EPISODE SUMMARY:
This week on The Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam welcomes Will Burkhart, a Naval Academy graduate, former Marine Corps Intelligence Officer, explorer, and founder of Badass Coaching and Badass Adventures.
From combat zones in the Middle East and Africa to wilderness expeditions and psychedelic ceremonies, Will has devoted his life to exploring the edges of human potential. Now, as a Co-Active Certified Professional Coach, he helps others access their own inner power, courage, and freedom through adventure, awareness, and expanded consciousness.
In this electrifying conversation, Will shares how his path from military intelligence to mindfulness, from structure to surrender, has shaped a radical approach to transformation.
He discusses the difference between expanded consciousness and altered consciousness, and what it means to live a psychedelic-catalyzed life, one in which awe, presence, and curiosity are part of everyday existence. Through his retreats and coaching, Will invites people to move beyond peak experiences and into an ongoing state of flow, creativity, and connection.
Together, Sam and Will explore the evolving role of psychedelics in personal and collective growth, from micro- and flow-dosing to creative approaches to set and setting that integrate art, sound, movement, and nature. This episode challenges listeners to redefine what it means to be truly alive, to live not from fear or limitation, but from the wild, awakened center of their being.
Tune in and share your own experiences with psychedelics and personal growth on our YouTube livestream or on our Facebook page.
https://www.badass-coaching.net/
https://www.badass-adventures.com/
Sam opens the show by exploring the profound importance of taking time for ourselves, reminding listeners that spaciousness, stillness, and self-care are essential gateways to clarity and inner alignment. He reflects on how constant busyness can disconnect us from our true needs, urging conscious seekers to pause, breathe, and honor the wisdom that emerges when we create space within. The segment closes with an invitation to carry this practice into the holiday season and transitions into a conversation with guest Will Burkhardt, who brings deep insights on expanded consciousness, courage, and human potential.
Will shares how his path from combat zones and extreme adventure racing gradually evolved into a lifelong exploration of human potential, weaving in Asian energy practices, Human Design, and eventually deeply transformative psychedelic work. Influenced by voices like Graham Hancock and guided by his manifesting generator nature, he speaks about the “battle for our consciousness” and the importance of intentional stillness, inner journeys, and dropping into the subconscious to understand who we truly are and what drives us. Through leading pilgrimages in places like the Himalayas and Everest Base Camp, he describes how awe-inspiring landscapes, simple village life, and the palpable energy of sacred lands can humble the ego, expand awareness, and reconnect us to a more soulful, aligned way of living.
Will shares how a carefully facilitated ayahuasca ceremony unexpectedly brought buried PTSD to the surface, leading to a profound healing that even restored his ability to fully “smell” and receive the aromas of life. He describes how integration through nature, mindful movement, journaling, therapy, and later coaching revealed psychedelics as catalysts—not shortcuts—for expanding awareness, reconnecting with the body, and deepening presence. From there, Will explains his approach to “psychedelic-catalyzed coaching,” emphasizing low-dose, intention-driven work, the difference between altered and expanded consciousness, and the importance of openness, education, and mindful preparation for any inner journey.
Will explains how he carefully tunes each client’s journey—especially those carrying trauma or relationship wounds—by assessing their readiness, mental stability, and intuitive resonance with different psychedelic tools, emphasizing safety, willingness, and true self-directed desire rather than “silver bullet” expectations. He speaks about dismantling common misconceptions, advocating a “less is more” approach and a psychedelic-catalyzed life where gentle, intentional, lower-dose work—supported by frameworks like Human Design and Gene Keys—becomes a recurring energetic check-in rather than a one-time fix. Beyond healing, Will shares his vision of psychedelics as a pathway to knowing the capital-S Self, unlocking authentic creative purpose, raising our collective vibration, and co-creating a more magical, conscious world together.
00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:55.939 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Good afternoon, my conscious co-creators! Welcome to another edition of the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity.
00:00:55.940 --> 00:01:08.409 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I am very, very pleased that you are all here with me today. We have another wonderful show in store for you, and I'm really looking forward to bringing on my guest.
00:01:08.410 --> 00:01:21.850 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: who is here with us, not like my guest last week, who messed up. So let's get started. Of course, we start off first with our blog post from a couple of years ago, just kind of taking these in order, and…
00:01:21.940 --> 00:01:25.039 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Today's blog post is entitled.
00:01:25.440 --> 00:01:31.079 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Taking time for ourselves is the most important thing we can do.
00:01:32.310 --> 00:01:35.680 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It can be hard to take time for ourselves.
00:01:35.930 --> 00:01:42.630 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We all have so many demands on our time. So many things we want to do.
00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:47.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: People all around us are asking for our attention.
00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:55.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Sometimes, all we want to do is close the door and just be by ourselves.
00:01:56.390 --> 00:02:01.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yet it seems harder and harder Just do that.
00:02:02.250 --> 00:02:07.820 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Having space in our lives for ourselves is essential for our well-being.
00:02:08.220 --> 00:02:12.930 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Though it tends to be the last thing we actually make a priority.
00:02:13.910 --> 00:02:17.290 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe we have aging parents to take care of.
00:02:17.720 --> 00:02:21.150 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Or children that desire our constant attention.
00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:25.349 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Even our dog wants to play with her all the time.
00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:29.329 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So where is the time for ourselves?
00:02:30.380 --> 00:02:35.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Life can become too full for us.
00:02:36.040 --> 00:02:40.780 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Full of commitments to family, jobs, or businesses.
00:02:41.380 --> 00:02:48.559 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So we forget about the most important commitment of all, The commitment to ourselves.
00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:52.300 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To honor our own needs.
00:02:53.170 --> 00:02:55.850 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and Philip… Our own cup.
00:02:56.570 --> 00:03:05.870 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We easily forget that when we don't take care of our own needs, we make it harder to handle our commitments to others.
00:03:06.690 --> 00:03:11.239 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: With so many people relying on us for one thing or another.
00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:14.910 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We don't want to let any of them down.
00:03:16.190 --> 00:03:19.589 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So we let ourselves down instead.
00:03:20.660 --> 00:03:23.870 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: This is exactly what gets us in trouble.
00:03:24.830 --> 00:03:35.090 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For when we deny and neglect our own needs, we are bound to not be able to live up to all our other commitments.
00:03:36.370 --> 00:03:40.709 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Giving ourselves space and time to just breathe.
00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:43.149 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Can be huge for us.
00:03:43.920 --> 00:03:48.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Especially when we have so much going on in our lives.
00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:53.830 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We need time to process, to feel, and to reflect.
00:03:54.890 --> 00:04:04.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And when we do, we just might find that we don't really want to do all the things we are doing.
00:04:05.390 --> 00:04:12.830 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The space we give ourselves might just be what we need To see everything more clearly.
00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:20.769 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To see exactly what we are doing and what we no longer wish to do.
00:04:21.810 --> 00:04:29.060 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Without taking time to sit back and take a moment, we cannot gain a new perspective.
00:04:29.960 --> 00:04:36.950 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Taking time to just be with ourselves is the most productive thing we can do.
00:04:38.090 --> 00:04:43.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: As it gives us a chance to feel what we are really feeling.
00:04:43.530 --> 00:04:47.810 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Instead of numbly going from one task to another.
00:04:49.570 --> 00:04:52.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Is that not a better way to live?
00:04:53.270 --> 00:04:58.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Can you give yourself a chance to just sit and breathe and be with yourself?
00:04:59.760 --> 00:05:01.810 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I wonder if you do.
00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:05.250 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What new perspectives can you cultivate?
00:05:08.080 --> 00:05:16.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So… I wrote this blog post a couple of years ago, I believe after taking
00:05:16.760 --> 00:05:35.329 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: some time off. You know, at the station here, we typically, close down for the last two weeks of the year. So Christmas week, New Year's week, there are no new live shows, there's nothing going on. Take a break from business. My wife takes a break from her therapy practice.
00:05:35.380 --> 00:05:41.559 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Sometimes we go away and take a trip, sometimes we stay and do a staycation.
00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:46.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I think last year we went down to Barbados, which was really nice.
00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:56.740 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… It just reminded me… How much…
00:06:00.180 --> 00:06:05.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: how much I personally… Don't take enough time for myself.
00:06:06.210 --> 00:06:11.779 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: how much I… I'm going from one thing to another to another.
00:06:11.990 --> 00:06:21.930 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Whether it's networking with people, talking to new potential clients for the radio station, talking to potential healing clients, working with my coaching clients.
00:06:22.940 --> 00:06:28.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doing something Putting out a lot.
00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:36.549 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And as my human design, I'm a manifesting generator, I'm supposed to do that. I'm supposed to use up my energy every day.
00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:44.360 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And yet, still, I need to take a break sometimes.
00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.360 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To just be able to step back.
00:06:49.170 --> 00:06:52.340 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I think this is true for everyone.
00:06:52.570 --> 00:06:58.100 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: that we're so… when we're so much on the go, go, go, I gotta get this done, this done, this done, that done.
00:06:58.400 --> 00:07:08.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we're always moving forward, and we don't give a time for ourselves to just be, to just breathe, to just sit and be still.
00:07:09.880 --> 00:07:15.630 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And when we don't, Allow ourselves that… luxury…
00:07:18.330 --> 00:07:22.209 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Which is not really a luxury at all, it's really a need.
00:07:24.950 --> 00:07:33.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That then, when we go from one thing to another to another, we're just wearing ourselves down, wearing ourselves down, wearing ourselves down.
00:07:34.210 --> 00:07:36.609 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Until the point that we crash.
00:07:37.010 --> 00:07:39.389 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And that crash never looks good.
00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:47.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so, rather than just, oh, constantly pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing, I gotta get this done, gotta get that done.
00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:53.030 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: If we can just take little, tiny breaks.
00:07:53.640 --> 00:08:03.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In this moment, I can just take a moment. Before I go into this next meeting, I can take 2 minutes and breathe, stare out the window, close my eyes.
00:08:07.770 --> 00:08:13.480 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Before I go and have to deal with family, and friends, and clients, whatever.
00:08:14.030 --> 00:08:23.929 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, everyone's life is a little different, but I think we're all feeling how life is so much more chaotic and hectic and busy than it used to be.
00:08:27.280 --> 00:08:34.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So this… In this time when things are accelerated, it's even more important.
00:08:35.590 --> 00:08:36.909 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To sit back.
00:08:38.020 --> 00:08:40.859 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And just take a breath.
00:08:44.640 --> 00:08:49.910 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the thing that's amazing… When we haven't been doing it.
00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:52.420 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then suddenly we do.
00:08:53.650 --> 00:08:55.020 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How much?
00:08:57.770 --> 00:09:00.969 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can see that we hadn't been seeing.
00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:07.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How much… Space opens up inside of us.
00:09:08.270 --> 00:09:10.420 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To maybe handle the next thing.
00:09:11.150 --> 00:09:13.370 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And deal with the next challenge.
00:09:14.390 --> 00:09:17.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And deal with the next thing that's…
00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:20.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Coming through our phone or our own computer.
00:09:22.390 --> 00:09:24.090 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm not saying it's easy.
00:09:24.610 --> 00:09:35.129 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm not saying that there are not situations that can be extremely challenging to take time for ourselves, especially when we're caring for others.
00:09:35.680 --> 00:09:40.830 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Whether you have a special needs child, an aging parent or grandparent.
00:09:41.160 --> 00:09:47.330 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: or just anyone who relies on you as a caretaker. I get it, it's hard.
00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:54.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But if we're gonna show up and be our best for the people that we take care of.
00:09:54.560 --> 00:09:57.200 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We have to take care of ourselves first.
00:09:59.830 --> 00:10:02.370 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It just doesn't work any other way.
00:10:02.870 --> 00:10:03.910 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It doesn't.
00:10:05.390 --> 00:10:08.050 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yet, if we take care of ourselves.
00:10:08.520 --> 00:10:16.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Then when we show up for others, we really show up for them. We show up as our best selves.
00:10:19.650 --> 00:10:27.680 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So… I guess my… my invitation.
00:10:27.920 --> 00:10:37.469 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Especially for this holiday season, with Thanksgiving coming up next week, and the Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah next month.
00:10:38.380 --> 00:10:40.549 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Take some time for yourself.
00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:47.609 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Take some time to just sit and be without doing anything.
00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:50.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And just notice.
00:10:51.310 --> 00:10:53.630 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Just notice how it feels.
00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:58.149 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Do you find there's a lot more anxiety there than you thought there was?
00:10:59.030 --> 00:11:03.739 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Do you find that it helps you to find your center and be more peaceful?
00:11:04.560 --> 00:11:08.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Do feelings start to come up that you've been ignoring?
00:11:08.450 --> 00:11:10.240 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And not dealing with.
00:11:13.890 --> 00:11:16.030 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: All of that is an indication.
00:11:16.870 --> 00:11:18.800 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And it's information.
00:11:20.660 --> 00:11:22.210 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For what to do next.
00:11:22.660 --> 00:11:26.859 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So… That's my blog post for this week.
00:11:27.270 --> 00:11:44.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The title, again, is Taking Time for Ourselves is the most important thing we can do. And of course, you can always find my blog on my personal website, theconsciousconsultant.com, and on the radio station's website at talkradio.nyc.org.
00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:58.219 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: slash blog. And of course, if you like my blog posts, you can get more of my writings on my book, Everyday Awakening, which is available at all major booksellers, and now.
00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:14.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It is my extreme pleasure to welcome to the show Will Burkhardt, a Naval Academy graduate, former Marine Corps intelligence officer, explorer, and founder of Badass Consulting and Badass Adventures.
00:12:14.710 --> 00:12:25.750 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: From combat zones in the Middle East and Africa to wilderness expeditions and psychedelic ceremonies, Will has devoted his life to exploring the edges of human potential.
00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:39.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Now, as a co-active, certified professional coach, he helps others access their own inner power, courage, and freedom through adventure, awareness, and expanded consciousness.
00:12:39.850 --> 00:12:40.980 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: His…
00:12:41.280 --> 00:13:00.020 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Will discusses in his work the difference between expanded consciousness and altered consciousness, and what it means to live a psychedelic, catalyzed life, one in which awe, presence, and curiosity are part of everyday existence.
00:13:00.020 --> 00:13:08.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Through his retreats and coaching, Will invites people to move beyond peak experiences into an ongoing state of flow
00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:13.559 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: creativity, and connection. Welcome to the Conscious Consultant Hour, Will.
00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:16.879 Will Burkhart: Thanks, Sam, it's great to connect with you today.
00:13:16.880 --> 00:13:17.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, that's true.
00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:18.399 Will Burkhart: Thanks for having me on.
00:13:18.900 --> 00:13:23.320 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I appreciate it, appreciate you taking the time to come on. So,
00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:33.530 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Naval Academy graduate, former Marine Corps Intelligence, you really kind of started off life in a strong way, I guess.
00:13:34.680 --> 00:13:44.069 Will Burkhart: Yeah, if you'd asked me, you know, as a young 20-something-year-old, that I would be sitting here, doing what I'm doing, talking with you about what we're talking about.
00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:49.309 Will Burkhart: I would have figured, oh, you know, you've taken too many drugs.
00:13:49.630 --> 00:13:56.789 Will Burkhart: Just no way, you know, no way to know back then that I would be doing what I'm doing now. So it's been, quite an adventure.
00:13:57.020 --> 00:14:05.699 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, yeah. But it sounds like it really informed… How you approach life.
00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:15.960 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… and sort of gave you a certain foundation, which then, when you went beyond that, it sounds like it probably served you in some way.
00:14:17.160 --> 00:14:19.769 Will Burkhart: It did. You know, it's,
00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:29.349 Will Burkhart: Yeah, that… that… my time in the military definitely was, you know, it was foundational. And,
00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.189 Will Burkhart: Definitely, you know, had me…
00:14:34.450 --> 00:14:41.399 Will Burkhart: be in an environment where I was very much in a box, in a system, you know, in an institution.
00:14:41.610 --> 00:14:46.229 Will Burkhart: And be able to see just how that works and doesn't work.
00:14:46.900 --> 00:14:55.260 Will Burkhart: And, you know, the pros and the cons of that. And then, you know, be so firmly entrenched in that, and then be able to step out of it.
00:14:55.560 --> 00:14:59.530 Will Burkhart: And, you know, in contrast, you know, not being…
00:14:59.660 --> 00:15:06.399 Will Burkhart: in… in that type of an institutional environment. Yeah, it's… it's given me, you know.
00:15:06.510 --> 00:15:09.460 Will Burkhart: The contrast of that perspective has served me well.
00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:32.670 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm, cool. Well, I would love to talk about, sort of, what precipitated that contrast, but we're going to take a quick break first, because I'd love to know, like, what turns a Marine Corps intelligence officer into a badass coaching expert, and somebody who is really working on
00:15:32.670 --> 00:15:33.590 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: on…
00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:47.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: consciousness and opening people's minds. You know, that… that sounds like a really big change, so I'd be curious about what kind of made you flip that switch, okay?
00:15:47.330 --> 00:15:48.340 Will Burkhart: Sounds great, yeah.
00:15:48.340 --> 00:16:07.159 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Awesome. So, everybody, please stay tuned. You're listening to the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity. We do this every Thursday, except holidays, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Eastern Time, right here on talkradio.nyc, and we'll be right back with our guest, Will Burkhart, in just a moment.
00:17:52.950 --> 00:18:09.220 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And welcome back to the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity. We're speaking this hour with Will Burkhart. So, Will, tell me, how does one go from, like, serving the military in combat zones around the globe
00:18:09.410 --> 00:18:11.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Into a badass coach.
00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:21.830 Will Burkhart: Well, it wasn't just a switch, Sam. It wasn't like a switch just went off. It was definitely a lifelong process. And,
00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:32.510 Will Burkhart: You know, for me, that exploring the human potential and being at the edge of, okay, what can… what are we capable of? That's been the driver.
00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.910 Will Burkhart: In my story, in hindsight.
00:18:36.320 --> 00:18:39.079 Will Burkhart: Yeah, and there were a few key…
00:18:39.470 --> 00:18:42.330 Will Burkhart: you know, things that I did along the way.
00:18:42.450 --> 00:18:59.950 Will Burkhart: That I realize now were building blocks. I was involved with the sport of adventure racing for… for a number of years, where it's co-ed teams of athletes going for 7 to 14 days through the wilderness, hiking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, canoeing, rappelling.
00:19:00.070 --> 00:19:03.890 Will Burkhart: riding horses and camels in Morocco.
00:19:04.730 --> 00:19:17.670 Will Burkhart: just craziness, really put… really, you know, pushing the limits of our physical endurance. And from there, I… I softened into,
00:19:18.590 --> 00:19:23.499 Will Burkhart: Just more of the… You know, other alternative ways of…
00:19:23.760 --> 00:19:34.150 Will Burkhart: you know, expanding consciousness in some ways, you know, through a lot of Asian practices, Tai Chi, and energetic work.
00:19:34.330 --> 00:19:39.999 Will Burkhart: You know, I was introduced to human design back in 2004, and
00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:48.619 Will Burkhart: keys. So, along the way, you know, as a manifesting generator following my gut.
00:19:48.620 --> 00:19:50.939 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh, fellow manifesting generator, cool.
00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:54.939 Will Burkhart: Right, yeah. You know, I, I just,
00:19:55.670 --> 00:20:00.949 Will Burkhart: Seized on opportunities that, at the time, necessarily didn't
00:20:01.110 --> 00:20:05.130 Will Burkhart: You know, didn't… it wasn't linear. Yeah, and
00:20:05.410 --> 00:20:10.680 Will Burkhart: But I was moved to follow and pursue a number of different things.
00:20:11.010 --> 00:20:12.170 Will Burkhart: And…
00:20:12.820 --> 00:20:25.009 Will Burkhart: And then, you know, opening my own adventure guiding company, and putting trips together around the Southwest, and Nepal, and Africa, South America.
00:20:25.070 --> 00:20:42.720 Will Burkhart: opening that to guests, you know, to clients. But it was really about a decade ago that the psychedelic piece dropped into my field of consciousness. You know, I grew up in the, you know, 70s and 80s, where.
00:20:43.360 --> 00:20:49.029 Will Burkhart: The, the, the conversation around You know, psychedelics were… was a lot different.
00:20:49.030 --> 00:20:49.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yes.
00:20:49.720 --> 00:21:07.820 Will Burkhart: you know, it was a genie that escaped the bottle, so to speak, and we probably, as a society, at least here in the United States, we weren't quite ready for that genie to come out. So the government, probably rightfully so, tried to stuff it back in the bottle. You know, let's…
00:21:08.030 --> 00:21:14.430 Will Burkhart: And, and now it, you know, it's obviously come back out. And,
00:21:15.270 --> 00:21:20.639 Will Burkhart: So, yeah, about a decade ago, I was introduced to the psychedelic world, and
00:21:22.090 --> 00:21:27.749 Will Burkhart: You know, really, really went deeply down that… have gone deeply down that rabbit hole, and…
00:21:28.430 --> 00:21:34.569 Will Burkhart: It was interesting, because one of the big influences that had me explore psychedelics was,
00:21:35.840 --> 00:21:41.900 Will Burkhart: a, net, TED talk that a guy by the name of Graham Hancock did.
00:21:42.110 --> 00:21:45.839 Will Burkhart: That, gosh, almost 15 years ago. And,
00:21:46.690 --> 00:21:50.710 Will Burkhart: you know, Graham Hancock's a prolific author, and…
00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:56.670 Will Burkhart: His whole, you know, the premise of that TED talk was that we are in a battle for our consciousness.
00:21:56.870 --> 00:21:57.490 Will Burkhart: And…
00:21:57.830 --> 00:22:12.920 Will Burkhart: He really dives into, from his perspective, the consciousness expansion ability of psychedelics, and how, you know, the government and the institutions are basically battling us for our consciousness.
00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:14.130 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And.
00:22:14.130 --> 00:22:27.709 Will Burkhart: So that was, you know, that was the entry point there, and and since then, it's been, you know, the journey has accelerated in a lot of ways, but it's also slowed down in some ways.
00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:28.150 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:22:28.150 --> 00:22:29.530 Will Burkhart: You know, I loved…
00:22:29.830 --> 00:22:40.069 Will Burkhart: Your blog post that you were talking about, you know, this morning, you know, taking time for ourselves, and it takes, you know, as you're well aware, it takes…
00:22:40.340 --> 00:22:46.289 Will Burkhart: Intentionality, especially in today's world, to take time for ourselves.
00:22:46.630 --> 00:22:47.609 Will Burkhart: And,
00:22:48.980 --> 00:23:00.219 Will Burkhart: And that is one thing, you know, one insight that I've gotten, you know, as I've explored psychedelics, is the importance of that. The importance of…
00:23:00.390 --> 00:23:04.750 Will Burkhart: Of stillness, and the importance of intentionally…
00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:17.229 Will Burkhart: Dropping into our subconscious and, you know, those realms, and being able to really explore, you know, how… who we are, and what is driving us in this life.
00:23:17.230 --> 00:23:20.769 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And realizing that it's an ongoing journey.
00:23:20.770 --> 00:23:22.390 Will Burkhart: And one that can be…
00:23:22.830 --> 00:23:29.609 Will Burkhart: Can be pretty badass if we step up with our, with our highest self, and… and… and,
00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:31.419 Will Burkhart: And engage in it.
00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:45.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, I'm curious, you know, you've been through many parts of the globe, various cultures I'm sure you were exposed to when you were doing a lot of the adventure tours and stuff.
00:23:47.860 --> 00:23:51.190 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Was there any one place, or…
00:23:51.690 --> 00:24:01.200 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: couple of places where you felt like there was something otherworldly going on in that part of the world, something…
00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:03.570 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Beyond the mundane.
00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:13.700 Will Burkhart: I'm glad you asked that question, Sam, because I just recently, like a couple of weeks ago, returned from leading a
00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:19.740 Will Burkhart: an Everest Base Camp pilgrimage through the Himalaya in Nepal, and
00:24:20.840 --> 00:24:28.510 Will Burkhart: That part of the world is… is… it holds a special place in my heart, and
00:24:28.910 --> 00:24:34.479 Will Burkhart: And it hits that… You know, that point that you just made,
00:24:35.490 --> 00:24:41.109 Will Burkhart: One of the things I love about that trip is we're hiking up the Khumbu Valley.
00:24:41.310 --> 00:24:53.720 Will Burkhart: And you're going through towns, little villages along the way, and the, quote, trail that we're on is not really a trail, it's the main thoroughfare through that part of the world that these…
00:24:53.720 --> 00:25:03.899 Will Burkhart: these folks live in. And, you know, there's yaks, and donkeys, and commerce, and people moving gear, and you're walking through these villages.
00:25:04.760 --> 00:25:12.080 Will Burkhart: And, you know, you see the folks that live there, and you interact with them, and you realize just what a different world they are in.
00:25:12.510 --> 00:25:12.950 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:25:12.950 --> 00:25:24.620 Will Burkhart: And, you know, you see the kids outside staring at the foreigners with wide eyes, wondering, you know, gosh, where, you know, who are these people? And we look at them, and we're like, you know.
00:25:24.620 --> 00:25:39.280 Will Burkhart: you know, wow, in the lottery of life, you dropped onto this planet in this place, and it's a magical place. You know, the scale of the Himalayan mountains is just so…
00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:41.830 Will Burkhart: Beyond our, you know.
00:25:42.050 --> 00:25:52.809 Will Burkhart: the ability to even imagine. You know, hiking through a valley that's 12, 13, 14, 15,000 feet, looking up at mountains that are 20, 25,000 plus feet high.
00:25:53.580 --> 00:25:56.010 Will Burkhart: You realize, okay, we are…
00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:58.689 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We're pretty small.
00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:01.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hey, yeah. Little A.
00:26:01.280 --> 00:26:01.740 Will Burkhart: E and C.
00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:02.870 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Significant.
00:26:02.870 --> 00:26:10.419 Will Burkhart: And, you know, that landscape and that setting can… it's boss. It is the boss.
00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:17.390 Will Burkhart: And it, you know, and… On the one hand, it is a very humbling experience.
00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:24.099 Will Burkhart: And, you know, you realize, yeah, just how, you know, Powerless we are.
00:26:24.560 --> 00:26:30.129 Will Burkhart: And then on the other hand, you realize, you know, you're empowered by the magnificence of it.
00:26:30.130 --> 00:26:30.740 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm…
00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:39.979 Will Burkhart: You know, it just feeds you, and you know, the energy is… it fills you with something that is indescribable.
00:26:41.250 --> 00:26:47.469 Will Burkhart: But you meet with that with, you know, you're wise to meet with that with a great deal of humility.
00:26:48.180 --> 00:27:00.680 Will Burkhart: Because when Mother Nature decides a cyclone's gonna roll through and dump several feet of snow and multiple inches of rain over a 5-day period, yeah, that you're not in control here.
00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:02.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And.
00:27:02.780 --> 00:27:13.719 Will Burkhart: You know, one of the other things that's fascinating is, you know, we look at the folks who live in these villages, and the simplicity with which they live their lives, the lack of
00:27:13.830 --> 00:27:15.520 Will Burkhart: of distractions.
00:27:15.520 --> 00:27:15.950 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah.
00:27:15.950 --> 00:27:31.479 Will Burkhart: And they're happy, they're healthy, there's no mental illness, there's no obesity, there's no… you know, their level of stress is just so much less than ours in some ways, and in other ways, it's probably higher than ours.
00:27:31.590 --> 00:27:47.820 Will Burkhart: But the simplicity of their lives… lives, and just the close connection they have with their natural environment, that is inspiring. And, you know, I'm left to ask, you know, who has this life right, so to speak?
00:27:49.110 --> 00:27:58.109 Will Burkhart: Do they have it with all of our technology and all of our extravagances, or do they have it with their simplicity? And, you know, it's a fun thing to consider.
00:27:58.110 --> 00:28:14.719 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, I've never made it to the Himalayas, so I haven't seen the 25,000 feet, but when I went to Ecuador, and this 15,000-foot volcano, and to the Sacred Valley in Peru, seeing the mountains.
00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:28.220 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and feeling the energy of the land. It really does when you… and then even just this year, earlier this year, went to the Grand Canyon for the first time, and even though that's only 5,000 feet deep or so. But still, when you're…
00:28:28.330 --> 00:28:37.400 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When you expose yourself to these, massive, Formations of nature.
00:28:38.370 --> 00:28:40.420 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… and you can…
00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:57.039 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: feel, it's palpable, the energy of the place, of the location. It is a consciousness-shifting experience, I would say, that gives us a different
00:28:57.280 --> 00:29:02.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Feeling for life, and our place and our perspective in life, doesn't it?
00:29:03.140 --> 00:29:04.939 Will Burkhart: Absolutely, and… Yeah.
00:29:05.090 --> 00:29:09.300 Will Burkhart: And that's why I love to be able to take people to those places, and…
00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:16.669 Will Burkhart: you know, give them, you know, that experience, or, you know, in a good way. And, yeah, it's a…
00:29:17.570 --> 00:29:20.470 Will Burkhart: It's a wonderful thing to be able to share.
00:29:20.710 --> 00:29:28.750 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah. Yeah. So, you… We've mentioned, and you've mentioned about, sort of, the psychedelic experience, and I'd love to…
00:29:29.120 --> 00:29:36.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: get into… like, what was your first experience? How did you come to it, especially with your background?
00:29:36.990 --> 00:29:46.149 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, it might have been a little, unnerving or whatever, but I'd like to get into sort of a bit of that after we take this next break. Is that okay?
00:29:46.150 --> 00:29:47.309 Will Burkhart: Sounds great, Tim.
00:29:47.310 --> 00:30:03.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Absolutely, wonderful. So everyone, please stay tuned. You're listening to The Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity. We're speaking this hour with Will Burkhart, founder of Badass Coaching and Badass Adventures, and we'll be right back for a badass story.
00:31:43.270 --> 00:31:52.820 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, Will, you mentioned how,
00:31:53.060 --> 00:32:09.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: your experience with psychedelics has sort of shifted things for you, opened you up to a different way of looking at things. How did you first come to the world of psychedelics from your
00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:13.050 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Marine Corps intelligence officer background.
00:32:13.540 --> 00:32:20.480 Will Burkhart: Yeah, so it was pretty common. It was a friend of mine who… who was telling me about his ayahuasca experience.
00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:21.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh…
00:32:21.490 --> 00:32:23.510 Will Burkhart: Down in, South America.
00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:26.580 Will Burkhart: And, it…
00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:41.019 Will Burkhart: from that kind of seed being planted, it took a couple of years, and then ironically, he met a facilitator here in the Phoenix area who was able to facilitate a one-on-one ayahuasca experience for me.
00:32:41.020 --> 00:32:41.530 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:32:41.530 --> 00:32:45.230 Will Burkhart: in his house, of all places. And,
00:32:46.470 --> 00:32:53.070 Will Burkhart: So that was, yeah, sitting with ayahuasca was my first, first experience in, in…
00:32:53.070 --> 00:32:55.180 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Jumping into the deep end of the pool,
00:32:55.340 --> 00:32:58.909 Will Burkhart: Jumping into the deep end, yeah, I'll… absolutely. And,
00:32:59.560 --> 00:33:02.900 Will Burkhart: So that was the first psychedelic I worked with, and…
00:33:03.090 --> 00:33:06.130 Will Burkhart: You know, those initial experiences for me…
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:20.289 Will Burkhart: You know, I went into it thinking, I just want to see more of, you know, I want to expand my consciousness, I want to, you know, I know there's more available, what is there? You know, what is underneath that I'm not seeing, that I'm not experiencing?
00:33:20.320 --> 00:33:21.590 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And.
00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:33.580 Will Burkhart: Those, those early experiences were very somatic, very, dark, and… It was… it was…
00:33:34.040 --> 00:33:41.070 Will Burkhart: kind of ironic, because I sat, you know, in the one-on-one ceremony, and then about 2 months later, I was scheduled to sit
00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:43.750 Will Burkhart: In a small group ceremony.
00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:54.709 Will Burkhart: And, you know, as you well know, you know, when you commit to sitting with psychedelics, usually life will give you something to sit with.
00:33:54.710 --> 00:34:00.119 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Prep you for that, give you something to have an intention around, right?
00:34:00.120 --> 00:34:02.349 Will Burkhart: Exactly, prep you, and
00:34:02.490 --> 00:34:15.830 Will Burkhart: So, a week before that second group sit, the same facilitator, invited me to the Southwest School of Naturopathic Medicine to view a film called From Shock to Awe.
00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:24.480 Will Burkhart: And it tells the story of veterans who were using psychedelics to work with PTSD.
00:34:24.889 --> 00:34:42.210 Will Burkhart: And it was a unique experience, because not only were they screening the film, but they had a panel of doctors and medical professionals, as well as some of the veterans who were in the film there on a panel to discuss, you know, for a question and answer after it.
00:34:42.690 --> 00:34:47.099 Will Burkhart: And, you know, I sat through, watched the film, listened to the panel.
00:34:47.429 --> 00:34:51.549 Will Burkhart: And… was very obviously taken with all of it.
00:34:51.830 --> 00:34:56.129 Will Burkhart: And it resonated deeply, given my military background.
00:34:56.940 --> 00:35:02.530 Will Burkhart: And I… I left, I got in my car, and this was a week before I was supposed to sit.
00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:13.590 Will Burkhart: And I realized, you know, something shifted in me, and I just got really jittery and really, like, on the edge of a panic attack.
00:35:13.800 --> 00:35:17.620 Will Burkhart: On and off over the course of that week.
00:35:18.010 --> 00:35:22.750 Will Burkhart: And I was just like, you know, what the hell is this?
00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:26.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So there wasn't something in the movie that triggered it specifically?
00:35:26.490 --> 00:35:37.599 Will Burkhart: It was the movie, it was the movie, and it was listening to their accounts. It basically triggered latent PTSD in me that I had not even considered that I had.
00:35:37.600 --> 00:35:39.320 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Okay.
00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:46.890 Will Burkhart: And so I went into that, like, into that ayahuasca sit with the specific intention of…
00:35:47.400 --> 00:35:52.420 Will Burkhart: dealing with PTSD that I didn't even know I had, and
00:35:53.130 --> 00:36:06.889 Will Burkhart: to this day, it was probably one of the most beautiful experiences and most impactful experiences I've had. The healing aspect of it was, you know, just profound. And…
00:36:07.050 --> 00:36:13.919 Will Burkhart: One of the… one of the specific aspects of that that was especially impactful
00:36:14.130 --> 00:36:18.659 Will Burkhart: was, you know, I rarely watch war movies.
00:36:19.370 --> 00:36:32.700 Will Burkhart: And there's a reason for that, and the reason for that is war movies can give you the sounds and the visuals, but they can't give you the smell of the battlefield. They can't give you the smell of burning flesh, of
00:36:33.300 --> 00:36:35.130 Will Burkhart: exploding ordinance.
00:36:35.390 --> 00:36:45.819 Will Burkhart: And… One of the things in that psychedelic sit that it reconnected me with was my sense of smell.
00:36:46.180 --> 00:36:54.240 Will Burkhart: It's like, I had literally been holding my breath and not being able to fully take in
00:36:54.520 --> 00:36:56.790 Will Burkhart: The aroma of life.
00:36:57.360 --> 00:37:06.130 Will Burkhart: Because, you know, I had… I had smelled… The horror of the battlefield.
00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:09.809 Will Burkhart: And, you know, smell is a very, very deep-seated, you know.
00:37:09.810 --> 00:37:11.390 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, very primal sense.
00:37:11.390 --> 00:37:25.310 Will Burkhart: primal, yeah, very primal sense. And, you know, without smell… you know, we sniff out, you know, we smell our way, you can smell danger. You know, it's a very key, you know, survival instinct.
00:37:26.120 --> 00:37:36.849 Will Burkhart: You know, and that was just one of the aspects of my, you know, healing my PTSD, is like, hey, you know, you have permission to breathe, you have permission to smell.
00:37:37.610 --> 00:37:40.500 Will Burkhart: this world. There's nothing to fear here.
00:37:40.670 --> 00:37:47.330 Will Burkhart: I say nothing to fear, you know, it's okay to smell fear. It's okay to…
00:37:47.490 --> 00:37:54.000 Will Burkhart: You know, to use that intuitive sense and allow it to guide you,
00:37:54.890 --> 00:38:01.500 Will Burkhart: So that was… that was, you know, my initial foray into… into this, into the psychedelic world. And,
00:38:02.240 --> 00:38:06.240 Will Burkhart: From there, mushrooms were a very valuable teacher for me.
00:38:06.310 --> 00:38:11.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm curious, with such an intense experience.
00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:18.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What kinds of practices did you do, if any, to help to integrate that afterwards?
00:38:18.720 --> 00:38:25.490 Will Burkhart: So I, you know, my primary integration Methods are being outdoors.
00:38:25.490 --> 00:38:27.020 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Connecting with nature.
00:38:27.050 --> 00:38:35.160 Will Burkhart: Yoga and tai chi, you know, those types of movement, mindful movement practices.
00:38:35.410 --> 00:38:41.259 Will Burkhart: You know, a fair amount of journaling, and just really, you know, sitting with it.
00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:47.929 Will Burkhart: And then using, you know, one of the things that was missing back then is there wasn't…
00:38:48.050 --> 00:38:50.209 Will Burkhart: A huge,
00:38:51.010 --> 00:38:58.889 Will Burkhart: network of, you know, the coaching aspect and the therapeutic aspect outside of it was not as present, although I did, you know.
00:38:58.970 --> 00:39:12.229 Will Burkhart: go to therapy. And, you know, my therapist was fascinated with my psychedelic experiences. So, you know, I use those types of things to, you know, for my integration. And,
00:39:12.430 --> 00:39:20.959 Will Burkhart: And then realized, you know, hey, it would be really great to have coaching around these experiences, so that got me into the coaching world.
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:24.129 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And guided me to, you know, start to…
00:39:24.130 --> 00:39:30.669 Will Burkhart: Not only facilitate experiences for people, but to actually put the coaching around it, you know, for integration work.
00:39:31.390 --> 00:39:32.170 Will Burkhart: Yeah.
00:39:32.190 --> 00:39:34.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And…
00:39:35.540 --> 00:39:44.049 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, I mentioned in your intro, like, you'd like to talk about the difference between expanded consciousness and altered consciousness.
00:39:45.020 --> 00:39:47.529 Will Burkhart: Yeah, you know, it's,
00:39:48.140 --> 00:39:58.359 Will Burkhart: we like to think that we are in, like, the normal state of consciousness right now, you know? So this is, you know, this is what we consider baseline normal.
00:39:59.030 --> 00:39:59.790 Will Burkhart: and…
00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:08.740 Will Burkhart: And, you know, even in this space, as you're well aware, you know, some people are more tapped into what they're conscious of than others.
00:40:08.740 --> 00:40:09.460 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right.
00:40:09.460 --> 00:40:24.349 Will Burkhart: So, to me, it's, you know, it's a spectrum. Consciousness is a spectrum, and we aren't, you know, when we take these compounds, we're not altering our consciousness, we're just expanding that spectrum.
00:40:24.350 --> 00:40:30.580 Will Burkhart: And we're able to see more of what is, you know, what we call consciousness.
00:40:30.580 --> 00:40:35.549 Will Burkhart: And it… it feels different from, obviously, how we feel now.
00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:36.430 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right.
00:40:36.430 --> 00:40:43.800 Will Burkhart: But, you know, is it really altered? Yeah, it could be semantics, but I like to look at it, no, we're expanding.
00:40:44.220 --> 00:40:51.200 Will Burkhart: And, you know, ultimately, how… You know, what tools can we use, what support can we… to basically
00:40:51.450 --> 00:40:56.790 Will Burkhart: Maintain as expanded a consciousness as we can have access to.
00:40:56.790 --> 00:40:57.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: No.
00:40:57.580 --> 00:41:06.389 Will Burkhart: And, such that, you know, it becomes a, you know, not altered, but it just becomes the consciousness that we experience.
00:41:06.390 --> 00:41:07.300 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right, right.
00:41:07.300 --> 00:41:09.209 Will Burkhart: If that, if that makes sense, yeah.
00:41:09.210 --> 00:41:14.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, the way I like to think of it, it's when we're on the substances.
00:41:14.680 --> 00:41:18.960 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Things are expanded, like you're stretching a rubber band.
00:41:19.750 --> 00:41:25.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then afterwards, when you sort of come back, that rubber band
00:41:25.500 --> 00:41:30.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Comes back a little bit, but it never quite comes back as far as it was.
00:41:30.730 --> 00:41:32.410 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: before the experience.
00:41:32.410 --> 00:41:32.880 Will Burkhart: Yeah.
00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:40.970 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So each time, you're stretching a little bit more, coming back, stretching a little bit more, coming back, stretching a little bit more, coming back.
00:41:41.820 --> 00:41:43.090 Will Burkhart: That's a great analogy.
00:41:43.090 --> 00:41:51.319 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But as you're well aware, it's not a linear thing. There's lots of ups and downs in real life in between.
00:41:51.370 --> 00:41:52.439 Will Burkhart: There it is.
00:41:53.430 --> 00:42:06.250 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In what ways would you say have those experiences altered your coaching practice and altered the way you work with people? Because you were already working with people before that, right?
00:42:06.500 --> 00:42:09.519 Will Burkhart: Yeah, I was, and, you know…
00:42:09.830 --> 00:42:16.440 Will Burkhart: You know, I call it, you know, psychedelic catalyzed coaching, and psychedelic catalyzed living.
00:42:16.810 --> 00:42:23.339 Will Burkhart: So, for me, You know, there's… there's the… the straight-up traditional coaching.
00:42:23.920 --> 00:42:28.480 Will Burkhart: And then, you know, it's like, for clients who are open to it.
00:42:28.630 --> 00:42:47.249 Will Burkhart: And they want to catalyze that coaching process, accelerate it, oftentimes. You know, let's figure out what psychedelics they're comfortable with, at what doses they're comfortable. Take, you know, some of these issues that we're coaching around.
00:42:47.630 --> 00:42:52.549 Will Burkhart: And bring those as intentions into that psychedelic setting.
00:42:52.780 --> 00:42:55.989 Will Burkhart: And, you know, I've found that it…
00:42:56.310 --> 00:43:01.250 Will Burkhart: The psychedelics can catalyze and really speed the coaching process up.
00:43:02.680 --> 00:43:12.410 Will Burkhart: And… You know, yeah, so it, you know, the two pair well together, And…
00:43:13.620 --> 00:43:17.460 Will Burkhart: you know, for that, you know, I'm using lower-dose psychedelics.
00:43:17.900 --> 00:43:34.520 Will Burkhart: You know, we're not talking necessarily unless people are looking for a, you know, a real deep dive. You know, we're looking to find the sweet spot in our dosing to where they're able to stay connected with the intentions that they bring.
00:43:35.010 --> 00:43:43.260 Will Burkhart: And navigate that… that psychedelic experience such that the insights are… are flowing, and… and they're… they're… they're…
00:43:43.270 --> 00:43:59.250 Will Burkhart: they're able to make sense of it, even in the experience, right? And then they come out, and it's like, okay, they've got a different perspective, they've got an expanded, you know, view of it, they realize maybe their relationship with it has shifted, or can shift.
00:43:59.390 --> 00:43:59.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:43:59.860 --> 00:44:05.779 Will Burkhart: And… and then it just, you know, they're off and running at that point.
00:44:06.500 --> 00:44:12.560 Will Burkhart: So that's, that's how I have integrated the two into my, you know, with my coaching practice.
00:44:12.970 --> 00:44:13.890 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Gotcha, gotcha.
00:44:13.890 --> 00:44:14.440 Will Burkhart: Yeah.
00:44:14.460 --> 00:44:18.349 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Just one more question before we go to our last break.
00:44:20.160 --> 00:44:38.160 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Have you found that there's been any resistance to sort of adding that into the coaching practice? Or… or do you find that people, because of the conversation in the general consciousness, that people are a little more open to it than they were necessarily in the past?
00:44:38.900 --> 00:44:40.640 Will Burkhart: People are definitely open to it.
00:44:40.840 --> 00:44:47.159 Will Burkhart: You know, I don't, you know, I don't sell it, right? You can't, you know, psychedelics aren't for everyone.
00:44:47.160 --> 00:44:51.329 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And, you know, so… so for me, you know, it's like, if…
00:44:51.500 --> 00:45:06.609 Will Burkhart: yeah, people are open, and as long as they're open, then the psychedelics will be, you know, in my experience, will have a positive impact on the coaching process and on their, you know, the work that they're doing.
00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:12.410 Will Burkhart: So yeah, that openness, which is… I've found to be quite… present.
00:45:13.020 --> 00:45:14.499 Will Burkhart: Is the key component.
00:45:14.660 --> 00:45:15.829 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Mmm, yeah.
00:45:15.830 --> 00:45:19.850 Will Burkhart: The willingness to step into that type of an experience.
00:45:19.980 --> 00:45:31.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, because really, like, if somebody is anxious, or nervous about it, or resistant to it, it can be a very challenging experience.
00:45:31.380 --> 00:45:42.749 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But if they're properly prepared, if they're educated, if they're coming with intention and awareness and mindfulness, then they can have a very different experience, right?
00:45:42.990 --> 00:45:44.180 Will Burkhart: Absolutely.
00:45:44.180 --> 00:45:46.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wonderful.
00:45:46.650 --> 00:45:55.299 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, we're gonna take our last break. When we come back, let's just talk about, sort of, the different ways in which you work with people.
00:45:55.300 --> 00:46:06.709 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And, like, what's appropriate for what kind of a client, or somebody coming with a certain challenge, like, how you would guide them around this, okay?
00:46:06.940 --> 00:46:07.870 Will Burkhart: Sounds great.
00:46:08.220 --> 00:46:21.289 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Awesome. So, everyone, please stay tuned. You're listening to the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity, and we'll be right back with our guest, Will Burkhardt, founder of Badass Coaching, in just a moment.
00:47:56.030 --> 00:48:05.839 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, Will, somebody's coming to you for coaching, maybe they have… dealing with deep relationship issues, maybe they're dealing with
00:48:06.170 --> 00:48:14.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Past trauma, childhood trauma? What kinds of things kind of give you the indication of what sort of direction to lead the person?
00:48:17.010 --> 00:48:18.310 Will Burkhart: So…
00:48:20.770 --> 00:48:23.030 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When it comes to, like, a psychedelic experience.
00:48:23.030 --> 00:48:25.589 Will Burkhart: Yeah, yeah, so it's really, you know.
00:48:25.740 --> 00:48:32.070 Will Burkhart: Me attuning to… to what, you know, what they're bringing, and the… the level of…
00:48:32.530 --> 00:48:38.260 Will Burkhart: Of healing that needs to occur, or the level of transformation that needs to occur. And…
00:48:39.340 --> 00:48:49.719 Will Burkhart: And then, you know, and their willingness to be like, okay, psychedelics are a tool that we want to bring into this, you know, into the process.
00:48:50.250 --> 00:48:56.060 Will Burkhart: And I work with a number of psychedelics, so I have a kind of a menu that I can
00:48:57.010 --> 00:48:58.370 Will Burkhart: Present to them.
00:48:58.750 --> 00:49:09.509 Will Burkhart: And, giving them, you know, kind of an idea of how each psychedelic works, and just what, you know, what is potentially available in those experiences.
00:49:09.780 --> 00:49:16.320 Will Burkhart: And I'll usually have an intuitive hit of where to start with them in that.
00:49:17.190 --> 00:49:29.979 Will Burkhart: But I try to reserve that and draw it out of their intuition. You know, it's like, you know, I say, you know, which, you know, what psychedelic and what setting
00:49:30.210 --> 00:49:31.639 Will Burkhart: Calls to you.
00:49:31.640 --> 00:49:32.400 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm…
00:49:32.440 --> 00:49:45.770 Will Burkhart: And it's very much a back-and-forth conversation, and what I'm looking for is their level of comfort and their level of willingness to step into the experience.
00:49:45.770 --> 00:49:46.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:49:46.170 --> 00:49:51.699 Will Burkhart: And as long as, you know, as long as that comfort level and willingness is high.
00:49:51.960 --> 00:50:01.910 Will Burkhart: then I'm confident that through my coaching and the knowledge that I have, that I can, A, they can feel like they're going to be in a safe environment.
00:50:02.010 --> 00:50:13.250 Will Burkhart: and B, the safer the environment I can create for them, the deeper they'll be able to get into whatever the underlying issues are. And.
00:50:13.410 --> 00:50:20.449 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm curious, are there any red flags that, when you learn about, are, like, a definite hard no for you?
00:50:22.390 --> 00:50:30.869 Will Burkhart: Yeah, you know, it, mental stability is pretty critical. You know, that's probably the number one critical
00:50:31.080 --> 00:50:33.740 Will Burkhart: Element is, is,
00:50:33.840 --> 00:50:43.469 Will Burkhart: You know, if they have a deep psychological issue that is beyond my, you know, scope of practice, and…
00:50:44.070 --> 00:50:47.209 Will Burkhart: They are, you know, they don't have that stable.
00:50:47.670 --> 00:51:00.409 Will Burkhart: then I, you know, then I will refer them to, you know, the proper professionals. I work with a lot of psychiatrists and therapists who will refer me clients
00:51:00.560 --> 00:51:08.980 Will Burkhart: And… and we all know that the clients that they're referring me are sta… you know, that there's a level of stability there that…
00:51:08.980 --> 00:51:09.400 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: smooth.
00:51:09.400 --> 00:51:12.139 Will Burkhart: That it will not destabilize them.
00:51:13.180 --> 00:51:18.999 Will Burkhart: But that… that's really… that's one of the number one things that… that I'm looking at, and
00:51:19.500 --> 00:51:41.829 Will Burkhart: from a red flag standpoint. And then the other standpoint is, really, it's like, are they doing this because their partner thinks they should do it, or they think it's gonna be a silver bullet, and it's going to solve all their problems? You know, so there's an educational piece, and just a piece of, like, okay, yeah, like, you really… this is something that you want to do.
00:51:41.850 --> 00:51:47.780 Will Burkhart: This is something that you feel will benefit you in learning more about yourself, and…
00:51:48.110 --> 00:51:50.839 Will Burkhart: And becoming a better version of yourself.
00:51:50.840 --> 00:51:58.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What do you think is probably the most common misunderstanding people have that come to you for psychedelics?
00:51:58.660 --> 00:52:07.850 Will Burkhart: There's the silver bullet syndrome, you know, they'll sit once, and they'll be healed.
00:52:08.340 --> 00:52:14.349 Will Burkhart: So that's probably the number one thing. The other thing is, is that they're… that they're dangerous.
00:52:15.650 --> 00:52:31.050 Will Burkhart: You know, there's, you know, we grew up in a time where, you know, acid would put holes in your brain, and all the danger things. So there's that piece that I have to address a lot.
00:52:31.380 --> 00:52:32.450 Will Burkhart: And…
00:52:33.900 --> 00:52:46.030 Will Burkhart: Yeah, those, those, you know, those are some of the things that, that, yeah, re-education and just shifting their perspective on, on what these compounds can do, you know, what.
00:52:46.030 --> 00:52:46.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: communion.
00:52:46.600 --> 00:52:52.419 Will Burkhart: what is available when we sit with them. The other thing is, you know, most people.
00:52:52.900 --> 00:53:08.869 Will Burkhart: you know, they think they're gonna take a psychedelic, and they're gonna… there's gonna be a lot of visuals, and, you know, they're gonna enter another world. And, you know, I have to explain to them, that could happen, and it could be a very somatic experience.
00:53:08.870 --> 00:53:09.289 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It can be.
00:53:09.290 --> 00:53:13.090 Will Burkhart: It can be a very emotional experience. It can be a very spiritual experience.
00:53:13.090 --> 00:53:13.560 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:53:13.560 --> 00:53:18.500 Will Burkhart: As well as a cerebral experience in a different way.
00:53:19.410 --> 00:53:26.449 Will Burkhart: And So, you know, yeah, so there's a lot of, you know, misperceptions to work through, and…
00:53:26.920 --> 00:53:34.720 Will Burkhart: You know, the other thing is, you know, I've found over the course of my experience that more is not always better.
00:53:34.940 --> 00:53:35.670 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah.
00:53:35.670 --> 00:53:42.030 Will Burkhart: And… You know, so I'm a less is more, you know, a less is more guy.
00:53:42.030 --> 00:53:43.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And.
00:53:43.080 --> 00:53:44.710 Will Burkhart: You know, by and large.
00:53:44.880 --> 00:53:55.140 Will Burkhart: And, you know, for those clients who do, you know, after they have experienced less is more, if they are like, okay, I want to go deeper, then you provide that for them.
00:53:55.140 --> 00:53:55.520 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Ew.
00:53:55.520 --> 00:53:56.480 Will Burkhart: But,
00:53:57.980 --> 00:54:05.799 Will Burkhart: And then, you know, in that vein of less is more, as far as dosing goes, you know, you do…
00:54:05.990 --> 00:54:12.450 Will Burkhart: If you do approach it with a… with that… with that… You know, from that aspect.
00:54:12.830 --> 00:54:23.159 Will Burkhart: what you can do is, you don't have to just sit with psychedelics maybe once or twice or three times a year. You can sit with them more consistently.
00:54:23.490 --> 00:54:38.930 Will Burkhart: and create what I call a psychedelic-catalyzed life, where they become a piece of how you, you know, how you navigate this, this experience. And, you know, whether it's once a month, once every other week, once every other month.
00:54:38.930 --> 00:54:47.239 Will Burkhart: you know, you're not blowing their brains out and just having them go off the deep end. You're going in very specifically, whether it's through
00:54:47.240 --> 00:54:59.809 Will Burkhart: a framework of human design, or the gene keys, or whatever, you know, there's those frameworks we can enter the experience with, or just ongoing work on whatever issues they have.
00:54:59.950 --> 00:55:12.589 Will Burkhart: And, much easier to integrate, much easier to become a part of, hey, just like going to the doctor, or, you know, the dentist, or whoever, and, you know, something that's a part of your life.
00:55:12.940 --> 00:55:13.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right.
00:55:13.310 --> 00:55:14.900 Will Burkhart: when it's necessary.
00:55:14.900 --> 00:55:24.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, it's kind of like instead of going to the doctor for a checkup, you come to a ceremony to have an energetic checkup, so to speak.
00:55:24.580 --> 00:55:26.180 Will Burkhart: Exactly, yeah, yeah.
00:55:26.180 --> 00:55:32.139 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm curious, you know, so many people come to psychedelics for the healing aspect of it.
00:55:32.790 --> 00:55:45.260 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But for you, what lies beyond the healing? What's, like, the next level once you've… you know, I mean, healing is a lifelong work, but once you've gone through the foundational pieces, what's beyond the healing?
00:55:47.010 --> 00:55:55.279 Will Burkhart: you know, I think what's beyond the healing is your ability to… Truly know yourself.
00:55:56.240 --> 00:55:56.680 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:55:56.680 --> 00:56:04.380 Will Burkhart: And… from that, that deep sense of knowing your, you know, it's a capital S self.
00:56:05.590 --> 00:56:09.999 Will Burkhart: What is our, you know, what is our highest creative expression?
00:56:10.690 --> 00:56:11.560 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know.
00:56:11.570 --> 00:56:23.619 Will Burkhart: you were here, you know, you were put on this earth with great creative potential. I was here put on this earth with great creative potential. You know, tapping into that creative potential.
00:56:23.860 --> 00:56:29.220 Will Burkhart: that is authentic to our true self, I think that is what is available.
00:56:29.710 --> 00:56:40.980 Will Burkhart: You know, you get through the healing, you clear the baggage, and suddenly it's like, oh, you know, I… this is the purpose that I was put on this planet for.
00:56:40.980 --> 00:56:41.630 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:56:41.630 --> 00:56:49.200 Will Burkhart: And… You know, if you can imagine a world where people are creating from that place.
00:56:49.750 --> 00:56:54.969 Will Burkhart: Then it's, you know, to me, that sounds like a whole heck of a lot better world to live in.
00:56:54.970 --> 00:56:55.480 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah.
00:56:55.480 --> 00:57:15.300 Will Burkhart: Because we're, you know, that raises that energetic vibration, and suddenly, you know, you're… we're collaborating from that place. I see you, you know, that, you know, you're showing me you, I'm showing me me, and wow, what can we create together? What kind of magic can we create? So…
00:57:15.300 --> 00:57:31.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, beautiful, beautiful. Well, I could talk to you about this stuff all day long, unfortunately. We only have an hour. Thank you so much. If people want to learn more about your coaching services, learn more about what you're offering, where can they go, where can they find you?
00:57:32.460 --> 00:57:36.349 Will Burkhart: Yeah, my website is badass-coaching.net.
00:57:36.490 --> 00:57:45.970 Will Burkhart: And, that'll take folks to there. I've got badass-adventures.com, where my adventure piece lives, and…
00:57:46.080 --> 00:57:53.410 Will Burkhart: And I love it when those two intersect, and we can combine the adventure, and the coaching, and the experience in a…
00:57:54.090 --> 00:58:06.259 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: in those places in the world that you've talked about, where it's like, you know, the energy is just next level. Yeah, beautiful, beautiful. Wonderful. Well, and you're out in Phoenix, you said?
00:58:06.260 --> 00:58:07.440 Will Burkhart: I'm in Phoenix, yeah.
00:58:07.440 --> 00:58:12.789 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Okay, so people know if they want an in-person experience, they need to go to Phoenix.
00:58:12.790 --> 00:58:31.770 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking time for coming on the show today. I wish you much luck in what you're doing, because I do know there's tremendous need out there, and there are more people who need this work than there are people offering this work, so I can wish you continued success.
00:58:32.040 --> 00:58:37.440 Will Burkhart: Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate being on your show and everything that you do. So, bless you.
00:58:37.670 --> 00:59:01.409 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Thank you, thank you. And of course, thank you, my loyal listeners, for tuning in each week. Without you, there is no show. So please don't keep us a secret, spread the word. If you liked today's interview, share it with your friends, your colleagues, your family. And of course, if you missed any part of today's show, you can always catch the replay on talkradio.nyc or on your favorite social media channel, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitch.
00:59:02.020 --> 00:59:10.409 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Thank you all for tuning in. Take care. We will not talk to you next week, because next Thursday is Thanksgiving, and we will talk to you the week after next week.
00:59:10.520 --> 00:59:12.240 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Take care, we'll see you then.
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