July 20, 2025
The DNA of Consciousness: Visionary Plants, Indigenous Knowledge, and the Mind
Where does consciousness come from? Can information be received through visions? And is it possible that ancient plants unlock biological knowledge we haven’t even begun to fully understand?
In this episode of Your Brain Explained, Dr. Dave Rabin MD, PhD is joined by Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Jamie Wheal (Stealing Fire & Recapture the Rapture) as guest interviewer for a special conversation with anthropologist and author Jeremy Narby (The Cosmic Serpent) to explore one of the most provocative frontiers of neuroscience and consciousness research. Together, they delve into Jeremy’s early fieldwork with Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, whose shamanic traditions claim to receive verifiable botanical knowledge directly from experiences with the sacred jungle plants—including ayahuasca.
What begins as an exploration of cultural perspectives on plant medicine soon evolves into a larger conversation about the mysterious role of DNA in consciousness, the science of epigenetics, and the limitations of materialist thinking in modern neuroscience. Could DNA act as a receiver for information in altered states? How do we distinguish between personal projection and true insight? And what does it mean to “know thyself” in the age of brain scans and psychedelic therapy?
This is a monumental episode, and one of my favorites of all time, for seekers, skeptics, and scientists alike—an invitation to sit with the unknown, rethink what we believe about consciousness, and explore how visionary states might help us heal trauma across generations.—
Explore more from this episode:
📘 The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby
📘 Recapture the Rapture by Jamie Wheal
🌐 www.drdave.io
📸 Instagram: @drdavidrabin
🐦 Twitter: @DrDavidRabin
Outro music from Notanairplane: https://on.soundcloud.com/qf1bwHUi3A9l86BHpi
In this episode of Your Brain Explained, Dr. Dave Rabin MD, PhD is joined by Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Jamie Wheal (Stealing Fire & Recapture the Rapture) as guest interviewer for a special conversation with anthropologist and author Jeremy Narby (The Cosmic Serpent) to explore one of the most provocative frontiers of neuroscience and consciousness research. Together, they delve into Jeremy’s early fieldwork with Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, whose shamanic traditions claim to receive verifiable botanical knowledge directly from experiences with the sacred jungle plants—including ayahuasca.
What begins as an exploration of cultural perspectives on plant medicine soon evolves into a larger conversation about the mysterious role of DNA in consciousness, the science of epigenetics, and the limitations of materialist thinking in modern neuroscience. Could DNA act as a receiver for information in altered states? How do we distinguish between personal projection and true insight? And what does it mean to “know thyself” in the age of brain scans and psychedelic therapy?
This is a monumental episode, and one of my favorites of all time, for seekers, skeptics, and scientists alike—an invitation to sit with the unknown, rethink what we believe about consciousness, and explore how visionary states might help us heal trauma across generations.—
Explore more from this episode:
📘 The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby
📘 Recapture the Rapture by Jamie Wheal
🌐 www.drdave.io
📸 Instagram: @drdavidrabin
🐦 Twitter: @DrDavidRabin
Outro music from Notanairplane: https://on.soundcloud.com/qf1bwHUi3A9l86BHpi
