#54: The Soul is Smiling
with
East Forest
Episode Summary
East Forest joins Jef Szi and the How Humans Work Podcast for a special Winter Solstice episode.
With a generous mind and grounded heart, East walks us through how his Music For Mushrooms Documentary was birthed, as well as the creative gifts and challenges that came along with that project.
Special Note: WATCH it FOR FREE ON YOUTUBE 12-21-2025 to 12-31-2025
Additionally, this conversation explores East's connection to ceremony, elders, influential indigenous traditions, and his subtle nuances and commitments it takes to honor the creative process.
Finally, this show weaves bits of East Forest's remarkable music as he reminds us to remember the power of intention, of community, of retreat, of simple presence, and that curating spaces to listen to our soul are gifts that allow us to find the smile inside our soul.
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About East Forest:
East Forest is a multidisciplinary artist, producer, speaker, and ceremony guide. Since 2008, East Forest’s “lush” (Rolling Stone) and “blissful” (NPR) music has blended ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop to explore sound as a tool for inner journeys and consciousness expansion.
The project's latest endeavor is "Music for Mushrooms," a feature-length narrative documentary showcasing the transformative power of psychedelics, music, and community. East Forest’s most recent musical release, “Lovingly: A Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner, vol. III” is an immersive long-form live album, over six hours in length, and intended to guide journeys of deep introspection from start to finish. The third volume of his Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner series, the music was recorded and improvised live inside psilocybin ceremonies facilitated between 2020 and 2024.
East Forest's extensive catalog includes over 30 albums and notable collaborations with artists such as Ram Dass, Jon Hopkins, Laraaji, Dead Prez, Nick Mulvey, Peter Broderick, Max Cooper, and DJ ANNA. The project has performed at major festivals and venues internationally.
As a trailblazer in meditation and inner resilience, East Forest offers guided meditations, retreats, and a podcast ("Ten Laws w/East Forest"). His approach promotes non-religious, accessible spirituality. 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, UCSF, Stanford, and TED.
His work has appeared on Bright Antenna, Domino, Mercury KX, Aquilo, Ghostly, as well as Tender Loving Empire & Universal/Decca.
