Greetings seekers,

I’m pleased to report that the five and half years it took to get the letters “Ph.D” after my name were officially worth it.

On July 18th, I told drug stories into a live microphone for North of 20 minutes, and a room full of strangers took me seriously the entire time.

Somewhere in the time-space continuum, my 19-year-old self is delighted.

The full talk, “Psychedelic Therapy for Modern Problems: The journey from drugs to plant medicine” took place at Side-by-Side Onstage in Minneapolis, and is both embedded here and posted on youtube, for those who weren’t able to attend live.

In the last Wayfinding Words, I put together a short primer on psychedelics. Giving this talk has only led to more questions, only a few of which I was able to respond to in my limited time onstage. So, below are my responses to some of the more burning questions.

“Why did you give this talk?”

Mainly, my wish is that people cultivate a healthy respect for psychedelics, and not do anything stupid. There is nothing wrong with having some fun–God knows I have–but I’m worried that the current liberalization of laws is a fragile state, and that this golden era of decriminalization and funding for research could all come to an end with a few scandals. It’s happened many times in modern history, and could easily happen again.

BUT, I also want people to understand the potential benefits, for individuals, and for our collective awakening, which are very real. I want to educate and help people get the most out of these wonderful medicines.

“What is the connection between psychedelics and discovering your purpose?”

This to me is one of the greatest potential benefits of psychedelics.

As I’ve written frequently in this space, purpose arises at the intersection of the self, our experiences, and the world around us. It is relational and contextual.

Psychedelic compounds are beautifully designed to expand our subjective experience in a way that helps us connect our disparate inner parts–deep memories, pains, joys–with our daily experiences and contexts. They also have a habit of helping us see the profound and meaningful in the mundane and everyday.

Those meaningful experiences can then serve as a launchpad for new, purposeful growth, or help get people unstuck from monotonous ruts.  

Perceptive readers will also know that psychedelics are far from the ONLY way to get unstuck or deepen connections, BUT, many of the other demonstrably effective options–consistent mind-body practices, ongoing therapeutic support, immersive travel experiences–are often expensive, time consuming, or both. Psychedelic journeys, especially with experienced guides, are not cheap or easy to find, but they offer greater, single-dose access to transcendence than almost any modality I can think of. They are gifts straight from the Earth, and it’s impossible not to appreciate that fact.

“I’m realizing that the ‘journey’ is more than just the day you take the medicine. It’s the whole arc from the preparation to the integration.”  

When clients say something like this, I smile. Psychedelics are powerful, but they are merely catalysts. They can assist you in your process of growth and unfolding, but they cannot single-handedly “fix” anything.

The best use case, as I found myself explaining to a psychedelic-curious person recently, is that you are already in the midst of a particular growth process, but find yourself stuck at a certain point or obstacle. At that moment, a therapeutic dose of the right psychedelic can “shake the snowglobe” and help you break through the obstacle with novel experiences or insights.

“So, what is your actual position on commercial legalization, medical use, etc.?”

I’m still unsure about this.

In terms of therapeutic usage, the potential benefits are huge, and I personally know people with trauma histories whose lives have been dramatically improved through guided psychedelic therapy. But the Western medical research model and the psychedelic treatment model are going to have a hard time bending to meet each other, and I don’t know if they ultimately SHOULD.

To name just one example, it’s basically impossible to double-blind an experiment with psychedelics (it’s pretty obvious whether you got a placebo or not), which negates the “gold standard” for pharmaceutical studies in Western medicine. Psychedelics also demand intimately engaged facilitators and intentional “set and setting” practices, which cut pretty deeply against the grain of pharmaceutical trial standards of detached observation. It’s not a critique of Western medicine, but as the recent FDA rejection of an MDMA application showed, the gap is going to be difficult to bridge.

The short answer is that I’d like to see people have access to these substances without fear of federal prosecution, and live in a world where experienced growers and guides can do their thing. I’m less certain of whether they should be absorbed into the world of American commerce or medicine, and am concerned about the outcome of moving too fast in either domain.

The truth is that these medicines are best done in intimate, highly supportive, ritualized settings, and it’s going to take time for our culture to understand and adopt that model in a broad way.  

The more I learn, the more I’m curious to try psychedelics…but I’m scared.”

You should be scared. Just kidding…kinda. A bit of fear and respect for the plant medicines is healthy. As discussed in Chapter 1 of the talk, psychedelics are not toys. They are powerful substances, and deserve to be treated with caution, especially if you are new to the game. But, as stated, the benefits can be profound, and the correct application of that respect is to seek good guidance and be intentional about how you use them. When done with said care and respect, they can be magical teachers.

I’m always happy to talk to a psychedelic curious person, so feel free to reach out: justin@gotmindpower.com.

And in the meantime, enjoy watching me tell drug stories to a live audience :)

Safe travels,

Justin