As 2023 has been a year of profound changes, ups and downs and lots of confusion and uncertainty for me, I couldn't think of a better episode to send this year off with than this one with Ben "Doc" Askins. Give a listen and you'll understand why. Ben "Doc" Askins is a no-one. But he is also Banksy’s erudite elder brother, a Deadpool wannabe, and the Shadow of the world’s most interesting man. When artificial intelligence has a fever dream, it dreams of being Doc.But if you actually care about qualifications, here is what you need to know about Ben. He has degrees in Outdoor Education, Intercultural Studies, Physician Assistant Studies, and Divinity. He has nearly two decades of experience practicing and teaching wilderness, tactical, and expeditionary medicine in the military. In civilian life, he is a Psychiatric Physician Assistant with an evidence-focused and integrative approach to mental health that includes extensive experience providing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, medicine management, and spiritual direction. He is certified with the Multidisciplinary Association on Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Ben is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society, a National Outdoor Leadership school alum, a veteran of the Global War on Terrorism, and has completed postgraduate training in Neuropsychiatry and Genomics.I won't even attempt to put together show notes on this one because it would be a failed pursuit. But it was an awesome conversation. If you're not nauseated by the end of this conversation, check out Ben's work here.

Danny Morel is a life coach and spiritual leader guiding millions throughout the world to awaken, heal and transform their lives. But don't tell him that. Because he doesn't like those labels, and I can understand why. There's something weird about calling yourself a spiritual leader. But sometimes doing this work, whatever you call it, is going to mean you're going to run into people who want to get it but sometimes just...don't. And maybe I'm one of those people. How can I say this? Even though I really want to buy into a lot of what Danny says, there's something about it that just doesn't land for me. I can't tell you why. Maybe it was just my mood that day. Maybe I just see the world differently. Or maybe there is something incomplete about what Danny is preaching. I don't know. But I do know that, notwithstanding my ambivalence about some of the elements of this conversation, that there are some great insights shared and, that what I'm trying to do with this podcast is try to elevate truth as much as possible. And the truth is that there's something that just doesn't sit right for me in this conversation. And maybe that's all the truth that needs to be shared. Learn more about Danny and his work here.

I can't help but love it when some people f*ck with authority, especially when they are on the right side of history. Prof. David Nutt is one of those people. David is currently the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences.  He is also the Chair of DrugScience (formally the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD)) and President of the European Brain Council. But he's probably best known for up-ending everything we were taught about drugs in high school after he authored a study published in the Lancet that showed, through a multi-criteria analysis, that things like cannabis, psilocybin and LSD weren't nearly as harmful to people as was our then (and still, frankly) vice, alcohol. And we should all be grateful he did because in many ways that was a pivotal moment for the psychedelic renaissance and the start of a healthy reexamination of psychoactive compounds in our society. His recent book, Psychedelics: The Revolutionary Drugs That Could Change Your Life - a Guide From the Expert, was published in June 2023 and is now available for pre-order in Canada and the US. You can get your copy here.

Hello everyone and welcome BACK to the Non-Ordinary Podcast, my sometimes serious sometimes not so serious podcast exploring the most interesting questions in life.First non-ordinary episode landing tomorrow!

This is a reposting of a recent episode of the podcast Making Sense with Sam Harris called "The Bright Line Between Good and Evil", reshared with Sam's consent and with a brief commentary from me at off the top. I am resharing this because it opened my eyes to things I hadn't considered, and I think it's important for these thoughts to be heard, considered and, if appropriate, responded to.

What happens when you’re building one of the most innovative companies and coolest brands in the world and a baby drops into your life at the same time? Two experiences that you can do all you want to prepare for consciously but can never really be prepared for? That’s what Robbie Bent, Co-founder and CEO of Othership, is going through right now. Robbie was kind enough to join me on the podcast for a second time to talk about how his life has evolved since our last recorded conversation, which happened just before he was about to embark on a psychedelic retreat at Holos to prepare for fatherhood. You can listen to that episode here. Here are some highlights: 1:35 - living with a wild animal, otherwise known as a child10:07 - getting hyped to create something amazing and deliver transformative experiences13:23 - Robbie's triggers and bringing the stress of work into home life14:57 - admiration for his wife and the role of the mother15:40 - hard lives22:40 - what drives Robbie to do what he does25:00 - managing the balance28:00 - is there a moment of "success" for Robbie? 29:45 - moving goal lines 35:17 - the sadness in success and how running Othership is already changing40:30 - the merits of lifestyle businesses45:18 - revisiting the psychedelic fatherhood retreat (and a shoutout to Steve Rio!)49:39 - a spiritual moment with Onyx52:17 - how parenthood (and the Hoffman Method) shifted his relationship with his parents57:00 - the trials and tribulations of parenthood1:04:24 - how your business can become part of your family 1:09:39 - the New York Othership reveal

If the conversation with Scott Galloway was the one with the frat boy turned banker turned entrepreneur going vulnerable, this one is the conversation with the thoughtful, grass-fed farmer-turned-physician. And it's equally as insightful. Drew Ramsey, MD is a board certified psychiatrist, author, and mental health advocate. His work focuses on clinical excellence, nutritional psychiatry, male mental health and creative media. He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and founded the Brain Food Clinic, a digital mental health clinical practice.His work has been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lancet Psychiatry, The Today Show, BBC, and NPR and he has given three TEDx talks. He is co-author of the Antidepressant Food Scale and created the first e-courses on Nutritional Psychiatry education for the public and clinicians. His books Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety (Harperwave 2021), Eat Complete, 50 Shades of Kale, and The Happiness Diet explore the connections between mental health and nutrition. He is on the Advisory Board at Men’s Health, the Editorial Board at Medscape Psychiatry, and the Scientific Advisory Board of the anti-stigma nonprofit Bring Change To Mind. He lives in Jackson, Wyoming with his wife and two children.Follow Dr. Drew on Instagram: @DrewRamseyMDHighlights: 3:30 - how do we define success? 4:23 - a moment to fan boy over Prof G6:47 - what's worked for Ronan since leaving Field Trip12:07 - the brilliance of association and intuition14:67 - the lies that Disney movies tell us19:30 - a really good diagnosis being a good thing22:46 - using psychedelics during periods of distress 27:00 - the beauty of not being a doctor28:50 - what is nutritional psychiatry38:00 - rethinking vulnerability42:26 - what's Justin Trudeau got to do with it? 44:57 - Drew's perspectives the Barbie Movie49:26 - how to be a good mental health clinician55:22 - a nod to Dr. Barry Waisglass and more integrated approaches to medicine1:00:38 - back to lentils1:02:46 - gluten, organic, coconut oil, ketosis and artificial flavours. And GMOs and UFOs.

There are few men in this world that I'd identify as being a role model for me. But after this conversation, I may just have one. Scott Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. He was named one of the world’s best business professors by Poets & Quants. Scott has founded nine companies, including Prophet, RedEnvelope, L2, and Section School, where he also teaches. He is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Four, The Algebra of Happiness, Post Corona and Adrift: America in 100 Charts. Scott has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Panera Bread, and Ledger. Across his Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice newsletter, and his YouTube channel, Scott reaches millions. He has won multiple Webby and Best Podcast awards, and his books have been translated into 28 languages. Find everything Scott Galloway at https://profgmedia.com/. Highlights: 3:15 - what gave rise to Scott's interest in the conversation around masculinity. 6:24 - compassion is not a zero sum game. 8:06 - for many men, suicide is not a result of mental illness. 8:54 - the importance of relationships. 9:40 - Scott's business failures.11:42 - failure as an ingredient of success and the traps of it.12:22 - kicking dogs and other ways to get over failure. 12:37 - the role of luck in success. 14:02 - the thread that connects millionaire hedge fund operators and lost young men. 16:29 - what failure feels like. 18:07 - the importance of not being too picky and just picking up the pieces.19:55 - the curse of both genders. 22:00 - men, money and the data. 23:07 - why Scott's life partner has been pivotal to Scott's success. 24:09 - how Scott's identity is wrapped up in his professional relevance. 26:02 - biases in the school system and the workplace. 29:14 - the role of fathers and the definition of masculinity going forward. 30:03 - the story of Scott's childhood and his relationship with his father. 33:54 - Scott's introduction to investing, courtesy of one of his mom's boyfriends. 35:53 - become a frat boy. For your own good. 39:00 - the consequences of refusing to accept defeat and failure. 42:55 - psychedelics, alcohol and more. 47:05 - body dysmophia in men. 50:07 - the beauty of the male form. 52:51 - Scott's appreciation of nurturing men.

For decades, we had envisioned our future as a digital utopia in which technology would solve all of our problems and create a perfect world.Yet, with the pandemic, we got a taste of what this promised future would be like - and it was awful. So, are we doomed to live in a digital dystopia?David Sax is an award-winning writer and speaker whose journalistic writings have been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Bloomberg.Today, David joins Ronan to discuss his upcoming book 'The Future Is Analog' in which he explains why the promised digital utopia never arrived, how we got here, and whether we can build a future that serves us as humans, first and foremost. Tune in to learn more!Ronan and David also discuss the potential of psychedelics as a way to reconnect with ourselves, Jewish culture, The Singularity, and more.Key Takeaways Are we doomed to live in a digital dystopia? (00:00)The rediscovery of the Jewish deli (08:59)Paper books vs. ebooks (26:07)What to expect from the future of digital technology (39:11)Why the analog world is better than the digital world (42:13)Why the psychedelic experience is so powerful (48:48)Ray Kurzweil's prediction of The Singularity (57:13)The importance of getting back to authentic human connection (1:01:56)Additional ResourcesLeverage the power of psychedelic therapy and start your path to long-term change. Learn more at: https://www.fieldtriphealth.com/Download the Field Trip App:https://www.fieldtriphealth.com/self-guided-mobile-appTune in to The Field Tripping podcast at: https://www.fieldtripping.fm/Learn more about David's book 'The Future Is Analog:' https://books.google.es/books/about/The_Future_Is_Analog.html?id=3RRjEAAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y

Robbie Bent, CEO and co-founder of breathwork and wellness center Othership, joins Ronan in this emotional episode of Field Tripping. The two discuss Robbie’s evolution from backyard breathing sessions to owning a brick and mortar studio and his personal evolution to becoming the best version of himself. Plus, they discuss how psychedelics are helping to prepare Robbie for fatherhood. Learn more about Othership at othership.us

Every once in a while, life provides a sliding door moment. One of those pivotal moments in life for which there was a before and there is an after. This conversation with Alex Charfen is one of those moments for me, as it helped me find a level of self-acceptance that I've never found before. Here is a little bit about Alex...He was never meant to be the Co-founder & CEO of a multi-million dollar company. As a kid, Alex had a tough time learning, fitting in, and following other people’s rules. His entrepreneurial journey started early on by selling things at school, and he went on to run a window washing service in high school and a financial consulting firm in college. In his twenties, Alex became a Fortune 500 consultant, working with some of the most successful people in the world. In his early thirties, he met his wife, Cadey, and sold his consulting business. Unable to stay out of the entrepreneurial world, Alex and Cadey started buying and selling houses and became one of the largest real estate companies in Florida in less than a year. Following the Economic Crisis of 2007, Alex and Cadey lost everything and went bankrupt. Rising from the ashes, they built an information product called the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation. Through their designation, Alex and Cadey worked with the majority of major lenders and real estate brokerages in the United States to help our country recover from the mortgage crisis. As a result, they helped pull forward the recovery of the foreclosure crisis by five to seven years, sold over $70 million, were featured on the Inc. list of fastest-growing companies in the country three years in a row, and won many other awards.Alex went on to create the Entrepreneurial Personality Type (EPT), helping tens of thousands of entrepreneurs with six-, seven-, and eight-figure businesses to grow and scale. Today, Alex has created multiple multimillion-dollar companies, learned a lot along the way, and is teaching entrepreneurs how they can do the same. Sharing his journey with others led Alex to write for publications such as Success, Entrepreneur, and Inc. Magazine, and his story has also garnered attention from major media outlets like MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, and Investor’s Business Daily. As a result of his mentorship and success, Alex is now known as the go-to person for helping entrepreneurs ascend the Billionaire Code and understand how to plan strategically. Throughout all of this, Charfen’s mission is to empower entrepreneurs to grow and scale their business and make their greatest contribution. If you want to learn more about Alex and his incredible work with Simple Operations, visit www.charfen.com.Key Moments: 03:00 - Alex's tumultuous childhood in Mexico City10:40 - Tony Robbins and Wayne Dyer make Alex even weirder14:01 - adversity as a precursor for massive success15:26 - a basic definition of The Entrepreneurial Personality Type16:06 - Ronan's tumultuous childhood17:44 - entrepreneurs are information seekers20:00 - how entrepreneurs are often persecuted by the system and then want to fix the system for everyone22:00 - momentum as a key determinant in an entrepreneur's happiness23:26 - what's wrong with me? 27:10 - changing the entrepreneurial scoreboard32:44 - the three elements of momentum38:19 - Alex's own brush with insolvency45:49 - Alex's phoenix rising from the ashes, and near collapse 56:27 - stillness in momentum 1:00:24 - a new definition of success1:05:44 - some thoughts on Bill Gates

In early 2019, Mira's life was entirely blown apart, when her partner Brian was diagnosed with an unbelievably aggressive cancer. He died seven weeks later, leaving her alone with their almost three-year-old daughter.The experience forced Mira to explore the grieving process and she has turned that exploration into New Moon Mira, a grief coaching business that supports widows and grievers in more intimate group containers and provides grief literacy training for grief-support people and healthcare professionals.In this conversation, we talk about the experience of having a life partner pass on, how to support someone who is going through the process of, or soon to be, grieving, how the medical profession fails to support people in the dying process and, ultimately, how grief can help us evolve. If you're interested in learning more about Mira and her work, check out: https://www.instagram.com/newmoonmira/

Derek Beres is a multi-faceted author and media expert based in Portland, Oregon. He has served in senior editorial positions at a number of tech companies and has years of experience in health, science, and music writing. He is the co-host of the Conspirituality podcast and co-author of Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat.In this episode, Derek and I talk about his conspirituality, what it is, where it comes from and why it demands that all of us take the word of influencers and charismatics with a healthy sense of skepticism...especially when they are trying to sell you something. We also explore the unlikely alignment between the alt right conspiracy theorists and left-wing hippies when it comes to vaccines, the origins of modern yoga, some big name podcasters and RFK Jr. It might blow your mind. Or piss you off. Joe Rogan, Russell Brand, you better watch out. Derek shows us what real journalism looks like. Timeline: 3:53 - What is conspirituality? 8:36 - Who in the world is Charlotte Webb? 12:11 - Conspirituality through the modern age. 22:32 - Dave Asprey and the early days of the modern conspirituality. 26:22 - How indigenous practices are being co-opted by conspiritualists. 28:47 - a discussion of AI and intellectual property law.30:35 - How even real scientists like Andrew Huberman can get caught stepping out of their lane. 31:55 - Russell Brand is NOT a journalist. 38:39 - Why charismatics and conspiritualists try to make you feel like you're on the right side of history. 40:45 - The roots of modern yoga are not what you think. 48:17 - How the rise of modern yoga predicted the conversation around transgendered people.1:05:47 - a conversation about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 1:10:49 - RFK Jr. vs. ChatGPT in a battle for the truth. If you'd like to order a copy of the book, Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/derek-beres/conspirituality/9781541702981/?lens=publicaffairsIf you're interested in learning more about Derek's work more generally, check out: https://www.conspirituality.net/https://twitter.com/derekbereshttps://www.instagram.com/conspiripod/

Susan Stephens is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and an Intuitive Counsellor, and the founder of Liberated Living in Hamilton, Ontario where she specializes in helping people to overcome addictions, trauma, negative recurrent patterns, depression and anxiety. Over the years, Susan has helped thousands of men and women to transform emotional pain, elevate health, cultivate conscious relationships and connect to the divinity within and without.In this episode, Susan and I open up about some of the experiences in our lives that put us on the not-always-pleasant paths that we have found ourselves on. We talk about childhood trauma, feelings of self-worth (or lack thereof), the traps of success, why many therapists are too shallow (and that's a good thing) and embracing our inner bitch. This episode gets vulnerable very quickly so there are a number of stretches of silence and some sniffles to choke back some tears. What can I say? No one ever said Evolving is easy. Or pretty.But it's the first of a few episodes that will feature Susan as I will continue to work with her over the coming weeks and months to go deeper, both for physical health as well as emotional health. If you want to learn more about Susan's work, check out www.liberatedliving.ca or join her private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/561484324447592.4:03 - Susan's shares about her past and alcoholism. 11:19 - Susan shares about her experiences with therapy and AA.15:32 - overcompensating and a discussion about orthorexia. 16:35 - the quest for success. 23:16 - manifestation is now a thing. 26:45 - a conversation on doing vs. being. 33:34 - the more woo, the better. 34:16 - the spiritual journey is not for wusses. 38:33 - a conversation about divorce. 40:08 - from zero to one and back to zero again. 43:06 - the biggest issue in our culture. 44:57 - a conversation about heartbreak. 49:17 - Ronan's first spiritual realization. 53:41 - this sh*t is bananas. 59:24 - compassion as betrayal. 1:06:31 - anger as an act of self-worth. 1:09:14 - the law of attraction.

Father's Day is a great day to celebrate and honour all of the fathers out there. But it's also a good day to reflect on what it is to be a father and a man in our society. As much as "it's a man's world," men suffer the effects of chauvinism too and if we want to break the cycle of it, it starts (in part) with dads. Happy Father's Day everyone!

Jere Simpson is an entrepreneur with a beautiful rags-to-riches story. He's known for his prophetic vision in tech, having built landmark companies in SaaS, mobile and cybersecurity and worked with the CIA, FBI, NSA and Pentagon. He's been recognized by Forbes Magazine as "one of the top minds in tech" and by Entrepreneur as "one of the best entrepreneurs in the world". Now he's turning his sights on AI with his company AtlasUP. In this conversation, we dive deep into AI, what we can expect from it, how we change our attitudes toward it and work to ensure it doesn't become an apocalyptic nightmare. And we stumble upon two of the most terrifying conclusions about artificial intelligence I've ever considered. But we end on a very optimistic note about how to make this a beautiful life. 28:00 - deep wisdom from Alan Shore (James Spader) that leads to the scariest realization I've had about AI.32:00 - a surprisingly thoughtful insight from an AI model. 35:00 - post-scarcity world and the age of abundance. 38:00 - marketing and deception 41:00 - the 6 people who can end everything45:00 - Sam Altman, Elon Musk and politicians 49:00 - if we can't figure shit out over psychedelics, how are we going to do it over AI? 53:00 - the magic of human machinery

Do you remember the first time you truly felt alive? While we wait for some of the first interview episodes to be finalized I thought I'd start by sharing some short reflection pieces and the first one I'm sharing is on this very question. The first time you feel truly, emphatically alive is usually a moment in your adolescence, sometimes called The Eternal Youth. It's one of 7 Faces of the Soul that all humans go through as part of the experience of being human. This is the story of my first feeling of The Eternal Youth.

Anyone who has undertaken any kind of construction project knows that surprises always await. This is true whether you're renovating a house or renovating a podcast. And that happened to this podcast following my attendance at The Intelligent Change Summit hosted by Alex and Mimi Ikonn in April, which led me to conclude that I wanted to take this podcast in a slightly different direction than I had before. Same general theme, but marginally different approach. Give a listen and let me know your thoughts.

Being the host of Field Tripping has been an epic trip in psychedelics. But as things at Field Trip have changed, so have I. So it's time to take this podcast in a new direction. Don't worry, we're going to keep all the deep and meaningful conversations. But this time with a more expansive view of the world around us in a way that's far from ordinary. So say hello to The Non-Ordinary Podcast. We're glad you're here. New episodes coming soon.

Todd Herman, the author of the WSJ and International Best Selling Book, “The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life,” joins Ronan to discuss Todd’s experiences with MDMA assisted therapy to overcome sexual trauma, the power of alter egos, and whether there exists a one true authentic self. He is also a speaker and coach focused on mental toughness, leadership, and peak performance, and has been featured on NFL Films, Fox Sports, PBS, Entrepreneur, and the Today Show. His training programs have been delivered to over 2 million people and have won numerous awards and his coaching systems are used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and NHL, as well as major companies around the world. Todd just launched his own shoe line, and his work has even inspired the new FOX TV show, Alter Ego!Feel free to leave Ronan a message with your comments, questions, or just to say hello!