S2E7: Psychedelics and Accessing Consciousness

The Telepathy Tapes

Ky Dickens

Society & Culture, Documentary, Science

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For millennia, humans have turned to psychedelic plants to expand perception and access realms beyond ordinary consciousness. This episode follows that lineage, from Indigenous ayahuasca ceremonies in the Amazon to the secret rituals of ancient Greece, revealing how these substances once served as powerful spiritual technologies. We begin with the extraordinary story of Don José Rubio, the Colombian elder who used ayahuasca visions to help locate four missing children in the jungle, and we hear from author Brian Muraresku, whose research suggests that the foundations of Western spirituality, like other belief systems around the globe, may have been influenced by psychedelic sacraments.

We then turn to the modern moment, where psychedelics are reemerging as tools for healing. Marine Corps veteran Juliana Mercer describes how guided sessions with ayahuasca and psilocybin helped her process decades of trauma, while Yale researcher Dr. Ben Kelmendi explains how these substances open windows of neuroplasticity that can transform mental health when nothing else has worked. Throughout, a deeper theme emerges: psychedelics don’t just heal. They reconnect us to an ancient way of knowing, one that blurs the boundary between medicine and the mystical, and invites us to remember what humanity once understood.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended to substitute the advice of a physician, professional, professional, or other qualified coach, therapist, or other qualified professional, or other qualified medical professionals, and any use should only be conducted in a safe and legal way. This episode also mentions suicidal ideation.
0:22.2	Listener discretion is advised. Hi everyone. This is Kai Dickens and you're listening to the telepathy
0:27.1	tapes podcast. In season one, non-speakers showed us that telepathy is possible, shattering our
0:34.4	assumptions about the world itself. This season, we're turning to others who've also been dismissed, doubted, or mocked
0:41.3	for the ways they claim to know, see, heal, or create.
0:45.3	What if only by listening to those who've been ignored,
0:49.3	we could unlock the deepest mysteries of who we are, where we come from, and where we're going.
0:56.8	This is the telepathy tapes, and we're opening up the next channel.
1:02.7	Before we dive in, I wanted to give a quick thank you to the sponsor for today's episode.
1:07.0	Schedule 35. Their mission is to clear the stigma around psilocybin and offer safe, thoughtful, microdosing support that aligns closely with the conversations we're having today. We're grateful to have them. Please act responsibly and follow the laws where you live. And now let's get into the episode. It's Kai, and as we move into the holidays, I've been thinking a lot about the ways we stay connected. So this December, we want to offer something
1:28.0	that feels truly special. You can give the gift of telepathy all month long. Our annual
1:32.5	backstage pass subscription is 25% off. And for the first time, you can gift an annual membership
1:37.6	to someone you care about. The holiday sale runs from December 1st through December 31st.
1:42.4	To subscribe, visit the telepathytapes.supercast.com.
1:46.3	The link is also in our show notes.
1:48.0	We hope this brings a little bit more joy and connection into your holidays.
1:51.5	Last week, we followed consciousness into the forest,
1:54.3	exploring how plant communication can move through roots,
1:57.1	through ancestors, and through the quiet language of the natural world.
2:00.7	As Nina said last week, plants are not dead matter, but are animate, alive, and ever-loving.
2:05.6	Today, we follow that thread into the world of psychedelics,
2:08.6	plants that have been used for thousands of years to widen consciousness,
	...

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