TrueLife - Veronica Oquendo - Psychedelics From Ecuador to Denver

Episode Date: June 24, 2025

One on One Video Call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US🚨🚨Curious about the future of psychedelics? Imagine if Alan Watts started a secret society with Ram Dass and Hunter S. Thompson… now open the door. Use Promocode TRUELIFE for Get 25% off monthly or 30% off the annual plan For the first yearhttps://www.district216.com/Verónica From the shadowed valleys of Quito to the luminous peaks of human consciousness,today’s guest is no ordinary traveler.She is a psychologist of the soul, a digital alchemist,a quiet storm whispering clarity through the noise of the world.A warrior of well-being,Verónica stands at the crossroads of inner healing and global action —with one hand on the pulse of the people, and the other reaching deep into the invisible dimensions of psyche, justice, and flow.She studied at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador,sharpened her vision at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar,and carved her compass in Human Rights at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.But her greatest credentials are carved in light —in her fight against el lado oscuro de la fuerza,in her refusal to look away,and in her sacred ability to help others see beyond what they thought was possible.By day, she moves through the corridors of the Ecuadorian Chancellery,by night, she unlocks inner galaxies through her private clinical practice.She’s a creator. A therapist. A teacher. A truth-seeker.And when she speaks — the room listens, not with their ears,but with their bones.This isn’t just another episode.This is a leap — an invitation to flow, to awaken, to dare.So buckle up, tune in, and expand outward…Because today, we welcome the wise, the wild, the wondrous:Verónica.https://www.facebook.com/fundacionquilago?mibextid=wwXIfrhttps://www.instagram.com/fundacionquilago/ One on One Video call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USCheck out our YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPzfOaFtA1hF8UhnuvOQnTgKcIYPI9Ni9&si=Jgg9ATGwzhzdmjkg

Darkness struck, a gut-punched theft, Sun ripped away, her health bereft. I roar at the void. This ain't just fate, a cosmic scam I spit my hate. The games rigged tight, shadows deal, blood on their hands, I'll never kneel. Yet in the rage, a crack ignites, occulted sparks cut through the nights. The scars my key, hermetic and stark. To see, to rise, I hunt in the dark, fumbling, fear. Hears through ruins maze, lights my war cry, born from the blaze.

The poem is Angels with Rifles. The track, I Am Sorrow, I Am Lust by Codex Seraphini. Check out the entire song at the end of the cast. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. We are at Psychedelics Science 2025. We have some incredible speakers here that have a beautiful message. We're talking about psychedelics. just talking about awareness and the world that we live in today.

With that being said, I would love to introduce to all of you, my next guest. Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself? Hello, I'm Veronica Okendo, of Ecuador. I'm a psychologist, and also I'm a friend-comanets of Ecuador about the ceremonies of San Pedro. Hello, I'm Veronica, and I'm a clinical psychologist, and I'm also an apprentice with a shamanist. and Ecuador. I love the idea. Something that seems absent from the West is this idea of apprenticeship.

So many people become facilitators, like maybe they've read some books or they've taken some classes and then they think that they're ready to maybe go and serve medicine. But it seems to me the apprenticeship model is something that's tried and true. Can you tell us a little bit about the apprenticeship model and how you got involved in it? How you entered to say to be a friend of the environment? I was

very infirm, deprimed and very and very recommended to me make a

limpa shamanica so I went to make a and Mama Gloria

of Kochashki was very very cariniosa and me gave good

good good good remedy so I I'm I'm

I every month, all the months to go to see. Yeah, so I was feeling very sick

and I was depressed and I just needed help. And so I started, I found Mama Glourez.

Yep. And then I kept going every single month to go get this healing from her because

it was just something that she couldn't believe it helped her so much. Very nice. Very nice.

Now you were up here giving a talk with some of the other presenters. What were some of the the key takeaways and some of the things of the message you were trying to get through to the

people who were speaking to today. I'm here in second. When you were talking, what was the message more grand to do that? The message most important is that for the indigenous and the Ecuador, the San Pedro, La Wachuma, is a plant spiritual that should be taken with respect. Yeah, so the most important aspect is that for the indigenous culture, Guachuma, San Pedro, is a spirit.

It needs to be treated with respect. The process of sanation where it's time and you have to think in the sanation physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, to be able to be able to people positive and relational and relational.

And that healing doesn't happen instantly, It's a process that will take years because you need to heal yourself in different forms such as physically, emotionally, spiritually. So San Pedro and Wachuma, it seems to me that like a lot of the different plants have their own energy or their own spirit about them. And I was curious if maybe you could talk about how potentially Wachuma and San Pedro are different than like mushrooms or other sort of entie agents. comparison with Al-Awaska or syrucivina. Sure. The San Pedro, the Guachuma, is a plant, is a cactus that that's a little sun.

It's a cactus that crece with a little water, and, for the time, is a medicine of the light that's a, that's your heart. It's not to the, a, a part of the sunrower as it, as a part of the sombra as as a

hos and the ayahuasca. Okay. So because this cactus grows in the sunlight, it doesn't receive

very much water. And so this, it differs because it comes from the sun. And so you don't get as much of

like, perhaps like a darker experience that you would when it comes with psilocybin or ayahuasca because this is

just a, it comes from the sun. There's a light that's involved in it. Also, the San Pedro, you know,

the experience of many hours. It can be seven hours, to 12 hours, in where you can have various types of experiences

and swabes, but to get a enderminements very elevated of the conscience. And so the process also differs

because it can be in between like seven to 12 hours, and you can have some very relaxing points, and then you can also move to higher

higher thoughts and higher consciousness as well as very good thing it's a beautiful answer is there a process to it i know on psilocybin it seems to kind of come in waves like it'll come really strong and then slow back down and come back on strong and slow down until it begins to taper off is san pedro similar to that or is it more of like it hits you and then there's a full experience and then it tapers off The experience is similar, like, how I was like I was saying, that they're saying, that has its back-ones, or do you, or everything, you know,

all that's up in this experience? In general, the experience is going to go up, a little, like, and it's a moment. Okay? And it's a demur on backer. With the psilocybin, it's like you're sub and you're back,

and it's a lot. In the way, with the ayahuasca. No, that's San Pedro, be there are hours, inclusive one day or two days, you can continue with the subtlice of the medicine. Yep, so with San Pedro, it gradually just keeps elevating and elevating and elevating and elevating.

It can even, the effects can even just last for one or two days, unlike something like ayahuasca or psilocybin, which can have its peak and then gradually lower. This is just like a roller coaster that just keeps going up and up. Awesome. Thank you for that. There's so many different ways. people are using medicine and I was curious if you could tell me about the way in which you use medicine some people will go to ayahuasca once and have this big idea happen for other people it's a lifetime

of learning and they're constantly revisiting that relationship maybe you could talk a little bit about how you help people with medicine is it a similar experience or how How do you help the people who are people who use an ayahuasca? One of those people who practice it is part of their and they're doing all the time. They're doing quite as well as often. The indigenous in Ecuador make a ceremony with tobacco,

with the fogata, the fire, and they're in a proposition of that situation. So, first, the important is to have a purpose of this. So the most important thing is to have your intention. And so then in the indigenous community in Ecuador, they use tobacco and fire and then your intention. Then you're in turn. Then they use can't those for that the spirit of the San Pedro renazga and also for that the spirit of the person

so connect with the spirit of the San Pedro and with the Mother-Tierra. And so after that, they will start singing. They will have chance in order to wake up the San Pedro spirit so that it will start to connect with Pachamala the earth and with your own spirit. Then the person that has taken to San Pedro receive a message or receive a vision.

And, despite the ceremony, He has to work in to do that mission during the days and then the days, he has to go back to conversal with the shaman. It has to be a friend of shaman. Absolutely. And so while you're having the experience, you get a message from San Pedro. And then throughout the following days, you need to integrate and, like, follow through with that message, and you will then need to reconnect with the shaman and continue speaking over this

message that you were received. Yes, this process can do not months or years until the person consiga his health integral.

And so this process can take months or years until this person's able to fully integrate the message that San Pedro's tried to push through. It's a beautiful

answer. I'm always excited and curious to hear the different ways in which people use the medicine. And I think that the lifetime

relationship with the medicine seems to something that can help you get through your problems later in life what are are there any have you seen any trends of or what is it the people that when they come to you are they looking to solve different kinds of problems whether it's a family relationship depression or is there a wide range of things people are coming to you for us when the people are when the people are help, are with some some problems

mediums common or every person is a little bit more than the when the person when the person comes to to look at the shamanes, it's because it's because it in general a depression, a a disconnexion of the world but, also, they're coming because

they're looking a response, to look, for example, the amor, they're looking, buscan the job, money, and they're

saying the good so generally people will come seek guidance because they are disconnected

from themselves in the natural world or they are depressed or they are very sad but you also have people who come in search of an answer

to a problem so some people like an answer to their work or their career life are also like looking for love and just looking for some sort of response for that.

Doing what you do, how does your community look upon that? It seems to me it would be a sacred position for people to come and they feel gratitude and they feel thankful. But sometimes I read the stories like the people that work with the medicine all the time are kind of fear. They're kind of maybe pushed to the side a little bit. Is that something you've experienced? So what is your relationship to the community?

How do they feel? How do you How do you treat the community? They have, like, Mewa, or they're just like or they're not how do you talk about

depending of the person but but in general the shamans say that his

his children and his not are interested in to learn and to the

city to look work, because they are poor. So when one person comes with humility and with the

heart open to that they're to help and learn, the shamanes they receive in their community and so a little, a little,

they're being friends. Oh, okay. So, so basically the shaman's they're very accepting because now a day's

their lineage, like their children, no lawful, want to participate. in this. So there is that disconnected in society. They want to go to the bigger cities and they want to just get a job that traditional route. But someone who is very open and has a lot of humility can be accepted into the community as someone who wants to like follow in their footsteps. That's a beautiful answer. You know, with this with the psychedelic renaissance and so much attention on it now, one issue seems to me to be that a lot of Western people

may go down to these foreign areas and sort of extract without really giving anything back. And it seems to me like that could be an issue. Have you noticed that where you're at? Or what are your thoughts on that? What do you think of the, those strangers that are going there and only extracts all and they're not doing nothing? And what do you think of that? And what do you think?

There are people who are. that are other than indigenous and are very aberted and live in the communities are saying but there are

others that are just to extract the product. I think it is important that the people that go to the communities

indigenous can't get there, can't make, make sense and people,

can't understand all the cosmovision indigena and not only think in to take the extract to

to do the microdosis. So there are a lot of different foreigners. There are two different types. Of course, you have some that really respect the culture and that will come and they are well received and they will stay there for a long period of time to just really understand the culture. And then you do have others that have like other interests in mind

who just want to make money. And so it's kind of an even balance with who's really going to. but they're very accepting to people who want to stay the course and who want to actually live there and just really understand the culture. Yeah. For example, uh,

extraneros and also, Ecuadorians are, they're, sembran, but they're not cutting them, when it's two years or three years when San Pedro, when San Pedro, 20 years and it's,

you have to expect, then they're doing, so they're doing, like a monocultive, of San Pedro and that's communities not and for example there are a lot of foreigners and also like

Ecuadorians as well who are taking advantage of this plant as like a monoculture and they are they are cutting it at like age two or three where this plant this cactus can grow to like 20 years and the community does not does not condone

that yeah that seems back to the extraction model of just coming down there and sort of disrespecting the spirit of it, the community and so much of what it's there for. I'm curious to get your thoughts as a traditional practitioner and someone who has spent a lot of time with the medicine and in ways that have probably been doing it for millennia. Do you see that this psychedelic revolution or this sort of psychedelic thing that's happening in the West? Is it a fad? Is it something that will blow up and then sort of go back into the underground? Or do you think,

think that this particular psychedelic awareness can blossom through the world now. There's a lot of this. You think that that's just the only model? Or do you think that it's something more profiling, that not only is going to take it in a little bit? I think it's something very profound because the system actual of health not logrer the problem emotional and spiritual of the people,

So the people are looking and the forms indigenas are one but also the other protocols of psychology of macrodosis also are a form of help. The important is

to be able to take into one or two times or two veces, you're going to be able to sonar, but you need to do your life. Yeah, absolutely. And so this is not

a fad because ultimately the health care system cannot provide the help that humanity really needs. And so this is a very, like, profound and a deep movement right now. But keeping in mind that just because this plant is very powerful, it doesn't mean that you will be, like, healed or cured after having two or three different ceremonies.

It is still, like, a very long process. But this is definitely going to stick around. I love that. Sometimes I think that psychedelics finds us when we need it the most. like the planet is like, you guys need some help. You guys are putting everybody else in danger. Let me help you. Do you is, and maybe that's just a cool way to look at it,

but what are your thoughts on that? Is that something that you guys believe? Does psychedelics come when the conditions are right? Or are they always there for us? Do you think this medicine always is here for us? Or is not like, you're like, in the moment of precise, that the world needs,

and that is because it's ampling. I think that the medicine has been here. I think the plants were created for the sanation and the development of the humanity. But I think that now the humanity is that

desperado and is to his, to say, not just to say how to sound, but he's not that's asking solutions. Yeah, I believe that the medicine

has always been here for us because it was, uh, is created for the expansion of human consciousness and for the betterment of humanity. But that being said, right now, people are starting to awaken more and mark to the detriment that's in society. And so these medicines are really just helping facilitate the healing that the world needs. I love it. It's such a beautiful answer. And I want to say to, like, let's say some people are listening right now and they're like, I think that this woman is amazing and I would

love to speak with her. Is there a place where they can find you? How much do you? Sure. For favor, connect us with the Instagram of arroba, Foundation Kilago. My foundation, he, has, recuperate the know of the ancestors of the indigenous of Ecuador and we do we do ceremonies and we're going to the pyramids of Kochas Ki. and make a chat about the culture indigena of the absolutely so you can follow the instagram page and it'll be

foundation kilagou and there they host um they basically try to cultivate all of the the knowledge and ancestral like wisdom from the indigenous population and they also have ceremonies and there's a variety of different ways to connect with them ladies and gentlemen thank you so much for being here and thank you to both of you for all your time Beautiful message. Yes. Yep. Okay.

All right. Ciao. Ciao. Perfect. Awesome. Thank you.