Sherry Walling - 0:00:03
So you're curious, huh? Curiosity is a great place to start. This is the MIND CURIOUS podcast. It's a place where we explore big themes of human well-being, existential dilemmas, the nature of consciousness, meaning, pleasure, healing. It's a place where we ask questions about what is mental health and what are the best ways to chase it down.

Sherry Walling - 0:00:21
We explore these topics through the lens of psychedelics. People have lots of associations with that word, from the cultural shifts of the 1960s and 1970s to raves and club drugs, but of course psychedelics have a much longer history than that. And for those of us in the mental health community, we are perhaps newly recognizing or recognizing again that psychedelic substances may play an extraordinarily important role in healing mental illness, in restoring mental well being and perhaps even in ongoing mental hygiene. This podcast is designed as a curious conversation. It is a place where we practice open dialogue, sometimes with people who have opposing views.

Sherry Walling - 0:01:16
It's a place for information and thought-provoking questions designed to feed the curiosity of therapists, health optimizers, curious psychonauts, and any of us who are looking to explore the potential of psychedelic compounds. When done well, this podcast is designed to create more questions than it is necessarily to provide concrete answers. I am your host for this conversation, my name is Sherry Walling. I have a PhD in Clinical Psychology and Masters Degrees in both Theology and Psychology. I'm a yoga teacher, an author, and an amateur circus artist, and I have a lifelong commitment to both scientific inquiry and spiritual exploration.

Sherry Walling - 0:01:52
I've spent my professional career working within the mental health systems within the United States, whether that's in large hospital institutions or in private practice. And I know intimately the strengths and healing powers of those institutions and I also know that many of our healing institutions are deeply broken. I come to this conversation not only as a professional but as an individual who's been profoundly impacted by the shortfalls of our systems. I lost my youngest brother, David, to suicide in 2019, and since then, I've been on a quest to try to figure out how we can better alleviate suffering. And the research around psychedelics has certainly piqued my interest.

Sherry Walling - 0:02:42
This show is brought to you in partnership with Mind Cure Health. MINDCURE's mission is to identify, develop, and commercialize products that enhance mental health, wellness, ease suffering and increase productivity and creativity. And this company was formed as a response to a world that is suffering and in urgent need of different kinds of effective treatments. Above all, this program is designed to be a curious conversation. There will be a variety of guests and voices who each represent their own perspective and their own opinion.

Sherry Walling - 0:03:15
This show is not at all ever designed to be a source of medical advice. Please go see your doctor for that. And nor does every perspective or sentiment discussed on the show reflects my personal perspective or MINDCURE's stance as the hosting company. Thank you for your curiosity and interest in joining me for a heart-forward, scientific, sometimes spiritual inquiry into how we can each be better humans.