Simon Yugler, depth psychotherapist, psychedelic facilitator, and author of Psychedelics and the Soul, joins John Price for a wide-ranging conversation on myth, soul, and what the modern psychedelic renaissance is getting wrong.
Simon's path is anything but conventional: anthropology training, time living with Aboriginal Australians in Arnhem Land, six weeks apprenticing in Shipibo ayahuasca tradition in Peru, doctoral training in depth psychology at Pacifica. He brings that earned authority to bear on the hardest questions.
The conversation moves through mythopoetics, why myth is a living force in the collective psyche rather than a set of stories, Jungian archetypes, the crisis of male initiation, and the male loneliness epidemic. Simon shares a case study of a man who, during a psilocybin session, rediscovered his own basic goodness.
They close on a critique of the medicalization of psychedelics, and Simon's conviction that no regulatory box will ever fully contain them. "The alien always gets out."
In This Episode:
• What mythopoetics actually means
• Simon's origin: Aboriginal Australia and Shipibo apprenticeship
• The crisis of male initiation and the loneliness epidemic
• What psychedelic work gets right: authenticity, beauty, prayer
• Why medicalization misses the point • "The alien always gets out"
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome
00:47 Housekeeping
02:57 Meet Simon
05:57 Mythopoetic Approach
07:32 What Myth Really Means
10:20 Archetypes and Psyche
14:16 Simon's Origin Story
16:57 Australia and Indigenous Reality
23:23 Apprenticeship and Lineage
26:16 Western vs Psychedelic Training
30:32 Why Psychedelics
36:44 Roots and Calling to Heal
38:41 Therapy Spark Moment
39:33 Choosing Pacifica
41:17 Lineage and Early Openings
43:14 Men's Work Thesis Roots
45:07 Why Men Need Gathering
48:40 Loneliness, Grief, and Soul
53:15 Psychedelic Healing Story
58:41 What Psychedelic Work Gets Right
1:04:32 Critique: The Medicalization Box
1:06:41 The Alien Always Gets Out
1:08:22 Simon's Book and Where to Find Him
About Simon Yugler":
Depth psychotherapist, psychedelic facilitator, author of Psychedelics and the Soul. Jungian psychology, mythopoetics, men's work.
🌐 simonugler.com | 📝 simonugler.substack.com | 📸 @depthmedicine
The Sacred Speaks | Dr. John W. Price:
Jung Center Houston | junghouston.org Houston's premier Jungian educational institution. John serves on the Executive Committee as Immediate Past President.
The Center for Healing Arts and Sciences | thecenterforhas.com Integrative mind-body-spirit practice founded by John and Leila-Scott Price. In Houston and online.
