Joe and Kyle celebrate Vital Cohort 4 and reflect on why Vital is more than a 12-month psychedelic-informed training—it’s a living community (alumni webinars, discussion groups, cross-cohort meetups). Many grads aren’t rushing to facilitate; they’re choosing integration, harm reduction, education, and local community building. Next cohort dates are TBD —applications and email sign-ups are open.

Breathwork in Breckenridge (this weekend)
Dreamshadow Transpersonal Breathwork returns Fri–Sun. The last workshop reinforced how powerful the format is for bonding, somatic processing, and ongoing peer support.

Music & tech: fail-safe playbook

• Keep redundant sources: primary laptop with WAV/FLAC (VLC/Mixxx), secondary device/phone, and a small Bluetooth speaker as last resort.
• Redundant mixers/interfaces, tested cables, simple signal flow.
• Pre-flight the exact rig; monitor for digital artifacts/grounding noise.
• Use offline playlists + Do Not Disturb (actually test it).

Why community matters now
With AI accelerating “dead-internet” dynamics, trusted human networks—book clubs, film clubs, local meetups—are essential. Skills for the moment: digital security hygiene and discernment (evaluating claims, sources, and inner signals).

News & trends

• Alaska: statewide psilocybin initiative begins signature gathering.
• New Mexico: momentum toward group psilocybin care (cost-cutting models; ~2-year horizon).
• TBI & psychedelics: expanding research interest (ibogaine/5-MeO imaging work; anti-inflammatory angles).
• Colorado & iboga: advisory board backs therapeutic use and encourages Nagoya Protocol reciprocity; federal import/legal nuances remain.

Harm-reduction notes
Beware gas-station/head-shop “psychedelic” edibles labeled as “proprietary blends.” Ask for COAs and clear ingredients; understand test-kit limits (chocolates are tricky). For injections (even “legal” clinics), ask about sterile technique, water, dosing, and sourcing.

Get involved

• Navigators: join our membership for exclusive livestreams, book/film clubs, courses, and meetups.
• Vital: apply or join the interest list—dates announced soon.

Joe Moore sits down with Greg Shanken (Colorado Psychedelic Society, Collaborence Psychedelic Business Association; founder, Higher Frequency Network) for a wide-ranging conversation about building community infrastructure, navigating censorship, and creating accessible, ethical pathways into psychedelic healing. Greg shares his personal arc from lifelong depression to ayahuasca, ketamine, and Bufo; why he launched a vetted affiliate/partner network for our space; and how Oregon–Colorado collaboration can widen access while honoring reciprocity and conservation.

• Collaborence: a two-day CO/OR event (online + in-person) connecting facilitators, professionals, and the public with pay-what-you-can access options.
• Access & affordability: how to widen entry points (microdosing, breathwork, scholarships/funds) within and beyond regulated service/healing centers.
• Censorship & platform risk: why repeated Meta account shutdowns pushed Greg to build community-based distribution outside big ad networks.
• Personal journey: depression, SSRIs/SNRIs/ADHD meds → ayahuasca (two-night initiation), IM ketamine, and later Bufo/5-MeO-DMT.
• Ethics & ecology: “blood toad,” conservation, and the case for synthetic 5-MeO-DMT over toad-sourced material; parallels with peyote/mescaline carve-outs.
• Leadership & culture: bringing heart-centered leadership, breathwork, and microdosing into companies; moving from transactional to mutual-aid ecosystems.
• Regulated vs. underground: costs, insurance realities, sliding-scale models, and the role each plays in a healthy landscape.

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Joe Moore sits down with Dr. Cat Meyer, licensed psychotherapist, sex therapist, and host of Sex, Love, Psychedelics. Together, they explore the deep intersections of sexuality, trauma healing, psychedelics, and the role of play in human connection.

Dr. Meyer shares her journey from growing up in rural Missouri and navigating early trauma to becoming a leading voice in sex therapy and psychedelic integration. She opens up about her personal healing path, her work with ketamine-assisted therapy, and how tantra, BDSM, and art have shaped her approach to erotic wellness.

• Defining the Erotic: Beyond sex, eroticism as vibrancy, life force, and connection to the senses.
• Personal Story: Dr. Meyer’s early struggles, academic path in marriage and family therapy, and her discovery of tantra and BDSM as transformative practices.
• Psychedelics and Healing: Her first experiences with MDMA-assisted therapy, ketamine retreats for women, and how these tools can reconnect people with pleasure and embodiment.
• The Power of Play: Why play is essential for healing, relationships, and cultural transformation—ranging from improv and art to Burning Man experiments.
• Navigating Power Dynamics: How erotic transference, facilitation, and unconscious needs can shape therapy, sex, and psychedelic work—and why self-awareness is crucial.
• Feral Mysticism: Rewilding the body, reclaiming personal authority, and embracing vibrancy outside of cultural repression.
• Pleasure and Illness: How Dr. Meyer works with clients facing chronic pain, fatigue, or illness to maintain erotic connection through presence and small practices.

• “Eroticism is the connection to vibrancy, to life—it’s how we engage with the world through pleasure.”
• “Feeling is power. A discerning human who can feel is a powerful human.”
• “Psychedelics help us come back into right relationship with our body and with pleasure.”
• “Play gives us the freedom to experiment, to try, to be vulnerable, and to learn without attaching our worth to the outcome.”