When Spirit has plans for you - beyond what you thought was possible

By Shiri Godasi


Yesterday this photo memory from 2015 hopped into my FB feed. It was taken at Visionary Convergence, a grassroots psychedelic conference in Los Angeles organized by Plant Teachers. Despite its humble size (it took place in an old church) this gathering had magnetized some of the most esteemed medicine carriers and innovators of our time. A consciousness vortex like nothing this Hollywood street may have ever experienced.
 

It was my first psychedelic conference and I participated as a volunteer; only a year into my awakened medicine path and totally green, especially considering other guests like indigenous elders that made their treck from the depths of the Amazon, carrying generations worth of wisdom. 

Little did I know the life-changing leaping board that this weekend would become…

It was when I had heard the word “integration” for the first time, and circled it in my notebook with a naive yet keen knowing that *this here* is my service path. 
 

It was when I made a pact with Ashley Booth (pictured), with whom I co-founded my first harm reduction organization InnerSpace Integration, to step out of the underground and begin offering the first public psychedelic integration circles in Los Angeles. 
 

It was when I was introduced to some of my favorite medicine teachers and now family; and where I met Ben aka Spirit Pharmacist, the father of my child. All of us, and the psychedelic renaissance, have come a long way since that magical moment in time!
 

We can never know for sure why things happen the way they do, or what will be their outcome. Back then I was an avid proponent of psychedelics and wanted to be of service by becoming a bone-fide psychedelic therapist; that way, I could help others experience the healing that I personally experienced. Legislation-wise we were nowhere near the legalization of these substances; decrim was still a mere concept; and there wasn’t much promise that my intentions would manifest at all. 
 

But, like most people who initially experience the miracle of entheogenic healing and still fueled by the fire of the womb of spiritual awakening, I was possessed by an indisputable belief that this is what I am meant to do, and nothing will stop me. 
 

To be fair, I also didn’t know any better. Meaning, becoming a therapist/facilitator to me was the ultimate goal. I couldn’t fathom that there would be anything beyond that for someone like me, in terms of service professions. That, and potentially opening a retreat center, another fantasy that most psychedelic newbies share.
 

In hindsight I confidently say it has been quite a journey, and yes, we started those integration circles in the back of a spiritual goods store in Santa Monica, and I got to fulfill my dream of becoming a psychedelic therapist. 

But little did I know, that the same role that was my end game would turn out to be only the stepping stone. 
 

The integration circles became a 501c3 nonprofit organization;
 

The coaching articles and worksheets made for clients became online courses, inspiring me to create multiple harm-reduction education orgs; 
 

The educational classes held for the local community bloomed into a luminary certification program and psychedelic career runway, serving students worldwide; 
 

The students became full-fledged leaders, mega-creators, collective heart-medicine modulators;
 

Integration therapy and coaching escaped the treatment room and became a global movement for self, social and environmental synthesis and realization.

The universe works in mysterious cycles. 8 years later to the week of Visionary Convergence, it’s exhilarating to share that I have accepted the position of Director of Integration with the beautiful, soul-centered international organization Nectara. Joining masterheart founders Elaine Lim and Pascal Tramblay and a council of remarkable visionary women (pictured above), we will work together to shape the field of psychedelic integration, education and community-driven harm reduction with an emphasis on accessibility and social responsibility. 
 

Check out the blooming Nectara community; I will be sharing lots of new offerings there. And if you decide to become a member, use code SHIRI at checkout for community member discount. 

Fun fact: this proposal arrived just a few days after making the difficult decision to close down The PlaySkool integration certification (right alongside a blueprint to making the program’s information more accessible, of which you got a taste last week). Beyond the fear of what seemed like a harsh death Spirit had a plan of rebirth. 
 

It’s exciting times right now in our little psychedelic sphere. Perhaps, it ain’t so little any more. 


Possibilities are now more abundant than ever. Then again, perhaps they were always there, in the field beyond our ordinary and limited ordinary consciousness. 

We don’t have to know exactly what will happen, or how.

All we need is to know.