Mind Body Health & Politics

Several years ago I had the privilege of interviewing Tim Scully and Michael Randall – two men who were pivotal in the founding of the entheogen-using church known as the Brotherhood of Eternal Love.Tim Scully, the chemist behind the production of the organization's LSD supply, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. An accomplished scientist before his prison term, Scully (pictured, in prison, above) spent his time in prison helping design and build biofeedback and interface systems for the non-vocal handicapped. He also received a Ph.D. in psychology from the regionally accredited Humanistic Psychology Institute in 1979. Following the reduction of his sentence to ten years, he was released from prison on parole in August 1979. Michael Randall, a co-founder of the Brotherhood, refers to LSD as a "sacrament." It became his mission to help "turn on" as many people as possible, so they could share the life-changing experience he had with LSD in 1963 for the first time.Their story was so rich and full of impo

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This morning I am honored to continue my series of "Confessions of the Psychedelic Elders" with Françoise Bourzat.Francoise Bourzat holds a MA in Somatic Psychology from New College of California (San Francisco, 1990). She was trained in the Hakomi Method by the Hakomi Institute of California (1991). She is an adjunct faculty in the East West Psychology Program at CIIS. Since 1987, Francoise has apprenticed with shamans and healers in the U.S. and Mexico. In the last 20 years, she has traveled with groups to Mexico, incorporating her counseling practice experience with her knowledge of expanded states of consciousness where she partners with Mazatec healers in Sacred Mushrooms ceremonies.She also leads workshops in the U.S, France, Lebanon, and Israel, and was recently interviewed on the Tim Ferriss Show – often the first ranked of hundreds of thousands of podcasts – which will be released this week as well.Of her book, Ferriss writes: “This book is brand-new, but I’m already on m

This week I continue my series of psychedelic elder confessors with the great Dennis McKenna – author of the classic book, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna.Dennis, the younger brother of Terence, was featured in my previous book, Psychedelic Medicine, discussing the plant medicine known in South America as ayahuasca – a potent rain forest concoction containing the active ingredient DMT.McKenna has conducted research in ethnopharmacology for over 40 years, and our last interview focused on the science of this fascinating substance. However, this recent interview focuses more on Dennis's personal experiences in academia and industry as he gradually found his present niche as a writer, researcher, teacher, and advocate for the study of mind-altering plant medicines.He is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute, and was a key investigator on the Hoasca Project, the first biomedical investigation of ayahuasca. He is also the younger brother of Teren

This week I continue my series of psychedelic elder confessors with my old friend Charles Bush – Philosopher, Educator, and former Executive Director of the Redwood Senior Center in Fort Bragg, California.Charles Bush has lived on the Mendocino Coast for nearly four decades. Before coming to the Coast, he managed large residential service operations on college campuses. He co-founded Mendocino's successful and long-lived Community School. He retired from his position as director of Chamisa Mesa School near Taos, New Mexico, and became the Executive Director of the Redwood Coast Senior Center, where he served for several years.I've interviewed Charles on my program before about how the philosopher encounters the world through the intermediate organs of perception, including the mind. We have explored how the stories that we weave influence our experience. This morning, we will discuss how meaning is created over the course of a lifetime, investigating the boundary between the mind and physical reality, a

For decades, the public perception of psychedelics has been skewed by a pervasive stereotype about their users. To debunk this myth, I am showcasing real-life stories of accomplished professional and scholarly individuals willing to "come out" about their experiences. My guest this morning, Professor Chris M. Bache, is the poster child for this growing tribe of distinguished psychedelic elders.Bache is professor emeritus in Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University, where he taught for 33 years. Classically trained in the philosophy of religion at the University of Notre Dame, Cambridge, and Brown University, he recognized early in his career that psychedelics represented a major turning point in Western philosophy.Convinced that the deepest contributions to his discipline would be made by philosophers speaking out of an experiential rather than just theoretical basis, he divided his life into two streams: In public, he became an academic in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Stu

Last week I had the privilege of interviewing one of my inspirations for this program, Dr. Dean Edell. This morning at 9 am PST I am delighted to welcome my other inspiration for getting into radio, the inimitable Michael Krasny. Bay Area NPR listeners know Krasny well. For years, Michael Krasny was the host of KQED's award-winning Forum, a news and public affairs radio program. He remains a veteran interviewer for the nationally broadcast City Arts and Lectures and worked for many years as host of one of ABC's highest-rated radio programs. He has worked as host of KQED's television programs This Week in Northern California and Civic Space and as a substitute host for NPR’s Talk of the Nation. He received two Emmy nominations for his television work.In addition to his radio career, Krasny has written prolifically – publishing a variety of fiction, literary criticism, and political commentary. He is the coauthor of Sound Ideas (McGraw-Hill), and author of Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio, Literary

Our distinguished guest on Mind Body Health & Politics today at 9 am PST is Dr. Dean Edell– a pioneer in the field of health broadcasting, and my very inspiration for this program.I was inspired by Dean Edell because he had the courage to speak to America with the truth, integrity, and warmth that many of us valued in our doctors. Listeners called in with questions and they received straightforward honest answers. When he did not know an answer, he said so, and he then said he would find out... and he did.Dr. Dean Edell actually requires little introduction, since his syndicated radio program aired live for 31 years – from 1979 to 2010 – and was the second most listened to radio talk show in America for much of the 1990s. The program was syndicated on over 200 stations across the country. His television program, Dr. Dean, aired on NBC beginning in 1992."Dr. Dean's" medical CV included an M.D. from Cornell University Medical School in 1967, a private ophthalmology practice in San Diego,

This morning (9 am Pacific) I continue the Psychedelic Elders series with the latest confessor, my dear friend Cliff Barney (92 years old).Cliff is a former journalist who has written for major U. S. dailies, including the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Hearst-run San Francisco Examiner, and covered the semiconductor and computer revolutions in Silicon Valley as a bureau manager for McGraw-Hill’s Electronics magazine. He studied and taught at the San Francisco Gestalt Institute, and holds an M.S. in counseling from California State College, Hayward.He was born in New Bedford in 1929 and grew up in Rhode Island, the only child of a father who was the first of his family to leave the farm in 250 years in Swansea, Mass., and a mother whose family emigrated from Scotland in the late 19th century. Though neither of his parents got past the fifth grade in school, they nonetheless managed to send him to Dartmouth College, from which he graduated with an A.B. in 1951.He has written about the press, aging, and La

This morning (9am Pacific) I am honored to be interviewing William Miller, MD – the chief of staff at Mendocino County District Hospital – on a topic of pressing concern to all of us.Dr. Miller (the other Dr. Milller), recently delivered a fascinating talk to the Mendocino Coast's Covid Response Network on the challenge posed by variants or mutations of the virus. We will review his professional opinion on the threat these variants pose, and whether the current vaccines are likely to protect us from them.We will also discuss masking and social distancing after being vaccinated, contagion amongst vaccination decliners, and present risks associated with Covid. Your calls are welcome during the broadcast at (650) TALLY-HO.Please tune in or download this free podcast at your leisure, forward this email, share via the links below, and post the "listen-live" link to alert your friends and neighbors to this live broadcast.Wishing you excellent health, Richard Louis Miller, M.A., Ph.D.Host, Mind Body Heal

Artist, author & naturalist Obi Kaufmann returns to the program with a hopeful Earth-day message regarding California conservation and ecology. Author of the bestselling “The California Field Atlas,”  “The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource,” and the recently released “The Forests of California,” Kaufmann’s holistic approach to California’s landscapes, habitats and creatures includes maps, prose and musings about California's wild inhabitants— commingled with valuable references to better understand our natural world.“The Forests of California is the story about the survival strategy of reinforcing connectivity, not only between habitat spaces, but between members of our own species.” - Obi KaufmannObi brings a new, informed perspective on the importance of the natural world to our state of being and health, wi

I welcome Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, author of Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.Dr. Wallace "J" Nichols — called a “Keeper of the Sea" by GQ Magazine, “a visionary" by Outside Magazine, a "water warrior" by AQUATICS International, a "friend of the sea" by Experience Life Magazine, and "the godfather of water" by Irish Life Health and Santa Cruz Waves Magazine — is an innovative, silo-busting, entrepreneurial scientist, movement maker, renown marine biologist, voracious Earth and idea explorer, wild water advocate, bestselling author, sought after lecturer, and fun-loving Dad. He also likes turtles (a lot).Dr. Nichols collaborates tirelessly to create the new story of water and share it with the world. This story includes the vast cognitive, emotional, psychological, social, physical, and spiritual benefits that we can all derive from healthy waters and oceans throu

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I welcome Jerry B. Brown, PhD and Julie Brown, coauthors of The Psychedelic Gospels.Jerry B. Brown, Ph.D., is an anthropologist and the Founding Professor of Anthropology at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, where he teaches an online course on “Psychedelics and Culture.” Professor Brown researches, writes and teaches on psychedelics and religion as well as on psychedelic therapy.Hear about their extensive research throughout Europe as well as their Confessions as Psychedelic Elders and why they think this is an exceptional time for psychedelics. Jerry and Julie are married and are veteran psychonauts as well as diligent scholarly researchers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindbodyhealth.substack.com

I am excited to welcome internationally known architect Charles Durrett as our guest.Charles Durrett, with his former wife, Kathryn McCamant coined the word Cohousing and brought the concept of these planned communities to the United States in the Eighties. Durrett has designed over 60 cohousing communities in the US and Canada. One of his recent projects is Valley View Affordable Housing in American Canyon, California.This important project pulled many homeless Veterans off the street and gave them more than a shelter...it gave them a community and established a core place for them to rebuild their lives. This community of very small homes borrowed on the legacy of cohousing communities with central community spaces and core shared living areas in a way that drives social change and invites new thinking about a troubling social problem.Durrett’s new book is about Valley View Affordable Housing and provides solutions that others may use to help solve homelessness on a community level. Join us to learn a

I interview three internationally prominent sex worker activists Norma Jean Almodovar, Carol Leigh, and Veronica Vera. This interview will be part of an upcoming book entitled Sexual Medicine with Inner Traditions/Bear & Co.This program gives special homage to my friend and heroine, Margo St. James. Margo St. James befriended me when I moved to San Francisco in 1968. In fact, we became so close that she took what she called her "first straight job" working for me at my clinic, The Gestalt Institute for Multiple Psychotherapy, near Children's Hospital, on Sacramento Street. I will tell you the rest of that story on air. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindbodyhealth.substack.com

For the Covid Update I discuss the variants and vaccinations.I also interview the distinguished clinical psychologist, author and researcher, Dr. Thomas B. Robert’s on his very personal experiences with psychedelics. This interview is part of an upcoming book: Confessions of Psychedelic Elders.Tom’s research investigates psychedelic mind-body states for the leads they provide for learning, cognition, intelligence, creativity, mental health, and abilities that reside in them. Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D., is professor emeritus at Northern Illinois University and a former visiting scientist at Johns Hopkins. The coeditor of Psychedelic Medicine and the author of Psychedelic Horizons, he has spoken at international conferences on psychedelics, consciousness, and psychedelic science. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindbodyhealth.substack.com

Phil Borges sees storytelling as a primary tool for driving social change. Learn how his projects, Women Empowered, Crazywise and his TedTalks have provided new ways of seeing through his first-person stories.Phil Borges, has been documenting indigenous cultures and striving to create an understanding of the challenges they face for over 25 years. For his program, Stirring the Fire, Phil produced and filmed several short films, capturing the stories of women heroes and the issues they face all over the world, both as solo projects and in collaboration with organizations such as UN Women and CARE. We consider it especially appropriate to have Phil visit just prior to International Women's Day, March 8, 2021.His work on the film Crazywise takes a closer look at whether some diagnosed 'mental breakdowns' might in fact be spiritual awakenings. In Crazywise, Phil asks us: What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience? This is a public episode. If

Covid, consumerism and happiness This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindbodyhealth.substack.com

The Forests of California This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindbodyhealth.substack.com