🫠 Psychonaut POV

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that’s all in on nature. Go touch grass and hug a tree! (But read our email and support our sponsors first, mmkay?) 🌳

As a kid, Ian-Michael Hébert could see the Northern Lights from his own backyard. Those early experiences were formative, and he only fell deeper in love with nature over time. Now he runs Holos, a group of retreat centers designed for integrated living.

We talked to Ian-Michael about the role of nature in psychedelic experiences, maintaining integrity in psychedelic business, and what to look for in a plant medicine retreat.

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Nature and psychedelics have both had a profound impact on your life. Can you share a little bit about your background and how these interests have converged?

I grew up right in the heart of Alaska, in Fairbanks. My parents were back-to-the-land hippies, so I was totally immersed in this wild environment and exposed to various philosophies and spiritual practices from my early childhood. There was a connection with natural world—this animism—that shaped me. Many people turn to psychedelics to capture the sense of wonder I had back then.

Fairbanks is really close to the Arctic Circle. That means we have periods of 24-hour darkness and other times when there's constant daylight for a few months. Seeing the Aurora borealis light up the sky is a regular thing there. Just these phenomena alone are mind-blowing. So, I guess you could say I got a taste of the numinous from a young age.

As I grew older, that craving for something beyond the ordinary intensified. I've had phases in life when psychedelics were a part of my journey, and other times where I was focused on meditation, building things, or just living life with a grounded presence. But it’s clear to me that growing up in such a beautiful place really shaped my appetite for altered states of consciousness.

Holos has some highly respected psychedelic elders among its advisors, including Stan Grof and Gabor Mate. How has their guidance influenced your work?

Stan and the Grof legacy were the initial spark of inspiration for Holos. Stan and his late wife, Christina, envisioned creating a hub for transpersonal psychology, and that seed sprouted into our retreat center. As for me, I had this burning desire to create a community where we could explore plant medicine within legal boundaries. So, the name "Holos" is a nod to the Grofs' work with holotropic states and the framework Stan created, which guides us toward completeness through different practices. Holotropic literally means “moving towards wholeness.”

Holos, our haven, is where we not only practice but also integrate diverse ways of existence that resonate with a sense of wholeness. It's about recognizing our own completeness and our integral connection to the bigger picture of Earth and all its ecosystems. Stan's essence runs deep through Holos. Even his brother Paul, a spry 87-year-old, recently paid us a visit, sharing his wisdom through talks, all while dashing around the property and hiking trails.

And then there's the incredible Gabor. Part of Stan's legacy is this concept of Perinatal Matrices, which map out the stages of birth and how the traumas we face then can mold our entire lives and the ways we interact with the world. Gabor kind of picks it up from there, emphasizing the impact of more recent traumas on our lives. His view is that challenges like addiction, ADHD, and various mental health hurdles are all rooted in childhood trauma.

So Stan and Gabor are certainly two elders that have taught us a lot, but our embrace of wisdom doesn’t stop there. We're also heavily influenced by indigenous traditions, learning from these unsung elders from diverse cultures. Their traditions often revolve around plants like ayahuasca, San Pedro, Peyote, which are themselves profound sources of insight that enrich our path.

You've signed the North Star Ethics Pledge. Can you explain what that is, and why it's important for people working in psychedelics to uphold ethical standards?

A group of brilliant people, mostly centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, started to recognize a growing trend within the world of psychedelics—a shift towards commercialization. With this transition often comes unfavorable repercussions. So this is where the North Star Pledge steps in. It serves as a structured framework and set of commitments embraced by those within the industry and associated practices. Essentially, it provides a shared ethical foundation, guiding our behavior both professionally and personally.

Embedded within this pledge is a commitment to personal growth, a promise to respect and honor diverse cultures, and an unwavering dedication to inclusivity. These principles hold deep significance for me. The North Star Pledge ensures that we are all aligned in our conduct, fostering ethical practices within our business endeavors and individual lives. It functions as a compass, guiding us on the path of ethical integrity.

What motivated you to get involved with the Psychedelic Association of Canada, and what are some of its initiatives that you're particularly excited about?

Yes, in fact I had the privilege of being one of its founding board members. It all stemmed from a gathering where some of the leaders within the Canadian psychedelic movement had come together to align on a vision for the future. Our collective realization was that to advance psychedelics in a responsible manner—whether through medicalization, decriminalization, or legalization—we’d need a unified front guided by shared values. So we created the Psychedelic Association of Canada to meet that need.

There are several initiatives we’re working on that are truly promising. One area that I’m especially excited about is the campaign to legalize psilocybin therapy for end-of-life care. A major reason for my enthusiasm, and indeed a motive behind co-founding the association in the first place, is Canada's robust socialized healthcare system. Expanding access to these treatments is critical, and Canada’s healthcare system would actually allow for government financial support for psychedelic medicine. In effect, you’d have an avenue for ethical and secure implementation, while ensuring a broader demographic can benefit.

By contrast, just look at Oregon. There, factors like insurance and licensing fees render psilocybin therapy relatively costly, particularly for individuals struggling with mental health challenges who are already at a disadvantage.

I’m also excited about supporting our initiatives involving indigenous communities in Canada. The Psychedelic Association of Canada is involved in establishing clinics, essentially regional hubs, where psychedelic medicine can be made available to those communities that have historically borne the brunt of colonization and industrialization. Overall, my aspiration for Canada is to develop progressive policies within the context of socialized medicine, so that more people can access the support they need.

What advice would you give to someone interested in attending a psychedelic retreat? What are some steps people can take to be sure the center is a good fit?

The most important step you can take is to conduct thorough research on the reputation of any center or facilitator you're considering for a psychedelic experience. Cultivate your intuition and learn to exercise discernment over the environment in which you'll be embarking on this journey. Some settings are more conducive to inward reflection, perhaps quieter or closer to nature. However, it’s not all about location; the practitioner you choose also plays a pivotal role in the outcome and healing potential of the session.

Prioritize practitioners who approach their work with humility and a profound respect for the potency of these substances. It's important that they don't overpower your experience with their own perspectives, but rather guide you to uncover your own truths from within. They should serve as a supportive presence for your personal journey. Imagine going on a mountain climbing expedition; the guide you'd choose would be confident yet inclined to let you take your own steps.

To elaborate further, I’d recommend entrusting a guide who has traversed the path you're venturing into. This brings up a concern I have with the surge of psychedelic guide training programs. Many of these programs instruct individuals who might hold impressive credentials, like doctors or therapists, on guiding others through non-ordinary states of consciousness. However, in some cases, these guides lack personal familiarity with the terrain. It's akin to studying the Himalayas from a textbook and then attempting to guide someone through its treacherous landscapes, snow, and avalanches when you've never actually set foot there. My advice is to seek guidance from those who have substantial experience under their belt, accrued through years of dedicated practice.

Want more from Ian-Michael? Follow him on Instagram, see what’s on the horizon at Holos’s three retreat centers, and become a friend of the Psychedelic Association of Canada.

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.