What Has Blindness Got to Do with Trauma & How Plant Medicines Helped with Victor Mifsud

What Has Blindness Got to Do with Trauma & How Plant Medicines Helped with Victor Mifsud

Hear how Victor is healing through self-discovery, biohacking, and plant medicines. His condition, called retinitis pigmentosa, is a degenerative eye condition that causes severe tunnel vision during the day and renders him nearly blind at night. His journey has led him to become a citizen scientist, Natural Vision educator, psychedelic advocate and a filmmaker (he made a documentary called ‘My Neuroplastic Adventure’). In this episode: how trauma and illness are linked, harrowing stories of psychedelic experiences like being attacked by his shaman while on Ayahuasca, the importance of going inward to heal, lucid dreaming, family constellations, and even how an experience with MDMA temporarily restored his vision. Host: Monika Jus | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCEotqmok9pnHIYnRzNkPA/about] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/the_conscious_shift/] Guest: Victor Mifsud The Conscious Shift  [https://www.theconsciousshift.org/] SHOW NOTES (2:52) TRADITIONAL WESTERN MEDICINE LIMITS Medication and therapy could not heal Victor’s severe depression. With nowhere else to turn, hear how Victoor embarked on an unusual healing journey. (4:30) VIOLENCE IN SACRED CEREMONY Abuse of power and trust in healing spaces and what to look for when picking a ceremony center. (7:44) SOMATIC THERAPY A mind, body therapy as close to psychedelic therapy as you can get without the psychedelics. What a session can teach you about trauma through energy work. (10:23) TAPPING INTO YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS Learn the benefit of expanding your subconscious connection through multiple healing modalities. (12:06) PAIN, TRAUMA, AND THE INVISIBLE ELEMENTS SHAPING OUR ENVIRONMENT What happens when you can’t see the origin of trauma and the upside of experiencing pain. How ancestral and lived trauma shows up as disease in the body. (17:16) METHODS OF HEALING: LUCID DREAMING AND MDMA Using gentle psychedelics to temporarily restore vision and addressing ancestral trauma in the dream state. (19:33) AFTER PSYCHEDELIC CEREMONIES Most of the healing work is done outside of the psychedelic experience, learn the importance of pre-ceremony intention setting and post-ceremony integration. (24:00) ATTACKED BY A SHAMAN Ignored red flags, Victor’s nightmare experience while on psychedelics, and releasing the trauma of that experience. (28:25) AYAHUASCA: PRE-CEREMONY APPREHENSION AND POST-CEREMONY REVELATIONS An Ayahhasca experience, emotionally and physically demanding, can be hard to look forward to but the transformational benefits are worth the pain. Here is what to expect. (41:25) POST PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE STRUGGLES After taking psychedelics, your whole world view can shift, making it difficult to connect to people who have not experienced what you have. How to navigate new perspectives on society. (46:06) BENEFITS OF PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCES Lifelong emotional roadblocks and hangups often disappear. Self-acceptance and tending to the garden of the body from a holistic perspective. (51:19) LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE Working with healers in a 1 on 1 setting and  easing into trauma healing with psychedelics.

How Using Cannabis to Treat Severe Menstrual Pains Led to Publishing a Cannabis Cookbook with Robyn Griggs Lawrence

How editor-in-chief and mother, Robyn Lawrence, overcame dysmenorrhea (severe menstrual cramps) and extreme PMS with a plant she had always thought was bad - cannabis. Instead of rolling joints, she decided to use it as any other plant and cook with it. This eventually led to her collaborating with cannabis chefs and publishing “Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook”. In this episode: what’s the difference between smoking and eating it, the distinction between strains, what to ask your budtender, the Dos and Don’ts of cooking with weed, and what to do when you’ve had too much and think you might die. Host: Monika Jus | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCEotqmok9pnHIYnRzNkPA/about] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/the_conscious_shift/] Guest: Robyn Lawrence [https://www.robyngriggslawrence.com/] The Conscious Shift  [https://www.theconsciousshift.org/] SHOW NOTES (5:00) HOW IT STARTED How Robyn started her cannabis cooking journey and where she found support. (7:52) CANNABIS CONSUMPTION CAVEATS Ways to consume cannabis that doesn’t involve smoking and the problem with sugar in mass-produced edibles. (10:00) STRAINS & THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES Therapeutic properties of TCH and CBD: what we do know, what we don’t know, and how strains of weed differ. (14:46) CBN Cannabis is not just a pain killer or hallucinogen. Learn about a third cannabinoid, CBN, that can enhance your sleep and have positive effects on PTSD. (17:44) SCIENCE OF COOKING WITH CANNABIS Robyn describes how to extract the cannabinoids when cooking with cannabis. (20:27) SMOKING VS. EATING EFFECTS & THC DOSAGE Robyn explains the different effects of smoking versus eating weed and what is responsible for that difference as well as the dose. (24:30) SMELLS & TASTES Smells and tastes to expect when eating weed and what different strains may be better for when cooking. (27:26) TIPS FOR OVERDOSING What to do if you’ve over consumed and feel like you might die

The High Achiever’s Journey Into Fulfilment with Neil Markey

Neil Markey was a quintessentially successful American - former Army Ranger, Ivy League school graduate, husband, and a corporate strategist with a hand in Private Equity. He was in all the rooms with all the right people at the right times. But Neil had a problem: an emotionally depleted marriage, chronic self-medication, and at the core of it all a struggle to find happiness widened the gap between where he was and the life of purpose he craved. He was deeply unsatisfied and was left unfulfilled despite checking all of the standard boxes for success. Today, Neil leads meditations as well as psychedelic-assisted retreats for industry leaders and lives a blanched life, more connected to his values. Join Monika and Neil in conversation about his transformation, how he navigated it and how he hopes to help others through consciousness, neuroscience, and individual wellness. Host: Monika Jus | @The_Conscious_Shift [https://www.instagram.com/the_conscious_shift/] Guest: Neil Markey Evolutio: https://www.evolutio.org/ [https://www.evolutio.org/] The Conscious Shift: www.theconsciousshift.org [http://www.theconsciousshift.org/] The Conscious Shift - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCEotqmok9pnHIYnRzNkPA/featured] SHOW NOTES (2:02) While in undergrad at University of Maryland, the events of September 11 changed the trajectory of Neil’s life. Days after the attack he found himself having lunch with Chris Matthes from Hardball and Paul Wolfowitz, the Undersecretary of Defense for Donald  Rumsfeld. After their meeting at the Pentagon, Neil enrolled in the army. (3:42) Enlisted as an Engineer Officer, Neil was deployed to Iraq with a platoon of 35 infantry under his command. He describes the inspiration he found in the pure talent of those around him and the conviction he held for the mission. (6:53) Disenchanted by the knowledge that there were no weapons of mass destruction, and looking for further career development, Neil left the ranger regiment for Columbia where he received an MBA. That lead to strategy consulting. While he climbed the ladder, he was still aware that this was not his purpose in life. Hear where walking this prescribed path lead. (16:19) Neil’s corporate experience was not unlike his experience in the ranger regiment - he was in constant battle. The stress of constantly trying to fill the spaces left by insecurity and personal emptiness came to a head. He needed a new way of doing life. (20:27) Neil had seen meditation practiced by his father and the Delta squad in Iraq, but never thought of it as a practical tool for his life. But when he could no longer handle his unhappiness, he explored Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a form of meditation developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. Hear how Neil went from seeing meditation as a silly practice to half-day solo meditations and plant medicine retreats. (24:06) Hear how meditation and psychedelics helped Neil zoom out, see the bigger picture, and come home to his body. (27:21) His practice has had such a profound impact on his life that he has started a wellness business at the intersections of consciousness, neuroscience, and individual wellness. Hear how he intends to make the most positive impact on the world around him. (38:10) Neil offers advice and practical tips for those who don't think they are capable of meditating. (42:51) How the human and animal mind perceives time, and thus stress, differently. Human thought and the scientific method both have their limitations. Hear about the tips on how we go beyond them.

Navigating Altered States with Susan Hess Logeais

We all want a happy life. The “how” of finding that happiness can be challenging. These stories of transformation and discovery are meant to help guide you on your own journey. In today’s episode, Susan Hess Logeais discusses altered states of consciousness through psychedelics such as Ayahuasca and LSD, holotropic breathing, and shamanic journeys. Hess is a director of the documentary The Way of the Psychonaut in which she talks about Stanislav Grof, psychedelic psychotherapy pioneer, and how his work impacted her life. Hess Logeais holds a degree in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies and is a pillar of the psychedelic community. Host: Monika Jus | @the_conscious_shift [http://www.instagram.com/the_conscious_shift] Guest: Susan Hess Logeais | Susan Hess Logeais - Exploring Ways of Living with the Planet and Each Other [https://susanhesslogeais.com/] The Way of the Psychonaut: www.vimeo.com/hotflashfilmspdx [http://www.vimeo.com/hotflashfilmspdx] The Conscious Shift: www.theconsciousshift.org [http://www.theconsciousshift.org/] The Conscious Shift - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCEotqmok9pnHIYnRzNkPA/featured] SHOW NOTES: (1:27) Meet Susan Hess Logeais, storyteller and pillar of the psychedelic community. (2:42) What drew Hess Logeais to psychedelics and how her relationship with them changed as her family grew. (5:52) Intention setting before high dose psychedelic experiences: does it make a difference? (7:44) Hess Logeais explains her relationship with fear and high dose psychedelics. (11:34) High doses of psychedelics can crack the shells we've built while in survival mode. What happens after we are broken open? (13:13) Hess Logeais learns the truth of purging and the importance of surrender. (16:46) Is it better to let the psychedelics just do their work? Or to ask questions while in the experience? (19:35) Hess Logeais discusses her approach to malevolent entities in shamanic experiences. (24:19) Hess Logeais reveals the best experiences she had during ceremonies. (30:49) Pushing past the limits of intellect with psychedelics. (35:25) Hess Logeais discusses what she gets out of the psychedelic experiences. (42:46) Hess Logeais went back to school to receive her master’s degree. Hear how this education prepared her for making The Way of The Psychonaut documentary. (43:52) Integration is an essential part of any psychedelic experience. Hess Logeais discusses difficulties in integration and how she dealt with them. (49:25) Hess Logeais describes what has improved in her life as a result of the experiences and what truth means for her.

Introducing The Conscious Shift Podcast

Welcome to The Conscious Shift: a movement designed to help you live a more fulfilling life and reach your full potential. Society tells us that once we check all the boxes: get a degree, buy a home, get married, snag that high-paying job, and the fancy car, we will obtain happiness. But what happens when these accomplishments don't bring the happiness we were promised? We begin to ask questions like: Why the heck are we alive? Is there more to life than checking society’s boxes? Who am I in the first place? And am I even doing life right? Here we look at non-conventional healing modalities to help make sense of life’s most pressing questions. Like a candle in the dark, these conversations are designed to help you glimpse the next clue in your healing journey. Instagram | @the_conscious_shift [https://www.instagram.com/the_conscious_shift/] YouTube | The Conscious Shift [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDCEotqmok9pnHIYnRzNkPA] Website | www.theconsciousshift.org [http://www.theconsciousshift.org/]