008: Steve Rio | Facilitating 5-MeO-DMT Ceremonies, Dying Before Death, and Having A Psychedelic Mindset in the Psychedelic Industry
“I want to continue advocating, with a psychedelic mindset around bringing psychedelic medicine to market. I want to say that when interacting with these medicines, they show you that there is the next version of humanity, society and consciousness waiting for us. We are only going to get there if we act in accordance with that upgrade, we have to continue challenging our models.”
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In this episode we talk about:
Steve’s journey with psychedelics, consciousness, and opening a psychedelic retreat center
What is 5-MeO-DMT/toad medicine?
Ethical issues around toad medicine
Synthetic vs. organic psychedelics
The unique rituals and protocols at Enfold Institute retreats
The type of people commonly called to Steve’s retreats
Steve’s first experience with 5-MeO-DMT and how that lead to the development of their protocol at Enfold Institute
How Steve and his wife came to curate their retreat approach at Enfold Institute
Ego death and “dying before you die”
Advocating for bringing psychedelics to the market with reverence as they become mainstream
LISTEN
“It’s really important to remember that these medicines have been around for thousands of years and that they have been perfect for all of that time. As we adapt them for the Western world, what we need to remember is that the Western world of medicine – while it has some tremendous successes - when we look at the world of psychology, psychotherapy and mental health, it’s been very unsuccessful. In fact, there is a direct inverse correlation between the wealth of a nation and the happiness and mental health of a nation. As we take these medicines that have so much healing potential and try to fit them into the box of commercial format, we run the risk of stripping away the beauty, power and healing properties of these medicines.”
Mentioned in the episode:
Where to find Steve:
Steve Rio is a social impact entrepreneur, transformational guide, and musician living on a small island outside of Vancouver BC Canada. Steve has focused his life's work on helping people realize their full potential and raise consciousness. At the root of his work is the question: "What does it mean to live a good life?" He is the co-founder of Enfold Institute and Nature of Work. Steve contributes 15% of his working hours as a strategic advisor to various non-profits and start-ups including: TherapSil (Board Member), A Network For Grateful Living (President of the Board), Numinus (Advisor), Canadian Psychedelic Association (Advisor), Holos Global (Advisor), Future Women Entrepreneurs (Mentor), Young Entrepreneurs (Mentor).
“So many of the worries in our lives, our fears, how we show up is really rooted in our fear of death. I think when you free yourself from that fear, it puts everything in a different perspective. It’s a really beautiful and powerful freedom to understand that beyond this version of your understanding of what life is, there is a great beyond that is just as beautiful, if not more beautiful and free. There is so much more to life than what we know of in our daily existence.”
