Ayahuasca Podcast
Explore Transformative Experiences

and ancestral Plant Medicine

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Founder & Host

Sam Believ

Sam had a life-changing experience with Ayahuasca with the medicine taking away his depression and helping him find his purpose. Now Sam is on a mission to spread the word about Ayahuasca with AyahuascaPodcast.com as well as provide affordable and accessible Ayahuasca experience at his retreat – LaWayra.

LaWayra has become the most reviewed Ayahuasca retreat in South America in 3 years of its existence and has changed lives of 1000s of people.

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In this episode of the Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ sits down with Jonathan Robinson, a psychotherapist, New York Times bestselling author of over 10 books, and a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Jonathan has spent decades exploring human connection, interviewing foundational spiritual figures like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Ram Dass. His latest work, Ecstasy as Medicine, and its counterpart Ecstasy for Couples, centers on the immense therapeutic potential of MDMA.

Jonathan shares his transition from growing up in a chaotic environment to studying chemical consciousness, explaining how MDMA acts as a biological “fast-track” for vulnerability, emotional rewiring, and healing relationships.

Key Discussion Points

  • 02:15 – A Dysfunctional Childhood as a Gift: Jonathan discusses how growing up around family volatility forced him inward at age 12, sparking an early mastery of self-hypnosis, meditation, and early psychedelic experimentation.

  • 05:40 – The Early Days of Legal MDMA Research: Conducting a master’s thesis on MDMA for trauma in the early 1980s before it was criminalized in the US, and how modern data proves it is exponentially more effective for PTSD than standard antidepressants.

  • 09:15 – “The Drug Never Took Effect”: A hilarious story of Jonathan giving pure MDMA to his conservative parents, who spent the evening resolving 45 years of hidden marital tension and cuddling—completely unaware they were under the influence.

  • 13:45 – The 5-Hour Therapy Session on Steroids: The mechanics of facilitating over 700 MDMA journeys, and why Jonathan chooses to run his intensive deep-dives and integration work virtually over Zoom for maximum domestic comfort.

  • 18:20 – Blaming, Shaming, Complaining, and Explaining: Why standard relationship defense mechanisms fail 100% of the time, and the core communication framework required to shift a relationship dynamic immediately.

  • 22:50 – The Illusion of “Dishes” (The Aunt Story): How an MDMA session saved Jonathan’s own marriage by revealing that his wife’s displaced anger over refrigerator doors was actually unmapped grief regarding her late aunt.

  • 27:15 – The “Sweet Killer” Dilemma: A 300,000-year evolutionary look at why male brains were naturally selected to prioritize protective aggression and goal achievement, and how modern environments require an intensive education in empathy.

  • 33:10 – Collectivism of Spiritual Lifelines: Insights from living in Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian monasteries, culminating in Jonathan’s ultimate personal religion: “Do what works.”

Connect with Jonathan Robinson:

Experience Safe, Guided Consciousness Work: To explore heart-opening, traditional plant medicine retreats in a deeply restorative setting designed for integration and profound clarity, explore our programs at: ayahuascaincolombia.com

In this episode of the Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ connects with Andrew Gallimore, a computational neurobiologist, pharmacologist, and chemist based in Tokyo. Andrew is a prominent voice in the cutting-edge study of psychedelic neuroscience and the author of Alien Information Theory, Reality Switch Technologies, and his latest work, Death by Astonishment.

Self-described as a “DMT exceptionalist,” Andrew explores how this efficient, reliable molecule acts as the ultimate reality channel switch—obliterating our normal waking model of the world and instantaneously replacing it with a staggeringly complex, alternate reality populated by advanced, intelligent entities.

Key Discussion Points

  • 02:30 – From the Occult to the Cortex: Andrew shares his teenage pivot from ghosts and folklore to chemistry and pharmacology, driven by a lifelong obsession to understand how molecules interface with the human brain.

  • 06:15 – Brain Mechanics and the Edge of Chaos: How classic psychedelics nudge the brain’s world model away from perfect order and toward a more fluid, entropic, and dynamic state.

  • 10:40 – Turning the Radio Dial: The difference between a slightly disordered trip and the total structural collapse into a new frequency that occurs during a breakthrough DMT experience.

  • 14:55 – Is the DMT State Being Mapped? Andrew proposes that rather than creating a “hallucination,” DMT may be gating the flow of alternative sensory inputs, letting the brain construct a model informed by an external source.

  • 21:20 – The Genesis of DMTX: Retooling target-controlled intravenous infusion technology from anesthesiology to stabilize the notoriously short DMT trip into a controlled, hours-long exploration.

  • 27:40 – Deep Sea Diving in Consciousness: Moving away from the disorienting “rollercoaster” of standard DMT hits toward a stable, navigational space where the ecology of the alternate reality can be charted.

  • 33:15 – The Secret History of Ayahuasca: A look at the discovery of the brew from Richard Spruce in 1852 to beat writer William Burroughs, highlighting the brilliant example of indigenous pharmacological synergy between the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria viridis leaf.

  • 39:50 – Indigenous Science vs. Random Chance: Moving past the Western-centric idea that indigenous peoples merely stumbled across the brew, showcasing their deep historical mastery of combining complex plant medicines.

  • 45:10 – Endogenous DMT and the Moment of Death: Analyzing why DMT is found naturally in mammals and discussing the physiological hypothesis that it spikes to protect neurons during hypoxic stress or childbirth.

Follow Andrew Gallimore’s Work:

  • Website: buildingalienworlds.com

  • Latest Book: Death by Astonishment: Science, Endogenous DMT, and the Reality Switch

  • DMTX Facility Info: Explore legal extended-state research opportunities at eleusismind.com

Explore the Original Reality Technology: If you want to experience the original, traditional extended DMT technology through safely facilitated plant medicine, visit: ayahuascaincolombia.com

If you found this scientific dive into the alien information theory fascinating, please leave us a 5-star review!

In this episode of the Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ sits down with Jacquie Wortley, a design leader, executive coach, and operations consultant who specializes in the intersection of technology, leadership, and mental health. Jacquie originally came to Lawayra in 2023 for what was supposed to be a simple weekend stay. Instead, she stayed for 10 days, sat with the medicine six times, and completely catalyzed her path away from emotional suppression, toxic relationship cycles, and excessive substance use.

Jacquie returns to share how her integration has evolved over the years, the profound lessons she learned from navigating a romantic relationship post-ceremony in July 2025, and how she is redefining corporate culture by introducing radical authenticity and soft skills to modern business environments.

Key Discussion Points

  • 03:15 – The Runaway Nomad: Jacquie shares her journey from Vancouver to Toronto, building a successful tech career while using geographical changes and excessive partying to run from family turbulence and emotional pain.

  • 07:45 – Sending a Scout: How testing the waters by sending a close friend to Lawayra first eventually led Jacquie to book her own transformative, 10-day marathon with the medicine.

  • 11:20 – Shift in Substances: Outgrowing the “excessive user” label, eliminating stimulant drugs entirely, and shifting her relationship with alcohol away from a coping mechanism.

  • 16:40 – Don’t Wake a Sleeping Baby: Jacquie opens up about her past mistake of trying to force psychedelic healing onto her previous partner before he was ready, and what it taught her about patience, humility, and unconditional love.

  • 23:15 – The Illusion of Being “Chill”: A deep look into the paradox of control issues, why the people who need to surrender the most fight the medicine the hardest, and Sam’s story of a breakthrough moment over a mattress arrangement.

  • 29:10 – The Conscious Operator: Stepping away from the traditional corporate “COO” mask to focus on deep inner self-awareness as the ultimate foundation for managing people and business logistics.

  • 35:00 – Radical Responsibility at Work: How leaders can handle difficult interpersonal dynamics with transparency, drop the professional facade, and own their emotional capacity with their teams.

  • 41:30 – Brainstorming the Entrepreneur Mastermind: Sam and Jacquie dive into a spontaneous idea to co-create a specialized Lawayra retreat tailored specifically for business owners, founders, and managers to combine ceremony with peer masterminds.

  • 46:15 – Unmasking Safely: How to navigate corporate vulnerability, identifying who you can safely open up to at work, and introducing feminine leadership into masculine environments.

The Mechanics of Control and Surrender

A central theme of Jacquie and Sam’s dialogue centers around how trauma survivors often use hyper-vigilance and control as a shield. Ayahuasca systematically deconstructs this defense mechanism, teaching that true surrender is an internal energetic release rather than an intellectual concept. As Jacquie notes, the medicine teaches you in the most frustrating way that head-in-the-bucket submission is often required before you can truly connect.

The Reality of Relational Integration

Jacquie reflects deeply on her experience dating her partner again after his first retreat in July 2025. She points out a crucial lesson for anyone navigating relationships post-ceremony:

“The ceremonies are simply just a vision of what could be. But it’s our integration that makes that vision into reality. Integration happens through conscious choice making and behavioral changes in our day-to-day life.”

Expecting a first-time sitter to integrate at the exact pace of a seasoned practitioner is a form of projection. True unconditional love means releasing control and allowing others to be exactly who they are on their own path.

Connect with Jacquie Wortley:

Join the Conscious Leader Movement: If the idea of an exclusive mastermind retreat for entrepreneurs, managers, and business operators resonates with you, let us know! Drop a comment on Spotify, YouTube, or reach out directly via Instagram to Sam or Jacquie.

To book a traditional retreat focused on deep inner awareness, visit: ayahuascaincolombia.com

If you appreciated this raw look into integration and leadership, please rate the show 5 stars!

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In each episode of Ayahuasca podcast we explore the history, cultural meaning, and personal journeys related to this special plant medicine. We talk with shamans, researchers, and people who share their own

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