Happy Summer, all! I hope you can join us this Wednesday, 7/15 at 6 pm PST for Integration (link below). Why do so many people choose to journey with psychedelics in midlife? Gender doesn't matter. Midlife has a way of cracking all of us wide open. All of the things we tried to keep neatly tucked away seem to surface relentlessly in midlife. For some of us, it feels like everything is falling apart at once: relationships, careers, our bodies, and our sense of identity. I have heard "I don't even know who I am anymore," more times than I can count. We spend decades fulfilling certain roles imposed by society, our cultures, religions, and families: parent, provider, spouse, caretaker, the responsible one, the strong one... and somewhere along the way, those roles became our identity. This is often exactly why people seek plant medicine in midlife: something within us knows it's time to strip away the stories, the roles, the unhealthy patterns, and the false beliefs so that we can return to who we truly are. This is integration in midlife. As we all know, the journey itself is only the beginning. What happens after is where we do the work. And in midlife, that work may look a little different than it does at 25. For those who have had a recent journey, here are a few things to be aware of during integration: - Old roles may not fit the same way anymore, which can bring up both grief and even relief. - Your body and nervous system need time to catch up to what you experienced.   Be patient. When you strip away the roles, the patterns, the identity that society and your life experiences have handed you - who are you? Not who you are supposed to be. We will discuss this on our next call. Start thinking about who you are. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3648065492?pwd=APZhhw2iFM2O8a4BGEvza1iPStGqNr.1&omn=88438637643 Meeting ID: 364 806 5492 Passcode: 042494

Sorry for the late notice - I will post the new date soon.

Integration: Before You Tell Everyone. - A Note on Sharing Your Experience Most of us can relate to wanting to tell everyone when something profound happens to us. And that impulse is normal. The experience cracked something open - and for many, especially with psychedelics, you can feel more alive, clearer, and more like yourself. So of course you want to share that. Maybe you want the people around you to feel what you felt. Maybe you want them to understand you better. Or maybe you are just overflowing with feelings. All of that is real and valid. AND - not every share will land the way you hope. The medicine you received is still working. What you're integrating is personal, who you share it with and how you share it are important considerations. Who to Share It With Ultimately, deciding whom to share your experience with is your decision; however, consider these tips: Ask yourself, "Does this person have the capacity to hold what I'm about to share?" That doesn't mean they need to have done a journey themselves. It means: Are they curious enough without being dismissive? Safe without being enabling? Can they be with you without making it about them, their fears, or their opinions about psychedelics? Some people in your life will rise to meet you there. Others, even people you love deeply, simply won't have the container for it. That is not a judgment on them. It just is. What to Share The early days after a journey are a time when meaning is still forming. What felt like a clear insight yesterday might deepen, shift, or reveal itself differently next week. Sharing too much, too soon - especially with people who aren't resourced to receive it - can actually flatten the experience or introduce doubt where there was clarity. Sharing the feeling tone more than the content, at least at first, can be helpful as you more fully integrate the experience. Upsides of Sharing With the Right People When you share with someone who can truly receive it, it amplifies. It can help you make meaning. It can deepen your relationship. It an even open a door for someone who's been quietly curious. It can be witnessed, and witnessing accelerates integration.

One fantastic tool I learned at Flow Life is breathwork. I started Transformational Breath™ last summer and have been doing it almost every Monday since. Transformational Breath sessions take about 1.5 to 2 hours time at the yoga studio I attend. The breathwork lasts 45 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes of breathwork where you can continue or do calming breathing. The sound bath starts at 45 minutes so continuing can send you to super expanded meditative states. It is conscious, connected belly breathing. Take a class. It is a journey without earth medicine. Since attending retreats I have attended a few types of breathwork, including calming breathwork, energetic breathwork, combination breathwork sessions. Find a type that you enjoy and do it monthly. Your local yoga studio can help. Transformational Breath™ is my favorite.