Packers’ Aaron Rodgers continues endorsing ayahuasca and says it helped him beat his fear of death

What Michael Jordan was to Gatorade or Yogi Berra to Yoo-Hoo, Aaron Rodgers is to ayahuasca, the South American psychoactive concoction used in shamanic spiritual medicine.

The reigning NFL MVP continued to endorse hallucinogenic tea during his last appearance on The Pat McAfee Showtelling former Colts kicker and former Packers teammate AJ Hawk that he no longer fears death after stumbling on ayahuasca ahead of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

“He was definitely scared to death,” Rodgers said. ‘And ayahuasca, and psilocybin [mushrooms] in fact, it really helped me with that and relieved a lot of stress around the idea of ​​having to accomplish things before you die.’

Of course, Rodgers has already accomplished a lot, professionally speaking. The four-time MVP is a former Super Bowl winner and one of the most popular athletes in America’s favorite professional sport.

But now that the Packers are 5-8, Rodgers doesn’t feel the same pressure to succeed in his life, he explained.

Instead, Rodgers said, stumbling has helped him “see the other side,” making “the idea of ​​death more of a passage and less of an end.”

Death, Rodgers explained, is “more like the next chapter of life.”

Rodgers admitted to using ayahuasca during the 2020 and 2022 off-seasons.

“I took ayahuasca in 2020 and won two MVPs,” Rodgers told Fox Sports in September. ‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I really don’t believe in coincidences.

I believe in science and synchronicities, and I really feel like what it allowed me to do is have a greater love for the game that I play, a greater love for my teammates, and perhaps had the best season of my career in 2020. and then followed this up last year with even greater integration of many of those lessons.’

Ayahuasca is a South American psychoactive concoction used in shamanic spiritual medicine.

Now that the Packers are 5-8, Rodgers doesn’t feel the same pressure to succeed in his life, he explained. Instead, Rodgers said, stumbling has helped him “see the other side,” making “the idea of ​​death more of a passage and less of an end.”

Rodgers, 38, previously revealed that he drank the hallucinogenic concoction during a trip to Peru in 2020, emerging with “a deep and meaningful appreciation for life” as well as a closer connection to his teammates that helped him capture consecutive MVP honors. .

The psychedelic trip didn’t violate the NFL’s rules on banned substances, but it did give him a new perspective on himself and his connection to “all sentient beings and all plants and fungi.”

Rodgers has become a strong supporter of ayahuasca in recent months.

Speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan in August, Rodgers suggested that many of the world’s problems could be solved if more people took psychedelic mushrooms.

Aaron Rodgers (right) is seen discussing his ayahuasca experience on the Joe Rogan podcast.

Rogan agreed immediately.

“Isn’t it funny that that sounds crazy to say, but that would literally fix the world: if more people had psychedelic trips and more people had more ego-dissolving experiences and more people understood that community is just a group.” of people living together, it’s a group of people who care about each other, and we can treat the world as a community,” Rogan said.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Rodgers replied.

Rogan asked how my psychedelic use occurs among NFL players, but Rodgers refused, saying he didn’t really know.

What the California native did know is that the revelation of his ayahuasca journey piqued the interest of a variety of people.

“It’s been really interesting to see people reach out, all over the league, and there’s been a lot of people from outside the league, artists, athletes, just friends from the past, people who work in the [Packers practice] facility, just the 9 to 5 people, all interested in plant medicine,” Rodgers said.