Welcome to our special podcast episode on the transformative power of meditation and the profound experience of silent retreats. In this episode, we delve into the concept of meditation with a seasoned therapist and meditation teacher, exploring its benefits for managing stress, developing focus, and cultivating compassion. Learn how regular practice can lead to profound insights into the nature of the mind.

We also venture into the world of silent retreats, specifically in the context of Theravada Buddhism. Our guest sheds light on the structured and supportive environment of these retreats, allowing participants to let go of mental clutter and embrace deep self-exploration. Discover the unexpected emotions, memories, and physical sensations that arise during silent retreats and how they lead to transformative experiences.

Join us on this insightful journey as we explore the art of meditation and the hidden depths of the mind in this thought-provoking podcast episode. Get ready to be inspired and find new perspectives on personal well-being and self-discovery.

Connect with Devin Maroney:

https://www.devinmaroney.com/

Psychedelics. To many this word brings to mind the hippie movement of the 1960s in the United States. Notable names like Timothy Leary, Alan Watts, Aldous Huxley and more advocated for the use of LSD and other psychedelics as a form of consciousness expansion.

However, in recent years the use of psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA along with plant medicines  such as psylocybin, peyote and ayahuasca, have piqued the interest of researchers, psychotherapist and the medical community as treatments for conditions such as anxiety, addiction and PTSD.

With the mainstreaming of these medicines, questions begin to appear such as who is administering them, what doses are being taken, are the plants and wisdom keepers being honored for their sacredness and how are these experiences being integrated?

Today we explore the healing opportunities that these medicines bring along with how modern medicine, social workers and practitioners can devote themselves to supporting others in total integration of those experiences.

IG: @drkatherinelawson

IG: @awakeinthedreamschool

https://www.awakeinthedream.co/

Everybody dreams. Yes, everybody dreams. Whether you remember them or not, they are an aspect of you that comes alive every single night.

Dreams have captivated human curiosity since the beginning of time and every culture has its unique connection to Dreams. From the ancient Egyptians interpretation of dreams as prophecy, to the Australian Aboriginal connection to ancestral spirits and their story of creation through dreamtime, to the mention of dreams in holy texts like the Bible and the Quran, all the way to the psychoanylitical interpretation of dreams from Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

In 1913, Dutch psychiatrist Frederik Willem van Eeden coined the term “lucid dreaming” to describe a dream in which you know you are dreaming. However, the practice of lucid dreaming can be traced back to before 1000 BC from the Upanishads and the Hindu practice of Yoga Nidra leading to the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Dream Yoga.

Today we explore the modern practice of Lucid Dreaming and how combining the ancient ways with new understandings of neuroscience can guide us into a deeper understanding of who we are at our core.

Episode Guest: Ryan Dungan Hurd

https://dreamstudies.org/

https://lucidtalisman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/dungan/