Celebrating two years

Highlights, updates & what's ahead

Two years ago I launched this newsletter with less than a hundred e-mails. Today it goes out to several thousands, and I want to take a moment to thank you for being here, I don’t take you for granted.

I’m more committed than ever to this community, and to creating something meaningful and valuable to you. Here are some updates, and if you scroll down to the bottom, you’ll also find a list of the top ten The Journey articles from the last two years.

Say hi to the community (+ other ways to connect)

My wish for The Journey is that it becomes a community in which you don’t only connect with me, but with each other. Similar to the exchanges that may happen in the TikTok comment section or on Twitter or Reddit. The journey inward can be isolating, my hope is you’ll find comfort, inspiration, and belonging here. While I’m brainstorming future offerings geared to foster community, such as monthly integration Zooms, here are some things you can do now to engage and connect.

Take a minute to introduce yourself in the thread below

If you’ve already done so to me via e-mail previously, say hi to everyone else over there! We’d love to hear who you are, where you’re from, what brought you here, and where you’re at in your journey.

Welcome to The Journey! Introduce yourself to the community here ♡

Use comments to share thoughts

I receive quite some inbound e-mails and would love for you to use the comment section for your comments and questions going forward, so that the rest of the community has the benefit of seeing them, too.

Join me on Notes

Notes is Substack’s “Twitter” and a great place to engage more informally (and regularly). I’ll share details on how to use it below (you’ll need the Substack app).

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New themes: purpose, sensitivity, and creativity

I took a long break from writing over the summer, primarily because I was burned out from healing culture, but also because, quite frankly, I was a bit bored with the topic of psychedelics. I’ve since rekindled my passion for both but also realized that the beauty of the journey inward is that while some themes will always remain the same, others continue to evolve. I trust that some of the themes that have become more relevant for me as I grow will also resonate with you.

While you’ll continue to see what you came here for — psychedelics, spirituality, consciousness, and healing — I’ll also sprinkle in more on questions that have been top of mind for me over this past year: Why are you here and what is your soul’s purpose? How can you learn to harness your capacity to feel deeply, and embrace your sensitivity? How can you express your authentic self and live more creatively? All of these are intimately intertwined with the journey inward and consciousness-expanding states. I’m excited to return to a regular posting schedule with old and new topics.

Are there any specific curiosities within those themes you’d like to read about? Please share them in the comments.

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Why I’m enabling paid subscriptions

The more time I put into this newsletter, the more my desire grows to give those of you who wish to support me the opportunity to do so. Paid subscriptions will be a voluntary value exchange for my time. They will help grow The Journey into a reader-supported publication and contribute to expenses for some features I’ve added recently, such as the AI audio recording in every post.

The offering will remain the same (for now), and the weekly Friday e-mail will always be free. I may add additional, paywalled content in the future, and am also toying with the idea of offering live practices and the aforementioned monthly integration Zoom sessions for paid members. Anything in particular that would be of interest to you?

You can support me at the cost of a monthly coffee — $5/month, or $50/year (less than $1 per week). Special thanks to all those of you who already have pledged their support, it means more than you know.

As a welcome gift, I’ll send every paying subscriber a copy of my 50-page integration workbook that’s used by shamans, psychotherapists, and psychonauts across the country.

If you can’t pay but still want to support my work, here are the best ways to do that

1. Share my articles with friends. Forward them, text them, restack them.

2. Engage with anything that resonates. Like, comment, respond.

3. If you write on Substack, consider recommending The Journey.

   

Top 10 articles of the last 24 months

Here are the top ten articles that resonated most with you over the past two years.

1. Healing your inner child through conscious relationships

2. MDMA, the love elixir

3. A world of (and for) lost souls

4. Learning the language of the heart

5. Iboga, the godfather of all plant medicines

6. Ayahuasca, the (grand)mother of all plant medicines

7. Partswork for psychedelic integration (and beyond)

8. The psychedelic nature of music

9. The four layers of emotional healing

10. Recreational use of psychedelics

“We're all just walking each other home.” - Ram Dass

I welcome any other feedback or curiosities you’d like to share in the comments.

I love you thank you for being here,

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How to get started with Substack Notes

1. To join The Journey’s chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app, now available for both iOS and Android. Chats are sent via the app, not email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens.

2. Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.

3. That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.