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Unlock Deep Healing with Plant Medicine & Breathwork: A Transformational Journey

Oct 04, 2024
 

What if I told you that the key to unlocking your deepest healing and stepping into your highest potential is already inside you?

In my latest podcast episode of Raw & Radiant, [tune in here] I sat down with my soul sister, Ashley D’Adam, to discuss how plant medicine and breathwork are not just tools—they’re transformational practices that can help you break free from toxic patterns, release trauma, and reclaim the powerful being you were always meant to be.

>> Whether you’ve felt stuck in old stories or you’re ready to elevate your healing journey to the next level, this episode will give you the insight and inspiration you need to step into your true power.

What is Plant Medicine & How Can It Help You? 

For years, people have been using plant medicine, especially psilocybin, in sacred ceremonies to access deeper levels of healing. But what if I told you that this practice goes beyond ancient rituals—it’s a modern-day key to unlocking emotional release, clarity, and freedom?

🍄 In this episode, Ashley and I share how psilocybin opened the door to our own healing, helping us face and release deeply stored trauma. Plant medicine doesn’t just treat symptoms—it goes right to the root, uncovering subconscious patterns that have held us back for far too long.

→ For me, microdosing psilocybin in combination with breathwork has been life-changing, allowing me to see past stories in a new light and ultimately release them.

What’s been holding you back from your full potential? 

Breathwork: The Secret to Releasing Suppressed Emotions 

If plant medicine opens the door, breathwork takes you through it. Using a three-part conscious connected breathing pattern, breathwork helps you access emotions you’ve been holding onto—often without even realizing it. These emotions sit in your body, blocking your energy, and keeping you stuck in old patterns.

What makes breathwork so powerful?

When paired with plant medicine, it allows you to consciously expand and release in a safe, supportive way. In this episode, Ashley and I discuss how these practices have given us the tools to let go of toxic relationships and step into our highest selves. If you’re ready to stop carrying the weight of the past, breathwork and plant medicine could be the combination you’ve been looking for.

➡️ The Power of Intention and Integration: Don’t Skip This Step 

Before you dive into any healing modality, whether it’s plant medicine or breathwork, the most important step is setting an intention. What do you want to release? What new version of yourself do you want to step into? Without intention, the process can feel aimless, but with it, every moment becomes purposeful and profound.

💥 And here’s something that people often forget: integration. The work doesn’t stop when the journey ends—it’s only just beginning.

Ashley and I talk about how crucial it is to create space after a healing journey. Whether it’s sitting in silence, journaling, or spending time in nature, integration allows the healing to settle and unfold in your everyday life.

Have you ever rushed back into the noise of life after a breakthrough? That’s where most people go wrong. Take the time to sit with your experience, and watch how much more powerful the transformation becomes.

🌵 🏜️

Join Us in Sedona: A Retreat for Deep Healing and Transformation 

If this resonates with you, I want to personally invite you to join us for our Sedona Retreat from November 1st-5th, 2024. Imagine being held in the magic of Sedona’s energetic vortex, experiencing sacred plant medicine ceremonies, and going deep into breathwork journeys designed to unlock the deepest parts of your being.

This is your chance to break free from the patterns that have held you back and step into your most radiant self. We still have a few spots left, and I would love for you to join us. This is more than a retreat—it’s a soul recalibration, a chance to completely rewrite your story.

Key Takeaways from the Episode: 

 1. Plant Medicine as a Catalyst: Psilocybin offers a way to release deeply embedded trauma and step into emotional freedom.

 2. Breathwork for Conscious Expansion: Discover how the power of breath can help you process and release suppressed emotions, moving you into your highest potential.

 3. Intention & Integration: Transformation requires clear intention and a sacred pause for integration—don’t rush your healing!

 4. Sedona Retreat: A safe, sacred space to explore these modalities in an all-inclusive retreat designed for deep emotional and spiritual healing.

Are You Ready to Unlock Your Deepest Healing? 

The healing journey is personal, and it requires bravery. But if you’re reading this, you’re ready. You’re ready to step out of the shadows of old stories and into a brighter, more empowered version of yourself.

If you want to go deeper, I invite you to listen to this episode of Raw & Radiant, where Ashley and I guide you through the practices that have helped us reclaim our power. [Listen to the full episode here].

And if you feel called to join us in Sedona, we are here to hold space for your transformation. Don’t miss out on this life-changing retreat. [Click here] to learn more and reserve your spot today.

Final Thoughts: 

Healing isn’t a one-time event—it’s a journey. And the tools are right at your fingertips. Whether through plant medicine, breathwork, or a combination of both, these sacred practices offer you the chance to not only heal but to completely transform. You’ve already come so far on your journey. Now it’s time to take the next step.

[Listen to the episode here], feel the resonance, and if you’re ready, join us for a retreat that will change your life.

 

 

➡️ Listen to the full episode of Raw & Radiant here [tap here]. 

➡️ Join us for a transformational journey in Sedona—reserve your spot now [Grab the Details Here]. 

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Victoria Starr:
Welcome back to another episode of Raw and Radiant. I am so excited that you are here. We just recorded part one with my dear friend, my soul sister, my mystic sister, Ashley D. Adam. We recorded part one of Mind Expansion. This is going to be Mind Expansion part two. We just could have kept going on and on. We have so many juicy thoughts and ideas and wisdom that flows through us that I didn't want to make last episode, part one very long or longer than it was. So here we are, part two. And what we want to get into on this episode of Mind Expansion is talking about plant medicine, talking about sacred earth ceremonies, something that we are bringing into our retreat in Sedona, November 1st through November 5th. Um, but I know that Ashley here has had her own journey of, um, psychedelics and I have also, and it's just something that we want to drop into the space because there is so much beauty in plant medicine that I feel like it doesn't get touched on a lot. I feel like it's so secretive and hidden that it is something that I know we're both bringing into our community. I have, um. I have an offer that's going to be coming out that is going to be incorporating plant medicine, microdosing, and breath work with a whole lot more into it. So before I get into that, I just want to introduce Ashley D. Adam, and we're here on part two of Mind Expansion.

Ashley D'Adam: Hello, thank you for having me again.

Victoria Starr: Again, thank you for being here. This is now the third time that we have recorded. And don't drop into this space like as long as you did, but what is your by trade you went to school for?

Ashley D'Adam: Yes, I went to school for a doctorate in naturopathic medicine that then shapeshifted into a career in homeopathy that then shapeshifted into becoming a breathwork facilitator. And now I'm incorporating in more of like intuitive spiritual teachings, I guess, is what we're generally labeling it as.

Victoria Starr: I love that. I love that. So if you have any questions on what a homeopathist does or how they facilitate their whole realm, see the prior episode, part one of mind expansion, where she gets into it. And then also two years ago, we recorded another episode and I'll link these into the show notes. We recorded another episode of what her specialty is and how she helps moms, um, with kids on, on the spectrum, um, with homeopathy, but we're not getting into that today. We're getting more into, like I said, the, um, sacred plant medicine and, um, I actually want to ask you, like, I already know your experience, so it's really going to be interesting for me to take myself out of your journey, out of your story and be able to witness and hold you in this space. But give the listeners a little bit of how you have gone through your ceremony. Like, what was your experience? What kind of psychedelic did you use? Which one? There's plenty. Which one feels which one feel the lining for this episode?

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, my favorite are mushrooms like psilocybin just works really beautifully with my body and with my soul. And that was the first one that I explored that then opened the door up to write other sacred plant medicines. But that's the one I keep going back to. That's the one that keeps whispering my name, my soul. And it's only been I've only had really beautiful and expansive experiences. I know some people have had what we know is like a bad trip. I can't relate to that. So I can share a little bit. Do you want me to share with like how I came across it, how I called it in, my experience? Where do you want to go?

Victoria Starr: Yeah, that'd be really lovely. But first of all, before you do that, like there's lots of different plant medicines out there. We could talk about ayahuasca, which I know neither one of us have done. And I don't truly feel called to it anymore in my life. When I lived in Costa Rica, it was something that was readily, easily able to go to a ceremony. And it did speak to me at that time. But I think what had happened for me then is I was given a whole different choice of how to live my life. So for now, ayahuasca does not speak to me, but for me it is. My favorite right now is microdosing on psilocybin, but I also have had some beautiful other experiences and deeper Deeper, different levels, and we'll go into that in a little bit, but Ashley, let's talk about your experience with your psilocybin journey.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, so the first, trying to think how I want to start this off. Plant medicine was never something that I was offered or exposed to. I really didn't know that it existed until it was offered to me. And then I'm like, oh, well, what's this? And I shouldn't say that, because in naturopathic medical school, people talked about it. And I'm sure people explored. But it was never like, oh, yeah, I want to do that. I want to explore that. It didn't really call to me, I guess. And if everything is energy, like I really think plant medicines can be like a purely intuitive decision. If you feel called to explore something, it's because the energy of your body is like asking for it or growth evolution and expansion rate. And just saying that is purely my opinion. And that's purely just based off my experience, not medical advice for anyone. Um, but I want to be more vulnerable with that because I think a lot of people allow their. Well, their mind, their ego fear to like talk them out of really higher consciousness experiences because it's what it's what our conscious mind doesn't know or understand. So therefore, we have to be fearful of it and like not explore it. Um, going back a little bit, I've always just kind of questioned this reality, like ever since I was a kid, like, what is it? Why is the sky blue? Right. Why are the clouds white? Why is it up above us and not below us? Right. Just like starting. Why, why, why, why, why? I've always been very curious. I'm just like how things work. And at this point in my life where I decided to explore mushrooms, I was with someone we'll just call him Jay. Um, cause it's going to be annoying to be like that guy, that guy, that guy. And Jay and I's relationship or entanglement goes way beyond this reality. We're very, very connected on like a soul spiritual level. And I was with him in a romantic relationship, and it just was not serving me. And I continued to allow myself to be in the space with him for way past our expiration date. And it just wasn't aligning for either one of us. It wasn't just one-sided. I was not good for him. He was not good for me. And we just kind of kept coming back to each other because there was that soul familiarity and that right. That feels good. That feels safe. But just because it feels good and feels safe like that doesn't mean that that that that has to happen. Because ultimately, if you look at it like it was very toxic for both of us.

Victoria Starr: So which isn't safe? Yeah.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, which actually isn't safe, but because toxicity was a part of my childhood too, my brain registered that as, this is love, this is safe, this is great, but it actually wasn't. But anyways, we were separated at one point and he's like, hey, I have these, do you want to do them? And logically, I should have been like, fuck, No, like this is not a good decision. Not a good idea, especially if you understood our full history to the complexity that it is. You'd be like, why did you do that? But there is just this innate knowing in me, like this soul. My soul is like speaking to me. That's the best way I know how to put it into words that we can understand and comprehend. And it was like, yeah, of course, do this. This is exactly what you're needing at this exact time. So that's what I did. And I explored them with him. And when I did them, I put the preface out like, you know, I just want to have my experience, like no touching, like just want to have my experience. And from my memory, that was not respected in the way that I wanted it to be. So what happened was I went into this full expression of anger. And I had suppressed a lot of my anger from that relationship, like anger towards him and anger towards myself for like allowing myself to stay in that relationship as long as I did, allowing myself to not be a priority, not be loved the way that I wanted to. And Reflecting on it now, that anger was my anger because he made me aware from the beginning, like, I'm not going to commit to you, right? This is just essentially friends with benefits, like, I'm not going to commit. And I kept telling myself something else, like, seeing the potential that actually wasn't there, which, right, we all do at some point, I think. Yeah. So when I started experiencing this anger, I was initially angry at him, but as it kept flowing through, I'm like, oh, I'm just angry at myself. for allowing myself to be in this situation. So long story short, I expressed all this anger, put myself in a room, I was screaming, crying, breaking shit. I was just fully inhibited in my expression of anger, which up until that point, I don't know that I've ever allowed myself to experience. And the entire time that I was experiencing that, I was never scared or like, what's happening? Something's taking over my body. I was still really present, really in control of the situation. And I want to bring that up because I think a lot of people, specifically, I guess it would be your generation, too, because I was going to say my mom's generation, they think that it's a substance, it's a drug, it takes over your body, you're not in control. That could be the case for some people, but I've never experienced that. Even if I've done higher dosages of it, I've never felt out of control, like something's coming over my body. But anyways, so I was having that experience. And essentially, while I was having that experience, I was purging up this dark energy from my body. I wasn't actually vomiting or purging anything in the 3D reality, but I guess plugged into the spiritual realm that I allowed myself to inhabit. I just watched this dark black cloud come out of my body. And so that was happening. And at that point he like came into the room and he just like grabbed me and held me because I was like kind of on all fours like dry heaving, right? So he's like, are you okay? Are you okay? And I was like, yeah. And I started to like calm down and he just held me. And I don't remember how the conversation went, but he said something like, did you just like let go of me? Like, are you done with me? Are you done with this relationship? It was something like that. And I was like, yeah, I am. I literally just purged this dark energy from my body and backtrack. On paper, J was not good for me, but it was almost like a drug that I had to keep going back to. I couldn't get enough of. I was like, this is not a good idea. I should not be going over to your house. I should not be entertaining you. I should not be giving you any of my time or energy. But it was like I couldn't say no. It just felt like such an addiction. And so for me, when I purged that dark energy, I was like, I broke the addiction. Like I broke the cycle that him and I have continuously been in like lifetime after lifetime after lifetime of continuously coming back to each other, but not being in the best partnership with one another, like just not in the highest alignment for either one of our souls. That's how I interpreted that, right? I purged it out. And then he asked like, did you just released me and I was like, yeah, I did. And he was like, I feel that. I felt that. So that's why, for me, mushrooms are so beautiful for self-growth and expansion, but also to do with someone that you really care about, like a partner or a friend. And so what that experience taught me was that it just reaffirmed him and I are so connected that he could feel me disconnecting from his energy. Like I just think that that's so powerful. And at least for me, the thing with mushrooms is it doesn't allow you to experience something that's not already within you. Other people might disagree, right? You get in these hallucinogenic states, but anything I've experienced, like I've already felt existed within me. I almost just like needed my soul's permission to explore it. If that makes sense. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. No. Yeah. But these experiences into words.

Victoria Starr: I think what's important to recognize too for the listeners is that there's different levels of going on a journey. So microdosing is a very low level. It's something that I've been doing for two years with psilocybin and it has allowed me to like really expand into my breathwork sessions to fully open up to what my past was holding me back. And the stories that were created within my mind from being in narc manipulation, narcissistic manipulation, that during the two years of being in microdosing, it has been able to really allow me to see what the stories were on a different level. And then having, um, you can have a mid dose of psilocybin, which is something that you held me in a space when I was releasing a relationship. And that was. It was a beautiful and uncomfortable experience. And what Ashley dropped into the space is that it is really, really important to be in a space holding group that you feel safe doing this with. And of course, that was Ashley for me, and to be able to release the layers of the relationship. And it wasn't really that relationship that I was releasing layers, it was layers of relationships of past that I was releasing. I hope that makes sense because that relationship just opened my eyes and my heart to what I was still holding and what I was still carrying. And so that mid-dose journey was able to give me that opportunity to release some more layers from the past, maybe even from past lifetimes, I don't know. And then having a bigger dose journey like what you did and like that, I really want to preface, going into it, have the intention of whatever journey you're doing, whether it's a micro dose, a mid dose, or a hero's dose, have the intention of what you're desiring and know that it is, for psilocybin, it's an accentuator. So what you're feeling, it's going to accentuate it. So if you're feeling heaviness, be prepared. Like it is opening you up. It is mama earth holding you in the sacred, safe space to open up and to release. So that you can step up into the next level so that your soul can emerge as a brighter full body goosebumps right now as a brighter being and the brighter light that you are. So that's what I really want to make sure that everyone listening to this podcast and that you fully take the time post any. journey, any ceremony that you integrate is so, so incredibly important. Even with breathwork, like I'm really getting specific with my clients to make sure that you integrate what you just experienced. It may not be comfortable, but it's simply just sitting with the new you, the new evolved you, the new expansive you, so that you can step fully into your soul's alignment.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, and I think that part of you is always existed, but the medicine just allows it to be revealed. And I'm glad you share that because I should have said before I went into that whole experience, like I set the intention, like he gave me the medicine and I just held it in my hand. And I set the intention of, I think I said something like mother earth, like give me the strength to be done with this man. Like, yes, we love each other, but like, it's not the love I'm desiring to receive in this life. And like, I just, I need to be done. Like, I feel like I don't have the strength to like disconnect and leave him. So essentially what happened, we had that experience. And I mean, he felt it and I said it, I was like, dude, we're done. Like we're done playing this game. Cause what would happen is we would, you know, break up even though we weren't committed and we would just come right back to each other. And it was breakups and reuniting like five, six, seven times. Like I lost count. Right. And it was just ridiculous. And so I'm like, I need to be done. Like we need to be done. And it was such a mutual understanding and It was such a beautiful experience to me. I always get emotional when I share it because to allow yourself to, I guess, love and respect someone like that so deeply, to allow yourself to have that vulnerable experience with them and know that, hey, we're just not good for each other. I can still love you, but we can't play the roles that we've been playing in each other's lives. We have to go our separate ways. Our time is up. We've hit our expiration date. And we didn't leave on bad terms. It was nothing but a mutual agreeance that I'm not good for you. You're not good for me. And I just see so many women, specifically my mom, stay in relationships that just they drag you down. They weigh you down. They're not in your highest alignment. And there's no judgment when I say that. just bringing in the awareness that if you want something different, you have to take different action. And I knew that what I was doing was not allowing me to reclaim my power to make the decision to leave, I guess. So that's where the medicine, I set the intention and she fucking delivered.

Victoria Starr: Yeah, she did. Yeah, she did. Yeah. So it's super important. Like I said, with any dosing of plant medicine that you set the intention and that you're in a safe place when you're doing it and that you allow yourself time for integration afterward because that's, I mean, I, I've seen people come out of a breathwork session and just go right to their phone. And like, they've just literally slate wiped everything that they just did. And that's the same way with plant medicine. You can get right back on the computer, back on the phone. You can get back to eating poorly. You can get back to the toxic relationships and everything is just simply wiped back the way it was.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah. I think a lot of us do want that quick hit and quick fix. So it's not like, and I want to really emphasize this, for me, it's not like the mushrooms did that. That was my choice to leave. It just reminded me of how worthy I am and why am I settling for less than what I demand that I want in a relationship. Like, why would I settle? Like, it was just reminding me. I mean, I know why, right? Not having a present father, right? We go down that whole rabbit hole. But it just reminded me, like, you are an infinite, powerful, multidimensional being. What are you doing being in a relationship where a man doesn't respect you and doesn't worship me the way I want to be? Like, why am I entertaining this? Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. And it just reminded me that I can have whatever I want in a relationship. And he just wasn't it. Great guy. Love him to pieces. We're very connected beyond this reality. But like, it's just it's not going to work. It's not what I wanted.

Victoria Starr: Yeah. And that's where the the medicine, the plant Mama Earth comes in and just holds you in the space of what you need to see of what you need to see in that time. And like I said, sometimes it's what you just explained, like it's not always good. It's not always what you, you know, for me, it really has opened me up to, which it's a learning lesson. It's a learning lesson that, um, that you get to choose. Mm-hmm. Powers in your choice. Yeah. Yeah. So you get to choose. So, and, and I really want to caveat that too, is that, I don't see anything wrong in my opinion with. with using plant medicine as a healing modality as a healing tool because what she does is she takes the subconscious mind out of the picture and allows the conscious mind to come in and opens your heart opens your heart to love opens your heart to this this different vibration this different energy and so let's talk about um i know that you have done other journeys too i just did a longer journey of psilocybin it's not necessarily a hero's journey but it's something that i'm like just experimenting with. And this last journey for me just really opened me up to I went through the birth canal. I went through the birth canal again, and that was really interesting. At first, my daughter went through the birth canal inside of me, and then it immediately transitioned into me going into the birth canal of my mother. And what I recognize is that I had forgotten this, is that I went into an incubator as an infant, as a newborn, and I was never held. I wasn't nurtured. I didn't feel physical touch. So for me now, there's only a few, few, few, few safe people, especially men that can hold me and I feel safe. And I know that has to do with the stories that were happening and the narcissistic manipulation, but also it's that little being that I was able to witness and go back while I was having this experience with Mama Earth, that I could go back and I could hold her, that I could touch her and that I could see why she feels the way she does now. And so it's just an opportunity to release a veil, to release a layer, to have some more awareness for how you navigate life. Right?

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah.

Victoria Starr: Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. Thank you. Um, so let's, um, do you want to share any other of your other journeys with psilocybin?

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah. Do you care if I share a little bit of my perspective from the journey we did? Absolutely.

Victoria Starr: Yeah. Yeah. So a little more, yeah, a little more context. This is when Ashley, the second time she came out to Santa Cruz, I had, um, been in a partnership for seven months with a lovely man. I still love him. I think he, I think he's just this beautiful, deep, emotional being that is working on his own healing. And when she came out to Santa Cruz, I had recently gone through the breakup and That was very hard because it brought up a whole lot of stuff from being in the narc manipulation. And she's like, let's just go to the Redwoods. Let's get an Airbnb. And lovely enough, this Airbnb had like a trampoline swing, which was so fun. And it also had a hot, a hot, cold plunge. And we just sat in the woods. And, um, so share your perspective now that I've given the context of where we were.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, yeah, that came up for me because you were talking about your, I guess, like hesitancy, right, with like touch and feeling safe around people. So what I remember, right, and this is where. Any experience where I've brought in mushrooms with like people in my life, I just feel so deeply connected to them and I just feel like our relationships go, they're so profound and they go so much deeper than friends in my life that I haven't explored mushrooms with. And I'm sure they're right. There's reasons behind that. But what I wanted to just bring forth and shed light on is while you were experiencing those emotions, like there was something telling me just like hold her, just hold her, let her be held, let her experience what it feels like to be held by like a safe person. So I remember just holding you like in the hot tub and it was easy right because the water is dispensing you but I just remember holding you like a baby and just like just shining like nothing but like light and safety right and I know our souls are connected but like that just felt so innate to me to do like for you And I feel like that's kind of what your soul is asking for, what was being needed at that point. So I just want to share that to illustrate the connectedness that mushrooms can allow you to have with people. And I think innately, humans are very connected, and we want to live in societies and communes and be really interconnected and be really extroverted with one another. But because we live in the society that we do, it completely displaces us from that. Like just go in your house, stay in, be introverted, don't talk to anyone, because it's such a stimulating environment to be in in this reality. So just allowing yourself the time and space to be in the woods and do a little micro with your friends, it's going to be transformative. It's going to be great. There's nothing, in my opinion, negative that can come from it. But once again, it's your headspace and where you're at. And just emphasizing that safety piece, because I took a little bit less than you. So I don't know if you felt that, but I felt like I was a really safe space to just hold you through the experience.

Victoria Starr: Absolutely. Like, absolutely. Like looking back at the. experience, like there were definitely like the waves, the waves of the tears, the waves of the joy, the waves that kept coming in and out and like being reassured that it's okay. It's okay to feel this because as a society, like we don't want to feel anything, anything that's hard, anything that's heavy, anything that but we could shame ourselves or we could guilt ourselves and, and, and to have somebody that sees you authentically as the soul that you are and not your past versions of you and not judge you. And that's where the beautiful journey of evolving and the expansion happens.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah. Yeah. I think, um, I've said this before, I think bringing a little bit of mushrooms into any relationship, like not even romantic, like completely just friends or even just like platonic. Right. Like you and I have such a deep level that I can't always put into words, but that like completely transcends people that I've been friends with. Right. For 10, 11, 12 years. Right. And we've known each other for just a short amount of time. But I think I think it's because we've allowed ourselves to just view each other from the lens of purely the soul, right? Like the past doesn't exist, right? Like I know you, I know your personal story. And I don't know, that just doesn't exist when we hang out. I don't even see your age when we hang out. Which I'm grateful for. I know. That part really blows my mind. It's just pure soul-to-soul connectedness. And when you allow yourself to be in the space of plant medicine, it just almost reinforces that. Like that it's safe just to have a deep connection with someone knowing that they're not gonna leave you, they're not gonna ghost you, like they're not gonna hurt you. I'm sure, I mean, we've had conversations like that may come up here and there, but I think we both know like at the core of our being, not like you got me for life now, sister. Like I'm not going anywhere.

Victoria Starr: For this lifetime and the next lifetime and the next lifetime. And the next and the next and the next. And the next, yeah. Yeah, so that's such a beautiful experience for you to share about the dark energy coming out and to be able to see the different sides of different experiences of sitting with the plant medicine and knowing that there's no right or wrong, there is no shame, there is no guilt. It just gets to be. And what the psilocybin does is actually, like I said, helps to get that subconscious programming mind of all the thoughts, all the stories, all the swirls out of the way. It's kind of like opening up a door into your conscious awareness.

Ashley D'Adam: For me, it's just like, it's pure energy and pure love anytime I've explored them, right? Like my experiences with you, The person I just shared the story with and like even my current partner, we've done journeys here and there. Nothing, nothing too large, but it's nothing but like pure love and connectedness. Like the first time I explored it with him, we were out in nature and I just got. this wild download of, like, the rock we were on. Like, I saw him, like, on one knee, like, proposing to me and just, like, telling me how much he adores me. And that has not happened yet, but… Yet. But in the future, right, if that does, like, I was able to access that, and it just… It allowed me to see him through, once again, a lens of no judgment and just pure love. Because, I mean, you met us, you see how different we are.

Victoria Starr: Vastly different.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, our energies are so different. I wouldn't say we're similar. I mean, on the things that matter, we are. But just the way we navigate life is very, very, very different. He's one spectrum and I'm the other spectrum. So I think a lot of people would question, like, how are they together? Right. Like, how do they make this work? I questioned it. And I'm sure I'm sure he has as well.

Victoria Starr: I questioned it when I was there. And then I was like, oh, wait, they communicate like that thing. They communicate.

Ashley D'Adam: Yeah, well, that's what I was going to bring in, right? Getting out of that subconscious mind. It allowed me and gifted me, revealed to me that different doesn't have to mean bad, right? Like different doesn't mean you don't have to be together. I think we're so conditioned in this reality to find your soulmate. And I'm guilty of that. I love love. We're so conditioned to find your other half or your better half or you complete me. And my relationship now with my partner is the most conscious, aware relationship I've been in. And what I mean by that is I've tried as hard as I can to disconnect to the limiting beliefs that exist about what a relationship should look like, how it should feel, how you should be feeling when you're with that person, the butterflies, the sparks fly. None of that shit has ever happened for me in this relationship with him, but yet I've been with him for six years. And yes, we have disagreements and arguments, but we communicate. Whereas I've been with people in the past where it's like, oh, yeah, love it. Fucking first sight like swept me off my feet, had me feeling all the emotions, all the tingles, all the feelings. And it's like that didn't last.

Victoria Starr: Yeah.

Ashley D'Adam: It's not realistic. And I'm not saying that everyone has to live their life like this or use this to navigate how to choose a partner. But we've been so conditioned to be like, this is what a relationship should look like. And when it doesn't meet those checkmarks that aren't even your checkmarks, you didn't even decide that these are your deciding factors on what you want. Someone else, something else, some other society, decided that for you. Mm hmm. When you're selecting a partner based off of these false, unrealistic expectations that are possibly never going to be met because they're unrealistic. So I don't know where I was going on that tangent.

Victoria Starr: You you and your current partner, you experienced a journey together.

Ashley D'Adam: Oh, yes, yes, yes. But yeah, he he was he's the most conscious like partner I've had where he continuously just for lack of a better term, he calls me out on my shit. I think that's a big reason of why we're able to be together and why I'm able to receive what he's telling me. Because the medicine of Mother Earth, right, mushrooms, allow me to almost get out of my wounded little girl mind or get out of my masculine mind or get out of the ego and just receive what he's telling me. which is pure love and intention, because that's all it is. He sees that I've struggled or suffered with how I show up in this reality. So he'll hold up the mirror and be like, is this actually you? Are you actually angry that I did this thing? Or is this a reflection of your wounded inner girl, like little girl? Because your dad didn't show up, now you're expecting me to show up this way. And is that actually fair? I'm just using these as examples.

Victoria Starr: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ashley D'Adam: And I don't think a lot of people would receive that really well. They would receive it as a judgment or however we want to label it. But since exploring mushrooms, that's just allowed me to almost get out of my own way. Once again, get out of the limbing beliefs. detach from the thoughts that aren't even mine and just decide like, how does my soul actually feel in this partnership, in this relationship, right? Cause we've broken up two times and every single time we've broken up, like, oh my God, sobbing. And like he was too, hopefully he doesn't mind that I shared that, but he, yeah. And so like we both reflected and it's like, our souls did not want to be apart.

Victoria Starr: Yeah.

Ashley D'Adam: We really didn't. And so you can just get wrapped up in life. You can get wrapped up in people's thoughts of your relationship or your own judgments about the relationship, but just connecting back to your soul. What does your soul want to be in a relationship with without the limitations of society or what society tells you? Just getting back to your core and who it wants to be with and how it wants to be with them. Maybe it's no one, and that's okay too. I don't know, I see mushrooms as such a tool to expand your mind, which then expands your expression of how you show up in this reality. Like for me, it's really allowed me to tap into my highest potential. Like I say, my, my evolved self or my most expanded self, right. That's always been there, but I just allow it to lead. Whereas before I would let my, um, my small shriveled up traumatized inner child lead. And I don't, that didn't get me anywhere. I don't know that it gets anyone anywhere.

Victoria Starr: No, no. I love that you brought that in and I love that you brought the the awareness of being able to see your inner child and how she, for a lot of us, runs the show. And so being able to sit with the medicine and seeing your higher self. And also, like I want to interweave into, for me, I have been microdosing with breathwork and it has taken my breathwork journey. So Ashley and I both facilitate the three-part conscious connected breathing pattern. I know that our experiences when we hold space for each other, they're about 50, five, zero, 50 minutes. And when you microdose and you breathe in that capacity, it's not a fast capacity. It's a very slow. It's very intentional. It's very loving. It's very supportive. And it actually has given me more awareness of who I am and to be able to like really live more authentically. And so we, and I want to speak for you, but I know for me bringing this modality into our retreat in Sedona is very important that we bring it in for the women that are signing up for the retreat too, because you don't have to do the microdosing at the retreat. It is not mandatory. It's optional, but it is also another way to allow us, Ashley and I, to hold you in this safe, sacred space. of evolving of expanding your mind and getting out of your own way.

Ashley D'Adam: That's what I was just going to say, I think mushroom specifically, it can be a really lovely, almost like bridge to taking you out of your own mind, like getting you out of your own way without getting into the science. But I think this is so fucking cool, the science of it. So right. The three part breath that we facilitate, it allows you to release your own psychotropic neurochemical DMT, which allows you to have experiences of higher realms of reality, higher consciousness, right? And we've been so conditioned to be like, you can't do that. That's only secreted when you're born and when you die, right? That's completely false. Like we have a whole system integrated into our physical body that allows you to secrete it essentially whenever you want, right? By doing the three-part breath. And I know there's other techniques and other breath practices, but you actually secrete it when you have an orgasm too. There you go. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. So we, we have ways to like secrete this, but we're told that we can't. Um, and that's where, right. If, um, psychedelics can be really beneficial because that is what happens, right? You secrete DMT, but I've had enough journeys and enough experiences, at least at this point, then this point in time for me, I'm like, oh, I can just secrete it on my own. Right. So I've, I've you utilize mother earth's medicine as a tool. Right to get out of my own head to get out of my own way and allow myself to just experience what i'm gonna experience without the thoughts limiting believes yada yada yada right and so now i'm at a point where. that practice is easier for me. It's not as difficult. So I'm not always grabbing a microdose, and I'm not grabbing the psychedelics. And it's purely choice, not saying that's right or wrong, good or bad, no judgment. But I'm just at a point where I've realized, oh, I can do this without something external. But that's where it's been so transformational and pivotal for me and my growth and expansion to have that tool to allow me to get past my limiting mind, essentially.

Victoria Starr: Yeah. Yeah. So powerful. Oh, so many juicy things. I want to wrap this episode up because I don't want to go into any of the other journeys unless you want to experience or drop in any of your other psilocybin experiences that may be potent and powerful.

Ashley D'Adam: No, they've all been really potent. Like if I'm going to do something over and over again, for me, it's going to be psilocybin. It just resonates with my body. And it's such a playful, like loving energy, whereas I know other psychedelics can be a little bit more, more layered, more, more, more substance, more intense. Maybe I've explored quite a few, but my favorite for sure has has been mushrooms. They just speak to me and it's what my body resonates with really.

Victoria Starr: I love that. I love that. All right, so we're going to wrap up this part two episode of Mind Expansion. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for listening to our wisdom. If you have a desire to join us in Sedona on November 1st through November 5th, there are spots still open. It is our honor and our privilege to be able to hold you in this space. It is an all inclusive, minus your airfare, retreat in Sedona at this really high vibe. Airbnb that sits in the energetic vortexes of Sedona. And if you've never been there, look up Sedona, it's pure magic. And we have a private chef that's coming in. We have ceremonies, we have all the information that I will drop the link in the show notes. But if this is something that's resonating with you, we have three spots, four spots. We have four spots still open, so grab your girlfriend, come join us so that we can hold you in this beautiful space of Sedona. So until next time, beautiful souls, stay your vibrant self, and we will see you on the next episode.

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