Nowadays, you can throw a rock and hit a psychedelic-assisted therapist, trip sitter, or some other person serving medicine as a healing modality.
Celebrities, influencers, and clinical research has lead to an explosion of growth in the industry . . . and it truly is an industry.
There are so many beautiful advantages of bringing psychedelic assisted therapy into the mainstream.
People who may have never considered receiving help from this ancient and yet new branch of the healing tree are now dipping their toes in to get help from addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma / PTSD, and end of life issues.
Those harmed by the paranoid and hypocritical propaganda of the U.S. government are now vindicated.
Folks who can genuinely benefit from micro-dosing and deep transformational journeys can do so without so much fear of legal repercussions.
And, there is also the backlash of therapists and healers who are turning to this modality because, well, it’s lucrative.
There’s big money to be made in the manufacture and use of sacred plant medicines, and there’s also a lot of buzz around it. It’s (excuse the pun) “dope” to be a medicine facilitator.
I’ve heard countless stories of (and unfortunately come face to face with) people who are serving medicine with, I’m sure, some good intentions, but also a lot of ignorance around the calling to be a medicine person. There can be a great trap in taking personal credit for the powerful healing of the plant medicines, and there can be great ego-stroking in calling yourself a “shaman” and serving medicine.
A lot of the time, the medicine does bring healing (or at least an enjoyable trip), and there’s a sense of “no harm, no foul,” but there is a very real risk of serious damage.
{Trigger warning: Suicide} My heart is still aching over someone who just took her life less than a week ago. She had just come to one of our Cacao + Sonic Medicine Sound Healings and not long after, went out on an Ayahuasca journey in the desert facilitated by someone I do not know. Her friend, who was much closer to her, and has been a long time member of our community, reached out before she passed asking how to help her. She shared that, after the Ayahuasca journey, she never was the same. She seemed fractured, disconnected, ungrounded, and started a downward spiral that lead to constant spiritual, mental, and emotional agony.
I offered my support, and so did this friend, but in the end, she had gone so deep into the darkness, she couldn’t believe there was a way out except to shed this mortal coil. My heart ached for days, and still feels heavy.
While this may only be the consequence a very small percentage of the time, the reality is that the safe and sacred container is essential. Being properly prepared is essential. Being properly held is essential. And being able to get help when things don’t go as planned is absolutely essential. This woman didn’t have that and the support that came was too late.
This is, sadly, not the first story I’ve heard of someone attending a powerful medicine ceremony and leaving far worse than they entered. We’ve attracted quite a few folks to our ceremonies and private work who needed support putting themselves back together after a medicine ceremony that was not properly facilitated.
Again . . .
I trust that MOST folks offering this work have good intentions, and I would guess that many of them even have some really great education and experience, and sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know until it is too late.
Living Wisdom ceremonies are not for everyone.
We have about 2+ hours of orientation that is required for each person to complete before attending one of our ceremonies. There is an application process. A lot of attention goes in to making sure our attendees are well informed, well prepared, and thoroughly supported before, during, and afterwards.
We’ve heard that all of the preparation requirement is a lot and has deterred some people from attending our ceremonies. GREAT! This medicine, excuse my language, is a big fucking deal, and we treat it that way.
In 2014, I was in the Amazon, supporting a Shipibo tribe with an Ayahuasca dieta. It was a very intimidating calling, to set at the center, be called a “Maestra” by the indigenous medicine people, and be called to guide the bulk of the journey with my voice and energy work. During one of the ceremonies, Mama Ayahuasca came to me and said “I’m a big fucking deal! But no one is helping the Westerners to properly prepare for and work with me. You need to share what you’re doing. People need to know.” So I spent the next three years taking folks into the Amazon, preparing for three months in advance not just with practicalities, and not just for the medicine work, but the cultural shifts, how to be respectful, how to honor the people, the land, and the medicine in a good way.
And, every single ceremony teaches us something new. Each ceremony is different and builds on the experiences and wisdom of what came before.
Yes, we require a lot from our attendees, but we also have an incredible reputation and track record. Shamans (the real kind) from other traditions have come to sit with us. Folks from all walks of life have graced our humble home church, and we hear over and over how safe, how powerful, and how gracious our ceremonies are, and how welcome our diverse community feels.
We have served, at this point, well over 200 medicine ceremonies and over 1,000 people. We only know our impact by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we get.
We are definitely not for everyone. We believe these medicines are sacred and need to be treated that way, as well as each person who graces our ceremony space. We are not for the bucket listers, the “trippers,” the people who are thrill seeking or hoping to have something cool to share on Instagram.
We are here for people who value the sacred in addition to the safe, and who are willing to do deep, personal preparation to receive healing from these master allies.
Our lives are in deep service to the medicine because it has been in deep service to us. We are here to create safe and sacred spaces for our diverse community to learn, heal, and grow together. And if you think that’s a big fucking deal, you may just find yourself at home in our ceremonies.
To learn more and apply: https://LivingWisdomChurch.org/sacred-medicine
We offer a comprehensive guide (FAR more than just a list of things and activities to avoid before ingesting medicine). It gives helpful information on how to thoroughly prepare for, work with the medicine during your ceremony, and integrate thoroughly afterwards. It is free to you because we care about your spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical well-being. You ca get it by visiting our website: https://LivingWisdomChurch.org, clicking on the yellow button at the top right, and entering your name and email. It’ll be sent directly to your inbox. We hope it enriches your medicine work.
And please, always feel free to reach out to us if you are in need of support. We do everything we can to provide help to our community regardless of ability to pay.
