In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast host Sam Believ (founder of http://www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Danielle Herrera, a California-based licensed psychotherapist and psychedelic-assisted therapy specialist. Danielle blends somatic and Jungian work with harm reduction, draws on Indigenous lineage and Sufi mysticism, and trains new facilitators with Beckley Academy. We explore how love, right-relationship, and spiritual technologies help people heal trauma and integrate psychedelic experiences into daily life.

• 00:01–01:22 — Intro and Danielle’s background

• 01:22–08:14 — Origin story: chaotic childhood, harm reduction path, ketamine/MDMA training, founding Tender Heart Healing Arts

• 08:41–12:48 — “Loving people for a living”: centering love in psychotherapy; Indigenous and Sufi lineages

• 13:14–17:11 — Trauma as absence of holding; parenting parallels; harm-reduction lens

• 17:12–22:03 — Why some grow from pain: “jet fuel,” ayahuasca discomfort, meaning-making

• 22:32–25:10 — Transmutation of pain; rites of passage and village containers

• 26:01–29:46 — Shamanism vs “psychosis”: the role of container (Crazywise reference)

• 29:46–36:30 — Sufism 101: Rumi, polishing the heart, spiritual technologies; resonance with ayahuasca/Icaros

• 37:32–42:43 — Mystical experiences in therapy; clinician competence and frameworks

• 42:43–47:02 — Spiritual emergence: signs, tenderness, intuition, “magic is real”

• 47:02–51:40 — Addiction: “don’t ask why the addiction—ask why the pain”; right-relationship with medicines

• 51:40–54:19 — Real integration: becoming better to those you’re responsible to love

If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to http://www.lawayra.com

Find more about Danielle Herrera at tenderheart.us (yourtherapistlovesyou.com) and Instagram: @yourtherapistlovesyou

In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast host Sam Believ (founder of http://www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Simon Tennant—a New Zealand psychotherapist, integration coach, and longtime friend of LaWayra. Simon supports guests through complex processes (including repressed trauma), drawing on meditation, IFS lenses, somatic work, and a growing interest in philosophy and Christian mysticism alongside Buddhism. He’s served on LaWayra’s facilitation team and consults post-retreat, emphasizing patience, embodiment, and community as pillars of lasting change.

• 00:00–00:03 — Reunion, Simon’s role with LaWayra and integration work
• 00:03–00:06 — Recent ceremonies: body-based learning, “great mystery,” non-ordinary states
• 00:06–00:09 — How ayahuasca deepened meditation; greater capacity with difficult client work
• 00:09–00:12 — Shamanic flavor across traditions; curiosity over fixed identities
• 00:12–00:17 — From Buddhist lens to Christian mysticism; using “God” without recoil
• 00:17–00:20 — Multiple lenses metaphor; flexibility vs. rigidity in belief systems
• 00:20–00:23 — Losing self/other to return more whole; holding paradox and conflict
• 00:22–00:24 — Containers, boundaries, and why safe ceremony space matters
• 00:24–00:29 — What volunteering at LaWayra teaches therapists vs. online courses
• 00:29–00:32 — Building a practical facilitator training: “cookbook” + kitchen analogy
• 00:32–00:35 — Post-retreat integration: practices, community, and resisting distractions
• 00:36–00:39 — Working with childhood/sexual-abuse material: patience and not-knowing
• 00:39–00:43 — Somatic integration: TRE, SE, body as a safe place
• 00:40–00:41 — Ayahuasca as a shadow medicine; opening and purgation
• 00:44–00:48 — Shadow, DMN, neuroplasticity, and the ego/DMN connection
• 00:48–00:50 — Three-hour maloca meditation: embodied attention and capacity

If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to http://www.lawayra.com

Find more about Simon Tennant at csimon.nz (C-Simon, spelled c-s-i-m-o-n.nz).

In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ (founder of http://www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Dr. Simon Ruffell — psychiatrist, researcher, and co-founder of Onaya Sciences. Simon is known for bridging Western psychiatry and traditional Amazonian plant medicine, completing a PhD on the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca and training in Shipibo curanderismo in Peru.

We touch upon topics of:

• (00:47) Simon’s journey from psychiatry to the Amazon
• (08:33) How ayahuasca heals: neuroplasticity, epigenetics & spirit work
• (13:18) Indigenous perspectives on balance and illness
• (16:11) Designing research with shamans & translating indigenous knowledge
• (22:11) Safety concerns in Western psychedelic use without shamans
• (31:05) 80% PTSD remission and other research findings
• (35:23) Synchronicities and destiny on the healing path
• (44:18) Ego traps: rushing to become a shaman
• (50:36) Rethinking psychedelic education and training models
• (58:52) The story and spirit of Agua Florida & evolving traditions

If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to http://www.lawayra.com.

Find more about Dr. Simon Ruffell and Onaya Sciences at http://www.onaya.science and on Instagram @drsimonruffell.