With chapter 35, "The Martyr," we're now at the penultimate chapter of book 3 of Tales of Aurduin, The Alchemist and the Eagle. In this chapter the arrangement made between Nuya and Jao comes to it's bloody fulfillment as Nuya is sacrificed in a Jolao Grand Lucidium ritual which the empire plans to use as a propaganda tool, yet also serves to galvanize the growing resistance and Ohada's passion for revenge ...

I've got a lively conversation for you this week with my 3-way with Hewkii and Flammeus, who invited me back on their show for the third time. We cover a lot of territory with music, ontological questions about dreams vs reality, identifying what "spirituality" is, how nondual experiences on ketamine are different from nondual experiences with 5-MeO-DMT, how truly strange and bizarre Salvia divinorum and the Zipper of Reality are, and why I dream of Robert Smith of The Cure giving me props for my music. Enjoy!

My guest this week is Brad Sterner of Inekawa healing center and foundation where the focus is on transformation and nondual self-realization via ayahuasca. While ayahuasca is more commonly associated with Amazonian shamanism, spirits, and alternate realities (dualism), for Brad, it's all about nonduality. We dive in deep in our conversation about how and why this is a different approach to this ancient psychedelic brew. You can learn more at Inekawa.org

Also in this episode I have a reminder about my upcoming talk on Saturday, Oct 3rd with Ancestral Spirit Tribe in Austin, Texas - join us for the live event either in person or via live-stream from their Facebook and Instagram pages.

And lastly, we have a brief update from fellow Mindscape Institute instructor, Sarah Knapik, about her current offerings of low-dose bufo with Altar of the Heart Church in Oakland, California.

My guest this week is author, philosopher, and environmental lawyer, Tam Hunt, here to share all about his newest book, The Hippies Were Right - About Consciousness and Everything Else. We had fascinating and wide-ranging conversation about consciousness, reality, ontology, phenomenology, panpsychism, AI, Burning Man, 5-MeO-DMT, and so much more - truly an episode for those who are interested in the fundamental questions about consciousness, what it is, how we can study it, and how it can be explored. You can learn more about Tam and his work at his website, www.tam-hunt.com

We cover a lot of territory in this week's interview with Internal Family Systems therapist and author, Joshua Pritikin, discussing his new 460+ page book, Religion Unburdened by Belief: The Way of Open Inquiry. Having entered both the worlds of IFS and psychedelic experience only recently in life, Joshua was inspired to create an engaging book that asks big questions about human experience, exploration of the mystery of being, and pathways for doing so without dogmatic beliefs that ultimately impeded open inquiry. As a regular attendee at the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen, the Santo Daime church here in Ashland, Oregon, which served ayahuasca ("Daime") as a religious sacrament, Joshua dives deep into the question of how religious experience can be facilitated by psychedelic use without falling in the belief trap. We invite you to listen in on our extended conversation in this episode ...

The other month I was contacted by Jonas who was inspired to share his story of post-5-MeO-DMT energetic challenges here on the podcast in response to my oft-repeated comments that people are going into experiences with 5 inadequately informed about the potential challenges. Jonas wanted to make his experience available here on the podcast so that others might learn from his experience and understand that regardless of how a session with 5 goes, the post-session process can be extremely difficult, as has been the case for Jonas - big thanks to Jonas to be willing to share!

Reminder: this Wednesday is my second free webinar, "The Foundations of Integration with 5-MeO-DMT" - register for this free event at www.martinball.net/webinar, and see you on Wednesday, 3:30-5 pm Pacific time

I'm joined this week by returning guest, Ian Benouis, who's here to share the latest scientific developments around the molecular identification of psilomethoxin, 4-HO-5-MeO-DMT, the unique sacrament from The Church of the Sacred Synthesis. We discuss the recent findings as well as the court cases the church has launched to defend themselves against their detractors. You can learn more about The Church of the Sacred Synthesis at their website, www.sacredsynthesis.com

Also, there's my second upcoming webinar on The Foundations of Integration with 5-MeO-DMT. You can register for this free online educational event at www.martinball.net/webinar, and there are still some spaces left in my upcoming 5-MeO-DMT Integration Specialist Training Course with Mindscape Institute - www.martinball.net/courses