Author, editor, and shamanic explorer Matthew Pallamary has been searching the globe for answers on the truth about reality. In the latter half, he discussed his studies of shamanism and visionary experience and working with plant medicines like ayahuasca. Shamans have traditionally offered a bridge between the spirit and physical world, and could be considered the first doctors, healers, psychologists, and teachers, he noted. The root of the word shaman comes from Siberia, and refers to "one who knows." In South America, shamanic practices and working with plants have passed from generation to generation, literally back to prehistoric times, he cited. Pallamary also spoke of a method called "soul retrieval," working with such things as shamanism, visionary states, or hypnotherapy to regain parts of the self that may have broken off during trauma.

He detailed some of his transformative experiences taking ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant brew (that includes DMT) considered sacred by Amazon tribes. Over the last 20 years, he's traveled to South America to participate in ayahuasca rituals, in which he learned to confront his deepest fears or the "shadow" buried within him. Through this, he was able to access emotions that had become walled off from him after a tough upbringing in Massachusetts. Just one ounce of the brew creates an intense five-hour trip that can take you to either heaven or hell, he recounted, adding that the volatile substance is certainly not for everyone. Some people, he continued, have incredibly powerful or healing experiences on ayahuasca (such as reliving the birth trauma) that can rewire the brain in a positive way.