From SEAL Commander to Psychedelic Explorer: Chuck Hayes on Healing Veterans After Trauma | Ep. 253 | Pt. 3

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

News, Politics, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.9 • 6.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2025

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the gripping final installment of the Mike Drop Podcast with Chuck Hayes, a 40-year Navy SEAL veteran, we dive into the profound intersections of military discipline, spiritual awakening, and post-service purpose. Chuck reflects on the non-democratic nature of military life, the weight of command, and the responsibility to lead with trust and empathy. He shares a transformative near-death experience induced during a medical training course, revealing a cosmic perspective on life, death, and existence itself. From encounters with divine laughter to haunting dreams and past-life regressions, Chuck unravels his journey through the psychedelic medicine, shamanic visions, and hypnotherapy—that reshaped his understanding of reality, faith, and human suffering. Now, through his work with Soft Whisper, Chuck channels these experiences to help veterans and civilians alike heal from trauma, find purpose, and navigate the complexities of the human soul. This episode is a raw, mind-bending exploration of leadership, spirituality, and the eternal quest for meaning. SleepMe Visit www.sleep.me/MIKEDROP to get 20% off your Chilipad with code MIKEDROP, one word. That’s free shipping, free returns, and a 30-night sleep trial to test it for yourself. Again — that’s https://sleep.me/MIKEDROP. NHTSA Beam Here’s the deal: Beam is giving my listeners the ultimate patriot discount of UP TO 40% off. Try their best‑selling Dream Powder and get UP TO 40% off for a limited time. Go to https://shopbeam.com/products/dream-powder-4?variant=41387075567671&selling_plan=1794441271&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=sponsorship&utm_campaign=mikedrop&code=applied15&discount=MIKEDROP and use code MIKEDROP at checkout. TEAM DOG FOOD, TREATS & SUPPLEMENTS Be Your Dog’s Hero: Veteran-owned by a former Navy SEAL and Special Operations K9 Trainer, Team Dog provides a complete diet of science-backed premium dog food, treats, and supplements to optimize your dog’s health, forged from rigorous standards and real-world expertise. https://www.teamdog.shop TEAM DOG ONLINE TRAINING Mike Ritland – a former Navy SEAL & Special Operations K9 trainer – shares his simple and effective dog training program to build trust and control with your dog. Based on Mike’s bestselling book “Team Dog, Train the Navy SEAL Way”, join tens of thousands of families that successfully trained their way to a better dog. https://www.teamdog.pet SHOP ALL THE MIKE RITLAND BRANDS Get all your Mike Ritland branded gear - Mike Drop | Trikos | Team Dog https://shop.mikeritland.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Our military is our military instrument and the thing underneath it, it's not democratic.
0:09.0	It's like you sign the hell up, you obey the orders of the superior officer, and you execute the mission.
0:16.0	Now, there's lots of other stuff in that too, you know, and... Well, provided it doesn't go against the Constitution.
0:23.6	You can do it any way you want to do it.
0:25.6	But at the end of the day, there are certain things that are not democratic institutions.
0:31.6	And the United States military is not.
0:34.6	It's, you know, your commander values your opinion till the point where it's like,
0:41.7	but then at the end of the day, when it comes down to mission, it's like, boom, you know.
0:46.3	Well, provided it doesn't violate the Constitution. Absolutely. I'm 100% on board with that.
0:51.8	I'm 100% on board with that. Yeah, I mean, to be fair, I mean, not like I didn't take, I still have never had one of the
0:59.1	vaccines and I wouldn't get it.
1:01.3	If I had been on active duty, I probably would have maintained that same principle and
1:07.6	dealt with the consequences.
1:08.9	But I can certainly respect the fact that I do understand
1:13.7	that the military isn't a democracy.
1:16.1	And when you do sign up, you're saying, hey, I give up to and including my life the people
1:22.1	who are in charge of me.
1:23.1	And that's part of the gig.
1:24.1	And if you don't like that, then don't do it.
1:26.3	Yeah.
1:26.6	And you know, too, Mike, I think it seldom gets down to that. That's the bottom line, you know, at the very, at the very either top or the bottom of whatever you're looking for. But I think it seldom gets down to, as a commander and in my time as a commanding officer, I'm going to tell I didn't, I don't think we really touched on it here,
1:45.6	but there was one thing that I was, I was like, I want to be the best commanding officer I can
	...

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