Welcome to The SpArc podcast feature section! Here you can explore a series of nationally syndicated podcasts I’ve had the sincere honor of being a part of on the Psychedelic frontier. Within the conversations, I share honest insights on my 17 year journey exploring consciousness in service as a master ceremonialist, transformational coach, event producer & psychedelic facilitator. My hope is that through these candid reflections, I can continue to educate, inspire, advocate and empower the intentional & safe use of plant & fungi’s medicines as a ritual practice for those seeking healing & discovery on their life journey. If you are interested in hosting me on your podcast on the future please don’t hesitate to reach out! It would be my honor to join in a conversation with you and the community you serve. I hope you enjoy the podcasts and they serve you well on your path of deeper self-actualization.
Psychedelic Conversations
Episode 161
Psychedelic Remembrance
I recently had the honor to sit down with Susan Guner to dive deep on her Psychedelic Conversations Podcast. I have always sincerely admired how Susan does not side step the real challenges, shadows and messy healing work that the psychedelic path can unveil – As well as the critical importance of integrity, ethics and a grounded experiential orientation the path requires. I hope you find it supportive on your journey and thank you again Susan for the lovely opportunity to sit down and explore the psychedelic ceremonial frontier together.
Episode 161:
In this episode of Psychedelic Conversations, we speak with psychedelic ceremonial facilitator and educator Ehren Cruz to explore the deeper calling behind this work. We discuss his journey from studying indigenous traditions to creating sacred spaces and guiding transformational rites of passage. Together, we reflect on timing, both personal and collective, and how psychedelics can catalyze remembrance, spiritual awakening, and self-actualization. We explore the evolving relationship between science and indigenous wisdom, the importance of integration and embodiment, and how true transformation ripples through families and communities. Ehren shares insights into creating sanctuary, navigating shadow work, and supporting others through intentional, harm-reduction-based facilitation. This is a rich conversation about devotion, responsibility, and how we can collectively steward the psychedelic frontier with integrity and care.
Keep Going Podcast: Rites of Passage,
Not Quick Fixes with Ehren Cruz
I really enjoyed the opportunity to share on the Keep Going Podcast withJohn Biggs! In a focused 20 minutes, we covered key considerations on the healing potential of psychedelics – including many important considerations beyond the catalytic medicine experience itself. Below is a great description from John’s own words. I hope you all find this dialog supportive to your journey.
“I first spoke with Ehren Cruz and felt something I do not get often in this space, grounded optimism. He runs a retreat center north of Asheville and guides people through psilocybin journeys with a process that looks more like a rite of passage than a thrill ride. Here is how he works. He starts with a real assessment. Meds, mental health history, trauma, and whether he is the right person to help. Then a month of preparation. Sleep, food, time off the treadmill, and intention. He teaches basic emotional regulation so you are not surprised by your own mind. Only then do you sit. Music, instruments, careful facilitation, and a room that feels safe. Afterward comes the hard part, landing the craft. What did you learn. What will you change. Who do you need to forgive. How will you embody that tomorrow morning.
If the language around psychedelics feels too soft, Ehren can meet you in plain English. He talks about neuroplasticity and the way a wider thalamic filter lets you consider ideas that your habitual self would ignore. He also talks about something older. Fungi as a living partner, not a static compound. You bring your healing intelligence. The medicine brings its own. The work happens in the space between. We talked about the fear of change. Many people know they need it but stay put. The familiar pain feels safer than the unknown. Ehren gave me a frame I like. Letting go happens when the risk of staying the same finally outweighs the risk of stepping into mystery. You do not need to force it. You prepare the ground and notice when the fruit is ready to drop.”
First Featured Guest on the Psychedelic Paradigm Shift Podcast:
Entheogens, Ego Dissolution & Indigenous Wisdom:
Ehren Cruz on Psychedelic Healing & Ceremony
I recently had the great opportunity to be the first guest on your new Psychedelic Paradigm Shift podcast!
In this episode, we sat down for deep dive conversation on healing, self-discovery, and the power of entheogens to transform life perspective. From my academic roots to profound festival experiences and devotion to ceremonial practice, I shared my journey through a jarring ego dissolution experience, into redirecting my life into community service creating a thriving healing center and practice. We talk about the power and wisdom of indigenous medicine traditions, the importance of set and setting, and the real-life (long term) impat of psychedelics on mental health and personal growth. Whether you’re curious about the science, the ceremony, or the humanity behind the psychedelic renaissance, this episode offers inspiration, practical advice, and hope for anyone seeking deeper meaning and authentic connection.
In this episode, you will learn:
- How do mindfulness elements fit into the context of large-dose psychedelic journeys?
- How can you develop mindfulness tools that are supportive during a large-dose journey?
- How can both mindfulness and psychedelic medicines help you remember your true self?
- How can we learn to appreciate gradual, progressive shifts through microdosing in comparison with the drastic changes of high-dose experiences, and why is this so important in developing awareness?
- Why are the psychedelic guide’s integrity and self-awareness so essential in harm reduction?
- How can you and your guides ensure that your large-dose journey is safe?
- Why is a high level of trust in your guide so important?
- What questions can you ask when looking fora psychedelic guide?
- Why are patience and listening to yourself so important when choosing a psychedelic guide?
I’m honored to be featured on a top 1% worldwide listenership podcast with the Innovative Leadership Institute on their first episode on psychedelics! Celebrated author, Leadership thought Leader, CEO and host Maureen Metcalf, MBA and I dove in to the potential of psychedelic compounds to support servant leadership, innovation and creative genius. It’s often forgotten that discoveries such as the double helix, the cloud and the micro-chip were breakthroughs born of a catalytic psychedelic experience. We also explore the differences between the therapeutic and ceremonial approach.
There is great promise in gathering adept thinkers and innovators and presenting them with social, environmental, and professional complex problems within a psychedelic setting to support divergent thinking and innovative insight. Mental health is an important gateway toward reestablishing the long overdue respect for the healing potential of these medicines. Yet exploration into the capacity for the safe, intentional and ethical use of these extraordinary compounds to support evolutionary growth in leaders has only just begun. If interested in exploring an experience for yourself or your team please don’t hesitate to reach out! I hope you enjoy our conversation.
I recently had the sweet opportunity to connect with George Monty on the TrueLife podcast to explore the use of psychedelics in Rites of Passage. We dove into my work as a long time transformational event producer, ceremonialist and anthropologist to explore this phenomena in festivals and initiatic ceremonies in both ancient times and modern day.
Since time immemorial, these compounds have been utilized with great care at critical junctures in one’s evolutionary journey to support spiritual initiation. We explored how with a carefully curated intentional arc of preparation, psychedelics can be utilized as a catalyst to orchestrate a leap in composite awareness to a new vantage that can be sustained beyond the revelation. I hope you enjoy our discussion!
I’m honored to be featured by my long time friend & colleague Michael Garfield on his nationally charting Future Fossils Podcast for its 200th episode alongside the brilliant mind of Daphne Margot Krantz to explore: transcendence, trauma, and transformation through psychedelics. Michael, Daphne and I grew up on the psychedelic frontier of the music festival scene together and have explored many highs and lows, trials and triumphs within that wildly alchemical community culture.
In this episode we explore the complexity of the festival world, our individual journeys of healing & growth, the rise of psychedelics in therapeutic applications, the potential of these substances to elevate the human potential and the importance of uplifting their cultural heritage. We also discuss addiction, trauma, and the potential ramifications of unleashing these compounds on the collective consciousness leading to deeper insights on freedom, equitable access and their evolutionary potential. Deep, honest and absurdly entertaining in ways only Mike G can pull off, it was a real pleasure to dive in with these amazing humans to continue to survey the vanguard of this powerful psychedelic movement. I Hope you enjoy the podcast!
Recently I had the sincere honor of being a part of Rebecca Hayden’s groundbreaking podcast Aya Speaks. Rebecca is known for her no nonsense & brutally honest conversations diving deep into the heart of the psychedelic integration experience. This path is far from all unicorns and rainbows, and along the journey I have encountered some harsh realities in how difficult it can be to synthesize a transcendent experience into every day life. I appreciate bringing these transparent stories to light cautioning a thoughtful pause given the intense optimism surrounding the movement. Moving through a psychedelic experience is only part of the journey, and arguably not even the most important phase. How you interpret, internalize, and embody the experience is even more crucial given its potential to dramatically shift one’s entire outlook on life itself.
A few weeks ago, I had the sincere honor of being featured in one of the top three psychedelic focused podcasts in the world – Third Wave. In the podcast, I share by far the most honest reflection of my journey with plant medicines in my life. From a psychedelic rebirth in 2008 that lead to me leave academia to answer a deeper call to be of service as a producer, master of ceremonies, and curator of transformational events for over 10 years; To immersing into a spiritual devotional path with Kabbalah while using psychedelics in the heart of ritual practice; to losing my ability to curate events and returning to where it all began in the heart of the ceremonial circle. Throughout the discussion, I candidly share my greatest life triumphs and serious hard lessons in this path of service; pushing myself to the psychological, emotional, and physical brink more times than I care to admit… Yet within this odyssey of a life I have chosen, I have truly & deeply found my spark. Living every day with a fullness that is beyond what I ever imagined possible.
Recently I had the sincere pleasure of being featured on the Nationally syndicated Alchemist Lounge Podcast. Last fall I had the great opportunity to graduate from the Nation’s First Psychedelic Coaching certification at Third Wave with the Alchemy podcast founder Alex Atwood. Together, we discussed my psychedelic rebirth in 2008 and how it shifted my life out of academia into nearly 13 years serving as a transformational festival producer. We talked about the importance of a spiritual path in integration and how Hermetic Qabalah paired with sacramental entheogenic use has been critical to my growth & evolution. And lastly how this journey has led me to honor a soul calling to embrace the path less traveled as a psychedelic guide and transformational coach. I hope you enjoy this open & honest share of my journey!
