🫠 Ask a Guide Anything

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We're the psychedelics newsletter that considered no fewer than 10 subject lines for this email. You’re here, so we must’ve picked a good one. 🤓

There’s a certain kind of person who shows up for their journey with a folder on their desktop called “Psilo Prep,” 14 follow-up questions for their facilitator, and a browser history that includes “how to let go.”

We’re not pointing fingers, but if you’ve never once missed an issue of Tricycle Day, this one might be for you.

For today’s issue, we asked our network of licensed psilocybin facilitators: What helps highly analytical or skeptical people surrender to the psychedelic experience?

Here's what they suggested.

When we launched Althea's Pick last Friday, we weren't sure what would happen.

A facilitated psilocybin experience for $500 seemed like something people wanted, but we didn't know if you’d actually book it.

Well, you did. A lot of them.

ICYMI, Althea’s Pick includes prep, a journey, and integration with a licensed facilitator. The price comes way down because we match you with a small group based on availability. (You still pick your state.)

If you’re feeling the call, pay in full by Sunday, and you'll be entered to win a $500 travel stipend for your trip to Oregon or Colorado.

No one’s saying healthy skepticism is a problem. Sage Dutra actually sees it as a strength in this work: “It's a sign that someone values honesty, and psilocybin tends to reward honesty.”

That questioning instinct has been doing its job for a long time. Kate Schroeder gives credit where credit’s due: “The part of you that questions, evaluates, and tries to understand is protective. In many areas of life, it works beautifully.” We’re not trying to get rid of it, she says. “You just don't want it driving the whole experience. It can sit in the passenger seat.”

For those reasons, Benjamin Dancer likes to give that inner skeptic a voice: “Getting to know the analytical or skeptical parts in our preparation sessions, understanding their concerns, and getting their permission is highly effective. These parts need to trust you and the facilitator, and there is a way to build that trust.”

The word “surrender” can rub some analytical people the wrong way. So Clayton Ickes starts by defining the technique simply as “noticing and accepting thoughts, emotions, and sensations without resistance.” Then he compares it to rafting on a river: “Surrender means pointing the nose of your boat downstream. Resistance is turning around and paddling in the other direction. You can try it, but it's going to be exhausting.”

Erin Witter softens the ask even further: “Reframe surrender not as believing something, but as temporarily suspending the need to evaluate. You're not being asked to abandon your mind; just to let it rest for a few hours.”

Alessio Luinetti knows why this can be so hard, especially for first-timers: ”The defense mechanisms which keep us afloat in our daily experiences are challenged, and we cannot rationalize what's happening.” His advice is to normalize the “body-feel” of mushrooms beforehand and remember that everything you're experiencing is time-limited.

Letting go is a muscle. Michelle Harrell recommends building it in everyday moments: “Pause in traffic or a long line and notice your reaction. Take a breath and soften instead of resisting. The more you practice releasing control in small ways, the easier it becomes to trust the process during a journey.”

On journey day, Rhiana Wiggins kicks things off with a guided meditation to help clients “drop out of our minds and into our somatic and sensory experiences." During the journey itself, Benjamin Hawes sees the breath as the most reliable anchor: “The breath acts like the trail of breadcrumbs that can lead the participant through the ‘dark forest’ of thoughts and sensations that can become confusing to navigate.”

And when it’s all over, the thinking mind finally gets its moment. Erin says this is what it was made for: “One's analytical mind can become the best integrator afterward. That capacity isn't ignored; it just gets to wait.”

Not to be melodramatic, but balancing agency (i.e., control) and acceptance (i.e., surrender) is the tightrope walk of life.

Cyclists, it’s not always better to surrender. (*gasp*)

Put the pitchforks down, please? Softening the ego, connecting with nature, and surfing the waves of the universe… Yes. Yes to all of the above. These are beautiful ways of being.

And… taking responsibility for your life is also pretty great.

It’s not a personality defect to believe you can bend reality toward your will. You are not a bad psychonaut for wanting to change your circumstances or improve the world around you.

As for us, we’re going for range. We’ll grip when gripping works, and let go when it doesn't. Journeys are definitely in the “let go” column.

Reply to this email to shoot your shot. If it’s a juicy one, we may select it for a future issue.

That’s all for today, Cyclists! Whenever you’re ready, here’s how we can help.

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.