Ben Greenfield

Because you really do cross over this portal where you realize like there's a whole different dimension around us that we can't see in our native state, but that certain chemical compounds that grow on this planet or that are synthesized allow us to be able to delve into and interact with.

No, I haven't been there.

I'm familiar with it.

A lot of hard-charging high achievers who, like, no offense, are sometimes wired up to be, like, very controlling.

Yeah.

That's one of the reasons that, like, they are successful, have probably, like you experienced, a little bit more difficulty, like, turning off the brain, down-regulating the default mode network, and in many cases...

Yeah, there is training and pre-integration that's involved to actually help to teach you how to do that.

Or in some cases, people will just like carpet bomb you with more of the substance, which has biochemical implications for days and days afterwards.

I think it's better to just like, you know, do things like breath work that teach you how to be comfortable in that space before you go in so that the standard dose is able to shift you into the state that you're looking for.

Yeah.

You have?

Oh, no.

No, like that would be roughly translated as what would be called in the world of psychedelics, like the ability to be able to let go, right?

And many people just ego is on board and it's very hard to let the ego not be on board because that is a feeling that takes you out of the safety and control that is part of your success and that you've grown to become dependent on.

But that if you're looking for the breakthroughs, like physically or more appropriately, like mentally or spiritually from something like that, like at some point you have to turn off that part of the brain and just let go to get the breakthroughs that you want.

And related to the trauma piece, sometimes it is...

the ability of compounds like that to be able to train the brain how to let go of the control and how to understand once again what it feels like not to be gripping tightly and clutching tightly and to know that that's a safe place that one doesn't need to be afraid of.

But I think probably when it comes to trauma,

And again, like I'm no psychedelic expert.

Like I'm just, you know, this is not something I was like, like, you know, I don't have a degree in mushrooms.