For the past year, I've been engrossed in how those topics fit together, if and how I want to incorporate those practices and concepts into my life, and what I want to share with you if you're also looking to sort through things yourself. What has been particularly helpful in this process of thought and study is talking to (and reading books written by) other people who are also on this reflective journey. Paul Risse is one of those people. Paul first joined me on the podcast "The Christian Psychedelic: Should Christians Use Plant Medicines, Is Microdosing (Or Tripping) A Sin, Accessing Spiritual Realms, DMT & Much More With Paul Risse & Ben Greenfield." Today, Paul is back. A former personal trainer for clients on ABC's Extreme Makeover TV show in L.A., Paul was the Personal Trainer, Chef, and Life Coach for "Average Joe on the Raw" (documentary available on Food Matters TV). After eating 100% raw vegan for a couple of years, and living off-grid without electricity for a year, Paul says he now eats intuitively. Paul is also the CEO of Cleanse America, where he has led 10,000 people through a cleansing process over two years, writing numerous eBooks, producing videos, and orchestrating each of these cleanses. He built his own house without experience going into the process, and he wrote a book about the journey called "Kinda Tiny Home, An Unorthodox Approach to Building and Owning Your Own Home." Perhaps most relevant to today's show, Paul took psychedelics around 1,000 times over a decade, including DMT, Salvia, 2CB, 2CI, and LSD, though 99% of what he engaged in was mushrooms. Paul recently released a book called "The Psychedelic Christian," which is part art, free verse, poetry, Bible verses, spirit realm exploration, testimony, and Holy Spirit encounters. Paul is currently a percentage owner with the Hayhurst Brothers, where he is involved in design, building, marketing, and sales. Hayhurst Brothers are designers and homebuilders based out of Bridgeport, TX, and have been featured on the DIY network and HGTV. Paul describes his wife, Brittany Risse as "a beautiful and brilliant woman," and they have an "amazing" 23-year-old daughter named Kalee Risse. Paul loves Jesus, philosophy, meaningful conversations, travel, and life in general - and most importantly, he feels God calling him to share his testimony with the world. During our discussion, you'll discover: -How Paul initially became interested in plant medicines…8:28 -What dose of mushrooms did Paul typically take…10:56 -Paul’s thoughts on microdosing…11:57 -The difference between spiritual and psychedelic experiences…18:17 -Ben's experience with spiritual journeying…21:06 -Paul's use of fasting to enhance the spiritual journey and his recommendation to be careful with the origins of some forms of meditation and breathwork…24:48 -Paul's revelations through writing his book The Psychedelic Christian…30:31 -If people have breakthroughs with plant medicines, such as healing childhood trauma, what is the problem with using them?...35:50 -Two considerations that Ben hadn’t considered when using plant medicine to become closer to God…39:42 -Medicinal use for healing from trauma…47:06 -Ben's tendency to not encourage couples to journey unless they are already spiritually on a good path as a Christian…55:02 -Paul’s thoughts on the intersection of psychedelics and religion…57:45 -The dark spiritual energy of plant medicine that Ben hasn’t experienced with synthetic alternatives, and why Ben recommends choosing synthetics…1:07:40 You can check out the full episode page and show notes at: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/podcast/paul-risse-christian-psychedelic-2/ Additional Resources: Ben Greenfield Website: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/ Ben Greenfield Podcast: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/podcast/ Ben Greenfield Books: https://shopbengreenfieldlife.com/collections/books Ben Greenfield Social Media: Twitter https://twitter.com/bengreenfield Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bengreenfieldfitness/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BGFitness TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@bengreenfield Youtube handle: @BenGreenfieldLife