Introductions
- Who is a space holder
- Who is a therapist
- For me I view space holding as a relationship of honesty and transparency. I do my best to understand how someone is hoping to receive support and then so so by offering conscious questioning, bodywork, sharing my personal experiences, or just listening.
How do we navigate space holding in the current social climate?
- Recognizing the difference between space holders (simply there to offer support), shamans (typically have a blood lineage to which they are trained by generations of shamans), and licensed therapists (have formal training and are licensed by the state). These are all subjective definitions of course!
- It’s important to be clear about this because today we have many folks using the broad term healer and it’s important to understand the type of care people are receiving.
- When it comes to underground healing spaces, which people gravitate towards especially when it comes to psychedelics given the legality status of plant medicine, I question if people are being confronted with reality checks or offered non-enabling support especially given the sensitivities of todays culture and the social norms of not causing discomfort. And do you think it’s even necessary to offer reality checks and non enabling support?
Are formal boundaries & protocol necessary when holding space in friendships?
- I remember watching an exchange between a licensed therapist and someone in a social setting. It was a heated discussion on a sensitive topic that was beginning to elevate. I watched the therapist shift their disposition, adjust their body language, soften their tone and listen as a therapist.
- I’ve also been in more traditional ceremonies where I knew this person as a friend first then sat in ceremony with them. I saw them shifts into more of a vessel for channeling versus my peer.
- And then I have my personal experience with space holding and observing how boundaries and expectations shift in different settings for myself.
- I’m in reflection of the different layers of relationship we can have with our friends and what that balance looks like
How can underground psychedelic communities maintain ethical structures & accountability?
- social responsibility in drug dealing
- Currency exchange
- References as a form of underground structure & accountability
Notes from discussion:
- be the role model of calmness when holding space
- Be an anchor, grounded, rock
- Space holders should ask the person they are holding space for, “what do you expect from me as the space holder”
- There should be more education on what happens to the body on high doses
- When is intervention from the space holder necessary? Self harm?
- Space holders should ask, “ is there anything that may come up during your trip?” If they are uncomfortable sharing when not in ceremony, it will cause even more discomfort coming up in ceremony.
- It’s important for everyone to define friendship for themselves
- Lead by example
- Boundaries should be the first point of learning when holding space
- Natural law as a structure ~ energy exchange
- Intention will reveal all and act as a natural law/structure
- We need checks & balances ~ how do we investigate truth in the underground space ~ credibility ~ communal investigation
- Ceremony and group settings as a form of accountability and ethics committee
- Man made vs naturally occurring ~ what matters is the intention behind the man made ~ we always know natures intention but not man