Monday, January 23, 2023, will go down as one of those magical days for sure! It’s the day we officially set forth on our mission to help heal the world.
This book has all the information and resources you need to begin your journey of discovery into whether one or more of these psychedelic medicines may help you. You’ll find several chapters covering all the basics of psychedelics – from their fascinating history to how these medicines work to how and what you need to move forward with intentionally using psychedelic medicines – as well as 23 amazingly powerful and transformative stories.
As part of the book launch, we produced a live event on both LinkedIn and Facebook — what we are calling the Jen-Ran Show. Feel free to follow one of the links and watch the video… or, read the transcript below.
One other interesting note. The book was originally scheduled to publish on 2/3/23, which just looked cool. When the design team got done with their work sooner than expected, we looked around and chose 1/23/23 — again, because it looked kind of cool. Only later did we realize that it was the
centennial anniversary of Ran’s dad’s birth. We also realized that the 23rd was significant — because of the 23 stories! Later, some numerology friends suggested the numbers result in 11, which has some mystical powers, and translates to LIGHT. Just another example of the magic in the Universe!
The book is available for purchase — both ebook and paperback — on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
What follows is a rough transcript of our chat!
Today is not about us – but about YOU! We want to see a healing revolution sweep the world.
We’re on a mission to save the world. Too many people are hurting and too many are self-medicating with a mix of prescription pills, alcohol, and other hard drugs.
1. What are we talking about today – and why?
I really want to talk about a few key issues that might help explain why we are doing this book launch today. Why this book?
First, we are in the midst of a global mental health crisis – an epidemic of depression, anxiety, addiction, and suicide. Our mental wellness has never been more dire. Every 11 minutes, someone commits suicide (about 130 people per day); every 23 seconds, someone attempts it. We also know veterans and first responders are at crisis levels in terms of suicides. We are also on more prescription pills than ever before; Americans filled almost 4 billion prescriptions last year – that’s an average of 13 prescriptions for every person in the U.S.
Second, we now have a better understanding of trauma – and its link to mental health issues – and how trauma is the underlying cause of many illnesses. As Dr. Gabor Mate discusses in his book, The Myth of Normal, there are ALL types of traumas – and we have ALL been traumatized in some form.
Third, the power of intentionally consuming psychedelic medicines for the purpose of healing and spiritual growth. This emerging field, which is ironic since these psychedelic plants and fungi have grown and been used by Indigenous peoples are centuries… but this emerging field is showing the capacity for dramatic healing.
Which leads us to talking about this new book – Triumph Over Trauma. This book is designed to be a great starting point for anyone curious about the healing potential of psychedelics.
I am on a mission of spreading the word about the healing and transformation from the intentional use of psychedelic medicines.
The book is a combination of the history and latest information on psychedelics ALONG with the stories of 23 people who were healed/transformed through psychedelics. We have 20 stories of macrodosing – the full psychedelic experience – and 3 stories of microdosing, which is when people take minuscule amounts of a psychedelic.
Psychedelics are not for everyone, but the potential exists for a very large part of the population to receive healing and transformational experiences through the intentional use of psychedelics – along with the integration work that is required after the experience.
We have all experienced trauma; we all need healing. While many turn to pharmaceutical drugs to deal with that pain, there is no healing there – just a masking of symptoms. These psychedelic medicines show the promise of helping people break through to clear these past traumas – and help them live much better, healthier lives.
Some of the research results with psychedelics shows great promise for a number of issues, including:
- Depression (including treatment-resistant depression)
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress
- Addiction (alcohol, tobacco, hard drugs)
- Control issues (such as OCD, eating disorders)
- Pain
- Cluster headaches & migraines
2. Who is this book for?
It’s especially written for the psychedelic-curious – people looking for the truth behind these plants and compounds.
The goal was two-part.
First, to lay out the truth about these psychedelic plants and compounds. We have 50 years of lies to overcome. These medicines will not fry your brain, make you jump off a building, or damage your DNA. In fact, these medicines are extremely safe for most people – much safer than alcohol, antidepressants, and any other things you might take to manage your life.
Second, to share these powerful stories of healing and transformation. These 23 people all share everything – about themselves and about their experiences with psychedelics.
3. What is your purpose with writing the book?
Purely educational. We have been lied to for more than 50 years. So many people who have died suffering, or at their own hands, could still be alive if the government had not been so politically motivated at “stopping the hippie” craze of the late 1960s.
There is no legitimate reason for any of these medicines to be illegal and labeled as having no medical use or benefit. The research that has been restarted – finally – is showing amazing results for the healing of many mental health issues.
The book includes both the history but also the specifics of each of the major psychedelic plants and compounds in use today, including:
- Psilocybin (the stuff in magic mushrooms)
- DMT (most often discussed in relation to Ayahuasca)
- Mescaline (from cactus)
- Ibogaine (African plant)
- LSD
- MDMA
- Ketamine
The book debunks all the lies from the “War on Drugs” and “Just Say No.”
4. Your book has 23 “healing” stories – why did you use stories? And how hard was it to get those stories?
Stories have been used since the beginning of time. Stories were used to share values and culture within communities, to pass down ancestral information and respect of elders.
Stories are the best way to teach, persuade, and understand ourselves – and to share that information with others.
The other aspect of using stories is that these stories cannot be challenged or disputed. These are the actual experiences these people went through in their healing.
It was a bit challenging obtaining the stories – only because my goal was to get the widest diversity of storytellers and psychedelic medicines, so the spreadsheet trying to fill all the boxes was definitely challenging!
The other issue is some of the amazing details described by the storytellers. One of the hallmarks of psychedelic experiences is that they are so hard to describe, because so much happens just within the mind… and yet, I really wanted as much detail as possible so that readers could almost have a sense of being there and observing the experiences.
5. Who are the storytellers?
We have 23 very different people – my goal was to have the most diverse storytellers as I could collect. About two-thirds are women and more than a third are from the BIPOC community – this was done because the psychedelic experience has traditionally been dominated by white men… and I wanted to make sure that almost anyone can find themselves in at least one of the stories.
These 23 people come from all walks of life, received all sorts of healing and personal and spiritual transformations, using a variety of psychedelic medicines.
We have people who have healed horrible childhood traumas, war trauma, sexual abuse, and more.
We have an Episcopal priest who had such a deep spiritual journey, he spoke in Tongues. Others met with Jesus, angels, and outwardly creatures.
We have people who chose microdosing rather than doing the full psychedelic experience.
Some sample quotes from the stories in the book.
Before Psychedelic Treatment
“How did I hold it together? By taking a combination of benzos, antidepressants, and alcohol – and that was for 16 years.”
“I spent a lifetime carefully avoiding and trying to ignore a lot of spiritual and sexual trauma that happened in my childhood.”
“I was desperate for ANYTHING that would help me feel better so that I could stop thinking about dying all day, every day.”
After Intentional Psychedelic Use
“I was with God… with Christ consciousness. Nothing existed in this space but unconditional love.”
“I felt immersed in an ocean of bliss.”
“This was my most significant life-changing experience.”
After psychedelics… “I live a life of peace, joy, love, forgiveness, and a budding and beautiful spirituality.”
6. What are the key reasons someone should buy this book?
First, to investigate the potential for healing – for themselves or a loved one – or both.
The book is mainly geared to people who are curious about psychedelics and want to learn more about how people are intentionally using these medicines – and what that healing looks like. To discover these powerful medicines that will actually get to the root trauma(s) that is causing the mental issues.
People will learn the real history of psychedelics, including how these medicines have been used (many of which have been used for centuries by Indigenous people). You’ll also get plenty of resources for learning more about psychedelics – including both macrodosing (the full psychedelic experience) and microdosing (an extremely small dose that produces no perceptible effects, generally between 5 to 10 percent of a standard dose).
Of course, then there are also the 23 stories – filled with details about the journey, their backgrounds, and any other psychedelic experiences. They discuss all aspects of their journeys, sharing everything – and the healing is simply beautiful, powerful, palpable.
All that said, one of the amazingly unexpected outcomes from collecting the stories in this book, is that these stories – and the way the stories have been collected – also help in integrating… and integrating the psychedelic experience is an essential part of the healing process. So, even people who have some experience with psychedelics will find these stories helpful.
Finally, by purchasing this book, people help healing in two ways. First, by learning how these psychedelic medicines can heal themselves. Second, by purchasing, all of the profits from sales go to nonprofits that are fostering healing and saving lives, such as
- Heroic Hearts Project, which sends combat veterans on healing psychedelic journeys, building a supportive community that helps veterans suffering from military trauma, and helping put a dent in the unacceptable numbers of veteran suicides.
- Chacruna Institute, which advances psychedelic justice through curating critical conversations and uplifting the voices of women, queer people, Indigenous peoples, people of color.
- Fireside Project, which manages the Psychedelic Peer Support Line — providing emotional support during and after psychedelic experiences, and staffed by rigorously trained, compassionate, supportive volunteers from diverse backgrounds.
7. How did you get the idea for the book? Will there be others?
While I have written several books in the past, I never expected to write another book – and certainly never expected to write a book about psychedelics.
There are some great books already published about psychedelics – and I list them in the back of the book.
That said, the one thing I noticed while I was doing my personal research on psychedelics is that there are very few detailed stories about psychedelic use that shared all the information I was seeking.
Then, one day in late summer, toward the end of a wonderful LSD journey, I received the idea for the book – including the entire outline. I had heard others talk about receiving a “digital download” of useful information, but it had never happened to me in such a clear way.
I won’t say never another book, but unless something comes up in the discussions around this book, I would say I will most likely just go back to supporting all the many great voices in the psychedelic community, adding my thoughts and articles.
8. What qualifies you to write this book?
First, I have been an educator almost my entire adult life. Part of my internal mission/drive is about empowering people to live better lives.
Second, I got into the wellness field almost 20 years ago, first for my own physical healing. Later, as I became deeply involved in the field, I became involved in sharing expert advice and tips.
Third, while I have no early education or experience with psychedelics, I took a deep dive into the field, starting about three years ago. I have been deeply involved in the background for the last couple of years. The book simply represents my attempt to help educate and empower people who have been lied to all or most of their lives. My expertise was in bringing in all the available research and experts and then finding and working with the 23 wonderful people who shared their stories.
But I want to emphasize that this book is not about me – and I don’t even feel it is MY book. It is a book for the people – both the storytellers to share their experiences and the readers who will be empowered to make their own choices about the healing modalities that may work best for them.
It is a book for YOU!