psychedelic integration
What you do with the insight and information [from a psychedelic experience] is what counts."
— Dr. Gabor Maté
What is Psychedelic Integration?
Psychedelic integration refers to the process of integrating the insights, emotions, and experiences gained from a psychedelic experience into your everyday life. This process can involve reflecting on the experience, discussing it with others, and making lifestyle changes to align with the insights gained. We emphasise an embodied approach to integration, being sure to fully embody change, rather than only intellectualising it.
Integration is a crucial part of the psychedelic experience because it helps to ensure that the insights gained during the experience are not lost or forgotten. By actively working to integrate the experience, you can make lasting changes in your life that improve your well-being, relationships, and overall sense of purpose.
Recommended practices to support you with your integration:
Journaling: Writing down your thoughts and emotions after a psychedelic experience can help you process the experience and gain insights that you may not have been aware of in the moment. During our integration programme, we offer journalling tools and prompts, along with somatic creative writing practices to help you explore the depths of integrative healing.
Psychedelic Integration Therapy: Speaking with a specialist therapist who is knowledgeable about psychedelics can be a helpful way to process the experience and gain insights. During our integration programme, we run sessions with psychedelic integration therapists and researchers and have direct recommendations for experienced therapists that you can work with 1 on 1.
Nature connection: One of the key shifts in perspective that can occur with Psychedelics, and particularly with Psilocybin, is an increased awareness of the interconnectivity of all life. We see this as a fundamental experience worth integrating and recommend many practices and ideas to keep that connection with nature activated and alive. Forest immersions, foraging, birdsong identification, creative eco-projects and contemplative eco-philosophical exercises all support your integration process, as well as an awareness of what reciprocity means and how to bring more reciprocity into your habits and life.
Meditation and mindfulness: These practices can help to calm the mind and facilitate a deeper understanding of the psychedelic experience. It is so important to allow time and space for the experiences to be processed and reflected upon. We also recommend what the Japanese refer to as forest bathing: Shinrin-yoku.
Integration circles: We include 3 online integration calls in the following weeks and months after the retreat, and we also invite participants to continue a peer-lead circle and resource sharing group beyond our time together.
Support groups: Joining a community of people who have had similar experiences can provide a sense of connection and support during the integration process. It is so important to have like-minded or open-minded company to share your experience with. If you try to articulate your experience with people who are closed off to this healing modality, you might find an inner bitterness and cynicism creep in that affects your own memory of the psychedelic experiences and makes integration more challenging.
Self-care: Prioritising self-care activities, such as getting enough sleep, nourishing well, and engaging in regular movement practices, will help support your overall well-being during the integration process.
Retreats and workshops: Continuing to find opportunities to gather, explore and heal will keep your connection strong. We hold many retreats without Psilocybin that make beautiful integration immersions, often with psychedelic integration in mind. These experiences provide a supportive and educational environment to deepen your understanding of the experience and facilitate the integration process.
Shared resources: Continuing to grow your understanding of the psychedelic experience and of healing and self-growth perspectives and practices in general will help you integrate your experiences. During our integration programme we will share several resources and invite an ongoing ‘cross-pollination’ of resource sharing between the group. We also produce the Rooted Healing podcast full of conversations that inspire integrative healing.
As a part of our Earth Medicine Psilocybin retreats in the Netherlands, we include comprehensive preparation and integration programmes as we see this as of equal importance to the retreat immersion itself. We involve some of the most renowned therapists, researchers and thought leaders on the topics of psychedelic preparation, harm reduction and psychedelic integration within our programme.
"Integration is really where the magic happens… The integration process is a really crucial and key component of psychedelic therapy."
— Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris
“Cure yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds.”
– Maria Sabina
Why is our connection with nature so important in the integration process?
At Rooted Healing, our somatic, integrative approach to healing places deep emphasis on nature connection.
Nature connection refers to the sense of belonging and connection that we feel with the natural world. Research has shown that nature connection is linked to numerous physical and mental health benefits, including reduced stress, improved mood and increased creativity. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that nature connection can enhance the positive effects of psychedelic experiences, leading to a greater sense of connection and wellbeing. It is about remembering that we are a part of nature (life) ,whilst reconnecting to the magic and mystery of all life.
Rosalind Watts, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research, has conducted studies on the importance of nature connection in the context of psychedelic assisted therapy. She found that nature connection can play a crucial role in enhancing the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics by providing a grounding and nurturing environment for individuals during their experiences.
Dr Sam Gandy also talks about the importance of nature connection in our podcast episode ‘Psilocybin and beavers rewilding our world’. Sam’s recent research in collaboration with several other scientists shows that Psilocybin reliably increases Nature Connectedness more so than other Psychedelics.
Our connection with nature is essentially our connection with life itself. Psychedelics can help us rekindle this aliveness, helping us reawaken that childlike awe and curiosity with the world around us.
Some recommended ways to connect with nature:
Spend time in nature and allow yourself to unplug. Rather than seeing a pretty view or flower and immediately reaching for your phone to take a picture, actually take it in with your own eyes with curiosity. People often find that after a psychedelic experience, they perceive nature as much more conscious and alive than before. You can begin to see beautiful patterns that speak to the wisdom and intelligence of life and the mystery that threads through it.
Practice mindfulness in nature by focusing on your breath and observing the sights, sounds, and sensations around you. Listening to birdsong and the elements is a wonderful starting point.
Practice ecotherapy, which involves incorporating nature-based activities into therapy sessions. Many therapists offer therapy whilst walking through nature, which we highly recommend.
Engage in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping or gardening and find more ways to meet with others outside. Rather than meeting at a cafe, could you meet for a walk in nature instead? Are there outdoor projects you could be involved with within your community? Or something you have the capacity to initiate?
Participate in nature-based rituals. When we commune with nature in ancestral, ritualistic ways, we can activate a deeper sense of belonging and connection. During our retreats we create many nature-based rituals to inspire ongoing practices.
Nature is deeply important to many indigenous peoples around the world and is often seen as a fundamental part of their culture, spirituality and identity. This wisdom understands that we are intrinsically related to all life and that our well-being is intimately tied to the health and well-being of the natural world.
Many native cultures see nature as sacred and imbued with spiritual energy. They believe that everything in the natural world has animate spirit or essence and that by connecting with nature, we can connect with the spiritual realm.
Relationship to the land and the natural world is a core part of native cultural identity. Traditional practices like hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants are often deeply intertwined with cultural and spiritual beliefs, and are passed down from generation to generation.
With an indigenous perspective in mind, we (humans) are the stewards of the land, with a responsibility to protect and preserve the natural world for future generations. A part of this work is to relearn a deep knowledge of the local ecology, and use this knowledge to manage and protect the land in regenerative ways.
Honouring all of our relations is at the heart of native prayer, seeing the natural world as relational with our more-than-human kin, as well as with our person-centred relationships. This wisdom is based on a deep respect for the natural world and a recognition of the interconnectedness of all life.
It is important to honour the indigenous wisdom that guides this ceremonial work with Psilocybin and other entheogens. The genocides that have attempted to wipe out all knowledge and Earth-centric spirituality, connected to the dominant cultures now seeking healing and support, meant that indigenous people had to risk their lives to maintain their traditions. It is with the most profound respect and gratitude that we create ceremony at Earth Medicine and we always name and honour the teachers and traditions that influence these healing experiences.
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."
- Chief Seattle, Duwamish
“May the four winds blow you safely home.”
— Ancient Native American Blessing
