Where Science Meets Soul: Psychedelics, Healing, and Integration
Harmony and Russell talk with researcher and author Matt Zemon about psychedelics as catalysts for change, not cures. They explore what current studies suggest about anxiety, PTSD, repetitive thinking, and addiction, then ground the conversation in practical guidance: source, set, and setting, medical intake, and the role of preparation and integration. The trio also contrasts medical and ceremonial lanes, the spiritual significance of entheogens, and how community transforms the healing arc—especially for veterans and for people navigating midlife transitions.
What You’ll Learn
- Catalyst vs. cure: why altered states create openness for change, and why integration is the practice that makes it stick
- Repetitive thinking patterns: how psychedelics may interrupt ruts that manifest as anxiety, depression, OCD, compulsions, or workaholism
- Source, set, and setting: a clear safety-first framework echoed by research institutions
- Preparation: clarifying intentions, tending physical space, and naming post-ceremony supports
- Integration: bringing insights into dishes, deadlines, and relationships, plus finding community that fits your path
- Medicine personalities: distinctions between ketamine, MDMA and MDA, psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, iboga/ibogaine, wachuma and peyote
- Risk basics: why independent medical consults matter, medications that conflict, and when supervised care is non-negotiable
- Spiritual context: clinical findings alongside living spiritual traditions, and why collaboration between science and spirit is needed now
The information provided in this episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical, psychological, or legal advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Psychedelic substances remain illegal in many jurisdictions, and their use carries physical, psychological, and legal risks.
If you are struggling with your mental health or substance use, please seek support from a licensed professional or contact your local mental health helpline.
About Our Guest — Matt Zemon
Matt holds a Master’s in Psychology and Neuroscience from King’s College London and is completing a Doctorate of Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion. He’s the author of Psychedelics for Everyone, Beyond the Trip, and The Veteran’s Guide to Psychedelics created with the Heroic Hearts Project. Matt works at the intersection of spirituality and mental health, helping communities and providers reduce risk and support meaningful, safe experiences.
Resources Mentioned (pulled from the convo)
- Guest site: mattzemon.com
- Books: Psychedelics for Everyone, Beyond the Trip, The Veteran’s Guide to Psychedelics
- Organizations and references mentioned:
- King’s College London
- Pacific School of Religion
- Heroic Hearts Project
- Johns Hopkins, NYU, UCSF psychedelic research programs
- spiritpharmacist.com (Dr. Ben Malcolm), Dr. Emily Kopa
- On safety frameworks: source, set, and setting
- On community and faith-based contexts: Christian, Jewish, and Islamic psychedelic groups were referenced generally
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00:00 - Introduction to Finding Harmony
00:42 - Exploring Self-Healing and Inner Power
01:50 - Interview with Matt Zeman: Psychedelics and Healing
02:58 - The Role of Psychedelics in Mental Health
04:20 - Spiritual Significance of Psychedelic Journeys
04:32 - 21-Day Money Magic and Manifestation Challenge
06:26 - Welcome to the Podcast with Russell Case
06:52 - Personal Stories and Overcoming Trauma
07:22 - Matt Zeman's Journey and Psychedelic Research
11:10 - The Intersection of Spirituality and Mental Health
12:21 - Psychedelics in Clinical Trials and Personal Experiences
21:31 - Integration and Preparation for Psychedelic Experiences
30:34 - Personal Transformations and Family Connections
36:33 - Harmony and Russell's Psychedelic Experience
38:53 - The Power of 5-MeO-DMT
39:42 - Three Typical Reactions to 5-MeO-DMT
40:09 - Ceremonial Practices and Preparation
43:18 - Mindset and Setting for Psychedelic Experiences
46:37 - Different Psychedelics and Their Effects
57:16 - The Importance of Community and Integration
01:05:06 - Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Events
Russell A. Case
Painter + Ashtanga Yoga Teacher
Russell Altice Case began painting professionally in 1991. However, as a person who wandered from place to place for over a decade, he didn't establish a permanent studio space until settling in San Francisco. In 2016 he has relocated his studio space to Calgary, Canada, where he resides and continues to create stunning works of art.
Russell has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga for more than 25 years. An Authorized level II teacher through Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a humble and refined teacher, Case is known for his joking spirit, and his perpetual eye toward social justice work. When Pattabhi Jois invited him to his pranayama class in 2007 he considered this distinction to be the highest grade.
First and foremost his work is convincing cynical skeptics to the efficacy of mindfulness practice, and his art work is distinctly post-structuralist as it weaves a range of intertextual connections and cultural motifs through its field of view.
That is to say..
Who are we looking at all these things?
Where does the seer reside?
Who is the one doing the looking at all of these things?
Harmony Slater
Finding Harmony Host / Coach / Spiritual Wellness Teacher
Harmony Slater is a Spiritual Wellness Coach whose mission is to support spiritually-curious entrepreneurs with “science-backed woo” to create a deeply fulfilling life and a business they love.
She's a National Board Certified Health Coach, Certified in both Quantum Coaching and in the Mastery Coaching Methods. She's also Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, one of less than 20 women in the world to hold this honour, after training in India for 15 years.
She began travelling to East Asia in 2002 to study Buddhism, after completing two degrees in Philosophy and Eastern Religious Studies. In 2004, I began a life-long love affair with India, spending the next 15 years living there for extended periods of time immerse in Yoga practice, Vipassana meditation, Ayurveda, and Philosophy.
For the past 20+ years Harmony's been focused on sharing these deeper teachings + practices of multidimensional wellness to support women around the world in eliminating midlife burnout + restoring joy, to create a life and wellness business that nourishes both their soul and bank account. She's taught workshops and retreats in over 30 different countries.
She’s the host of the Finding Harmony Podcast, an active Board Member for the non-profit organization Yoga Gives Back, and has been featured in two anthologies on yoga, pregnancy, and motherhood in: ‘Yoga Sadhana for Mothers’ and ‘Strength and Grace: A collection of Essays by Women of Ashtanga Yoga.’
Matt Zemon
Author
Matt Zemon is a the best selling author of multiple books at the intersection of psychedelics, science, and spiritual experience. He blends academic rigor with compassionate advocacy to promote safer, intentional, and transformative psychedelic use.
