• Header picture by Chiara Francesca Rizzuti as part of her Ethnographic research on MYR •
I work with what I know directly and which is legal where I live (The Netherlands):
⤑ psilocybin truffles;
⤑ salvia divinorum.
They are two very different psychedelics, salvia being very unique. Here, I mainly refer to truffles, as most people are interested in that, as they can be very powerful and safe, hence a great choice for mental health care (and spiritual, philosophical exploration in general, of course). I love both salvia and psilocybin very much and I love how salvia can be unpredictable (as I like to say, it is a sort of trickster herb). Obviously, if you are interested in salvia, I am also available to inform and prepare you for that and very happy to welcome you in its land.
My approach is always deeply connected with that of the Arts, and Reiki is part of the practice I can offer. It is important to me to highlight that I am not a psychotherapist, nor a shaman, though they inspire me and I might have some traits of both. I am a compassionate enthusiast host & companion through one’s Journey.
Some people appreciate a ritualistic approach, while others feel really uncomfortable with it. I believe that there is no standard way to live these experiences, and I like to understand how to shape each one depending on the guest. When following my own calls, I love to celebrate and share magic, but I don’t wish to push this on anyone.
It’s my ethics to hold a safe, non-judgmental space where anybody can feel free to be, feel, and express.
I want people to feel be to laugh crazily or cry madly, if they’ll feel so, and to feel safe to let out any sort of potentially strange or unpleasant emotion or thought—before, during or after the psychedelic experience. Even if our political visions are radically different, for example, still, you’d be sincerely welcome in this space. My role here is to protect you and to support your path, respecting it as it is.
As a human, my mind might be seeing things, yet my heart will always strive for unconditional love.
If you feel the need to research further regarding the topic of psychedelics, here I keep a list of sources that might help you.
FROM THE 2018 DOCUMENTARY PROJECT “SOCCIAL TRIPPERZ” BY GIANLUCA “WOLF” IARLORI
These videos about the Dutch psychedelic movement are part of the documentary series Soccial Tripperz, Gianluca Iarlori’s project about his journey from the Boom Festival, in Portugal, to Goa, in India. On his way, he also made these three videos documenting my friend Giudi’s experience with me, in September 2018. Note: this was filmed in my previous apartment, currently sessions can take place at my new place (or elsewhere if prefered).
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WHERE
Some people would prefer to trip in the open, others absolutely prefer the comfort and cosiness that a home can give; do you know what would you prefer? Maybe, together we can find out. The environment (“the setting” in the key concepts of set and setting) plays a major role in the way the experience turns out and it is another aspect I love to take care of; as long as it is safe, in The Netherlands, and doable, I am glad to go for the situation that could support you better.
My place has been nourished keeping psychedelic support always in mind, and it could be the warm spaceship welcoming you. It’s a flat in the beautiful city of Utrecht, which is half an hour by train from Amsterdam Centre or from its airport, Schipol. The typical wide Dutch windows let in a lot of sky and trees’ crowns; there is a big street just behind it, but a vast, green park is right in front of it.
If you prefer to be closer to other landscapes, I could look into these options too. If you live yourself in The Netherlands, or if there is another place in The Netherlands that you can access and would prefer as setting, I would be available to reach you there as well.
YOUR PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE
REIKI, BODYWORK & CONSENT
A fundamental part of my work is to dedicate to you my attention also through my hands and through the physical presence. The sensations that one can feel under the effect of psychedelics can be extremely diverse. They can be mind-blowingly beautiful, but they can also be disorienting, and sometimes unpleasant. It is all “normal”, and it is impressive how much the simple touch of a hand can help in those moments.
Consent is essential and it can change through time. Before the trip, we’ll talk about whether you wish to be supported also with physical contact or if you prefer to be in your space. Of course, we are be guided by what happens during the trip as well: if you expect wanting to be more on your own but during the session you’d ask me to hold your hand, obviously I’d smoothly adjust to that. Equally, if you initially ask me to be close to you, but when under the effects of the truffles you will clearly need some distance, I certainly won’t push my vicinity on you.
My touch can simply be holding hands, warm hugs if they are needed, or often more structured bodywork, my related specific practice being Reiki (which I also offer separately). Adjusting to every different situation, typically I do extensive bodywork through the first four hours of the trip, so as to “ground”, maybe give comfort, strength, and offer stimuli that, like music, can suggest a framework to follow for the mind. I also always care to give my guests some time without my touch, while still holding the space for them, so as to let them experience the full “independence” of their body as well.
What if the trip awakes also some sexual energies? This can be extremely precious, as it can become a moment of deep sexual healing: one should feel free to listen to these sensations with no shame nor fear, and it is absolutely fundamental, for me, to create a situation where this can unfold safely. Clearly, this means as well that I am committed to proposing myself as a NON sexually interactive figure. Sexual energy is part of us and I find harming to pretend that it doesn’t exist or to repress it; acknowledging it is a first step of working awarely on it. While the short salvia divinorum’s effects rarely present sexual traits, sometimes psilocybin can open people also towards the desire for sexual exploration. My goal here would always be to provide you with a safe situation that allows you to notice these feelings as well, without acting on them either way (neither repressing nor encouraging them). If you want to talk about this more, as for anything, please feel free to do so: I strive for transparency, and no topic is taboo. (If a question is too invasive of my privacy (as well as that of my clients), it will be up to me to politely decline giving an answer).
MUSIC, AND SILENCE
As for all of your senses, your receptiveness to sounds is most probably going to be more profound than usual. Listening to music can be per se a psychedelic, therapeutic experience, tremendously powerful; music can definitely be a fantastic medicine, and if you also consumed psychedelics, its power can be amplified — as much as “silence” (or: the bare ambient sounds around us) can be re-discovered in its beauty, strength, and charm. What you’d listen to in these moments is likely going to be extra meaningful, and it can influence the experience more than one might think. In fact, loving music extremely, one of my greatest delights in this work is to accurately assemble a personal playlist for everyone (to then enjoy how it does its fantastic, punctual, work).
Once again, your intention will be my guide.
What music do you love to listen to? Is there some music you particularly dislike? In preparation for your musical journey, I would be going to ask you all these things and many more. Usually, my aim is to create a playlist of music that my guest never heard before, because music new to our ears can help our brain to rewire. Next to this, of course, I aim to develop a tracklist that can be pleasurable specifically for your taste, definitely checking on anything that is a no go, such as sounds that can evoke inappropriate memories. Memories, indeed, are deeply intertwined with music: a certain hit brings us straight back to the summer when we were 14, and we can remember exactly where we listened to it, and the flowers’ scents around us. Being aware of how music can let us travel in our past, we may want to carefully avoid that, and focus on what is our present, or we may want to use this as a tool to revisit that past. I find it more nourishing to be in the famous here and now, to look at what’s on the table now, and to work on that. Then again, every situation is different, and in certain cases, we may want to move differently. For situations that can feel particularly fragile (e.g. heavy traumas), for music as for anything, we can seek extra consultation with a psychotherapist or other experts.
LANGUAGES
If you just consumed some psychedelic truffles (or some salvia divinorum), speaking can definitely be a very funny process, and words can feel unnecessary and way too complicated to care about sometimes; often, in these situations, non-verbal communication feels like all that we need. Yet having a common verbal language, of course, is useful, and having the chance to speak your own mother tongue can feel very relaxing. Let’s see if I can meet you there: I fluently speak English and Italian (mother tongue), and I also speak Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian (Spanish) and French, not with full proficiency, but possibly enough to follow you if during the trip you’ll use them.
ENRICHING THE EXPERIENCE
COLLABORATIONS
Is there something specific that you want to unlock? Do you have some special desire about how the experience could be? Let’s talk about it, and see if perhaps I can arrange something special for you.
I am in touch with people with different expertise who can offer integrative elements that can fit as preparation, aftercare integration, or enrich the psychedelic session itself, depending on preferences and possibilities from time to time, and I can enjoy looking for new contacts who might fit new wishes to integrate with my practice. Obviously, any person I could involve would always be someone who has either direct experience of psychedelics or who has at least basic knowledge of them and, more than anything, who is more than friendly towards the topic and can constructively empathize with you.
Currently, the main Myr collaborators are three awesome artist photographers who can document your journey and assemble a unique memory of that for you, for the years to come.
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Some notes on ethics and this field.
While I value immensely the work of who supported psychedelic experiences so far in the risky underground scene, as I am living in The Netherlands in these times, I appreciate the chance, and privilege, to operate overground and hence to keep public and populated the voice of the “Psychedelic Renaissance”.
I am registered with this activity at the Chamber of Commerce of Utrecht (Kamer van Koophandel) and I am thankful for all the different voices that contributed to this discourse, and I strive to maintain a critical and ethical eye under all aspects of this growth.
I am aware of the deeply political elements involved, and I am interested in the collective debate. Through this work, I profoundly hope to support collective growth and healing, and a deeper love for this Earth and all beings.
I am particularly sensitive to topics of equity, and to queerness (and I am a queer person myself, and an intersectional feminist) and I critically follow the global impact of these steps, both problematic and positive ones. If you’d like to read an article that matches very well with my opinions also regarding the dialogue with shamanism and psychotherapy, on Psychedelic Times there is a very inspiring conversation with Rita Kočárová, psychedelic researcher, founder of the Czech Psychedelic Society, and director of the global psychedelic forum Beyond Psychedelics.
While living solitude happily is extremely precious,
self-care alone isn’t the point, and it’s highly capitalized.
We need to work towards community care.
The most difficult phase I got through when making psychedelic care a professional activity was the realization that I couldn’t do this via open donation. This was my initial approach but I saw that I couldn’t have enough peace of mind to provide appropriate care if, meanwhile, I was struggling with my financial situation.
I accepted that I had to ask for money. The payment would have to be proportional to all the time and energy that this takes and to the place where I live, The Netherlands, which is very expensive, yet a place where what I do isn’t illegal.
Currently, I still need to survive in a capitalist environment (and to be well, so as to be able to make space for others), but I am extremely keen to work towards tangible alternatives. (In the meantime, you can find here my prices and how I am approaching them).
I sincerely wish that the money exchange can happen without too much pain from any part and that what we experience will help us all to evolve the way we collectively need. Whether you’ll decide to seek my support for your psychedelic experience or not, if you feel something with these words and relate to them, please know that I’m always happy to connect.
In case, in advance: deeply
THANK YOU.
