Plantscendence
Welcome to Plantscendence, a new podcast hosted by filmmaker Jon Reiss. Join us on a transformative journey as we explore the world of plant medicine and its profound impact on healing, personal growth, and artistic expression.
Within each episode, Jon engages in insightful conversations with a diverse array of experts, practitioners, artists, grief counselors and everyday people who have harnessed the power of plant medicine to heal trauma, navigate loss, unlock creativity, and become more their true selves.
Guests for the ten episode first season include poet and musician Vera Sola, author and pioneer of microdosing Jim Fadiman, actress Gina Gershon, artist and Nganga Chor Boogie, US Army veteran Itzel Barakat, author and teacher Spring Washam, artist Doris La Frenais, plant wisdom practitioner Sitaramaya Sita, grief counselor Larry Carlat and healer and author Tricia Eastman.
Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, author, and media strategist. He began his film career at the fabled Target Video, where he shot seminal punk bands, including Black Flag, X, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, and The Cramps. Reiss then filmed and edited a series of videos documenting Mark Pauline’s Survival Research Laboratories. After directing numerous music videos, including, notoriously, Happiness in Slavery for Nine Inch Nails, he directed the feature films Bomb It, Better Living Through Circuitry, and Cleopatra’s Second Husband. Through his company 8 Above Reiss also helps filmmakers navigate the new distribution and marketing landscape.
Plantscendence
# 4 Sitaramaya Sita: Where It All Began
Host Jon Reiss opens up about his first ayahuasca experience with the ceremonialist who started him on his journey. In this episode of Plantscendence, we sit down with Sitaramaya Sita, the spiritual herbalist, pusangera, and plant wisdom practitioner who guided Jon’s very first entheogenic experience four years ago. Together they recount that initial ceremony, detailing both its ecstatic and challenging moments, and touching upon plant medicine’s role in fostering neuroplasticity and the creation of neural pathways. Sita tells the story of her chance first-encounter with plant medicine on Maui in 1997, and the two and a half decade journey that followed, including Sita’s extensive training with the indigenous Shipibo people of the Peruvian Amazon. The episode also addresses the escalating threats posed by deforestation, clear-cutting, and modern development, emphasizing the urgent need to protect the Amazon rainforest and preserve indigenous knowledge.