—and applicable—knowledge about psilocybin mushrooms. He studied and trained with masters in Mexico and now after decades of experience is ready to share secrets of how to best benefit from their use. Here he talks about: the importance of the feeling body; how to prepare for and take the mushrooms; how to learn to see emanations of energy for healing and divining; how to move gracefully through difficulties with an open, loving attitude; and much more. As with the other 20 or so (as of April 2021) interviews with leading visionaries, this one is also available in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leFAh0fbIqw. P.S. Please consider subscribing to the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. It's not going to make me rich and famous (no ads etc), but it will help search engines find these interviews and get these important messages around to more people.

Mark Haden is one the great advocates for the legal and effective use of psychedelics. Among his many accomplishments, he was chair of MAPS Canada for years. Here he talks about: the increasing importance of skilled guides; the 6 essential competencies; trauma resolution skills; what would disqualify a guide; red and green flags for screening clients; an effective protocol for before, during, and follow-up; the components of effective integration; and much more. Mark's excellent new book is "Manual for Psychedelic Guides," available at Amazon. Note: As with the other nearly 20 StephenGray Vision interviews, this interview with Mark Haden is also available on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqTAERg5Z_8 

Chris Becker is a wonderful example of someone who did psychedelic therapy right and turned his life around. Chris had a traumatic childhood that led to alcohol addiction beginning in adolescence. Here he talks about the careful, extended process he undertook with a skilled guide; the dynamics of childhood trauma; essential qualities for psychedelic guides; the necessity of quality, ongoing integration, including regular spiritual practice like meditation and yoga; and how this kind of therapy could be more accessible and affordable. Note: As always these interviews are also available in video format on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel, along with about a dozen and a half other interviews with leading visionaries, particularly those involved with psychedelics. Here's the direct link to this interview with Chris Becker. https://youtu.be/WLTPbaICdkI

Tyson Yunkaporta is a brilliant, visionary Australian aboriginal academic, researcher, author, and artist. In his remarkable—and essential for our times—book "Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World," he talks here with Stephen Gray about: the illusion that many repeated psychedelic journeys are necessary for healing and awakening; the unsustainability of the growth economy in large nations; the need for regional and local governance and small communities; the necessity of non-hierarchical, decentralized, ego-free relationships for innovation and problem-solving; the value of interactive story-making (yarning); how to enter timeless Ancestral Mind; listening to animate nature, even rocks; our crucial role as a custodial species; and much more. NB: As Always, these interviews with leading visionaries on consciousness transformation and the urgent need for an awakening humanity are also available on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. This interview with Tyson Yunkaporta can be found at this link: https://youtu.be/KmLrgS_m3AU

Author/editor of "Cannabis and Spirituality" and ceremony leader Stephen Gray talks about how cannabis can deepen simple presence meditation; the Yogic principle of stopping the chatter of the mind;  a basic guide to meditating with cannabis; the central importance of breath; working with thoughts; dosage and strains; methods of intake; and more. NB: This half hour video is also accessible with video on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/A5cqVNoJhPs And: There are more than a dozen interviews with leading visionaries and spokespeople in fields related to psychedelics here and on the StephenGray Vision YouTube Channel.

Chris Bache is one of our most important visionaries. He sees clearly where we have been as a species, where we are now, where we need to go, and where we can go if we bring our best to the work ahead. We are in an extraordinary new phase of collective transformation, a great unraveling as we engage our individual and collective shadows and submit ourselves to the transforming fire. This short message from our 2020 winter solstice event is essential for us to take to heart now if there is any hope of birthing the New Human and collectively manifesting a mature planetary civilization. NB: This stunning message is also accessible, along with more than a dozen other interviews and talks with great visionaries, on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel at this link. https://youtu.be/sFt_BVbMyls

We'll be hearing a lot more from Laurel Sugden in the years to come. She has been studying Huachuma, - aka, the San Pedro cactus, for years, both on the ground in Peru and in the academy. Laurel has now become a remarkable source of knowledge on most subjects related to the sacred cactus. In my interview with Laurel, she discusses such topics as: How Huachuma’s time has come as she “gathers the world under her wings” and helps humanity restore balance; the mysterious and sudden explosion of art and culture in northern Peru just as the cactus appears in the archeological record about 4,000 years ago; the many different species of Huachuma with diverse effects and Spirits; the vast difference between plants grown with love and those treated only as product; and much more. NB: As always, these inspirational interviews and talks are available on the StephenGray Vision YouTube channel. Here's the link for the interview with Laurel. https://youtu.be/PrR4-AwgffQ