Rest and Renewal

A "Sunday Reflections" Series

I recently returned from the Netherlands as part of a four-month Connected Leadership Program, which included a one-week retreat featuring a psychedelic journey and executive coaching.

I don’t often share my work or interest in psychedelics as a tool for healing and transformation. However, for those familiar with my work, this exploration is a natural extension, as integration has been a defining part of my healing process.

Plant-based medicine offers a direct connection to the wisdom of Mother Earth and its regenerative ways. However, my intention today is not to educate or elaborate on psychedelic journeys but to share a key insight from my experience.

When embarking on this type of healing modality, intention is everything. The medicine—in this case, mushrooms or more specifically truffles—responds to your intention in ways you may not expect or anticipate.

My intention was to release energetic blocks hindering the full flow of my mind, body, and spirit. It was fitting that Nature met me where I am today, focused on embodiment and somatic therapy—a type of mental health counseling that emphasizes the mind-body connection to heal from trauma, stress, and other ailments.

What I did not expect was the emphasis on REST in response to my intention.

As soon as the psychedelic journey began, I found myself in a fetal-like position, cradled in a nest of my own making with blankets and pillows. It wasn’t long before my body seemed to meld with the ground below, every cell becoming ONE with Mother Earth.

Initially, I was surprised by how exhausted and depleted my body felt. Despite being in a restful place in my life, my body has endured a lifetime of traumas and burdens not always visible to the mind’s eye. It is exactly why my body has become more than a vessel of our human experience, but also a vital instrument in my deeper, more restorative healing.

In this psychedelic state of REST, my body was being restored and replenished. It’s challenging to articulate the full experience of how Nature held me. However, I can share that she did so by allowing me to experience the countless lifecycles of nature—birth, evolution, pollination, decay, and everything in between. Surrendering to nature allowed me to receive her medicine. This, in itself, was healing, as fully receiving is not something that comes easy to me.

It was “quite a ride,” as they say. It is also an experience I could have not have had in the waking state without the guidance of this medicine.

After completing this part of my medicine journey, I encountered a different type of REST. This one rooted in STILLNESS. After being in a fetal-like position for hours, I was finally ready to sit up. I found my way naturally to a meditative seated pose. I noticed how the core of my body and spine felt like the trunk of a tree—rooted from the base of my seated position and standing upright to the crown of my head.

I couldn’t slouch even if I wanted to; the energy felt potent, like a queen on her throne—dignified, certain, and regal. This REST felt empowering. My body understood that resting from a place of stillness is as vital (if not more) as the rest we seek when exhausted or depleted.

As I integrate this insight into my daily life, I am noticing how often my body seeks this type of rest—one we often overlook because we aren’t listening to what our body needs until it’s too late. It is also not surprising that Nature (with or without psychedelics) is the ultimate inspiration for restoration and regeneration. She is always present in and around us, only if we choose to listen.

The more I walk the path of BEING versus DOING, the more I learn to embody the unfiltered, unedited flow of energy in mind, body, and spirit.

*************

To learn more about my creative expression work in psychedelics, please visit SketchPoetic.

e