Dear Listeners,
Welcome to my new Substack newsletter – Psychedelic Wisdom – a production of Mind Body Health & Politics. This publication will feature insights gleaned from thousands of psychedelic experiences of healing, creativity, connection, and consciousness expansion. I invite you to become a monthly subscriber or, if your budget allows it, a founding member.
As a founding member, your financial support will help sustain my team as we continue to provide bold, unabashed interviews on topics that require careful handling, such as the following interview with my daughter Evacheska, on her journey from being an executive at a cosmetics company to her current role as an integrative psychedelic counselor.
While I will continue to offer my weekly programs in podcast format free of charge, paying monthly subscribers will get access to exclusive transcript and video content, as well as access to a private Facebook group, and more exclusive access as we continue to grow our community.
Founding members will additionally receive a copy of Psychedelic Medicine and be granted special access to a periodic roundtable/integrative workshop over Zoom.
Stay tuned in, and thank you for listening.
Wishing you Golden Light,
Dr. Richard L. Miller
Timothy Leary’s iconic mantra, “Tune in, turn on, drop out,” helped spawn the psychedelic revival of the 1960s – with thousands of Americans opting out of traditional institutions that limited their free expression and curiosity.
Today’s psychedelic renaissance may require a new slogan, given that many of the same substances that were banned and stigmatized following the first wave of renewed interest are now being studied and explored by professionals of all stripes.
You can tune in and turn on without dropping out. From neuroscientists and psychopharmacologists to psychologists, psychiatrists, and licensed therapists, it seems like everybody is looking into the healing potential of these substances – which I labeled Psychedelic Medicine in my first book on the subject.
Now, there is even an academic journal launching with the same name, demonstrating that we are closer than ever to allowing experimentation with psychedelics to re-enter the mainstream consciousness.
My forthcoming book Psychedelic Wisdom: The Astonishing Rewards of Mind-Altering Substances (Dec. 2022) comes as the sequel to Psychedelic Medicine, and contains over 1,500 cumulative years of stories of tribal elders’ experiences with psychedelics. As the book heads to the presses, I aim to push the frontier of consciousness expansion even further with a new series that will examine stories of psychedelic healing from all walks of life: young and old – individuals, couples, and families.
Based on the insights gleaned from dozens of elders featured in Psychedelic Wisdom, I now believe that there is much more wisdom spread throughout the general population than is commonly acknowledged. In particular, I wish to explore how people have healed themselves or been healed through the intentional direction of their energies, with the aid of these unique mind-altering compounds.
I begin this series close to home, with a two-part conversation with my own daughter, Evacheska deAngelis. Evacheska is the founder of Temple Sotto Luce, based in Manhattan, which offers psychedelic guidance and integration among many other offerings:
“Sotto Luce is Italian for ‘beneath the light,’ so whether you take that as standing in the shadows or standing underneath a light, the offerings allow us to shed light on our inner-selves through curated guidance sessions, as well as ceremonial work with sound, song and meditation.”
– Evacheska deAngelis
Before I get to part one of our discussion, I want to highlight the courage it takes for a young professional to come forward about the full spectrum of her offerings – both psychedelic and otherwise. For Evacheska, “dropping out” actually meant leaving her high-paying corporate career to go back to school – following in both of her parents’ footsteps to formally study psychology.
Listen to the full podcast:
Evacheska has also graciously agreed to co-host my Mind Body Health & Politics program from time to time, as we continue to feature both sub rosa as well as legal and clinical experiences with psychedelics from any people who are willing to share their stories with my readers and listeners.
If you have a story you would like to share by participating in this series, please email my producer to introduce yourself:
In the remainder of this post, you can read the wide-ranging discussion of Evacheska’s upbringing in a psychedelic family, and how it influenced her journey. Her story takes us from the executive suite at a major cosmetics company to the Peruvian jungle for a month-long Ayahuasca retreat.
Transcript of Part 1, In Conversation with Evacheska deAngelis
Dr. Richard L Miller
You joined this renaissance in psychedelic medicine after a long career in fashion. Your last position was as a Vice President at Avon, and before that, you worked with the fashion mogul Tyra Banks in Los Angeles.
How did you go from being an executive in the fashion world to an integrative counselor in the psychedelic world?
Evacheska deAngelis
That’s a great question, Dad. I’ve been getting asked this a lot and it’s given me space to reflect on my path and how I got here.
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