From Skeptic to Student: A Psychiatrist’s Path to Becoming a Curandero
LISTEN ON:
Episode 300
Simon Ruffell, M.D., Ph.D.
In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Simon Ruffell, a psychiatrist, ayahuasca researcher, and student of curanderismo. Simon shares his transformative journey from being a skeptical Western psychiatrist to embracing the spiritual dimensions of plant medicine after experiencing what he describes as an "ontological shock" during an ayahuasca ceremony. He discusses his ongoing apprenticeship with Shipibo curanderos in the Amazon, his research into ayahuasca's effects on mental health and epigenetics, and his work bridging indigenous wisdom with Western scientific understanding.
Dr. Ruffell explores the differences between Western medical approaches and traditional healing practices, highlighting how the Shipibo focus on harmony and balance rather than fixing specific problems. Through his organization Onaya, he conducts reciprocal research with indigenous communities, studying how ayahuasca affects veterans with PTSD and examining the epigenetic changes that may explain its profound healing effects.
Dr. Simon Ruffell is trained across three modalities: Western medicine (as a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry), research psychology (with a PhD in Amazonian ayahuasca and mental health), and traditional plant medicine (as a student of curanderismo). He is the Chief Medical Officer of MINDS, a nonprofit research organization exploring the potential of psychedelics and consciousness practices to address humanity's greatest challenges.
Since 2015, his work has focused primarily on exploring ayahuasca while collaborating with indigenous communities in the Amazon basin. He is the CEO of Onaya and founded the nonprofit Onaya Science, which researches the effects of ayahuasca in naturalistic Amazonian settings. Dr. Ruffell's work seeks to understand plant medicines from both Indigenous and Western perspectives, and he is currently training in Shipibo Shamanism under Don Rono Lopez.
Podcast Highlights
- A spiritual attack during ceremony that shifted his perspective on reality
- Bridging indigenous wisdom with Western scientific research
- The difference between psychedelic guides and trained shamans
- Ayahuasca and epigenetics: clearing ancestral trauma
- How traditional medicine evolves and adapts over time
- Remarkable PTSD treatment outcomes with veterans
- Approaching healing as returning to harmony
- EEG research during ceremonial Icaros singing
- Shamans as navigational experts of the psychedelic realm
- When to choose Western medicine vs. traditional approaches
Show Links
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