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#9: The Universe is Psychedelic with Rosa Lewis

An experiential journey toward an unshakeable connection with existence

Imagine a world where every single moment pulses with life, where the mundane becomes magical, and where you’re intimately connected to the heartbeat of the universe. Now, what if I told you this world isn’t a clichéd fantasy, but the reality we’re already living in? What if you could access this “psychedelic” state of being without ingesting a single substance?

This isn’t about hallucinating or losing touch with reality. It’s about peeling back the layers of our conditioned perception to reveal a world that’s infinitely more vivid, interconnected, and alive than we typically acknowledge. It’s about learning to bend with the flow of life instead of struggling against it.

Today, I’m joined by someone who doesn’t just understand this reality—she lives it. Rosa Lewis, a mystic and meditation teacher from the UK, is pioneering a radical approach to heartfulness that combines Tantric Buddhism, Jungian depth psychology, shadow work, and mysticism. Think of her as a young, modern Buddha navigating the complex terrain of spiritual awakening in our contemporary world.

I was first turned onto Rosa’s work from a recommendation from one of my meditation teachers, who knew she had walked the fine line between psychosis and spiritual emergence, which is a path I’ve straddled myself at times. I dove into her teachings and found an internet treasure trove of underrated wisdom. We’ve since become friends and have practiced journeying together in what Rosa describes as a “shared imaginal journey.”

That’s what we are doing in this conversation, which is far different—more exploratory, numinous, and contemplative—than my previous pod episodes. Rosa and I start our shared journey with an inquiry around one of her creative prompts:

Everything in the universe is psychedelic.

What unfolds is a heart-melting exploration of what it means to live in “secure attachment to the universe.” In psychology, we often talk about secure attachment in terms of our relationships with other people. But what if we could cultivate that same sense of safety and trust with life itself?

Rosa calls this state “soul safety”—a deep, existential knowing that you’re fundamentally okay, that life has your back, that not a single hair in the universe is out of place. It’s a way of being that doesn’t deny the challenges and pain of human existence, but rather provides a resilient foundation from which to meet those experiences.

In this conversation, you can expect to learn:

  • How to perceive the psychedelic nature of reality without any substances

  • The art of making the energetics and emotions of the moment as vital as anything in the external world

  • How heart states like gratitude, forgiveness, and joy can deepen your connection to life’s inherent magic

  • The power of imaginal practices in accessing deeper levels of consciousness

  • Techniques for developing a secure attachment to the universe itself

  • The difference between surface-level roles and deep archetypes, and how to connect with your core essence

  • Understanding soulfulness and embracing your unique character in spiritual practice

I encourage you to approach this conversation not just as a listener, but as a participant in a receptive state.

And I highly recommend exploring Rosa’s work:

Listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify, Substack, or YouTube.

Hosted by Alex Olshonsky.

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Discussion about this podcast

Deep Fix
Deep Fix
Exploring what breaks us apart and our unbroken wholeness. Through psychology, spirituality, and cultural analysis, I investigate our deeper nature and how we birth new possibilities