Psilocybin (sill-OH-sy-bin) is a natural compound found in over 200 different species of fungi (mushrooms and truffles). These so-called “magic mushrooms” grow on every continent of the planet except for Antarctica.

Archaeological evidence tells us that psilocybin has been used by humans for spiritual and medical purposes worldwide since at least 5,000 BCE (BC).

That means that nobody owns psilocybin, and nobody invented it – though many indigenous cultures across the globe have our respect and gratitude for helping us understand how to safely interact with these powerful fungi.

Psilocybin is not physiologically addictive. It is also virtually non-toxic. (To reach the toxic dose of psilocybin, one would have to eat several cartons of magic mushrooms.)

Note: Mushrooms with a red cap and white dots are commonly depicted in psychedelic artwork.

These mushrooms are Amanita muscaria, a species that does not contain psilocybin. Amanita muscaria works through a different mechanism than psilocybin-containing mushrooms, and it is quite toxic (and even lethal) if incorrectly prepared.

Here is a list of just some of the studies examining the benefits of psilocybin in treating depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders:

Raison CL, Sanacora G, Woolley J, et al. Single-Dose Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023;330(11):1085-1095. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.16619.
JAMA Network

Goodwin GM, Aaronson ST, Alvarez O, et al. Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression. N Engl J Med. 2022;387(18):1637-1648. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2206443.
New England Journal of Medicine

Carhart-Harris R, Giribaldi B, Watts R, et al. Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(15):1402-1411. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2032994.

Davis AK, Barrett FS, May DG, et al. Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(5):481-489. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285.

Griffiths RR, Johnson MW, Carducci MA, et al. Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial. J Psychopharmacol. 2016;30(12):1181-1197. doi:10.1177/0269881116675513.

Ross S, Bossis A, Guss J, et al. Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized controlled trial. J Psychopharmacol. 2016;30(12):1165-1180. doi:10.1177/0269881116675512.

Carhart-Harris RL, Bolstridge M, Rucker J, et al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2018;235(2):399-408. doi:10.1007/s00213-017-4771-x.

Carhart-Harris RL, Bolstridge M, Rucker J, et al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2016;3(7):619-627. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30065-7.

Grob CS, Danforth AL, Chopra GS, et al. Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68(1):71-78. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116.

Moreno FA, Wiegand CB, Taitano EK, Delgado PL. Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of psilocybin in 9 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2006;67(11):1735-1740. doi:10.4088/jcp.v67n1110.

Renegotiating Reality

When a person re-examines their formulas, things can get emotional. They may reinforce and celebrate the formulas that are true (I am a good person! I do love my spouse!), and grieve the ones that have caused them pain (Wow, that really was an abuse of power, what my teacher did to me). It can also be painful to open one’s eyes to things.

For example, one guest who was able to understand that his fear of intimacy made him treat many of his former partners terribly. Once he realized this, he was quite upset with himself for hurting those caring individuals – and he was upset with himself for denying himself their love. With our gentle support and encouragment, he was able to turn that regret into a plan of action for his life moving forward.

Our staff are all skilled in supporting people in psychedelic states, through both the blissful and the challenging parts.

Reorganizing the Nervous System

Part of how psilocybin mushrooms work are by temporarily “disorganizing” the nervous system so that old, harmful patterns can be disrupted and healthy, new attitudes can be created.

The process isn’t always quick or easy, and of psilocybin explorers may feel lost, fearful, or even broken in the process. Our secure container, held by trained professionals, is specifically designed to make sure your psilocybin experiences are safe and productive, so that you can get the most out of the transformation.

Sometimes people also experience delusions, paranoia, or mania while on the mushrooms. This can be normal and does not mean that psychiatric intervention is needed, especially if handled appropriately. We’re here to make sure you don’t call your boss and quit your job while you’re tripping, cut off all of your hair, or run naked through a public beach. Our job is to protect your body while your soul does its own healing.

It’s simple: there are layers of healing that can’t be accessed in isolation or through one-on-one therapy. As social creatures, many of our wounds have to do with relationship, tribe, and our sense of belonging. It is often only through relationship that we can fully heal.

Throughout history, psilocybin mushrooms have been consumed in group settings. Although we create privacy for each guest, we also encourage participants to bear witness to one another’s healing, and to likewise let themselves be witnessed by others.

We recommend that everyone consult their healthcare provider before consuming psilocybin mushrooms.

People with the following conditions may not be good candidates for using psilocybin, and thus require additional screening support:

Cardiovascular Issues: Psilocybin can cause transient, mild increases in heart rate and blood pressure.

Certain Mental Health Disorders: People with schizophrenia, psychosis, severe anxiety, or bipolar disorder may experience exacerbated symptoms or adverse psychological reactions, including hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: The effects of psilocybin on a developing fetus or nursing infant are not well understood. While indigenous women regularly consume psilocybin mushrooms during both pregnancy and lactation, there are no clinical studies proving the safety of this practice.

Liver Conditions: Psilocybin is metabolized in the liver, so individuals with severe liver disease (like cirrhosis) or impaired liver function may experience heightened adverse effects or toxicity.

Kidney Disease: After psilocybin is metabolized by the liver, it is then flushed out of the body by the kidneys and urinary system. Those who use dialysis or have other severe kidney impairment may thus be at risk of toxicity from using psilocybin.

Medication Interactions: Psilocybin can interact with various medications. Talk with your prescribing doctor for details.

Seizure Disorders: Individuals with epilepsy or other seizure disorders may be at increased risk of seizures due to the psychoactive effects of psilocybin.

Yes, our ceremonies are legal per Mexican law.

Article 195 bis of the Federal Penal Code respects the use of hikuri and psilocybin for traditional spiritual practices or ceremonies, and we work closely with authorized indigenous medicine carriers. 

Despite their centuries-long history of worldwide use, psilocybin mushrooms were villified by the American government in the late 1960’s. Richard Nixon, who was president at the time, associated psychedelic drug use with the anti-war “hippie” movement that he was all too eager to suppress.

John Ehrlichman, White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under Richard Nixon, admitted to the press that the Nixon administration couldn’t make it illegal for citizens to protest the Vietnam War – but it could heavily criminalize the drugs they used. In doing so, “…we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.”

Due to this political strategy, scientific research into the risks and benefits of psilocybin was shut down in the early 1970’s. Our ability to medically understand psilocybin and other psychedelics was further choked by the policies of President Ronald Regan in the 1980’s, who responded to the very real and serious epidemic of crack cocaine use by coming down hard on all drugs. These decades in American history have been described as the “psychedelic dark ages,” in which research all but stopped.

Thankfully, attitudes have shifted, allowing scientists to return to the laboratory and clinic to better research age-old medicines like psilocybin mushrooms. We now find ourselves in the “Psychedelic Renaissance.” Research from the late 1990’s to now has indeed contributed significantly to our understanding of how psilocybin and other medicines like it work on the brain and in the body – and that research has helped lawmakers see that it’s time to loosen the restrictions on these powerful substances.

Before a caterpillar can become a butterfly, it must make its cocoon. In this safe, dark place, the caterpillar is isolated from outside influences and can focus solely on its own transformation. The caterpillar dissolves into an indistinguishable goo; from that goo state it becomes a butterfly. If one were to crack open a cocoon during this process, they would find only slimy goo; no caterpillar, and no butterfly. It can be quite alarming!

For this reason, we strongly encourage that you do not disturb your loved one’s cocoon when they are on retreat. All this will do is get your hands dirty and slow down your loved one’s transformation. If you encounter goo, you might also get frightened, which isn’t helpful for anyone!

We are asking you to trust. To trust in your loved one’s process, and also to trust in our facilitation team.

Please, try not to monitor your loved one’s experience or progress. Do not expect daily updates or summaries. And do not try to impose your own formulas on their work.

We suggest that you do not ask or expect anything of your loved one while they are away. Without meaning to, you might be poking their cocoon and doing them (and yourself) harm. Avoid asking your loved one to support you or to complete tasks for you. Now is the time for you to call in your other sources of support and comfort, without relying on your gooey caterpillar.

Let our team support your loved one and their cocoon state – and their emererging.

It’s hard to bake a soufflé, but well worth the effort. The recipe for this delicious dessert calls for a flavorful base and glossy, beaten egg whites baked to a puffy perfection. Anyone who has ever baked a soufflé can tell you that there are two very important things to ensure the soufflé rises properly: Do not open the oven door! Do not poke the soufflé!

After putting the ingredients in the oven, the baker must guard the oven to ensure the soufflé rises properly. If every curious friend, family member, or neighbor came along wondering “How’s the soufflé coming along?” and opened the oven door and poked the soufflé… Well. We wouldn’t have much of a soufflé at all.

So our ask of you, dear one, is this: Do not poke the soufflé! Protect the precious process that happens during retreats.

If these analogies don’t work for you, then here’s a simpler one: Don’t expect to drive a car when it’s in the shop for repairs. The mechanic said it’ll be a week. If you call or show up at the shop before a week is up, it won’t speed up the process, and it will annoy the mechanic. The distractions might actually slow them down and make the job take longer.

We suggest that any communications between you and your loved one be kept brief, supportive (meaning you support your loved one, not the other way around), and led by the one in the cocoon.

If your loved one doesn’t call or text, it’s because they’re in their cocoon and if they focus on you, they can’t do the important work of healing.

On a logistical note, the days on our retreats are long (some days contain over 12 hours of programming), we do not have WiFi at all of our retreat sites, phones are not welcome in the group space, and we often encourage our guests to ignore their phones for the entire duration of the event.

Furthermore, if we find that a retreat participant is being distracted by their phone, we will (lovingly) ask them to power it off until the end of the retreat. We also reserve the right to change the WiFi password so that only staff can be connected electronically.

If you want to connect with your loved one, we suggest brief, loving messages like, “Thank you for doing this important work. I’m rooting for you,” or “Hope it’s all going well. I’m so proud of you.”

As the brain, body, and spirit complete “unfinished business,” the process can get messy. For example, many years ago a guest came on retreat who had experienced sexual abuse as a child. Under the effects of psilocybin, his psyche went back to reconcile the trauma, and he experienced paranoia. He phoned his wife, hysterical, telling her that the retreat staff were trying to kidnap him and sell him to sex traffickers – a claim that was, of course, entirely untrue. Thankfully, this guest’s wife understood that issues – like bruises – can get uglier before they resolve.

Another guest was still on mushrooms at the end of the day when his wife texted three times, nagging him for not calling her. He called her back and blurted out that he was gay. This guest likely was not actually gay, but rather was working through a process around his own homophobia. His wife was understandably confused and concerned, and the next day she received another call (from a sober husband, this time) with an apology and clarification.

If you get correspondence that has you concerned, remember that things sometimes get chaotic before they settle down. If you’ve ever cleaned out a closet, you know that the rest of the room becomes chaotic during the organization process. 

You’re of course also welcome to check in with us if you’re seriously concerned. (See contact details below.)

As healing as change can be, it can also be frightening. What will change? What will stay the same? Will my spouse still want to be with me? Will my family members forgive me? Will they remember what happened and become angry again? There can be so many feelings, so many things to worry over, and so much to get insecure about!

Healing work entails an element of surrender – for both the person and for those who love them. Remember to breathe this week, and trust that whatever is in the highest good is on its way.

This might be a nice time for you to seek out support for yourself, too – whether it’s a lunch date with a friend, a therapy session, or signing up for a class you’ve been curious about.  

We know that it can be hard work to support somebody’s healing process. In addition to everything discussed above, there are also the logistics of running household, business, and life. Letting your loved one take this time likely means that you are having to carry a heavier load than usual. Perhaps it’s parenting by yourself for the week, housekeeping, running the business, caring for dependent elders, or otherwise “taking one for the team.” Many retreat participants have shared much they appreciated coming home post retreat to a clean and tidy space.

Your acts of service in this way are a form of love, and we all so, so deeply appreciate them.

We have every retreat guest’s emergency contact information on file and will be in touch if an emergency occurs during the retreat.

If you urgently need to reach your loved one during the retreat, please contact us. Our office admin will check voicemails and emails regularly, and contact us as needed.

Phone: +1 971 708 0208

Email: info [at] riseupretreats [dot] com. Put the word “URGENT” in the subject line.

Please keep correspondence for emergencies only. Our retreat staff work more than 12 hours per day during retreats and are focused on our guests.