Friends & Family Minister Program

This program is designed specifically for "deeper dive" Sacrament Sessions where F&F ministers are holding space for trusted friends or family. 

We are all responsible for our own actions and accept this responsibility any time we commune with sacred mushrooms.

In this program you will find that the information can be applied to holding space with others (up to three trusted friends or family members).
 

Ministering to another person, even at low to moderate doses brings in a multitude of
additional factors. 

Please exercise
patience as you venture into these waters. They can be surprisingly deep, dark and rough as well
as bright, joyful and of ease.

Never underestimate the power of this sacrament.

Our priority as an organization is to prepare you in ways that ensure maximum legal
protection. While we have established protocols and organizational structures to ensure greater protection, adhering to these guidelines and ensuring personal security is ultimately up to each minister.

Some suspect at first glance that Psanctuary exists to provide some kind of work around or loophole from legal prosecution.

We are certain that you know this is not the
case or else you would not be here. Anyone who attends a single Psanctuary service is immediately
aware of the sincerity of our organization.

Sincerity is first mentioned because it is the litmus test for protection under the RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act). Yet there are no standard metrics to determine what exemplifies sincerity in religious practice. Sincerity is something that is understood from a bird’s eye view.

We do know that precedents's set based on previous supreme court cases show the more active a member is in an active organization, the better case one has for their sincerity of practice. This includes the act of furthering their understanding and practice with their faith and sacrament. 

We highly recommend the following books for examples of entheogenic case law:

The Law of Entheogenic Churches in the United States by attorney George Lake

Psychedelica Lex; the Law of Psychedelics by attorney Gary Smith

There is an average sensitivity and general intensity rating
applied to sacred mushrooms and this we will use as our starting point. All measurements are in dry grams with a typical strain of cubensis such as Golden Teacher, Hawaiian, Mazatec and
similar.

 For comparative purposes we will start with microdosing.

“Microdose” .10 to .50: For most people the experience is either imperceptible or barely
noticeable. Sensory input may become heightened, energy may be increased, or creative
thinking enhanced.

“Creative Dose” .50 to 2.0: Doses in this range tend to be borderline manageable in public
or social situations. Doses in this range can become surprisingly uncomfortable and require the
individual to remove themselves from social situations for a time until they can manage the
intensity of sensory overload.

For those with more experience this dose can be very helpful in
engaging with a creative thought process or in some artistic endeavor. This level of communion
is often underestimated for its intensity.

“Explorer’s Dose” 2.0 to 4.0: The explorer’s dose is where folks do begin to cross the threshold of unitive bliss but this should not be expected. In fact, that any dose will reliably get the communicant to that place should not be anticipated.

At these doses individuals are more likely to start having closed eyed geometric visual patterns or may start to experience emotional intensity.

Members may begin laughing or sobbing uncontrollably. The loss of self or ego may
start to occur, yet often members will later relate that they started to feel a sense of dissolution
or lift off but that it was not sufficient to ‘carry them away’. This can be a valuable range for
those who have a relative amount of experience in that it provides an opportunity to consciously
let go into the experience.

“Heroic Dose” 4.0 to 6.0: The title of this dose was famously coined by Terrence McKenna
(1947-1990) a notable ethnobotanist who played a huge role in popularizing psilocybin mushrooms within the 1980s and 90s.

This range of dosage in most people does provide
some sense of ego dissolution but not necessarily in a reliable manner. It can also be difficult to identify what an ‘ego death’ or even a mystical experience looks like. Regardless most people are going to have a significantly intense experience at this dosage and are going to encounter some significant discomfort. Closed eye visuals are common but not guaranteed.

Extreme emotions
and unpredictable behaviors become much more likely.

“Breakthrough Dose” 6.0 and above: It is valuable to note here that psilocybin mushrooms are completely non-toxic.

That being said, doses in this range have a tendency to convince the
communicant that they are dying. These doses is when extended support becomes more necessary.

There is no way to predict how any dose will manifest but particularly in this range.

Constant monitoring is required but can also lead to paranoia. The delicate balance of support
from a distance, of unnoticeable observation is very important here. The communicant may
spend their entire time internal or external.

We dive much deeper into dosing within our MySelf and Friends and Family Minister programs.

Another behavior that denotes sincerity is in how we care for and maintain our sacrament.

Sacred mushrooms are not a mundane, profane object. While the guidelines for diversion
control are to ensure that the sacrament is only used by sincere members, it serves another,
perhaps even more meaningful purpose.

The requirements for diversion control help
practitioners to maintain awareness of the sanctity of our sacrament. Having to make the required effort in storage and documentation ensures that the mushrooms will not soon become
just another item in a freezer.

The primary objectives of diversion control are secure storage and documentation of sacrament
usage. Our storage and documentation practices make our best attempt to be in accordance with
the DEA’s Schedule 1 controlled substance storage.

Yes. The intention with the ordainment program is that you are learning the fundamental information needed to safely begin a communion and proper sacrament cultivation and storage practice.

Again, personal responsibility is central to this practice. Ordained Friends and Family Ministers are encouraged to administer no more than 5 grams of sacrament to their loved ones who are also official Psanctuary ministers. This may change over time, as you become more skilled and knowledgeable but it is imperative to start slow, especially with those who are inexperienced to maintain safety. 

We highly recommend you either enroll in the ongoing live calls following ordained or schedule 1:1 calls with an MTI coach to assess what communion dose might be a good fit for those who you are working with. 

There will be one instructional call each week, for a total of 8 calls throughout the program.

They are on Tuesdays from 6:30 - 7:30 pm beginning on Tuesday, April 18th, going through Tuesday, June 13th. 

If you need to miss a call, that's ok! We now have our most flexible attendance policy yet!

If you find that you have missed more than 4 calls, on any call missed after the 4th call make sure to watch the call recording and submit a paragraph summary (see the next post).

The Eight Week Program covers the following topics: 

1. History of Sacred Mushrooms from Maria Sabina to Today 
• Our responsibility to the indigenous origins of our work
• Basic legal questions

• Set and Setting

• Clinical v. Ceremonial/A Middle Ground
• Preparing the mind for the unpredictable
• Creating a safe space with boundaries and adaptability

• Group Ceremony vs Solo Experience

• Let the conversation guide itself
• Open-ended questions
• Active Listening

• Guidelines of Mushroom Space (Safety, Ethics)

• Spoken and unspoken rules
• When rules are meant to be broken

• Core Facilitation Skills 

• What it means to be a "psychedelic samuri"
• Differences between group and private facilitation
• Why less is more

• Preparation, Orientation, Integration

• Setting the tone before we ever meet/Representing The Culture of Psanctuary
• Rapid onboarding
• Immediate and Ongoing Integration

• Serving a Diverse Community

• Helping everyone feel seen and heard
• Issues that arise

• Emotional Bonding/Boundaries 

• Connecting without compromising
• Benefits of Boundaries
• After the service, ongoing interaction

Yes! Being an F&F Minister means you'll be invited to hold space during our Psanctuary sanctioned private services and group retreats with Psanctuary Community Ministers and other Psanctuary F&F Ministers.

After completing the required continuing education you'll be eligible for a paid clerical position at retreats and private services.

Yes! We are planning for monthly enrollment opportunities; however, we cannot guarentee the current introductory rates we're currently offering will stay the same. 

It is likely that as we expand the offerings of the program the rates will increase.

You can expect to dedicate around 3 hours per week (including 1 live call, reading weekly workbook chapter and completing weekly assessment) for the requirements of the Friends and Family program. 

We know there will be questions about the details of these programs!

As always, for any questions please reach out to us via email at [email protected].