The Light Within: Embodied Nervous System Healing for Spiritual Women
The Light Within is a podcast for high-functioning, spiritually curious women who are ready to stop abandoning themselves and step into embodied self-leadership.
Hosted by Leslie Draffin - trauma-informed somatic practitioner, psychedelic microdosing guide, and former television news anchor - this show explores what it actually takes to heal your nervous system, rebuild self-trust, and reclaim your embodied power.
Because many successful women look calm and capable on the outside… while their nervous system is quietly living in survival mode.
Inside these short, powerful episodes we explore:
• nervous system healing for women
• burnout and the hidden patterns of self-abandonment
• somatic practices for emotional regulation
• womb wisdom and feminine embodiment
• intuition, expansion, and sacred psychedelic medicine
You’ll also hear conversations with therapists, healers, coaches, and thought leaders exploring the messy, beautiful, and sometimes taboo ways women reclaim their embodied sovereign power.
This show isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about remembering who the f*ck you are and learning how to trust your body again.
Welcome to The Light Within.
The Light Within: Embodied Nervous System Healing for Spiritual Women
112. Death, Motherhood & the Psychedelic Experience with Dr. Katherine MacLean, PHD
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In this episode, Dr. Katherine MacLean shares all about her experience as a psychedelic researcher & how her personal journey with plant medicines helped her work through grief & traumatic life situations as well as become a better parent.
In our chat we discuss:
- her experience working at Johns Hopkins
- how grief & loss propelled her spiritual journey
- ways psychedelics have benefitted her life
Get her book: Midnight Water HERE
More about Dr. MacLean:
Katherine MacLean, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist with expertise in studying the effects of mindfulness meditation and psychedelics on cognitive performance, emotional well-being, spirituality, and brain function. As a postdoctoral research fellow and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she conducted clinical trials of psilocybin, the primary chemical found in “magic mushrooms,” and other psychedelic compounds. Her groundbreaking research on psilocybin and personality change suggests that psychedelic medicines can enhance openness to new experiences and promote mental health and emotional well-being throughout the lifespan. Dr. MacLean co-founded and directed the first center for psychedelic education and training in New York, was featured in the New Yorker article entitled “The Trip Treatment" by Michael Pollan, and her TED Talk has been viewed nearly 50K times. Midnight Water is her first book. Find her online at katherinemaclean.org and on Facebook (katherinemacleanphd), Instagram (@katherine.maclean.phd), and Twitter (@thekmacdose).
If this episode felt like I was reading your mind… this is where you start.
1. 🔥 Reset your nervous system in 9 minutes
If this episode hit, don’t just think about it - experience it.
The SHIFT Method is a simple, body-based ritual you can use anytime you feel yourself starting to spiral - so you can come back to yourself in real time.
👉 Download the free SHIFT method
2. ✨ Want support where it actually matters?
If you’re done understanding your patterns and ready to change them in real time ... Sacred Reset is my 10-day nervous system container where I support you inside the exact moments you normally spiral.
So you can stop abandoning yourself under pressure and finally feel steady, clear, and in control again.
👉 Start Sacred Reset
3. 🖤 Stay in my world
For real-talk, nervous system healing, and daily reminders that you’re not broken - you’re just stuck in patterns your body learned to survive:
Instagram: @lesliedraffin
TikTok: @thewombmystic
About Leslie
Leslie Draffin is a certified trauma-informed somatic practitioner and psychedelic guide for high-functioning women who look successful on the outside - but spiral under press...