There is a lot of noise at the moment around plant medicine retreats and psychedelic therapy. Breakthroughs, awakenings, trauma release, life-changing insight. For some people, these experiences genuinely matter. For others, they can feel confusing, destabilising, or leave a sense that something important has not quite landed.
What often gets lost is the quieter conversation about preparation. This is not just practical readiness but also psychological, relational, and somatic orientation. Even more rarely do we talk openly about the shadow of this work: power, influence, group dynamics, and what happens when experiences do not resolve neatly.
This blog is an invitation into that quieter, more grounded conversation.
Altered States Are Already Part of Being Human
When we talk about altered states of consciousness, it is easy to imagine something exotic or extreme. Yet we move through altered states all the time.
Dreaming is an altered state. So are reverie, deep absorption, dissociation, creative flow, prayer, intense emotion, and moments when time seems to stretch or collapse. In dreams, our usual sense of logic and identity shifts, images speak symbolically, and the body responds as if something is happening even while we sleep.
Most of us accept this without feeling the need to immediately analyse or extract meaning. We understand intuitively that dreams need context, curiosity, and time. Altered states accessed through breathwork, Brainspotting, or plant medicines are not fundamentally different. They differ in intensity, not in kind.
Altered States Are Not Neutral
Whether they arise in sleep, therapy, or ceremony, altered states amplify what is already present: our histories, attachment patterns, expectations, fears, belief systems, and nervous system tendencies.
This is why two people can have radically different experiences in the same environment. Intensity alone is not a reliable measure of healing, truth, or depth.
Concepts like set and setting are crucial, not as abstract ideas, but as lived realities. Understanding how internal state, relational context, environment, and support structures shape experience can make the difference between something that feels meaningful and something that feels overwhelming or disorganising.
Practising Altered States Without Substances
One of the intentions behind using breathwork and Brainspotting is that they allow altered states to be explored without substances and with far more opportunity to slow things down.
These practices can evoke imagery, emotion, memory, bodily sensation, symbolic material, and shifts in perception, much like dreams. Because they unfold in a therapeutic, reflective space, there is room to pause, orient, and notice what is happening while it is happening.
This makes it possible to begin learning about altered states from the inside out. Participants can notice how their nervous system responds to intensity or expansion, what helps them stay grounded and what pulls them out of themselves, how quickly they move toward interpretation or meaning, and what actually supports integration rather than just insight.
The learning is gentle and experiential. It is less about being told what altered states are and more about recognising how they work in each person.
Ethics, Legality, and Informed Choice
It is important to be clear that psychedelic-assisted therapy is not currently legal in the United Kingdom. The retreats I run do not involve any substances, nor does it encourage or facilitate illegal activity. Everything explored is within legal and ethical frameworks. This has real value. Preparing thoughtfully and reflecting on intentions, boundaries, risks, and resources can help participants make informed decisions. For some, attending the retreat may lead to the conclusion that plant medicine experiences are not the right path, which is a valid and important outcome.
Therapists who attend can also use the space to reflect on whether the field of altered states or psychedelic-assisted therapy aligns with their professional and ethical frameworks. The retreat offers a safe way to explore the landscape and learn about it without needing to commit to practice or intervention prematurely.
The Shadow Side We Do Not Talk About Enough
Dreams offer a helpful parallel. Most of us would not assume that every dream is wise, prophetic, or healing in a straightforward way. We know that dreams can be shaped by anxiety, memory, desire, and suggestion. Yet in plant medicine culture, there can be strong pressure to frame altered-state experiences as inherently meaningful or transformative, even when they feel confusing, frightening, or unfinished.
Shadow can emerge in many ways. Spiritual bypassing and premature meaning-making can occur. Facilitators, substances, or frameworks can be idealised. Group influence can subtly shape experience and interpretation. Doubt, ambivalence, or regret can feel difficult to speak about. There can be a pull toward chasing intensity rather than staying embodied and grounded.
Naming these possibilities is part of learning how to approach altered states with care rather than reverence alone.
Why Group Reflection Matters
Many of these dynamics become more visible in a reflective group setting, particularly one that is not oriented toward performance or outcome.
Groups allow us to notice how meaning circulates, how stories influence one another, and how safety, authority, and uncertainty are negotiated. The group itself becomes part of the learning environment, not in a didactic sense, but through shared noticing and reflection. This mirrors how we might sit with a dream together. Listening, wondering, staying close to experience, and resisting the urge to rush toward certainty can reveal patterns and insights that are easy to miss alone.
A Place to Explore This More Fully
Over time, I found myself wanting to create a space where people could both experience and understand altered states. Reflection, learning, and ethical awareness sit alongside embodied practice.
This led to the development of a group retreat focused on preparation and integration for altered states of consciousness. The retreat weaves together breathwork, Brainspotting, reflective dialogue, and carefully held discussion around set, setting, ethics, and integration. It is not a plant medicine retreat. It does not promise transformation or awakening. It is closer in spirit to learning how to stay with a powerful dream, with enough understanding to feel resourced rather than overwhelmed.
For some, it becomes meaningful preparation. For others, it clarifies that altered states, or the field itself, are not a path they want to follow. Both outcomes are welcome. If you feel curious to explore these ideas more deeply, there is an opportunity to do so in a supportive group space. Through reflective dialogue, breathwork, and Brainspotting, participants can gently practice altered states, notice how set and setting shape experience, and reflect on their intentions, boundaries, and learning. This is a place to prepare thoughtfully, integrate insights, and consider whether exploring plant medicine or similar work feels right, all within a safe, contained, and ethically grounded environment.
Slowing Down as a Radical Act
In a culture that increasingly sells transcendence, slowing down can feel quietly radical. Preparation is not about getting ready for something extraordinary. Often, it is about becoming more honest with ourselves, about what we are seeking, what we are avoiding, and how we make meaning when the ground shifts. If this way of thinking resonates, there is space to explore it further. If not, I hope this reflection has offered something to think with, perhaps the next time a dream lingers, or an intense experience asks for more care than quick interpretation allows.
