Mar 8, 2022 · 50m · we-live-to-build
Your Brain Has Only 3% of Its Vision in Focus Right Now
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of the We Live To Build podcast, host Sean Weisbrot interviews Tyler Strauss of EI Ventures to explore the neuroscience, therapeutic applications, and philosophical dimensions of psychedelics, highlighting Default Mode Network downregulation, emotional healing, and psychological resilience.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Sean holds 17.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Sean as informed peer 2.3 Guest teaching 3.6 Guest disagreement 0.5 Sean pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is Sean, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 44:01 Tyler rejects shortcut-based mentorship
Tyler explicitly expresses resistance to Sean's premise that experienced elders should give youth shortcuts by forbidding actions, advocating instead for harm reduction through experiential learning.
Hardest push from Sean ▶ 43:08 Sean asserts direct directive mentorshipSean firmly argues that his experience allows him to save young people years of pain by directly commanding them to avoid specific bad decisions.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 28:10 Scientific breakdown of the Default Mode NetworkTyler provides an in-depth scientific explanation of the default mode network's inhibitory function, neurogenesis, and harmonic concordance under psychedelics.
Sean holds their own ▶ 13:22 Sean demonstrates research and trip-sitting backgroundSean demonstrates his own domain knowledge by citing his interviews on emotional-logical integration, trip-sitting protocols, and shamanic practices.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Sean as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Sean pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Strauss's Journey into Plant Medicine and EI Ventures | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Sean invites Tyler to introduce his background in plant medicine and company operations. Tyler provides a detailed overview of his journey through cannabis caregiving, transdermal delivery platforms, and EI Ventures. | |
| Personal Healing and Reframing Human-Sized Problems | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Tyler explains how psychedelics helped him reframe daunting psychological struggles into manageable 'human-sized problems'. Sean validates this with his own recent realizations using psilocybin. | |
| Emotional Processing, Anti-Fragility, and Psychological Metabolism | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Tyler reframes the industry term 'integration' into 'psychological metabolism,' explaining how the mind digests lessons and purges maladaptive behaviors. Sean listens attentively to the conceptual breakdown. | |
| The Ineffable Human Experience and Limitations of Metrics | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Sean brings up his own experience researching and trip-sitting, questioning whether repeated experiences are necessary. Tyler expands on the ineffability of the psychedelic experience and why scientific metrics only provide partial measurements. | |
| Anatomy of a Trip, Setting, and the Power of Letting Go | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Sean asks Tyler to break down a trip to help demystify the fear for prospective users. Tyler elaborates on the roles of set, setting, memory crystallization, and the cathartic choice between clinging and letting go. | |
| Anecdote on Childhood Trauma and LSD Rebirth | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Sean shares a personal anecdote regarding trauma recovery via LSD and introduces the default mode network. Tyler delivers a masterclass on how classical psychedelics downregulate the DMN, elevate neural energy, and enhance harmonic concordance. | |
| Cross-Cultural Perspective and the Ancient Psychedelic Renaissance | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Sean pitches his philosophy on universal travel scholarships and psychedelic experiences to reduce prejudice. Tyler strongly agrees and emphasizes humility in recognizing psychedelics as ancient technology rather than modern discovery. | |
| The Flashlight Metaphor, 3% Focus, and Thoughtful Response | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Tyler outlines the flashlight metaphor and notes the visual cortex only focuses on 3% detail, stressing the need to pause before reacting emotionally. Sean concurs, jokingly relating it to marriage and explaining his mentorship philosophy. | |
| Harm Reduction, Calculated Risk, and Experiential Meaning | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | Tyler politely challenges Sean's idea of offering 'shortcuts' to younger people by telling them not to do things, arguing instead for harm reduction and empowering calculated risk-taking. | |
| Conclusion, EI Ventures Initiatives, and Upcoming Episodes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Standard wrap-up segment where Tyler shares information about Silly.com and EI Ventures' Reg A crowdfunding, while Sean previews future related episodes. |
Statements from this episode (12)
Strauss: Psychedelics bridged the emotional integration gap where talk therapy failed
“Psychedelics were really the only tool that I found that even when it came to therapy and talking with sort of professionals in that regard, you know, there was always a disconnect between, you know, what I was hearing and what I was being shown and my ability…”
Strauss: Psychedelics force confrontation with avoided memories and emotions
“One of the features of a psychedelic experience is their ability to provoke
Strong feelings or memories that we would otherwise seek to avoid and to really place us front and center in front of those feelings or those memories.
To the extent that they sort of …”
Strauss: Psychedelic integration acts as a psychological metabolism of lessons
“Integration is sort of an imperfect term to describe what I feel is really going on, which in a way is, it's more of a kind of metabolism, you know, in the sense that when you eat food,
You know, you metabolize the nutrients, the vitamins, the minerals that yo…”
Strauss: Maladaptive behaviors originally developed as survival adaptations
“A lot of the sort of maladaptive behaviors and beliefs we have about ourselves and other people are not maladaptive in the sense that they're bad.
They often came about because of a situation where they were actually
Adaptive.
They actually helped you to survi…”
Strauss: Patient-reported meaningfulness validates psychedelic therapy
“And so when it comes to, you know, determining whether a treatment or an approach is valid or not, you have to just kind of stop and say, well, ask them, you know, was this a meaningful experience for you? Do you feel like this had a positive impact on your qu…”
Strauss: Psychedelics are likely among life's most meaningful experiences
“You should also feel, you know, assured that, you know, you're stronger than you imagine yourself to be, that you will be okay, and that it will very likely be one of the most meaningful experiences of your life, positive or negative.”
Weisbrot: Many people require multiple psychedelic experiences to see lasting change
“I think some people get that, but I think a lot of people also need multiple experiences to really see that change for themselves.”
Strauss: Classical psychedelics downregulate default mode network and enable cross-brain communication
“Classical psychedelics seem to do a few things. The first thing they do is they seem to Downregulate the default mode network. And so the default mode network, which is responsible for sort of inhibiting connections between parts of the brain that don't normal…”
Strauss: Psychedelic use stimulates neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in the brain
“You have more connections being made in the brain. You have more neurons being generated, which is neurogenesis. The connections in our brain are mediated by the synapses. So you have synaptogenesis.”
Strauss: Challenging psychedelic trips often yield better outcomes than easy ones
“Oftentimes people who have a challenging experience might actually come out of it feeling better than they did an experience that was perhaps easier.”