Dear Reader,

​

As you know, we've been interested in the transformational and psychological power of aromas for a long time and have partnered with these aromatic allies in psychedelic-assisted therapy over the years.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is becoming popular. Some people are calling it a renaissance, although that term has been called into question, because who is it a renaissance for? (This is really a topic for another time.)

Psychedelic-assisted therapy is really an umbrella term for a wide variety of practices, including ketamine being offered with varying levels of therapy support, and MDMA and psilocybin and other plant spirit teachers going through research and clinical trials, with a variety of forms of psychotherapy, and then there are also the efforts in Oregon and Colorado to legally offer these modalities, without FDA-approval and with training and setting requirements that are still evolving.

Along with the exploding interest in Psychedelic-assisted therapy, both among therapists (I use that term very broadly to include guides and a variety of health and therapy professionals) and among people in general, interest in partnering with aromatic allies is also growing. From what we hear from a variety of people, there are frustrations Psychedelic-assisted Therapy and partnering with aromas helps us address some of these frustrations, which include 'externalizing' or resistance.

'Externalizing', to me, means that the person undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy (and really the guide/therapist also, because their unconscious attitudes profoundly shape the experience) focuses on the power of the 'psychedelic molecule' as something external, a product, or molecular curiosity. Along with that comes the attitude that we need to work with these molecules in order to achieve the insights and breakthroughs that make us feel more alive and connected. Both of these are dangerously limiting assumptions. We don't really need 'psychedelic molecules,' because the ability to feel deeply connected to ourselves, our shadow aspects (our unconscious), other people and the environment, is innate to us, it's our Goddess-given right. Societal and familial programming of our Default Mode Network that make us forget that we can and need to be connected to the larger than our individual ego version of self. Psychedelic therapy can certainly be helpful to remember, but if we externalize it, we create an invisible barrier to who we truly are.

Resistance is another frustrating experience with Psychedelic-assisted Therapy. The person undergoing the experience is encouraged to let go, to let go of the habitual intellectual and ego-ic defenses, which are usually long-standing programs running in our Default Mode Network, but it's a struggle. I think saying 'just let go' or 'surrender to your inner healing intelligence' are well-intentioned encouragements by the guide/therapist, but they often fall on flat ears. How do we let go of something that's invisibly ruled our way of looking at ourselves and the world, often for our entire lives?

That's where natural aromatic allies, specifically essential oils, come in.

When we smell an essential oil, we bypass the intellect, our Default Mode Network gets weakened, and we are invited by the aromatic molecules to let go, in a much more powerful and meaningful way than any well-intentioned words could.

Also, smelling a scent makes us feel immanent, right here, right now, not somewhere in some altered state 'out there,' and we need to feel immanent and embodied to make the changes that the shifts in perspective of the therapy offer. And once again, aromas make the shift in perspective more real, we accept them more deeply, more authentically. We don't externalize.

These are just a couple ways in which aromas, specifically natural essential oils, synergize with psychedelic assisted therapy. There are actually a number of other ways that have led me to conclude that aromatic and psychedelic 'molecules' are deeply related, like letters in the same alphabet (even if that feels like an oversimplification). As Sasha Shulgin, legendary psychedelic chemist, rediscoverer of MDMA and inventor of hundreds of psychedelic molecules said about the deep relationship between aromatic and psychedelic molecules: "Nature is trying to tell us something."

If you want to delve deeper into this deep relationship, I wanted to let you know about recent podcasts and upcoming opportunities:

​

1) On the Aromatic Chat podcast with Melissa Holman, I talked about the similarities and synergies that are the foundation for using aromas in psychedelic-assisted therapy.

2) In Amy Anthony's Essential Aromatica podcast, we explored how aromas help us get out of the Default Mode Network.

3) Susan Guner interviewed me for her Psychedelic Conversations podcast and while the title is about Essential Oils for Psychedelic Therapy, we also discussed the Shadow side of psychedelic therapy.

​

This may be a lot, but the TL;DR is that there are all sorts of lines of evidence that indicate that the synergy between essential oils and psychedelic therapy is deep and makes sense scientifically. It's not just a matter of 'that smells nice,' but there are much deeper changes in our psyche and nervous systems.

​

I also wanted to let you know about a free upcoming presentation I'm giving, a virtual fireside chat hosted by Thank You Life.

​

If you are ready to go deeper, we have two new offerings:

​

1) We're now offering Meta-Psychedelic Coaching, to answer your questions, address your curiosity and support you in making the most of such experiences by helping you with your intentions, integrations and what aromatic allies might be best.

​

2) Our next "Essential Oils for Psychedelic Therapy" live-online weekend intensive will happen September 14-15. It comes with a kit (different from our Psychedelic Therapy Support Kit) and gives you hands-on practical guidance on how to incorporate essential oils into your psychedelic-assisted therapy.

​

For myself, I continue to try to learn and grow. As Jung said, "We become enlightened not by imagining [external] figures of light, but by facing the darkness [within us]."

We are all fellow travelers on the path to reconnection and I'd love to share part of the journey with you.

​

Aromatic Blessings

​

Florian, Cathy, Jah, Sasha

​

​

​