Consciousness Medicine by Françoise Bourzat and Kristina Hunter is a guide and personal reflection on how to hold sessions with psychedelics. It’s written for guides/coaches/healers and leans heavily on experience and tradition. A definite must-read for those who want to know more about the traditional use of psychedelics, less so for those who are very research/scientifically inclined.
Publisher Summary
“Psychedelic medicines also known as entheogens are entering the mainstream. And it’s no wonder: despite having access to the latest wellness trends and advances in technology, we’re no healthier, happier, or more meaningfully connected. Psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and LSD–as well as other time-tested techniques with the power to shift consciousness such as drumming, meditation, and vision quests–are now being recognized as potent catalysts for change and healing. But how do we ensure that we’re approaching them effectively? Françoise Bourzat–a counselor and experienced guide with sanctioned training in the Mazatec and other indigenous traditions–and healer Kristina Hunter introduce a holistic model focusing on the threefold process of preparation, journey, and integration. Drawing from more than thirty years of experience, Bourzat’s skillful and heartfelt approach presents the therapeutic application of expanded states, without divorcing them from their traditional contexts. Consciousness Medicine delivers a coherent map for navigating nonordinary states of consciousness, offering an invaluable contribution to the field of healing and transformation.“
Summary Review
From the Foreword by Ralph Metzner: “Françoise emphasizes the need for clear intentions and integration of altered state experiences into everyday life… [there is an emphasis on] the integration of the new insights into community life and the integration with the environmental concerns.
Françoise starts the introduction with a description of a mescaline experience (also see Mescaline), as they take a hike up a mountain. “My body felt strong and vital, and hiking seemed effortless. Everything around me became vivid and alive with color. … To my expanded consciousness, the mountains felt like living beings.” The experience (at age 20) left a mark on her life and made her feel more connected to the world.
But soon her life took a darker turn, she got addicted to heroin (via a bad boyfriend) and tried to numb her traumatized memories and grief. The reader then gets to experience her friend Ramesh being killed (and she also being shot) by two robbers. This event triggered her to think about what makes life worth living, how could she contribute.
After that, she got introduced to Pablo Sanchez – a Chicano-Native American medicine man. He supported the healing of his clients with guided breathwork, drawing, reading specific books, nature, dancing, floatation tanks, and consciousness-expanding medicines (psychedelics plus MDMA and ketamine). One great observation she makes about his work is the following “… a huge part of the equation was that there was someone genuinely interested in my development and healing.”
Her other teacher would be Julieta Casimiro – an indigenous Mazatec elder woman. She would teach her the ways of the mushroom (psilocybin) ceremonies. She taught most of it by her presence (versus explanation/words). Later Julieta would call Françoise ‘the interpreter’.
The biggest divide between her work and the scientific method is that she values her experience over these many years, whilst in the scientific community, people want double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trials. What she calls wisdom, scientists may call anecdotes. There is a case to be made for both, and taking lessons from the years of experience she (and other healers) have, is something that should definitely be done. It’s good to see that Rick Doblin is one of the people who recommend the book, as he has his feet in both worlds.
Françoise has divided the psychedelic experience into three phases:
- Preparation phase
- The journey
- Integration phase
Chapter 1 – Original Rituals
We’ve been trying to change our consciousness forever. “Humans have likely been drumming, rattling and chanting together, creating art, fasting, sweating and cleansing, meditating, exploring sleep deprivation, going on vision quests, spending extended time in isolation alone, dancing, and singing together for ritual, rite of passage, and spiritual purposes for thousands of years.” Doing this with psychedelics is nothing new.
“[W]e strive for mental and emotional well-being.” Psychedelics are one way in which we now seek to achieve this and to combat negative experiences and trauma. Françoise explains how psychedelics work, both chemically and psychologically. One line stands out as she describes lowering the activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN), “… increased access to raw emotional states and memories without the normal tendency to analyze them.” And a bit later: “When these filters dissolve, we are able to understand patterns and see connections that were previously unseen. What is normally unconscious begins to flow into the conscious mind.”
How the psychedelic experience works is also beautifully described: “These states expand our awareness of ourselves on a personal level, allowing us to engage in a deeper relationship with our history and the many layers of our lives.”
Françoise also repeats a line that you may see elsewhere too. “Though we do not always get what we ask for, we always get what we need.” This is mostly in reference to bad/challenging experiences that can provide you with new insights.
She also argues that we should surrender to the experience. “Surrender is a combination of active receptivity toward and curiosity about what shows up. Acceptance does not mean that we like what appears, but it means that we stay present with it anyway.”
Chapter 2 – Midwifing the Soul
“A guide is someone who walks ahead and knows the territory, aware of the potential perils of the terrain.”
Françoise argues that a guide (or shaman) should be someone with extensive experience and with many years of apprenticeship under the belt. A guide can also be called a healer, doctor, priest, teacher, psychotherapist, or counselor – depending on the situation and tradition/system. Her own views/teachings take into account an indigenous worldview founded on animistic beliefs (that the natural world is alive and constantly communicating with us).
The rest of the chapter explains several things a good guide should do. One of the first things is that you should define boundaries before someone is on psychedelics (e.g. it’s ok to hold a hand or give a hug, not to kiss).
See pages 48-49 (paperback) for the full code of ethics, or see the Council on Spiritual Practices website.
It should be noted that much of the text is written towards resolving trauma and that this may surface during a psychedelic experience.
During the trip, the guide is (of course) responsible for the participant, this includes water, heat, and emotional support.
The guide should also work on him/herself and not have an inflated ego. “A genuine guide is someone who has the courage to face fear and is full of humility. The role is one of humble service.”
Chapter 3 – Illuminating the Path
Françoise argues that we’ve lost touch with an integrated way of living, we are more lonely and disconnected than before. She proposes ‘The Holistic Model for a Balanced Life’ in which she combines different aspects: 1) body, 2) mind, 3) spirit, 4) community, and 5) environment. She states that they are ‘infused’ with three qualities: 1) wisdom, 2) creativity, and 3) love. All can have an effect on the psychedelic experience.
The rest of the chapter visits these 5 aspects and 3 wisdoms, and gives you a self-help guide to check in how you are feeling/doing with this aspect. It’s also the questions that she asks her participants to answer before having a psychedelic experience. It ends with ‘Pure Being’, a synthesis of the previous aspects and related to being in touch with yourself and others.
Chapter 4 – Leaving Home
Preparation is key to having a good psychedelic experience. In this chapter, it’s related to both set & setting, and the Holistic Model (from the previous chapter).
“The set includes the mindset and intentions of the journeyer. Mindset is defined as the emotional and psychological state of the journeyer approaching an experience. … [Intention] is a statement of one’s motivation or direction.”
“The setting refers to the external conditions of a journey, including the location, the time, and all other logistical aspects of the ritual.”
The Holistic Model is referenced in relation to checking in with all the different aspects, preparing each of them.
(the following 5 chapters describe the preparation in more detail)
Chapter 5 – Flesh and Bones
The physical preparation (as per Françoise’s recommendations) includes eating light vegetarian meals, not having sex the days before (and after) the session, not drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and not exercising too much.
All these seem like good recommendations but are also aspects that will by themselves have a positive effect on you. It’s difficult to separate them from the experience itself (if that even should happen), but eating light meals and not drinking alcohol by themselves can already make you feel much better. It would be very interesting if, sometime in the future, these different aspects of physical preparation (but also the other parts) can be studied/analyzed and that we could say with more certainty which ones really are necessary, which are good by themselves, and which don’t have any impact on the experience.
Chapter 6 – Turning Inward
The psychedelic experience works best of you aren’t defensive and ‘ego-driven’, breaking down barriers/defenses before the session is a good way to help this process along.
An aspect that Françoise highlight is the unconscious and the ability to reflect and sit with emotions without putting words to them.
She also recommends using astrology, Enneagram, tarot cards, the I Ching, rune stones, or similar practices, something that does read as more esoteric than what is being used in research labs.
As a final emotional recommendation is to “write in a journal or make art, play music, sing, or write as a way of expressing what is coming through. A journaling practice brings your attention to your feelings and internal states – write for fifteen minutes every morning.”
Chapter 7 – Approaching the Altar
To spiritually prepare, it’s recommended to make an altar, do some cleansing (e.g. burning sage), and making offerings. Another spiritual practice that is recommended is periods of silence (e.g. 5-10 minutes meditation or silent contemplation per day).
Chapter 8 – Tending the Web
The community around you is an important part of your journey (both in the session and integration afterward). “It is through our relationships with the many people of our lives that we do much of our healing.”
Françoise rails against the industrialized society and our inability to connect with others and calls the reader to arms to make meaningful connections.
Already in the preparation phase, she encourages you to “look over your inventory and see how you stand in relation to your community.”
Chapter 9 – Nourishing Our Roots
The community (from the last chapter) she envisions is beyond just people, it could include trees, animals, nature, and the elements.
Chapter 10 – Entering the Unknown
When actually entering the psychedelic experience, Françoise describes it as “entering an intentional space of healing and transformation”. She again highlights to have faith and surrender to the experience.
Although a psychedelic experience* is not perse linear, she describes four phases:
- Entry: fear may arise, relaxed breathing and remembering the intention are important
- Immersion: mixed emotions, dissolution of ego, clarity, compassion
- Reflection: look back, cognitive understanding, gratitude, need for community
- Return/Emergence: back to normal reality, rest, incorporate lessons learned
*(I use this as the example, but she also states that a sweat lodge or other type of non-ordinary experience has the same steps)
Chapter 11 – Teachings and Healings
The types of transformative experiences are listed and explained in this chapter. These are as follows:
- Body-Centered Experiences
- Contraction and Pain
- Numbness and Physical Disconnection
- Cathartic Release
- Vital Embodiment
- Calm, Stillness, and Ease
- Mind-Centered Experiences
- Cognitive/Intellectual Processes
- Resistance
- Insight and Guidance
- Emotional Processes
- Fear and Panic
- Personal Confrontation
- Emotional Opening and Release
- Self-love and Nourishment
- Accessing the Unconscious
- Childhood Memories
- Visions
- Cognitive/Intellectual Processes
- Spirit-Centered Experiences
- Meaninglessness
- Reclaiming Our Spiritual Life
- Messianic and Spiritual Archetypes
- The Underlying Perfection of All Things
- Ego Dissolution
- Community-Centered Experiences
- Perceiving the Impact of Isolation
- Healing Our Relationships
- Celebration of Belonging
- Global Human Family
- Environment-Centered Experiences
- The Pain of Living in a Toxic Environment
- Realizing Our Responsibility for Nature
- Merging with the Elements
- Perceiving the Intelligence of Nature
Each sub-point gives information about how to deal with this experience (and how to guide it), and how to interpret it. It’s again reiterated that there are no bad experiences, just challenging experiences to learn from.
Chapter 12 – Returning Home
“[B]ecause we are more psychologically adaptable for the days and weeks following a journey into an expanded state, this is the best time to introduce practical changes and anchor new insights into our lives.”
Without integration, “what may have seemed clear during the journey slowly fades like a dream as old habits and tendencies return.”
“The guide … should meet with the journeyer within a week of the journey for the initial integration session.” If you have no guide, ask a friend to fill that role.
The whole integration process can be described in three steps:
- Return: share narrative, create context
- Identify types of experiences: see last chapter
- Devise concrete steps
In relationship to what the participant should focus on/do: “The only relevant duty is the duty toward one’s self.”
Chapter 13-17 – Coming to Our Senses / The Truth Within / The Farthest Shore / The Beauty of Interdependence / Nature’s Mirror
The final chapters describe very specific steps for integrating the experience from the different types of transformative experience. They go into detail on how to deal with specific experiences and what concrete actions you can take.
Chapter 18 – Conclusion
“If you want to live a truly fulfilling life, first get to know yourself.”
The conclusion reiterates the wisdom, creativity, and love as the grounding qualities and how interconnected we are. We have the ability to heal/improve ourselves and a psychedelic (altered state) experience is one way to do this.
About the authors
Françoise Bourzat is a consciousness guide and counselor. She has studied under the Mazatec in Southern Mexico and combines this knowledge with Western knowledge. She trains other guides at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), has her own practice, and gives lectures around the world.
Kristina Hunter is a healing guide, writer, and Hakomi Practitioner (as is Françoise) – a mindfulness-centered somatic psychotherapy. She mentors other guides, helps people with their psychedelic experience, and introduces other healers to psychedelics.