Men's Support Group

**Welcome to the Portland Psychedelic Society Men's Group** As students of the psychedelic domain, we understand that the situation of being in the world requires us to participate in culture in ways that promote interconnectedness and love. This is the consistent understanding these medicines carry with them. In contrast, the cultural message we often experience as men is one promoting insulation and emotional suppression. One of these messages is an invitation toward curiosity and furthering understanding; the other is a coaxing toward severance and self abandonment. We know from being in touch with our basic humanness that a state of interconnectedness and love is a state of naturally thriving. We know from psychology that repressing that which desires to blossom from within degrades both psyche and physiology. We understand from being networked in relationships that when we’re living in a state of discontent, we radiate negativity to those in our circles of influence, which radiates outward from there. From this understanding we can see how being told by culture to repress and isolate makes us sick, which leads to the perpetuation of sickness in the culture. We recognize that we must stop being agents of sickness in the cultural system. We must become agents of healing and regeneration. In order for us to become agents of healing for others, we must first heal ourselves, so we embody a position of healing in the world. It is for this reason that this Men’s Support Group was formed. Those who have experienced psychedelic states know that, as agents of healing themselves, the psychedelic medicines allow us to face with openness the parts of ourselves that we typically close ourselves off to. In a container of safety, this attentive openness facilitates integration and healing. In the same way, by creating a safe container for men to explore the parts of ourselves that we don’t give enough attention to, we can facilitate healing in ourselves, and feed that…