597. Psychedelic Salvation: The Long, Strange Trip from Addiction to Dharma w/ Zach Leary
The Life Stylist
Luke Storey
4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2025
⏱️ 110 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Zach Leary is a teacher, speaker, writer, and spiritual explorer with one of the most iconic legacies in psychedelic history—being the son of Timothy Leary. But our conversation goes far beyond lineage.
Zach and I dive into his personal story of addiction, homelessness, and recovery, as well as the spiritual awakening that helped him reframe his life through the teachings of Ram Dass and his own lived experience with psychedelics.
We examine the deeper meaning of surrender, how psychedelics intersect with the 12-Step path, and the modern resurgence of mind-altering medicine as both a healing tool and cultural movement. From DMT journeys to divine amends, this episode is a vulnerable exploration of what it means to truly change.
DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only and not intended for diagnosing or treating illnesses. The hosts disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects from using the information presented. Consult your healthcare provider before using referenced products. This podcast may include paid endorsements.
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MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
(00:00:00) Recovery, Relapse, and Finding Grace
(00:07:00) Growing Up Leary: Identity, Grief, and the Shadow of Legacy
(00:14:00) Ram Dass, Death, and the Illusion of Separation
(00:22:00) LSD, AA, and the Forgotten Psychedelic Origins of Recovery
(00:32:00) Psychedelics & the Limits of the Waking Mind
(00:41:00) Ritual, Setting, and the Power of Safe Ceremony
(00:50:00) The Individual vs. Collective Healing Debate
(01:00:00) Cultural Integration, Psychedelics, & the Western Dilemma
(01:10:00) Addiction, Recovery, and the Spiritual Practice of Being of Service
(01:18:00) Self-Love, Dharma, and Seeing Through the Illusion
Resources:
• Website: zachleary.net
• Instagram: @zachlearydrome
The Life Stylist is produced by Crate Media.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Want to hear something super trippy? |
| 0:10.1 | Yeah. |
| 0:11.6 | So a couple months ago, January 26, my dad died, and I was able to make it there, uh, to Florida where he was in the hospital. |
| 0:23.6 | At the time, he was in a coma and not all there. |
| 0:29.7 | Um, and I had about 48 hours of just sitting in his room with him. |
| 0:35.1 | Mm. |
| 0:35.8 | Beautiful. |
| 0:36.3 | Uh, some of, some of which was filled with other family members and things like that. |
| 0:40.8 | But in the moment that he actually died, which is like 2.30 a.m., |
| 0:46.4 | I've been sitting in there for hours. |
| 0:48.9 | I'm with my brother Andy, and I'm just meditating. |
| 0:52.9 | I'm taking a little medicine. |
| 0:55.3 | I'm just trying to really just be fiercely present |
| 1:00.4 | to the whole experience and not run. |
| 1:04.1 | But at some point I was like, |
| 1:06.7 | the silence and the breathing, the death rattle, |
| 1:09.2 | it was just a lot. |
| 1:10.2 | So I'm like, I got to listen to some podcasts. |
| 1:12.5 | Yeah. |
| 1:13.0 | So I put on, and I go, wow, who is really good about death? |
| 1:16.4 | Ron Doss. |
| 1:17.1 | Yeah. |
... |
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