Highest Self Podcast® – Episode 621

Title: How To Get Into A Flowstate + Become A Channel For Creativity
Host: Sahara Rose
Guest: Jason Silva
Date: September 23, 2025

Overview

In this vibrant and philosophical episode, Sahara Rose speaks with Jason Silva—filmmaker, philosopher, and “mad scientist” of channelled wisdom—on the exhilarating experience of creative flow states. Together, they explore using altered states (including the role of cannabis), disciplined ecstasy, the mechanics of channeling, and what it means to direct your own life like a movie. Jason offers deep insights into “ecstatic truth,” personal evolution, and how to honor both the poetic and practical aspects of creativity. This conversation is especially rich for anyone seeking a blend of spirituality, self-mastery, and artistic expression.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of Channeling and Flow States

• Early Encounters with Altered States: Jason traces his capacity for channeling back to experimenting with cannabis in high school, which catalyzed both his openness and verbosity.
  • “It sort of simultaneously connected me with my inner child, but also with just a feeling of like rapid fire revelation. So like, my love of language met the enthusiasm of my inner child all at once.” — Jason [05:00]
• Creating Sacred Containers: Inspired by Baudelaire and the 1920s Parisian hashish salons, Jason organized “ceremonial” gatherings to safely and intentionally explore these states.
• Recording the Unleashed Self: By filming himself in these states, Jason set up a feedback loop to analyze and integrate “ecstatic” experiences, using the lens both as a vessel for vulnerability and as a structured container.

2. Discipline, Structure & The Ecstatic

• Freedom through Discipline: Jason emphasizes the balance between “ecstatic expression” and the discipline required to keep it productive and non-destructive.
  • “I became addicted to that freedom from self. But I also didn’t want to go off the rails. So I just brought discipline to my ecstasy...” — Jason [09:40]
• Role of Movement in Channeling: Both hosts underscore the bodily component; Jason cannot stand still while in flow, comparing himself to a “whirling dervish,” while Sahara notes how walking unbinds the mind.
• Adult Playgrounds & Sacred Safety: Jason likens his process to “an inflatable castle for adults,” where risk-taking is encouraged but within safe boundaries.

3. Technology, Cinema & The Art of Life

• Life as Film: Jason relates filmmaking to the act of shaping consciousness, curating set and setting for the maximum emotional and intellectual impact.
  • “Cinema is a technology of subjectivity. It’s not about objective empiricism, but about poetic truth—or what Werner Herzog calls ecstatic truth.” — Jason [17:11]
• Director of Your Own Story: Rather than just the “main character,” Jason sees himself as the director, stewarding his experience and choosing what enters the frame.
  • “I’m all about radical agency and aesthetic sovereignty and stewardship of internal life and reclamation of the inner screen.” — Jason [45:43]
• Agency vs. Surrender: The dance between controlling elements (directing the frame) and surrendering to emergent experiences is essential to channeling creative flow.

4. Altered States: Tools, Not Escapes

• Cannabis as Ceremonial Tool: For Jason (and, later in life, Sahara), cannabis is not about escapism, but about entering an altered state to facilitate creative downloads, enhance music, and break habitual thought.
  • “Cannabis consciousness and what it opened up was not something for parties. It was something sacramental and ceremonial and needed a sacred container.” — Jason [05:37]
• Intention & Moderation: Jason stresses respecting the biology—using cannabis a few times a week and ensuring good sleep, diet, and recovery as keys to repeated access to flow.
  • “I think of myself as an elite athlete for the art that I create... I don’t use cannabis daily... You have to respect the cycles.” — Jason [22:24]

5. Making the Mainstream Mystical

• Transmuting Ecstasy for the Masses: Jason shares how he adapted his channeling for mainstream media, such as “Brain Games” on National Geographic, making wonder and awe accessible without losing authenticity.
• Ecstatic Archetypes: Jason identifies with the archetype of the ecstatic, the “holy fool,” and the need to integrate the childlike, playful, and even the subversive into daily life.
• Wonder as Altered State: The conversation returns often to the value of awe—as experienced through science, art, psychedelics, or ancient temples—as a counterpoint to the deadening routines of modern living.

6. Paradox: Free Will, Destiny, and Happy Accidents

• Reconciling Agency and Destiny: Jason suggests that both free will and destiny operate simultaneously—akin to the surprise and inevitability coexisting in great art.
  • “A great poem, a great work of art, a great moment of synchronicity has to make you go, ‘Oh my God, I never saw that coming’ and at the same time, ‘But of course, that’s the only way that could go.’” — Jason [48:40]
• AI & Multidimensional Potential: He draws parallels between creativity and “latent space” in AI, suggesting reality is a dance of innumerable possible paths, all containing meaning and lessons.

7. Sacred Derangement & The Creative Process

• Jason’s Book: Sacred Derangement: A Field Guide to Outrageous Creativity, Radical Self Expression, and Living in Awe combines ecstatic essays, deeply influenced by his spoken-word tradition, AI-assisted transcription, and real-life feedback loops.
  • “This is a sacred shattering to reveal. The subtitle is A Field guide to Outrageous Creativity, Radical Self Expression and Living in Awe.” — Jason [52:40]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The people that inspire us often have seeds of consciousness that are dormant codes living within us… waiting to come out in divine timing.” — Sahara [02:35]
• “The cannabis was the thing that erased the lines of all the pieces and created something that was greater than the sum of its parts.” — Jason [10:06]
• “I am an ecstatic. I’ve realized that now, but I’m a responsible ecstatic.” — Jason [17:00]
• “Making life a movie... the directing role gives you stewardship over your own experience.” — Jason [43:27]
• “Wonder is an altered state, and so is awe… all your mental models collapse, dissolve in annihilating glory.” — Jason [34:34]
• “Do you feel there is some sort of agenda or something that is making our society become like this? Or it's just like a natural progression of capitalism?” — Sahara [38:38]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp (MM:SS) | Segment | |-------------------|---------| | 04:51–10:26 | Jason discusses his early experiments with consciousness, cannabis, and the sacred container of flow | | 14:34–15:57 | Sahara and Jason recount personal moments of music, cannabis, and creative breakthroughs | | 17:11–19:09 | Cinema as a tool for channeling and the idea of capturing “ecstatic truth” | | 19:24–20:34 | Is channeling just you, or something beyond you? Jason’s views on intuition and presence | | 22:24–23:30 | Physical health, discipline, and somatic practices for creative flow | | 24:48–26:49 | Capturing inspiration, recording insights, and the technical process | | 28:46–33:46 | Professionalizing flow: from YouTube and home videos to hosting Brain Games | | 34:28–37:21 | Wonder, awe, and humanity’s ongoing hunger for meaning | | 38:48–41:44 | Capitalism, society, and the commodification of ecstatic states | | 43:09–45:43 | Making life a movie—radical agency, direction, stewardship | | 45:59–49:07 | Paradox of free will and destiny, AI parallels, “happy accidents” | | 50:30–53:58 | Jason’s book, creative process, using AI, oral tradition, “Sacred Derangement” |

Flow & Tone

The conversation is articulate, poetic, and electric—equal parts philosophical, deeply personal, and playfully irreverent. Both Sahara and Jason weave humor, scholarly reference, and mystical insight, alternating between intimate stories and transcendent concepts.

Shareable Takeaways

• Creative flow requires both structure & surrender—find your “sacred container.”
• Movement, music, and curating your environment support breakthroughs.
• Awe, wonder, and play are antidotes to mundane, boxed routines; seek them out intentionally.
• Direct your own life with aesthetic sovereignty—be both director and main character.
• Paradox is the true creative space: embrace surprise and inevitability, free will and fate.

Resources & Next Steps

• Jason Silva’s Book: [Sacred Derangement – preorder link in show notes]
• Sahara Rose: Discover her new book, embodiment practices, and more at her website.
• Connect: Social handles and links for both hosts and guest are in the show notes.

“Trust your intuition, trust your inner wisdom, trust your inner guidance, close your eyes and listen.” — Sahara [Outro]