PT467 – Daan Keiman, MA, Rabbi Aura Ahuvia, & Josh Harper – The Role of Religion, Psychedelic Chaplaincy, and Spiritual Care
Psychedelics Today
Psychedelics Today, LLC
4.6 • 598 Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2023
⏱️ 84 minutes
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Summary
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Johanna interviews Daan Keiman, MA: Buddhist, Psychedelic Chaplain, and Co-Founder of the psychedelic think-and-practice tank, Communitas Collective Foundation; Aura Ahuvia: Rabbi who served five years as President of the ALEPH (Alliance for Jewish Renewal) Board and is now the Founder of Psychedelic Rabbi; and Josh Harper: Consciousness Medicine Guide who works with Ligare, a Christian Psychedelic Society.
They dig deep into the intersection of psychedelics and spirituality, focusing largely on the concept of psychedelic chaplaincy: how they each define it and how spiritual caregivers are uniquely positioned to be of service to those coming out of powerful and unexplainable mystical experiences (whether they be psychedelic or not). They discuss why being grounded in a spiritual tradition is important, but how it's often more important to be open to mystery and exploring that which is complex and difficult, even if that means someone questioning if their religion is truly right for them anymore.
Each tell their stories of struggling with and eventually embracing their religion and how psychedelics and spirituality became part of their lives, and discuss much more: Psychedelics in religious history and the slow embrace of mysticism in today's renaissance; the importance of truly listening to individuals' experiences and not dismissing life-changing experiences as 'drug-induced'; how practice (no matter what kind) is a huge benefit of religion; and the need to eventually de-center psychedelics from the narrative – that the shared experience of coming together in community and asking big questions is where the healing truly lies.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, my name is Jessica and I'm a vital graduate. After I completed the vital 12-month |
| 0:04.7 | program, I went on to open up my own plan business here in the Netherlands, offering legal |
| 0:10.4 | psilocybin sessions, ceremonies and retreat, alongside educational and integration support |
| 0:16.1 | for people that literally come from all over the world to have the opportunity to sit with plant medicine here in a legal setting. |
| 0:24.6 | So besides that, I started to work with Microdosing Institute as well as a co-facilitator |
| 0:29.6 | and explore more collaborations within the psychedelic space. |
| 0:34.2 | And some of those collaborations actually came out from the people that I got to know through the vital program. |
| 0:40.1 | I also started to expand more of the educational work that I do with women of psychedelics, |
| 0:45.4 | and next year we will be providing more ceremonies and sessions and retreats besides online and in-person events |
| 0:53.1 | for all women from all over the world. |
| 0:55.7 | For me, the most rewarding part of this work is actually that I can bring all sides of me to what I do. |
| 1:02.5 | If you are interested in getting involved in the psychedelic world and making a meaningful shift in your life, |
| 1:07.6 | visit vitalpsychedelictraining.com for more information on joining the next cohort. |
| 1:12.9 | Are you interested in working in psychedelics but aren't a doctor, a therapist, or even a |
| 1:17.6 | facilitator? Lately, we've been thinking about the future of this field, the people who are going to |
| 1:23.0 | work with psychedelics and how they're going to show up. We know that there's more to building something meaningful |
| 1:28.4 | here than just trip sitting and clinical trials alone. Here's what we heard from people in a new |
| 1:34.4 | survey who are working in psychedelics right now or preparing to launch their careers. 50.4% are |
| 1:41.6 | interested in working in areas beyond facilitation and therapy, including media, |
| 1:46.7 | academia, biotech, cultivation, marketing, finance, and more, indicating the breadth and diversity |
| 1:53.6 | of interest in this field. |
| 1:56.0 | And while many hold bachelor's degrees are higher, and inspiring 20% come from varied educational backgrounds, |
... |
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