Live Free Ride Free with Rupert Isaacson

Rupert Isaacson: Thanks for joining us.

Welcome to Live Free, Ride Free.

I'm your host, Rupert Isaacson, New
York Times bestselling author of

The Horseboy and The Long Ride Home.

Before I jump in with today's guest, I
want to say a huge thank you to you, our

audience, for helping to make this happen.

I have a request.

If you like what we do here,
please give it a thumbs up,

like, subscribe, tell a friend.

It really, really helps
us to make the pro.

To find out about our certification
courses, online video libraries,

books, and other courses,
please go to rupertisaacson.com.

So now let's jump in.

Welcome back.

I have my friend Ralph Daab from
Krn Cologne in Germany on today.

He's a publisher and has made his living
his own way in many countries in the world

and has come to a point where the material
has sort of given way to the spiritual.

And he's a man who's very much explored
how as a westerner you can find your way

to the shamanic, to the altered states
of consciousness that open the window

to the more indigenous way of looking
at things while still being in the West.

And I think that that's a very
useful thing for many of us because

as those of you listeners who
know my background, spending a

lot of time, for example, in the.

Kalahari in Africa with hunting and
gathering peoples down there, it can be

almost misleading to think, oh, well, that
kind of life, that deeply spiritual life,

that very connected life, that's something
different that happens down there in those

other places with people who haven't sort
of gone through the Judeo-Christian thing

that we've all gone through, et cetera.

I can't really do that because I'm up
here in the western economy and, you

know, stuck in that rap race and so on.

Of course, we all know that's
not really true, but I think it's

really good to draw our attention
sometimes to how people doing it right

here, right now in our culture and
particularly, you know, how is that.

Is that is, you know, can
that be related to business?

Can that be related to how do you make a
living when you, when you decide, okay,

you know, I, I want to begin to explore
these other ways of looking at the world,

but I still have to kind of keep one
foot pretty firmly in the, in the here

and now and the economy and all of that.

Now do I dance that dance?

And I think somebody like Ralph has
quite a lot of insights for us that way.

So I thought I'd have him on the
show for live free, ride free.

'cause he's a man who definitely
does live free and ride free

and we can learn from him.

So Ralph, thank you
for coming on the show.

Yeah.

Hi Ruper.

Thank you for having me.

It's a great pleasure to be on the shower.

So do you want to tell listeners
a little bit about how we met?

Because I think those circumstances.

Are quite helpful to drawing
people's attention to sort of

always keep your eyes open.

You never quite know who's around
the next corner type thing.

You wanna have a right.

Ralf Daab: Yeah, it was,
it is a great story.

I always tell people I was living
in, back then, it was like two years

ago in Germany where we live now.

Yeah.

We born in Germany.

So I was walking the dock, you know,
up from the hill and then you know,

passed by a, a horse place basically.

And I was talking to Leon, your wife
first, and then the dogs started playing.

And then, so we started talking
and so, oh, where are you from?

What are you doing?

And then I said like, you know,
and then Leanna said, well, that

you guys lived in, in the US in
Texas, and then you moved back here.

And I said, I, I lived in New
York for some years and I also.

Was in Texas many times.

And then, you know, I'm a publisher.

And I'm publisher.

And then he said, oh, my husband Rupert,
he's also like, he, he's an author.

He published books, New
York Times bestseller books.

So, and then you walked up and then we
met and we just connected right away, you

know, and then we started talking and,
you know, things like it was incredible

because yeah, it was, it's, it's no

Rupert Isaacson: coincidence.

It was like well, what was
interesting to me about that.

First meeting and you gotta just picture
listeners, you know, I'm picking poo.

That's what we always do every morning.

Yeah.

Right.

With the horses and, but people walk
by, there's a public footpath that

goes, you know, past the, the, the
sort of main area where the horses are.

'cause they all live outside and
you know, people walk their dogs.

You sometimes say hi, whatever.

But relatively few people
actually stop and say hi.

You know, it's, it's Germany after.

So it's like, first thing is,
well that's kind of unusual.

Look, here's a bloke who's actually kind
of cheerful and, you know, friendly.

And then but very quickly the conversation
went to, well, you know, what do you do?

Okay, I'm publisher, I'm a writer.

Interesting, interesting.

Similar worlds.

And then of course I told you a little
bit about what I publish books on.

And then you say, oh, that's
interesting because, you know,

I do these journeys, right?

And I said, oh, what kind of journeys?

And you said, well, like MDMA.

Right.

And what was interesting to me about
that was a lot of my friends and

contemporaries, particularly in the USA
in the last, I'd say five years, have

begun to experiment with looking at
altered states of consciousness through

journeys with MDMA, which some people
call ecstasy, but it's not the ecstasy,

of course, that you buy in a nightclub.

It's the pure form that used to be
prescribed way back in the day by

psychologists and psychiatrists who
warring married couples because it

made them listen to each other nicely.

Brings out the sort of compassion
in people and si psilocybin,

which is of course mushrooms.

And this has been a growing field among.

I think many people in the kind of
middle class of the west over the last

decade or so, because I think there
has been this growing awareness that

the material life needs to be balanced
with the spiritual, but the church no

longer offers that never really did.

I mean, mystic Christianity can,
but not the church, not witch

burning and Spanish inquisition.

And so where to look, where to look.

And so of course people began to look
naturally to the Eastern philosophies

because with the British Empire,
that kind of really opened up that

route from India through England and
then out to the rest of the West.

And that sort of, those meditations and
Buddhism and Hinduism and stuff like that

began to have a big influence on Western
society, but it was still perceived

as very much a thing from outside.

I think from over there.

People like me, of course, going
down and spending time with a lot of

indigenous folk bringing that back.

But again, that's still being,
well, that's something other,

that's something over there.

That's not us.

That's not where we are.

How do we, and so I think it's very
logical that people like you, Ralph

and other friends of mine, began to
look to the use of psychotropics.

In the same way that of course people
are undergoing healing ceremonies in,

you know, the Amazon or areas where,
or Siberia, areas where native America,

where psychotropic plants grow and
have always been used for healing.

It's a very logical thing and I think
there's a reach back even through

the European past there, because
certainly in the pre-Christian

era, people used fly aic mushroom.

They used psilocybin, what we would
call magic mushrooms and ver you

know, datura nightshade certain things
with hemlock or to achieve altered

state of consciousness in order to
you know, connect with the divine.

And that of course was rooted
out of our culture by the church.

So there you are, and we're having that
conversation and I'm thinking, well, this

is sort of interesting on the Shamanic.

And then when I began to do this
podcast, I thought, well, actually

Ralph would be a very good guy to
get on this show because he is really

an entrepreneur and you run your own
publishing stuff, but you've also, you

know, helped larger publishing companies.

And that's something, but you, you also
now thread this very spiritual path.

That's Ry ride free.

Sort of in a nutshell, would you take
us through your journey a little bit,

where you began as a boy in corn growing
up, sort of, you know, in the seventies

and eighties in that, you know, post-war
booming economy, having fun, it takes

you off to other parts of the world, just
and then how you get into publishing.

Just get, take us through that
early stage in your life, how, how

you get going on your live free,
ride free sort of initial, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah,

Ralf Daab: I

Rupert Isaacson: did

Ralf Daab: that.

So I grew up in Cologne and

Rupert Isaacson: you know, I was
which is a bit of a party town, right?

It's a

Ralf Daab: fun town.

Well, it's a carnival, you know, the
people are very open-minded and friendly.

You know, my, my parents, my mother had
a, a restaurant, you know, but a lot

of people always came like every day.

So it was always, yeah, I grew up in like
a, in yeah, a good, environment, I would

say, you know, so, and I played soccer,
football, you know, when I was young.

And I was pretty good.

So I played for the s fone in the junior.

What is, just tell us, oh,
that's, SCON is one of the best

club football club in the world.

We just came up, you went up
to, did you play Football Con?

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah, right.

But in the junior team,
you know, so for some years

Ralf Daab: and that was a

Rupert Isaacson: great time.

That's something that's like playing
for Arsenal or, or Tottenham.

Yeah, yeah,

Ralf Daab: yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So that was a great time when it
was 14 years old, 15 years, 16,

you know, so playing, like we, we
played tournaments in, in, in Paris,

in, in Brussels, in, in Zurich or,
you know, so it was always good.

Like I had go to the director of the
school and said like, I have to go for,

you know, a week for tournament, whatever.

So it was a good time.

I was and then I was, you know, I was
obviously going to school and then I

started university and but I knew right
away from be, it's not really what I.

Whatever you want to do.

Like, so I would start, like my mom, I
also did back then, so I would start like

a friend, he was importing like t-shirts
from California, like big Wednesdays.

So I was like, oh, they cool t-shirts,
exert shirts, you know, I would start

selling them out of the car, you
know, in the school and so and so on.

And then other things like a
hot tuna from Australia, like a

brand, like really cool brand.

So, and I said, let's open up a store.

Let's, so like when I was 22, I opened
my first fashion store in Cologne.

And then you know, coincidence,
somebody walked in and said like, yeah,

I need like, you know, 20 jackets.

And it turned out, turns out that he
was from EMI, Electrola from the record

company, and it was for Tina Turner's
concert like tour, you know, so it was got

into the merchandise business for that.

So I was always like doing things, you
know, like, and then a friend of mine,

I was in New York, first time in 1991.

What sent you to New York?

Just pleasure.

It was just Okay.

It was before business.

Yeah.

Before business was like with a
friend that went to New York for

the first time and another friend,
he was also in New York and he was

working for hin for the publisher.

Tian

Rupert Isaacson: is a very
famous German publishing house.

Right.

Basic Cologne.

But now the world, you know, biggest
art book publisher in the world.

Yeah.

You've, you, you've seen them listeners,
even if you don't know them, they're

these amazing German art and fashion.

Right.

Photographic.

They have

Ralf Daab: stores all over.

Yeah, the world basically.

So back then in the nineties, and then,
then, then he said like, ah, you know,

we are looking for somebody who could
do like sales and marketing in the us.

Are you interested?

And I said, well, yes, of course.

You know.

So I started working for Tchen as a sales
manager for the US and like first year,

two years traveling from Cologne to the
US like, you know, visiting, like, I

don't know, first trip was 20 cities in
like four weeks, you know, every day.

Another city.

So it was a great time.

And then I moved to New York in
1995, you know, and moved there.

It was just for, for a year.

And then I stayed there total
of like almost six years.

So setting up the office
there and then all sales and

marketing, that was a great time.

It was like my early thirties.

So, yeah.

So it was, that's how I got into
publishing, international publishing also.

And then I moved back and my
son Lucas was born in New York.

And then, we decided to go back to
Cologne, and then I started my, of working

for another publisher for three years.

You know, I was responsible for
setting up a program, so I developed

the whole, the book program
and international distribution.

So, and then I decided to start
my own publishing house in 2003.

And yeah, so then we traveled a lot,
you know, all over the place, like Asia

lots then us a lot, of course Europe.

And yeah, so that was I was always in, in
things like, you know, what can you do?

Like, develop new things.

I have so many ideas and, and,
and, so, and then I, you know,

got to a point where publishing
in general was, became difficult.

Had problems with the banks, the
investors and the whole thing.

And then, so at the end I had to
close the company, basically file for

chapter 11, which is like insolvency.

And yeah, it was a really tough time.

And then the marriage ended I
was kinda lost, you know, that

was like 2000, where were we now?

Like, 64, 15, 16 round then,
so about eight, nine years ago.

And so I was kind of lost and
I said like, what can you do?

Like my life, you know, so, and I, yeah, I
did like a photo exhibition, for example.

I had took some photos.

I did like an exhibition, and
then I, I, I decided like, oh,

let's go back into publishing.

And so I started to to create books again.

But at the same time, I was always
like looking for new things.

But so I, I got into the meditation
thing, so I was reading books, listening

to podcasts about meditation or why,
why did you get into meditation?

Studying?

Yeah, because, yeah, because I was like
kind of felt like I, I needed to do

something else, you know, like going out
of like, like, you know, this business

world that the business thing or the life
of like, you know, just traveling around

and being like stressed and everything.

So, and then I started also doing sports
again, and also mindfulness things.

You know, had you always

Rupert Isaacson: kind of in
the back of your mind thought,

or that meditation thing?

I kind of want to get into that, but
I'll, I'll do that later, you know, or

was it more sudden thing a more new thing?

No, no, it was always
there, kind of, you know,

Ralf Daab: like, you know, but it, it
wasn't like, like every day, but I felt

like, you know, I was at a point where I
was, you know, like really lost and it's

the only thing I could, could help me.

Like, I could only help myself, you know?

So, and I and it was good.

So I, you know, did a love of sports again
running and so I felt a little better.

And and then it got to a point, like
I was, you know, I talked to a friend

and then he told me about a seminar
he went to, and he said like it was

the best thing he did in his life.

And then he told me everything about it.

And then.

I said, yeah, I wanna do this.

And that's how I got into my
first journey of the MD May.

Yeah, that was, I

Rupert Isaacson: presume because you'd
been living in New York, you know, you'd

been in fashion, you'd been in sport,
you'd been in publishing, recreational

drug use must have been something
with which you were quite familiar.

I mean, I know I said No, not really.

No, no,

Ralf Daab: no, no.

Not really.

Rupert Isaacson: No.

No.

So when, okay, because I remember
for example, when I was in my

earliest twenties this is back like
8,000 years ago I think before the

invention of the wheel I tried MDMA,
at that point, it was still very pure.

It was before techno, before the
raves, before all of that took off.

And so before it became a mass industry,
that people then began to adulterate

it with speed and, you know, awful.

And so I, I tried it a few times in those
early years and then very quickly gave

it up because it, it very quickly became
adulterated with all sorts of stuff.

And you couldn't, at least at that stage
in my life, access that pure form anymore.

But I do remember breaking
up with my first girlfriend.

Basically she was dumping me.

While we both were on MDMA, which
of course, as many listeners

may know, MDMA used to be
prescribed by marriage counselors.

Before it was made illegal because
it helped people to listen to

each other really compassionately
and to tell the truth.

Right.

And so we broke up, you know,
so kindly with each other, even

though my heart was broken.

And we remained friends,
we're friends to this day.

It's very interesting.

So, you know, when you told me
about you doing these MDM majors,

I immediately made that assumption.

Oh, well he must have had, you know,
some sort of previous history with

this, but you said No, not at all.

So this being something
quite new for you, right.

What made you think Yeah.

Okay.

Well, that, that might be something then,

Ralf Daab: because a friend told me
that what, what, you know, what he

experienced and told me that it's
saved, that it's, you know, you know.

So I said like, okay, because I was really
not really into drugs, you know, I had

joined, so, you know, of course then an
alcohol, you know, wine and, and so on,

but not, not no drugs, you know, I was
not never, I always said like, you know,

I can be fun without drugs, you know?

Mm-hmm.

So, but in this case I was like looking
into this more the, as this therapy

than just like having fun with drugs
or so, you know, and trusting my

friend and said like, oh, let's try it.

And then and it was tell
everybody it was the best thing

I did in my life, you know, so

Rupert Isaacson: well.

Right.

You know, often you know, when people
say, for example, go down to the

Amazon looking for healing, they'll
often find themselves with a ero, you

know, a, a healer doing ayahuasca.

Yeah.

Which of course is a very,
very strong hallucinogen.

But many people will report I, yes.

What I needed was a kind of radical way
to break through an out of the worldview

that has been to some I've been stuck in.

And I needed kind of a radical change
of environment, both physically

and mentally, emotionally, in order
to get this other perspective.

Otherwise, I, I sort of couldn't break
out of the, the rut that I was in.

Do you feel that that's
what happened to you?

Yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah, exactly.

But it's also like after like the first
time, it's like, it's like four years ago.

So, and it's a whole process, you know, I
realized, you know, after four years I did

like many times different ways, you know,
different locations, you know, like I

ended up like, you know, some places and.

And also tried other things, you
know, with mushrooms and, and so on.

And now after four years, I realize
it's, it's not just the one, one journey,

you know, or, you know, even the, the
weekend or so, it's a whole process.

It's like it changed.

That transformation is going
on like forever, you know?

So it's like, but you, the thing
is, like, you, you, I learned to

let things go, you know, like to now
during these journeys, to, to look

at things, to, to have sometimes
the same feeling again about things.

Even when I was a child, I,
I could look at this, say,

oh yeah, that was not so bad.

Or that was so, and, and, and, and let go.

And, and now I realize that, that it's
just part, it's just one part of it.

You know?

It's not like you do one journey
MDMA or whatever it is, you know,

like, and, oh, you're healed now.

Oh, you changed my life now.

No, no, it's like.

To change your life or, you know, to
go to, through a real transformation.

It's, it's, it's takes weeks and years
and, and, and goes on, you know, like, no

Rupert Isaacson: doubt.

But you need that initial experience.

Initial experience to sort of

Ralf Daab: help leapfrog into that.

Yes, exactly.

And the initial experience is
like to, to to, to become like

in different consciousness, you
know, different perspectives.

And this is what I never had
experienced before without that

drug, you know, without MDMA
or without mushrooms, whatever.

But MDA is more like for me at
least, it was like to, to see

things from a different perspective.

Yeah.

Every ev every time like really clear.

It's not like you're a, you're
like sleeping or, so I was always

clear and I was, I've experienced
stories, really stories.

I was in those stories in
like 500 years ago in Persia.

I was in, in the universe.

I was an astronaut.

I was, and my soul was up there in,
in the Big bang or whatever it is,

you know, like, and I said like, what?

It was such great stories and experiences
and that changed my view of myself and

my surrounding my people around me.

So it's like all it is, it's
like a kind of heart opener.

And then when you go that path like I did
you'll see that, that your life change.

But it's like not, I.

You know, if you, you stay in
your environment, if you stay

in your structure, you, you
don't change really a lot.

So you have to let go.

And you have to realize, and you have
to say, okay, if I, if a relationship

ends now, yeah, maybe it has to
end now because without ending the

end of the relationship, you can
cannot experience something new or

you move to a new place, you know,
and it's all part of the journey.

And that's, that's it all started
four years ago with the MDMA and I,

I did many, many trips, many and I
still do it's kind of like sometimes

I feel I don't need it anymore.

'cause it's like what your neuroscience
would say, tell you, it is like the

neuro, they can adjust you know, things.

And then you, you can get the same feeling
or you can, I can change my perspective

now without taking anything because my
neuron, they, they experience, they can,

they can, they can be in that same state.

So, and yeah, so for me it was
like, it's a, it's a game changer.

Rupert Isaacson: It's,
it's a life changer.

And in those early days when you were
first taking these journeys, and I'm

gonna ask you to describe, you know, some
of the journeys that stand out the most

and the insights you got from them, but
in those early days when you were first

beginning with it, did you find it very
difficult then to reintegrate yourself

back into, if you like, ordinary life,
making a living business, picking up the

phone to people, striking deals, whatever?

Or did you actually find that?

No, it was actually much
more of an effortless flow.

The first journeys

Ralf Daab: I, I remember was like, I,
I was telling everybody now how great

it is, you know, it was like friends
and family, and people are like, some

people on the street maybe say like,
I, you know, this is so fantastic.

Everybody should do it, and
everybody has to like, go on

trips and it's change everything.

So then I realized you, you
cannot talk to everybody about it.

You know, some people said, Hey,
he's crazy, what is he doing?

And and I said like, yeah, okay you
shouldn't talk to everybody about it.

Just to people who are really interested.

And I said, like, you know,
you figure out, you know, who's

really interested and who's not.

But yeah.

And then I got to the point and
said like, okay, what I'm doing

now if I continue this journey is I
realize myself that I'm changing Now.

I, you know, I, I, I talk differently.

I feel differently.

So if I, if I want to stay in
my old world, I have to stop

now because it doesn't work.

Or I, I say, okay.

That's my new path.

I go that path no matter what.

And I do, and I did, and I still do.

And then you realize that you
don't have to talk about anymore.

It just comes.

People just come or they don't, you know?

And, and the things change.

And also in terms of business,
it opened up new paths as well.

So I'm doing, I'm, my conversations
now with, with architects or interior

designers is different now and, and
the business is growing actually.

But those are the books
you're doing now, right?

The, your higher series,

Rupert Isaacson: it's about architecture.

You'll do the

Ralf Daab: architecture and
interior books and the business

actually growing like this year.

And it's like, it's amazing.

You know, it's like the more I open up,
the more people I attract to, to publish

with me, to publish their work with me.

Plus I've written my own book.

About the stories.

A little book I published myself under my
new labor high on living came out like in

February and then it sounded quite good.

And tell us about the book.

What is it?

What's it called?

Yeah, I wrote the stories like
the stories I experienced on this

journeys, you know, I wrote them down.

This is like 32 episodes in the book.

They're short episodes, you know,
so, and it's, yeah, you could read

it and get really good responses from
people say, okay, this is really cool.

I could see myself in this same story,
you know, like up in the universe or.

I journey to myself in my
own self, in my own nothing.

You know, when you on your own
atom, there's nothing there.

But then I experienced the
most energy ever I experienced.

So, and it opened up everything
and started to love myself.

Self-love is basically, I experienced
on one of the journeys, I was myself

saying, wow, this is, this is love.

This is, I didn't know
what love is before love.

I thought of this could live, love my
wife or my, my parents, my son, but this

kind of love I, I didn't know before.

So, I wrote this little book and actually
it was like when I moved here to Opco

two days, two days later, I was like
posting a video on Instagram saying

I'm living up here now in the nature.

And I got like, from my.

Former employee Laura.

She used to work for me in, in
Cologne like 12, 13 years ago.

She's like, she wrote on Instagram
like, what are you doing there?

She said like, well, I live here now.

Well, she said, like, I live in
like right here in the village,

like for 10 years, so let's meet.

And her husband was also involved in
the, in uncle in in the reading day,

like where authors came to do readings.

And so he took me into the program.

So I was there officially in Hong
Kong and did two readings that day.

It was fun, you know, people came
and listened to my, my Stories

and tell us the name of the book.

The book is named Dbia.

There you are again.

Dbi You again.

32 episodes.

Yeah, soul Journey of Zaza and Ze episode.

That's the Journey.

Subtitle.

And Zaza Ze Being Journey.

Right.

And it's, it's a nice little
book and yeah, people like it.

And so that's the basic, and, and
through that book I got I, I'm

getting now three more authors.

Like I one author in, in Hedburg
now, like Christine, she wrote

a book about her journey.

Like one year she traveled with
her family around the world.

She, she wrote really nice books.

So that's, I'm gonna publish that book
under high on Living and, and others.

So then through that, the new publishing
part we call it High on Journey, high

on Living, not On Journey, high on
Living is a new division kind of buddy.

Where I'm gonna publish the, the stories
of people with their want to, you

know, write their book about their own
story and bring it out to the world.

And it's, it's really cool so that,
you know, so my, my past, my journeys,

I got into a new business basically.

And it's really interesting to see
like how people are attracted to that.

You know, it's also part of like, I
think the future where people think

about more how you run a business
and what kind of business is good.

So, I remember like a year ago I posted
something on LinkedIn saying, you know,

I'm, I'm going, like, the spiritual
entrepreneurship is the new thing,

kind of, you know, you have social
entrepreneurship where you've got the

sustainability and all that kind of
stuff, but the spiritual entrepreneurship

is something, it's in the future, like,
especially the young generations looking

to, to start is basically what, what.

Kind of product or service you can do
for, for everybody that it's not like,

of course you run a business and you
should make money with it, you know?

So it's not like, but in a different way.

It's not like you make money no matter
what, and you you know, keep it all for

yourself, you know, like we have nowadays
with all the, the Jeff Basos and things,

you know, I have like super yachts and so
no, that's not spiritual entrepreneurship.

It is like for, for everybody.

And, and that's, that's the kind of
thing I, I, I'm, I'm looking into,

and that's that's how I want to
start or build up my new publishing

division also as a community.

And it's all part, it's all together now.

And like, started with my first
MD major like four years ago.

It's incredible.

But what happened since, ever since, you
know, so, and it's, it goes on, you know?

So.

So

Rupert Isaacson: let's talk
about some of those journeys.

Tell us about the first journey you
did, and then I want you to give us.

Some windows on some of
those other journeys.

Let's start with your first
journey four years ago.

Well, the first journey was like I

Ralf Daab: was, you know, you, you put
the music on you basically, you take

it and then it takes like half an hour.

So, and then you put the music on.

You're lying down.

You lying down on the
mattress in a quiet room.

Quiet room.

Yeah.

Someone is there with you
to look after you a bit.

Yeah.

Right, right.

It, it's better like setting settings.

Very important.

Someone with not alone experience.

Alone with experience.

And you can have also like conversations,
you know, during your, mm-hmm.

Your, your.

Journey.

So I was like looking out the
window and I saw like birds flying

and said like, oh, that's fun.

You know, let's fly with birds, you know?

So, and I really, my soul left my body
and I went up to the, and fly, you

know, played with the, with the birds.

And then I suddenly went further up
through the clouds, through the sky.

And I was up in, in the universe in the,
so, and then I saw the earth from above.

And how beautiful this be.

Blue planet was standing, like,
looked like standing still.

I was really like, it, it, it wasn't
like looking a picture, it was like I

was there, my soul was up there, and
I looked at this beautiful planet.

I said like, oh yeah, my
God, this is so beautiful.

And what are, what are we doing here?

And then, and then suddenly I had like a
drag kind of like, it was so, so, so fast.

I said, what the, the, the
earth doesn't stand still.

It, it, it turns like in one day.

We, we have speed of
1,600 kilometers per hour.

We, we moving, but we
don't feel it, you know?

So, and the, the, the earth is
moving around the sun with the speed

of 100,000 kilometers per hour.

And it's incredible.

Like, and you know what?

And you don't feel it, but when
you, and then I realized, hey,

this is so, this is amazing.

But it's also like, so it, it changed my
perspective of like, being on that planet.

You know what I mean?

It's like seeing from outside and,
and feeling the, the speed and almost

felt like, you know, I'm nothing.

I'm, I'm, I'm, and, and how f
how big the universe is and how

f everything is so creative.

So I said like, who am I?

You know, what am I doing here?

Why we have wars on earth?

Why we have so crazy people,
like, you know, so that, that

first journey changed my.

Perspective of everything
myself, the earth, the universe.

And then, then I got back into
my body and I was laying there.

I said like, wow, this was incredible.

This was, I've never had
this experience before.

And I was really, it felt like, you
know, not looking TV or on the picture.

It was like my soul was up there.

And maybe it was, I think it was
because maybe my soul was up there

in form alive or whatever, you know?

So, and that's a difference of, you
know, maybe just meditation or being

like in a different consciousness.

Rupert Isaacson: Well, I think
consciousness is the, is the word there.

You know, listening to the current

conversations that are going on
around quantum explorations from

physicists, it seems that the
people who were dubbed crazy, like,

penrose back in, in, in the uk.

He was in his nineties.

Now he, even though he was a, a Nobel
laureate, even though he made many, many

contributions to mainstream science that
he was celebrated for when he came up

with the idea that perhaps the universe is
conscious, perhaps physics, the answers in

in classical physics are just not enough.

And that they need to interact with
fields of consciousness that seem

to be expressed through quantum.

He was just, you know,
laughed out of town.

And then you had people like Rupert
Shel, Drake, another renowned physicist

in the uk basically saying the same
thing, saying, no, I think, you know,

from a scientific point of view, the
only explanation is that we're dealing

with a conscious universe and that
everything is conscious and that cells

a conscious, and consciousness is not,
not a, not a product of the human brain.

That the human brain
comes from consciousness.

You know, and that old sort of
Judeo-Christian idea of from

Descartes in the 17th century,
I think therefore I am right.

And so therefore only humans,
you know, have spirituality,

emotion, soul, blah, blah, blah.

And of course this was taken up by
the church with great alacrity 'cause

it meant one could get away with
doing all sorts of horrible things.

'cause then you could also have a
hierarchy of, within humans, you know,

who, who's more worthy than others.

And of course that turned
out to be white people.

Especially, you know, ones who are
gonna go and do some colonizing.

All of that seems to be breaking down now,
and the people who are exploring fields

of consciousness in the western world
all seem to be coming to this conclusion.

Talk us through your next journeys,
because that was sort of your

icebreaker, if you like, right?

Where you you got the new perspective.

And I remember having that same
response when I was sort of in my

late teens, early twenties, I think
when I first ever did psychotropics.

I think I was living in Canada actually
at the time, and when I first did

LSD and I realized this is before
any of my exposure to sort of shamma

shamanism or anything like that.

And I remember thinking, this is
really useful because this is like

being taken up to a window on.

Spirituality or window on altered
consciousness or what now people

might call other fields, but you
can't really go through that window.

The, the drug is also, it
gives you the, the perspective,

but also is the limitation.

And then later when I encountered, you
know, sun Bushman healers and others who

could go through that window I, of course,
you know, my life changed, but I remember

thinking very early, yes, this is great.

I'm so glad I got a chance to
see through this window, but I

can't go through that window.

You know?

So you, but so you kind of a bit did
go through the window on that first

trip, but not perhaps fully right?

You're still.

Aware, well, this is a medicine
I've taken, or this is a drug that

I've taken, it's brought me here.

How does it then develop, talk, talk us
through the next couple, when's the next

sort of most significant moment in, in
these journeys that stands out for you?

Right.

Ralf Daab: And, and this is very
the most significant story I was

like before, went on the journey.

I said like, you know, I wanna really
know what am I doing in my, my life here?

What is my purpose?

What is my calling?

Like, you know, am I really doing
the things I'm supposed to do?

Like, so sometimes you, you can ask
questions before or, you know, but it's,

it's not necessarily that it comes up.

The subconscious will tell you
what, you know, what's important.

But in this case, it came up
and so I was listening to music.

It was same thing.

It was on a mattress listening
to music, and it was a kind of,

kind of Arabian melody music.

So suddenly I saw myself on a bazaar
in Persia, but some hundred years ago.

So I was walking through, was
bizarre, looking at, you know,

beautiful things like bases, like
carpets, like beautiful things.

And the people like who were selling
that, they know me, they, they

offered me to take, oh, take a
look at here and there and there.

So, and then suddenly two guards came,
like soldiers, and they Japanese said

like, oh, I, you are Ralph, right?

And yeah, I said like, yeah come on,
the, the Salton wants to see you.

I said, Saltan, why Saltan?

Yeah.

Come on.

So, and, and I'm telling this story.

I'm really in that story.

I'm not, you know, looking
from the outside and then

see the, I'm in the story.

It's the same thing.

As I said before.

My soul was in the, I
like up in space now.

My soul was in Persia
some hundred years ago.

And I, you know, I could hear the voices,
I could see everything like, as I would

be there, like, so I was in the, in the.

I was, yeah, walking with the palace
and, and towards the, the sultan.

So the Sultan said, hello,
Ralph, very nice to see you.

Glad you came.

And and then he said that this is it.

They say, you can see the beauty.

Show me the beauty in this world,
because I cannot see the beauty show the

beauty to me, and I will make you rich.

So I said, okay, all right.

So that's, and then I, this stopped,
story stopped, and it was like in the

conversation with the guy was with me.

He said like, you know what, I
could just experience I salt like

some hundred years ago in Persia.

He said, yeah, what does it mean?

Like your subconscious wants
to tell you something of that.

So, yeah, yeah.

I'm doing books like for the last 20
years I published books on architecture,

art, fashion, you know, to show beautiful
things, you know, to other people.

That's what I'm doing.

Yeah.

Okay.

So, all right, that's that.

So now, now I know that I'm doing
the right thing, you know, because.

That's what my subconscious told me.

The funny, now the thing is like one of
the next, not the next one, but the, the

journey after like, I don't know, four
months later, did the Suan feel that you

did show him the beauty, or did Yeah.

That the story continues.

Mm-hmm.

Like four months later, say music
comes up, you know, mattress.

And I was like, oh, I'm in Persia again.

And I said, oh, oh, let's
see what's gonna happen.

So I'm in front of the S again and he
says like, oh yeah, glad you're back.

I, you know, I watch you
and then you do a good job.

Continue.

It is all right.

You know, that's, you're
doing the right thing.

But I have to tell you something.

I said, okay, what do
you have to tell him?

And he says, I don't exist.

I said, what do you mean you don't exist?

Who are you?

And then he says, in this word, I'm
God, I'm the universe, and I'm you.

And then he vanished.

He, he exposed, he's gone.

The palace is gone.

Everything is gone.

I'm on the mattress, I'm back.

And the said what?

Yeah.

And then talking to the guy, I said
that, yeah, it was just happens.

Had the high spiritual experience
saying like, it's all in my set.

And me the sultan is just, I'm you.

He said, like, it's in me.

So it's all there.

And that's, that's an incredible story.

Now now I know that I'm on the right path.

So what happened then is we were
in California two years ago and we

were down in San Diego, LA Jolla.

It's like, a place I know, 'cause
I've been there many times when I

lived in the us So I was going to the
bookstore and check out the bookstore.

So there was a, I sort
of sign psychic reading.

I said like, ah, I'm curious.

Let's say, let's go there.

So I called and said like,
come like in half an hour.

So, so walk in and there's an
old lady, beautiful setting, you

know, it was more like a gallery.

And I asked her, what, what can you do?

So, and she said like,
I, I can do a reading.

I said, okay, let's do it.

So one hour she said, like
you said, just sit down.

You don't say anything,
you know, just listen.

And after that you can ask questions.

Like afterwards, in one hour she told
me everything about my childhood, my, my

life, my relationships, my, the things
I'm doing, business wise, everything.

And now it comes.

Then she told me, in a former life you
were in Persia on Aza you were responsible

to show people beautiful things.

Can you imagine like a
psychic reader in California?

That's real.

It's not, that's not a journey.

That's not, that's real life.

She tells me the story I experienced on
an Emily MJ journey six months before.

Incredible.

And then, and then af especially then
I knew that's, that's something real,

you know, now I know it's, it's there.

It doesn't matter if it's a journey
and the image or it's real life.

It, it's, it's the same basically.

And how can she possibly
know that, you know?

And did you ask her how she did?

Yeah.

And, and she said like, what?

She said, like, when I walked
in, she said, like, I was,

she could see everything.

I was open.

She said like, you
know, you are very open.

And then I told her about the journeys.

She said, okay, now I know because you did
the journeys, you're, you're very open.

You can, you know, so you're I, I have
a feeling also that I can, things are

channeled to me, you know, sometimes,
you know, says, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's all, that's you.

And it's incredible.

Then after that you said like, okay,
now I'm, I'm really like the next level.

Of my myself, basically, you know?

So, and that showed me that what,
what's in me, in my subconscious

comes out through the MDA major.

It is in real life.

It's like what calla synchronicity
happens, you know, like you

experience things in real life.

Maybe you have a dream
or you have a journey.

I'm the major, whatever.

Or maybe mushrooms and
things are happening.

And that's, I think, great.

It opens up

Rupert Isaacson: many doors.

Did she elucidate or do you feel
that what's going on with a thing

like that is that you were dealing
actually with a linear timeline?

Like I used to be that person I, I'm,
I'm now reincarnated as this person?

Or do you or she feel that No, these are
existing and overlapping parallels, fields

of consciousness, which are perhaps.

Happening simultaneously.

Yeah.

It's more like I experienced it
happening all at the same time.

So you are still the Yeah.

It's person in Persia.

Yeah.

And you are still whoever
you were or will be, right?

Ralf Daab: Right.

Even like in, in formal lives.

But also now I'm still the young
Ralph, the, the baby Ralph, the, the

5-year-old Ralph, the 15-year-old Ralph.

I'm, I'm also, but I'm
also the 90-year-old Ralph.

Old, old Ralph already I'm,
everything's at the same time.

It's just a different perspective.

You know, when you look at this and
you can say it's just, if I'm like

I'm now 60 years old, so if I go like
55 light years away, I look to the

earth and I see the 5-year-old Ralph.

So it's all at the same time.

And the great thing is what I
experienced myself, is to find the

old, the 5-year-old Ralph again in me.

To let the, let the, the young Ralph
play again, like the, you know, be

silly, be, you know, open and yeah.

And that's a great thing.

So to know that everything is there
at the same time, time is nothing.

Time

Rupert Isaacson: is, was it, was
it Einstein who said that time may

just be a particularly stubborn
illusion brought about by gravity?

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand that,
but that's certainly something he said.

But I, I suppose I could actually,
because if you add weight and mass

to things, you know, you've probably
seen those diagrams of the idea of

space and time being like a net.

And you put planet like ball that
sits on it, goes whoop, like that.

Yeah.

Right.

And that warp kind of effect of
like the ball on the blanket with a

blanket then gets a big bulge in it.

If we are sort of in the middle of
that, we then might experience that

heaviness, that weight as time could be.

Could that be, I mean, that sounds as,
as feasible as anything else to me.

I don't see why that wouldn't
be, particularly when you've got

people like Einstein saying it.

Okay.

Take us through the next thing.

But before you get there, there's actually
just something I'd like to also add.

When I've been with indigenous
peoples frequently, their

perception of time is not linear.

It's often more vertical.

The idea is again, that it's all these
things are happening simultaneously.

You own lifespan is
happening simultaneously.

You are, as you say, your young self, your
old self, your dead self, your previous

self, your next self, all of that.

That's all at the same time.

It's just that where your
awareness is, is now.

Yeah.

And that, of course there is
only the present because no

one's ever been able to see.

Anything else.

But there are all those presence
are constantly going on together.

And I've had that, I've had
that presented to me many, many

times in indigenous settings.

And then watch people do really
interesting things with that.

Then I just say it.

But then they will go into an altered set
of consciousness and in front of my eyes,

pull something physically outta somebody's
body who's sick and they get well.

Again, I, I've seen that many
people who've gone and spent time

in those sorts of parts of the
world would have similar stories.

So clearly it's been put to
some sort of practical use.

It's just within our context in
our culture, we find it confusing.

Tell us then again, you, okay, so
there's, there's you in Persia twice.

There you are in San Diego.

And the lady says, oh
yeah, you were in Persia.

What's the next one that takes you deeper?

As you know, if you followed any of
my work, I'm an autism dad and we have

a whole career before this podcast in
helping people with neurodivergence,

either who are professionals in the field.

Are you a therapist?

Are you a caregiver?

Are you a parent?

Or are you somebody with neurodivergence?

When my son, Rowan, was
diagnosed with autism in 2004,

I really didn't know what to do.

So I reached out for mentorship, and
I found it through an amazing adult

autistic woman who's very famous, Dr.

Temple Grandin.

And she told me what to do.

And it's been working so
amazingly for the last 20 years.

That not only is my son basically
independent, but we've helped

countless, countless thousands
of others reach the same goal.

Working in schools, working at
home, working in therapy settings.

If you would like to learn this
cutting edge, neuroscience backed

approach, it's called Movement Method.

You can learn it online, you
can learn it very, very simply.

It's almost laughably simple.

The important thing is to begin.

Let yourself be mentored as I was by Dr.

Grandin and see what results can follow.

Go to this website, newtrailslearning.

com Sign up as a gold member.

Take the online movement method course.

It's in 40 countries.

Let us know how it goes for you.

We really want to know.

We really want to help people like
me, people like you, out there

live their best life, to live
free, ride free, see what happens.

I can tell you a story.

Ralf Daab: I mean, we are under us now.

Now it's very confidential.

Oh, no.

Well,

Rupert Isaacson: I've hit the course.

Ralf Daab: You

Rupert Isaacson: don't want it.

Ralf Daab: No, no, no.

It's really, I can tell the story because
it's once, this story is really, when

I do the reading, you know, especially
woman asked me, how, how did you do that?

So I had sex with myself.

Ah, I

Ralf Daab: explain it now.

Were you good?

Yes, absolutely.

And then, and it was
incredible what a relief

Rupert Isaacson: would be.

Ralf Daab: Can you imagine if you
like, well, that was a bit shit.

No, no, I was yeah, same thing.

So I was, music was good.

I was feeling really good.

And so I, I started touching myself,
but it felt like, you know, I'm

touching somebody else, like with
my hands, with somebody else.

And I realized, oh, you know, came up.

Oh, sex is good, you know, and then I
saw myself as a man, as I am as Ralph.

But then I realized there's
something different.

So I was also the woman.

I was both, I was me and the
woman, and I felt both, you know,

both sides, basically both feet.

I, I could feel myself and when I,
when I, as Ralph as a man touched

the woman, the Ralph, whatever name
touched, I could feel both sides.

So, and then we had sex,
and then we really had sex.

So we had Did you enter yourself?

Yes.

Yes.

Did you feel

Rupert Isaacson: yourself
being entered by you?

Yes.

Yes.

Ralf Daab: Yes.

Rupert Isaacson: Okay.

So you, you as a man know what it feels
like to penetrate, how did it feel

to be penetrated from that feeling?

Very, very, very, very good.

It felt very, what can you, can
you, can you be more specific?

Like,

Ralf Daab: I felt like, I
felt it was very tender.

It was like smooth.

It was lovely.

It was, you know,

Rupert Isaacson: very what
was the emotional component of

having this lover inside you?

It was love.

Ralf Daab: It was, it was, it
felt like love, you know, like

everything, you know, so it felt.

Felt like I, I was, I would be one
once, you know, everything in both.

But I, I had my, the, the feminine
side and I had the masculine

side, and it was incredible.

So I, for me as a man afterwards,
I was saying like, okay, it's good.

I'm, I'm very soft.

I'm tender, I'm, I'm, I'm a good man.

I'm very, you know, like, you know,
so I, I think that woman feels

feel good in my, you know, with me.

So, and the other side was like,
oh yeah, he's a good, he's great.

He's so it was both

Rupert Isaacson: sides.

And he's credible, like when I,
do you think it was an exercise in

self-acceptance in some metaphorical way?

Yeah.

Kind of.

Kind of,

Ralf Daab: yes.

Yeah.

It was funny, like, when I do
the readings, most women ask

me, oh, how, how does it feel?

And then how, how does it
work to get into that feeling?

Because they wanna experience the
same thing, but also as a man.

Sure.

You know,

Rupert Isaacson: everyone
has that curiosity.

And then for

Ralf Daab: me it was like, this
journey was like to, to show me

that everything is also in me, the
feminine side and the masculine side.

And my feminine part, I would
say is also, I would say, bit

larger than maybe other men.

So I have real good feminine side also.

And that was this journey, you know, to
experience the sexual part on both sides.

Rupert Isaacson: So,

Ralf Daab: yeah,

Rupert Isaacson: it's interesting that
you say that because I have a, it's not

exactly a recurring dream, but it's a
dream where the, there's a recognition

that is recurring where sometimes I meet a
young woman, and this has happened to me.

Oh.

Many times in the, over the decades,
and there's this absolute falling

in love and but also a sense
of, I know you, and sometimes we

make love and sometimes we don't.

But there's always this great joy and
a feeling of homecoming and acceptance.

And then when I wake up, sometimes I
wake up with tears, not from loss, not

because I've had to wake up and that
person has gone, but sort of tears of joy.

And then at a heart level, what comes
through is, oh, that was your soul.

You met your soul.

And it's interesting to me
that my soul is always feminine

and occasionally it's a horse.

Mm-hmm.

Occasionally I meet a horse
that talks, we don't make love.

But we do hang out and we, and we the
interactions we have are very sweet.

Very loving.

There is this feeling of

a family, family or so less romantic
than when I meet the young woman.

But nonetheless, the same exact
feeling and the same heart

thought, that's your soul.

And then I'm always so
grateful afterwards.

I always do a meditation or, or pray
around gratitude and say, thank you, thank

you, thank you God universe for allowing
me to make contact with my soul like

that because it means that I can carry
that feeling around with me almost like

a little happiness garden inside myself.

And it sounds like you are describing.

A very, very intense version of
something like that, perhaps.

Mm-hmm.

Rupert Isaacson: Has that happened
to you again since, or No.

Was that a one time?

That was a one time, yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

But it's there now.

Now I know.

Like, it's in me

Rupert Isaacson: like, like

Ralf Daab: Right.

Do

Rupert Isaacson: you

Ralf Daab: feel

Rupert Isaacson: you
can access that state?

Yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

It's with everything, you know, the
thing is like, every story is comforting.

I think that that's the word
I'm trying to Yeah, yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

Every story I experience
like is, it's in me.

It's, it's, it's right there,
you know, different situations.

I can pull it up and say, oh, yeah.

There's another great story I tell you.

Mm-hmm.

Please.

I always had a dream for years because
you were talking about a dream.

In real life, like, I had dream
like years and years and years.

I, I, you know, I was flying a lot, you
know, when I lived in New York, I was

like always on the, you know, plane.

Like, I don't know.

I.

Every week almost.

I never had fear of flying or, you know,
something, but in that dream the plane

crashed and in the, in the dark woods.

So, you know, I survive and
everybody in the plane survive.

So, but I'm standing in the
front of the wreck, the, the

wreckage that, of the plane.

And then the dream always stops
there in the, in the, in darkness.

And this is a dream

Rupert Isaacson: outside of
these MDMA journey, right?

Right.

Like the dream

Ralf Daab: I had like, for,
for years, 10 years or so.

Okay.

Even, even more 15 years or so.

So I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm standing in
front of the wreckage and, and and it's

dark and then the dream stops there.

I wake up and the dream stops there.

So on one of the journeys,
the dream comes up.

Same thing.

I'm standing in front of the wreckage
and, and now I start walking.

Into the darkness.

You know, it, I could see nothing.

It was just black, you know, woods
black, nothing could see anything.

How about I keep walking and then
suddenly a, a girl stands there in

this white skirt, like a little,
like five year, four year girl, girl.

And she puts me like an
amlin around my neck.

And then she, she tells me that,
go your path into the light.

Walk into the light.

So I keep walking, walking.

Suddenly I see a light,
you know, in the woods.

So, and I get there and then and there's a
huge deer like in, in the middle, standing

there in the light, and he steps aside.

And I go in there and I start dancing
in that space where the light is.

And then suddenly I, I'm, I'm on a stage.

I'm in a huge stage, and then the
curtains open, and then there are

thousands of people applauding.

And then I'm, I'm back there
on stage dancing again.

So what tells me that metaphor was
like, yes, I was, I was broke, you

know, I was like, you know, lost
kind of like, and I was lost in real

life, so I was lost standing there.

I was not dead, but, and then
I start walking and this little

girl gives me like an omelet.

Like say, okay, go into the light.

And then I'm, I'm on stage
dancing and I'm back into my life.

I'm back on stage.

I'm, so, it's a fantastic story for me.

And ever since it's like, I don't know,
two years ago, never had that dream again.

'cause it's the, the, the
situation is solved now, you know?

You know what I mean?

Like, I'm back on stage and
there was an old life that

Rupert Isaacson: had to end sort of.

Yeah, very businessy, very
flying, roundy involved type life.

Right.

It needed to end, but when
that ends, of course, yeah.

One feels lost for a while.

Yeah.

Until one is put on the next stage.

I could see, I could
see the logic of that.

So that was really like,

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Never had that dream again.

I don't need that dream again.

'cause now I'm back in state
basically kind of like, okay, I'm back

Rupert Isaacson: now before we come
to where you are back to, which

is different to where you were and
perhaps an old self did have to die.

Talk to me about death.

So with these journeys, you
experienced perspective, you

experienced love and self-acceptance.

You experienced.

Different fields of consciousness
and vertical parallel timelines.

Ralf Daab: I know what you,

Rupert Isaacson: yeah.

Have you experienced death and if so, yes.

Yes.

Tell me about that.

Yes, I experienced

Ralf Daab: my own death
and it was wonderful.

Some people would say, oh,
scaring, or, you know, I don't

want to, you know, experience
that I did and it was wonderful.

So the thing is, I, I was, you know,
same thing, you know, mattress music

is on and I see myself on the beach
in os Gore, that's in France, like

on the Atlantic Coast where we go
almost every year for a long time now.

It's like a soul place for me.

Like it's, you know, so I see
myself like on the beach sitting

there in the arms of a woman, but
I don't see the woman behind me.

But I'm sitting there and then I.

The number 96 comes up.

So my age, 96.

I say, wow, that's fantastic.

I'm 96 years old.

I had a good life.

I it's a lot of time.

So, and then I felt that my soul is
leaving my body, you know, it's like going

out of my body, like over the sand and
the water up in the, through the cloud.

There were no clouds, but up in the sky
and then into space and, and it said

like, I'm dying and actually a diet.

And the woman behind me said, like, you
know, I'm, I'm coming with you later.

And I love you.

That's the last thing I heard.

I love you, but I couldn't see the
woman, so I don't know who it is.

Yeah, no.

So that's but it was a
wonderful experience.

It was very, very smooth,
very not hurting, nothing.

You know, it was like
going in back into space.

It, it just felt really, really wonderful.

And then being 96, I said
like, you know, if that's, this

is really, I'm gonna be 96.

Wow, that's great.

You know, so I still have, you
know, about, it was 56 at that

time, so I have 40 years to go.

It is fantastic.

You know, so, and if I die 90, say
whatever can happen to me now, that being

Rupert Isaacson: 16

Ralf Daab: again.

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

That's the other story.

Now that, that's the part I
experience on the MDMA journey.

But, so three months later we
are actually in our school.

I go for a walk on the beach.

I have music on.

That's what I do.

Like once a day I going
for a walk and then I stop.

And at that, I'm at that point where I
said, oh, here has, here is this, here's

a place where I die so I could see it.

And I, I got showered.

It felt like boo goosebumps wall.

I.

I start crying, you know, say,
wow, this is, here's a place.

So I then did calculations,
said like I was 56.

Then I said, I, when I
96, it's 40 years to go.

When I subtract that from 56, I'm 16
years old now, and I can start all over

again with everything, with relationship,
with business, with everything.

And I still have 40 years to
go, wow, how fantastic is that?

So, and then I started crying and
laughing and I was dancing on the beach

and I was like, wow, this is fantastic.

So that was real, you know, so that's
what I said earlier with with when you

have like the experience with, with
the Saltan or you know, with things

that happen in, in on the MDMA journey.

And then you have experience like
in real life you say, well, that's

the same thing, you know here.

The, his story continues
in real life, so I.

It was just fantastic.

And I said like, I don't
have fear of death, nothing.

So what, what else can happen to me?

And one thing is like, a friend of
mine, tma, he died in November of cancer

last November, very sad age of 58.

So, and last year I took him twice
on the journey, MDMA journey.

And he experienced also his death on
his first journey which helped him

a lot to, at the end, I was in the
hospice with him the last three days.

And he told me the story, like
how he died and he was great.

He was, you know, going into the light
and he had no fear, you know, and he left

and with no fear and he gave me so much
power and energy and it was incredible.

So, for him, this MDMA journey
was wonderful, you know?

Going through this whole process,
and then eventually he died then.

But it was great.

So for him and for me also, yeah.

So these are things that that's
why I also like, going, I dunno

when next week, two weeks, we're
gonna do like, MDA journey again.

Like this is like, just experience.

Like what, what's coming, you know, you
can look into the future or I can look

into the future, or I can ask questions.

So like, what is, what,
what's coming next?

Or ideas is something I
should I should look at.

Or what also happens is that's what
the, the psychic reading told me also,

like, I should be open to to channeling.

And that's happening also.

Sometimes when I wake up in the
morning, it's now, I, I sleep very

well because one thing is also like, it
helped me a lot in the last six months

without the separation, the ending
of the relationship and everything.

I.

I don't drink alcohol in it
no more for six months now.

And it's great, you know, I feel good.

I sleep better.

I, I'm clear.

So it's, it's fantastic.

So I wake up most of the time,
early in the morning, like 5 30, 6.

And then in that stage I'm,
I'm just saying, okay, I'm

open, just channel whatever.

Like, I'm talking to the universe,
they're like, oh, let, let me know

what I, you know, should look at.

And and I, I get messages.

It's, it's amazing.

Can you give us some

Rupert Isaacson: examples?

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

It's like, some people come up, they
say, oh, you should talk to him.

Or some people like like yesterday
for example, was some like really like

a name came up or I saw the picture
actually of a person who I've seen for

like years said I should talk, contact
him, you know, so that kind of thing.

And I sent an email yesterday.

Got a response, so maybe a new project.

So that's kind of things, you know,
oh, let's say I should do this or that,

or just some, sometimes small things.

But yeah, it's kind of like, or I see get
also sometimes messages for other people

when I, when I see oh, there's something
going on, and yeah, be careful, you know?

So I think it's more
like, and then you tell

Rupert Isaacson: that person, I saw this.

Ralf Daab: Yeah,

Rupert Isaacson: keep your eyes

Ralf Daab: open.

It's like what Psyched told me, like
you are very open, you know, you

know, a higher frequency basically.

And I feel that sometimes, you know, that
I can get messages or feel something and,

that's what Yeah, it's, it's, it's great.

So it's nothing I'm, I'm afraid of,
you know, so it's just really good.

And that's why, you know, I'm
continue also doing, doing like, I'm

starting doing Kundalini now because
Kundalini yoga is also spiritual,

you know, it's a connection between
spirit and body and everything.

It's, it is part of the spiritual journey.

Or the go meditation I did last
weekend in, in Hamburg was fantastic.

Have you done go meditation?

Wow.

I have not,

Rupert Isaacson: but I have, I have done
things with singing bowls and frequencies.

I was recently in Grand Rapids, Michigan
and went through a meditation with singing

balls, very similar to gongs actually.

And one of the things which the
practitioner did as we were lying

there, was with a tuning fork coming
around and then putting the tuning fork.

To the skin at the frequency of the bowl.

And I, what I found extraordinary about
that was that I didn't experience it

as like a vibration or a buzzing or
a tickling or something that you'd,

you'd expect I experienced it as color.

Mm-hmm.

And

deep sense of peace.

And I was actually there with my son.

I was there with Rowan
sc you know who's Yeah.

Okay.

My whole story really?

Yeah.

Yeah.

We were there

Rupert Isaacson: together and
he'd been actually helping me

with a, an autism training.

You know, he often comes on the
trainings now and helps explain

autism from the inside to people.

And to be going through that
experience with him was lovely.

And actually that, that.

What you just said brings me sort of
to the next thing, which is I think

some people will be listening saying,
oh, well, does that mean I have to

do a psychotropic substance in order
to begin to access these states?

And of course the answer is no.

No.

All of my early experiences with
those ulcer state of consciousness

as healing have been with cultures
where those plants just don't grow.

So for example, in the
Kalahari, in southern Africa,

there are no psychotropics.

So the healers dance themselves into
trance but then are incredibly effective

whether they are healing or whether
they're contacting ancestor spirits for

answers to a dilemma or whether they are,
whether it's hunting magic, and they just

need to know where the lions are so they
can go the other way the next day, or,

or, or, of course, those who know my story
know that it, it even got tied up with the

human rights and political struggle that
the son were in, that I was helping with.

Where I realized that what was
happening was the lawyers that we

were hiring for them because they've
been kicked off their land illegally

to make way for diamond mines.

Were going talking to the.

Community who would then go and talk to
their healers, who would then go into

trance and go into the spirit world, come
back with a series of instructions, tell

that to the community, who would then
tell that to the lawyers, and then that

would be the strategy for the courtroom.

But the lawyers had no idea that they
were being directed from the spirit world.

And when I realized that that
was going on, I, oh my gosh, I

can never tell these guys this.

'cause what?

It'll put them off their game.

But what happened was that, you
know, us with the measly, you know,

a hundred thousand that we managed
to raise up against DeBeers Diamonds.

The Bushman won

the largest land claim in African
history, and then several more after

that and did indeed get to go home
and did indeed see the whole process

through no psychotropics involved.

Then a few years ago, I was
going through a rather difficult.

Period.

And I was experiencing a lot of fear
and it was beginning to take over.

And I was with a healer I
know in the Americas who

heals in the Lakota tradition.

And there they do use a psychotropic,
they use peyote which is partly,

you know, dimethyltryptamine, DMT,
strongest hallucinogen known to man.

And he said, Rupert, I can just
see we were in a sweat lodge.

And I'd done that
before, sweating through.

He said, I can see you
need medicine, you know?

And I was like, no, I do.

The last thing I need right
now is I'm just clinging onto

my sanity by my fingernails.

The last thing I need is some kind
of psychotropic drug is ripper.

How long have you known me?

You know, do you feel I'm
a professional or not?

Good?

Fine.

You know, so he says, I'll
give you, you know, the dosage

I think that you should have.

And what was so interesting was I.

After a while, I became aware
of like a little red laser that

you might see in a PowerPoint.

Mm-hmm.

Going through my body and stopping at
areas where I had stiffness and pain.

Oh.

And it would go b

beep, and then it would move on and the
pain would, at that place would be gone.

And then a certain point it
crossed into my brain and it

started going around my brain.

And everywhere it was
finding fear and anxiety.

It would stop and go B,

you know, and it would be gone.

And like it was finding, you know,
cortisol scarring effectively from

stress and taking that away, which we
know oxytocin can do naturally, but this

was happening very, very, very quickly.

And I remember thinking, well, this is
great, but you know, the drug's gonna

wear off and then it will all come back.

But it never did.

The healing was real and lasting.

But the reason I'm telling that
story and then the stories from.

Previously when no medicine was
involved is, I think, speaking to your

point where you've now been four years
letting, let's say the plant medicine

because MDMA is effectively a plant
derivative or, or you know, synthesize

drugs are effectively plant derivatives.

And now you're finding, oh, actually
I no longer need that to access.

Right.

The, and you know, and even though it
doesn't mean I'm gonna reject it, I

will still continue to do those things,
but I know it, it's done its job

for having provided me the, the, the
way through the window, if you like.

Would you say that that's

Ralf Daab: true?

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

It goes faster.

I mean, there are different ways to,
and everybody can find, they should

find their own own way to, to get there.

It's just a little faster,
I would say, you know, it's.

You can do it like one
day, basically a journey.

And when you do other things,
you have to train it, you have to

like, yeah, really get into it.

It can take hours or like weeks, decades
or decades, you know, you could get

there, but it takes a long, longer time.

So with, with MA or maybe
other things like mushrooms.

And so it, it gets faster because,
you know, there's nothing you can do.

You just, it's gonna act on the
way it's gonna happen that way.

Yeah, right.

So, it's basically, you know,
just to bring the body to, to

produce more dopamine, you know, or
certainly, you know, so, but yeah.

But a lot of people are afraid or
they're like don't want to take

drugs, you know, of course, you
know, maybe self-control, whatever.

And they always say like, you
know, drugs, what is drugs?

You know, like medicine is, it's all
drugs and it's as a therapy, it, it helps.

I mean, like, it's, it's proven, you know?

So, post-traumatic traumas.

You know, in other countries like
Australia, it's legal now they, they

do it and they're working on it.

I think also in the u in
US and even in Europe.

So it takes some years, but then it will
be, for therapy, it will be legalized.

MDMA, right?

MDMA.

Yeah.

MDA.

And of course it used to be.

Used to be, used to be.

So, yeah.

But there are different ways and
everybody can find their, their own way.

And it should be, it is no dogma.

It's no dogma to say you have to
do this to get there, you know, so.

Right.

Rupert Isaacson: It, it's also interesting
that you talk about Kundalini, because

the Bushman have a, a similar idea, you
know, Kundalini's supposed to reside

at the base of your spine, right?

Mm-hmm.

And it's a life force, a sexual energy
that you can begin to manipulate the

Bushman colic mum and forward slash.

The forward slash is that click that, and
mum is one of those untranslatable words,

which it can mean power, this type of
life force wisdom can mean many things.

But they, what they do is they over
years of training, learn how to

boil the, in their stomach, bring
it into their stomach and boil it.

And the dance does this, and
you'll see them get incredibly hot.

Wow.

And if you touch them, they're incredibly
hot, but they'll even, they'll try

to cool themselves in the fire.

So they'll actually take swallow coals.

I've seen that many times.

Or lay in the fire, come up, unburned.

Very good.

And then when the womb is boiling,
which is very painful in the

early stages, when they're younger
healers, they'll often faint or.

Sometimes they would say die
and have to be brought back.

But as they get older,
they learn how to ride it.

And then this is when they can not
just be in the spirit world and do

what they need to do, but they can
pull things out of people or put

things into people that are needed.

So it's clear that these things
are as old as humanity because

the San are, the bushman are the
oldest known culture on the planet.

And so the quest for the altered
state of consciousness seems to be

built into our DNA that to play with
consciousness, which is why I think in

the past we've made, had the arrogance
as humans to think we are the only ones

with consciousness, which now I think
we're realizing clearly isn't true.

But because we're conscious of our
consciousness in a certain way,

if you like, we're self-conscious,
we have a great desire to.

Communicate with it, I think, and
through it, and use it as medicine

and answer dilemmas through it.

And I as you say, whichever
way you do it there is no one

way but to be on that path.

Seems to be important for human happiness.

Yeah.

Would you not

Ralf Daab: agree?

Yeah, absolutely.

Yes.

You on certain, like one path to your
own path, and then be curious, you

know, like go there and there, try
things out, you know, like what I did

like, following like some people like a
podcast and then say, okay, that's good.

I, I, you know, now I follow
somebody else or read other books

or do a seminar on meditation or
the gong meditation, for example.

Just try things out, you know, and then
you feel like when your body, or when

your consciousness, or when your spirit
like reacts and what, what's best for you.

So, and like being on a path
that's the most beautiful thing.

It is like, and to, to,
to experience new things.

To meet new people.

And it is, it is kind of like you,
you meet other people, you meet

people who are also on their path.

You know, you, you connect very fast.

And and that's, that's the great
thing about you know, being on the.

On the journey.

On the path.

And but as I said in the beginning is
you have to let things go, you know?

That's the other part I I seeing
or meeting a lot of people.

They do a lot of things.

They, they, they go every, every day
or three, four days a week, they go

to yoga and they do a lot things, but
they still in the same environment.

There's still same jobs.

They're stressed, you know, they, they,
they, you know, of course it's difficult

to leave everything, but kind of like
you have to like, kind of, you know, let

things go in order to receive new things.

You have to make room for new things.

Rupert Isaacson: It seems though
that that process is almost built in.

And I think a lot of people find this
rather alarmingly, you know, when they

first get involved in this type of way
of life, things can fall apart very

fast and that can be very traumatic
at first, even though they may, they

are things that actually you look.

Back over a couple of years
and you go, oh yeah, actually

I needed to let all that go.

And I probably would've just clung
onto it forever if it hadn't, if I

hadn't been literally picked up by a
pair of forceps and placed over there.

However painful that was, and
I'd say it seems that you've gone

through something like this rather
recently, because when I first met

you you were, you know, living in vs.

Barden, which is

a nice town, it's a wealthy town
nice apartment still very much in the

publishing life, et cetera, et cetera.

Then you went through something of
disruption about six months ago.

And I remember and, and now you're living
in this, in an apartment in this castle.

Rather, rather romantic in a very, very
beautiful part of the countryside in

Germany that I know where you are and I
know how beautiful the nature is there.

And it's interesting you've been sending
me these pictures on WhatsApp of, of the

nature, and I'm like, ah, he's found it.

'cause one of the things which I was
noticing through your story and they, you

know, when, whether it was you working
for Chen or you as the Persian person

showing people beauty, the, this is
all about human beauty and things that

were made by humans and you know, Chen
also fashion and models and that kind

of physical human beauty and as well.

But what I feel is often missing
from all of that is nature.

And of course the greatest beauty,
of course, is always nature.

And that's why we, we react and respond
to beauty in the way that we do because

nature is beautiful and nature is what
we're supposed to be surrounded by.

And people actually,
people are very beautiful.

Inside from doubt.

We're a very loving species.

Right.

You know, it's, it, so it's
interesting to me that finally,

you know, in the last six months,
there you are in nature by another.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

You know, you, those of you who are
watching this on YouTube, you, it looks

like, well obviously we're, we're,
we're talking across by Zoom in Ralph's

apartment within that castle, but I know
what's outside that window and I know

that you're out in that nature now and
you've really simplified, you've sort of

gone from, you know, home ownership and
real estate and all of that stuff now

to saying, no, no, I'm gonna minimalize
and I'm just gonna have this small

apartment to spend most of my time in
nature while still working as a publisher.

Ralf Daab: Right.

Rupert Isaacson: You know,
it's interesting to me,

Ralf Daab: and one thing is also
like, talking about, you know, when

I said the, the, the, the salt in the
Persia, you know, show the beauty.

What I realize now, it's not only it
was back then or still is sometimes of

course with the books to show the beauty
outside, but it's also like, my purpose

is also to show the beauty in people.

Mm-hmm.

To help people to go on their path to,
to develop or show their own beauty.

And that's also, you know, one thing
I'm gonna do in the future to help

people to show their own beauty
because every person is beautiful.

So, and then how.

Well, but yeah, with seminars,
with you know, I did like, coaching

as a neuroscience coaching.

I have like a certificate, whatever
you call it, you know, and then

I did meditation, spiritual, and
I'm doing a kundalini practicing.

So things like put it
together, but also my.

Strength is what I can do really
good is like bring people together.

Mm-hmm.

So, you know, the funny thing is, like
a year ago I was still in Spartan,

I was in rgo, which is beautiful,
you know, the wine area with wines.

And so, and I was standing there and
said like, ah, well this is beautiful.

This is beautiful and,
and good energy for me.

And it's like I would live in a place
like here, like where you can live,

but also where you can do seminars,
you know, like a house or so.

And now I'm no longer at Beach Spot, but
I'm here now and I have, I found a place.

It's incredible.

Rupert Isaacson: Can you,
can you do seminars now

Ralf Daab: in Yes.

This, here they're, they event
place, they're weddings are here,

seminars here, there's a big
space terrace outside Nature.

It is a perfect place for seminars.

So we can, we start doing like in, in
four weeks, we have a seminar here I'm

organizing, so I bring people here.

That's, you know, organized
things, festivals.

I wanted to do a festival here,
music festival overlooking

here, the Rhine Valley.

It's, it's just incredible.

So can you imagine like a year
before, like last year or,

or it was more than a year.

I mean, last year was, and I had
this vision and now I'm here and I

can do it, and it's, it's happening.

So it's not, you know, I had to,
had to leave things in v spot and,

you know, also the relationship.

But now everything can come
and can, you know, organize.

I'm not looking for a
relationship now, but never know.

But everything is can happen now.

So.

And you're still

Rupert Isaacson: publishing?

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

Rupert Isaacson: So listen, if people want
to read your book there you are again.

Yeah.

How do they find it?

Ralf Daab: Well, there's
a, there's a website.

It's called books.buy.

It's a print on demand website.

Mm-hmm.

Website.

It's actually based, the company's based
in Australia, but it's all over the world.

And they can place order print on demand.

So it's free shipping worldwide.

You can place the order, you can
order the book and they find a

printer near you, like someplace.

Let's say when you order here, maybe in
Germany or France, and they ship it to

you free, free shipping, free of charge.

It's, I think it's 20.

And that's in

Rupert Isaacson: English, obviously.

That's the English.

Yeah, of course in English.

There you are again.

English book, that book.

Stop by.

So people go to book, book start by slash

Ralf Daab: HHOL.

You can put it maybe slash HOL living.

HOL.

Yeah.

Rupert Isaacson: Great.

And then they would look
for, there you are again.

Ralf Daab: Right.

It's on there.

You can.

They can buy it, they free
shipping and then they can read.

So yeah.

And

Rupert Isaacson: if people want to
reach, reach out to you and want to be,

you know, well, they, they could send
email questions about their own healing

or wanna be part of your seminars or
come visit Yeah, they could contact

Ralf Daab: me.

Yeah.

How do they contact you?

Well, there's by email's best
like ralph@highonliving.com.

Rupert Isaacson: So R-A-L-P-H Ralph, no
FF with an F right in the German way.

RALF at

Ralf Daab: Hi.

Hi.

On living.com.

High on

Rupert Isaacson: living.com.

Ralph, with an F.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Rupert Isaacson: High on living.com,

right?

Yeah.

Reach, reach out to Ralph listeners.

He's, he's, yeah, please do.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

And come up here like, if
you visit Germany or near

Cologne, you cannot up be here.

Yeah.

Hiking.

It's, it's a beautiful place.

Rupert Isaacson: Well, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna run up the a three.

Yeah.

Come, come here.

Right.

Take exit bat.

Ralf Daab: Bat exit.

Lin.

You're right here.

So bad Ho.

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah, I
know exactly where that is.

We help someone buy a horse from Bad Ho.

Yeah, it's right here.

Great horse.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ralf Daab: They're up here.

They're 50 horses up here, so see them in
the morning when they come out the stalls

and like run and run and, and I, yeah.

Well, maybe we'll do something with

Rupert Isaacson: horses together then.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It should come.

That's, it's really wonderful.

Okay.

All right, Rael, thank you so much.

Well, thank you, Rupert.

It's been a, been a, yeah.

Wonderful journey.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Great, great.

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah.

So any last words of wisdom
before I click off the record?

Ralf Daab: Last word of wisdom.

Well, I would say it's all energy.

It's Albert Einstein.

It is all energy.

And that's what I feel now.

I.

Going through all these journeys
for the last four years is

basically even with my plan.

My plan, when you see it here, it was like
this tall, basically in, in this button.

It didn't grow, but it didn't die.

But here it's growing like fast.

I went a beautiful, so I know
I'm at the right place because

plant is feeling good, you know?

Rupert Isaacson: So it's all energy.

Ralf Daab: Yeah, it's

Rupert Isaacson: all energy.

That's right.

As Nicola Tesla said, also, I think
if you want to know the secrets of the

universe, you have to think in terms
of energy, frequency and vibration.

Yeah, exactly.

And it seems that, well, I guess every
electronic device we use goes back to him.

So Yeah.

Clearly these guys had, you know, yeah.

Had something.

All right, well, all right.

Parallel universes vertical timelines.

Medicines to help us radically
shift our viewpoints.

By the way, that, that's something I,
I, I wanted just to throw in there.

I was looking at the neuroscience of
of psychotropics and it does seem that

what happens with people is massively,
massively augmented neuron new neural

pathway development when these happen.

'cause of course it's also new, similar
to what you get with novel movement,

novel ways of moving, BDNF, brain
derived neurotrophic factor, which

normally you only get through movement.

It seems that this can be massively
boosted with the use of psychotropics.

And I guess our ancestors
must have known this.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah.

Maybe that's that thing of
allowing us to see mm-hmm.

What we can't normally see.

So there you are again.

There you go.

Buy it from books.

Stop by slash HOL.

Give Ralph an email at
rlf@highonliving.com.

Yeah, I guess we'll see you
on the next looking forward.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

See you soon.

Thank you for coming on.

Thank you for having me.

Rupert Isaacson: I hope you enjoyed
today's conversation as much as I did.

If you did, please help us to make more.

Please like, subscribe, tell
a friend, give us a thumbs up.

If you'd like to support us on Patreon,
please go to my website, rupertisakson.

com.

And if you'd like to find out about
our certification courses with.

autism, education, horsemanship,
everyday shamanism.

There's a whole range of cool stuff.

Putting a show together like
this is not an easy task.

If you'd like to support us, please
consider going to our Patreon page

and showing us some love there.

Even the smallest donation, it really
helps us to keep the good content coming.

So go to rupertisakson.

com and click on the Patreon link.

Not to mention our excellent merch.

Please go to our shop and check
out some of our really cool

rock and roll themed merch.

T shirts, hoodies, all that sort of thing.

rupertisatson.

com, it's all there.

I can't wait for our next guest
and also to meet you there.

In the meantime, remember, live free.

Ride free.

Welcome back.

I have my friend Ralph Daab from Krn
Cologne in Germany, uh, on today.

He's a publisher and has made his
living his own way, um, in many

countries in the world, um, and has
come to a point where the material has

sort of given way to the spiritual.

Um, and he's a man who's very much
explored how as a westerner you can

find your way to the shamanic, to
the altered states of consciousness

that, um, open the window to the
more indigenous way of looking at

things while still being in the West.

And I think that that's a very
useful thing for many of us because

as those of you listeners who
know my background, spending a

lot of time, for example, in the.

Kalahari in Africa with hunting and
gathering peoples down there, it can

be almost misleading, um, to think, oh,
well, that kind of life, that deeply

spiritual life, that very connected
life, that's something different that

happens down there in those other places
with people who haven't sort of gone

through the Judeo-Christian thing that
we've all gone through, et cetera.

I can't really do that because I'm up
here in the western economy and, you

know, stuck in that rap race and so on.

Of course, we all know that's not
really true, but I think it's really

good to draw our attention sometimes
to how people doing it right here,

right now in our culture and, um,
particularly, you know, how is that.

Is that is, you know, can
that be related to business?

Can that be related to how do you make a
living when you, when you decide, okay,

you know, I, I want to begin to explore
these other ways of looking at the world,

but I still have to kind of keep one
foot pretty firmly in the, in the here

and now and the economy and all of that.

Now do I dance that dance?

And I think somebody like
Ralph, um, has quite a lot of,

uh, insights for us that way.

So I thought I'd have him on the
show for live free, ride free.

'cause he's a man who definitely
does live free and ride free

and, uh, we can learn from him.

So Ralph, thank you
for coming on the show.

Yeah.

Hi Ruper.

Thank you for having me.

It's a great pleasure to be on the shower.

So do you want to tell listeners
a little bit about how we met?

Because I think those circumstances.

Are quite helpful to drawing
people's attention to sort of

always keep your eyes open.

You never quite know who's around
the next corner type thing.

You wanna have a right.

Um,

Ralf Daab: yeah, it was,
it is a great story.

I always tell people, um, I was living
in, back then, it was like two years

ago in Germany where we live now.

Yeah.

We born in Germany.

So I was walking the dock, you know, up
from the hill and then, um, you know,

passed by a, a horse place basically.

And I was talking to Leon, your wife
first, and then the dogs started playing.

And then, so we started talking
and so, oh, where are you from?

What are you doing?

And then, uh, I said like, you know,
and then Leanna said, well, that

you guys lived in, in the US in
Texas, and then you moved back here.

And I said, I, I lived in New
York for some years and I also.

Was in Texas many times.

And then, you know, I'm a publisher.

And I'm publisher.

And then he said, oh, my husband Rupert,
he's also like, he, he's an author.

He published books, New
York Times bestseller books.

So, and then you walked up and then
we met and we just connected right

away, you know, and then we started
talking and, you know, things like,

uh, it was, um, incredible because,
uh, yeah, it was, it's, it's no

Rupert Isaacson: coincidence.

It was like, uh, well, what was
interesting to me about that.

First meeting, um, and you
gotta just picture listeners,

you know, I'm picking poo.

That's what we always do every morning.

Yeah.

Right.

With the horses and, but people walk
by, there's a public footpath that

goes, you know, past the, the, the
sort of main area where the horses are.

'cause they all live outside and
you know, people walk their dogs.

You sometimes say hi, whatever.

Um, but relatively few people
actually stop and say hi.

Um, you know, it's, it's Germany after.

So it's like, first thing is,
well that's kind of unusual.

Look, here's a bloke who's actually kind
of cheerful and, you know, um, friendly.

Um, and then, um, but very
quickly the conversation went to,

well, you know, what do you do?

Okay, I'm publisher, I'm a writer.

Interesting, interesting.

Similar worlds.

And then of course I told you a little
bit about what I publish books on.

And then you say, oh, that's
interesting because, you know,

I do these journeys, right?

And I said, oh, what kind of journeys?

And you said, well, like MDMA.

Right.

And what was interesting to me about
that was, um, a lot of my friends and

contemporaries, particularly in the USA
in the last, I'd say five years, have

begun to, uh, experiment with looking at
altered states of consciousness through

journeys with MDMA, which some people
call ecstasy, but it's not the ecstasy,

of course, that you buy in a nightclub.

It's the pure form that used to be
prescribed, uh, way back in the day

by psychologists and psychiatrists
who warring married couples because it

made them listen to each other nicely.

Um, brings out the sort of compassion
in people and, um, si uh, psilocybin,

which is of course, um, mushrooms.

And, um, this has been a
growing field, um, among.

I think many people in the kind of
middle class of the west over the last

decade or so, because I think there
has been this growing awareness that

the material life needs to be balanced
with the spiritual, but the church no

longer offers that never really did.

I mean, mystic Christianity can,
but not the church, not witch

burning and Spanish inquisition.

Um, and so where to look, where to look.

And so of course people began to look
naturally to the Eastern philosophies

because with the British Empire,
that kind of really opened up that

route from India through England and
then out to the rest of the West.

Um, and that sort of, those
meditations and Buddhism and

Hinduism and stuff like that began
to have a big influence on Western

society, but it was still perceived
as very much a thing from outside.

I think from over there.

People like me, of course, going
down and spending time with a lot of

indigenous folk, um, bringing that back.

But again, that's still being,
well, that's something other,

that's something over there.

That's not us.

That's not where we are.

How do we, and so I think it's very
logical that people like you, Ralph

and other friends of mine, began to
look to the use of psychotropics.

Um, in the same way that of course people
are undergoing healing ceremonies in,

you know, the Amazon or areas where,
or Siberia, areas where, um, native

America, where psychotropic plants grow
and have always been used for healing.

Um, it's a very logical thing and I
think there's a reach back even through

the European past there, because
certainly, um, in the pre-Christian

era, people used fly aic mushroom.

They used psilocybin, what we would
call magic mushrooms and ver you know,

datura, um, nightshade, um, certain
things with hemlock or to achieve altered

state of consciousness in order to,
um, you know, connect with the divine.

And that of course was rooted
out of our culture by the church.

So there you are, and we're having that
conversation and I'm thinking, well, this

is sort of interesting on the Shamanic.

Um, and then when I began to do this uh,
uh, podcast, I thought, well, actually

Ralph would be a very good guy to
get on this show because he is really

an entrepreneur and you run your own
publishing stuff, but you've also, you

know, helped larger publishing companies.

And that's something, but you, you also
now thread this very spiritual path.

That's Ry ride free.

Sort of in a nutshell, would you take
us through your journey a little bit,

where you began as a boy in corn growing
up, sort of, you know, in the seventies

and eighties in that, you know, post-war
booming economy, having fun, it takes

you off to other parts of the world, just
and then how you get into publishing.

Just get, take us through that early
stage in your life, how, how you

get going on your live free, ride
free, um, sort of initial, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah,

Ralf Daab: I

Rupert Isaacson: did

Ralf Daab: that.

Um, so I grew up in Cologne and, um,

Rupert Isaacson: you know, I was, um,
which is a bit of a party town, right?

It's a

Ralf Daab: fun town.

Well, it's a carnival, you know, the
people are very open-minded and friendly.

You know, my, my parents, my mother had
a, a restaurant, you know, but a lot

of people always came like every day.

So it was always, yeah, I grew up
in like a, in, uh, yeah, a good, uh.

Environment, I would say, you
know, so, and I played soccer,

football, you know, when I was young.

And uh, I was pretty good.

So I played for the s
fone, uh, in the junior.

What is, just tell us, oh,
that's, SCON is one of the best

club football club in the world.

We just came up, you went up
to, did you play Football Con?

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah, right.

But in the junior team,
you know, so for some years

Ralf Daab: and that was a

Rupert Isaacson: great time.

That's something that's like playing
for Arsenal or, or Tottenham.

Yeah, yeah,

Ralf Daab: yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So that was a great time when it
was 14 years old, 15 years, 16,

you know, so playing, like we, we
played tournaments in, in, in Paris,

in, in Brussels, in, in Zurich or,
you know, so it was always good.

Like I had go to the director of the
school and said like, I have to go for,

you know, a week for tournament, whatever.

So it was a good time.

I was, um, and then, um, I was,
you know, I was obviously going to

school and then I started university
and, uh, but I knew right away

from be, it's not really what I.

Whatever you want to do.

Like, uh, so I would start, like
my mom, I also did, um, back then,

so I would start like a friend, he
was importing like t-shirts from

California, like big Wednesdays.

So I was like, oh, they cool t-shirts,
exert shirts, you know, I would start

selling them out of the car, you
know, in the school and so and so on.

And then other things like a
hot tuna from Australia, like a

brand, like really cool brand.

Uh, so, and I said, let's open up a store.

Let's, so like when I was 22, I opened
my first, uh, fashion store in Cologne.

And then, um, you know, coincidence,
somebody walked in and said like, yeah,

I need like, you know, 20 jackets.

And it turned out, turns out that
he was from EMI, Electrola from

the record company, and it was for
Tina Turner's concert, uh, like

tour, you know, so it was got into
the merchandise business for that.

So I was always like doing things,
you know, like, um, um, and then,

uh, a friend of mine, I was in
New York, first time in 1991.

What sent you to New York?

Just pleasure.

It was just Okay.

It was before business.

Yeah.

Before business was like with a
friend that went to New York for

the first time and another friend,
he was also in New York and he was

working for hin for the publisher.

Tian

Rupert Isaacson: is a very famous,
uh, German publishing house.

Right.

Basic Cologne.

But now the world, you know, biggest
art book publisher in the world.

Yeah.

You've, you, you've seen them listeners,
even if you don't know them, they're

these amazing German art and fashion.

Right.

Photographic.

They have

Ralf Daab: stores all over.

Yeah, the world basically.

So back then in the nineties, and then,
then, then he said like, ah, you know,

we are looking for somebody who could
do like sales and marketing in the us.

Uh, are you interested?

And I said, well, yes, of course.

You know.

So I started working for Tchen as a sales
manager for the US and um, like first

year, two years traveling from Cologne
to the US like, you know, visiting, like,

I don't know, first trip was 20 cities
in like four weeks, you know, every day.

Another city.

So it was a great time.

And then I moved to New York in
1995, you know, and, um, moved there.

It was just for, for a year.

And then I stayed there total
of like almost six years.

So setting up the office there
and then, uh, all sales and

marketing, that was a great time.

It was like my early thirties.

So, um, yeah.

So it was, that's how I got into
publishing, international publishing also.

And then I moved back and my
son Lucas was born in New York.

And then, um.

We decided to go back to Cologne,
and then I started my, of working for

another publisher for three years.

You know, um, I was responsible
for setting up a program, so I

developed the whole, the book program
and international distribution.

So, and then I decided to, uh, start
my own publishing house in 2003.

And, um, yeah, so then we traveled a lot,
you know, all over the place, like Asia

lots, uh, then us a lot, of course Europe.

And, um, yeah, so that was,
uh, I was always in, in things

like, you know, what can you do?

Like, uh, develop new things.

I have so many ideas and, and, and, uh.

So, and then I, you know, got to
a point where, uh, publishing in

general was, became difficult.

Uh, had problems with the banks,
the investors and the whole thing.

And then, so at the end, uh, I had to
close the company, basically file for

chapter 11, which is like insolvency.

And, um, yeah, it was a really tough time.

And then the marriage ended, uh, I
was kinda lost, you know, that was

like, uh, 2000, where were we now?

Like, uh, uh, 64, 15, 16 round then,
so about eight, nine years ago.

And so I was kind of lost and
I said like, what can you do?

Like my life, you know, so, and I, yeah, I
did like a photo exhibition, for example.

I had took some photos.

I did like an exhibition, and
then I, I, I decided like, oh,

let's go back into publishing.

And, uh, so I started to,
uh, to create books again.

But at the same time, I was always
like, uh, looking for new things.

But, uh, so I, I got into the, um,
meditation thing, so I was reading books,

listening to podcasts about meditation
or why, why did you get into meditation?

Studying?

Yeah, because, yeah, because I was
like, uh, kind of felt like I, I needed

to do something else, you know, like
going out of like, like, you know, this

business world that the business thing
or the life of like, you know, um.

Just traveling around and being
like stressed and everything.

So, and then I started also doing sports
again, and, uh, also mindfulness things.

You know, had you always

Rupert Isaacson: kind of in
the back of your mind thought,

or that meditation thing?

I kind of want to get into that, but
I'll, I'll do that later, you know, or

was it more sudden thing a more new thing?

No, no, it was always
there, kind of, you know,

Ralf Daab: like, uh, you know, but,
uh, it, it wasn't like, like every

day, but, um, I felt like, you know,
I was at a point where I was, you

know, like really lost and it's the
only thing I could, could help me.

Like, I could only help myself, you know?

So, and I, uh, and it was good.

So I, you know, did a love of
sports again running and, um,

so I felt a little better.

And uh, and then it got to a point,
like I was, you know, I talked to a

friend and then he told me about a
seminar he went to, and he said like it

was the best thing he did in his life.

And then he told me everything about it.

And then.

I said, yeah, I wanna do this.

And that's how I got into my
first journey of the MD May.

Um, yeah, that was, I

Rupert Isaacson: presume because you'd
been living in New York, you know, you'd,

um, been in fashion, you'd been in sport,
you'd been in publishing, recreational

drug use must have been something
with which you were quite familiar.

I mean, I know I said No, not really.

No, no,

Ralf Daab: no, no.

Not really.

Rupert Isaacson: No.

No.

Um, so when, okay, because I remember
for example, when I was in my

earliest twenties, um, this is
back like 8,000 years ago, um, I

think before the invention of the
wheel, um, I, um, tried MDMA, um.

At that point, it was still very pure.

It was before techno, before the
raves, before all of that took off.

And so before it became a mass industry,
that people then began to adulterate

it with speed and, you know, awful.

And so I, I tried it a few times in those
early years and then very quickly gave

it up because it, it very quickly became
adulterated with all sorts of stuff.

And you couldn't, at least at that stage
in my life, access that pure form anymore.

But I do remember, um, breaking
up with my first girlfriend.

Basically she was dumping me.

Um, while we both were on MDMA,
which of course, as many listeners

may know, MDMA used to be
prescribed by marriage counselors.

Before it was made illegal because
it helped people to listen to

each other really compassionately
and to tell the truth.

Right.

And so we broke up, you know,
so kindly with each other, even

though my heart was broken.

And, uh, we remained friends,
we're friends to this day.

It's very interesting.

Um, so, you know, when you told me
about you doing these MDM majors,

I immediately made that assumption.

Oh, well he must have had, you know,
some sort of, uh, previous history

with this, but you said No, not at all.

So this being something
quite new for you, right.

What made you think Yeah.

Okay.

Well, that, that might be something then,

Ralf Daab: because a friend told me
that what, what, you know, what he

experienced and, uh, told me that it's
saved, that it's, you know, you know.

Uh, so I said like, okay, because I was
really not really into drugs, you know, I

had joined, so, you know, of course then
an alcohol, you know, wine and, and so

on, but not, not no drugs, you know, I was
not never, I always said like, you know,

I can be, uh, fun without drugs, you know?

Mm-hmm.

So, um, but in this case I was like
looking into this more the, as this

therapy than just like having fun with
drugs or so, you know, and, uh, trusting

my friend and said like, oh, let's try it.

And then, um, and it was, uh, tell
everybody it was the best thing

I did in my life, you know, so

Rupert Isaacson: well.

Right.

You know, often, um, you know, when
people say, for example, go down to

the Amazon looking for healing, they'll
often find themselves, uh, with a ero,

you know, a, a healer doing ayahuasca.

Um, yeah.

Which of course is a very,
very strong hallucinogen.

Um.

But many people will report I, yes.

What I needed was a kind of radical way
to break through an out of the worldview

that has been to some I've been stuck in.

And I needed kind of a radical change
of environment, both physically

and mentally, emotionally, in order
to get this other perspective.

Otherwise, I, I sort of couldn't break
out of the, the rut that I was in.

Do you feel that that's
what happened to you?

Yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah, exactly.

But it's also like after like the first
time, it's like, it's like four years ago.

So, um, and it's a whole process,
you know, I realized, you know, after

four years I did like many times
different ways, you know, different

locations, you know, like I ended
up like, you know, some places and.

Um, and also tried other things, you
know, with mushrooms and, and so on.

And now after four years, I realize
it's, it's not just the one, one journey,

you know, or, you know, even the, the
weekend or so, it's a whole process.

It's like it changed.

That transformation is going
on like forever, you know?

So it's like, but you, the thing
is, like, you, you, I learned to

let things go, you know, like to now
during these journeys, to, to look

at things, to, to, uh, have sometimes
the same feeling again about things.

Even when I was a child, I,
I could look at this, say,

oh yeah, that was not so bad.

Or that was so, and, and, and, and let go.

And, and now I realize that, that it's
just part, it's just one part of it.

You know?

It's not like you do one journey
MDMA or whatever it is, you know,

like, and, oh, you're healed now.

Oh, you changed my life now.

No, no, it's like.

To change your life or, you know, to
go to, through a real transformation.

It's, it's, it's takes weeks and years
and, and, and goes on, you know, like, no

Rupert Isaacson: doubt.

But you need that initial experience.

Initial experience to sort of

Ralf Daab: help leapfrog into that.

Yes, exactly.

And the initial experience is
like to, to to, to become like

in different consciousness, you
know, different perspectives.

And this is what I never had
experienced before without that

drug, you know, without MDMA, uh,
or without mushrooms, whatever.

But MDA is more like, uh, for
me at least, it was like to, uh.

To see things from a
different perspective.

Yeah.

Uh, every ev every time like really clear.

It's not like you're a, you're
like sleeping or, so I was always

clear and I was, I've experienced
stories, really stories.

I was in those stories in
like 500 years ago in Persia.

I was in, in the universe.

I was an astronaut.

I was, and my soul was up there in,
in the Big bang or whatever it is,

you know, like, and I said like, what?

It was such great stories and experiences
and um, that changed my view of myself

and my surrounding my people around me.

So it's like all it is, it's
like a kind of heart opener.

And then when you go that path
like I did, um, you'll see

that, that your life change.

But it's like not, I.

You know, if you, you stay in
your environment, if you stay

in your structure, you, you
don't change really a lot.

So you have to let go.

And you have to realize, and you have
to say, okay, if I, if a relationship

ends now, yeah, maybe it has to
end now because without ending the

end of the relationship, you can
cannot experience something new or

you move to a new place, you know,
and it's all part of the journey.

Um, and that's, that's it all started
four years ago with the MDMA and I,

I did many, many trips, many, uh,
and I still do, uh, it's kind of like

sometimes I feel I don't need it anymore.

'cause, uh, it's like what your
neuroscience would say, tell you,

it is like the neuro, they can
adjust, uh, you know, things.

Um, and then you, you can get the
same feeling or you can, I can change

my perspective now without taking
anything because my neuron, they, they

experience, they can, they can, uh.

They can be in that same state.

So, and um, yeah, so for me it was
like, it's a, it's a game changer.

Rupert Isaacson: It's,
it's a life changer.

And, uh, in those early days when you
were first taking these journeys, and I'm

gonna ask you to describe, you know, some
of the journeys that stand out the most

and the insights you got from them, but
in those early days when you were first

beginning with it, did you find it very
difficult then to reintegrate yourself

back into, if you like, ordinary life,
making a living business, picking up the

phone to people, striking deals, whatever?

Or did you actually find that?

No, it was actually much
more of an effortless flow.

The first journeys

Ralf Daab: I, I remember was like, I,
I was telling everybody now how great

it is, you know, it was like friends
and family, and people are like, some

people on the street maybe say like,
I, you know, this is so fantastic.

Everybody should do it, and
everybody has to like, go on

trips and it's change everything.

So then I realized you, you
cannot talk to everybody about it.

You know, some people said, Hey,
he's crazy, what is he doing?

And uh, um, and I said like,
yeah, okay, um, you shouldn't

talk to everybody about it.

Uh, just to people who
are really interested.

And I said, like, you know,
you figure out, you know, who's

really interested and who's not.

But yeah.

And then I, um, got to the point
and said like, okay, what I'm doing

now if I continue this journey is I
realize myself that I'm changing Now.

I, you know, I, I, I talk differently.

I feel differently.

So if I, if I want to stay in
my old world, I have to stop

now because it doesn't work.

Or I, I say, okay.

That's my new path.

I go that path no matter what.

And I do, and I did, and I still do.

And then, um, you realize that you
don't have to talk about anymore.

It just comes.

People just come or they don't, you know?

And, and the things change.

And also in terms of business,
it opened up new paths as well.

So I'm doing, I'm, my conversations
now with, with architects or interior

designers is different now and, and
the business is growing actually.

But those are the books
you're doing now, right?

The, your higher series,

Rupert Isaacson: it's about architecture.

You'll do the

Ralf Daab: architecture and
interior books and the business

actually growing like this year.

And it's like, it's amazing.

You know, it's like the more I open up,
the more people I attract to, to publish

with me, to publish their work with me.

Plus I've written my own book.

About the stories.

Uh, a little book I published myself,
uh, under my new labor high on

living, um, came out like in February
and then it sounded quite good.

And, uh, tell us about the book.

What is it?

What's it called?

Yeah, I wrote the stories like, um,
the stories I experienced on this

journeys, you know, I wrote them down.

This is like 32 episodes in the book.

They're short episodes, you know, so,
um, and it's, yeah, you could read

it and get really good responses from
people say, okay, this is really cool.

I could see myself in this same story,
you know, like up in the universe or.

Uh, I journey to myself in my
own self, in my own nothing.

You know, when you on your own
atom, there's nothing there.

But then I experienced the
most energy ever I experienced.

So, and it opened up everything
and started to love myself.

Self-love is basically, I experienced
on one of the journeys, I was myself

saying, wow, this is, this is love.

This is, I didn't know
what love is before love.

I thought of this could live, love my
wife or my, my parents, my son, but this

kind of love I, I didn't know before.

So, um, I wrote this little book and um,
actually it was like when I moved here to

Opco, uh, two days, two days later, I was
like posting a video on Instagram saying,

uh, I'm living up here now in the nature.

And I got like, from my.

Former, um, employee Laura.

She used to work for me in, in
Cologne like 12, 13 years ago.

She's like, she wrote on Instagram
like, what are you doing there?

She said like, well, I live here now.

Well, she said, like, I live in
like right here in the village,

like for 10 years, so let's meet.

And her husband was also involved in
the, in uncle in, uh, in the reading day,

like where authors came to do readings.

And so he took me into the program.

So I was there officially in Hong
Kong and did two readings that day.

It was fun, you know, people came
and, uh, listened to my, my Stories

and tell us the name of the book.

The book is named Dbia.

There you are again.

Dbi You again.

Uh, 32 episodes.

Um, yeah, soul Journey,
uh, of Zaza and Ze episode.

That's the Journey.

Subtitle.

Um, and Zaza Ze Being Journey.

Right.

And it's, it's a nice little
book and yeah, people like it.

And, uh, so that's the basic, and, and
through that book I got, um, I, I'm

getting now, uh, three more authors.

Like I one author in, in Hedburg
now, like Christine, she wrote

a book about her journey.

Like one year she traveled with
her family around the world.

She, she wrote really nice books.

So that's, I'm gonna publish that book
under high on Living and, and others.

So then through that, the new publishing
part, um, we call it High on Journey, high

on Living, not On Journey, high on Living,
uh, is a new, um, division kind of buddy.

Where I'm gonna publish the, the stories
of people with their want to, you

know, write their book about their own
story and bring it out to the world.

And it's, it's really cool so that,
you know, so my, my past, my journeys,

I got into a new business basically.

And, uh, it's really interesting to see
like how people are attracted to that.

You know, it's also part of like, I
think the future where people think

about more, uh, how you run a business
and what kind of business, uh, is good.

So, um, I remember like a year ago I
posted something on LinkedIn saying,

you know, I'm, I'm going, like, the
spiritual entrepreneurship is the new

thing, kind of, you know, you have social
entrepreneurship where you've got the

sustainability and all that kind of
stuff, but the spiritual entrepreneurship

is something, it's in the future, like,
especially the young generations looking

to, to start is basically what, what.

Kind of product or service you can do
for, for everybody that it's not like,

of course you run a business and you
should make money with it, you know?

So it's not like, uh,
but in a different way.

It's not like you make money no
matter what, and you, uh, you know,

keep it all for yourself, you know,
like we have nowadays with all the,

the Jeff Basos and things, you know,
I have like super yachts and so no,

that's not spiritual entrepreneurship.

It is like for, for everybody.

And, and that's, that's the kind of
thing I, I, I'm, I'm looking into,

and that's, uh, that's how I want to
start or build up my new publishing

division also as a community.

And it's all part, it's all together now.

And like, started with my first
MD major like four years ago.

It's incredible.

But what happened since, ever
since, you know, so, uh, and

it's, it goes on, you know?

So.

So

Rupert Isaacson: let's talk
about some of those journeys.

Um, tell us about the first journey you
did, and then I want you to give us.

Some windows on some of
those other journeys.

Let's start with your first
journey four years ago.

Well, the first journey was like, um, I

Ralf Daab: was, you know, you, you put
the music on you basically, you take

it and then it takes like half an hour.

So, and then you put the music on.

You're lying down.

You lying down on the
mattress in a quiet room.

Quiet room.

Yeah.

Someone is there with you
to look after you a bit.

Yeah.

Right, right.

It, it's better like setting settings.

Very important.

Someone with not alone experience.

Alone with experience.

And you can have also like conversations,
you know, during your, mm-hmm.

Your, your.

Journey.

So I was like looking out the
window and I saw like birds flying

and said like, oh, that's fun.

You know, let's fly with birds, you know?

So, and I really, my soul left my body
and I went up to the, and fly, you

know, played with the, with the birds.

And then I suddenly went further up
through the clouds, through the, uh, sky.

And I was up in, in the universe in the,
so, and then I saw the earth from above.

And, uh, how beautiful this be.

Blue planet was standing, like,
looked like standing still.

I was really like, it, it, it wasn't
like looking a picture, it was like I

was there, my soul was up there, and
I looked at this beautiful planet.

I said like, oh yeah, my
God, this is so beautiful.

And what are, what are we doing here?

And then, and then suddenly I
had like a drag kind of like,

uh, it was so, so, so fast.

I said, what the, the, the
earth doesn't stand still.

It, it, it turns like in one day.

We, we have speed of
1,600 kilometers per hour.

We, we moving, but we
don't feel it, you know?

So, and the, the, the earth is
moving around the sun with the speed

of 100,000 kilometers per hour.

And it's incredible.

Like, and you know what?

And you don't feel it, but when
you, and then I realized, hey,

this is so, this is amazing.

But it's also like, uh, so it,
it changed my perspective of

like, being on that planet.

You know what I mean?

It's like seeing from outside and,
and feeling the, the speed and almost

felt like, you know, I'm nothing.

I'm, I'm, I'm, and, and how f
how big the universe is and how

f everything is so creative.

So I said like, who am I?

You know, what am I doing here?

Why we have wars on earth?

Why we have so crazy people,
like, you know, so that, that

first journey changed my.

Perspective of everything
myself, the earth, the universe.

And then, then I got back into
my body and I was laying there.

I said like, wow, this was incredible.

This was, I've never had
this experience before.

And I was really, it felt like, you
know, not looking TV or on the picture.

It was like my soul was up there.

And maybe it was, I think it was
because maybe my soul was up there

in form alive or whatever, you know?

So, and that's a difference of, you
know, maybe just meditation or being

like in a different consciousness.

Rupert Isaacson: Well, I think
consciousness is the, is the word there.

Um, you know, listening to the current

conversations that are going on
around quantum, um, explorations from

physicists, it seems that the people
who were dubbed crazy, like, um, uh.

Penrose back in, in, in the uk.

He was in his nineties.

Now he, even though he was a, a Nobel
laureate, even though he, uh, made many,

many, um, contributions to mainstream
science that he was celebrated for

when he came up with the idea that
perhaps the universe is conscious,

perhaps physics, the answers in in
classical physics are just not enough.

Um, and that they need to interact
with fields of consciousness that

seem to be expressed through quantum.

He was just, you know,
laughed out of town.

And then you had people like, uh, Rupert
Shel, Drake, another renowned physicist

in the uk basically saying the same
thing, saying, no, I think, you know,

from a scientific point of view, the
only explanation is that we're dealing

with a conscious universe and that
everything is conscious and that cells

a conscious, and consciousness is not,
not a, not a product of the human brain.

That the human brain
comes from consciousness.

Um, you know, and that old sort
of Judeo-Christian idea of from

Descartes in the 17th century,
I think therefore I am right.

Um, and so therefore only humans,
you know, have spirituality,

emotion, soul, blah, blah, blah.

And of course this was taken up by
the church with great alacrity 'cause

it meant one could get away with
doing all sorts of horrible things.

'cause then you could also have a
hierarchy of, within humans, you know,

who, who's more worthy than others.

And of course that turned
out to be white people.

Um.

Especially, you know, ones who are
gonna go and do some colonizing.

Um, all of that seems to be breaking
down now, and the people who are

exploring fields of consciousness,
um, in the western world all seem

to be coming to this conclusion.

Talk us through, um, your next
journeys, because that was sort of

your icebreaker, if you like, right?

Where you you got the new perspective.

And I remember having that same
response when I was sort of in my

late teens, early twenties, I think
when I first ever did psychotropics.

I think I was living in Canada actually
at the time, and, uh, when I first

did LSD and I realized this is before
any of my exposure to sort of shamma

shamanism or anything like that.

And I remember thinking, this is
really useful because this is like

being taken up to a window on.

Spirituality or window on altered
consciousness or what now people

might call other fields, but you
can't really go through that window.

The, the drug is also, it
gives you the, the perspective,

but also is the limitation.

Um, and then later when I encountered,
you know, sun Bushman healers and

others who could go through that
window, um, I, of course, you know, my

life changed, but I remember thinking
very early, yes, this is great.

I'm so glad I got a chance to
see through this window, but I

can't go through that window.

You know?

So you, but so you kind of a bit did
go through the window on that first

trip, but not perhaps fully right?

You're still.

Aware, well, this is a medicine
I've taken, or this is a drug that

I've taken, it's brought me here.

How does it then develop, talk, talk us
through the next couple, when's the next

sort of most significant moment in, in
these journeys that stands out for you?

Right.

Ralf Daab: And, and this is very the
most significant, uh, story I was

like before, went on the journey.

I said like, you know, I wanna really
know what am I doing in my, my life here?

What is my purpose?

What is my calling?

Like, you know, am I really doing
the things I'm supposed to do?

Like, uh, so sometimes you, you can ask
questions before or, you know, but it's,

it's not necessarily that it comes up.

The subconscious will tell you
what, you know, what's important.

But in this case, it came up
and so I was listening to music.

It was, um, same thing.

It was on a mattress listening
to music, and it was a kind of,

kind of Arabian melody music.

So suddenly I saw myself on a bazaar
in Persia, but some hundred years ago.

So I was walking through, was
bizarre, looking at, you know,

beautiful things like bases, like
carpets, like beautiful things.

And the people like who were selling
that, they know me, they, they

offered me to take, oh, take a
look at here and there and there.

So, and then suddenly two guards came,
like soldiers, and they Japanese said

like, oh, I, you are Ralph, right?

And, um, yeah, I said like, yeah, um,
come on, the, the Salton wants to see you.

I said, Saltan, why Saltan?

Yeah.

Come on.

So, and, and I'm telling this story.

I'm really in that story.

I'm not, you know, looking
from the outside and then

see the, I'm in the story.

It's the same thing.

As I said before.

My soul was in the, I
like up in space now.

My soul was in Persia
some hundred years ago.

And I, you know, I could hear the voices,
I could see everything like, as I would

be there, like, so I was in the, in the.

Uh, I was, yeah, walking with the
palace and, and towards the, the sultan.

So the Sultan said, hello,
Ralph, very nice to see you.

Glad you came.

And, uh, and then he said that this is it.

They say, you can see the beauty.

Show me the beauty in this world,
because I cannot see the beauty show the

beauty to me, and I will make you rich.

So I said, okay, all right.

So that's, and then I, this stopped,
story stopped, and it was like in the

conversation with the guy was with me.

He said like, you know what, I
could just experience I salt like

some hundred years ago in Persia.

He said, yeah, what does it mean?

Like your subconscious wants
to tell you something of that.

So, yeah, yeah.

I'm doing books like for the last 20
years I published books on architecture,

art, fashion, you know, to show beautiful
things, you know, to other people.

That's what I'm doing.

Yeah.

Okay.

So, all right, that's that.

So now, now I know that I'm doing
the right thing, you know, because.

That's what my subconscious told me.

The funny, now the thing is like one of
the next, not the next one, but the, the

journey after like, I don't know, four
months later, did the Suan feel that you

did show him the beauty, or did Yeah.

That the story continues.

Mm-hmm.

Like four months later, say music
comes up, you know, mattress.

And I was like, oh, I'm in Persia again.

And I said, oh, oh, let's
see what's gonna happen.

So I'm in front of the S again and he
says like, oh yeah, glad you're back.

I, you know, I watch you
and then you do a good job.

Continue.

It is all right.

You know, that's, you're
doing the right thing.

Uh, but I have to tell you something.

I said, okay, what do
you have to tell him?

And he says, I don't exist.

I said, what do you mean you don't exist?

Who are you?

And then he says, in this word, I'm
God, I'm the universe, and I'm you.

And then he vanished.

He, he exposed, he's gone.

The palace is gone.

Everything is gone.

I'm on the mattress, I'm back.

And the said what?

Yeah.

And then talking to the guy, I said
that, yeah, it was just happens.

Had the high spiritual, uh, experience
saying like, it's all in my set.

And me the sultan is just, I'm you.

He said, like, it's in me.

So it's all there.

And that's, that's an incredible story.

Now, um, now I know that
I'm on the right path.

So what happened then is we were
in California two years ago and we

were down in San Diego, LA Jolla.

It's like, uh, a place I know, 'cause
I've been there many times when I

lived in the us So I was going to the
bookstore and check out the bookstore.

So there was a, I sort
of sign psychic reading.

I said like, ah, I'm curious.

Let's say, let's go there.

So I called and said like,
come like in half an hour.

So, um, so walk in and there's an
old lady, beautiful setting, you

know, it was more like a gallery.

And I asked her, what, what can you do?

So, and she said like,
I, I can do a reading.

I said, okay, let's do it.

So one hour she said, like
you said, just sit down.

You don't say anything,
you know, just listen.

And after that you can ask questions.

Like afterwards, in one hour she told
me everything about my childhood, my, my

life, my relationships, my, the things
I'm doing, business wise, everything.

And now it comes.

Then she told me, in a former life you
were in Persia on Aza you were responsible

to show people beautiful things.

Can you imagine like a
psychic reader in California?

That's real.

It's not, that's not a journey.

That's not, that's real life.

She tells me the story I experienced on
an Emily MJ journey six months before.

Incredible.

And then, and then af especially then
I knew that's, that's something real,

you know, now I know it's, it's there.

It doesn't matter if it's a journey
and the image or it's real life.

It, it's, it's the same basically.

And how can she possibly
know that, you know?

And, uh, did you ask her how she did?

Yeah.

And, and she said like, what?

Uh, she said, like, when I
walked in, she said, like, I

was, she could see everything.

I was open.

She said like, uh, you
know, you are very open.

And then I told her about the journeys.

She said, okay, now I know because you did
the journeys, you're, you're very open.

You can, you know, so you're, um, I, I
have a feeling also that I can, things

are channeled to me, you know, sometimes,
you know, says, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's all, that's you.

And it's incredible.

Then after that you said like, okay, now
I'm, I'm really like, uh, the next level.

Of my myself, basically, you know?

So, and that showed me that what,
what's in me, in my subconscious

comes out through the MDA major.

It is in real life.

It's like what calla, uh, synchronicity
happens, you know, like you

experience things in real life.

Maybe you have a dream
or you have a journey.

I'm the major, whatever.

Or maybe mushrooms and
things are happening.

Um, and that's, I think, great.

It opens up

Rupert Isaacson: many doors.

Did she elucidate or do you feel
that what's going on with a thing

like that is that you were dealing
actually with a linear timeline?

Like I used to be that person I, I'm,
I'm now reincarnated as this person?

Or do you or she feel that No, these are
existing and overlapping parallels, fields

of consciousness, which are perhaps.

Happening simultaneously.

Yeah.

It's more like I experienced it
happening all at the same time.

So you are still the Yeah.

It's, uh, person in Persia.

Yeah.

And you are still whoever
you were or will be, right?

Ralf Daab: Right.

Even like in, in formal lives.

But also now I'm still the young
Ralph, the, the baby Ralph, the, the

5-year-old Ralph, the 15-year-old Ralph.

I'm, I'm also, but I'm
also the 90-year-old Ralph.

Old, old Ralph already I'm,
everything's at the same time.

It's just a different perspective.

You know, when you look at this and
you can say it's just, if I'm like,

um, I'm now 60 years old, so if I go
like 55 light years away, I look to the

earth and I see the 5-year-old Ralph.

So it's all at the same time.

And the great thing is what I
experienced myself, is to find the

old, the 5-year-old Ralph again in me.

To let the, let the, the young Ralph
play again, like the, you know, be

silly, be, you know, open and, uh, yeah.

And that's a great thing.

So to know that everything is there
at the same time, time is nothing.

Time

Rupert Isaacson: is, was it, was
it Einstein who said that time may

just be a particularly stubborn
illusion brought about by gravity?

Um, yeah, I'm not sure I understand that,
but that's certainly something he said.

Um, but I, I suppose I could actually,
because if you add weight and mass

to things, you know, you've probably
seen those diagrams of the idea of

space and time being like a net.

And you put planet like ball that
sits on it, goes whoop, like that.

Yeah.

Right.

And that warp kind of effect of
like the ball on the blanket with a

blanket then gets a big bulge in it.

If we are sort of in the middle of
that, we then might experience that

heaviness, that weight as time could be.

Could that be, I mean, that sounds as,
as feasible as anything else to me.

I don't see why that wouldn't
be, particularly when you've got

people like Einstein saying it.

Um, okay.

Take us through the next, uh, thing.

But before you get there, there's actually
just something I'd like to also add.

When I've been with indigenous
peoples frequently, their perception

of time is not, uh, linear.

It's often more vertical.

The idea is again, that it's all these
things are happening simultaneously.

You own lifespan is
happening simultaneously.

You are, as you say, your young self, your
old self, your dead self, your previous

self, your next self, all of that.

That's all at the same time.

It's just that where your
awareness is, is now.

Yeah.

Um, and that, of course there
is only the present because no

one's ever been able to see.

Anything else.

Um, but there are all those presence
are constantly going on together.

And I've had that, I've had
that presented to me many, many

times in indigenous settings.

Um, and then watch people do really
interesting things with that.

Then I just say it.

But then they will go into an altered set
of consciousness and in front of my eyes,

pull something physically outta somebody's
body who's sick and they get well.

Again, I, I've seen that many
people who've gone and spent time

in those sorts of parts of the
world would have similar stories.

Um, so clearly it's been put
to some sort of practical use.

Um, it's just within our context in
our culture, we find it confusing.

Tell us then again, you, okay, so
there's, there's you in Persia twice.

There you are in San Diego.

And the lady says, oh
yeah, you were in Persia.

Um, what's the next one
that takes you deeper?

I can tell you a story.

Ralf Daab: I mean, we are under us now.

Now it's very confidential.

Oh, no.

Well,

Rupert Isaacson: I've hit the course.

Ralf Daab: You

Rupert Isaacson: don't want it.

Ralf Daab: No, no, no.

It's really, I can tell the story because
it's once, this story is really, when

I do the reading, you know, especially
woman asked me, how, how did you do that?

So I had sex with myself.

Ah, I

Ralf Daab: explain it now.

Were you good?

Yes, absolutely.

And then, and it was
incredible what a relief

Rupert Isaacson: would be.

Ralf Daab: Can you imagine if you
like, well, that was a bit shit.

No, no, I was, um, yeah, same thing.

So I was, music was good.

I was feeling really good.

And, uh, so I, I started touching
myself, but it felt like, you know,

I'm touching somebody else, like
with my hands, with somebody else.

And I realized, oh, you know, came up.

Oh, sex is good, you know, and then I
saw myself as a man, as I am as Ralph.

But then I realized there's
something different.

So I was also the woman.

I was both, I was me and the
woman, and I felt both, you know,

both sides, basically both feet.

I, I could feel myself and when I,
when I, as Ralph as a man touched

the woman, the Ralph, whatever name
touched, I could feel both sides.

So, and then we had sex,
and then we really had sex.

So we had Did you enter yourself?

Yes.

Yes.

Did you feel

Rupert Isaacson: yourself
being entered by you?

Yes.

Yes.

Ralf Daab: Yes.

Rupert Isaacson: Okay.

So you, you as a man know what it feels
like to penetrate, how did it feel

to be penetrated from that feeling?

Very, very, very, very good.

It felt very, what can you, can
you, can you be more specific?

Like,

Ralf Daab: I felt like, I
felt it was very tender.

It was like smooth.

It was lovely.

It was, you know,

Rupert Isaacson: very, uh, what
was the emotional component of

having this lover inside you?

It was love.

Ralf Daab: It was, it was, it
felt like love, you know, like

everything, you know, so it felt.

Felt like I, I was, I would be one
once, you know, everything in both.

But I, I had my, the, the feminine
side and I had the masculine

side, and it was incredible.

So I, for me as a man afterwards,
I was saying like, okay, it's good.

I'm, I'm very soft.

I'm tender, I'm, I'm, I'm a good man.

I'm very, you know, like, um, you
know, so I, I think that woman feels

feel good in my, you know, with me.

So, and the other side was like,
oh yeah, he's a good, he's great.

He's, uh, um, so it was both

Rupert Isaacson: sides.

And he's credible, like when I,
do you think it was an exercise in

self-acceptance in some metaphorical way?

Yeah.

Kind of.

Kind of,

Ralf Daab: yes.

Yeah.

It was funny, like, uh, when I
do the readings, most women ask

me, oh, how, how does it feel?

And then how, how does it
work to get into that feeling?

Because they wanna experience the
same thing, but also as a man.

Sure.

You know,

Rupert Isaacson: everyone
has that curiosity.

And then for

Ralf Daab: me it was like, this
journey was like to, to show me

that everything is also in me, the
feminine side and the masculine side.

And my feminine part, I would
say is also, I would say, bit

larger than maybe other men.

So I have real good feminine side also.

And that was this journey,
you know, to experience, uh,

the sexual part on both sides.

Rupert Isaacson: So,

Ralf Daab: yeah,

Rupert Isaacson: it's interesting
that you say that because I have a,

it's not exactly a recurring dream,
but it's a dream where the, there's

a recognition that is recurring,
um, where sometimes I meet a young

woman, and this has happened to me.

Oh.

Many times in the, over the decades,
and there's this absolute falling

in love and but also a sense
of, I know you, and sometimes we

make love and sometimes we don't.

But there's always this great joy and
a feeling of homecoming and acceptance.

And then when I wake up, sometimes I
wake up with tears, not from loss, not

because I've had to wake up and that
person has gone, but sort of tears of joy.

And then at a heart level, what comes
through is, oh, that was your soul.

You met your soul.

And it's interesting to me
that my soul is always feminine

and occasionally it's a horse.

Mm-hmm.

Occasionally I meet a horse
that talks, we don't make love.

Um, but we do hang out and we, and we, um,
the interactions we have are very sweet.

Very loving.

There is this feeling of

a family, family or so less romantic
than when I meet the young woman.

But nonetheless, the same exact
feeling and the same heart

thought, that's your soul.

And then I'm always so
grateful afterwards.

I always do a meditation or, or pray
around gratitude and say, thank you,

thank you, thank you God universe
for allowing me to make contact

with my soul like that because it
means that I can carry that feeling

around with me almost like a little
happiness garden, um, inside myself.

Um, and it sounds like you are describing.

A very, very intense version of
something like that, perhaps.

Mm-hmm.

Rupert Isaacson: Um, has that
happened to you again since, or No.

Was that a one time?

That was a one time, yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

But it's there now.

Now I know.

Like, it's in me

Rupert Isaacson: like, like

Ralf Daab: Right.

Do

Rupert Isaacson: you

Ralf Daab: feel

Rupert Isaacson: you
can access that state?

Yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

It's with everything, you know, the
thing is like, every story is comforting.

I think that that's the word
I'm trying to Yeah, yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

Every story I experience
like is, it's in me.

It's, it's, it's right there,
you know, different situations.

I can pull it up and say, oh, yeah.

Um, there's another
great story I tell you.

Mm-hmm.

Please.

Um, I always had a dream for years
because you were talking about a dream.

Um, in real life, like, I had dream
like years and years and years.

I, I, you know, I was flying a lot, you
know, when I lived in New York, I was

like always on the, you know, plane.

Like, I don't know.

I.

Every week almost.

Um, I never had fear of flying or,
you know, something, but in that

dream, um, the plane crashed and,
uh, in the, in the dark woods.

So, you know, I survive and
everybody in the plane survive.

So, but I'm standing in the
front of the wreck, the, the

wreckage that, of the plane.

And then the dream always stops
there in the, in the, in darkness.

And this is a dream

Rupert Isaacson: outside of
these MDMA journey, right?

Right.

Like the dream

Ralf Daab: I had like, for,
for years, 10 years or so.

Okay.

Even, even more 15 years or so.

Um, so I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm standing in
front of the wreckage and, and, uh, and

it's dark and then the dream stops there.

I wake up and the dream stops there.

So on one of the journeys,
the dream comes up.

Same thing.

I'm standing in front of the wreckage
and, and now I start walking.

Into the darkness.

You know, it, I could see nothing.

It was just black, you know, woods
black, nothing could see anything.

How about I keep walking and then
suddenly a, a girl stands there in

this white skirt, like a little,
like five year, four year girl, girl.

And she puts me like an
amlin around my neck.

And then she, she tells me that,
go your path into the light.

Walk into the light.

So I keep walking, walking.

Suddenly I see a light,
you know, in the woods.

So, and I get there and then, uh,
and there's a huge deer like in,

in the middle, standing there in
the light, and he steps aside.

And I go in there and I start dancing
in that space where the light is.

And then suddenly I, I'm, I'm on a stage.

I'm in a huge stage, and then the
curtains open, and then there are

thousands of people applauding.

And then, uh, I'm, I'm back
there on stage dancing again.

So what tells me that metaphor was
like, yes, I was, I was broke, you

know, I was like, you know, lost
kind of like, and I was lost in real

life, so I was lost standing there.

I was not dead, but, and then
I start walking and this little

girl gives me like an omelet.

Like say, okay, go into the light.

And then I'm, I'm on stage
dancing and I'm back into my life.

I'm back on stage.

I'm, so, it's a fantastic story for me.

And ever since it's like, I don't know,
two years ago, never had that dream again.

'cause it's the, the, the
situation is solved now, you know?

You know what I mean?

Like, I'm back on stage and
there was an old life that

Rupert Isaacson: had to end, uh, sort of.

Uh, yeah, very businessy, very
flying, roundy involved type life.

Right.

It needed to end, but when
that ends, of course, yeah.

One feels lost for a while.

Yeah.

Until one is put on the next stage.

I could see, I could
see the logic of that.

Um, so that was really like,

Ralf Daab: uh, yeah.

Never had that dream again.

I don't need that dream again.

'cause now I'm back in state
basically kind of like, okay, I'm back

Rupert Isaacson: now before we come
to where you are back to, which

is different to where you were and
perhaps an old self did have to die.

Um, talk to me about death.

So with these journeys, you
experienced perspective, you

experienced love and self-acceptance.

You experienced.

Uh, different fields of consciousness
and vertical parallel timelines.

Ralf Daab: I know what you,

Rupert Isaacson: yeah.

Have you experienced death and if so, yes.

Yes.

Tell me about that.

Yes, I experienced

Ralf Daab: my own death
and it was wonderful.

Um, some people would say, oh,
scaring, or, you know, I don't

want to, you know, experience
that I did and it was wonderful.

So the thing is, I, I was, you know,
um, same thing, you know, mattress music

is on and I see myself on the beach
in os Gore, that's in France, like on

the Atlantic Coast where we go almost
every year, uh, for a long time now.

Um, it's like a soul place for me.

Like it's, you know, so I see
myself like on the beach sitting

there in the arms of a woman, but
I don't see the woman behind me.

But I'm sitting there and then I.

The number 96 comes up.

So my age, 96.

I say, wow, that's fantastic.

I'm 96 years old.

I had a good life.

I, uh, it's a lot of time.

Um, so, and then I felt that my soul is
leaving my body, you know, it's like going

out of my body, like over the sand and
the water up in the, through the cloud.

There were no clouds, but, uh, up in the
sky and then into space and, and it said

like, I'm dying and actually a diet.

And the woman behind me said, like, you
know, I'm, I'm coming with you later.

And, uh, I love you.

That's the last thing I heard.

I love you, but I couldn't see the
woman, so I don't know who it is.

Yeah, no.

So that's, um, but it was
a wonderful experience.

It was, uh, very, very smooth, very uh.

Not hurting, nothing.

You know, it was like
going in back into space.

It, it just felt really, really wonderful.

And then being 96, I said
like, you know, if that's, this

is really, I'm gonna be 96.

Wow, that's great.

You know, so I still have, you
know, about, it was 56 at that

time, so I have 40 years to go.

It is fantastic.

You know, so, and if I die 90, say
whatever can happen to me now, that being

Rupert Isaacson: 16

Ralf Daab: again.

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

That's the other story.

Now that, that's the part I
experience on the MDMA journey.

But, so three months later we
are actually in our school.

I go for a walk on the beach.

I have music on.

That's what I do.

Like once a day I going
for a walk and then I stop.

And at that, I'm at that point where I
said, oh, here has, here is this, here's

a place where I die so I could see it.

And I, I got showered.

It felt like boo goosebumps wall.

I.

I start crying, you know, say,
wow, this is, here's a place.

So I then did calculations,
said like I was 56.

Then I said, I, when I
96, it's 40 years to go.

When I subtract that from 56, I'm 16
years old now, and I can start all over

again with everything, with relationship,
with business, with everything.

And I still have 40 years to
go, wow, how fantastic is that?

So, and then I started crying and
laughing and I was dancing on the beach

and I was like, wow, this is fantastic.

So that was real, you know, so that's
what I said earlier with with when you

have like the experience with, with
the Saltan or you know, with things

that happen in, in on the MDMA journey.

And then you have experience like
in real life you say, well, that's

the same thing, you know here.

The, his story continues
in real life, so I.

It was just fantastic.

And I said like, I don't
have fear of death, nothing.

So what, what else, uh, can happen to me?

And one thing is like, uh, a friend of
mine, tma, he died in November of cancer

last November, very sad age of 58.

So, um, and last year I took him
twice on the journey, MDMA journey.

And he experienced also his death on
his first journey, um, which helped

him a lot to, at the end, I was in the
hospice with him the last three days.

And he told me the story, like
how he died and he was great.

He was, you know, going into the light
and he had no fear, you know, and he left

and with no fear and he gave me so much
power and energy and it was incredible.

So, for him, this MDMA journey
was wonderful, you know?

Going through this whole process,
and then eventually he died then.

But, uh, it was great.

So for him and for me also, yeah.

So these are things that, uh, that's
why I also like, uh, going, I dunno

when next week, two weeks, we're
gonna do like, uh, MDA journey again.

Like this is like, just experience.

Like what, what's coming, you
know, you can look into the

future, um, or I can look into the
future, or I can ask questions.

So like, what is, what,
what's coming next?

Or ideas is something I
should, uh, I should look at.

Or what also happens is, um, that's
what the, the psychic reading

told me also, like, I should
be open to, uh, to channeling.

And that's happening also.

Sometimes when I wake up in the
morning, it's now, I, I sleep very

well because one thing is also like, it
helped me a lot in the last six months

without the separation, the ending
of the relationship and everything.

I.

I don't drink alcohol in it
no more for six months now.

And it's great, you know, I feel good.

I sleep better.

I, I'm clear.

So it's, it's fantastic.

So I wake up most of the time,
early in the morning, like 5 30, 6.

And then in that stage I'm,
I'm just saying, okay, I'm

open, just channel whatever.

Like, I'm talking to the universe,
they're like, oh, let, let me know

what I, you know, should look at.

And, uh, and I, I get messages.

It's, it's amazing.

Can you give us some

Rupert Isaacson: examples?

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

It's like, um, some people come up,
they say, oh, you should talk to him.

Or some people like, um, like yesterday
for example, was some like really like

a name came up or I saw the picture
actually of a person who I've seen for

like years said I should talk, contact
him, you know, so that kind of thing.

And I sent an email yesterday.

Got a response, so maybe a new project.

So that's kind of things, you know,
oh, let's say I should do this or that,

or just some, sometimes small things.

But yeah, it's kind of like, or
I see get also sometimes messages

for other people when I, when I,
um, see oh, there's something going

on, and yeah, be careful, you know?

So I think it's more
like, and then you tell

Rupert Isaacson: that person, I saw this.

Ralf Daab: Yeah,

Rupert Isaacson: keep your eyes

Ralf Daab: open.

It's like what Psyched told me, like
you are very open, you know, um, you

know, a higher frequency basically.

And I feel that sometimes, you
know, that, um, I can get messages

or feel something and, um.

That's what Yeah, it's, it's, it's great.

So it's nothing I'm, I'm afraid of,
you know, so it's just really good.

And that's why, you know, I'm continue
also doing, doing like, uh, I'm

starting doing Kundalini now because
Kundalini yoga is also spiritual,

you know, it's a connection between
spirit and body and everything.

It's, it is part of the spiritual journey.

Um, or, uh, the go meditation I did last
weekend in, in Hamburg was fantastic.

Have you done go meditation?

Wow.

I have not,

Rupert Isaacson: but I have, I have done
things with singing bowls and frequencies.

Um, I was recently in Grand Rapids,
Michigan and um, went through a

meditation with singing balls,
very similar to gongs actually.

And one of the things which the
practitioner did as we were lying

there, was with a tuning fork coming
around and then putting the tuning fork.

To the skin, um, at the
frequency of the bowl.

And I, what I found, um, extraordinary
about that was that I didn't experience

it as like a vibration or a buzzing
or a tickling or something that you'd,

you'd expect I experienced it as color.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and

deep sense of peace.

And I was actually there with my son.

I was there with Rowan,
uh, sc you know who's Yeah.

Okay.

My whole story really?

Yeah.

Yeah.

We were there

Rupert Isaacson: together and
he'd been actually helping me

with a, an autism training.

Um, you know, he often comes on
the trainings now and helps explain

autism from the inside to people.

Um, and to be going through that
experience with him was lovely.

And actually that, that.

What you just said brings me sort of
to the next thing, which is I think

some people will be listening saying,
oh, well, does that mean I have to

do a psychotropic substance in order
to begin to access these states?

And of course the answer is no.

No.

Um, all of my early experiences with
those ulcer state of consciousness as

healing have been with, um, cultures
where those plants just don't grow.

So for example, in the
Kalahari, in southern Africa,

there are no psychotropics.

So the healers dance themselves into
trance, um, but then are incredibly

effective whether they are healing or
whether they're contacting ancestor

spirits for, um, answers to a dilemma or
whether they are, whether it's hunting

magic, and they just need to know
where the lions are so they can go the

other way the next day, or, or, or, um.

Of course, those who know my story
know that it, it even got tied up

with the human rights and political,
um, uh, struggle that the son

were in, that I was helping with.

Where I realized that what was
happening was the lawyers that we

were, uh, hiring for them because
they've been kicked off their land

illegally to make way for diamond mines.

Were going talking to the.

Community who would then go and talk to
their healers, who would then go into

trance and go into the spirit world, come
back with a series of instructions, tell

that to the community, who would then
tell that to the lawyers, and then that

would be the strategy for the courtroom.

But the lawyers had no idea that they
were being directed from the spirit world.

And when I realized that that
was going on, I, oh my gosh, I

can never tell these guys this.

'cause what?

It'll put them off their game.

But what happened was that, you
know, us with the measly, you know, a

hundred thousand that we managed to,
uh, raise up against DeBeers Diamonds.

The Bushman won

the largest land claim in African
history, and then several more after

that and did indeed get to go home
and did indeed see the whole process

through, um, no psychotropics involved.

Then a few years ago, I was
going through a rather difficult.

Period.

And I was experiencing a lot of fear
and it was beginning to take over.

And I was with a healer I
know in the Americas who

heals in the Lakota tradition.

And there they do use a psychotropic,
they use peyote, um, which is partly,

you know, dimethyltryptamine, DMT,
strongest hallucinogen known to man.

And he said, Rupert, I can just
see we were in a sweat lodge.

And I'd done that
before, sweating through.

He said, I can see you
need medicine, you know?

And I was like, no, I do.

The last thing I need right
now is I'm just clinging onto

my sanity by my fingernails.

The last thing I need is some kind
of psychotropic drug is ripper.

How long have you known me?

You know, do you feel I'm
a professional or not?

Good?

Fine.

You know, so he says, I'll
give you, you know, the dosage

I think that you should have.

And what was so interesting was I.

After a while, I became aware
of like a little red laser that

you might see in a PowerPoint.

Mm-hmm.

Going through my body and stopping at
areas where I had stiffness and pain.

Oh.

And it would go b

beep, and then it would move on and the
pain would, at that place would be gone.

And then a certain point it
crossed into my brain and it

started going around my brain.

And everywhere it was
finding fear and anxiety.

It would stop and go B,

you know, and it would be gone.

And like it was finding, you know,
cortisol scarring effectively from

stress and taking that away, which we
know oxytocin can do naturally, but this

was happening very, very, very quickly.

And I remember thinking, well, this is
great, but you know, the drug's gonna

wear off and then it will all come back.

But it never did.

The healing was real and lasting.

But the reason I'm telling that
story and then the stories from.

Previously when no medicine was involved
is, I think, speaking to your point

where you've now been four years letting,
let's say the plant medicine because

MDMA is effectively a plant derivative
or, or, uh, you know, synthesize drugs

are effectively plant derivatives.

And now you're finding, oh, actually
I no longer need that to access.

Right.

The, and you know, and even though it
doesn't mean I'm gonna reject it, I

will still continue to do those things,
but I know it, it's done its job

for having provided me the, the, the
way through the window, if you like.

Would you say that that's

Ralf Daab: true?

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

It goes faster.

I mean, there are different ways to,
and everybody can find, they should

find their own own way to, to get there.

Um, it's just a little faster,
I would say, you know, it's.

You can do it like one
day, basically a journey.

And when you do other things,
you have to train it, you have to

like, yeah, really get into it.

It can take hours or like weeks, decades
or decades, you know, you could get

there, but it takes a long, longer time.

So with, with MA or maybe other
things like, uh, mushrooms.

And so it, it gets faster because,
you know, there's nothing you can do.

You just, it's gonna act on the
way it's gonna happen that way.

Yeah, right.

So, um, it's basically, you know,
just to bring the body to, to

produce more dopamine, you know, or
certainly, you know, so, but yeah.

But a lot of people are afraid or
they're like, um, don't want to take

drugs, you know, of course, you know,
maybe, uh, self-control, whatever.

And they always say like, you
know, drugs, what is drugs?

You know, like medicine is, it's all
drugs and it's as a therapy, it, it helps.

I mean, like, it's, it's proven, you know?

So, um.

Post-traumatic traumas.

You know, in other countries like
Australia, it's legal now they, they

do it and, uh, they're working on it.

I think also in the u in
US and even in Europe.

So it takes some years, but then it will
be, for therapy, it will be legalized.

MDMA, right?

MDMA.

Yeah.

MDA.

And of course it used to be.

Used to be, used to be.

So, um, yeah.

But there are different ways and
everybody can find their, their own way.

And it should be, it is no dogma.

It's no dogma to say you have to
do this to get there, you know, so.

Right.

Rupert Isaacson: Um, it, it's also
interesting that you talk about Kundalini,

because the Bushman have a, a similar
idea, you know, Kundalini's supposed to

reside at the base of your spine, right?

Mm-hmm.

And it's a life force, a sexual energy
that you can, um, begin to manipulate

the Bushman colic mum and forward slash.

Um, the forward slash is that click
that, and mum is one of those,

uh, untranslatable words, which it
can mean power, this type of life

force wisdom can mean many things.

Um, but they, what they do is they
over years of training, learn how

to boil the, in their stomach, bring
it into their stomach and boil it.

And the dance does this, and
you'll see them get incredibly hot.

Wow.

And if you touch them, they're incredibly
hot, but they'll even, they'll try

to cool themselves in the fire.

So they'll actually take swallow coals.

I've seen that many times.

Or lay in the fire, come up, unburned.

Very good.

Um, and then when the womb is
boiling, which is very painful in the

early stages, when they're younger
healers, they'll often faint or.

Sometimes they would say die
and have to be brought back.

But as they get older,
they learn how to ride it.

And then this is when they can not
just be in the spirit world and do

what they need to do, but they can
pull things out of people or put

things into people that are needed.

So it's clear that these things
are as old as humanity because

the San are, the bushman are the
oldest known culture on the planet.

And so the quest for the altered state
of consciousness seems to be built

into our DNA, um, that to play with
consciousness, which is why I think in

the past we've made, had the arrogance
as humans to think we are the only ones

with consciousness, which now I think
we're realizing clearly isn't true.

But because we're conscious of our
consciousness in a certain way,

if you like, we're self-conscious,
we have a great desire to.

Communicate with it, I think, and
through it, and use it as medicine

and answer dilemmas through it.

And I, uh, as you say, whichever
way you do it, um, there is no

one way but to be on that path.

Seems to be important for human happiness.

Yeah.

Would you not

Ralf Daab: agree?

Yeah, absolutely.

Yes.

You on certain, like one path to your
own path, and then be curious, you know,

like go there and there, try things
out, you know, like what I did like,

uh, following like some people like a
podcast and then say, okay, that's good.

I, I, you know, now I follow somebody
else or read other books or do

a seminar on, uh, meditation or
the gong meditation, for example.

Just try things out, you know, and then
you feel like when your body, or when

your consciousness, or when your spirit
like reacts and what, what's best for you.

So, and like being on a path
that's the most beautiful thing.

It is like, and uh, to, to,
to experience new things.

To meet new people.

And it is, it is kind of like you,
you meet other people, you meet

people who are also on their path.

You know, you, you connect very fast.

And, uh, um, and that's, that's the great
thing about, uh, you know, being on the.

On the journey.

On the path.

And, uh, but as I said in the beginning
is you have to let things go, you know?

Um, that's the other part I I
seeing or meeting a lot of people.

They do a lot of things.

They, they, they go every, every day
or three, four days a week, they go

to yoga and they do a lot things, but
they still in the same environment.

There's still same jobs.

They're stressed, you know, they, they,
they, you know, of course it's difficult

to leave everything, but, um, kind of like
you have to like, kind of, you know, let

things go in order to receive new things.

You have to make room for new things.

Rupert Isaacson: It seems though
that that process is almost built in.

Um, and I think a lot of people find
this rather alarmingly, you know, when

they first get involved in this type
of way of life, things can fall apart

very fast and that can be very traumatic
at first, even though they may, they

are things that actually you look.

Back over a couple of years
and you go, oh yeah, actually

I needed to let all that go.

Um, and I probably would've just clung
onto it forever if it hadn't, if I

hadn't been literally picked up by a
pair of forceps and placed over there.

Um, however painful that was, and I'd
say it seems that you've gone through

something like this rather recently,
because when I first met you, um,

you were, you know, living in vs.

Barden, which is

a nice town, it's a wealthy town, um,
nice apartment, um, still very much in

the publishing life, et cetera, et cetera.

Then you went through something of
disruption, um, about six months ago.

Um, and I remember and, and
now you're living in this, in

an apartment in this castle.

Rather, rather romantic, um, in a very,
very beautiful part of the countryside in

Germany that I know where you are and I
know how beautiful the nature is there.

And it's interesting you've been
sending me these, uh, pictures

on WhatsApp of, of the nature,
and I'm like, ah, he's found it.

'cause one of the things which I was
noticing through your story, um, and

they, you know, when, whether it was you,
uh, working for Chen or you as the, uh,

Persian person showing people beauty, the,
this is all about human beauty and things

that were made by humans and you know,
Chen also fashion and models and that

kind of physical human beauty and as well.

But what I feel is often missing
from all of that is nature.

Um, and of course the greatest
beauty, of course, is always nature.

And that's why we, we react and respond
to beauty in the way that we do because

nature is beautiful and nature is what
we're supposed to be surrounded by.

And people actually,
people are very beautiful.

Um, inside from doubt.

We're a very loving species.

Right.

You know, it's, it, so it's
interesting to me that finally,

you know, in the last six months,
there you are in nature by another.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

You know, you, those of you who are
watching this on YouTube, you, it looks

like, well obviously we're, we're,
we're talking across by Zoom in Ralph's

apartment within that castle, but I know
what's outside that window and I know

that you're out in that nature now and
you've really simplified, you've sort of

gone from, you know, home ownership and
real estate and all of that stuff now

to saying, no, no, I'm gonna minimalize
and I'm just gonna have this small

apartment to spend most of my time in
nature while still working as a publisher.

Ralf Daab: Right.

Rupert Isaacson: You know,
it's interesting to me,

Ralf Daab: and one thing is also like,
uh, talking about, you know, when I

said the, the, the, the salt in the
Persia, you know, show the beauty.

Uh, what I realize now, it's not only it
was back then or still is sometimes of

course with the books to show the beauty
outside, but it's also like, my purpose

is also to show the beauty in people.

Mm-hmm.

To help people to go on their path to,
to develop or show their own beauty.

And that's also, you know, one thing
I'm gonna do in the future to help

people, uh, to show their own beauty
because every person is beautiful.

So, and then how.

Well, but, um, yeah, with seminars, with,
uh, you know, I did like, uh, coaching,

um, um, as a neuroscience coaching.

I have like a certificate, whatever
you call it, you know, and then I did,

uh, meditation, spiritual, and I'm
doing a kundalini, uh, practicing.

So things like put it
together, but also my.

Strength is what I can do really
good is like bring people together.

Mm-hmm.

So, you know, the funny thing is, like
a year ago I was still in Spartan,

I was in rgo, which is beautiful,
you know, the wine area with wines.

And so, and I was standing there and
said like, ah, well this is beautiful.

This is beautiful and,
and good energy for me.

And it's like I would live in a place
like here, like where you can live,

but also where you can do seminars,
you know, like a house or so.

And now I'm no longer at Beach Spot, but
I'm here now and I have, I found a place.

It's incredible.

Rupert Isaacson: Can you,
can you do seminars now

Ralf Daab: in Yes.

This, here they're, they event
place, they're weddings are here,

seminars here, there's a big
space terrace outside Nature.

It is a perfect place for seminars.

So we can, we start doing like in, in
four weeks, we have a seminar here I'm

organizing, so I bring people here.

That's, you know, uh,
organized things, festivals.

I wanted to do a festival here,
music festival overlooking

here, the Rhine Valley.

It's, it's just incredible.

So can you imagine like a year
before, like last year or,

or it was more than a year.

I mean, last year was, and I had
this vision and now I'm here and I

can do it, and it's, it's happening.

So it's not, you know, I had to,
had to leave things in v spot and,

you know, also the relationship.

But now everything can come
and can, you know, organize.

I'm not looking for a
relationship now, but never know.

But everything is can happen now.

So.

And you're still

Rupert Isaacson: publishing?

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

Rupert Isaacson: So listen,
if people want to read your

book, um, there you are again.

Um, yeah.

How do they find it?

Ralf Daab: Well, there's
a, there's a website.

It's called um, books.buy.

It's a print on demand website.

Mm-hmm.

Website.

It's actually based, the company's based
in Australia, but it's all over the world.

And they can place order,
uh, print on demand.

So it's free shipping worldwide.

Um, you can place the order, you
can order the book and they find a

printer near you, like someplace.

Let's say when you order here, maybe in
Germany or France, and they ship it to

you free, free shipping, free of charge.

It's, I think it's 20.

And that's in

Rupert Isaacson: English, obviously.

That's the English.

Yeah, of course in English.

There you are again.

English book, that book.

Stop by.

So people go to book, book start by slash

Ralf Daab: HHOL.

You can put it maybe slash HOL living.

HOL.

Yeah.

Rupert Isaacson: Great.

And then they would look
for, there you are again.

Ralf Daab: Right.

It's on there.

You can.

They can buy it, they free
shipping and then they can read.

So yeah.

And

Rupert Isaacson: if people want to
reach, reach out to you and want to be,

you know, well, they, they could send
email questions about their own healing

or wanna be part of your seminars or
come visit Yeah, they could contact

Ralf Daab: me.

Yeah.

How do they contact you?

Well, there's, uh, by email's
best like ralph@highonliving.com.

Rupert Isaacson: So R-A-L-P-H Ralph, no
FF with an F right in the German way.

RALF at

Ralf Daab: Hi.

Hi.

On living.com.

High on

Rupert Isaacson: living.com.

Ralph, with an F.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Rupert Isaacson: High on living.com,

right?

Yeah.

Reach, reach out to Ralph listeners.

He's, he's, yeah, please do.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Uh, yeah.

And come up here like, if you
visit, uh, Germany or near

Cologne, you cannot up be here.

Yeah.

Hiking.

It's, it's a beautiful place.

Rupert Isaacson: Well, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna run up the, uh, a three.

Yeah.

Come, come here.

Right.

Take exit bat.

Ralf Daab: Bat exit.

Lin.

You're right here.

So bad Ho.

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah, I
know exactly where that is.

We help someone buy a horse from Bad Ho.

Uh, yeah, it's right here.

Great horse.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ralf Daab: They're up here.

They're 50 horses up here, so see them in
the morning when they come out the stalls

and like run and run and, and I, yeah.

Well, maybe we'll do something with

Rupert Isaacson: horses together then.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It should come.

That's, it's really wonderful.

Okay.

All right, Rael, thank you so much.

Well, thank you, Rupert.

It's been a, been a, yeah.

Wonderful journey.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Great, great.

Rupert Isaacson: Yeah.

So any last words of wisdom
before I click off the record?

Ralf Daab: Last word of wisdom.

Well, I would say it's all energy.

It's Albert Einstein.

It is all energy.

And that's what I feel now.

I.

Going through all these journeys
for the last four years is

basically even with my plan.

My plan, when you see it here, it was like
this tall, basically in, in this button.

It didn't grow, but it didn't die.

But here it's growing like fast.

I went a beautiful, so I know
I'm at the right place because

plant is feeling good, you know?

Rupert Isaacson: So it's all energy.

Ralf Daab: Yeah, it's

Rupert Isaacson: all energy.

That's right.

As Nicola Tesla said, also, I think,
um, if you want to know the secrets of

the universe, you have to think in terms
of energy, frequency and vibration.

Yeah, exactly.

And it seems that, well, I guess every
electronic device we use goes back to him.

So Yeah.

Clearly these guys had, you know, yeah.

Had something.

All right, well, all right.

Parallel universes,
um, vertical timelines.

Medicines to help us radically
shift our viewpoints.

By the way, that, that's something I,
I, I wanted just to throw in there.

I was looking at the neuroscience
of, um, of, uh, psychotropics and

it does seem that what happens with
people is massively, massively, um,

augmented, uh, neuron new neural
pathway development when these happen.

'cause of course it's also new, similar
to what you get with novel movement,

novel ways of moving, BDNF, brain
derived neurotrophic factor, which

normally you only get through movement.

Um, it seems that this can be massively
boosted with the use of psychotropics.

And I guess our ancestors
must have known this.

Yeah, of course.

Um, yeah.

Maybe that's that thing of
allowing us to see mm-hmm.

What we can't normally see.

So there you are again.

There you go.

Buy it from books.

Stop by slash HOL.

Give Ralph an email at
rlf@highonliving.com.

Yeah, I guess we'll see you
on the next looking forward.

Ralf Daab: Yeah.

Yeah.

See you soon.

Thank you for coming on.

Thank you for having me.