My heart goes out to you. I have used psychedelics for over 30 years. I assume this supposed shaman was giving people aya. I have only ever known one person I would ever do aya with and they aren't this fraud. I have only recently begun to consider the idea of being a trip sitter, I would never call myself a shaman. I even just recently found out that someone can become a licensed hypnotherapist by taking a weekend workshop. This guy sounds like he was offering weekend workshops to become a shaman. Sheesh. This space seems so saturated with posers and fakes that I am now leaning toward just doing my own journeys and only giving infrequent friendly advice (preferred music, dont drive, dont mix chemicals, etc) to friends. Again my heart goes out to you.
I have checked out some of your work & like it, although I think these efforts need to be led by people who were harmed and that people who are more likely to be harmed are women, non-binary and non-white folks. I also believe Native Americans have been warning psychedelic renaissance people about ethics and ethical violations for a long time, but few choose to listen.
And I was harmed by the psychedelics themselves. I still hold that trauma and am working through it now, over a decade later. I recognize the dangers, both personal and interpersonal, which is partially why I am doing what I am doing.
Other reasons include patriarchy, colonization, etc.
Yes I remember seeing a video in which you described some of your experiences and appreciate this.
Ironically, drinking Ayahuasca with the shaman convinced me to leave behind the dream of working for him & in psychedelics.
I don't think the medical model is the answer—I actually find it creepy to use psychedelics alone with a therapist, a sleep mask and a playlist. I'm skeptical that regulatory efforts can keep people safe, especially since they are highly influenced by money.
#1 thing Reservation elders told me about the ethical violations in psychedelics: Charging $ for ceremonies corrupts.
I try not to make my psychedelic work my primary income stream for this reason exactly. I agree completely with the reservation elders.
And while I am probably not as opposed as you are to the 1:1 therapist model (though I am aware of it’s downsides and risks), I reckon group work is going to become increasingly important. Not just for cost-effectiveness but for collective healing.
Yes as someone who used to teach high school, the field is very important. All the online curriculum made me so sad because I loved reading literature in groups.
I checked out Louis’s link and it looks interesting. I have to say I don’t believe in Microdosing. It takes away the importance of environment and mindset. It makes psychedelics seem like a wonder drug that cures everything by simply taking a pill. You cannot separate the environment and mindset from a psychedelic experience. Drinking ayahuasca does not make someone a super human. I see a recurring pattern over and over. I saw it while practicing Tai Chi, that someone might practice Tai Chi for a year then want to teach it. I saw it in relation to meditation, someone meditates for a while and has a few insights then suddenly they want to teach meditation. I even recently say that someone can take a weekend course and become a licensed hypnotherapist, how bizarre is that? Can you imagine going to a hypnotherapist or any therapist who is screwed up but because they paid a few dollars they are now supposedly helping others? How much damage to the person’s psyche can they inflict because they had no real desire to be of service but they wanted to monetize the little knowledge they learned. It sounds like your shaman was selling the same thing, making a quick buck in the name of love and light. There is only 1 person in the whole wide world I will ever do ayahuasca with, and ayahuasca is the only substance I will not ingest alone. I have ingested psilocybin and lsd alone and only those. I always do them in a colorful energizing environment and when I am in the right mindset. A few years ago I watched a YouTube video about a couple of twenty something’s who hired a “shaman” to do ayahuasca with. I put that in quotes because their “shaman” was a pimply faced kid in his early 20s. He sat there holding a rattle and making noises he probably thought were Icaros in a language he did not understand. I had to laugh, because crying was not an option. He “borrowed” from a First Nations tradition something he had no real understanding of, only a distorted view in his mind. In addition to fake shamans, there are participants who cannot act responsibly either they are predators who show up to a ceremony or they are simply irresponsible idiots who think they are perfectly entitled to get into a car while still under the influence. Personally one of my hard rules is I never get I behind the wheel of a car for at least 8 hours after I feel I have returned to baseline. Psychedelics are not a cure all, they can help us look at ourselves and understand our lives, but the only cure for life is living. I recently attended an erotic hypnosis kink event with clearly defined consent rules and in a beautiful home. I took an uber there, because I was a little altered on a low dose of psilocybin. I was struck by how the rules of consent and the environment would also be perfectly suited for a group psychedelic experience. In other words do not interfere with someone else’s experience, do not do anything for which you haven’t received enthusiastic consent and enjoy yourself. Still the love and light crowd would attempt to monetize it while lying to themselves and others about their true intentions. I had once considered stepping into this space not as shaman but as facilitator and caregiver but have decided I do not wish to take on both the possibility of damaging another’s psyche and the liability of a participant behaving irresponsibly. I will always be willing to suggest possible music to listen to, the importance of being among friends who understand and not operating heavy machinery.
Back in the early days of the Guild of Guides, circa 2010-2015 we met the first major bad actor, his medicne was presented as organic and had funny new names and eventually someone analyzed some of it and its had Ritalin and valium in it. He moved in very high end circles and had a pryramid type scheme his minions operated buying his drugs and passing them down line. I told friends who used him he is no shaman hes just a drug dealer.. no one wanted to be the cop the only recourse was to educate people to be smarter. Not sure if that is true now… one of the pitfalls of the underground is there is no recourse for bad actors. Not much in the above ground either but they can be exposed and licenses taken away . Funny thing people who fall under the spell of the so called shaman still defend him, just like people in cults with gurus, or maga… people like this and there are many, like the bufo mexcian doctor,kicking a man on bufo, should-be exposed as they jeopardize the whole filed moving forward. The doctor was exposed and still people defended him… go figure.
Natalie, Have you refrained from naming him because you are concerned about lawsuits or harassment from people in his network (if so this is certainly understandable).
No one from his network has harassed me! I have been getting tons of messages from former facilitators and clients who also quit because of ethical issues. Some of them are supporting my work now and they are organizing the network of former members.
I have heard that the shaman's long-time lawyer will no longer work with him. Plus, I journeyed with him one night and when he got stuck in a terrible place he called "The Mexican Disco," I helped him through it.
When I wrote my novel I wanted the character to be an "every shaman" sort of thing, a riff on don Juan from the Castaneda books. The real shaman was hyper aware of how people turned him into a character and during one of our last exchanges he said, "Make me whatever you need to be." I think that people's perception of him sometimes annoyed him and sometimes he used it against them or for them (allegedly). The first night I journeyed with him he was avoiding a woman who was too intent on seeing the shaman. He said he had tried to strip away anything that people could romanticize.
It's only recently since I've learned of the deaths that I've started to become interested in the nonfiction story again. Since I published the essay two more deaths were reported to me, but without dates, locations and names they have been hard for journalists to verify. A tip stated one of the deaths was a veteran who died after a facilitator served him Ayahuasca. I also received multiple reports of a facilitator from this network who sexually assaulted 18 clients, but again journalists have been unable to verify the information.
I'm undecided on the name still. What's your opinion?
Thank you for sharing this. I feel it’s important to share his name so we can share it to our communities. But like Robert mentions here, you need to feel safe to do so.
I’m sorry you went through this. I’ve been working with medicine since 2011. Ive worked with many shamans and facilitators and found 2 people that didn’t lead with integrity. Grateful for the majority being heart centered and humble.
It’s a tricky space and people can cause real harm. Grateful for voices like yours! Thank you 💗
Any number of people reading this know who you are referring to. I posted your piece on my FB page and someone did name him in the comments. I think it would add clarity and transparency if you did. Yet, you need to feel into this and decide for yourself
I’m so confused. If he’s so dangerous and you think he’s contributing to deaths and you’re not getting harassed why wouldn’t you name him? This feels irresponsible, no ? Are you wanting someone else to name him ?
But also- maybe share a photo of him and/or the names he’s gone/goes by if you’d like to protect people from being harmed. There are ways to go about this.
I think plenty of people know who he is and have named him. Also, I want to avoid the idea that he is the only facilitator in the underground behaving this way.
Exactly. All the obfuscation feels spooky and crazy making to me. When it comes to abuse and preventable death in the psychedelic space We want to make the information surrounding that more sane and clear , not mysterious and obtuse . Right? I’m unsure what the authors goals are here.
"This guy is a fucking maniac. I have tried to warn my community time and time again. He mixes fucking Adderall with ayahuasca and God knows what else. This man is dangerous! Armand Bytton"
Big capital & the carceral state's technocrats need to dismantle the underground to get
their proprietary shit on the top shelf of New
Wellness World. For ethical practitioners the medicine has always been the teacher &
always been rooted underground. The glowing
artificial light of the market is actually a War Universe that runs on rape and murder. What looks like a great party from the outside, with Big Money Burners picking up the tab, is really a Ghost Dance for us.
I agree that what I’m talking about must be addressed before the movement can move forward, but I personally have not seen any evidence that people with the microphones are ready to talk about this.
I'm south of town in county. The mountains are still real. Ish. The town named after a 2 bit indian killin' shyster is as full of shit as America gets. My real family are in Busby & Birney, Lame Deer & Muddy Creek. Funny, cuz I follow you for yer Rocky Boy vibe. 48 years ago I interviewed for a librarian job there; "you're the only person to apply." "Start right now!" I didn't take the job but I got the real dope just being there in the Bear Paw.
Got rez wise when my son was born 30 years ago & I met a real one. He saved my life.
I met him on solstice. I was driving home from Juarez.
I love this. It wasn’t easy living up there but I miss the Bear Paws every day. I didn’t know it was possible to have nostalgia for Box Elder.
It’s an eerie nostalgia and voices I’ve only heard on the Hi-Line.
When I lived in Havre I met a schizophrenia researcher who had moved up there because there was a cluster, certainly including members of my family. A lot of things started making sense when my students described a parent’s drug-induced schizophrenia.
I was just in Denver & some people in that scene present to me like Rez addicts, but they think it’s different because it’s Kanna or a DMT vape.
As a facilitator and researcher building a nonprofit in the space with the explicit aim of making psychedelics safer and more accessible, I’d love to know his name.
If you are unfamiliar with an organization called ICEERS, I highly recommend them. They are a research based information center. They are mostly self funded by staff that works other jobs and isn’t profit driven. I was unknowingly part of their study when I did my first Peruvian retreat near Iquitos. They invited people to participate in a blind survey about their experiences before they left the retreat. ICEERS track and teach ‘harm reduction’ practices for both facilitators and participants. The course was modestly priced (with financing) for over six months of content material and live discussions about all their research findings. They offer actual details and subject expertise acquired from multiple continents over years of neutral and anonymous information gathering. It gave me a healthier framework for evaluating what behavior is a solid standard and what is known to harm. I’ve shared it with both facilitators and participants and it’s been very well received. I’m a big supporter of informed participation. This way we can move forward with less fear and more autonomy. I also believe we are moving into a space where each participant is as important to collective healing as any leader. Wholeness is brought about through community connections and healthy belonging well beyond one facilitator or group. It IS possible for more equitable relationships emerging with shared responsibility for self AND group well being. Educating ourselves is an investment in both being and requesting appropriate accountability for everyone’s well being. I’m not affiliated with them at all, just a big fan. Hope it helps others as much as it helped me.
Thanks so much Lisa! I recently quit the Zendo SIT training because I'm unable to do any more Zoom breathing exercises. It's been challenging to find psychedelic spaces in which I feel safe instead of angry.
I have heard of ICEERS but I have not tried to get involved. I will check them out!
There are so many people in need of harm reduction. Many of the shaman's former facilitators who I've been talking to lately feel called to work in harm reduction now.
I was lucky I became obsessed with rez ball and worked in a weed shop.
The latter except I think the scene has a tendency to discard facilitators it was formerly in bed with and call them outliers. He isn’t a safe facilitator and despite the number and nature of incidents connected to this group, nothing has been done. The media isn’t covering the story. People haven’t connected the dots.
But if you read my earlier posts, you’ll see I credit Ayahuasca with helping me leave. And it was psychedelics that made me a fiction writer.
I don’t like how simplistically they are depicted by renaissance folks. Even my former teacher would tell people journeys are unpredictable & the results are a mixed bag. We should be helping people cope with them all instead of refusing to look under the hood.
Thank you for this clear and heartfelt piece. I trust this information will help make a difference and get more people talking openly about him and related issues.
I do have a question though. When you wrote:" I’m talking about someone who has unfortunately set many of the standards in the field."
What specific standards, practices, modalities etc are you referring to? There is quite a long history of people using a variety of resources in this field. It's my impression that he packages and puts his own spin on things that other people are already engaging in.
Yes I do believe he repackages from many different sources, but it shouldn’t be understated how many people he introduced to psychedelics or how many people he has trained. It’s fair to say he fanned flames. He stole from a range of places, but a big one I suspect was Carlos Castaneda. I have an essay coming out soon on a new biography of him.
And specifically some notable practices from his groups are:
-sleeping with clients
-jargon related to the substances & trusting them & not fixating on them
-the rhythm of trips & practices for stacking substances during ceremonies
-a certain style of cultural appropriation that blends many modalities
I believe many current MDMA projects are derivative of this person because he has been using a substance they call kanna in ceremonies for much longer than current research efforts & companies, but I am not sure.
I have not as of yet had the resources to go down all these rabbit holes. Yesterday the person in question deleted all the old text messages between me & him.
He has certainly influenced people in a variety of ways and not ways that necessarily support well being (I know that is an understatement).
I regard to MDMA, therapists and others have been working with it therapeutically since the 70's. There has been a lot of influences on above and below ground projects that have nothing to do with him.
Yet, I don't mean to mitigate or downplay the overall deception, harm and questionable activities you are calling out.
Trying to engage with the psychedelic ecosystem in the past months has convinced me either him or his ideas or ways of doing things have infected the scene. I’ve also heard of sexual assaults connected to the founder of an MDMA startup.
I don’t know the origin of this infection but I’m pointing it out because I think psychedelics need to move on from this kind of thing for the betterment of society as a whole.
Everyone in psychedelics talks so much about the shadow but then they act like babies about seeing it.
But it’s time to shine a light & weed these tendencies out.
I think most or at least a lot of people are doing good (enough) work.
Yet, there are too many who range from questionable to fraudulent. If we don't empower best practices and take measures to prevent or call out harm than others will in more draconian ways.
Also even people who are doing good work are influenced by these groups, often unknowingly. People adopt their ideology or practices. People say they believe in harm reduction but don’t stop stuff like this. People say they believe in reciprocity but don’t look at their own behavior. This kind of stuff is polluting.
Any info on this Colorado retreat death? Quick search isn't turning up any news articles. I'm in Colorado and haven't heard about this one. I'm very interested, any news link or more info? Thanks.
Multiple people forwarded me Signal chats & someone who was close with the man called Joe at Psychedelics Today. Apparently Joe has also been threatened with violence, not sure if by this group, for outing psychedelic grifters and people causing harm in the underground.
My heart goes out to you. I have used psychedelics for over 30 years. I assume this supposed shaman was giving people aya. I have only ever known one person I would ever do aya with and they aren't this fraud. I have only recently begun to consider the idea of being a trip sitter, I would never call myself a shaman. I even just recently found out that someone can become a licensed hypnotherapist by taking a weekend workshop. This guy sounds like he was offering weekend workshops to become a shaman. Sheesh. This space seems so saturated with posers and fakes that I am now leaning toward just doing my own journeys and only giving infrequent friendly advice (preferred music, dont drive, dont mix chemicals, etc) to friends. Again my heart goes out to you.
I generally agree, but am also building infrastructure for trust and ethics via psygaia.org — you should check it out :)
I have checked out some of your work & like it, although I think these efforts need to be led by people who were harmed and that people who are more likely to be harmed are women, non-binary and non-white folks. I also believe Native Americans have been warning psychedelic renaissance people about ethics and ethical violations for a long time, but few choose to listen.
Here's some more of my writing on these issues: https://psychedelicauntie.substack.com/p/psychedelic-renaissance-tropes
I agree.
And I was harmed by the psychedelics themselves. I still hold that trauma and am working through it now, over a decade later. I recognize the dangers, both personal and interpersonal, which is partially why I am doing what I am doing.
Other reasons include patriarchy, colonization, etc.
Yes I remember seeing a video in which you described some of your experiences and appreciate this.
Ironically, drinking Ayahuasca with the shaman convinced me to leave behind the dream of working for him & in psychedelics.
I don't think the medical model is the answer—I actually find it creepy to use psychedelics alone with a therapist, a sleep mask and a playlist. I'm skeptical that regulatory efforts can keep people safe, especially since they are highly influenced by money.
#1 thing Reservation elders told me about the ethical violations in psychedelics: Charging $ for ceremonies corrupts.
I try not to make my psychedelic work my primary income stream for this reason exactly. I agree completely with the reservation elders.
And while I am probably not as opposed as you are to the 1:1 therapist model (though I am aware of it’s downsides and risks), I reckon group work is going to become increasingly important. Not just for cost-effectiveness but for collective healing.
Yes as someone who used to teach high school, the field is very important. All the online curriculum made me so sad because I loved reading literature in groups.
I would like my primary income stream to be from unhinged writing. Funny enough, the shaman said he wanted to help me with that. 😹
The next Buddha will be a sangha...
He doesn’t call himself a shaman or like being called that. I explain more why I use that term in this post: https://psychedelicauntie.substack.com/p/the-english-teacher-and-the-shaman?r=9h5gg&utm_medium=ios
I checked out Louis’s link and it looks interesting. I have to say I don’t believe in Microdosing. It takes away the importance of environment and mindset. It makes psychedelics seem like a wonder drug that cures everything by simply taking a pill. You cannot separate the environment and mindset from a psychedelic experience. Drinking ayahuasca does not make someone a super human. I see a recurring pattern over and over. I saw it while practicing Tai Chi, that someone might practice Tai Chi for a year then want to teach it. I saw it in relation to meditation, someone meditates for a while and has a few insights then suddenly they want to teach meditation. I even recently say that someone can take a weekend course and become a licensed hypnotherapist, how bizarre is that? Can you imagine going to a hypnotherapist or any therapist who is screwed up but because they paid a few dollars they are now supposedly helping others? How much damage to the person’s psyche can they inflict because they had no real desire to be of service but they wanted to monetize the little knowledge they learned. It sounds like your shaman was selling the same thing, making a quick buck in the name of love and light. There is only 1 person in the whole wide world I will ever do ayahuasca with, and ayahuasca is the only substance I will not ingest alone. I have ingested psilocybin and lsd alone and only those. I always do them in a colorful energizing environment and when I am in the right mindset. A few years ago I watched a YouTube video about a couple of twenty something’s who hired a “shaman” to do ayahuasca with. I put that in quotes because their “shaman” was a pimply faced kid in his early 20s. He sat there holding a rattle and making noises he probably thought were Icaros in a language he did not understand. I had to laugh, because crying was not an option. He “borrowed” from a First Nations tradition something he had no real understanding of, only a distorted view in his mind. In addition to fake shamans, there are participants who cannot act responsibly either they are predators who show up to a ceremony or they are simply irresponsible idiots who think they are perfectly entitled to get into a car while still under the influence. Personally one of my hard rules is I never get I behind the wheel of a car for at least 8 hours after I feel I have returned to baseline. Psychedelics are not a cure all, they can help us look at ourselves and understand our lives, but the only cure for life is living. I recently attended an erotic hypnosis kink event with clearly defined consent rules and in a beautiful home. I took an uber there, because I was a little altered on a low dose of psilocybin. I was struck by how the rules of consent and the environment would also be perfectly suited for a group psychedelic experience. In other words do not interfere with someone else’s experience, do not do anything for which you haven’t received enthusiastic consent and enjoy yourself. Still the love and light crowd would attempt to monetize it while lying to themselves and others about their true intentions. I had once considered stepping into this space not as shaman but as facilitator and caregiver but have decided I do not wish to take on both the possibility of damaging another’s psyche and the liability of a participant behaving irresponsibly. I will always be willing to suggest possible music to listen to, the importance of being among friends who understand and not operating heavy machinery.
Back in the early days of the Guild of Guides, circa 2010-2015 we met the first major bad actor, his medicne was presented as organic and had funny new names and eventually someone analyzed some of it and its had Ritalin and valium in it. He moved in very high end circles and had a pryramid type scheme his minions operated buying his drugs and passing them down line. I told friends who used him he is no shaman hes just a drug dealer.. no one wanted to be the cop the only recourse was to educate people to be smarter. Not sure if that is true now… one of the pitfalls of the underground is there is no recourse for bad actors. Not much in the above ground either but they can be exposed and licenses taken away . Funny thing people who fall under the spell of the so called shaman still defend him, just like people in cults with gurus, or maga… people like this and there are many, like the bufo mexcian doctor,kicking a man on bufo, should-be exposed as they jeopardize the whole filed moving forward. The doctor was exposed and still people defended him… go figure.
Natalie, Have you refrained from naming him because you are concerned about lawsuits or harassment from people in his network (if so this is certainly understandable).
No one from his network has harassed me! I have been getting tons of messages from former facilitators and clients who also quit because of ethical issues. Some of them are supporting my work now and they are organizing the network of former members.
I have heard that the shaman's long-time lawyer will no longer work with him. Plus, I journeyed with him one night and when he got stuck in a terrible place he called "The Mexican Disco," I helped him through it.
When I wrote my novel I wanted the character to be an "every shaman" sort of thing, a riff on don Juan from the Castaneda books. The real shaman was hyper aware of how people turned him into a character and during one of our last exchanges he said, "Make me whatever you need to be." I think that people's perception of him sometimes annoyed him and sometimes he used it against them or for them (allegedly). The first night I journeyed with him he was avoiding a woman who was too intent on seeing the shaman. He said he had tried to strip away anything that people could romanticize.
It's only recently since I've learned of the deaths that I've started to become interested in the nonfiction story again. Since I published the essay two more deaths were reported to me, but without dates, locations and names they have been hard for journalists to verify. A tip stated one of the deaths was a veteran who died after a facilitator served him Ayahuasca. I also received multiple reports of a facilitator from this network who sexually assaulted 18 clients, but again journalists have been unable to verify the information.
I'm undecided on the name still. What's your opinion?
Thank you for sharing this. I feel it’s important to share his name so we can share it to our communities. But like Robert mentions here, you need to feel safe to do so.
I’m sorry you went through this. I’ve been working with medicine since 2011. Ive worked with many shamans and facilitators and found 2 people that didn’t lead with integrity. Grateful for the majority being heart centered and humble.
It’s a tricky space and people can cause real harm. Grateful for voices like yours! Thank you 💗
Any number of people reading this know who you are referring to. I posted your piece on my FB page and someone did name him in the comments. I think it would add clarity and transparency if you did. Yet, you need to feel into this and decide for yourself
I’m so confused. If he’s so dangerous and you think he’s contributing to deaths and you’re not getting harassed why wouldn’t you name him? This feels irresponsible, no ? Are you wanting someone else to name him ?
I have a post scheduled for Tuesday re why I am not but here you go: https://psychedelicauntie.substack.com/p/the-english-teacher-and-the-shaman
A former member of the network who allegedly hired a PI to investigate the shaman found that the name he uses now is not his real name.
But also- maybe share a photo of him and/or the names he’s gone/goes by if you’d like to protect people from being harmed. There are ways to go about this.
I think plenty of people know who he is and have named him. Also, I want to avoid the idea that he is the only facilitator in the underground behaving this way.
Okay I guess we’re all going to have to stay tuned. This guy sounds like a serious psychopath or something.
Exactly. All the obfuscation feels spooky and crazy making to me. When it comes to abuse and preventable death in the psychedelic space We want to make the information surrounding that more sane and clear , not mysterious and obtuse . Right? I’m unsure what the authors goals are here.
Does this person go by the name Armand?
Another person in the FB thread wrote:
"This guy is a fucking maniac. I have tried to warn my community time and time again. He mixes fucking Adderall with ayahuasca and God knows what else. This man is dangerous! Armand Bytton"
For fucks sake 🤦♀️ maniac indeed.
Interesting. Does he have a website?
Yes, Joe here it is: https://www.momentsofawe.org/armand
I was just going to write that this is what someone posted on FB in reaction to the article and the comments that followed:
Why all of the obfuscation? Name him: Armand. Name them all. Otherwise what is the point and how does writing any of this help?
Thank you, Auntie N. If you're around BZN
anytime, holler; let's compare notes. You're
describing the tip, the whole iceberg is
even more disturbing. The patterns you depict
will be leveraged to discredit what might have
been an opportunity for human liberation.
Big capital & the carceral state's technocrats need to dismantle the underground to get
their proprietary shit on the top shelf of New
Wellness World. For ethical practitioners the medicine has always been the teacher &
always been rooted underground. The glowing
artificial light of the market is actually a War Universe that runs on rape and murder. What looks like a great party from the outside, with Big Money Burners picking up the tab, is really a Ghost Dance for us.
I agree that what I’m talking about must be addressed before the movement can move forward, but I personally have not seen any evidence that people with the microphones are ready to talk about this.
I agree. The people with the mics & big bucks want to dismiss harm until
the day they can sweep away the whole underground & sell their shit.
The set up reeks of "break a few eggs to make an omelette."
Exactly. Glad Bozeman still has some real ones.
I'm south of town in county. The mountains are still real. Ish. The town named after a 2 bit indian killin' shyster is as full of shit as America gets. My real family are in Busby & Birney, Lame Deer & Muddy Creek. Funny, cuz I follow you for yer Rocky Boy vibe. 48 years ago I interviewed for a librarian job there; "you're the only person to apply." "Start right now!" I didn't take the job but I got the real dope just being there in the Bear Paw.
Got rez wise when my son was born 30 years ago & I met a real one. He saved my life.
I met him on solstice. I was driving home from Juarez.
Go figure. Aunties & Grannies 4 ever.
Keep up the great work.
I love this. It wasn’t easy living up there but I miss the Bear Paws every day. I didn’t know it was possible to have nostalgia for Box Elder.
It’s an eerie nostalgia and voices I’ve only heard on the Hi-Line.
When I lived in Havre I met a schizophrenia researcher who had moved up there because there was a cluster, certainly including members of my family. A lot of things started making sense when my students described a parent’s drug-induced schizophrenia.
I was just in Denver & some people in that scene present to me like Rez addicts, but they think it’s different because it’s Kanna or a DMT vape.
Thanks for sharing, and my condolences.
As a facilitator and researcher building a nonprofit in the space with the explicit aim of making psychedelics safer and more accessible, I’d love to know his name.
If you are unfamiliar with an organization called ICEERS, I highly recommend them. They are a research based information center. They are mostly self funded by staff that works other jobs and isn’t profit driven. I was unknowingly part of their study when I did my first Peruvian retreat near Iquitos. They invited people to participate in a blind survey about their experiences before they left the retreat. ICEERS track and teach ‘harm reduction’ practices for both facilitators and participants. The course was modestly priced (with financing) for over six months of content material and live discussions about all their research findings. They offer actual details and subject expertise acquired from multiple continents over years of neutral and anonymous information gathering. It gave me a healthier framework for evaluating what behavior is a solid standard and what is known to harm. I’ve shared it with both facilitators and participants and it’s been very well received. I’m a big supporter of informed participation. This way we can move forward with less fear and more autonomy. I also believe we are moving into a space where each participant is as important to collective healing as any leader. Wholeness is brought about through community connections and healthy belonging well beyond one facilitator or group. It IS possible for more equitable relationships emerging with shared responsibility for self AND group well being. Educating ourselves is an investment in both being and requesting appropriate accountability for everyone’s well being. I’m not affiliated with them at all, just a big fan. Hope it helps others as much as it helped me.
Thanks so much Lisa! I recently quit the Zendo SIT training because I'm unable to do any more Zoom breathing exercises. It's been challenging to find psychedelic spaces in which I feel safe instead of angry.
I have heard of ICEERS but I have not tried to get involved. I will check them out!
There are so many people in need of harm reduction. Many of the shaman's former facilitators who I've been talking to lately feel called to work in harm reduction now.
I was lucky I became obsessed with rez ball and worked in a weed shop.
I am curious. At this point, are you saying that psychedelics themselves are problematic or that he as a facilitator isn't safe?
The latter except I think the scene has a tendency to discard facilitators it was formerly in bed with and call them outliers. He isn’t a safe facilitator and despite the number and nature of incidents connected to this group, nothing has been done. The media isn’t covering the story. People haven’t connected the dots.
But if you read my earlier posts, you’ll see I credit Ayahuasca with helping me leave. And it was psychedelics that made me a fiction writer.
I don’t like how simplistically they are depicted by renaissance folks. Even my former teacher would tell people journeys are unpredictable & the results are a mixed bag. We should be helping people cope with them all instead of refusing to look under the hood.
I appreciate that
Thanks for reading
Thank you for this clear and heartfelt piece. I trust this information will help make a difference and get more people talking openly about him and related issues.
I do have a question though. When you wrote:" I’m talking about someone who has unfortunately set many of the standards in the field."
What specific standards, practices, modalities etc are you referring to? There is quite a long history of people using a variety of resources in this field. It's my impression that he packages and puts his own spin on things that other people are already engaging in.
Yes I do believe he repackages from many different sources, but it shouldn’t be understated how many people he introduced to psychedelics or how many people he has trained. It’s fair to say he fanned flames. He stole from a range of places, but a big one I suspect was Carlos Castaneda. I have an essay coming out soon on a new biography of him.
And specifically some notable practices from his groups are:
-sleeping with clients
-jargon related to the substances & trusting them & not fixating on them
-the rhythm of trips & practices for stacking substances during ceremonies
-a certain style of cultural appropriation that blends many modalities
I believe many current MDMA projects are derivative of this person because he has been using a substance they call kanna in ceremonies for much longer than current research efforts & companies, but I am not sure.
I have not as of yet had the resources to go down all these rabbit holes. Yesterday the person in question deleted all the old text messages between me & him.
He has certainly influenced people in a variety of ways and not ways that necessarily support well being (I know that is an understatement).
I regard to MDMA, therapists and others have been working with it therapeutically since the 70's. There has been a lot of influences on above and below ground projects that have nothing to do with him.
Yet, I don't mean to mitigate or downplay the overall deception, harm and questionable activities you are calling out.
Trying to engage with the psychedelic ecosystem in the past months has convinced me either him or his ideas or ways of doing things have infected the scene. I’ve also heard of sexual assaults connected to the founder of an MDMA startup.
I don’t know the origin of this infection but I’m pointing it out because I think psychedelics need to move on from this kind of thing for the betterment of society as a whole.
Everyone in psychedelics talks so much about the shadow but then they act like babies about seeing it.
But it’s time to shine a light & weed these tendencies out.
Yes!
I think most or at least a lot of people are doing good (enough) work.
Yet, there are too many who range from questionable to fraudulent. If we don't empower best practices and take measures to prevent or call out harm than others will in more draconian ways.
Also even people who are doing good work are influenced by these groups, often unknowingly. People adopt their ideology or practices. People say they believe in harm reduction but don’t stop stuff like this. People say they believe in reciprocity but don’t look at their own behavior. This kind of stuff is polluting.
Here's something else I wrote about the language from the groups: https://psychedelicauntie.substack.com/p/the-cultish-language-of-psychedelic
"Also even people who are doing good work are influenced by these groups, often unknowingly. People adopt their ideology or practices"
This would require some specific unpacking. There are plenty of people and groups who have no (or only very tangental) influence from him.
Of course, any number of people and groups have been influenced by him to various degrees.
I don't want to downplay the real concerns here.
Yet, I don't want them to be exaggerated either because that would undercut the importance and power of what you are bringing forth here.
Any info on this Colorado retreat death? Quick search isn't turning up any news articles. I'm in Colorado and haven't heard about this one. I'm very interested, any news link or more info? Thanks.
Multiple people forwarded me Signal chats & someone who was close with the man called Joe at Psychedelics Today. Apparently Joe has also been threatened with violence, not sure if by this group, for outing psychedelic grifters and people causing harm in the underground.
It’s this person https://www.facebook.com/groups/1660180090868557/posts/4601747866711750/
Actually I don’t think that’s the right person, Jules.
Unless the post got his last name wrong.
thats what i heard
The post might have the last name wrong
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