Journey Work
Psychedelic Integration Coaching for Cultural Leaders
Who are Cultural Leaders?
Political leaders make the rules. Administrative leaders enforce the rules. Cultural leaders transgress the rules.
Cultural leaders change how we think and what we value. They lead innovative organizations. They start movements. They spark revolutions in the way we see the world.
They break the taboos that inhibit creativity and the evolution of culture. They bring ideas from the periphery to the center and expand our imagining of what humanity can be. They act with integrity and imagination.
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We need them. Right now. That’s why I love working with them. With you.
How Do I Support Cultural Leaders?
I work with people who have extraordinary skills, networks and vision. They have devoted themselves to creating a better world for themselves and for others. They have been successful in many ways.
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They have worked hard to transform themselves and to be the leaders they are.
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But they face intense challenges, such as:
…dealing with success and fame
…being clear about what the next step in their life is
…staying true to themselves in the face of great pressure to step out of integrity
…being aware of how they upper limit themselves
…having the courage of their convictions
…facing an ethical dilemma
…seeing how to have cultural impact rather than just organizational impact
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And there is a common theme among all the people I work with...they know that a more beautiful world is possible – for themselves and for others.
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They sense a different possibility, a new possibility, something more expansive yet still true to who they are.
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They have glimpses of this possibility in various ways – whether in meditation, or dreams, or in the stories of others. They have moved in that direction and have not quite found their way to it yet.
Why Does Plant Medicine Work?
The latest scientific research (on MDMA and on psilocybin) is beginning to show the medical benefits of these medicines. However, they bring gifts beyond what science can currently show.
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Plant medicine enables people to see possibilities and face feelings that many people never have the chance to explore. As a result of my own in-depth work, trainings and practice, I have seen that plant medicine massively accelerates the results of coaching. In fact, it opens up imagination in ways that are not possible in coaching.
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Plant medicine by-passes cognition and the limits created by our mind. It taps into a deep sense of belonging, connection and trust and opens us to experience what is not possible in our current imagination.
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It enables neuroplasticity, and creates lasting changes in our brains that help us to heal and grow.
Many say that taking plant medicine is/was one of the three most important experiences of their lives.
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MDMA, in particular, also enables us to create stronger pathways between head and heart, and to access what the heart has been hesitant to give voice to, like dreams for the future or scars from the past.
I’ve studied at the best schools, taught in the most prestigious universities, and coached some of the most influential and successful leaders on the planet for many years. And I now see plant medicine (and empathogens such as MDMA) as the most valuable potential catalyst for successful coaching.
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It’s not a magic pill but it is magical and I have seen many magical things happen. It takes work and good guidance but it works.
My Orientation to Being a Guide
While much of the training I have done is non-directive, my approach is not. From my experience over three decades, I have learned to trust the insights I have about clients and to offer them at the right moment.
I am not afraid to name patterns. For example, where clients have taken on beliefs about themselves which are not true, or where their self-concept has not caught up to the truth of their present capabilities.
I see possible futures for my clients which they may not be able to see for themselves. I see ways in which they get in their own way. I share what I see.
When clients are not staying true to who they are or have been unable to see where their genius lies, I will tell them.
My Experience and Training
I have trained in two different orientations for working with plant medicine.
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First, in the mainstream medical orientation. I have completed the certification program with MAPS (who are running the FDA trials for MDMA) to become one of the first MDMA-assisted psychotherapists.
This approach draws on the experience of pioneers in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, much of which is chronicled in How To Change Your Mind. It also assumes an inner healing intelligence in everyone.
The inner wisdom, or internal compass, is the blueprint of the capacity of the body to be healthy and creative. I help you to connect with that in order to support transformation. All anxiety and all difficulty is an opportunity for transformation. I am here to help restore your full capacity for creativity.
Second, in a shamanic tradition. This is a holistic and spiritual orientation. My teachers for this work are connected to the Mazatec lineage of Maria Sabina who passed on the wisdom of the mushroom to Gordon Wasson. His article in Life Magazine in May 1957 introduced psychedelics to western culture.
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This shamanic tradition has many important elements. Two of the primary ones are 1) that we offer substantial preparation and integration (as does the MAPS protocol), and 2) that we are a relational practice.
I have a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Meridian University and an MBA from Stanford. My doctoral focus was the potential for MDMA to shift our sense of self from a pathological perspective to a mythological one.
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I am part of a large network of integration guides in California who share best practice with each other regularly and I have now helped clients prepare for, and integrate, more than 250 journeys. I offer this work within current Federal, State, and City legal frameworks. As the laws change, so does the range of support I can offer.
Support for Life Threatening Illness
I also offer guided experiences for people who are facing a life threatening illness.
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Journey work can help transform anxiety, support clarity for where to focus our energy, and allow difficult feelings and thoughts to be expressed.