Portland Psychedelic Society

Every Third Friday of the month at 5:15 pm
Taborspace Library Room

This community gathering invites people in recovery who are interested in, or currently integrating psychedelics into their healing practice.

We will discuss how psychedelics impact addictive behaviors and risks of relapse. We will explore relationships with altered states of consciousness, sobriety vs moderation, various recovery models, and systemic pressures leading to overconsumption and addictive tendencies. The purpose of the gathering is to be in dialogue about these topics and how they impact our relationship to self, others, substances and altered states.

While we’re not requiring everyone be sober or abstinent from all substances, we do ask that everyone attending the meeting not be engaging with whatever substance that triggers the addictive behavior. Our intention for this monthly gathering is for everyone to have a confidential and safe space where people are able to self manage and discuss openly. This group offers support for people who already have an active healing process around their addiction and are looking for a community to share it with and get support from.

About the Moderators:

Julio Iñiguez is a person in long term recovery from addiction. He works as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice supporting individuals and people in relationships as they navigate life beyond addiction. He practices ketamine assisted psychotherapy at Sequoia Center in Portland where he focuses on sitting with folks in addiction recovery as they embark on the process of psychedelic assisted therapy.

This circle is a BIPOC only space ❤️ We are here to reflect, support one another, and integrate our personal experiences, particularly those related to psychedelics, spiritual growth, and transformation. This is a space for vulnerability, honesty, and healing. Let this be a space that we can come together with the shared intention of gaining greater understanding, clarity, and well-being.

Anyone who joins the Circle will be asked to hold a container of confidentiality as we collectively create a space for our community to come together, process, learn, and heal.

This is not a space to solicit or distribute substances. Please respect the delicate nature of these spaces and help us protect our ability to gather and honor the ground on which we gather.

This group is a general discussion, an enjoyable chat with our elders. It's widely attended by ages 50 - 80+. All biological ages are welcome.
We encourage inclusion, diversity, and equity-based participation.

Please post ideas for topics (in the comments, below) that may be of interest to elders who have used entheogens or who are interested in learning about the most current research, practices and protocols: the best suggestions may become topics for group discussion.

We are a non-dogmatic listening circle centered around the mystical/religious aspects of people’s psychedelic experiences. Our intention is to provide a group process for witnessing anyone who wishes to share an experience for which they’d like support, recognition, understanding, and/or empathy.

We welcome people of all faith traditions, and those with none at all, who are looking to make meaning out of their psychedelic experiences. Given the strife and discord in our world, we believe building community across difference is a path to peace. Our practice is to create safe space to tap into the spiritual wisdom and resources that each person already contains.

The core values of this Circle include:

• Trust and learning from silence
• Sacred hospitality: we practice deep listening with openness to the presence of the Mystery within ourselves and each other
• Respect: we affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all people including differing faiths, ages, genders, cultures, races, and sexual orientations
• No proselytizing
• No fixing, correcting or advising
• Confidentiality and trust-building since sensitive issues might be explored

About the Hosts:

Anthony Pleetanino is an Interfaith-Quaker chaplain and clinical supervisor at Fireside Project; the nation's first free psychedelic support hotline. His vocational work centers around the use of deep listening, narrative therapy, and creative ritual in order to help individuals and communities make meaning in the midst of life's transitions. He received his Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry, holds a certificate in spiritual direction from the Interfaith Chaplaincy Institute, as well as a certificate in psychedelic therapy and research from the California Institute for Integral Studies. He has served as a night attendant for a phase-3 MDMA trial conducted by MAPS, trained in the clinical facilitation of ketamine, and has written about the application of spiritual care assessment models within the context of psilocybin therapy.

Contact Anthony: apleetanino@gmail.com
Website: www.anthonypleetanino.com

Wendy Cliff is an Interfaith Chaplain who’s served in hospitals, retirement communities, a state prison, hospice, and trained & supported mentors in the foster care system. She’s a graduate of Seminary of the Wild where she immersed herself in environmentally based spirituality and practices, and she holds a Certificate in Trauma and Spiritual Care that guides her work serving people who live with the impacts of various personal, collective, and environmental traumas. Her Master of Divinity and identity as an Episcopal priest are related to her love of how story, ritual, and tangible things can bring us closer to mystery and meaning. Serving on the board of an interfaith council in the Bay Area was one of the favorite roles she’s ever had. A graduate of U. C. Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics facilitator training program, she’s currently doing group and individual spiritual direction sessions with people wanting to incorporate practices with the natural world in their spiritual journey.

Contact Wendy: wendydcliff@gmail.com

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Portland Psychedelic Society (PPS) is a donation-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.