Internal Family Systems (IFS) Integration Circle

What is IFS?
IFS, or internal family systems, is not only a radical paradigm shift away from the pathology of mind, body and soul, but is also a profoundly effective system of healing.
The method of IFS is a deeply human experience, where we get to know the different parts of one’s being. There’s a part of you that feels this way, a part of you that thinks negatively about that, and another part of you that seeks to avoid or distract with this or that, and so on..
We all have many parts within us, including those that can even cause states of depression, anxiety, self-doubt, overwhelm, stuckness, chronic pain, etc. These parts may seem like something we want to be rid of, but the true desire tends to be one of finding the feelings of ease, peace, openness, curiosity, freedom, wholeness and love.
By engaging directly with our parts, as if they were their own beings, we can open up room to rediscover that not only are we NOT our parts, we are actually something so much more, which we call the “Self.”
The Self is the essence of you that is not a part. It feels different, it resonates on a deeper level. This is the spiritual core of our divine nature. Your divinity is not something out there, something you can identify as you identify a puppeteer putting on a show. Your divinity is the raw force of life that animates you; the loving presence that rests behind all the noise of each part and the baggage they hold.
As we shed this baggage through the help of one’s Self, we reclaim the innocence in each of our parts. This is the healing process through IFS.
How does IFS work in a group?
We will first ground out through a guided meditation designed to help us open to the inherent “Self” energy that lives inside each of our hearts.
Then, we will direct that loving energy as a group towards one individual at a time and give them the felt sense of unconditional love/support as they begin to relate to one of their parts. Given the culmination of “Self” energy in the group, the recipient can experience radical reorientation and healing in just a few short minutes.
Doing this in a group setting is SO beautiful because through the group’s presence and support, deep healing can take place in our attachment style specifically in a system setting (like family).
While IFS is not necessarily a catharsis model, this work can be wonderfully emotional and sacred.
How does this pertain to psychedelic integration?
I perceive psychedelics and IFS doing essentially the same thing. Both have a profound capacity to help us step out of the stories of our lives and to access a broader perspective of our different parts within. Psychedelics can do this so deeply that we can even broaden to perceive dimensions of reality that are typically inaccessible to our normal default mode.
Continuing the practice of the softening of mind, body and heart before and after psychedelic journeys can bring such cohesion and sustained momentum to the healing and spiritual path.
Details
•7-8:30pm PST
•Online via Zoom
•$10 admission