These days, I hear a familiar question: Who should I turn to for my first – or next – psychedelic journey?
Seekers are overwhelmed – drowning in a sea of facilitators, guides, and self-proclaimed shamans. They’ve heard many horror stories and often, the reality doesn’t match the promise.
A good friend recently returned from a retreat in Costa Rica that I had been researching. I asked about the facilitator, whose name is decorated with a string of impressive initials. Her response: “Trash. Stay away.” She wasn’t being cruel; she was being honest.
Over the years, plant and earth medicines have introduced me to beautiful facilitators. They’ve also shown me who to avoid.
Some radiate too much ego – they act as if they are the medicine, and your breakthroughs are their personal achievement.
Some hide behind clouds of jargon, spinning mystical gobbledygook. Not everyone speaking in sacred tones has something sacred to say. Spiritual language should land as grounded truth, not vapor. If it floats off into incoherence, I’m gone.
Some talk too much and listen too little. Journey space is not for unloading the facilitator’s drama, pushing products, or over-interpreting your visions. And confidentiality regarding participants should be sacred.
So when a relative recently asked me for recommendations in a major city, I gave them a very short list. In a city of millions, why so few?
Because when someone is about to place their psyche, vulnerability and trust into another person’s hands, “many available” is not the same as “many trustworthy.”
That distinction matters more than ever now.
There’s an ancient phrase in the Jewish tradition (please excuse me while I get a little Talmudic; my father was a rabbi, and it’s in my blood…):
Aseh lekha rav.
Make for yourself a rabbi.
Not just any rabbi (or teacher), but one you choose deliberately because they awaken something in your soul. Someone whose presence sharpens your thinking, steadies your heart, and helps you hear what is true inside yourself. If you’re lucky, you’ll find more than one in a lifetime.
In psychedelic work, swap rabbi for guide and the principle holds: choose with care.
But let me be clear: in searching for a guide you are not searching for a guru.
A guru asks for devotion. A guide invites discernment.
A guru wants followers. A guide wants your freedom.
A guru lectures. A guide listens.
You are searching for a steady guide – someone who can walk beside you as you journey into places you’ve never dared go alone.
Find the one who respects your autonomy.
Find the one who is humble rather than certain.
Find the one who makes you feel safe.
That is your rabbi. That is your guide.
