I have been looking back and forth in your piece to figure out how your career looks like now? How do you authentically support yourself financially? This subject has been with me as a puzzle for years now.
Hi Mira. It's been a process of slow transition but currently I mainly do strategy consulting as a contractor for companies and non-profits in the psychedelic space. I also freelance write for psychedelics start-ups and selectively do 1:1 integration coaching. It's a bit of a mixed bag but in periods of transition I think it's so important to try out many different things. And for the bulk of $$ I'm still leaning on the skillset from my previous job, just applied to a field that I'm extremely passionate about :)
But in all honesty this was a really encouraging read Julia, thank you.
A skeptic might read this grocery list of positive outcomes with doubt, understandably so. But to those who have experienced the healing power of psychedelics, the long list of wonderful outcomes sounds quite realistic.
I agree! It's just my experience, but I also know it's not an uncommon experience if you're committed to not only these journeys but the integration. Thanks for being here!
Hi Julia, I enjoyed reading about your experiences with this, so I thought I would share mine too. First I want to say that I like your self description as a psychonaut and recovering perfectionist. I have always felt like a stranger in a strange land that did not belong here.
Dolores Cannon's visions of extraterrestrial volunteers who came here resonates with me.
On one of my many magic mushroom journeys I actually envisioned the planet that I may have come from. In my 20's I was lucky to have access to a cattle farm with an endless supply of magic mushrooms that I over indulged in for over a year seeking the universal truth. It was positively life changing and its effects have lasted until now 40 years later.
Now that I am in my 60's I still remember almost every experience as if it were yesterday.
So many tales to recount that it would take books to cover, but one that I will share here is when one day while picking the shrooms my fellow psychonaut and I unexpectedly found ourselves completely surrounded by a very large herd of cattle who must have expected us to be there to feed them. It was a bit frightening and certainly unpredictable so we slowly tried to walk away but were being followed and surrounded by them on all sides with no direct escape path. That is when we had a little telepathic talk with them to let us leave.
And so we did without any bad effects, but they were disappointed that we had no food for them. It's one of those experience that you will never forget.
On another occasion we accidentally overdosed, even though I had enough experience with shrooms to know what a proper dose was, and we went to what we called a state of being "out to lunch". I could not even drive so I had the good sense to stop and let my friend's wife who was not doing the shrooms do the driving so I would not cause a wreck. When she got us safely to their home we tried to play a card game but could not remember the rules and had to be constantly reminded of them by her, so we gave up on that and returned to being out to lunch for the rest of the night. The lesson being that no matter how overdosed I was on shrooms I know when I can't drive, and have no problem letting someone else do it.
My friend and I survived many other risky experiences on our journeys together so he was my true fellow psychonaut and I have not seen him since then so it is time to try to find him again now to see how he is doing and see how our lives have gone since then.
He was always more daring than me and I knew better than to try to keep up with him or outdare him. Then there was the night we lost his really cool shelty dog at the gas station we stopped at, but that is another tale for another time.
Hi Julia, I have done a week long aya retreat, helped me a lot with the relationship I have with my mum. I am still having pmdd symptoms that are quite bad. Do you think it takes more than one retreat? How many journeys did you do to heal your pmdd?
Hi Jess! Yes, it takes longer. PMDD usually points to deeper emotional imbalances that take a while to process and regulate. This process took me nearly two years with medicines and a lot of integration in between. The integration is key - what has that looked like for you? Have you done any somatic therapy?
Thanks for responding. I haven't done any somatic therapy. I probably haven't been integrating as well as I could have. But I no longer drink coffee, smoke, and have been trying to cut down on alcohol. I would like to do another retreat. Maybe psylocibin or aya again. Although it was pretty confronting the first time. I have been really struggling with the pmdd this week but I am in the hell week. I find that I am irritable but if there is an emotional upset or something happens like a major life event I can spiral. I have been doing regular therapy through this stage and that has been helpful. Is there anything else you would suggest? Or any somatic therapists you suggest? I really want to kick pmdd in the butt xxx
Amazing progress! When was your last retreat? It could be a good idea to return to the medicine if you feel ready and you feel that you've integrated everything from the first experience.
I know the PMDD hell all too well. I have a lot of thoughts around what really happens and why (part of which the plants taught me). For example, in my experience, if there is some level of suppression happening during the rest of the month, the parts that are asking to be seen (but aren't) will scream during hell week. Another one is the level of unprocessed trauma in the body.
I work with a somatic modality called embodied processing (happy to provide more info via e-mail if you're interested, just reach out at forjuliachristina@gmail.com) and I also offer psychedelic preparation and integration 😊
Thank you Julia the retreat in Costa Rica was in May this year so 6 months ago. I have got a lot of awareness and feel much better overall. But perhaps there’s more to unpack. I’ll send you an email :)
Thank you <3
Hi Julia, Could you let me know where exactly you have done your dietas?
the dieta (preparory diet) I do at home. the ceremonies I first did in Costa Rica at rythmia and afterwards in the US :)
Hi Julia,
I have been looking back and forth in your piece to figure out how your career looks like now? How do you authentically support yourself financially? This subject has been with me as a puzzle for years now.
Hi Mira. It's been a process of slow transition but currently I mainly do strategy consulting as a contractor for companies and non-profits in the psychedelic space. I also freelance write for psychedelics start-ups and selectively do 1:1 integration coaching. It's a bit of a mixed bag but in periods of transition I think it's so important to try out many different things. And for the bulk of $$ I'm still leaning on the skillset from my previous job, just applied to a field that I'm extremely passionate about :)
Thanks for the reply, Julia. Best of luck to you! I really enjoy reading you.
I'm sold!
But in all honesty this was a really encouraging read Julia, thank you.
A skeptic might read this grocery list of positive outcomes with doubt, understandably so. But to those who have experienced the healing power of psychedelics, the long list of wonderful outcomes sounds quite realistic.
I agree! It's just my experience, but I also know it's not an uncommon experience if you're committed to not only these journeys but the integration. Thanks for being here!
Hi Julia, I enjoyed reading about your experiences with this, so I thought I would share mine too. First I want to say that I like your self description as a psychonaut and recovering perfectionist. I have always felt like a stranger in a strange land that did not belong here.
Dolores Cannon's visions of extraterrestrial volunteers who came here resonates with me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi-lPoF90GU&pp=ygUOZG9sb3JlcyBjYW5ub24%3D
On one of my many magic mushroom journeys I actually envisioned the planet that I may have come from. In my 20's I was lucky to have access to a cattle farm with an endless supply of magic mushrooms that I over indulged in for over a year seeking the universal truth. It was positively life changing and its effects have lasted until now 40 years later.
Now that I am in my 60's I still remember almost every experience as if it were yesterday.
So many tales to recount that it would take books to cover, but one that I will share here is when one day while picking the shrooms my fellow psychonaut and I unexpectedly found ourselves completely surrounded by a very large herd of cattle who must have expected us to be there to feed them. It was a bit frightening and certainly unpredictable so we slowly tried to walk away but were being followed and surrounded by them on all sides with no direct escape path. That is when we had a little telepathic talk with them to let us leave.
And so we did without any bad effects, but they were disappointed that we had no food for them. It's one of those experience that you will never forget.
On another occasion we accidentally overdosed, even though I had enough experience with shrooms to know what a proper dose was, and we went to what we called a state of being "out to lunch". I could not even drive so I had the good sense to stop and let my friend's wife who was not doing the shrooms do the driving so I would not cause a wreck. When she got us safely to their home we tried to play a card game but could not remember the rules and had to be constantly reminded of them by her, so we gave up on that and returned to being out to lunch for the rest of the night. The lesson being that no matter how overdosed I was on shrooms I know when I can't drive, and have no problem letting someone else do it.
My friend and I survived many other risky experiences on our journeys together so he was my true fellow psychonaut and I have not seen him since then so it is time to try to find him again now to see how he is doing and see how our lives have gone since then.
He was always more daring than me and I knew better than to try to keep up with him or outdare him. Then there was the night we lost his really cool shelty dog at the gas station we stopped at, but that is another tale for another time.
Hi Julia, I have done a week long aya retreat, helped me a lot with the relationship I have with my mum. I am still having pmdd symptoms that are quite bad. Do you think it takes more than one retreat? How many journeys did you do to heal your pmdd?
Hi Jess! Yes, it takes longer. PMDD usually points to deeper emotional imbalances that take a while to process and regulate. This process took me nearly two years with medicines and a lot of integration in between. The integration is key - what has that looked like for you? Have you done any somatic therapy?
Much love, you're not alone ❤️🩹
Thanks for responding. I haven't done any somatic therapy. I probably haven't been integrating as well as I could have. But I no longer drink coffee, smoke, and have been trying to cut down on alcohol. I would like to do another retreat. Maybe psylocibin or aya again. Although it was pretty confronting the first time. I have been really struggling with the pmdd this week but I am in the hell week. I find that I am irritable but if there is an emotional upset or something happens like a major life event I can spiral. I have been doing regular therapy through this stage and that has been helpful. Is there anything else you would suggest? Or any somatic therapists you suggest? I really want to kick pmdd in the butt xxx
Amazing progress! When was your last retreat? It could be a good idea to return to the medicine if you feel ready and you feel that you've integrated everything from the first experience.
I know the PMDD hell all too well. I have a lot of thoughts around what really happens and why (part of which the plants taught me). For example, in my experience, if there is some level of suppression happening during the rest of the month, the parts that are asking to be seen (but aren't) will scream during hell week. Another one is the level of unprocessed trauma in the body.
I work with a somatic modality called embodied processing (happy to provide more info via e-mail if you're interested, just reach out at forjuliachristina@gmail.com) and I also offer psychedelic preparation and integration 😊
Thank you Julia the retreat in Costa Rica was in May this year so 6 months ago. I have got a lot of awareness and feel much better overall. But perhaps there’s more to unpack. I’ll send you an email :)