Understanding The Psilocybin Connection

Dear friends and neighbors,

I met Jahan at Wilbur Hot Springs in the spring of 2022. He was telling a story about Burning Man, and I was immediately intrigued by his intelligence and large heart. Then, he told me about how many people he had guided on psychedelic experiences and I knew I had to interview him. He gave me a copy of his book The Psilocybin Connection and the game was afoot. In addition, he is good-looking and has the body of a football player. What’s not to like?

Interviewing Jahan was a joy. He is so articulate even I had to work to get a word in, which I hesitated to do because what he was saying is so worth hearing. I especially loved hearing about his guiding his parents on psychedelic journeys. That's what I call ultimate family trust!

Please watch, read, or listen to the interview, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Everything You Want to Know About Magic Mushrooms – Jahan Khamsehzadeh

Jahan and I spent some time discussing death and the role psychedelics can play in easing fear. On that note, I am currently embarking on a new series featuring healing stories from those who have benefitted from psychedelics at the end of life, or in the face of a terminal diagnosis. I hope to interview those with direct personal experience, as well as relatives, friends, and clinicians with stories to share. Please email my producer if you would like to be interviewed on my program, and featured in a future book on this topic.

Wishing you Golden Light,

Dr. Richard Louis Miller

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This podcast will always remain available at no cost. However, I’d like to offer my most loyal listeners additional options for enjoying my interviews – both as videos and transcripts.

Further Reading:

• Psychedelic Wisdom (Dr. Richard L. Miller) AVAILABLE NOW

• Psychedelic Medicine (Dr. Richard L. Miller)

• Roland Griffiths from John Hopkins

• Beyond the Narrow Life (Kile M. Ortigo)

• Free online psychedelic training

Transcript

Dr. Richard Louis Miller: The following program, Mind Body Health & Politics, is brought to you by our team, consisting of our producer, Charlie Deist; our sound engineer, David Springer; our social media associate producer, Alison Kelly, and, in Germany, our editor, Florian Furin. 

This program brings you a wide variety of people from science and medicine, researching various areas of our universe. Health, psychological, and physical are part of what we bring to you. We give a platform to those who might not ordinarily get a platform on normal media. 

Please go to our website, Mind Body Health & Politics. Our programs are archived, and we welcome you to subscribe and be part of our community.

Welcome to Mind Body Health & Politics. I'm your host, Dr. Richard Louis Miller. The mission of Mind Body Health & Politics is to enhance physical and mental wellbeing and encourage community. 

I say “encourage community” because I believe that humans are basically friendly tribal animals. We enjoy being with one another; we like hanging out together. When we associate in small enough groups where we know each other by name or at least by face, we're very cooperative and collaborative. 

However, we must also be mindful that a very small percentage of us are different. That small percentage are dangerous, avaricious predators. They would have us be their subjects rather than us being the citizens that we are. 

We must be mindful of those people while we remain loving, collaborative, and cooperative with each other. In the words of one of my heroes, Thomas Jefferson, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Today on Mind Body Health & Politics, I bring you Jahan Khamsehzadeh. He is a researcher, scientist, and the author of a book, The Psilocybin Connection, which we're going to be talking about today in some depth. Welcome to Mind Body Health & Politics, Jahan.

Jahan Khamsehzadeh: Thank you, Richard. It's a pleasure to be here and I loved your introduction.

Dr. Richard Louis Miller: Well, thank you very much. Jahan.

Why study psilocybin?

Dr. Richard Louis Miller: So, Jahan, you're a scientist and researcher, and there are so many things that you could have researched in this world. How did you select psilocybin as your focus?

Jahan Khamsehzadeh: Great question. First, I do love all the psychedelics—I think there was incredible healing and expansion in all these compounds—but psilocybin was the first one to really wake me up and help me heal. 

I was a suicidal, depressed teen and atheist. At 18 years old, I took some mushrooms and they radically changed my life and gave me this experience of spirituality of interconnectedness. Put me on a different trajectory.