TOUGH TALKS – Magic Mushrooms & Mental Toughness with Cate Ritter

Cate Ritter [00:00:00]:
So I feel like psilocybin in particular is very illuminating. Right? It it shows you your your shadow parts, the unconscious parts, the parts of yourself that you tend to perhaps suppress and numb, resist even. And so it it kind of, illuminates all those things in a way that really helps you, connect with yourself in a way that’s more supportive from a mental toughness perspective. So you’re really bringing all parts of yourself online in a way that’s accepted. So it gives you a lot more confidence to move forward, from a mental toughness perspective.

Chris Dorris [00:00:45]:
Well, let’s talk. Most of us never learned how to train our brains, which is why most of us needlessly settle, struggle, and worse, suffer. My name is Chris Dorris and I wanna make brain training mainstream. This is my series Tough Talks, Conversations on Mental Toughness. I’m interviewing badasses from all walks of life on what mental toughness means to them and their unique approaches to strengthening their minds. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to tough talks, conversations on mental toughness. I’m your host, Chris Dorris.

Chris Dorris [00:01:16]:
And before we get to our guest today, I wanna take care of our, as usual, our one housekeeping item, which is if you’re not getting notifications of these new podcast episodes or getting my Tuesday blog posts or if you’re not getting the daily dose mental toughness tips in 30 seconds or less sent to your mailbox at about 6 AM every day of the year no matter where you are in the world, then let’s address that issue, shall we, by going to Chris Dorris lists. L I s t s. Chris dorris dot com backslash lists. Put your name, your email, click, and you get all the goodies. Now I’m excited as hell today to share with you our guest, Kate Ritter. Kate is a licensed psilocybin facilitator and wellness coach. Kate is, has done a lot of wild stuff. And one of the things is she studied was a shaman in the jungle Dorris we’ll find out how long.

Chris Dorris [00:02:16]:
We’ll get all the details from her. But it it was, a fascinating experience to say the least. We’ll let her describe it. And it was the inspiration for her taking creating this new most current, iteration of her vocation, which is using, psychedelics for healing. And that I don’t think it’s just healing, but it’s also for maybe expansiveness, you know? She lives in Bend, Oregon, where psilocybin is legal now as a facilitated process, not recreationally. So we’re gonna dig deep on that. And then if you’re thinking, like, why is this? Okay. So this is a mental toughness podcast.

Chris Dorris [00:03:00]:
What’s the connection here? We’re gonna I’m gonna ask her to make the connection, but this is why I wanted to have Chris, is that, you know, mental toughness to me is not just about, being tough. This whole podcast exists in in part because of all the unnecessary struggles and suffering that we create for ourselves. And I believe that what Kate’s doing with her life these days is all about helping to eliminate that unnecessary suffering, which is nothing short of beautiful in my opinion. So so nothing from me. Let’s go find Kate and and hear it all from her, the expert. Where are you, Kate? And there she is, founder, the one and only Kate Ritter. How are you, my friend?

Cate Ritter [00:03:53]:
I’m doing well, Chris. How are you?

Chris Dorris [00:03:54]:
It’s the best damn day of my life even though our Zoom keeps freezing. This is our 3rd attempt. We’ll get this is our 4th attempt, actually. 3rd today. Yeah. And we’ll get it done. So I’m glad to have you here. And let me let me open this up by bridging a gap that could be be occurring in some of the viewers, listeners’ minds on okay.

Chris Dorris [00:04:13]:
So what’s the relationship here between, you know, mental toughness? The podcast is called tough talks, conversations on mental toughness and psilocybin or psychedelic journeys. What what what’s the connection? And there is a connection, but I want you to articulate. But first, I’ll say my definition of mental toughness to remind folks what it means to me. Mental toughness is a superpower. Right? Specifically, it’s the ability to respond to all of life, not some of it, not not most of it, but all of life rapidly with grace and mastery, creative genius, and enthusiasm so that we can get to the creation of excellence and the creation any way, anything to do with any of that? Mhmm. So what does any of that have to do? Or what does the use of psilocybin have in any way anything to do with any of that?

Cate Ritter [00:05:06]:
That’s a good question. So I feel like psilocybin in particular is very illuminating. Right? It it shows you your your shadow parts, the unconscious parts, the parts of yourself that you tend to perhaps suppress and numb, resist even. And so it it kind of, illuminates all those things in a way that really helps you, connect with yourself in a way that’s more supportive from a mental toughness perspective. So you’re really bringing all parts of yourself online in a way that’s accepted. So it gives you a lot more confidence to move forward, from mental toughness perspective.

Chris Dorris [00:05:53]:
Well, let’s talk let’s talk about your experience. Okay? Like, how did you even get into this? You are a licensed psilocybin facilitator and wellness coach. That’s that’s your that’s your current title. Yeah. So how how did this even come about?

Cate Ritter [00:06:08]:
That’s a good question. So Let’s go. Row.

Chris Dorris [00:06:10]:
I’m on a roll. Thank you.

Cate Ritter [00:06:12]:
I felt very stuck in my life. I felt like I had a great life. I felt like I had all the things that should make me happy, should make me feel fulfilled yet I just felt like there was something missing. I just I didn’t have quite the the mental toughness. Right? I was really struggling to to kind of, kinda like a a duck, you know, on the surface, they look real calm and then underneath they’re just like paddling like crazy. And so I’ve tried a lot of different modalities and different things, and nothing quite moved the needle like psychedelics. So my first psychedelic experience, I I went off the deep end. I went to the jungle, then I

Chris Dorris [00:06:58]:
walked to What jungle?

Cate Ritter [00:07:00]:
Peru. Outside of the Quidos, Peru, I did a a 2 week retreat and had 6, Ayahuasca experiences, and they were just completely mind blowing, life changing. Definitely helped me get very, unstuck from a lot of different things, even things I didn’t think that would help.

Chris Dorris [00:07:23]:
Well, you say okay. So can we slow that part down a little bit? Because I I can hear people’s curiosities already. Well, mine too. So mind blowing. So tell us about these so they’re called experiences? They’re not called Chris?

Cate Ritter [00:07:37]:
Journeys Dorris Alaska, they typically say ceremony.

Chris Dorris [00:07:41]:
Ceremony.

Cate Ritter [00:07:43]:
Yeah. For for mushrooms, there’s ceremonies kind of in more traditional settings, but, in Oregon, we typically call them journeys. Under the guidelines, by the state, we call them administration sessions where you’re

Chris Dorris [00:08:07]:
Okay. Alright. But there’s different substances. So you you mentioned, Ayahuasca.

Cate Ritter [00:08:13]:
Ayahuasca. Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:08:14]:
Which is so you you had 6 Ayahuasca experiences.

Cate Ritter [00:08:18]:
Yeah. And so those were so impactful. I literally was next to a guy who had been cured of cancer. I didn’t even know that that was something out there. There was also, you know, musicians there that, you know, had drug addiction problems that, you know, were clean after that. It just I never saw so many different, issues from various people and all different kinds of people and, seeing them get results where I hadn’t in kind of our western, typical model.

Chris Dorris [00:08:52]:
Yeah. That’s pretty fascinating. So it’s a substance that treats substance abuse or addiction.

Cate Ritter [00:08:59]:
Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:09:00]:
Do you have any idea how that works? Does anyone?

Cate Ritter [00:09:04]:
There’s a lot of researchers, working on that right now, but, basically so psilocybin, I’ll get kinda back to psilocybin. And I’ll say that, you know, just a little backstory too that my experiences in the jungle were so profound, that I literally decided to move to the jungle to facilitate Ayahuasca.

Chris Dorris [00:09:25]:
I

Cate Ritter [00:09:25]:
was there for 3 months, did a a 2 month curandero or a shaman initiation training where we’re out in the remote jungle, working with indigenous shamans, as well as other healers and and things like that. But, it was it was very challenging because as transformative as the Ayahuasca experiences were, it was also very traumatic to be in that type of environment where, I mean there’s mosquitoes, the first day of my training, I got, chiggers. They were in my head sheets. There’s teeny tiny little microscope of things that tend to, like, burrow under your skin.

Chris Dorris [00:10:05]:
Lovely.

Cate Ritter [00:10:06]:
Burn and they itch like crazy. And so, you know, my first day of trading, I I had them up my front door, my back door, my armpits, like, everything. They were over my my whole body, and it was so uncomfortable. And the more you, like, itch them, the more they spread. Oh, yeah. So, yeah, it was very uncomfortable. There was other things like, another participant got a scorpion sting. One of my shaman’s, wives got malaria.

Cate Ritter [00:10:35]:
So there’s a lot of dangers that can go into it as well as the jungle can be a very, chaotic environment. Right? Like, there could be up to 20 people in a a ceremonial setting. They call it a a maloca. So you’ve got, you know, mosquitoes and bugs and all kinds of stuff, poisonous snakes, centipedes, like you’re you’re just kind of

Chris Dorris [00:10:57]:
Light me up.

Cate Ritter [00:10:59]:
On alert, a lot in the jungle. And and so as transformative as I found those experiences, I I also found them to be traumatic in a lot of different ways. Also, the facilitators aren’t necessarily properly trained. Sometimes, you know, people would be calling for help, myself included. No one would come. So it would kind of reinforce some of those things that you’re trying to heal, especially if you’re working on trauma or things like that. And so, I moved back to to Oregon and luckily, there was some really cool things going on, including measure 109, which allows for the the legal use of psilocybin via a licensed facilitator in a licensed service center. So it’s it’s not that people are just, you know, going into dispensaries like cannabis and getting mushrooms and then going home.

Cate Ritter [00:11:53]:
This is very much for therapeutic use, and it’s a a very comfortable, cozy set and setting. Some service centers are more clinical, some are more kind of like a a living room, some have a a blend of the 2. And so that’s just like a little background of why it’s so important for me to, honor this this new model being implemented because it is much safer in a lot of ways. And, there’s legal, you know, guidelines there for a reason to to help protect the participant as well and make sure that you have the best experience possible because these can be profoundly life changing experiences, under the right set and setting.

Chris Dorris [00:12:40]:
So who goes who goes to get these?

Cate Ritter [00:12:44]:
Just about anyone. And, but it’s not for everyone. Like, you have to be for age 21. You wanna make sure you don’t have any, mental health issues that could interfere with your process or negatively impact your experience such as psychosis, bipolar 1 or 2, anything like that, or active like heart conditions, those kinds of things. So you’d wanna check with a medical provider first. So it’s it’s not for everyone, but, it can benefit just about anyone if they qualify or are eligible for services.

Chris Dorris [00:13:25]:
Well, I think, you know, you say you you might wanna check with your medical provider first. But how how educated are medical providers on Chris, on this whole experience? Like, the can they give sound advice? Like, yeah, you should go do that or, oh, you shouldn’t do that.

Cate Ritter [00:13:39]:
Yeah. I have I have some psychedelic informed doctors that I recommend. So if someone comes to me and, they have questions, but they’re really interested in perhaps, exploring more info about psilocybin, then I might have them schedule a session with the psychedelic informed doctor first before we proceed just to make sure that it’s gonna be a a safe and enjoyable experience for them.

Chris Dorris [00:14:02]:
Yeah. Okay. Well, you say and enjoyable. So Yeah. Because you well, you said well, you talked about the shadow.

Cate Ritter [00:14:08]:
Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:14:10]:
Is it always enjoyable?

Cate Ritter [00:14:12]:
Not always. No. It can be really challenging. But I find that almost the more challenging it is, the more beautiful it is as you come out the other side.

Chris Dorris [00:14:22]:
I agree with that.

Cate Ritter [00:14:23]:
It’s nice because after you’ve had your your first experience, you know what to expect. And so you really kind of roll up your sleeves the next time and go, okay. This is what I wanna work on, and that might not be what psilocybin has in mind for you. Ultimately, you get what you need.

Chris Dorris [00:14:42]:
Wow. Woah. Woah. Woah. That’s interesting. Let’s slow that down. That’s interesting because you’re you’re giving, like, its own personality here. Like, might have something else in mind for you.

Chris Dorris [00:14:53]:
Yeah. And you get what you need regardless of what you think you need. Am I hearing that properly?

Cate Ritter [00:14:59]:
Correct. Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:15:00]:
How fascinating. So it’s like a window look look into your soul. Can you describe it? Like, give us just some details of, like, you know, because there’s, you know so what is it like? Because if you’re trying to describe to someone like a roller coaster ride, it’s hard to do. Right? But could you try?

Cate Ritter [00:15:15]:
Yeah. I mean, I can share some of my experiences. I’m very sensitive and empathic, so they’re a bit more unusual because I’m very open to, psychedelic medicine in that sense. So my first above ground service center experience was one of the most profound experiences of my life Dorris so than over 40 Ayahuasca ceremonies. Yeah. 40 over 40 Ayahuasca ceremonies and psilocybin in a service center under the safe satin setting was more profound.

Chris Dorris [00:15:51]:
Where was that?

Cate Ritter [00:15:52]:
That was in Portland k. At Intertrack. Through my, my training program is through Intertrack. And then, yeah. So Intertrack? InnerTrek.

Chris Dorris [00:16:03]:
That’s a cool name.

Cate Ritter [00:16:04]:
It is a cool name. Right?

Chris Dorris [00:16:06]:
Yeah. Yeah. So about your InnerTrek.

Cate Ritter [00:16:09]:
So so, basically, I’ll give you a little breakdown too of how the process works. So you have, depending on the facilitator you work with or the service center, you have some prep sessions ahead of time that really helps, cover any paperwork, get you prepared for the the journey ahead. It gives you tips, you know, things that you can help do whether it be, preparing with your diet or your mindset, whether it be it be doing some meditation or breath work or yoga, something that resonates with you that really helps you begin to go inward and prepare for this this journey, because it is a it it is a very inward journey, very different than, say, a recreational experience with mushrooms.

Chris Dorris [00:16:53]:
Okay.

Cate Ritter [00:16:54]:
And so you have your prep sessions, you have your journey or administration session, you also have some integration afterwards that’s included in that. And so, you arrive at the service center for your journey day, a serve service center representative brings you the psilocybin product, and it’s it’s really cool. It’s all, grown in, by certified mycologists and provider manufacturers, I guess you would call it. And then, it’s all lab tested. So you get an a product package similar to, say, cannabis that tells you the the psilocybin content, the psilocin content, the best by date, all of those little details and things like that as well. And, you can have different options, I chose to have, the whole fruiting body so you get these cute little mushrooms, that you get to go, oh, hi, you’re my new friend, And you can have them with, you know, a little bit of honey or chocolate or things like that if, you know, you don’t like the taste because it’s not necessarily a a taste you crave, for most

Chris Dorris [00:17:55]:
people. K.

Cate Ritter [00:17:58]:
And so it takes from there, it takes about, depending on the person, about 15 minutes to an hour for the effects to to kick in. I can kinda start to feel it working through my body. Usually there’s some temperature changes. I get really cold and then I might get hot, you know, things like that.

Chris Dorris [00:18:18]:
Or is there a stigma? Are you just sitting in a room? Are you laying

Cate Ritter [00:18:22]:
down? So you might have a choose an individual experience, you might choose couples, you might choose a group. Mine was a group experience. They play music, which is incredible. It’s kind of a release emotions. For me, as soon release emotions. For me, as soon as the medicine came into effect, for for me, I I like to think of psilocybin as it’s not just a a physical product that you ingest, it’s there’s also a spirit behind it. And, yeah. I know it sounds a little strange.

Chris Dorris [00:18:59]:
Oh, that’s cool.

Cate Ritter [00:19:01]:
To me, it’s kind of this collective group of teachers that are there to to guide you, like, cosmic wisdom in the sense of, like, come on. Let’s go on this journey together. We’re gonna take you on a ride. And so for me, they were kind of like, hey, you’re a conduit of joy for this world. And it was the coolest experience. I just became this kinda light source, this light being, and, I became the music, and it was like I was on this beautiful ride. And so much of my life, I I really struggled with, control and perfectionism and overachieving and things like that. Those were kind of really ingrained in me in childhood.

Cate Ritter [00:19:43]:
And so for me, the experience was so profound because I could feel and experience the difference between being one with this cosmic symphony and just that effortless flow versus me over here banging pots and pans trying to make things work. Right? Like, that’s been my life of, like, I’m doing this. I’m making it work. And then to feel the difference ever since that that journey, I’ve not it’s been a lot more apparent when I start banging pots and pans, and I’m like, wait a second. Do I wanna be doing this still? This doesn’t seem very effective.

Chris Dorris [00:20:23]:
So it’s not so this experience is not just for people who are having troubles?

Cate Ritter [00:20:27]:
No. It could be for, any reason. Some people like to just, sorry. Some people like to use it for creativity, you know, innovative solutions with work. For others, it could be helpful for the research shows it’s helpful for, depression, including treatment resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD or PTS, obsessive compulsive disorder OCD, substance abuse, sleep disorders, chronic pain, anorexia, and even cluster headaches. And there’s even more research coming out with different conditions as well that it has the potential to support.

Chris Dorris [00:21:10]:
Where do what do people Google? Like, where do you wanna where do you wanna look up if you wanna do some more research on your own on this?

Cate Ritter [00:21:16]:
Yeah. Well, I have a great resource page too on my website, prismbend.comprism. And also, yeah, there’s there’s great info on YouTube as well. Like, I love anything from, Robin Carhart Harris, Paul Stamets. Michael Pollan has a great, Netflix series as well as a book, How to Change Your Mind. Episode 2 is all focused on psilocybin.

Chris Dorris [00:21:43]:
On Netflix?

Cate Ritter [00:21:45]:
On Netflix. Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:21:46]:
How to change your mind?

Cate Ritter [00:21:47]:
Starting with that first. How to change your mind. Michael Pollan. Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:21:53]:
Okay. So where else you’re in Oregon.

Cate Ritter [00:21:59]:
Yes.

Chris Dorris [00:22:00]:
Where else in the world that oh, is that why oh, very clever. Prism Bend.

Cate Ritter [00:22:08]:
Bend.

Chris Dorris [00:22:09]:
Yeah. Where else in the world is, is psilocybin legalized? I

Cate Ritter [00:22:17]:
mean, you can do it in other countries. For example, you can go to Jamaica. There’s been a retreat there for, I don’t know, probably 10 years or more. Oh. Probably about 10,000 to do the retreat, so it’s quite pricey and you do have to fly. So it’s definitely more convenient, I would say, to to do it in Oregon, and I personally like having, some of the guidelines around it to make sure it’s a safe set and setting for people as well. For a lot of people to just going to a different country can be a bit challenging, especially if they’re, you know, not feeling well or have a lot of things going on in their lives. It can, kind of add to the intensity of the experience.

Cate Ritter [00:23:01]:
So I personally say if it’s if it’s easier Yeah. And, you know, available, why not, choose a beautiful place like Oregon?

Chris Dorris [00:23:10]:
Yeah. So is it yeah. Right. Is it is it legal in other states in the country? Can you Not yet. I’m actually Oregon is

Cate Ritter [00:23:21]:
the only state. Yeah. Colorado Colorado has different guidelines, but for Oregon as it’s legal under basically licensed facilitated use in a licensed service center.

Chris Dorris [00:23:36]:
Got it. And what does it cost?

Cate Ritter [00:23:38]:
Yeah. So the range is different. I work on a sliding scale as well. So, it could be anywhere from, gosh, like, 2,000 to 35100 from different websites I’ve seen. Yeah. So, you might pay a facilitator there, facilitation fees, and then pay the service center separate as well. It’s going to save some money if you do book typically, if you book through a facilitator versus a service center, it can save a little bit of money there as well. But each facilitator has kind of their own different ways that they operate.

Chris Dorris [00:24:17]:
So how long does it last?

Cate Ritter [00:24:19]:
So the journey itself, depending on the dose, can be between, 5 to even 7 or 8 hours. Woah.

Chris Dorris [00:24:28]:
Okay. Day trip. So, so someone with substance abuse, say, issues comes and and is it reasonable for them to expect to have a 7 or 8 hour experience in one day and be fine? Is that possible?

Cate Ritter [00:24:47]:
I mean, it’s possible. Absolutely. I’d say anything is possible. I would say though that it’s really important to emphasize that integration is a huge piece of this.

Chris Dorris [00:24:59]:
Same word.

Cate Ritter [00:25:00]:
Yeah. So psilocybin, to me, I look at it as a tool and a teacher. Right? It’s kind of like I get my my homework, my my soul work to do, my lessons here that I’m working on and learning. And so it’s great if you do a journey, but if you don’t continue that work and really kinda show your your teachers that you’re being a good student, it’s not gonna work for you. You still have to do the work. But How was that? Okay. Opens up these these possibilities and potential for you that could make it easier for you to make those changes, say, you know, before perhaps there was a lot of resistance and you just felt stuck, and now there’s a there’s more wiggle room. Right? And so, you have, I would say, a a a better chance of implementing some of those things that were really challenging beforehand.

Chris Dorris [00:25:52]:
So give us an example of, like, what some of, like, the work you’re describing that you, you know, you wanna keep doing in order for this to have lasting, profound positive effects and change for you.

Cate Ritter [00:26:02]:
Yeah. So, I mean, that would be, again, continuing to go inward to after the journey. So journaling, maybe you talk to a therapist, maybe you do, more yoga and sound baths, like, it depends on the person. So we really try to find what resonates with each person so that it could be sustainable long term. Because if I tell someone, hey. Yoga’s great. You know? That’s you know, you should do this. If they don’t like yoga, it’s not gonna stick.

Cate Ritter [00:26:29]:
Right?

Chris Dorris [00:26:30]:
Right. Right. Well, it’s really fascinating. So what do you have any stories? Like, can you tell us one, like, success story? Something maybe like a, like, a really wild, woah. I can’t believe that happened to example. For

Cate Ritter [00:26:45]:
me personally or with a client? Or

Chris Dorris [00:26:47]:
know, you are a success story. So how about a client? Well, yeah.

Cate Ritter [00:26:50]:
Yeah. I mean, just last week, I had a session, with a person and, he just felt really stuck before and, he had a lot of trauma, a lot of childhood trauma, things like that too and he said after the session, that was the first time he ever felt like he really let go and surrendered in his full life.

Chris Dorris [00:27:16]:
Wow.

Cate Ritter [00:27:17]:
To me, it was just so beautiful. He, just the release, like, even you could you could even see it in his face, like, all of his muscles. There’s, like, a little bit of a glow for people too after a journey. It can be very anti inflammatory as well, so I tend to feel like superhuman. So that can be nice. But you can see the ships, you can even hear the ships and the the tone of their voice, they’re subtle, but, yeah, it’s it can be quite profound. And the study showed that, well, I think over 70% of psilocybin studies show that participants describe their experience as one of the most meaningful and spiritually significant events in their life. You know, comparing it to even, like, the birth of a child.

Chris Dorris [00:28:04]:
Holy moly.

Cate Ritter [00:28:06]:
So it can be very profound. Now it’s not always easy. Right? It can be very challenging. But to me, it’s a lot easier than going about day to day life, trying to change things on maybe a conscious level, on more of a superficial level. That to me is a lot more frustrating. Right? Because if you don’t get those results, it’s, again, banging pots and pans.

Chris Dorris [00:28:30]:
So has it ever gotten sketchy? Has anybody ever really freaked out? Are you gonna bump them off the ledge?

Cate Ritter [00:28:37]:
That’s really where the prep comes in. I personally haven’t not from what. I haven’t had any, issues like that. Ayahuasca Chris very different. Of course, Ayahuasca, when you facilitate, you also drink, and so it makes it a lot more, challenging as well. Luckily, with Simon, in the Oregon model, we’re not taking psilocybin at the same time as the client. We’re really there to hold space.

Chris Dorris [00:28:59]:
Oh, I see. So Gotcha. When you said drink, you meant drinking the iowa the

Cate Ritter [00:29:03]:
Drinking the iowaasca. Yeah. So so don’t worry. Your facilitator is not tripping at the same time you are.

Chris Dorris [00:29:11]:
That’s that’s comforting. That is comforting. Yeah. There’s minor detail. Yeah. Thanks for articulating that. So what yeah. But what are you doing? Like, I mean, if it’s 8 hours, that’s who you’re working.

Cate Ritter [00:29:24]:
Yeah. Yeah. So it it takes a lot of You’ll

Chris Dorris [00:29:26]:
get a break.

Cate Ritter [00:29:28]:
I take, you know, little breaks to go to the bathroom or grab

Chris Dorris [00:29:31]:
a snack.

Cate Ritter [00:29:31]:
I basically just make sure my energy is good in them. So if my stomach starts growling, I leave the room. I might have a service center rep come in if needed, but usually the clients are are okay. And sometimes, like to have just a little little break to adjust Well,

Chris Dorris [00:29:48]:
so what’s this facility like? Is it just a room you’re sitting in a closed room?

Cate Ritter [00:29:52]:
Yeah. So all the service centers are are different. Some have just a single room. Some are in, like, a renovated old house. The one one of the ones that I’m operating out of right now, is actually an old law office. And so it has beautiful, like, wood throughout the building, and, the owner painted the the colors are just great, like all natural, like greens and, there’s plants everywhere, the most comfortable pillows and blankets and couches. So most of the journey rooms have a a couch you can lay on with just tons of pillows, soft blankets, they even have weighted blankets too. So if someone does have a little bit of anxiety, that can feel comforting to wrap them up with a a weighted blanket.

Cate Ritter [00:30:37]:
They even have oversized teddy bears. So if you wanna, like, cuddle or snuggle something, that can feel nice.

Chris Dorris [00:30:43]:
Has anybody ever requested to go, like, on a walk, like, outside?

Cate Ritter [00:30:48]:
Yes. You’re not allowed to leave the service center. Some service centers do have outdoor premises, but for most people, it’s, again, like not the same as recreational. You’re not gonna wanna go like party in the woods with music and walk around. Like it’s, it’s very inward. You know, most people when I’m helping them to the bathroom, it’s kinda like they got their sea legs. Right? So it can feel good to stand up. Some people like to stretch a little bit, but but for the most part, you’re reclined with usually an eye mask, and just listening to the music.

Cate Ritter [00:31:21]:
You might be wrapped up in your your blanket with all your pillows. Some people bring some memorabilia, things like that. There’s a, altar table in the room as well. So if, you know, crystals resonate with you or you wanna bring pictures of loved ones, I’ve even had people bring in, you know, a dog toy, things like that. They just help make them feel comforted in the space. So that’s that’s kind of a nice setup. I bring fresh flowers and special lighting, things like that. We have snacks and things provided at the service center too.

Cate Ritter [00:31:54]:
So as you, are ending your journey, it can feel really nice to get a little nourishment in your stomach because you’re usually fasting beforehand.

Chris Dorris [00:32:02]:
Oh, are you?

Cate Ritter [00:32:04]:
Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:32:04]:
For how long?

Cate Ritter [00:32:06]:
Usually at least 3 hours before, but, some people, because the service center opens at 9, they wanna get there at 9, so they might just kinda wake up and head over. Depends on the person. We kinda work through that during the

Chris Dorris [00:32:19]:
prep. So is it like, have you ever been silent? Like, have you had someone now do you do you call them clients or patients?

Cate Ritter [00:32:28]:
Call them clients. Yeah.

Chris Dorris [00:32:29]:
Right. Not a patient. I’m not

Cate Ritter [00:32:31]:
a doctor or anything like that.

Chris Dorris [00:32:33]:
Have you ever had a client, that just wanted silence?

Cate Ritter [00:32:39]:
No. In fact, I’ve, I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback on playlist. I curate a playlist. Sometimes I can spend 2 to 3 hours just on one person’s playlist. And I nerd out on this part because I’m also, trained in sound therapy. So I find it really nice. So for example, with my background in sound therapy, I can incorporate some of the elements I know there that can support the person. So if they perhaps had a lot of trauma in the past, usually bringing in some more water sounds and that kind of stuff can be very cleansing for the person, or, if they’re, you know, struggling with breast cancer, we bring in violin, that can be really helpful.

Cate Ritter [00:33:18]:
So it’s all backed by research, but I don’t I don’t nerd them out with the research part. Usually, people just say, I love the music. So I take that as ultimate compliment because I put phrasing it back.

Chris Dorris [00:33:31]:
That’s so I’m glad that that came up. I’m so glad that you shared that. I didn’t know. What are you not trained in, Kate? I mean, what seriously, what are you not trained in?

Cate Ritter [00:33:40]:
Well the playlist afterwards too, and that’s a a helpful part of integration because you ask, like, what are some things people might do? Well, some people might find a song that they really loved on the playlist. They might listen to that when they meditate or, just just to tap back into some of those experiences. I’ve even had people listen to their playlist while they’re journaling about their experience. It can kinda go, oh, yeah. This happened. Oh, yeah. That felt so good. And it really just helps everything sink in on a a deeper level.

Chris Dorris [00:34:10]:
Weren’t weren’t you recently in one of the world’s most famous, golf magazines?

Cate Ritter [00:34:17]:
Golf Digest. Yes.

Chris Dorris [00:34:20]:
Why? That’s amazing. Like, how bad happened?

Cate Ritter [00:34:22]:
They wrote an article about how basically more athletes, particularly, golfers, but, you know, even Aaron Rodgers are exploring, psychedelics, particularly psilocybin and even Ayahuasca to improve their performance, mentally, physically, even some of those emotions too that are those limitations to really feeling better, and more confident in their, endeavors. Wow.

Chris Dorris [00:34:51]:
Golf Digest. That’s kinda cool.

Cate Ritter [00:34:53]:
Yeah. It’s really cool.

Chris Dorris [00:34:54]:
I wouldn’t have predicted that.

Cate Ritter [00:34:56]:
Yeah. Well and I’m I’m, in in touch with Robin Carhart Dorris, who’s one of the top, neuroscientists and researchers really in this psychedelic renaissance as we call it. And so we’re also putting together some funding to do some research on microdosing for golfers. So I’m really excited about that, and, we’ll, of course, include my partner, Jeff, with that too.

Chris Dorris [00:35:22]:
Yeah. Right. Hold on. Microdosing for golfers. Alright. So you mentioned it before. Let’s mention it again. Prismbend.com?

Cate Ritter [00:35:30]:
Prismbend.com. Is that

Chris Dorris [00:35:32]:
the best way for people to reach you and and learn more?

Cate Ritter [00:35:35]:
Yeah. I’d say just submit the info through my contact form, and, there’s options too for social equity plans. So if someone can’t afford services, there’s some funding right now through a psilocybin access fund. So they have the potential to get some of their sessions covered. Anything pretty much except for the psilocybin product, potentially some of the service center fees as well, but it’s a it’s a great help for people if they are in financial need.

Chris Dorris [00:36:07]:
So just to to clarify, the the, like, the investment, is it typical that people come once and then then Yeah. So

Cate Ritter [00:36:17]:
a lot of my clients are most of my clients, I would say, are coming from elsewhere in the world. And so a lot of them ask about doing 2 sessions in a week. Mhmm. Especially if they’ve never had a psychedelic experience before.

Chris Dorris [00:36:30]:
K.

Cate Ritter [00:36:31]:
It can be nice to Ben’s the most beautiful place. I I just love it. A lot of people wanna move here after they visit, so just be warned.

Chris Dorris [00:36:41]:
That’s good. It’s a

Cate Ritter [00:36:41]:
great place to to spend a a week for a vacation, especially a a self care wellness vacation. And so some people are requesting now, hey. Can I do, 2 journeys in a week? And we might start out at more of a a low dose, just to get them comfortable of being in an altered state. And then, perhaps, the the next journey will be more of a a moderate or or regular dose.

Chris Dorris [00:37:07]:
Gotcha. Awesome. Prismbend.com. Kate, thank you for sharing all of your wisdom and experience with the tough talks tribe. I really appreciate it.

Cate Ritter [00:37:19]:
Thank you so much for having me.

Chris Dorris [00:37:21]:
Of course. Oops. No. No. I don’t wanna I don’t wanna end that. I wanna stop recording. Fascinating stuff. So, yeah, if you’ve got any interest, look her up.

Chris Dorris [00:37:38]:
Prismbenddot com. I will say this about Kaye. She is, when she when she invests herself into something, she is nothing short of all in. So, I mean, she when she commits to something, she becomes an expert, and and, and she is an expert of many things. So, thanks for tuning in as always. And as I said as I said in the introduction, you know, the reason that I was interested, in having Kate is because so interested in having her now is because of all the unnecessary suffering that we create for ourselves. Right? You know? And and this this this, like, medicine. I don’t know if she calls it medicine, but the substance.

Chris Dorris [00:38:23]:
You know? Psilocybin. I have not had a psilocybin journey yet yet. And everyone that I have spoken to who has has said phenomenal things about the experience. I’m sure that’s not always true, but I haven’t heard anyone say that they had a bad experience. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s like she said, it’s like life altering. So prismben.com. Alright.

Chris Dorris [00:38:54]:
Until next time. Create miracles.