Introduction
There are moments when something within us knows before the mind does.
A quiet remembering.
A sense that genuine healing is not about fixing what is broken, but rather it is about returning to what has always been whole.
Across cultures and centuries, humans have worked with sacred medicines not to escape life, but to meet it more fully - to heal trauma, make meaning, reconcile with death, and remember their place in the living world with heart open.
Today, modern research is beginning to validate what ancient traditions have long known:
When held with intention, care, and support, certain plant-medicine-assisted experiences can catalyze profound and lasting transformation.
This work is not about quick fixes. It is about depth, safety, reverence, and integration.

Why This Matters Now
We are living in a time of unprecedented access to everything, and also unprecedented distress.
Rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, and existential despair continue to rise. Many people do everything "right": therapy, medication, self-help, spiritual practice, and still feel something unresolved at the core.
Not because they are failing.
But because many conventional approaches were designed to manage symptoms, not to facilitate deep meaning-making, emotional release, or reconciliation with the most human questions:
Why did this happen to me?
Who am I now?
How do I live with my heart fully open, and how do I die with peace about the choices and life I have lived?
Increasingly, people are seeking healing that includes the nervous system, the psyche, the heart, and the soul.
What the Research Is Showing
In carefully controlled settings, medical studies are exploring how certain compounds, when paired with therapeutic support, may help individuals access states of awareness that allow for healing, insight, and emotional processing that can be difficult, or even impossible to reach through talk therapy alone.
MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Research has focused primarily on post-traumatic stress, including treatment-resistant Complex PTSD. In therapeutic contexts, MDMA has been shown to:
- Reduce fear responses
- Increase emotional safety and trust
- Allow individuals to revisit traumatic memories without becoming overwhelmed
- Support relational repair and self-compassion
Participants often report not just symptom reduction, but a restored sense of connection - to themselves and to others.
Psilocybin-Assisted Experiences
Psilocybin, the active compound in certain sacred mushrooms, has been studied for:
- Depression and anxiety
- Existential and end-of-life distress
- Emotional rigidity and hopelessness
Research suggests that psilocybin can temporarily increase neuroplasticity, allowing new perspectives and emotional patterns to emerge. In some studies, participants describe enduring improvements in mood, meaning, and quality of life following a single guided experience. Witnessing this firsthand has been awe-inspiring.


A Critical Insight
The most important finding is not about the medicine itself.
It is this:
The quality of the experience - including preparation, setting, and integration - strongly influences outcomes.
The medicine does not "do the work."
The medicine opens a door.
What happens next matters.
The Role of the Mystical Experience
Across multiple studies, researchers have observed something striking:
Participants who report mystical-type experiences - moments of unity, transcendence, profound love, forgiveness, or interconnectedness - tend to show the most lasting positive changes.
These experiences are often described as:
- Among the most meaningful events of one's life
- Accompanied by reduced fear of death
- Linked to increased compassion, gratitude, and life satisfaction
- Marked by a felt sense of belonging and meaning
For individuals facing serious illness or the end of life, such experiences have been associated with:
- Reduced existential distress
- Greater peace and acceptance
- Improved emotional closure and relational connection
This is not about belief systems. It is about direct experience - moments that reorganize how a person understands themselves, life, and mortality.

Set and Setting: The Container Matters
In both ancient traditions and modern clinical research, one principle is consistent: Context is everything.
Set
The Inner Landscape
- Intention and readiness
- Emotional and psychological preparation
- Trust and clarity
- A willingness to engage, rather than escape
Setting
The Outer Container
- A safe, intentional environment
- Skilled, trauma-informed support
- Ethical and respectful facilitation
- Clear boundaries and protocols
Without care, powerful experiences can feel confusing or destabilizing.
With the right container, they can become deeply healing and integrative.
Powerful Support & Integration
Where Transformation Becomes Real
The experience itself is only part of the journey. Lasting healing depends on what happens before and after.
Awakened Soul Journeys are designed for people who have already done Consciousness work. If you are reading this, you probably have participated in Transformational trainings and/or meditation retreats and spiritual experiences.
This work is NOT recreational - it is deep, profound and intense and requires commitment and a solid sense of self for you to be considered.
Awakened Soul Journeys occur within a group with support coming from each person in the group as well as trained support. The goal is that the group continue with each other over time, with two to three weekends a year in-person and then monthly calls in between to work with the material in ways that it translates directly into your life, relationships and results.
Prior to attending the weekend, you will have a conversation to:
- Clarify your intention
- Establish trust and safety
- Understand the process, asking any questions to feel ready
- Ground the nervous system, so that you can relax into the environment
The Actual Weekend
The weekend occurs in beautiful locations where you will have your own space, food will be stocked with any dietary restrictions honored and the team gathers on Friday at about 3:00 pm to set up, talk about intentions, and set an item on the Altar, that is an anchoring point during the weekend. The Facilitator and Aides arrive shortly thereafter to discuss intentions further and delve into Head, Heart, Mind and Spirit - the aspects of the Medicine Wheel. Then the journey begins and it will last well into the early morning.
During the experience you have presence without intrusion, emotional and physical safety, and each person is respecting of each other's individual inner processes and whatever is needed to support that person.
Saturday is all about resting, having deeper conversations to support integration and giving care to your body. The Second Night will begin at about 5:00 pm and go into the early morning hours.

Sunday we start the Integration process where you will begin to:
- Make meaning of the experience
- Translate insights into daily life
- Support nervous system regulation
- Integrate emotional, relational, and spiritual shifts
Integration is where insight becomes embodiment - and where temporary experiences become lasting change.
Guided by research, on Sunday we practice specific movement, Transcendent Breathwork and Sound healing to support in integration.
Sunday evening we have a team dinner, with everyone supporting in the preparation and celebrating what has emerged. And on Monday morning everyone travels home.
In the week following the actual Awakened Weekends I have an individual call with each participant to discuss what is arising. Then there are monthly calls to explore with the entire team what is emerging and have support in integrating insights or awakenings in relationships and 'life.'
Most teams gather two or three times per year.
Upcoming Events
Workshop Calendar
Awakened Soul Journey gatherings are held in beautiful locations, designed for those who have already done consciousness work and are seeking deep, transformative experiences. All Awakened Soul Journey weekends and workshops are by invitation only. Please CONTACT US to inquire about attending or becoming part of our community.
Weekend Journey
Awakened Soul Weekend
Groups 1 + 2 all journey weekend. Integration, support, community.
Workshops are added as dates are confirmed. Contact us to learn about upcoming opportunities.
* All Awakened Soul Journey Weekends are by Invitation only. Connect with us for more information.
Downloads
Resources for Your Journey
Helpful information to support your path.
Latest Research on Psychedelics
This is the latest research and will be updated as ongoing research is updated globally.
Download PDFCommunity Guidelines
Context is everything in our community and expected to be held for all participants.
Download PDFChoosing Support
There are experiences in life we enter casually. This isn't one of them.
Download PDFSupporting Guidelines
Safe spaces are created by loving, informed and experienced community members. Here are their guidelines.
Download PDFPrivate Communication – not for reproduction or copy, not medical advice, sole property of Sheridan Counseling & Coaching, 2026.
All rights reserved.
Honoring Lineage, Ethics, and Responsibility
This work stands at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern responsibility.
I honor the Indigenous and ancestral lineages from which these medicines originate. After each journey a substantial donation is made to Native tribes who originated and pioneered this work and sacred plant awarenesses.
Also, partial scholarships are provided at times to those who could benefit greatly from this work, but have challenges like Stage Four cancer and all funds exhausted from efforts to heal.
This work is not casual. It is not extractive. It is not for everyone - and that discernment is part of integrity.

Who This Work May Be For
If you are seeking healing and wholeness, willing to engage in preparation and integration fully, deeply drawn to inner work and curious about the intersection between science and spirituality, then this work may be for you.
This work is not for people who are looking for a quick fix, are unwilling to engage in integration, and not medically and psychologically cleared. Honest self-selection is an essential part of this process.
An Invitation
This is not about becoming someone new. It is about remembering who you are beneath the stories, defenses, and wounds.
If something in you feels a quiet yes, not urgency or pressure, then I am inviting you to explore further, learn more about the process, or have a conversation with me.
Healing unfolds in its own time and this work honors that.

Research & Evidence Base
Selected peer-reviewed studies
MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD (Phase 3)
Large randomized trials show significant and durable reductions in PTSD symptoms when MDMA is combined with structured therapy.
MDMA-assisted therapy - long-term outcomes
Follow-up data suggest benefits often persist well beyond treatment completion.
Psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depression (RCT)
Controlled trials demonstrate rapid and sustained reductions in depressive symptoms following guided psilocybin experiences.
Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression (Phase 2)
Single-dose psilocybin showed clinically meaningful improvement in individuals unresponsive to conventional treatments.
Psilocybin and depression - multisite study
Demonstrates antidepressant effects alongside changes in emotional processing and meaning-making.
End-of-life anxiety and depression in cancer patients
Psilocybin significantly reduced existential distress, anxiety, and depression in individuals facing life-threatening illness.
Sustained relief from end-of-life distress (long-term follow-up)
Improvements in mood, peace, and life meaning persisted months to years after a single guided experience.
Neuroplasticity and emotional flexibility
Psychedelic compounds shown to promote structural and functional neural plasticity linked to emotional learning and adaptability.
Mystical-type experiences predict lasting benefit
Intensity of mystical or transcendent experience strongly correlates with long-term positive psychological outcomes.
Dose-related mystical experiences with enduring effects
Demonstrates sustained increases in well-being, meaning, and life satisfaction months after the experience.
Measurement of mystical experience (MEQ-30)
Validated tool used in clinical trials to assess the depth and impact of mystical-type experiences.
Research reflects controlled clinical settings and therapeutic frameworks. Outcomes vary by individual, preparation, context, and integration.
