The goal of journaling is anti-censorship. It’s putting all your thoughts, uncensored, onto the page so you can see them as they are. Take 5-10min in the morning with your coffee — or in the evening before you go to bed — and journal. There is no formula. Sometimes I start with what I’m grateful for or sometimes I go into a full-blown rant about something that is bothering me. You’ll find yourself naturally gravitating towards an outline. What matters less is the formula you use and what matters more is that you get the shit that is stirring in your head onto a page.

Psychedelics can be the doorway into deep levels of healing you may never know you had access to. But they are not panaceas and should be used with caution. Ideally, it would help if you had an experienced guide that you trust. Your guide will most likely help you with your set (your intentions and mood at the time) and setting (the physical environment).

The world of psychedelics and the world of meditation are not so different. They both offer a glimpse at the way things are in the present — without the noise of your ego-mind controlling things. However, meditation is more accessible. Even 5-10min a day can make a world of difference for most. Try the Waking Up app by Sam Harris if you need a guided push. Or just try setting a timer for 5-10min of silence in the morning each day. Meditation was my gateway drug into the present. It fundamentally changed my life.

If you can’t stand the thought of being silent each morning or journaling or journeying then don’t corner yourself; discover what your inner shaman longs for — what makes her come alive in the present. Things like earthing or forest bathing are great tools to feel the vibrational energy of Mother Gaia.

The modern world demands a modern modality to deal with it — otherwise we perish. Social media is an awesome tool for connection but can be easily overused as a way to get dopamine once ours has dried up. Spending time away from tech is a mini-retreat in and of itself these days; a kind of island in time where your true longings and priorities come to light. One of the worse habits you can have as an inner shaman is to wake up in the morning, roll around, pick up your phone and scroll on social media. This is like eating carbs first thing in the morning — you are setting your emotional pancreas up for a spike in overactivity and over worry. We have to admit that social media is Pandora’s box — once it is opened it is hard to unsee or undo its effects. Hence, try and avoid going online for at least the first 2-3 hours in your day. And if possible choose a day in the week where you avoid the perils of social media all together. Bonus points if you turn all your social media notifications off, too.

When architects plan and build monumental structures, they plan for areas of flexibility and movement from external forces like wind, rain and natural movement from the Earth. Anything that is too rigid will perish. I see music festivals and retreats as built-in mechanisms for anti-rigidity. These are planned events where pure absurdism and presence emerge — a kind of island in time where you get to experience the wonder of just being.