As we enter the month of May, a time of renewal and rebirth in my latitude, I am gratified and excited to witness the evolution of PRATI as we grow into and elevate our ecological mission of Wholeness through our work. Wholeness is a relational model which reflects a deep truth: we are interconnected and interdependent beings. And while we remain unique individuals, we are also innately bound to each other and to the web of life. To be Whole, we must change our human story and appreciate that as a species we are but one part of the community of life, the more than human world.
I’ve said this before and offer it again as a reminder, our collective work is challenging as it requires us to undo deeply embedded cultural narratives of separation. To be successful, we will need one another in this journey of narrative change. Despite the challenge, I am thrilled to share news about our latest contributions in this great transition.
To begin, this July we will host our first End of Life and Existential Distress KAP Training. This new offering feels really important because of the ripples of healing and transformation that might unfold. We appreciate that to be fully alive also requires us to be free of the fear of death. Nevertheless, we are immersed in a culture that tends to avoid conversations about death and prolongs life at the expense of living. This existential distress extends to informal caregivers and healthcare professionals working with dying patients. Moreover, our species is in the midst of the existential threat posed by climate change.
A growing body of literature demonstrates how psychedelics are helping individuals at the end of life. These medicines are helping patients find a sense of unity allowing them to see themselves as separate from their diagnosis, to seek connection, heal old traumas, and generally decrease anxiety and depression. Our EOL faculty brings a richness of experiences in palliative care, hospice, KAP, and End of Life psilocybin clinical research. I hope you can join us in this work by attending a training and/or add your name to our mailing list.
I’m similarly excited by the upcoming opening for our August Group KAP Training registration and the shifting appreciation for the role of community in healing. But, there is more work to be done if we are to realize a future relational model of health. We know that psychedelic communitas, or the intersubjective experience, can predict enduring changes in well-being. In groups, something bigger emerges that takes hold when the intersubjective space and connection is cultivated.
Transforming our nation’s model of care and healing is paramount. It is vital that we elevate the healing potential of groups, along with decreased costs and improved access, and acknowledge that healing happens in community. I hope you will join us this August to co-learn, deepen and strengthen your Group KAP skills and sound bathe, integrate, and experience psychedelic communitas together.
Finally, I’m overjoyed to invite you to participate in our upcoming practice and training this June, where together we explore our relationships with the more than human world. This offering and practice is work that we’ll continue to grow and expand so that together we might heal and reestablish relationship with our living planet.
Like the crab apple tree budding in my backyard, PRATI is in a season of growth and emergence. As our programming offerings grow, so too do the number of seeds planted by alumni across the world. As more and more people reconnect with the profound truth of our wholeness — whether through psychedelic communitas, gratitude practice, group work, confronting the mystery of death and impermanence, or simply walking in the woods with curiosity and in relationship with the more than human world— we hope for less suffering and more flourishing in the world.
As always, we are honored to do this work alongside you, and we hope to see you at one of our upcoming trainings, webinars, or at the MAPS Psychedelic Science conference this June — come stop by our booth or the PRATI Party we’re hosting on June 22.
