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Psychedelic Sitters School

Psychedelic Sitters School: Weekend Workshop Feb 27-28, 2016

What is a psychedelic sitter?

A sitter is someone who stays in contact with another person's inner journey experience and takes care of their physical, psychological, mental and spiritual needs while simultaneously allowing them to be fully immersed in their experience without interference. A sitter does everything they can to protect the journeyer while simultaneously allowing the person to experience everything fully, even the feeling of dying. Sitting is not a passive state. 'Just' sitting there is an extremely active state... requiring attention, compassion, and skill. Sitters 'hold space' for deeply transformative experiences.

Why is this kind of a training important?

Psychedelics are being widely used in our culture. We can reduce the harm of such use, and increase the benefits of it, by having individuals educated and professionally trained in safer use practices. We believe that this training can save lives and protect many people from unnecessary trauma.

Who this training is for:

Therapists, therapists-in-training, and other healers interested in psychedelic-assisted therapies
Festival goers and people who want to help keep their friends safe in recreational settings
Those interested in volunteering in psychedelic harm reduction
Psychedelic medicine users
People interested in navigating extreme situations such as hospice work or crisis intervention

What you'll get out of this training:

Foundational sitters skills
Deepened understanding of set, setting, and skill
Psychedelic first aid
Crises intervention tools that are both clinically and transpersonally informed
Tools to protect yourself psycho-spiritually and energetically from secondary trauma
Mindfulness practices that deepen journeywork experiences
Opportunities to participate in Conscious Cannabis Circles and Medicine Song Community Breathwork as a sitter
Possible volunteer opportunities at local festivals
Skills that will apply to other work you are doing in the world
Networking/community engagement

How we work:

The purpose of this program is to (1) introduce participants to a set of navigation and somatically oriented mindfulness skills that support the safe and intentional use of psychedelic medicines, and (2) to facilitate the development of advanced, transpersonally oriented "sitters" skills that can be used to support others having difficult or profound altered states experiences. We will do this through resilience development practices, educational modules, experiential partner exercises, guided meditation music journeys, and opportunities to sit in altered states events such as our Medicine Song Community Breathwork Events or Conscious Cannabis Circles. Readings and journeywork oriented mindfulness practices will be offered as well.

Examples of Experientials Involved:

How to maintain deep contact with yourself and another before, during, and after an intense experience
Guided mindfulness meditations relevant to psychedelic medicine work
Grounding, rooting, and tracking skills to stay resourced and connected
Demos of examples of crisis situations: panic attacks and other "freakouts"

Facilitated by Daniel McQueen, MA, Executive Director of Medicinal Mindfulness

Guest speaker Alison McQueen, MA, MDMA Researcher and Therapist will be speaking about therapist and client resourcing in altered states work

Weekend workshop February 27-28, 10am-4pm

$225/$145 for students, catered lunch included both days

Pre-registration required at events@medicinalmindfulness.org

The Solstice Center, 302 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302

Optional Cannabis Circle on Saturday night.