Psychedelic musician East Forest is taking an elevated approach to mental health by taking a revealing look at how music and sound can bring about healing by combining music and as his form of therapy. In the documentary  “Music for Mushrooms,” he shares his story of helping others using music and mushrooms together for healing and sparks conversations about psychedelic therapy. For fifteen years, as a pioneering figure, Forest has developed a huge cult following by tapping into a subcultural movement rooted in the belief that music and psychedelics can help in the healing process of depression and trauma. Together with partner Marisa Radha Weppner, a ketamine and somatic therapist, he holds carefully guided healing sessions and retreats across the country as part of a growing psychedelic renaissance.  Also known as Krishna-Trevor Oswalt and a collaborator of the late Ram Dass – He’s a faculty member at the Esalen Institute and has collaborated with institutions across social justice, mental health, science, music, and creative fields, including Google, Johns Hopkins, New Earth, and TED. The film, which took three years to make, follows Forest and his dedicated disciples as he discovers a practice of guided ceremonial concerts that offer participants an immersive environment to confront their pain and fears, fostering hope. Having personally grappled with his own experiences of chaos and despair. Psychedelic musician East Forest Using his own compositions that are a soothing blend of ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop, Forest documents the exploration of the power of music paired with psychedelics through emotional encounters with individuals who claim their lives have changed. Most striking is the non-psychedelic work he has done during retreats in Utah with New Earth, the Culver City-based educational program that provides mentor-based arts, academic, and vocational programs that empower juvenile justice and systems involving youth ages 13-25, many of whom have left foster care with little or no guidance for the future and are a powerful part of the documentary. “The young people we work with come from places that are very hard,” New Earth founder Dr. Harry Grammer, who appears in the film, told a crowd at the L.A. premiere last week. “We work with young people who have been incarcerated under the age of 18 and people in the foster care system who age out and don’t have a place to go. The world isn’t free until we’re all free, including those we throw by the wayside or slip through the cracks. The space in Utah has provided some tremendous experiences for these kids.  The music produced by Forest with the backdrop of nature was a healing experience unknown to them. The camera didn’t catch everything, but some tremendous breakthroughs occurred in that room.” Other experts who appear include Xochitl Ashe Kusikuy, a fifth-generation Peruvian medicine woman, author, and teacher who became initiated into her family’s healing traditions at 16 and has apprenticed under her godfather, a Mazatec Medicine Man of the ancient tradition of healing with the “Nti-si tho,” Santitos, or psilocybin mushrooms for the past 30 years. “Inner work is the way change happens,” Forest told the crowd at the Laemmle Monica Film Center, where the film is currently running. “We all know we need change in this world and it happens from the inside out.  Each of us matters and all of our stories matter. We are experiencing a spiritual emergency and there is a calling in front of us to use all the tools we have. Music is a big one and psychedelic therapy for some of us is part of that recipe.” Music For Mushrooms Ceremony Concert (Courtesy East Forest) The post East Forest Heals With Music For Mushrooms appeared first on LA Weekly.