Master Plant Dieta with Maestro Rono Lopez, facilitated by Mathis @naughtymantis and myself. This is an apprenticeship in the ancestral Ayahuasca and Plant Spirit Medicine Tradition Of The Amazonian Indigenous Shipibo Culture. 💚 at Mokan Rate Center in the Amazon Jungle of Iquitos, Peru. 24th November - 16th December (21 days). Check out our webpage under “Retreat” at 💚 A deep, immersive 21 day retreat and “Master Plant Dieta” shamanic apprenticeship within the ancestral spirit medicine tradition of the Amazonian Shipibo culture. Myself and Mathis are collaborating alongside Maestro Rono, In collaboration together, we are offering a well-integrated and holistic container of merging traditional and authentic Shipibo lineage healing practices, with complimentary western healing modalities and practices, holding responsibly held, trauma informed and intimate retreat experiences, that supports deep healing, self-discovery and reconnection to the heart and oneʼs own spiritual maturation. Our Master Plant Dieta Immersions in the Peruvian Amazon are rooted in the authentic Shipibo lineage of the Peruvian Amazon. Our retreats offer sacred and safe space for oneʼs own deep self-healing and spiritual discovery. Guided by experienced Shipibo Maestros and held with integrity and reverence, these immersions invite participants into a profound relationship with the intelligence of the plant teachers. Through deep physical, emotional and spiritual cleansing, withdrawing from the distractions of our everyday lives, we embark on our own sacred pilgrimage within, through ceremonies, silence, fasting and attuning to the frequencies of the plants and Jungle. You are supported in reconnecting with your heart, inner wisdom and true nature. The journey is an initiation into greater clarity, presence, and embodied spiritual maturity, honoring both the ancient tradition of the Shipibo Amazonian wisdom and the unique unfolding of your personal healing path. #masterplantdieta #shipibotribe #ayahuascaretreat #plantspiritmedicine

Had the opportunity to travel to the mighty Ausangate mountain in Peru with my tribe out here. Working with the San Pedro cactus out here has been amazing. The deeper entheogens take me out here the more profound the teachings become as identity starts to wither away. Coming at an interesting time when much of the world is balls deep in identity politics. Showing how easily we're swayed into taking sides, applying more layers to our identity fueling the mind with confirmation we're right. How much of these mental activities perpetuate the illusion of self? Do our opinions actually matter at all? Only to ourselves, only to keep the mind "sure" of itself. But if you are the observer of your mind, who is listening? No one. The activity of thoughts and opinions only serves to justify the sense of self. That you are who you think you are. How many of our opinions can be traced back to conditioning? We're so certain.. until the foundation of our beliefs is tested. And when your beliefs are challenged.. YOU are challenged! We're bombarded with so much subliminal shit we're unaware of. Which is why the oldest method of learning is observation. My reason for working with plants and nature. Nature is amoral. Untainted by mind, thoughts, experiences. Nature has no agenda. No side. But contains the intelligence and wisdom of the cosmos. Our obstacle as humans is transcending the ego mind. The very thing that convinces you you're who you think you are. My teachings in these mountains and with these medicines resonate with everything the sage Moojibaba teaches. My favorite quote: "Leave aside the itch to tell stories, opinions and projections born of delusion The outcome of identification with the unreal notion of self. Observe the unbroken silence from which all springs. Recognize yourself as attributeless being. Rest in presence, as presence itself. Observe that this is not the mind. Nor is it trapped inside the minds functioning. It is without gender, conditioning or identity. It is the witnessing principle dwelling in the Heart of all sentient beings. Free from fear, judgement or desire. This beingness is the dynamic self. The Child of Absolute Awareness".

Some stills from my short film "Terra Ador". If you haven't seen it already go to my website link in bio to check it out. This is still one of my favorite projects I've ever done. A lot of people ask me about it. Filmed across Asia by myself with very minimal gear. I had a rough idea of what it is I wanted to create when I was shooting this but I actually ended up sitting on the footage for a long time because I wasn't 100% sure what direction I wanted to take it in. Any film worth a shit takes a lot of time. Endless hours of editing. So I wanted to make sure I was going to be happy with whatever came out at the end. A lot of people dive into edits and projects with no vision, which can work out. Getting your hands dirty can help you see what you're working with and start molding the project. For myself I've found it saves time to wait until you know what it is you're after. In this case I worked on the script for a while until it really portrayed the essence of what the film was about. Working with WORDS all by itself helped shape the film before I even started making it. Once I nailed the words that would narrate the images the rest flows naturally and saved a lot of time and headache in the post process. Next was music. Once the track meshed with what I saw in my head I could edit flawlessly. It's almost like you can't go wrong, the pieces all fall into place. I always encourage people to do passion projects like this one where there's no client, no bullshit nothing getting in your way cause you'll learn SO much about your own creative process. This whole thing was shot with a sony a7s and a7sii. Very minimal cheap gear. I shot this whole thing with very cheap minimal gear for many reasons. But one of those being I wanted to prove to people you don't need money to bring your vision to life.  - - - - - - #documentary #a7s #sonya7sii #sonya7s #a7r #a7rii #sonya7r #sonya7rii #djimavic #dji #djiinspire #djimavicpro #djimavicpro2 #djispark #nikond3500 #canonrebelt6 #canonrebelsl3 #canon90d #nikond7500 #nikond780 #canon6d #canon6dmarkii #nikond750 #nikond850 #canon5dmarkiv #canon5dmarkiii #canon5d

Taken from a documentary episode I helped shoot for @wsl in Senegal with the guys over at @makewild . Sorry Instagram compression sucks, muddied up the image. I don't do as much aerial stuff as I used to but it's nice when a project comes up that requires it. It can be a challenge for a lot of people that get into aerial photography or filming because you've spent so much time on the ground mastering your craft. Then you get up in the air and everything is different. For myself I've found all the same rules to cinematography apply up in the air as they do on the ground. The difference is learning to navigate a different style of space and perspective. Everything else remains the same. Framing, lighting, movement etc. I see so many drone shots that are dull and uninteresting cause people feel uncomfortable shooting in the air. It's a slow process but if you just learn to apply the same principles in the air and take your time I guarantee your shots will turn out so much better. People frantically get drones up on set and just capture whatever they can amid the pressure of whatever is going on and land. Personally I like to sit somewhere chill away from everyone and monitor by myself. Scan, prioritize my shots then execute. If you don't focus you easily get overwhelmed with the amount of options from the air and end up frantically shooting everything fearing you'll miss something and come back with a bunch of mediocre shots. Focus and execute and repeat if necessary until you get the shot. It's better to come back with that one killer shot than a bunch of mediocre shit you're probably not gonna use. - - - - - - - - - - - - #documentary #wsl #surf #senegal #a7s #sonya7sii #sonya7s #a7r #a7rii #sonya7r #sonya7rii #djimavic #dji #djiinspire #djimavicpro #djimavicpro2 #djispark #nikond3500 #canonrebelt6 #canonrebelsl3 #canon90d #nikond7500 #nikond780 #canon6d #canon6dmarkii #nikond750 #nikond850 #canon5dmarkiv #canon5dmarkiii #canon5d

Recently did my first @tonyrobbins event. Unleash The Power Within. Due to covid this year the event was live online with over 20,000 people. We hosted the event in our home and invited our community to come participate. 12 hours a day for 4 very long days. I've always been a fan of Tony's but now I understand the "cult" of Tony after actually going through one of his courses. The guy is nothing short of beast when it comes to getting his teachings across. There's an embodiment of the messages during his course that you cannot experience from his books. He takes you on a 4 day roller coaster through every emotion, ambition and belief you've ever had. There's many things I do and practice in my life that I think is not for everyone. But Unleash The Power Within is something I think everyone benefits from. If you've never explored the end of your comfort zone and reaped the rewards of your true power, Tony can take you there. But just like everything in life... He can't do it for you. You really have to commit and push yourself. Highly recommended for anyone that's willing to take the plunge and dive outside of their comfort zone and break any limiting habits or belief systems. I thought a majority of the event would be geared towards money and business but after going through the process with 20,000 people from all over the world, all different ages, religions, cultures and classes, I can say the teachings are applicable to any person in any walk of life... As long as you have that drive to look within. - - - - #tonyrobbins #unleashthepowerwithin #upw

Music videos are a crazy lesson in film making. Limited time, high pressure, budget constraints. There's very little room for error. Not exactly the best learning environment right? Wrong! If everything is handed to you on a platter with no consequences you don't learn what it's like to feel that fire under your ass and have to take strict action when required. There's a reason good directors deliver consistently and the bad ones fade out. If everyone had unlimited funds, resources and time, everyone would make amazing content. But that's not the realistic. The real world of film making demands hustle, sacrifice, risk taking, vision, perseverance and execution. Even in the face of total failure. This is why I love the music video format. Youre not committing to an entire film or documentary where the stakes are high. But at the same time you're expected to deliver top quality with a fraction of the resources. What better training ground for your craft? This shot is from the "shaped by fire" music video I directed for @asilaydying check it out on YouTube. This was a great learning lesson of letting go of the things you can't control on set and sticking to my vision and pushing through on what really counts. This particular day had all the elements. Soaking wet shoes, blasting fire and heat all day, loud music, every technical issue you could think of. Exhausting, defeating and depleting. But that's what I love about directing, especially on my projects and my sets. If you look around at my crew, everyone is feeling the same shit. But everyone is hustling. Everyone wants to be there and is willing to go through the mud for the craft. At a certain point in your career you will feel the immense gratitude to be at the level where the only people left working around are just as dedicated as you. The work itself thins out the herd and leaves those that don't have what it takes behind. And lifts those up that have that fire burning inside to create and achieve. It's a cut throat difficult industry but it's built that way for a reason. If youre reading this and you haven't given up on your film making goals, just know that you're on the right track 👍

Some insights into silence and stillness. What do we think we know about it? If we look around us what do we see people doing? Constantly moving. Always "doing" something. Working. Thinking. Talking. Glued to our phones. How uncomfortable do we get spending even an hour without looking at our phone? When's the last time you took a train, bus or drove and didn't listen to music or look at your phone? TV always on at home. Something in the background. When's the last meal you ate in total silence alone with no distraction? Podcasts. Radio. Boredom kicks in? More TV. Netflix. Alcohol. Weed. Cigarettes. More food. Especially shitty food. What's the one thing all these activities have in common? It seems humans are in a perpetual cycle of constantly avoiding silence or stillness. What is it we fear so much about doing nothing? Sit for 5 minutes and do nothing. See what happens. Try 5 hours. What happens then? We're conditioned experts at doing everything EXCEPT being ourselves it seems. The most natural centered state in existence is stillness for every living thing on the planet. But it's the most uncomfortable for us humans. If we have such an avoidance of this state, what could possibly be lurking in there? Think about how much of your day is spent in perpetual motion, constant self distraction from the moment you wake up. Now think about how much of your life has been in this state. How much have you explored total stillness, silence and solitude? A territory most wouldn't dare venture to its deepest roots. But while the majority run a never ending cycle of avoidance this place of stillness never goes away. It lingers. And waits.. and waits, while we run around pretending it's not there with whatever new gadget or form of distraction we find in front of us. Until the next opportunity to be silent and look inside presents itself! And we look away, run to the next shiny object to pull our attention elsewhere. Before we realize it, we're looking at our own grave, doesn't seem too far away.. we made it to the finish line without ever looking. Hurray! But what if you dared to look... What dyou think you would you find?

This whole quarantine covid shit has been tough on people all around the world. But I'm not gonna lie. It's been a blessing to be "stuck" in these mountains in Peru beyond anything I could have imagined. I can't believe my luck at times that I ended up here. With the most amazing family of people from all over the globe. Hosting events for the community in our beautiful home nestled between the mountains. Waking up every day in this valley feels surreal. Living with the most humble and kind spirited people anyone could ask for is just.....wow. The solitude and focus that comes from being out here is crazy. Sometimes it takes a pandemic to get the human condition to just stop and allow consciousness to expand to it's limits without the restraints of societal conditioning. What happens when the mind and heart are immersed in the power of these massive mountains? Pure magic. #peru #pisac #sacredvalley #sanpedro #huachuma #ayahuasca #plantmedicine

Behind the scenes shots of the new music video I directed for @asilaydying called "Torn Between" go to my bio for link to see the full video on Youtube or just search for it. One of my favorite music videos I've ever directed. Got to work with an amazingly talented band I've listened to since I was a teenager. And was also lucky to work with some of the best actors I've ever been on set with. From start to finish this was an intense shoot. Everything shot in one day. SUPER tight schedule. I don't think I've ever had a shoot that moved this fast. If our crew hadn't been so professional and on point I don't think it would have been possible. I had to map out every portion of the day and know exactly what scenes we were shooting and when to move on. Getting creative and shit is fun and all. But for your vision to come to life it sometimes requires planning that is so detailed and demanding it can feel like you're not even working in a creative field anymore. But it's vital, knowing the limits of your "creative" time on set to play around is so important. Always worth planning in the end. Huge thank you to all the crew and every person that was involved in this project! And massive thanks to the band for trusting me with bringing the visuals to their music. Director: Naughty Mantis Producer: Laura Semin Prod supervisor: Lizzie Chaplin Coordinator: Madison Kennerly 1st AD: Mario Garciduenas DP: Tom Taugher 1st AC: Tim Ross 2nd AC: Kourosh Farhangi Gaffer: Holden Ketterhagen BB Electric: Clay Pacette BB Grip: Enrique Espinoza Key Grip: Zed Kitchens Art designer: Fernie Valdes Art Assistant: Rebecca Ruhm VFX supervisor: Sam Malko Make up: Mckenzie Mcderm PA: Ernesto Luna PA: Eric Ziech PA: Dan Hall PA/BTS: Braden Young Female lead: Laura Campbell Male lead: Leonardo Santiati VFX: Scissor Films - - - - - - - - #cinematography #dp #dop #director #directorofphotography #videography #musicvideo #redepic #reddragon #redweapon #a7s #a7 #a7sii #a7r #a7rii #gh4 #musicvideos #asilaydying #cinematographer #reddigitalcinema #fs7 #fs5 #gh5 #tornbetween #colograders #luts #color #colorgrading #colorcorrection #davinciresolve

A little @puma commercial I had the pleasure of editing for the guys over at @makewild featuring @iamdanileigh Ads like these always remind me how your editing can completely make or break anything. Even a 10 second commercial. Doesn't matter how amazing your shots are. If the pacing isn't right, it just won't stick or feel engaging. I've seen directors and companies spend SO much money on production and shooting etc and then try to pump out the edit quick and cheaply, it can ruin everything and waste all your money spent. On the flip side the opposite is also possible. You can spend very little on production and invest more of your time/money on post production editing and it can save your project. This commercial is a great example. The footage is very cost effective and minimal. It's the edit that ties it together and creates the vibe. - - - - - - - #cinematography #dp #dop #director #directorofphotography #videography #videoediting #redepic #reddragon #redweapon #a7s #a7 #a7sii #a7r #a7rii #adobepremierepro #adobe #adobepremiere #cinematographer #reddigitalcinema #fs7 #fs5 #gh5 #fs700 #colograders #luts #color #colorgrading #colorcorrection #davinciresolve

The last few months I've been blessed to journey a bunch with some amazing Huachumero shamans working with the incredible San Pedro cactus. I've been participating in ceremonies all over the Sacred Valley in Peru connecting with the Andean mountains. What can I say about San Pedro? It's one of the most interesting entheogenic medicines out there to me. Often referred to as "The Grandfather". It's wisdom and teachings go so so deep. This plant has been used for thousands of years to connect with the land, spirit and soul. I've been lucky enough to journey at sacred Incan ruins and burials way up in the mountains where you can truly experience the depth of the plant. San pedro has a very "careful" way of teaching where I've found it meets most people where ever you're at in life and takes you only as deep as you're ready to go. The most subtle teacher I've ever felt. So subtle it can almost appear invisible at times until the moment you tune in and you're ready for it to open you up. In which case I've discovered it goes SO much deeper than I could have ever imagined. It feels like a never ending flow of wisdom, healings and teachings can come from this plant if you allow it to. Massive heart opener. Some of the most incredible moments of my life have for sure been sitting at the top of these mountains with the spirit of San Pedro 🙏 - - - - - - - - - - #huachuma #sanpedro #peyote #pisac #pisacperu #peru #entheogen #plantmedicine #pachamama #psychadelic

I recently spent 20 days in the Amazon dieting and drinking Ayahuasca, the vine of souls, with the indigenous Shipibo people. The hardest ceremonies of my life. 20 days of bare minimum food, just enough to keep you alive. Mostly in isolation. No books phones laptops. Going deeper within than ever before. It's my 3rd year studying Ayahuasca in the jungle with the Shipibo people and the process gets harder every time as it penetrates deeper. But my understanding of this medicine grows larger and larger. The infinite wisdom, knowledge and healing that comes from the Mother of the Earth is something words can never accurately describe. The sheer power and force of these ceremonies shake me to my core and leave me in awe and full of gratitude. In the most humble of ways the vine teaches and heals without judgement or agenda. It knows only one thing: Nature. And nature doesn't lie. It only restores the balance of all things on Earth naturally. Bringing everything into alignment. There are many ways to learn about the nature of consciousness but for me the most powerful and meaningful ways have always been going deep into ceremony with the source. We are not ON the Earth. We are OF the Earth. What better teacher? Like all things in life, the process can be grueling and painful. So many ups and downs. But so necessary. If understanding the origins and nature of consciousness were as easy as living life, everyone would be enlightened. Unfortunately we humans are really good at blinding ourselves and keeping ourselves numb in constant avoidance. Everything around us is teething with life and energy. Infinite knowledge and intelligence is flowing all around us. Nature speaks constantly to us, but how can we hear when our eyes are glued to screens 24/7. Our minds are overloaded with stress, work, thoughts and satisfying our most primal needs with junk food, entertainment and shitty habits. Of course you can't hear what nature teaches. Temporarily giving up these desires in solitude and spending enough time quieting all the habits that accompany the ego and slowly but surely the body, mind and heart will open up and be able to finally listen and connect with the Earth.