Psychedelic experiences deserve more than preparation and integration...
They deserve stewardship.
Psychedelic experiences can be profound, confusing, beautiful, destabilizing… or surprisingly ordinary.
Stewardship approaches the psychedelic journey with attention to appropriate caretaking: preparation, substance, situation, support, integration.
Consider whether psychedelics are the right fit for your life and goals. Find a pathway compatible with your values and beliefs.
If you do move forward, curate when and where an experience occurs, who you trust to accompany you, and how you live with what follows.
Before a Journey into InnerSpace, consider:
- Is this the right time?
- Is this the right place?
- Am I with people I trust?
- Do I understand the substance?
- Is the container safe and supportive?
- Do I have the resilience and support I may need?
Detailed preparation and trustworthy support can make a sometimes uncomfortable ride otherwise feel safe. Surround yourself with people who know when to help, and when to get out of the way.
Stewards Support Sovereignty
Stewardship supports your unique pathway, including ways other than psychedelics. Stewardship encourages compatibility with your current life situation.
Stewards support authentic expression and inquiry, no matter how strange or embarrassing it may appear.
Stewards help maintain dignity when things get unraveled or unclear. Stewards track and release the impulse to guide, interpret or take ownership of another’s journey.
Medicine may open the door.
You choose whether or not to walk through it.
A Psychedelic Butler simply holds the lantern.
Are Psychedelics Right for Me?
Maybe not…
Psychedelics are not for everyone. They are not necessary for a meaningful, examined or spiritually rich life.
And even for people who choose psychedelics, there are times when the wisest psychedelic decision is “not yet” – or, perhaps: “not again.”
What is a Psychedelic Butler?
The psychedelic voyager is Batman, the hero. Alfred, the Butler, is simply a supporting role.
Alfred doesn’t tell Batman where to go or what his journey means. He prepares the environment, anticipates needs, maintains the equipment, tends to injuries, offers perspective when asked. Most importantly, he doesn’t attempt to become the hero of the story. This is the spirit behind Psychedelic Butler.
I don’t claim to be a shaman, healer or interpreter of another person’s psychedelic experience. I’m human: experienced, fallible, attentive and committed to becoming more skillful at supporting another person’s process without making it mine.
Two Decades in Psychedelic Practice
My approach grew from over two decades of personal experience, community practice, harm reduction, curriculum development and professional psychedelic support.
For 10 years, I worked with MAPS and the Zendo Project, eventually serving as Programs Manager helping train and support teams caring for voyagers navigating difficult psychedelic experiences in real-world environments.
Before this work, I spent a decade immersed in nature mentoring and wilderness survival for at-risk kids with tangential training in permaculture and natural building.
Most recently I became a licensed within Colorado’s regulated natural-medicine ecosystem, and have supported psilocybin facilitator education and consulting groups ever since.
Today, my work includes preparation, integration, mentoring emerging facilitators, psychedelic education and developing the Psychedelic Butler model of participant-centered support.
Across all the environments in which I’ve been immersed in psychedelic crisis work, one lesson has remained remarkably consistent:
Good support isn’t measured by how much you do.
Sometimes expertise is knowing when not to intervene.
Psychedelic Support: Insights & Perspectives
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First, Do Nothing: Non-Intervention in Psychedelic Support
Read more: First, Do Nothing: Non-Intervention in Psychedelic SupportWhy non-intervention can be an advanced support skill for psychedelic journeys There was a phrase I learned during my years working with the Black Rock Rangers at Burning Man: “First, do nothing.” Before rushing toward a problem, observe. Orient. Make sure your attempt to help isn’t…
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Date Your Psychedelic Practice Before You Marry It
Read more: Date Your Psychedelic Practice Before You Marry ItGive your investigation into a new substance, community or psychedelic practice at least as much care as you would give buying a home… or, deciding whom to marry. Or the investment of inviting a really interesting and alluring person to become your spouse – a journey that…
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When the Psychedelic Journey Doesn’t End
Read more: When the Psychedelic Journey Doesn’t EndWhat losing my mind taught me about psychedelic support I used to be an atheist. My friend did LSD and I got worried about him because DARE convinced me psychedelics are the worst drug ever. I agreed: consciousness is all I am, so why would I…