I get letters: Processing emotions “practices”.

I often get letters from folks sharing their experiences… I call them “Field Reports.” And these field reports offer spectacular insights and musings that answer questions that many others have on their mind. So I’m sharing one with you today.

“Hi Becca, Wow, wow – just did the practices [from the Elevation Ceremony] it was more energizing than before. For me this truly does invoke change on a variety of levels, physiological, psychological and spirit/emotional.

I allowed a day of rest/integration after the ceremony and it was a truly healing/strengthening day. The practices in communion with what I am experiencing, I believe are changing me in profound ways!” – NB

That’s healing with sacred plant medicine doing what it’s designed to do. Not a mood lift. An actual shift.

Three levels. All at once.

Yes indeed… Physiological. Psychological. Spirit/emotional. Three levels. All at once. That’s not an accident – that’s the design.

What we’re actually doing with sacred plant medicine

In Elevation Ceremonies and other group sessions, we work with vigorous, ancient body and breath movements.

Not passive. Not gentle. Vigorous!

We’re calling forward the feelings that have dug themselves in. The beliefs that have been quietly running the show behind the scenes… from “I’m not enough” to “it’s not safe to feel this” – we’re beckoning them to the surface.

This is a departure from the quiet sitting of mindfulness meditation. Students have joked about our approach – calling it the unmeditation meditation.

Instead of trying to silence the noise, you bring it forward. Instead of fighting what’s spinning inside you, you move with them!

Powerful breathing patterns, deep resonant sound, expressive movement of the upper body, arms, hands, fingers. This with my guided prompts that invite whatever is knocking loudest on your head – the Anxiety, the Anger, the Shame, the Sadness. The nagging emotions you’ve been carrying since last week or since childhood – they move.

Emotions are energy in motion. These powerful practices direct where that energy goes.

The result isn’t suppression. It’s release. A foundational settling – not because you forced the mind quiet, but because you gave it somewhere to go.

Why sitting still doesn’t cut it

This is the part people don’t always expect.

It’s not just about releasing. It’s about resetting.

Self-limiting beliefs aren’t only thoughts. They’re patterns wired into the body, you feel them in your chest, your gut, your jaw. Traditional meditation – sit still, observe your thoughts and let them pass like clouds – asks you to watch from a distance. But for a lot of people, watching doesn’t move what needs to be moved.

What moves it is meeting the emotions with equal energy.

When we do this work consistently, we’re conditioning the nervous system, teaching it a new baseline. In my courses, I ask students to do just 11 minutes a day, that’s enough to begin creating new neural pathways – ones that lead somewhere other than the same old reactive loops.

Our letter writer, NB, noticed something on the following day after our ceremony – that the healing didn’t stop when the practice ended. It kept moving, that’s integration. That’s the body doing exactly what it’s designed to do, once we finally get out of its way.

That’s what stress stored in the body actually looks like when it finally moves. Not catharsis. Completion.

Cannabis as amplifier, not escape

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, cannabis, used with clear intention and skilled support, can open the door wider.

The emotional material is already there, that is the feelings that need processing are already waiting. What cannabis (and psilocybin microdosing, which I also work with) can do is quiet the part of the mind that’s been standing guard… the over-analyzer, the inner critic – and allow deeper access to what’s underneath.

One practitioner put it this way: “I find it means you can go deeper, and still maintain a strength or anchor – the emotions don’t take over, they just flow.”

That’s the difference between recreational use and ceremonial use. In ceremony, the container and intention are pivotal. The movement and breath and skilled support comprise the method. Cannabis is the optional amplifier.

And what gets amplified is whatever is ready to move.

This is also why plant medicine for trauma works differently than people expect. It’s not the plant doing the healing. It’s you, with the door open a little wider.

[ADDED] The research supports this too. Studies on psychedelic-assisted emotional healing consistently show that set, setting, and integration support are what determine the outcome – not the substance alone.

Try it for yourself

That phrase that NB used is the one I keep coming back to… not “I feel better.” Not “that was interesting.” But, they’re changing me. “…changing me in profound ways!”

That’s what this work is built for. Not a peak experience that fades. Not temporary relief but honest to goodness embodied change – the kind where you respond differently to something that used to crush you, and you catch yourself thinking: huh. That’s new.

Curious what an Elevation Ceremony actually looks like? Join us next month. You can register here.

With Love, Becca

P.S. Apologies! I’ve been quietly building a new series of short Monday Morning “calm” sessions – just 30 minutes, every Monday. Early morning for those of you in the U.S., early afternoon in Europe. A gentle on-ramp to your week.

I said it’d be starting this Monday and that’s where the apology comes in – my website developer is still weaving all the moving parts together, and I’d rather wait and do this properly than rush it out the door half-dressed (the website, not me;)

Every session will be recorded, so if you miss a live one – or want to loop back and do it again… and again, I encourage you to do that. My hope is that some of you will experiment with doing it daily. A short, consistent practice, just for our community.
So keep an eye on your inbox. It’s coming – and it’ll be worth the wait.

P.S.S. The June Elevation Ceremony is scheduled though.
If you’ve been thinking, “I wish there were a place to actually work with what’s going on inside me,” this is it. This a one of my signature events that curates a space to meet your emotions head-on (cannabis optional, self-honesty mandatory).

I’ve heard from so many of you how potent this work has been. That means everything to me.

If you want to explore working together more deeply, the best next step is a complimentary Discovery Session. You’ll complete a short intake form, then we’ll meet on Zoom to explore what’s possible.

Either way – you don’t navigate this alone.