Tahoe Psychedelic Society: Promoting mental health and personal growth through community and altered states of consciousness
Link to article in Moonshine Ink.
By Brian Broom-Peltz
Editor’s Note: The author is the founder and organizer of the Tahoe Psychedelic Society.
Last summer, I was part of a small group that met at the Lift Workspace in Truckee for the inaugural meeting of the Tahoe Psychedelic Society. Our goal was to explore the potential of organizing and connecting like-minded individuals to collaborate around the topics of science, mental health, altered states, and building community. One year later, the Tahoe Psychedelic Society (TPS) has grown into a vibrant community dedicated to making the science behind psychedelics easy to understand and normalizing the exploration of altered states of consciousness to promote better mental health and personal growth. TPS has built a supportive, loving community by hosting workshops, talks, and meetups.
What We Believe
Mental health is a topic that affects everyone, either through one’s own personal challenges, or through the people whom they care about. For many individuals, the topic is difficult to talk about, understand, and in some cases, even to recognize. Many factors influence mental health: biological ones like physical health, genetics, diet, sleep, and age; psychological factors such as beliefs, mental health diagnoses, perception, and addictions; as well as social ones including relationships, family, culture, work, money, and housing. Understanding these diverse influences can aid in addressing mental health more effectively.
PICTURE PERFECT: Tyler Barkley and Sarah Westmoreland host a TPS table at Wild Lotus Yoga Festival in Kings Beach in July.
For some, just getting a good night’s rest, spending time exercising outside, and connecting with friends can be sufficient to lift them out of the blues. For others, even after doing all the above activities, a sticky cloud can still linger even on the brightest of days. It can feel difficult to start, to press for change, and thoughts may be scattered or deeply negative. This begs the question: What options does one have at their disposal if they are “doing all the things,” yet they are still not getting better?
This is where psychedelics come in. In his 2018 best-selling book, How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan likens the mind to a hill covered in snow where thoughts are like sleds gliding down a hill. As sleds repeat trips down the hill, deep grooves form, making it more likely to glide into those grooves. We can think of psychedelics as temporarily flattening the snow. The deeply worn trails disappear, and suddenly the sled can go in other directions, exploring new landscapes and creating new pathways. Mendel Kaelen, a neuroscientist at Imperial College London, explains, “A happy brain is a supple and flexible brain … depression, anxiety, obsession, and the cravings of addiction are how it feels to have a brain that has become excessively rigid or fixed in its pathways and linkages — a brain with more order than is good for it.”
The brain’s ability to create new pathways, known as neuroplasticity, is not unique to psychedelics. Children have highly plastic, changing brains, which contribute to their ability to learn and adapt. For adults, other factors like regular exercise, sleep, good nutrition, and cognitive stimulation play a role in the ability to learn and grow. However, psychedelics are notable for their capability to promote enhanced neuroplasticity for weeks after a significant experience, according to a 2023 article in Nature.
Some jest that psychedelics are a gateway drug to therapy. During an altered state of consciousness, facilitated by a substance, breathwork, chanting, meditation, dance, and other methods, our subconscious can begin to float up to the surface. Thoughts, memories, and feelings that had been ignored or suppressed can appear in conscious awareness. If people can be with or witness these thoughts and emotions without trying to push them away, many find they can experience deep healing. Processing a psychedelic experience (aka integration) can take time and appears in different ways: substituting unhealthy habits with helpful ones, art, dance, journaling, and therapy. Many therapists and coaches are trained in helping people make meaning from these peak experiences (TPS hosts a monthly integration circle with a trained facilitator; see our website for info about our next session).
Despite our enthusiasm about the potential for psychedelics as a tool for supporting better mental health, TPS is not naive in thinking that altered states of consciousness or psychedelics are appropriate for all people all of the time. We caution those who have a family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or are in a highly chaotic period of their life. Thoughtful consideration should be taken before using any mind-altering substances to manage risks and maximize benefits. However, given the growing body of research on the potential benefits of psychedelics for conditions like addiction, depression, anxiety, traumatic brain injuries, and PTSD, TPS wants everyone to know that if you or your loved ones are suffering and haven’t been helped by standard methods of care, there are other options available.
While we believe it is critical to understand and promote the therapeutic benefits, we realize that not everyone interested in psychedelics is looking for a way to heal from trauma. Many people explore psychedelics to connect with nature, music, loved ones, and their spiritual practice. As tools for accessing expanded states of consciousness, psychedelics offer individuals a way to step out of their routine modes of thinking and see new possibilities for themselves and the world. With consideration to the dose, a safe and relaxed setting, and positive intentions, many people can safely enjoy the energy and lightened mood without the hangover of other mind-altering substances like alcohol.
What Have We Been Up To?
We recognize that a foundation of mental health is connection and community. Since our founding in 2023, we’ve hosted over 800 guests at our regular community events, including meetups, educational talks, workshops, and parties.
Our most popular offering is a donation-based breathwork and sound bath facilitated by a rotating list of local providers. In the sessions, guests are oriented to the method and benefits of the practice, and then lie back and allow the deep breathing and rhythmic music to relax their conscious minds and get into their bodies. People have driven as far as Nevada City and Fallon to attend our sessions, and we are honored to have many repeat guests, including a few parents who recently attended a session with their children.
PARTY PEOPLE: (right) Author Brian Broom-Peltz, Tyler Barkley, and Michelle Gale celebrate outside Mountain Lotus Yoga during Bicycle Day on April 19, which featured an evening dance party in the yoga studio.
Another core offering is our monthly integration circle, which provides a supportive and understanding container for people to process recent journeys, big life experiences, expanded states, and life transitions (psychedelic or otherwise). “Insights need support and ongoing processing to result in lasting change,” wrote psychologist Geoff Bathje in a 2002 paper, Psychedelic Integration: An Analysis of the Concept and Its Practice, as well as a caring, skilled facilitator who can support that process.
In April 2024, we hosted a series of community events as part of Bicycle Day, celebrating the discovery of the potent psychedelic LSD in honor of the Swiss inventor Albert Hofmann, who in 1943 tested the compound on himself and then rode his bike home. With a morning ski party, a midday bike ride along the river, an afternoon talk with a formerly incarcerated LSD chemist, and finally, an evening dance party, we brought together people from all over the region to connect and celebrate.
We continue to post events on our mailing list, at our website, tahoepsychedelic.org, and social media @tahoepsychedelic. Additionally, we created a community page to help promote events and services being offered by other members of the community. And in case you are wondering, we are not a place to buy or sell mushrooms, so please stop emailing us asking about it.
What Do We Envision for the Future?
In the past decade, we have seen a psychedelic renaissance spurred by promising research, changing laws, and more people coming out in support of psychedelics. The range of support spans the social and political divide from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Navy SEAL veterans to scientists, parents, and, yes, Phishheads.
As that support continues to grow, we hope our elected officials will have the courage and integrity to support sensible drug policy changes that combine decriminalization with education and harm reduction efforts. We were disappointed last October when Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms statewide, but we celebrate his openness to establishing a regulated treatment framework. That said, we are committed to a future where people across Tahoe/Truckee, the state, the country, and the world are educated and empowered to grow or purchase their own psychedelic medicine, as well as have the liberty to heal and explore their minds without the fear of incarceration. Yes to safety and yes to decriminalization.
In the meantime, we will continue to offer our popular community events, connect and promote healers and teachers from a variety of treatment modalities, share cutting edge research, and stand for everyone to have a vibrant life, cognitive liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Come join the fun. Find the others.
To learn more about Tahoe Psychedelic Society, visit tahoepsychedelic.org or follow on Instagram @tahoepsychedelic.
