If you have been curious about exploring psychedelics and want to learn more before your first experience, or you want to have a better journey next time you embark on a psychedelic journey, today’s episode is for you. As psychedelics become more mainstream and popular, it’s crucial to approach these powerful medicines with caution, integrity, and responsibility – especially if you’re a highly sensitive person.

I know this well myself after living in Costa Rica with the intention of deepening my understanding of plant medicine and shamanism for healing. Through dozens of journeys with different plants, psychedelics and different facilitators, I have witness and experience the beautiful magical healings that is possible and also the tragic and re-traumatizing things that can happen in the wrong container with the wrong facilitator.

To help me explore this topic, I have psychedelic healing expert Chuchu Wang on the podcast. Chuchu is an inspirational keynote speaker, visionary leader, and co-founder of Ceremonia, a nonprofit providing legal psilocybin and ayahuasca retreats designed for deep personal transformation. She is expert in consciousness, psychedelics, and connection, integrating Plant Medicine, IFS, Gestalt therapy, Qigong, Tantra, Shamanism, and ancient spiritual wisdoms such as Daoism and Buddhism into her work.

In part one of this two-part episode, we discuss the fundamentals of psychedelic healing, what you need to know before deciding if this modality is right for you, how to properly prepare for a journey, and the foundation for navigating the experience itself. Be sure to return for part two next week, where we talk about integration, support, community, and how to avoid or deal with a “bad trip.”

If you want to prepare your nervous system for a journey or need help integrating, consider 1-1 somatic coaching with me. Click here for the 1:1 Somatic coaching application.

What You’ll Discover:

• Why psychedelics can be a powerful tool for healing trauma and connecting more deeply with yourself, others, and something greater.
• The importance of trusting your own curiosity and intuition when deciding if psychedelic medicine is right for you.
• How to set an intention for your journey that is rooted in openness and willingness rather than specific expectations or desires.
• The key elements of preparing for a psychedelic experience, including meditation, embodiment, sleep hygiene, pattern interruption, and having proper support.
• 4 essential tools for safely navigating a psychedelic journey.

Listen to the Full Episode:

Everything you need:

• Chuchu Wang: Instagram
• Ceremonia Circle: Website | Instagram | Podcast
• Click here for the 1:1 Somatic coaching application.
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk
• Thich Nhat Hanh
• Terence McKenna
• 215: Befriending All Parts of Yourself as a Therapeutic Tool, with Magdalena Krohn
• Join our podcast premium membership and continue your add free experience
• Get Out of Emotional Overwhelm by Feeling Your Feelings – free workbook
• Get on the waitlist for my mini course: Feel It to Heal It!
• Leave a review for this episode for the podcast in general on iTunes and send me a screenshot at erika.belanger@gmail.com to get access to a free month of our Premium Membership.
• Not sure if you are highly sensitive (HSP) Take my free quiz: Just How Sensitive Are You?