Our guest, who will remain anonymous, is in his 80s and has advanced degrees in psychology and anthropology. He was re- introduced to psychedelic use in the 70's in a ritual and ceremonial way by Ralph Metzner who became his guide and mentor. Our conversation will seek to illuminate the practical side of Ralph’s methods.

Our guest has worked with a broad range of guides and began leading groups and individual sessions in 1980. In the Sixties, he became involved with a disciplined alchemical spiritual practice and has maintained a life long contemplative practice.

In order that we might have a candid and revealing conversation- our guest will remain anonymous. Our guest is a true psychonaut who has explored the landscape of mind expanding practices and substances. In keeping with Ralph Metzner’s legacy, he offers guided experiences enhanced by entheogens using a small number of psychedelic molecules: MDMA, 2CB, Ketamine, Mushrooms, LSD, San Pedro and 5meo-dmt.

In this section we bring you the testimony of elder practitioners who have conducted psychedelic sessions in the underground for many decades. In order to  preserve their anonymity (they are all current practitioners) their voices have been transcribed. You will read candid conversations with senior practitioners who hold nothing back. Please don't miss these interviews. They take some additional effort as they are only available as text. You can read them here or download them as a pdf. You might use a web based program to read them to you.

One consequence of the War on Drugs, which began in the 1960's, was that  many practitioners who were working legally with psychedelics chose to move their sessions into the underground. Many others ceased their activities.  Some courageous individuals continued doing sessions. In this context, extreme confidentiality has been an essential element of maintaining  the integrity of these kinds of sessions. This  keeps both the practitioners and their clients safe. Both the practitioners and their clients have established complex networks of trust that allow these kinds of sessions to happen.

The Guild of Guides underground practitioners have  had a strong influence on psychedelic culture. Their methods  of practice and the kinds of interventions that they have developed in sessions have been widely adopted by a new generation of psychedelic guides who are beginning their careers.

Guild members are able to use psychoactive materials that are not legally available to the public. These include molecules like LSD, 2cb, 5meoDMT, MDA, and methylone which are unlikely ever to be rescheduled as legal pharmaceuticals.  Their underground sessions can  be conducted in ways that lie outside the standards of practice defined by the medical or psycho-therapeutic  professions (for example the use of healing touch). These Guides have formed networks to share information and practices and in some cases they have offered  trainings to teach their practices.

We think it is essential for people who are interested in a deep understanding of the methodologies of holding space in expanded states of awareness (for healing, personal exploration and for pleasure) hear the diverse voices  that make up the full range of expression in this space. 

It is  up to the individual  psychedelic guide practitioner to decide what kind of  guiding protocol suits them and  which interventions are appropriate based on their skill level.  

In all cases, it is incumbent on a practitioner to hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. Clear agreements and disclosures  between a guide and client are always a prerequisite for this kind of relationship. Both parties must be hyper conscious of transference and counter transference issues. There are multiple opportunities for a guide to abuse a client's trust and to violate their boundaries  in expanded states of consciousness.

Clients can  come to their sessions with unrealistic expectations regarding what they hope to experience and achieve. 

Both a client's and guide's relationship to sex, money, trust, and power will be put to the test in these high stakes relationships in expanded states of consciousness. 

We bring you some of the most experienced and influential underground guides in the space in the following interview transcripts.