In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ (founder of www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Elizabeth Ramírez, a Colombian mentor, speaker, and former corporate strategist who left behind a high-powered consulting career in Switzerland to follow her heart into the world of ancestral medicine, spiritual coaching, and conscious leadership. Elizabeth now helps guide others in their own healing and awakening journeys through a blend of plant medicine work, meditation, and transformational teaching.

We touch upon topics of:

• [00:02:00] Leaving the corporate world and returning to Colombia for healing
• [00:04:00] First Ayahuasca experience and its subtle long-term impact
• [00:07:00] What “receiving medicine” really means vs. what people expect
• [00:08:00] Cultural conditioning, gender roles, and the pressure to be a “good girl”
• [00:13:00] Spiritual transformation after moving back from Switzerland
• [00:16:00] Rebranding Colombia away from drugs and toward nature and medicine
• [00:23:00] Meditation as a path to awakening and connection
• [00:29:00] Dangers of rushing Ayahuasca breakthroughs and the value of patience
• [00:31:00] Ego, integration, and learning the real lessons from the ceremony
• [00:38:00] Her mission to unite leaders through heart-centered, spiritual entrepreneurship
• [00:43:00] The role of mushrooms and their connection to creativity and integration
• [00:49:00] Life as ceremony and creating sacredness in the everyday
• [00:54:00] Manifestation, physics, and aligning with desired realities

If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to www.lawayra.com

Find more about Elizabeth Ramírez at @elramirezdu on Instagram.

In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ (founder of www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Dennis McKenna, PhD—renowned ethnopharmacologist, author, co-founder of the McKenna Academy, and pioneer in psychedelic research for over 40 years. A central figure in the psychedelic renaissance, Dennis has explored the intersection of plant medicine, indigenous wisdom, and science since the 1970s.

We touch upon topics of:

• Dennis’ early trips to Colombia and the origins of the “La Chorrera” experiment (05:10)
• The unexpected role of mushrooms in his spiritual awakening (11:50)
• DMT and the search for orally active psychedelics (15:30)
• Shifts in his scientific path after the La Chorrera experience (22:20)
• Conducting biomedical studies with the UDV in Brazil (31:45)
• Differences between psilocybin and ayahuasca (45:15)
• The ethics and cultural impact of ayahuasca tourism (49:00)
• Sustainable ayahuasca cultivation and community economics (53:30)
• The myth of how indigenous people discovered ayahuasca (59:10)
• The importance of preserving tradition in modern psychedelic use (1:06:40)
• The vision for global symbiosis between North and South through plant medicine (1:13:20)
• Climate change and the message of Gaia through psychedelics (1:17:55)

If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to www.lawayra.com

Find more about Dennis McKenna at https://mckenna.academy or on Instagram @dennismckenna_

In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ (founder of www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Jason Grechanik — a curandero, tabacero, and the host of The Universe Within podcast. Jason spent over a decade living in the Peruvian Amazon training in the Shipibo tradition. His work bridges plant medicine, traditional cosmologies, and deep healing practices through tobacco and Ayahuasca.

We touch upon topics of:

• Jason’s path to becoming a curandero and his early interest in spirituality and martial arts (00:27–03:39)
• The concept of Ayahuasca "calling" and plant consciousness (04:02–06:36)
• Tobacco as a master plant and its traditional uses (07:06–11:57)
• The role and practice of a tabacero (12:09–14:34)
• Tobacco initiation and altered perception (15:01–20:28)
• Intention and the neutrality of plant medicines (21:02–25:44)
• Sam’s personal relationship with tobacco and the loss of tradition (26:29–29:20)
• Risks of Ayahuasca being misused or misunderstood (29:20–36:40)
• Cosmovision and how worldview shapes experience (39:45–47:25)
• Definitions of spirit across traditions (47:30–54:35)
• Understanding spiritual disease (55:02–60:06)
• The emergence of plant medicines into the modern world (62:09–67:32)
• Advanced civilizations, pyramids, and Ayahuasca as ancient technology (68:02–82:50)

If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to www.lawayra.com

Find more about Jason Grechanik at nicotianarustica.org or on Instagram @jasongrechanik. You can also listen to his podcast The Universe Within on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.