Truth Fairy appears solo for this special episode in conversation with guests James Clifton, former Lead Facilitator, and Daan Keiman, former Lead Facilitator and Director of Program and Product Development, of the Synthesis Institute. This conversation aims to shed more light on the recent headlines surrounding the termination of employees and contractors by Synthesis as reported recently in psychedelic outlets like Lucid News.
James Clifton and Daan Keiman introduce themselves and get in depth about their own stories of how they came to psychedelic therapy and the formational time period in discussion with Martijn Schirp. They each give much-needed context to discussions about Synthesis - its origins, how the retreats came together, the thought and care put into the approach. They also note when some tensions started and what was behind the tension.
Truth Fairy leads a very probing and insightful conversation with James and Daan in which they explore the truths and requirements for working with psychedelics, how the attitude of potential clients changed after the release of “How to Change Your Mind” by Michael Pollan, the complexities with diverse practitioners and educational considerations the leadership team constantly considered as Synthesis grew, and the challenge of balancing psychedelic reality against capitalist needs. James and Daan give context and meaning to the headlines, unpacking the impetus behind Synthesis and truths of its journey.
“I think this may be something that I want to emphasize, because in a lot of what has been published, this is a perspective that is missing, it is that the leadership team itself struggled with the complexity. They had this monumental task ahead of them of bringing together this very diverse group of practitioners with their own perspectives on how to do this work, of navigating all these legal challenges, not to mention all the financial constraints and financial commitments that they made to investors, and to then ride this wave of this massive hype that started to started to emerge. I think it's within that sort of vast growing field - adding a corona pandemic that locked everything down and that required the organization to really make a radical shift in orienting themselves now towards the practitioner training - there's this challenge that comes with both asking yourself as an organization, who are we and what do we do and what do we offer as services.” - Daan Keiman
About James Clifton:
James Clifton has been a guide and ally for hundreds of individuals and groups in a variety of complex settings and environments, including hospice care, conflict zones and navigating non-ordinary states and realms of consciousness in psychedelic spaces for over 35 years.
As a clinically trained, trauma and integrally informed psychotherapist, he works in professional practice with individuals and their direct experiences that come with all the varieties that an extra-ordinary state demands and as it unfolds.
He was part of the core faculty and also retreat team lead at the Synthesis institute from 2019. He continues to consult internationally, advise, lead, supervise and support developing teams and organizations committed to the best emergent practices in psychedelic care.
He lives mostly in the UK on the South Coast and sometimes you’ll find him in the wilds of the South West Coast of Cornwall.
About Daan Keiman:
Daan holds an MA in Spiritual Care and is the co-founder of Guild of Guides Netherlands: an organization that seeks to professionalize psychedelic sitting services. His experience with guiding and caring for people in altered states of consciousness spans over a decade; ranging from psychedelic harm reduction work on festivals to his private practice as a Psychedelic Chaplain.
Daan draws from his personal Buddhist practices, psychedelic research and his professional experiences to create compassionate and powerful containers for personal and relational transformation. As an avid explorer of consciousness, he is highly capable of supporting others who are traversing the landscapes of the mind.
Resources discussed in this episode:
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