In this episode of VItal Psychedelic Conversations, Vital instructor, Diego Pinzon hosts his first podcast, interviewing Vital graduate and clinically-trained psychologist, “The Kinki Buddhist”: Kate Amy.

As Amy’s interest in psychedelics grew, she began to see a clear intersection between psychedelic states and the non-ordinary states she’d reached through years of meditation practice, as well as lessons from Buddhism that could help in better understanding psychedelic journeys. She talks about the importance of really understanding what it is one is seeking when looking to have a psychedelic experience, and the significance of integration – no matter how long it takes. While she has tips that have worked for clients, she feels that the psychedelic space has a long way to go in establishing best practices for the most effective integration.

She discusses:

• Why she uses the name, “The Kinki Buddhist”

• How she frames the psychedelic experience as taking an evolutionary substance (and/or receiving a software upgrade)

• The necessity of having a positive relationship with the self before a big trip

• The continuous process of patients and facilitators both engaging in shadow work, and ways of discovering our different hidden parts

• The rigidity many of us prescribe to certain healing frameworks, and how beneficial it can be to view strict rules as guidelines for exploration instead