Episode 4 - Healing War

In episode 4, Cody sits down with Jesse Gould - a retired Army Ranger and president of Heroic Hearts Project. After serving three tours in Afghanistan, Jesse founded the Heroic Hearts Project to spearhead the acceptance and use of ayahuasca therapy as a means of addressing the current mental health crisis among veterans. (Time stamps below) Heroic Hearts Project (HHP) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects military veterans struggling with trauma to psychedelic therapy options including ayahuasca, psilocybin, ibogaine, and ketamine treatments in combination with professional coaching and integration. HHP provides these veterans, who have often exhausted all of the resources offered by the Department of Veteran Affairs and don't know where to turn, with education about and access to these alternative healing modalities. HHP's mission is to restore hope and empower each veteran in his or her own healing process. Secondarily, HHP aims to contribute to the growing base of psychedelic research, to educate the public on the potential of psychedelics based on the outcomes of this research, and to advocate for policy changes enabling increased and more equitable access to psychedelic therapies. The Awakened Underground is a proud ambassador of the Heroic Hearts Project. 0:06 - Disclaimer 1:53 - Cody shares a story, talks about street fighting and breaking cycles of violence 10:43 - background on PTSD  14:20 - psychedelic medicines that are at the forefront of the treatment of PTSD 16:06 Cody introduces Jesse Gould 16:31 - What is Ayahuasca? 19:29 - Interview with Jesse Gould 20:27 - How Jesse discovered psychedelic medicines and their potential for helping Veterans 28:35 PTSD 30:03 - working with a social worker at the VA 31:38 - pharmaceuticals and alcohol  39:05 deciding to go to Spirit Quest in the jungle 45:15 - Jesse's first two nights with Ayahuasca 47:00 - drinking Ayahuasca with Cody's mom 48:44 - Jesse's third night with Ayahuasca 53:25 - Jesse's fourth night working with Ayahuasca 56:06 - integrating the experience  58:36 - reflecting on the experience  59:35 - Traumatic brain injuries in Veterans and healing CTE 1:10:46 - Beginning the Heroic Hearts Project 1:19:35 - risks 1:20:39 - what the HHP program entails  1:33:16 - the integration process and coaches for Veterans  1:39:07 The HHP Ambassador Program  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices