- 41
- Episodes
- 6
- Ratings
- Bi-weekly
- Cadence
- 2024
- First episode
About Cura Medicina
Cura Medicina explores the timeless wisdom of healing traditions, where ancient plant medicine and shamanic cosmology ignite spirituality and inform our healing. Each episode journeys into the heart of wellness, blending plant medicine, spiritual practices, holistic health, and personal transformation. Guided by deep curiosity and compassion, the podcast shares stories, teachings, and insights from healers and seekers around the world, inviting listeners to reconnect with nature, spirits, and the body's innate capacity to heal through ayahuasca, while being guided by the animate world.
- Publisher
- Derek Dodds
- Category
- religion & spirituality
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 17 Feb 2024
- Latest episode
- 10 Oct 2026
Latest episodes
41 episodes in the feed.
10 Oct 2026
Ayahuasca, Indigenous Leadership, and the Call to Give Back with Alison Eakin
What does it mean to receive healing from sacred medicine—and what responsibilities come with it? In this episode of Cura Medicina, Derek Dodds welcomes Alison Eakin for a thoughtful, heartfelt conversation about ayahuasca, prayer, Indigenous wisdom, and the importance of reciprocity. Alison shares how her first encounter with ayahuasca in the Ecuadorian jungle, where she sought help for a visual impairment, became a turning point in her life. She reflects on the long pause before returning to the medicine, and on how hardship, healing, and spiritual practice have shaped her path. Alison also speaks about her relationship with an intertribal community and its sweat lodge and vision quest traditions. With care and humility, she discusses the value of learning within a lineage, respecting tradition boundaries, and recognizing that Indigenous ceremonial practices vary. The conversation then turns to the 2026 Ayahuasca Forum in Spain. Alison describes a gathering of around 1,700 people, including more than 100 Indigenous delegates representing 35 tribes. She shares why Indigenous leadership and knowledge must have a meaningful place in conversations about ayahuasca’s future—from scientific research and pharmaceutical interest to ceremony, safety, and the danger of reducing sacred traditions to commodities. Together, Derek and Alison explore what reciprocity can look like in practice: supporting Indigenous communities, protecting the Amazon rainforest, and remembering the people and living traditions behind the medicines many seek for healing. Alison’s stories of planting fruit trees, praying for relatives after an accident, and turning toward service offer a moving reminder that healing can lead us beyond ourselves. Key Discussion Points Alison’s first ayahuasca experience in Ecuador and the profound healing that set her on a new path. How living with a visual impairment became a source of learning, purpose, and spiritual direction. Returning to the medicine after more than a decade—and the role of trust, safety, and timing. Alison’s experience with sweat lodge and vision quest, and the importance of learning through relationship with elders and community. Why the 2026 Ayahuasca Forum in Spain marked a meaningful shift toward Indigenous leadership and representation. The meeting of Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific research, including concerns about separating ayahuasca from its ceremonial context Reciprocity in practice: supporting Indigenous communities & protecting the Amazon - - - Connect with Derek - - - (https://aya101.com/)curamedicina.com (http://curamedicina.com/) (https://aya101.com/) instagram.com/cura_medicina_podcast (https://www.instagram.com/cura_medicina_podcast/) derek {@} curamedicina.com (http://curamedicina.com/) - - - Derek's Books on Amazon. - - - (https://www.amazon.com/Ayahuasca-Beginners-Guide-Prepare-Ceremony-ebook/dp/B0BWDRQDFT)Animal Spirit Guides: A Practical Shamanic Path of Relationship, Ritual, and Healing (https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Spirit-Guides-Practical-Relationship-ebook/dp/B0HFZ4S23T/) Ayahuasca: A Beginner's Guide (https://www.amazon.com/Ayahuasca-Beginners-Guide-Prepare-Ceremony-ebook/dp/B0BWDRQDFT) Sacred Geometry and Patterns of Divine Design (https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Geometry-Patterns-Divine-Design/dp/B0DT9YCQZG) Hapé Sacred Tobacco: Plant Medicine Ally From The Amazon Rainforest (https://www.amazon.com/Hap%C3%A9-Sacred-Tobacco-Medicine-Rainforest-ebook/dp/B0CTZYRXKV) Subscribe & Review: Please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on your favorite platform. See all platforms (https://derekdodds.com/cura-medicina/). My Vision & Prayer May all beings be happy. May all beings be free. May all beings find their way home. ~ Om Mani Padme Hum TAGS: Alison Eakin, Derek Dodds, Cura Medicina, ayahuasca, ayahuasca ceremony, Indigenous wisdom, Indigenous leadership, Amazon rainforest, plant medicine, sacred medicine, spiritual healing, prayer, reciprocity, Indigenous rights, cultural preservation, vision quest, sweat lodge, ceremonial traditions, ceremony safety, ayahuasca integration, ayahuasca forum Spain, traditional knowledge, psychedelic research, commercialization of plant medicine, Nomanawa people
1 Oct 2026
Naked Out Loud: Machan Taylor on Trauma, Music & Psychedelic Healing
In this episode of Cura Medicina, Derek Dodds speaks with acclaimed vocalist, teacher, and author Machan Taylor about healing early trauma through intentional, guided psychedelic work. Machan shares the story behind her memoir, Naked Out Loud—from growing up as a Japanese-American child navigating displacement, identity, and family hardship, to building an extraordinary music career alongside artists including Pink Floyd, Sting, Pat Benatar, George Benson, and Hiroshima. Beneath the outward success, however, she carried a profound sense of not belonging. She reflects on the MDMA-assisted session that helped her reconnect with the younger self she felt had been left behind when her family moved from Japan to America. Together, Derek and Machan explore integration, self-compassion, the healing power of music and mantra, and why reverence, intention, and skilled guidance matter so deeply in medicine work. A warm, vulnerable conversation: Machan Taylor’s early life in Japan and her family’s move to the United States after World War II Growing up biracial, experiencing displacement, and carrying a deep sense of not belonging A celebrated career in music—and the private wounds that remained beneath outward success Why years of traditional talk therapy did not fully reach the roots of early trauma Finding a trained, spiritually grounded facilitator for MDMA-assisted therapy Machan’s first medicine journey: returning to her childhood with a whale as her guide Reconnecting with and integrating the “little girl” who felt left behind The difference between MDMA and psilocybin in a therapeutic setting Integration, self-compassion, empathy, and healing the heart Music, chanting, mantra, and the voice as pathways of transformation Machan’s experience with Buddhist chanting and the life changes it helped initiate Naked Out Loud: vulnerability, truth-telling, and releasing shame The importance of approaching psychedelic work with intention, respect, and qualified guidance Machan’s curiosity about ayahuasca and the importance of traditional, sacred containers Machan Taylor is an acclaimed vocalist, teacher, and author whose career includes work with Pink Floyd, Sting, Pat Benatar, George Benson, Hiroshima, and many others. Her memoir, Naked Out Loud, shares her journey through trauma, music, healing, and psychedelic-assisted self-discovery. Find Naked Out Loud online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Connect with Machan: https://www.machantaylor.com/ (https://www.machantaylor.com/) Ig: https://www.instagram.com/machantaylorofficial (https://www.instagram.com/machantaylorofficial) - - - Connect with Derek - - - (https://aya101.com/)curamedicina.com (http://curamedicina.com/) (https://aya101.com/) instagram.com/cura_medicina_podcast (https://www.instagram.com/cura_medicina_podcast/) derek {@} curamedicina.com (http://curamedicina.com/) - - - Derek's Books on Amazon. - - - (https://www.amazon.com/Ayahuasca-Beginners-Guide-Prepare-Ceremony-ebook/dp/B0BWDRQDFT)Animal Spirit Guides: A Practical Shamanic Path of Relationship, Ritual, and Healing (https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Spirit-Guides-Practical-Relationship-ebook/dp/B0HFZ4S23T/) Ayahuasca: A Beginner's Guide (https://www.amazon.com/Ayahuasca-Beginners-Guide-Prepare-Ceremony-ebook/dp/B0BWDRQDFT) Sacred Geometry and Patterns of Divine Design (https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Geometry-Patterns-Divine-Design/dp/B0DT9YCQZG) Hapé Sacred Tobacco: Plant Medicine Ally From The Amazon Rainforest (https://www.amazon.com/Hap%C3%A9-Sacred-Tobacco-Medicine-Rainforest-ebook/dp/B0CTZYRXKV) Subscribe & Review: Please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on your favorite platform. See all platforms (https://derekdodds.com/cura-medicina/). My Vision & Prayer May all beings be happy. May all beings be free. May all beings find their way home. ~ Om Mani Padme Hum TAGS: Machan Taylor, Cura Medicina, psychedelic healing, MDMA-assisted therapy, MDMA therapy, psilocybin therapy, psychedelic integration, trauma healing, childhood trauma, inner child healing, healing journey, emotional healing, psychedelic medicine, intentional medicine work, sacred medicine, therapeutic psychedelics, guided psychedelic therapy, spiritual healing, memoir, Naked Out Loud, Buddhist practice, trauma and shame, personal transformation, women’s healing, psychedelic podcast, plant medicine
16 Sept 2026
Reverence Over Ambition: Bwiti Teachings, Plant Medicine, and Conscious Integration
The advice most people get about psychedelics is backward: more ceremony, more intensity, more visions. James makes the case for the opposite - more preparation, more discipline, and more reverence. If you want deeper, safer, and more lasting results from medicine work, this conversation will change how you approach it. Derek opens with high praise for James's book, calling it one of the best he has read in the space, and from there the conversation goes straight into the real foundations of medicine work: why intention matters, why out-of-ceremony practice is non-negotiable, and why the mind has far more power over the experience than most people realize. James shares the long road that took him from early psychedelic curiosity to self-guided study to formal apprenticeship and service in Costa Rica and Gabon. You'll discover: Why James believes meditation and spiritual practice are the true foundation, not an optional add-on How to tell the difference between genuine insight and ego-driven fantasy after ceremony The "blessing" practice he says can completely shift the energy of a difficult moment Why iboga is, in his view, more of a regenerative and sobriety-supporting medicine than a visionary one What his years of apprenticeship in the Bwiti tradition taught him about sensitivity, dosing, protection, and humility James also breaks down the role of emotional coherence, the danger of spiritual bypassing, and why many people get stuck because they never actually integrate what the medicine shows them. Derek and James compare notes on Buddhist practice, prayer, equanimity, and the difference between seeing visions and doing the real work of transformation. They also get into the commercialized psychedelic movement, the risks of reducing sacred medicines to lab experiments, and why the future may depend on building a new culture that preserves the essence of these traditions instead of stripping the soul out of them. James is the author of a widely praised book, Healing with Psychedelics, on plant medicine, prepared through years of direct experience, apprenticeship, and work with more than a thousand people through ceremony. He serves plant medicine at a healing center in Costa Rica and speaks from lived experience, not theory. Essential listening if you're in the psychedelic space, preparing for ceremony, integrating a powerful experience, or trying to build a more grounded relationship with plant medicine, spirit, and the mind itself. Connect With James https://www.instagram.com/raw_ziel/ (https://www.instagram.com/raw_ziel/) James's Book: Healing with Psychedelics (https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Psychedelics-Shamanic-Plant-Medicines/dp/B0H89Q8JM7/) Retreat Center: Summit Garden (https://summitgardenwellness.com/) - - - Connect with Derek - - - (https://aya101.com/)curamedicina.com (http://curamedicina.com/) (https://aya101.com/) instagram.com/cura_medicina_podcast (https://www.instagram.com/cura_medicina_podcast/) derek {@} curamedicina.com (http://curamedicina.com/) - - - Derek's Books on Amazon. - - - (https://www.amazon.com/Ayahuasca-Beginners-Guide-Prepare-Ceremony-ebook/dp/B0BWDRQDFT)Animal Spirit Guides: A Practical Shamanic Path of Relationship, Ritual, and Healing (https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Spirit-Guides-Practical-Relationship-ebook/dp/B0HFZ4S23T/) Ayahuasca: A Beginner's Guide (https://www.amazon.com/Ayahuasca-Beginners-Guide-Prepare-Ceremony-ebook/dp/B0BWDRQDFT) Sacred Geometry and Patterns of Divine Design (https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Geometry-Patterns-Divine-Design/dp/B0DT9YCQZG) Hapé Sacred Tobacco: Plant Medicine Ally From The Amazon Rainforest (https://www.amazon.com/Hap%C3%A9-Sacred-Tobacco-Medicine-Rainforest-ebook/dp/B0CTZYRXKV) Subscribe & Review: Please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on your favorite platform. See all platforms (https://derekdodds.com/cura-medicina/). My Vision & Prayer May all beings be happy. May all beings be free. May all beings find their way home. ~ Om Mani Padme Hum TAGS: boga, Ibogaine, Bwiti teachings, Cura Medicina podcast, Plant medicine integration, Plant Medicine, Ayahuasca vs Iboga, Psychedelic preparation & safety, Ceremonial reverence, Spiritual bypassing, Mindful attention & meditation, Bodhicitta, Sincere blessings
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- 4 ratings
- Spotify
- 5.0 / 5
- 2 ratings
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