#42 The Relationship Between Science, Plant Medicine, Spirituality and Healing with Dr. Joe Tafur

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Dr. Tafur has been an Integrative Medicine activist throughout his medical career - while in medical school at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and during his Family Medicine Residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). While a resident, he collaborated on research projects with the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine.  After residency, Dr. Tafur subsequently completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry under psychoneuroimmunology expert Dr. Paul Mills. 

Dr. Tafur has observed that modern medicine struggles with certain mental and psychosomatic health problems because the system fails to address the emotional and spiritual dimensions of these illnesses. Under the guidance of master shamans, Dr. Tafur has learned about the importance of acknowledging the emotional body and its role in modern disease, and how spiritual approaches can be used to heal the emotional body and, in turn, the mind and physical body.

In Peru, Dr. Tafur learned how Ayahuasca shamanism (a ceremony involving the use of Ayahuasca, a traditional medicinal Amazonian plant known for its spiritual properties) could be used to heal the emotional body. After observing hundreds of people experience this kind of spiritual and emotional healing, Dr. Tafur recognized the broader value of spiritual healing techniques.

Dr. Tafur is the author of The Fellowship of the River, a fascinating account of his journey through the Amazon jungle as he comes to understand how psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. Dr. Tafur serves on the board of Modern Spirit, a non-profit organization dedicated to demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare by illuminating the intersection between biology, emotion, and spirituality.

In this third interview with Dr. Tafur, we discuss the science behind plant medicine, and why it can be so effective at addressing the root causes of emotional trauma.

“Science is not medicine. It is important, but it is not medicine. Medicine heals, even spiritual medicine and science should not limit healing works.”
— Dr. Joe Tafur

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Thank you!

#39 The Love, The Gift and The Responsibility with Dr. Joe Tafur

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Dr. Tafur has been an Integrative Medicine activist throughout his medical career - while in medical school at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and during his Family Medicine Residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). While a resident, he collaborated on research projects with the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine.  After residency, Dr. Tafur subsequently completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry under psychoneuroimmunology expert Dr. Paul Mills. 

Dr. Tafur has observed that modern medicine struggles with certain mental and psychosomatic health problems because the system fails to address the emotional and spiritual dimensions of these illnesses. Under the guidance of master shamans, Dr. Tafur has learned about the importance of acknowledging the emotional body and its role in modern disease, and how spiritual approaches can be used to heal the emotional body and, in turn, the mind and physical body.

In Peru, Dr. Tafur learned how Ayahuasca shamanism (a ceremony involving the use of Ayahuasca, a traditional medicinal Amazonian plant known for its spiritual properties) could be used to heal the emotional body. After observing hundreds of people experience this kind of spiritual and emotional healing, Dr. Tafur recognized the broader value of spiritual healing techniques.

Dr. Tafur is the author of The Fellowship of the River, a fascinating account of his journey through the Amazon jungle as he comes to understand how psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. Dr. Tafur serves on the board of Modern Spirit, a non-profit organization dedicated to demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare by illuminating the intersection between biology, emotion, and spirituality.

This second interview with Dr. Tafur further explores the practice of plant medicine as a transformative method of self-healing, with insights into how one can achieve continuous and lasting spiritual healing and growth.

“Spiritual practice is spiritual healing, and spiritual healing is spiritual practice, and both can help to heal the emotional body and in turn, the mind-body.”
— Dr. Joe Tafur
“In this next wave of consciousness, the purpose of spiritual practice is to nourish our spiritual well-being.”
— Dr. Joe Tafur

NOTES

  • Dr. Joe Tafur describes the ideal conditions for the use of Ayahuasca.

  • Ayahuasca has been transformative for many people, but it is not for everyone. Dr. Tafur describes those candidates/situations that may not be an appropriate fit for plant medicine. He emphasizes that plant medicine should not be considered a quick fix.

  • Dr. Tafur talks describes the conditions and practices that support lasting spiritual benefits of Ayahuasca.

  • Dr. Tafur explains how “The Love”, “The Gift” and “The Responsibility” apply to the importance of commitment in the use of plant medicine.

  • In addition to fully becoming immersed in indigenous culture, there are other ways to explore Ayahuasca. Dr. Tafur recommends www.iceers.org as a good source of guidelines.

  • Dr. Tafur offers encouraging insights about how spiritual practices are starting to become integrated into western medicine.

  • Click on the image below to view Dr. Tafur’s book:

 
 

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And while you’re there, please leave me a Rating and Review

We do care what you think! What would YOU like to hear on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Click HERE to send us your thoughts.

Would you like to be featured as a guest on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Contact Us, and tell us a few words about yourself!     

RESOURCES:

CONNECT WITH MARLA:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.interviewswithinnocence.com

Have you had a spiritual experience? Do you have a story that a young child has shared with you?  Please contact Marla and share your story.

Thank you!

#38 What a Medical Doctor Learned in the Jungles of Peru with Dr. Joe Tafur

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Dr. Tafur has been an Integrative Medicine activist throughout his medical career - while in medical school at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and during his Family Medicine Residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). While a resident, he collaborated on research projects with the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine.  After residency, Dr. Tafur subsequently completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry under psychoneuroimmunology expert Dr. Paul Mills. 

Dr. Tafur has observed that modern medicine struggles with certain mental and psychosomatic health problems because the system fails to address the emotional and spiritual dimensions of these illnesses. Under the guidance of master shamans, Dr. Tafur has learned about the importance of acknowledging the emotional body and its role in modern disease, and how spiritual approaches can be used to heal the emotional body and, in turn, the mind and physical body.

In Peru, Dr. Tafur learned how Ayahuasca shamanism (a ceremony involving the use of Ayahuasca, a traditional medicinal Amazonian plant known for its spiritual properties) could be used to heal the emotional body. After observing hundreds of people experience this kind of spiritual and emotional healing, Dr. Tafur recognized the broader value of spiritual healing techniques.

Dr. Tafur is the author of The Fellowship of the River, a fascinating account of his journey through the Amazon jungle as comes to understand how psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. Dr. Tafur serves on the board of Modern Spirit, a non-profit organization dedicated to demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare by illuminating the intersection between biology, emotion, and spirituality

In this episode Dr. Joe Tafur details how plant medicine, specifically Ayahuasca, can act as a portal to mystical experiences and can help many find profound emotional healing.

“One can initiate forgiveness in the brain, however true healing cannot be found until you are able to forgive in your heart.”
— Dr. Joe Tafur

NOTES

  • Joe gives us a glimpse into how plant medicine and different modalities helped get him through a difficult time in his life. This personal experience was the catalyst that lead him to dedicating much of his career to the study of plant medicine. 

  • Joe explains what Ayahuasca is, how it is used and what to expect during a ceremony. 

  • Through the lens of his many years of experience, Joe explains how he believes Ayahuasca can often times be a gateway to profound emotional healing.

  • Click on the image below to see Dr. Tafur’s book:

 
 

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And while you’re there, please leave me a Rating and Review

We do care what you think! What would YOU like to hear on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Click HERE to send us your thoughts.

Would you like to be featured as a guest on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Contact Us, and tell us a few words about yourself!     

RESOURCES:

CONNECT WITH MARLA:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.interviewswithinnocence.com

Have you had a spiritual experience? Do you have a story that a young child has shared with you?  Please contact Marla and share your story.

Thank you!

#37 Plant Medicine and the Path to Healing and Wholeness With Dr. Jeff McNairy

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Dr. Jeff McNairy is the Chief Medical Officer at Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica. He has a doctorate in Psychology and a masters degree in Public Health from UCLA. Dr. McNairy has been working in the health care field for 25 years in a variety of medical environments and has seen the struggle individuals have when actually trying to heal. He has found that the current Western system of heath care is deficient in healing the population as it is more concerned with managing symptoms and using external sources for “change.” Through Dr. McNairy’s intense experience with the most desperate patient populations (those suffering from addiction, acute mental health issues and trauma), he has seen that the only real healing can come from within.

In this fascinating interview, Dr. McNairy shares the journey that led him to his current position as Chief Medical Officer at Rythmia, a medically licensed wellness retreat facility in Costa Rica which specializes in a number of breakthrough modalities for life transformation, including yoga, breathwork and medically supervised plant medicine. His explanation of how plant medicine works in the brain to help heal past wounds and traumas is riveting.

“We believe that all cause of unease is related to being unplugged from the true self, whether that’s anxiety, depression, addiction, all kinds of mental health issues... also illnesses, auto immune disorders... a big part of it is not being united with the actual, true self.”
— Dr. Jeff McNairy
“The soul contract that you have with yourself in your life is with this “little you”; it’s the authentic you... it represents who you really are...”
— Dr. Jeff McNairy

NOTES

  • Dr. Jeff McNairy explains how his early interests in medical anthropology, ethno-botany and indigenous cultures led him to pursue multiple degrees and clinical experiences in order to arrive where he is today.

  • Jeff describes the process in which young children “split” or dissociate from their true selves, which can ultimately result in addiction and a multitude of illnesses and pathologies.

  • Jeff’s describes the amazing transformation of one of his more challenging patients, leading Jeff to explore the use of plant medicine by indigenous cultures and ultimately establish Rythmia in Costa Rica.

  • He explains how Ayahuasca (a form of plant medicine) works in the brain in order to enable people to reconnect with their authentic selves and heal themselves. He uses his own experience to illustrate.

  • Jeff and Marla emphasize how Ayahuasca is not for everyone and should only be administered under medical supervision.

  • Jeff offers insights on a number of topics… the wisdom of young children, the amazing gifts that autistic children possess, and the crucial role that empathy plays in changing the world.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And while you’re there, please leave me a Rating and Review

We do care what you think! What would YOU like to hear on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Click HERE to send us your thoughts.

Would you like to be featured as a guest on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Contact Us, and tell us a few words about yourself!     

RESOURCES:

CONNECT WITH MARLA:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.interviewswithinnocence.com

Have you had a spiritual experience? Do you have a story that a young child has shared with you?  Please contact Marla and share your story.

Thank you!

#28 Letting Go of Fear and Connecting With the Infinite Self with Austyn Wells

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Austyn is an author, spiritual medium, and soul gardener who empowers individuals to create soul-centered lives. A certified grief counselor, she combines intuition and mediumship with shamanism, energy medicine, and sacred ceremony.

Austyn presents and educates at many national conferences including the Sun Valley Wellness Festival, as well as The Original Afterlife Conference, for which she has been a board member for seven years. She will be featured in Bill Bennet’s upcoming films Facing Fear and Faith along with Paul Selig, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Bruce Lipton and Dr. Anita Sanchez to name a few.

Austyn developed the Divine Spark Cards© and Divine Insight Cards©, to empower people to connect more deeply with their souls. Her Amazon best-selling book Soul Conversations teaches one how to connect, heal, and empower oneself in order to live a soul-centered life.

In this timely interview, Austyn articulately describes how human beings are dualistic in that they have a human voice and a spiritual voice, and how we can better connect with our spiritual voice in order to deal with adversity and challenge, and learn to trust our intuition.

“The advantage of adversity is that it puts everyone back into the same classroom...and reminds us that we are all connected.”
— Austyn Wells
“The finite soul believes it is control so it doesn’t understand that there is a higher power.”
— Austyn Wells
“Detachment is the only way something authentically returns and then it returns with a higher dynamic... it really is all about trust.”
— Austyn Wells

NOTES

  • Austyn describes how human beings are dualistic; we have both a human voice and a spiritual voice.

  • The human being is the finite, physical and mortal self, while the soul being is the infinite, immortal, connected and energetic self.

  • Which voice we use determines how we cope with adversity and challenges such as those which we are faced with today (the Me Too movement, Covid 19 are both used as examples).

  • Austyn described how we can use our hands and fingers to get in touch with our emotions and learn to self-nurture.

  • She describes how important it is to trust our intuition, which is challenging for many because this is a practice not explored in classic education.

  • Austyn offers a simple but helpful practice to connect with one’s intuition using a journal and an oracle deck or Tarot deck.

  • She describes a powerful spiritual visitation she had as a child which helped her gain confidence over a fearful situation.

  • Learning detachment and letting go of control are crucial in connecting with one’s infinite self.

  • Austyn Wells’ book:

 
 

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And while you’re there, please leave me a Rating and Review

We do care what you think! What would YOU like to hear on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Click HERE to send us your thoughts.

Would you like to be featured as a guest on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Contact Us, and tell us a few words about yourself!     

RESOURCES:

CONNECT WITH MARLA:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.interviewswithinnocence.com

Have you had a spiritual experience? Do you have a story that a young child has shared with you?  Please contact Marla and share your story.

Thank you!

#18 Celebrating Indigenous Cultures and Shamanism with Jeffery Olsen

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Jeffery Olsen is a bestselling author who inspires audiences internationally with his intriguing story of perseverance and inner strength. After a horrific automobile accident took the lives of his wife and youngest son, also inflicting multiple life-threatening injuries to Jeff, including the amputation of his left leg, he found the courage to survive over 18 surgeries to eventually heal and thrive, both physically and emotionally.

Jeff has appeared on many national and international television and radio programs sharing his insights. Olsen’s latest book, “Knowing,” is a compilation of his earlier works, yet with even deeper insights and extended chapters.

Jeff continues to work as a Creative Director and participates on several boards including The Road Home, The Wholeness Network, and as a World Ambassador for the International Association for Near Death Studies.

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Among all of his accomplishments, Jeff is most proud of and most fulfilled by simply being a husband, father and friend.

Jeff’s website is: www.EnvoyPublishing.com. He can also be found at www.spiritkeeperseries.com.

“They had it all figured out.. maybe thousands of years ago.”
— Jeffery Olsen, on Native Americans
“You must put a seed deep into the darkness for it to ever grow... and it will grow toward the light.”
— Jeffery Olsen
“I got in touch with the Divine Feminine (Mother Earth)”
— Jeffery Olsen
“There are threads of truth that run through all things and I think that finding them and recognizing them keeps us in the awe and wonder of life.”
— Jeffery Olsen

NOTES:

  • Jeffery describes the profound shared spiritual experience he had with Dr. Jeff O’Driscoll, an ER Trauma doctor, which occurred while he was on the operating table after his horrific auto accident. Both Dr. O’Driscoll and a nurse were able to see the spirit of Jeffery’s wife and feel her gratitude.

  • His interest in indigenous cultures began at an early age and was sparked by a connection to a Native American man who worked with horses on his family farm. He was struck by the unique and gentle way this man worked with the horses: “You don’t break a horse, you connect with it”.

  • Jeffery’s NDE turned his old ideas about religion upside down as he began to recognize certain common themes shared by all religions, in particular the universality of divine love and the concept of the light being within us.

  • While attending a shamanism workshop, Jeff was recognized by the shaman as having “been there”.

  • Learning about moon cycles, our connection to the earth and the concept of the Holy Trinity helped Jeff make sense of his NDE.

  • Shamanism embraces both the light and the darkness, which are interconnected. The sun is the light and the soil is the darkness.

  • For therapy, Jeff lays on the ground outside and feels that Mother Earth is holding him and Father Sky is looking down. Everything is alive, even the rocks.

  • A shaman can be described as one who “plays between the realms”, one who has risen to the high place.

  • In Native American cultures, an individual’s status would be based upon what they had given away, not on what they had accumulated.

  • Ceremonies and rituals are a crucial part of indigenous cultures. Jeff describes a fire ceremony as an example.

  • Suggestions of ceremonies that we can practice include taking 10 minutes to lie outside, or watch a sunrise or a sunset, where Father Sky kisses Mother Earth.

    • Sunrise: A time to ask: What can I do today to make a difference? Who can I serve?

    • Sunset: A time for gratitude, the highest vibration.

  • Spirit Keeper Series is a course that about the practices and beliefs of Native American and indigenous peoples taught by Jeffery and two others.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And while you’re there, please leave me a Rating and Review

We do care what you think! What would YOU like to hear on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Click HERE to send us your thoughts.

Would you like to be featured as a guest on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Contact Us, and tell us a few words about yourself!     

RESOURCES:

CONNECT WITH MARLA:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.interviewswithinnocence.com

Have you had a spiritual experience? Do you have a story that a young child has shared with you?  Please contact Marla and share your story.

Thank you!