🫠 Psychonaut POV

Welcome to Tricycle Day. This newsletter is the one addiction psychedelics are powerless against. Told ya they’re not a panacea. 🤷 

Cesar Marin didn’t touch psychedelics until after he turned 50. (Don’t call it a midlife crisis.) But now he’s all in.

We talked to Cesar about overcoming a cannabis addiction, being a voice of inspiration and psychedelic education for Hispanic Americans, and pivoting career paths to launch a microdosing advocacy brand.

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You had your first experience with psychedelics at age 55. What led to that decision?

About six months ago, someone very close to me had a psychedelic journey and shared with me that it made them feel like a child. They said it was a remarkable experience unlike anything they had felt before. Their words piqued my interest.

At that time, I was battling a serious cannabis addiction that had taken control over my life. Still, my initial desire to try psychedelics came from recreational curiosity. That was my primary intention.

When I had my first “museum” dose a week later, my life completely changed. I felt a deep sense of connection to my body and surroundings, like I was experiencing them for the first time. As a journalist, I was naturally curious about what had caused this profound change, and I began researching psychedelics. That’s when I discovered that they're being used as medicine to heal addiction and other mental health conditions.

I’m proud to say the last time I used cannabis was the day before I started my microdosing protocol.

Why do you think microdosing was so effective for you in shaking the cannabis addiction?

I started on the Fadiman protocol, which involves one day on followed by two days off. It worked incredibly well for me, and the effects were almost immediate. On the first day, I realized that I didn't really need my addiction and that I was better than that. The second day was a transition day, where I asked myself why I should cave to my addiction when I had already made it through the day before.

The third day was about integration, which is the most important part of any psychedelic practice. I tried to understand what the medicine was telling me and how to use it moving forward. By that third day, I was asking myself why I’d been hiding and lying to myself, my family, and my friends to do something that I knew wasn't good for me. I believe that addicts think a lot more with their minds than their hearts. When the heart tells you to stop, it's a lot easier.

Since then, you’ve become a vocal advocate of microdosing mushrooms. Why is sparking conversation about psychedelics so important to you?

Since those first experiences, I've transitioned out of my 25-year career as a producer at CNN into becoming a transformational motivator by sharing my experience with microdosing. Through integration, I've learned to be a better person, to be more centered, and to live in the now.

Psychedelics have taught me that the only moment that exists in life is this moment. The past is gone and the future is uncertain. Choosing to live in the now has been such a powerful practice that I’ve made it my mission to break the stigma associated with psychedelics, especially within people my age and older and within the Latino community.

As a Hispanic American, I feel a responsibility to let people know that psychedelics are real and there is science to support it, but there's not enough information available in Spanish. Speaking engagements and finding a Spanish language foothold in the industry are ways I'm working to make a difference. Psychedelics changed my life for the better, and now advocacy has become a life mission.

Why focus on microdosing as opposed to macrodosing?

In my opinion, microdosing is a safer way to introduce people to the benefits of psychedelic medicine. It's not like telling someone to take a four or five grams of mushrooms and see what happens.

Microdosing is a way to work on underlying issues that you may be dealing with on a daily basis without having to resort to SSRIs or other medications that may not be in your best interest. And the fact that microdosing is becoming more mainstream through articles on CNN and the How to Change Your Mind series may make it less scary for people to try it.

Macrodosing can be very powerful, too, but it’s a big emotional commitment that requires a lot of planning and intention setting. I feel like the medicine tells you when you are ready.

Tell us about your apparel brand. What is Cultivating Wisdom, and who is it for?

Cultivating Wisdom is for anyone who has an open mind. I don’t have anything against tie-dye, but I want Cultivating Wisdom to disrupt people’s expectations about who’s using psychedelics. I want people to be able to say, “yes, I'm a business owner, I'm a father, I'm a mother, I'm a wife, I'm whatever you are. And I use psychedelics proudly, responsibly, in a safe container to better my life.”

The whole purpose of the brand is to promote conversations about the benefits of psychedelic medicine. If I wear a shirt that says “microdosing” on it, and it catches someone’s attention, they’re going to ask about it.

If they’ve tried it themselves, it’ll spark a connection. And if they haven’t, but they want to smile like I’m smiling, maybe they’ll ask me about the shirt, what it represents, and how it changed my life.

Want more from Cesar? Follow @‌cultivating.wisdom on Instagram and check out the 2023 Cultivating Wisdom apparel collection.

That’s all for today. Before you head off, don’t forget to share, rate, and review Tricycle Day below. Catch ya next time, Cyclists! ✌️

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.