The Awaken Podcast

Ayahuasca, NASA & the Origins of Life | Dr. Bruce Damer on Psychedelics, Science & Consciousness What if psychedelics aren’t just medicines for healing—but elixirs of discovery? In this boundary-breaking episode of The Awaken Podcast, Dr. Bruce Damer—astrophysicist, visionary researcher, and President of the Center for MINDS—joins Natasja Pelgrom for a groundbreaking conversation on psychedelic-catalyzed insight and its role in shaping the future of science, technology, and human understanding. 📍 Recorded live at Breaking Convention 2025, Bruce shares the story behind how an ayahuasca journey catalyzed a breakthrough in origin-of-life research—a theory now being explored by NASA and peer-reviewed by the scientific community. This is where mysticism meets microbiology, where altered states ignite innovation, and where the line between science and spirit dissolves. 🌍 In this episode, we explore: 🌱 How a visionary ayahuasca experience led to a breakthrough in astrobiology 🧠 Why healing medicines may also be tools for discovery, creativity, and leadership 🧬 The question: Can psychedelics accelerate scientific understanding? 👁️ Encountering an “entity” that delivered insight even NASA couldn’t discredit 🌀 The role of psilocybin, creative flow, and memory in cognitive research 🤖 Collaborating with AI to extend ancient knowledge systems 🌐 Ethical and methodological guardrails for researchers coming “out of the psychedelic closet” 📚 About Dr. Bruce Damer: * President, Center for MINDS [https://www.centerforminds.org] * Astrobiologist & origin-of-life researcher * Former NASA consultant & visionary systems designer * Author, public speaker, and psychedelic science pioneer 🌐 More:  [https://www.damer.com]www.damer.com [http://www.damer.com]  [https://www.damer.com]    🎟️ This episode was recorded live at Breaking Convention – Europe’s leading psychedelic conference: 🔗 breakingconvention.co.uk [https://breakingconvention.co.uk/] 🎥 Subscribe for more episodes on YouTube: 🔗/@natasjapelgrom [https://www.youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom] 🌿 Retreats, integration & community: 🔗 natasjapelgrom.com [natasjapelgrom.com] 📲 Connect on Instagram: 🔗 @natasja_pelgrom [https://www.instagram.com/natasja_pelgrom/]

Are You a Mushroom Having a Human Experience? | Darren Le Baron on Psychedelic Consciousness & African Wisdom In this enlightening episode of The Awaken Podcast, host Natasja Pelgrom is joined by Darren Le Baron—renowned mycologist, psychedelic educator, and speaker on ancient African plant medicine traditions. Recorded live at Breaking Convention 2025, this conversation explores the intersection of psychedelic consciousness, ethnomycology, and ancestral wisdom. With humor, reverence, and grounded insight, Darren shares how mushrooms can awaken new understandings of identity, spirituality, and our relationship with nature. 🌿 Topics covered in this episode: ✅ African wisdom traditions & the lost roots of psychedelic use ✅ “You Are a Mushroom Having a Human Experience” — unpacking Darren’s signature teaching ✅ What mushrooms teach us about consciousness, transformation & healing ✅ How cultivating your own plant medicine deepens the integration process ✅ Cultural and spiritual perspectives on fungi across the globe ✅ Ethical leadership in the era of psychedelic commercialization ✅ How fungi mirror our inner and collective evolution ✨ Whether you’re a psychonaut, spiritual seeker, or student of mycology, this episode is a journey through the soul of the soil and the spirit of the mushroom. 🌐 Learn more about Darren’s work, webinars, and courses:  🔗 www.darrenlebaron.com [http://www.darrenlebaron.com] 🎟️ This episode was recorded live at Breaking Convention – Europe’s leading psychedelic conference: 🔗 breakingconvention.co.uk [breakingconvention.co.uk] 🎥 Subscribe for more episodes on YouTube: 🔗 / @natasjapelgrom [https://www.youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom] 🌿 Retreats, integration & community: 🔗 natasjapelgrom.com [https://www.natasjapelgrom.com/] 📲 Connect on Instagram: 🔗 @natasja_pelgrom [https://www.instagram.com/natasja_pelgrom/]

Exploring consciousness, metaphysics, and psychedelic insight through the lens of Spinietzschean thought. In this mind-expanding episode of The Awaken Podcast, Natasja is joined by Dr. Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, philosopher of mind, metaphysician, and lecturer at the University of Exeter. Renowned for bridging ancient philosophical questions with modern psychedelic insight, Peter invites us into a layered inquiry on consciousness, altered states, and the mysteries embedded within nature itself. From Spinoza to Nietzsche, Kant to panpsychism, this conversation travels through rich philosophical terrain—exploring how altered states may not only expand the mind, but also reframe our understanding of what mind is. In this episode, we explore: * What is consciousness—and is it embedded in or emergent from nature? * How psychedelics challenge traditional views of the mind-body problem * Can altered states give us access to otherwise hidden layers of reality? * How metaphysical frameworks like panpsychism and pantheism influence the interpretation of psychedelic experiences * Why plants, fungi—and perhaps even matter itself—may be conscious in ways we overlook * The intersection of Spinietzschean philosophy and expanded states of awareness * What philosophers like Kant might say about psychedelic experience * The role of awe, sublimity, and moral insight beyond reason * Key philosophical questions in psychedelic research that remain unexplored This episode is a contemplative feast for psychonauts, scholars, and seekers alike—an invitation to see not just differently, but deeper. 📚 About Dr. Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes: * Lecturer at the University of Exeter, Co-Founder of the Exeter Psychedelic Research Group * Director & Trustee at Breaking Convention * Author of Noumenautics, Modes of Sentience, and editor of Philosophy and Psychedelics * TEDx Speaker | Published with Bloomsbury, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, and Psychedelic Press * Inspiration behind Marvel’s philosopher superhero, Karnak 🌐 More about Peter: www.philosopher.eu [http://www.philosopher.eu] 🎟️ Join the Breaking Convention psychedelic conference: Get 10% off your ticket with the code AWAKENTHEMED10 🌿 Resources & Next Steps: → Join the next Sacred Continuum [https://www.eudaimonia.institute/sacred-continuum] live class (integration & embodiment support) → Explore upcoming retreats [https://www.awakenthemedicinewithin.com/] and mentoring [https://www.natasjapelgrom.com/mentorship] opportunities 🌐 natasjapelgrom.com [https://www.natasjapelgrom.com] 🎥 youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom [https://www.youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom] 📲 @natasja_pelgrom [https://www.instagram.com/natasja_pelgrom] 💬 If this episode sparks questions or cosmic reflections… Share it with a fellow seeker or philosopher. Subscribe, leave a review, and tag us in your favorite quotes or “aha” moments. #TheAwakenPodcast #ConsciousnessExplored #PsychedelicPhilosophy #Panpsychism #Spinietzsche #MetaphysicsAndMedicine

‘Feminine Intelligence, Somatic Depth, and Expanded States’ In this timely and thought-provoking solo episode, Natasja Pelgrom opens Season 4 of The Awaken Podcast with a powerful call to remember the forgotten arc of transformation—one rooted not in the peaks of expanded states experience, but in the embodied return. Drawing from decades of space holding, ancient initiatory wisdom, and her own recent darkness retreat, Natasja reframes psych*del^cs and other expanded states not as interventions, but as initiations. At the heart of this return is the Initiatrix archetype—a feminine intelligence that guides transformation through descent, mystery, and relational leadership. In this episode, we explore: * Why modern psych*delic culture is obsessed with ego death and “how many journeys” * The deeper questions we should be asking about integration and embodiment * The Initiatrix archetype as a model for feminine-informed facilitation * Natasja’s 3-day darkness retreat as a lived descent—and why it changed her leadership * Polyvagal theory, the default mode network, and the neuroscience of re-entry * Why some traditions require 40 days for integration—and what we’ve lost by rushing * How to reframe leadership in medicine work as relational stewardship, not performance * The cost of ignoring the feminine process of transformation in facilitation and service This episode sets the tone for a season dedicated to re-orienting our collective compass—from seeking the peak, to honoring the slow, sacred spiral of return. 📍 Resources & Next Steps: → Join the next Sacred Continuum [https://www.eudaimonia.institute/sacred-continuum] live class (integration & embodiment support) → Explore upcoming retreats [https://www.awakenthemedicinewithin.com/] and mentoring [https://www.natasjapelgrom.com/mentorship] opportunities 🌐 natasjapelgrom.com [https://natasjapelgrom.com/] 🎥 youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom [https://www.youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom] 📲 @natasja_pelgrom [https://www.instagram.com/natasja_pelgrom] 🎟️ Join the Breaking Convention psychedelic conference: Get 10% off your ticket with the code AWAKENTHEMED10 🔗 breakingconvention.co.uk [https://www.breakingconvention.co.uk] 💬 If this episode resonated with you, share it with a fellow seeker, facilitator, or space holder. Tag us with your reflections and let us know: 👉 What does “the return” mean to you? 👉 How are you honoring the feminine arc in your work? #TheAwakenPodcast #PsychedelicIntegration #TheInitiatrix #SacredLeadership #EmbodiedTransformation #5MeODMT #DarknessRetreat #FeminineArchetypes

"Life is not a destination—it’s a courageous journey of returning to what truly matters." In this rich and soul-stirring episode, Natasja sits down with a visionary entrepreneur whose journey began in Hong Kong and led them through the bustling streets of Amsterdam’s creative scene, where they co-founded iconic spaces like Doka, Canvas, Werkplaats, and Vrijland Festival. Together, they explore: ✨ Aligning business with soul-purpose and personal values 🌀 The art of shedding identity to reinvent oneself 🪶 Embracing humility and becoming a student of life again 🧭 Following intuition to navigate profound life shifts 🌱 Building community spaces rooted in integrity and inclusion 🌍 Emigrating and starting anew while holding a vision for freedom 🌿 Reclaiming connection to nature as our ultimate guide and teacher Their story is not just about entrepreneurial success—but about daring to lead with heart, choosing integrity over conformity, and embodying freedom as a lived philosophy. 💡 Highlights from the Episode: * Letting go of success to rediscover self * Lessons in leadership from hospitality to holistic living * Moving from city life to a new rhythm in Portugal * Creating spaces that serve both inner and outer transformation 📍 Connect with our guest: 👉 www.freedomville.pt [http://www.freedomville.pt] 🌿 Resources & Next Steps: → Join the next Sacred Continuum [https://www.eudaimonia.institute/sacred-continuum] live class (integration & embodiment support) → Explore upcoming retreats [https://www.awakenthemedicinewithin.com/] and mentoring [https://www.natasjapelgrom.com/mentorship] opportunities 🌐 natasjapelgrom.com [https://www.natasjapelgrom.com] 🎥 youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom [https://www.youtube.com/@NatasjaPelgrom] 📲 @natasja_pelgrom [https://www.instagram.com/natasja_pelgrom] 💬 Loved this episode? Share it with a friend, leave a review, and tag us on Instagram with your insights! #TheAwakenPodcast #ConsciousLeadership #SacredEntrepreneurship