Dropping in with Caroline

EP. 003: Rewilding with Sacred Plant Medicine and Shantree Kacera

Today we drop in with Shantree Kacera, R.H., D.N., Ph.D., a renowned herbalist, Ayurvedic nutritionist and regenerative ecologist, and co-founder of The Living Centre, a 50-acre botanical sanctuary and education hub in Southwestern Ontario, to explore the sacredness of plants. As modern-day awareness of psychedelic-supported healing grows, so too has our curiosity about so-called “sacred plant medicines” such as psilocybin mushrooms, or Ayahuasca. But what makes a plant sacred? Could this category also include Poison Ivy, Holy Basil and Mugwort? Shantree began his deep listening and co-creating with plants early in life. But it wasn’t until he turned 16, when he declared he wanted to become an herbalist, that he learned his Yugoslavian great grandmother —who’d passed when he was just two—was an herbalist too. More than 50 years later, Shantree, still speaking for the plants, he invites us to deepen and broaden our understanding of the plant world and why he believes, we are yearning for these wild supports and ceremony now more than ever. //In this interview, Shantree shares his ideas, and experience with sacred Cacao medicine in Costa Rica, as well as sacred plant intelligence, communication, and plant relationships and community. Alongside his spiritual partner Lorenna, Shantree established The Living Centre, and today it offers wholistic education on herbalism, nutrition, permaculture, forest gardening, rewilding, deep ecology and spiritual development. Visit the www.thelivingcentre.com to read Shantree’s full bio and learn more about their offerings.

Ep 002: Heart & Plant Medicine with Dr. Karolina Mikos

Today we drop in with Dr. Karolina Mikos in Chicago, Illinois and this is a story about following your heart. Dr. Karolina wanted to be a doctor since age six, and made good on that by becoming a Board-Certified Internist, working as a travel hospitalist in paradise. So why did it all feel so wrong? Professional burnout including depression led her to a transformative journey in the jungle with the Indigenous plant medicine Ayahuasca. Inspired by her own dramatic healing, she followed the science, and quit her prestigious medical career to go all in on holistic health and plant medicine. Karolina holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in addition to her MD and is currently licensed to practice Medicine by the State of Illinois. She holds certificates in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy from ATMA Academy (now ATMA CENA) in Calgary, Alberta, is certified by the Whole Health Medical Institute, California in Holistic Medicine, by the IFS Institute in IFS (Internal Family Systems) Therapy Foundation, as well as the Medical Cannabis Mentor in Medical Marijuana therapeutics. Enjoy the show.

Ep. 001: Men, Grief & Psychedelics

Today we drop in with Jason Mackenzie, consultant and Dad expert from London, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, his first wife Cindy, a police officer, took her own life. Then, on Feb. 1st, 2023, he suddenly lost their oldest daughter, Chloe. After many detours and distractions, Jason turned to therapy, sharing his story on TikTok and Substack, and psychedelics, to cope with the immense grief. This is an inspiring story about a Man Down, who pulled himself back up, repeatedly, to become a ray of light for other men grappling with loss, and the women who love them. Btw, Jason writes about grief on substack at: https://improvingman.substack.com Enjoy.