2025 Prairiesattva Update Q1

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I hope the holidays treated you well and that the new year is off to a good start. 

I know for some, it’s been a challenge to find the motivation to get back into the work routine after having some time off. That’s come up several times in coaching calls I’ve had since the beginning of the year. Some are even questioning the purpose of it all. 

It’s completely natural to feel this way after a break. When we’re going through the motions of everyday life, there’s usually not much space to contemplate why we’re doing what we’re doing. We just do it. Then when a break happens, that space is created and we begin to ponder what could be. 

Then before we know it we’re right back into the thick of things and put those thoughts to the side until the next break. Over time, we see this for what it is - a cycle. 

Cycles are part of life, but change only comes about when we recognize that a particular cycle doesn’t serve us. It’s this moment of awareness that invites us to do something about it and get curious about what life would look like if we stepped out of that cycle. 

A simple equation I use to break a cycle is Awareness + Practice + Intention = Change. 

We need to be aware of what’s happening and have a good understanding why our internal system is stuck in a particular cycle. Knowing this, we create daily practices to interrupt the habits that keep us in the cycle. And to keep us committed to the daily practices, we need to understand our intention, or “why,” for seeking this change. 

Consider this an invitation to look at any cycles that might not be serving you as you enter 2025. 

Now onto some things I’m working on this quarter…

TL;DR

• Completed IFS Training

• Coming out to illness

• Ketamine Retreats

IFS Training

Last quarter I mentioned that I had started my IFS coaching training and was learning how to apply IFS methodology to coaching. I completed that training at the beginning of December and can safely say that it’s taken my coaching to the next level.Applying IFS, or “parts work,” to the process of radical self-inquiry opens up so much in terms of discovering why we do the things we do. I talk often about getting out of an autopilot way of living, and parts work is such a powerful tool to do that. 

Parts work allows us to do a deep investigation into the thoughts and actions that dominate the vast majority of our waking (and also sleeping) hours. Since we’re blended with these parts much of the time, we think we are them, and they think they’re us. It’s not until we unblend from them that we can witness that impact that they’ve had on our lives. 

I’ve had many clients over the years who experience imposter syndrome. Until I went through this training, my understanding of imposter syndrome was that it’s a form of negative self-talk and through positive thinking it could be overcome. 

While positive thinking does help, it’s really just masking the issue. Through a parts work lens, I now understand that there’s a part inside a person that was formed sometime in the past that is protecting them from harm by introducing thoughts like, “You’re not good enough to do this work” or “Don’t you know you’re the dumbest person in the room” or “Everyone will laugh at you if you try to do this.” 

The part has good intentions in that it doesn’t want you to experience whatever pain caused it to form in the first place, but it does this in a maladaptive way that ultimately holds us back. And this is the case for many of our parts. 

In my investigation of my own parts, I’ve discovered many that have a maladaptive way of protecting me. Here are a couple that are most disruptive:

Freeze - When things get really stressful, a part of me comes in like a firefighter to take control of the situation and causes me to freeze. When this happens, I can’t form a thought or put words together. As a reaction to freeze, another firefighter tries to jump in and that one is panic. Panic gets me to run away. Now that my awareness is high that this is happening, I can create space between my “self” and this part, and quickly get myself centered and back to a place where I can think. Panic doesn’t have to step in, although I still feel it just below the surface.

Anxiety - This part is often present and tries to manage my day by using fear to control my actions. When I’m blended with this part, I am hesitant to act as it wants me to keep my head down and not get noticed. Sometime in the past around the age of 10, getting noticed meant that I could potentially be targeted by someone who wanted to do me harm. Now that I’m almost 50, the 10 year old still feels like it has to protect me, so my job is to unburden him by letting him know I am fully capable of managing things and he no longer has to take on the role of trying to keep me safe. 

I have many other parts that all feel they have a job to do to protect me, but the way they do it can potentially hold me back. The work is to form a relationship with each of them, be as aware as possible throughout my day so I know when I’m blended with one of them, and as quickly as I can, return to self. 

In regards to my coaching practice, this is something that I can now teach others how to do while using Presence-Based Coaching as the underlying framework. I can’t really put into words how wonderful it’s been to watch my clients start to wake up to themselves using this container. 

Coming Out of Illness

Speaking of having to do my own parts work, I noticed something was off around mid-October. I wasn’t feeling myself and started to feel quite a bit of anxiety. I tried to excuse it away and leaned heavily into my wellness practices, but after about a month of doing that it was clear that I needed help and couldn’t do this on my own. 

To be honest, a part of me felt like I failed. I had been off of my SSRI for more than a year and a half, and credited psychedelics for helping me with that. Now I was right back to feeling what I had felt 23 years ago. 

Long story short, I ended up getting in to see a psychiatrist (via the emergency room at the hospital because every doctor I called was booked up for the next 3-6 months - our healthcare system is broken obviously) and got back on my meds. 

What I learned from this experience is that I now look at mental health as occupying two spaces - “Mind” and “Brain.” 

Mind can be ill if something traumatic happens to us. New neural connections form and go into overdrive trying to keep us safe. PTSD is a form of mind illness. Therapy, including psychedelic therapy, works on this aspect of mental illness.

Brain has to do with chemistry. No amount of wellness or self-help can fix a brain chemistry issue. I happen to have a brain chemistry where I get low on serotonin, so I have a strong somatic reaction where my body goes on high alert. My mind knows nothing is wrong, and that I'm safe, but my brain and body don’t know that because of the chemical imbalance. 

The other aspect of this particular dynamic is that when my body has this somatic response, the part of me that is OCD comes in and tries to protect me. We then have a situation where the two go to battle. One ratchets things up, and then the other follows suit, and so on and so on…

As challenging as the last three months have been, I learned so much about myself and my mental illness. I have a new perspective on what healing looks like, and feel I have a better understanding of who should pursue psychedelic treatments and who should seek other routes. 

I’m still in the healing process, but most days I’m feeling like I’m back to normal. When I used to give talks about my journey with mental illness, the number one thing I wanted people to take away was to get help as soon as you notice something is off. The time it takes to go from ill to healthy takes much, much longer than if you get help right away. It took a few weeks before I had the wherewithal to seek out help, but I’m grateful that I did as this should be a just few months of getting the meds right and seeing my new IFS therapist who is helping me heal the parts (mind) that want to go to battle with my brain and body to get over the most intense aspects of this, instead of three years like it took when I was in my late 20s. 

As I often say, this healing will be a lifelong process, but it doesn’t have to be filled with suffering. It can actually be joyful and fulfilling as it’s all a part of helping me build an awareness about myself. 

Ketamine Retreats

I’m still working on nailing down dates for the ketamine retreats I’ll be leading. I was hoping to have more info on this coming into 2025, but it’s taking a bit more time than I thought it would, and I’m okay with that. I’ve learned not to rush these things and just let them come together when the time is right. 

This was another long-winded update, so I’ll stop here and let you get back to it. 

As always, if there’s anyone you think might benefit from working with me, I’d love any and all intros you’re willing to make. 

Wishing you a wonderful and happy 2025, and if there's anything I can be helpful with, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Cheers, 

Matt

2024 Prairiesattva Update Q4

Hello!

Hope you're all doing well and are enjoying the change of seasons. I say that and also honor that for some this has been an incredibly challenging time. 

Whether you've been impacted by extreme weather, devastating war, or anxiety around the upcoming elections here in the States (some of us may feel the impact of all three at once), I’m thinking of you and send word that I too am struggling with the weight of everything that’s going on. 

Even with all the tools and practices I’ve accumulated over the years, I readily admit that some days it feels like too much to bear. That’s a reminder to myself to lean into self-care, and that it’s okay to turn off the TV or take a break from doomscrolling. 

I find that time in nature is an amazing remedy. It has this wonderful way of allowing me to disconnect from external struggles and reconnect internally with myself. Just going on a walk works wonders. 

That said, I hope that whatever you’re currently dealing with, you’re giving yourself permission to lean into self-care. Your future self will thank you for it. 

Now onto some things I’m working on this quarter…

TL;DR

• Started IFS training. It’s going really well and opening up new ways on how I coach.

• Working on setting up ketamine retreats next year. Hope to do 3 or 4 next year.

• Starting a new online men’s group to explore concepts of mature masculinity.

• 4-year anniversary of Prairiesattva. Shifting more into new areas of practice by leaning more into psychedelic-assisted coaching and group work.

IFS Training

I mentioned last quarter that I was diving into the world of Internal Family Systems and that I hoped to be selected as one of the first 80 coaches to go through a foundations training with the IFS Institute. 

Well, I’m happy to say that my application met the requirements the Institute established and that I was able to enroll in the course once enrollment opened up. I heard from other coaches who tried to enroll within just an hour or two of it opening, but the class filled up so fast they missed out. 

I feel very grateful to get in on this first training and am excited to start putting what I’m learning into practice. I can already see the impact this will have on my coaching as it invites a new level of inquiry for my clients. 

A quick example of how IFS works in coaching would be if a client is struggling to make a decision about something. They might say, “A part of me feels I should do X, and another part of me is telling me that’s stupid and why would I ever do something so dumb.”

IFS is often called “parts work” and you can see how most of us already speak this way. Saying “A part of me…” is something we might be used to saying and recognize that there’s an internal tension that exists inside of us. What we don’t recognize before coming to this work is that these “parts” aren’t us, but are actually there to protect us. They’re often formed when something significant happens to us in childhood and work to keep us safe our entire lives. 

In the example I gave above, there’s a very real part that would like to do one thing, but another part arises that feels threatened if we were to go ahead with that decision. In this case, there’s a part that’s an inner critic and usually gets its way. If this part is never explored, then it keeps showing up and holding us back. That part is a wounded child that keeps showing up at the most inopportune times. 

In a coaching context, we do what’s called parts mapping. It’s an exploration into all the parts we have in our internal family so that we can develop a relationship with them. We specifically look for parts that are “managers” and “firefighters.” 

Managers do exactly that - manage our day-to-day. We’re really blended with them, so much so that we think we are them. Firefighters come up in extreme situations. That sudden burst of anger is a firefighter. Their role is to get the situation under control as fast as possible, even if that means it’s expressed in a really bad way. 

Once these managers and firefighters are named, we can start to form a relationship with each of them. More than anything, it’s about having awareness that they exist and when they show up how to work with them. 

Many of you are familiar with the check-in exercise. This takes that a step further. We follow the same first steps as a check-in: 1. Name what you’re feeling. 2. Notice where you feel that in your body. 

Using the IFS model, step 3 is naming the part that has emerged and unblending from it. We want to create separation from it so that we aren’t reacting from the point of view of the part. In IFS speak we say, “We want to speak for the part, not from it.” 

So instead of saying, “I’m really angry” we can now say, “A part of me is really angry.” When this shift happens we can then explore what triggered the anger and rather than give into it and let it hijack our nervous system. 

Step 4 is to thank it for showing up to protect you, tell it you got this, and ask it to step back while you work through the issue. This takes a lot of practice and there’s a ton that needs to be unpacked to get to this place, but that’s the basic gist of it. 

Once you have literacy around all your parts, then it’s easier to make those decisions that are best for you. You learn to work with your parts instead of against them. The internal tension diminishes and a general sense of freedom arises. You become self-led, rather than parts-led. 

Retreats

I’m currently working on putting together a series of ketamine retreats for next year. I’ll most likely host one or two close to Omaha, and another one or two in Southern Colorado. 

I’m also working on putting together a retreat using other plant-medicine modalities. 

I’m really excited about this group approach to working with these medicines as so much healing happens during a communal experience. If you’re interested in learning more, let me know I’ll keep you updated as things progress.

Online Men’s Group

This year I put together a once-a-month in-person men’s group to facilitate a discussion around the concept of mature masculinity using the four main male archetypes as a guide. The book King Warrior Magician Lover is the text driving this effort. I wanted to test to see if this was something guys would be interested in and if so, create a safe space for them to be vulnerable and open up about what it means to be male in our current era.

What I’ve learned so far is that guys are eager to have this discussion with other men. Many of the examples they’ve seen throughout their lives are the shadow (toxic and immature) side of masculinity, and good role models are hard to come by. 

I’m now ready to take this online. My goal is to start a group sometime after the first of the year that will run for 12 sessions. I’m hoping for 5 participants, but will cap participation at 8 so the group stays small and intimate. The goal is to come away with a clear understanding of the four archetypes and build awareness around how the shadow aspects show up in us so we’re able to attune ourselves to the mature aspects.

We’ll meet two hours every other week on a Wednesday evening over zoom. The cost will be $500/individual for the 12 session group. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining, feel free to let me know. 

Growth & Development Coaching

Yesterday was the four year anniversary of me leaving Techstars and hanging my shingle as a growth and development coach. It’s crazy how fast the last four years flew by. 

I have a tendency to do a lot of reflection around anniversaries or birthdays, and as I was thinking about the last four years, the first thought that came up was how grateful I am that I get to do this and that people trust me enough to walk them through the coaching journey. It’s been an absolute honor and privilege to do this work and watch the transformation clients go through when they invest in themselves in this way and work on themselves. As I always say, I’m not the one facilitating change, the client is. I just hold the container. 

And after four years, I’m coming to terms with the fact that for the most part, my referral network has dried up. So I’m having to take a long hard look in the mirror and see what the next four years bring. Being a former marketer, I happen to really dislike marketing, especially marketing myself. And the truth is that marketing in coaching rarely, if ever, brings results. Coaching is referral-driven and if you can’t keep the referral flywheel going you’re eventually going to sputter out. 

I’ll always be open to this kind of coaching, and will continue to accept clients looking for it, but I’m feeling more and more pulled toward doing group work and psychedelic-assisted coaching. There’s such a strong healing aspect of this work that feels aligned with where I’m at as I step in my 50s and 6th decade of life. Helping people access their own inner healer to heal themselves is truly transformational work. Looking back over the years it makes sense that I got to where I am, but it still feels a little unreal. I guess that’s what happens when you try to stay open to the possibilities of the Universe. 

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This was a rather long-winded update, so sending you much gratitude if you made it this far. As always, if there’s anyone you think might benefit from working with me, I’d love any and all intros you’re willing to make. 

Wishing you a wonderful Q4, and if there's anything I can be helpful with, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Cheers, 

Matt

2024 Prairiesattva Update Q3

Hello!

Hope you're doing well and enjoying your summer (or winter if you're south of the equator). And for those of you in the States, Happy 4th of July! Wishing you a safe and enjoyable time as you gather with friends and family to celebrate. 

TL;DR

• Worked with a client using the psychedelic-assisted coaching framework. The results were tremendous.

• Had a very successful test run of a ketamine retreat I helped put together. 

• Working on my next area of learning - Internal Family Systems. 

• Still doing growth development coaching for leaders. 

The Full Story

If you remember from my last update in April, I was stepping in plant-medicine work and offering psychedelic-assisted coaching as a new area of practice. My entry into this practice has truly been met with incredibly rich experiences - both for me and more importantly, my clients. 

I'll share a quick story about a longtime client of mine. Without giving too many details to keep them and their experience confidential, I'll share a bit about what came up for them during their session. 

It was something we never discussed during our normal coaching sessions. While in a non-ordinary state of consciousness, they were able to see an obstacle that wasn't apparent to them in an ordinary state of consciousness. 

While we had prepped for this kind of thing to happen, we wouldn't have been able to predict what came up for them. And now that they could see it clearly, they knew they could not avoid it and needed to accept what they learned. 

This is when the real work kicks in. 

Medicine work is extremely powerful, but without proper post-session integration, it could be all for naught. Integration is the time to fully process what is learned and put practices in place to facilitate change. Understanding this, we had a game plan in place to navigate the integration phase and used the A.C.E.R. framework (this framework was created by Dr. Rosalind Watts out of the U.K.). 

A.C.E.R. stands for - Accept, Connect, Embody, and Restore. 

When using these medicines, we're inviting in the opportunity to look at things we've been avoiding, and make the necessary shift into acceptance. We're also looking at what we've been disconnected from and put practices in place to facilitate connection. 

Once those two things are in motion, we then try to embody these new practices and ways of being which helps us restore whatever it is we seek to restore - feeling whole, being confident, acting with self-love and self-compassion, living in our purpose, etc. 

It's a transformative process and one that I'm grateful to be a part of. 

Ketamine Retreat

Another thing I mentioned in my last update was that a few of us were working on putting together a ketamine retreat at the end of May/beginning of June. 

I can report that it went better than I could have ever hoped for. We had 6 participants who signed up for this trial run and the feedback we got was tremendous. All reported experiencing a deep amount of healing, and with the group integration we're doing together in the weeks after the retreat, they're all staying on top of their practices to make sure the healing continues. It's been really beautiful to watch this unfold, and I can't wait to put another retreat together. It'll probably be several months before the next one, but I feel we have a really strong program in place and just need to tweak a few things to make the experience even better for participants. 

If you're interested in possibly participating in a retreat like this, feel free to send me a note and I'll reach back out when I have more information. 

Next Area of Learning

Every time I finish earning a new certification, I tell myself, "Let's take a year off before signing up for another one." I should know better by now. 

When I was finishing up my certification for psychedelic coaching integration, the therapeutic technique of Internal Family Systems (IFS) came onto my radar. The creator of  IFS, Richard Schwartz, was a guest lecturer during that program and everything he said about how we deal with trauma at an early age made sense. 

The brief explanation of this is that when trauma occurs, we create a new "part" of our psyche. This part works to protect us from future harm. Unfortunately, this part gets stuck at the age it develops at. So we might be an adult, but when something happens that makes this part show up, that part arrives as a 4 year old, or 8 eight year old - whenever the trauma occurs. These parts are "burdened" and if left unresolved, we're essentially left to operate in a way that makes them feel the most comfortable. This keeps us stuck and unable to move beyond our fear and our pain. 

While IFS has been in the domain of therapy, the organization behind this work sees the potential of it in coaching and will be opening up training to coaches in the fall. My hope is to be one of the 80 folks allowed to go through the training and on a pathway toward certification. IFS dovetails so nicely with plant-medicine work that it makes it a no-brainer when looking at it as a framework to facilitate healing. Richard Schwartz is a big advocate of combining the two, so I'm excited to learn as much as I can and start putting it into practice. 

If you're interested in learning more about IFS, I highly recommend the book, No Bad Parts. 

Growth & Development Coaching

I've seen an uptick in the interest in coaching since May, so I'm feeling good about that. Like I've said before, this type of coaching will remain the core of my practice, so I'm always open to any referrals you might have. If there's someone you think would benefit from this, feel free to share my information with them. I'm truly grateful for each and every referral that comes my way. It really does mean the world to me. 

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If you made it this far, I appreciate you reading about what I'm up to. This is work I very much believe in, and since you all were part of it in the past, there's no better group I want to share it with. 

Wishing you a wonderful Q3, and if there's anything I can be helpful with, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Cheers, 

Matt

2024 Prairiesattva Update Q2

Hello Everyone!

TL;DR

• I just completed my year-long certification course in psychedelic therapies and integration.

• I'm adding several new offerings as a part of my coaching practice. 

• I'm also working on putting together a ketamine retreat with several partners. 

The Full Story (<2 Minutes)

For those of you who got my last update in January, you probably remember that I was finishing up work on my latest certification. Well, here we are in mid-April and I got word this morning that I've successfully completed the course and my certification is in hand. 

With that said, I've added three new areas of practice to what I offer at Prairiesattva:

Ketamine Guide and Coach
I recently started work as a psychedelic integration coach and guide at Mind & Body Wellness Center in Omaha, NE. Mind & Body Wellness is a ketamine clinic that treats a variety of conditions - depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain. Ketamine is safe, legal in most places in the U.S., and highly effective in treating a variety of conditions.  

Psychedelic Integration Coach
I coach individuals through the post-medicine phase of integration. This is a time of heightened neuroplasticity and it's important to put practices in place to fully integrate things that are learned while on medicine. Folks who go this route often travel to locations where these substances are legal, but need support when they get back home.

Psychedelic Consulting
I consult individuals who are interested in starting their own healing journey, but don't know where to start. I guide them towards modalities that would work best for them for what they're specifically seeking assistance with, and help them find facilities and practitioners who can safely guide them through this work in a place where it's legal to do so. I also plan to consult startup and corporate leadership teams who are interested in using psychedelics to improve team communication and performance.

The heart of my coaching practice will always be growth and development coaching, so that's not going away. I'm just expanding my practice in a way that feels natural and fits nicely in with the style of coaching I'm certified in, Presence-Based® Coaching. On that note, if you happen to know anyone who is interested in coaching, I’d be grateful for any introductions you’re willing to make.

That's it for now. Sending each and everyone one of you love and light as we approach summer here in the northern hemisphere, and wishing you health and wellbeing in this season of growing!

Cheers, 

Matt