Embodied Psychedelic Mysticism and the Sacred Pain of Healing Work with Valeria McCarroll

*Formerly Everyday Nonordinary The Podcast* Welcome to Integrating Psychedelics, featuring insights gleaned from psychedelic experiences and conversations around how to integrate this wisdom into our daily lives. I'm your host, Jenny Weinar, and in today's episode I'm speaking with Valeria McCarroll.

Valeria McCarroll, LMFT, Ph.D., is a professor of somatic and transpersonal psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. She has been immersed in the field of psychedelic work for over a decade. A graduate of CIIS's Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research, Valeria also serves as the Embodied Wisdom Advisor for Synthesis Institute in their Psychedelic Practitioner Training program. She is formally trained in a school of classical Shakta-Shaiva Tantra. Her personal experience of awakening while working with psychedelics led her to pursue a doctoral degree. That research served as the ground that eventually gave rise to the body of offerings she stewards, Somadelics. Somadelics is a contemporary path of psychedelic mysticism that makes use of the capacity of psychedelics to transform the traumas of embodied systemic oppression. Valeria lives in Northern California with her husband and daughter. When not innovating and refining liberative systems for deconstructing the patriarchy, she enjoys playing outdoors and creating beauty.

I could listen to Valeria speak for hours, and in this conversation we discuss:

• How the limits of traditional talk therapy and somatic therapy led Valeria to the therapeutic use of psychedelics


• How the experiential nature of psychedelics differs from theoretical discussions


• Victoria’s interest in Kundalini and the intersection of psychedelics and spirituality


• Pain versus suffering and the pathologizing of pain in our culture


• The misconception of psychedelics as a magic pill and the need for skilled preparation


• Healing as process versus outcome


• Navigating boundaries and issues of consent when working with expanded states of consciousness


• Bypassing versus real transformation through psychedelic integration


• Examples of embodiment practices and small, concrete actions as forms of integration


• The meaning of the word integration


• The development of Valeria’s framework and upcoming book, Somadelics


• …and more!

Head to Valeria's website and Instagram page to learn more about her work!

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This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. Please do your research about the legality and safety of any substance you are considering using and make the most informed choice possible for your unique situation and self.