What if the worst thing that has ever happened to you is actually the best?

What if your pain/suffering created roots so deep that no amount of wind can uplift the essence your spirit lives in?What if you let go of trying to think your way out of your trauma and trust in your body’s ability to heal itself? Turning the thing that turned you into the thing that transformed and informed you — that is the embodiment of Post-Traumatic Self Compassion.

The best way I can describe the BOOM experience is, for a brief moment in time, being slung out of the orbit of normal everyday waking consciousness, and being thrust into the outer layer of existence, floating, contemplating and feeling the actuality of the NOW, in all Her beauty, fragility and complexity. This act of leaving the rat race to pursue absurdity for a brief period of time is so rare.

“We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world.” — Dr Gabor Mate. In August 2021 I visited the Earth Awareness Nature Temple in the heart of the Netherlands to attend a Magic Mushroom retreat.

Personal development programs are popular in today's 'fix me because I'm broken' culture. The promise for 10x growth sells. However, all self-improvement programs, mindfulness strategies and retreats forget one key element to healing: the animal.

"Moderation" is the great lie of the century. It was invented by senile men who are living in despair and have zero skin in the game of sustainable fat loss. When you eat the right foods –meat! – your body has a natural moderation-sparing valve that sends feedback to your energy-dense brain, letting it know you're good for the next 16-18 hours.