Summer 2024 Newsletter

Happy Solstice! Yesterday was the first official day of Summer, and the longest day of the year. As I’ve been sitting with the seasonal shift, I noticed that it’s been a while since I’ve connected with you in this way. The last time I wrote a newsletter to you was in February, so, hello again! I do really appreciate these moments of connection, and I’ve missed writing to you. At the same time, I needed to take a few things off my plate earlier this year, and decided to take a break from these newsletters. My intention for this year and this Summer specifically, is to move slowly. To rest, take gentle care of myself, take my time, and check in with myself before I agree to plans. And so, you haven’t heard from me this way since the beginning of the year. I am back and happy to be here! 

Since the weather warmed, I’ve been planting my garden and playing with some small yard projects, doing lots of reading, and diving deeper into my own healing. (If you're reading anything good, let me know!)

Something that’s coming up in my own work is the discovery of challenging patterns and behaviors, and a lot of ‘stuff’ that isn’t really mine. What I mean is, there are a lot of beliefs and behaviors that I inherited from my caregivers, who learned the same things from theirs, and so on, back for generations. Maybe these things were helpful for them at the time, but that doesn't mean they are serving me now. One of the things I really love about working with psychedelics is that medicine work provides the opportunity to look at things in a different way. For me, this has shown up as a deeper understanding of what is and is not mine. I logically knew I was holding things that didn’t belong to me, but I’m starting to really feel it, notice the impact, and begin working on doing something different.

In my work with clients, I’ve also been having a lot of conversations about maladaptive patterns. You tend to repeat patterns of behavior until you recognize them and make the effort to change. Maladaptive patterns can show up as negative self talk (“I’m messing this up, I’m a bad person, I’m not allowed to make mistakes”), choosing partners or relationships that feel comfortable but don’t really fit, getting defensive when receiving feedback, or trying to control others (consciously or unconsciously).  

If you're someone who is working to understand your own patterns, I have a few thoughts on how to look at some of this:

• First, check in on your own values. What’s important to you? How do you want to be showing up in your life and your relationships? From there, you may be able to see patterns that don’t line up with what you say your values are. Once you know what your values are, you're able to more effectively look at your patterns of behavior and see what lines up and what doesn’t. 
• Once you identify patterns or behaviors that don’t align, ask yourself: “what’s going on here? Where is this coming from? Is this mine, or did I learn this from a caregiver/society/media/etc?"
• Choose something different. Of course, so much easier said than done, right? I get that, and - I also want to invite you to practice. The next time you notice a pattern that doesn’t fit your values, pause, take a breath, and ask yourself if what you’re experiencing is rooted in the past or the present. If it isn't based on what's happening in the present, you can reflect on how you might want to be showing up in a different way. Even if you’re reflecting after the fact, you’re still making progress by taking a look in the first place. 

If you are someone who holds space for others, doing values work and identifying your stuck patterns is essential. As you hold space for others to heal, knowing yourself as well as you can will allow you to explore how patterns show up in your work. Not only that, but you can help your clients do the same. 

If you are a healer and are interested in exploring psychedelics for your own healing, I would love to invite you to join me in August. I’m offering a Healing for Healers retreat on August 17th and 18th, and I would love to share this transformational work with you. There’s also something truly special and comforting about healing in community. Being witnessed, holding space for others, and connecting with one another is so powerful. We need each other, and we really can’t do this alone. 

My intention for this retreat is an embodiment of the spiral path; we’ll start wide: “who am I? Where do I come from?, where have I been?”, go deeper: “what do I value? What’s important to me? How do I want to be showing up as a healer?”, then continue to spiral down into a delicious yoga and rest practice, followed by a group ketamine journey and integration practices. You’ll be held in community, cared for, and given space to connect with yourself and with the group. If you want to read a bit more about the retreat or about KAP, you can check it out here. 

Want to connect but can’t make the retreat? Join me for Community Meditation Gatherings each Wednesday at 8:30am, or connect with me to see if KAP is right for you. 

Another way we can connect is in person this weekend! If you’re local to Frederick, come join me at Frederick Pride on Saturday! I’ll be setting up a space on the creek close to East Street and I would love to see you. 

Quick note for therapy clients: I would love to say hello! However, your confidentiality is of the utmost importance to me. If you would like to say hi, please do - I’ll follow your lead and will not speak with you unless you choose to approach me. 

If you missed previous newsletters, you can access them here, and can go back to check out the therapy themes and resources I sent in previous months. 

Want more resources? You can check out the Resources page of my website here. 

As always, I am so grateful to you for staying connected with me! I'd love to hear from you - how are you? What are you looking forward to this Summer? Where can you slow down a bit? 

I hope to connect with you soon!