#615: Dr. Andrew Weil The 4-7-8 Breath Method, Cannabis, The Uses of Coca Leaf, Rehabilitating Demonized Plants, Kava for Anxiety, Lessons from Wade Davis, The Psychedelic Renaissance, How to Emerge from Depression, Tales from 50+ Visits to Japan, Matcha Benefits, and More

The basic technique is to breathe quietly in through the nose to a count of 4, hold the breath for a count of 7, and then forcibly blow air out through the mouth for a count of 8, and repeat that for 4 breath cycles ... This is the most powerful method I found to access the relaxation response, and it's the most powerful anti-anxiety measure I've ever come across.

[Kava] functions as a social stimulant and lubricant, but it is a natural sedative and calmative, and probably the most important anti-anxiety natural product out there—extremely useful and essentially no toxicity. And so, it does not interact with alcohol; it does not interact with other sedatives. It's quite safe, and I recommend it very frequently to people.

If you live within a half-mile of a happy person that you know, your chances of being happy are increased by a certain percentage—and the effect falls off with distance ... So, you want to think about who you associate with.

There's so many plants yet to be discovered that have beneficial effects—not just psychoactive ones, but things with medicinal effects, stimulants, sedatives, and all sorts of things that are potentially useful. And I'm a great believer in natural products and think that, in many ways, many of them are superior to synthetic chemical drugs.

I am somewhat discouraged to see all the emphasis on mental, emotional health, because I think there's such tremendous potential for psychedelic experiences in physical medicine—for really changing the course of chronic disease, for really affecting how people experience their bodies. You know, I've just seen so many dramatic effects of psychedelic experiences on people who've had chronic illness, and I want to see more exploration of that.

A theme of my writing has been that there are no good or bad drugs; there are just good and bad relationships with drugs.

There's very interesting research showing that just the simple act of keeping a little journal of things to be grateful for and making a note of that as you go to bed can improve mood—the lasting effects for months.

Over the period of time that I was going to Okinawa, Okinawan longevity has plummeted, especially among men, and that's been attributed entirely to the increasing consumption of American fast food.

I think we have the most research on the health benefits of green tea... but matcha has the highest level of antioxidants and of l-theanine, the calming amino acid that modifies the effects of caffeine. So, it's unique in that regard, and I think there are health benefits of matcha that are distinctive among all forms of tea.

When you get the message, hang up the telephone. And I feel that way. I think I've gotten the message about psychedelics. I don't feel the need to do further experimentation.

I think the more people who have positive psychedelic experiences, that may lead to the change in consciousness, which I think is the only thing that can turn things around for us.