Death is a universal experience — yet most of us live as if it’s a distant event, something to be feared or denied. In a thoughtful and compassionate conversation, host Sam Believ speaks with Mary Telliano, a therapist, intuitive and guide, about how psychedelics — and ayahuasca in particular — can change the way we relate to death, grief, dying, and the sacred mystery that surrounds the end of life.
This episode isn’t about morbid fascination. It’s about connection, presence, the meaning of life, and how confronting the reality of death can deepen every moment of living.
Death as the Great Unknown — and Why We Avoid It
Mary begins by acknowledging a truth we rarely speak about openly: most people are not prepared for death. We are taught to medicalize it, postpone it, manage it, but not to meet it as a natural transition. In Western culture especially, death tends to be hidden — cloaked in hospitals, euphemisms and avoidance.
This avoidance doesn’t make death gentler. Instead it breeds fear, denial, anxiety and disconnection from the body and relationships. We fear the process, the unknown, the loss, the grief — not just for ourselves, but for the people we love. Mary’s perspective is that fear of death often becomes fear of life, because the two are not separate.
Psychedelics as Teachers: Not Escapes, But Mirrors
When Mary talks about psychedelics, she doesn’t frame them as tools to “get high” or even as “cures.” Instead, they are mirrors — experiences that bring unconscious material to light and strip away the narratives we hide behind.
In the context of death, psychedelics can make mortality feel less abstract and more lived. People report experiences of expanded time, dissolution of the ego, encounters with ancestors or archetypal energies, release of old grief, and a recalibration of what really matters. Some describe it as a rehearsal for release — a way of touching mortality without judgment or panic.
But Mary emphasizes that psychedelics aren’t a shortcut. They don’t eliminate fear by distraction; they expose the parts of us that fear suppression, loss, abandonment, and absence of meaning. In other words: psychedelics can reveal fear — clear it as much as we’re ready — and sometimes teach acceptance rather than resistance.
Death Anxiety and the Body
One of the most striking themes Mary explores is the difference between intellectual understanding of death and embodied acceptance of it. You can know death logically — “Yes, everyone dies” — but until you’ve felt that truth in your body, your nervous system, your breath, it remains theoretical.
Psychedelics can accelerate this embodied awareness, sometimes gently, sometimes intensely. People feel as if they’re moving through layers of self — identity, fear, expectation — and touching something at the core that doesn’t die when the body dies. Some report meeting loved ones, sensing continuity, or glimpsing an expansive consciousness beyond individual identity.
For others, they don’t see visions at all — they simply feel themselves more vividly alive, more present with the moment, and less afraid of the inevitable because they’ve tasted a wider sense of self than just the body’s narrative.
Grief as a Path, Not a Prison
Mary also reframes grief. Many people think grief is something to “get over.” But from her perspective, grief is a process, not a problem to be fixed. It’s the body, heart, nervous system and psyche releasing attachment — a slow untying of knots we never learned to loosen.
In psychedelic experiences, unresolved grief often surfaces effortlessly. People cry, tremble, revisit memories long buried, or feel togetherness they thought they’d lost forever. Whether or not someone believes in an afterlife, these moments often shift how they hold loss: from fear and contraction to openness and connection.
Mary doesn’t promise that psychedelics solve grief – but she suggests they can open the door to experiencing it without being overwhelmed by it. When grief is seen as transformation rather than annihilation, it begins to soften.
Death, Dying, and Compassion-Centered Practice
Another aspect of Mary’s perspective is that psychedelics can deepen empathy and compassion – both toward ourselves and others. When people touch mortality in ceremony, many return with gentler hearts. They recognize the fragility in themselves and others; they become less reactive, more spacious in response.
This shift isn’t just psychological – it’s relational. People talk differently to their partners, parents, children after these experiences. Some report healing long-standing familial wounds or regrets simply by acknowledging them openly. When the fear of running out of time loosens, presence becomes a priority.
Psychedelics Are Not Magic — Preparation and Integration Matter
Mary is careful not to spiritualize the experience too broadly. Psychedelics are powerful, but they are not magic. They can bring up traumatic material, intense experiences, or emotional overwhelm. Without proper support, preparation, and integration, people can feel lost rather than liberated.
The medicine doesn’t give meaning – but it can strip away illusions that block meaning. It doesn’t automatically heal grief – but it can bring it into consciousness where healing becomes possible. And it doesn’t eliminate fear of death — but it can show you where that fear lives, and how it has shaped your life.
A New Relationship to Life Through Death
The core of this episode isn’t the psychedelic experience itself – it’s what happens when people integrate what they learn. People who face death deeply often become more attuned to life: its fragility, its beauty, its preciousness. They notice small moments they used to miss. They breathe more fully, listen more intently, love more openly.
Mary points out something profound: when you stop fighting the truth of impermanence, you start living with more presence. You stop postponing joy, connection, forgiveness, and presence because you’re no longer in denial about endings. You see life as the precious process it is – not a checklist, not a performance, but a flow of moments, each unique, unrepeatable, and alive.
Final Reflection: Death as Invitation
The conversation between Mary and Sam reframes death not as an enemy, but as a wise, inevitable teacher. Psychedelics – including ayahuasca – may not remove fear, but they can illuminate it. They can help people untangle the unforgiven parts of life, sit with sorrow without collapsing, and return to everyday life with a deeper sense of connectedness and awe.
If you’re curious about psychedelics and mortality, this episode invites gentle reflection: what are you afraid of losing? What might you discover if you met that fear directly? And what might life look like on the other side of that meeting – not as denial, but as presence?
In the end, confronting death isn’t just about dying well – it’s about living deeply, honestly, and with open heart while you’re here.
Based on the Ayahuasca Podcast episode “Death and Psychedelics” with Sam Believ and Mary Telliano.
Sam Believ is the founder and CEO of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat, the best-rated Ayahuasca retreat in South America, with over 520 five-star Google reviews and an overall rating of 5 stars. After his life was transformed by Ayahuasca, he dedicated himself to spreading awareness about this ancestral medicine to help address the mental health crisis. Sam is committed to making Ayahuasca retreats affordable, accessible, and authentic, with a focus on care, integration, and the involvement of indigenous shamans. He is also the host of the Ayahuasca Podcast.