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Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that’s doing our part. These emails won’t send themselves. 🫡

Most of us think of ourselves as indivudals.

But parts work says you’re more like a committee. 

See, one part of you wants to keep reading this email. Another part wants to flush your phone down the toilet and move to the forest. (We can relate.)

All your parts make valid points, but hearing them out can be tricky.

So for today’s newsletter, we asked our network of licensed psilocybin facilitators: What is parts work, and how does it complement psychedelic therapy? 

Here’s how they explain it.

When we launched Tricycle Day in 2023, all we could offer was information. That was… well, a good start.

These days, we actually help people take psychedelics. Pretty cool evolution, if you ask us.

The reason that’s possible is that Tricycle Day is part of Althea, the first legal psilocybin marketplace in the country.

(Yes, such a thing exists, and no, you don’t need a doctor’s prescription to do a mushroom journey.)

If you’re curious about working with psychedelics safely and intentionally, we can help make that happen.

Think of yourself as a cast of characters. Masha Steiner-Renoir sets the scene: “Parts work is recognizing that we all have different parts of ourselves—the inner child, the protector, the critic, the people-pleaser—and they usually developed for a reason.”

A common instinct is to shove aside the parts you don’t like. Monica Ramunda begs you to reconsider: “Parts work is not about getting rid of the difficult parts of ourselves. It is about welcoming them home.”

There’s also the ‘you’ that isn't a part at all. Char McKendrick offers a useful metaphor: “I like to think of parts work as an orchestra. Our wise Self is the conductor, and there’s also the audience, that observing awareness that can simply witness what’s happening.”

Psychedelics don’t add new voices to the mix. But they do turn up the volume on the ones that went silent in elementary school. Char explains: “Psychedelics can help some of our protectors soften or step back, making it easier to hear parts that may have been quiet for a long time.”

Parts don’t always speak in words, mind you. Karin Calde catalogs the forms they take: “In psychedelic work, our parts can show up through emotions, memories, body sensations, images, or inner dialogue, offering information about what they need and what they’ve been carrying.” 

Two can show up at once, by the way, with conflicting agendas. Kate Schroeder reframes ambivalence: “Someone may simultaneously experience a part that desperately wants to surrender and another that is absolutely terrified of letting go.”

Taking the time to understand your parts is what settles them. Kate leans on gentle curiosity: “I don’t want to bulldoze past someone’s protectors in pursuit of a breakthrough. In trauma work, resistance is information. If a part of someone is saying, ‘I’m not ready,’ I’m interested in understanding why.”

From there, it's about earning each part’s trust. Denise Vargas, a hypnotherapist, uses “guided relaxation, focused attention, and therapeutic dialogue” to “connect with these parts safely and compassionately.”

Once connection is made, Benjamin Dancer often sees something deeper loosen. “When we become aware of these parts and what they need,” he says, “we can heal them—thus, resolving the internal conflicts that keep us from living as we want to live.”

Shhhh! Don’t look now, but…

Your parts are listening to how you talk.

So be careful with charged language that could set 'em off.

Consider “ego death.” Your protectors consider it their sworn duty to keep you safe. If they hear you scheming about dissolving into oneness without their signoff, they’re gonna go full sicko mode with the hyper-vigilance.

(Fun fact: Sunny Strasburg once told us that Dick Schwartz, the guy who created Internal Family Systems, dislikes terms like “ego dissolution” for exactly this reason.)

When all’s said and done, what we’re striving for with psychedelics is integration, right? That word literally means bringing disparate parts into one whole.

To do that, you gotta hear everyone out, ideally with an open heart. Yup, even the part that thinks you’re an Arcturian starseed.

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.