1 00:00:01,640 --> 00:00:05,360 Welcome to the Cricket Fixes podcast, where we tackle the 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:09,200 tough topics of personal development sprinkled with some 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,920 raw vulnerability and a touch of humor. 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,120 I'm your host Cricket, and each episode we're diving into the 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,280 realms of healing, growth and self discovery. 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,000 So let's be fearless and awesome together. 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,640 It's time to get your cricket fix. 8 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,480 I am so excited to Welcome to the Cricket Fixes podcast. 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,640 Neil Markey, Co founder and CEO of Beckley Retreats. 10 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,960 Neil, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me, Krista. 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,680 Good to see you. It's so good to see you. 12 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,200 So just to give everyone a little bit of a back story about 13 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:48,480 how we've connected through my, through Heather really, who 14 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,400 works for Beckley Retreats, being a good friend of mine, she 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,280 not only brought me on as a consultant, but then in March of 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:02,600 2024, I became a participant of one of Beckley Retreats, which 17 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,280 was such an incredible experience. 18 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,600 So I definitely want to talk about my experience as well, but 19 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:15,280 I just want to say what an inspiration you are in the 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,760 psychedelic space for the work that you're doing. 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,200 I am honored that you are a guest. 22 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:27,440 I'm excited to Share your story in the series of how our 23 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,160 medicine work. And I can relate to this really 24 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,920 leads us to what we can call a life purpose. 25 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:40,400 So I would love to dive in with Yeah, I, I want to dive in with 26 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,360 something that I. I can't believe it's been. 27 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,280 It was March, so 18 months ago. That's just amazing. 28 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:49,120 Wow. I don't know where's. 29 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,720 It go it's it's bonkers and it's also pretty remarkable what's 30 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:58,040 changed in my life, right? So I think that's also why I 31 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,960 want to do this series is because I've become such a 32 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,480 proponent and advocate for psychedelic therapy for, you 33 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:09,039 know, for a lot of people, not everyone, but for for a lot. 34 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,960 So what I would like to dive into that I think you'll you'll 35 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:19,360 dig is if you could set an intention for this podcast show, 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,960 a message that you would love to land with this audience. 37 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:31,960 What could it be? I think it's that you don't need 38 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:37,680 to be broken or like severely clinically indicated to get 39 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,400 potentially tremendous benefit from these programs. 40 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,640 You can actually be doing, you know quite well by a lot of 41 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:47,120 measures and like generally happy and these programs can 42 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,160 help you, you know, go from good to grade or from grade to 43 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,600 greater. And that's good, important for 44 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,000 us to do too. Yeah, I love that. 45 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,880 The way that I see it is like really unlocking your potential, 46 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,400 your most authentic self and even from a spiritual 47 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,120 perspective, me connecting me, me with my soul and my, my 48 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,080 purpose. So I, I think you have one of 49 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,080 the most fascinating backgrounds. 50 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,560 So I would love for you to share or just a little bit about your 51 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,360 background and your career and then how you moved into this 52 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,640 work. Yeah, it's, it's been a windy, 53 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:35,760 adventurous Rd. but I was studying math in my undergrad at 54 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,400 University of Maryland. September 11th happened. 55 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,400 I ended up joining the officer program thinking I was doing the 56 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:43,840 right thing. I wanted to help. 57 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,400 I thought we were at risk and then ended up as an officer in 58 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,880 the Army. And I went to Iraq and then got 59 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,960 a chance to go try out for a special mission unit called the 60 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,720 Ranger Regiment and went to Afghanistan twice with them. 61 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:03,000 And then I got out in 2012 and went to Graduate School and was 62 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,280 at Columbia University. So like a good program and by a 63 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:12,520 lot of measures was doing really well, but I was by a lot of 64 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,079 measures not doing very well. I was isolating. 65 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,800 I was really angry with, I honestly, I was so pissed at my 66 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,600 Piers because no one really even knew that there was a war still 67 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,960 going on, you know, and I like couldn't stand that, you know, 68 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:34,480 it drove me nuts. And then I like many veterans 69 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,880 tried different approaches like SSRIs and anti anxiety 70 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,640 medications and sleeping pills and had some benefit and then, 71 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,440 you know, but it was limited. And then the thing that really 72 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,160 made a huge impact for me was meditation. 73 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,680 And I'm a big believer and proponent of meditation now 13 74 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,120 years later. And then I had some 75 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,600 professionally facilitated experiences in that grad school 76 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,080 period and those were super helpful for me. 77 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,760 You know, they were, it wasn't one and done by any means, but 78 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,920 like each one I think helped. Let me let some things go or 79 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,320 unwind some things or look at some things differently. 80 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:18,400 So, yeah, I'm a big believer in these experiences and maybe I'll 81 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,760 pause there, but that was kind of my first exposure to this 82 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,520 work was in the transition from my military service. 83 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,640 And then I went on and did some corporate stuff for a while, 84 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,480 but. Yeah, I. 85 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:32,320 Pause there. I love that. 86 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:36,560 So, you know, I, I also appreciate that you say it's not 87 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,080 one and done because I think managing the expectations around 88 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,560 working with this medicine is really important. 89 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,280 And it almost to me, I'm not sure if this was your 90 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:49,280 experience, but it's kind of like this layering, right? 91 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:53,560 It's almost like you need the one to then get the the benefit 92 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,600 out of the next one and then the next one and the next one. 93 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,600 Which kind of surprised me when I started working with it is 94 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,720 because I I was looking for all of the answers at once. 95 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,800 But I can look back and say I also wasn't ready for all the 96 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:12,920 answers at once. Yeah, yeah, that's definitely 97 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:14,040 how it works. There's. 98 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:21,600 A layer, it's layered and there's the, the, the, the 99 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,160 deeper the trauma, the more times it needs to be let go. 100 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,920 You know, I mean it, it, everybody's just so unique and 101 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,440 individual just depends. But a lot of times people do, 102 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:37,360 you know, after one or a couple or a few sessions do live 103 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,240 dramatically different, more positive lives, you know, So 104 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,880 it's not, doesn't need to be like 20 years down the road, but 105 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:52,000 I think it's good for people to to know going in that, you know, 106 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,680 and it's not, it's kind of like developing like skills, you 107 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,000 know, because you have to, you have to then go kind of live 108 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:00,560 differently. You have to like make, you have 109 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:02,120 to consciously make different decisions. 110 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:08,360 You need to adopt better habits or this kind of state of being 111 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,440 that most people have after the experiences where they just feel 112 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,000 more light, they feel more connected. 113 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,160 If you don't in that period introduce some new ways of 114 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,480 thinking and being, it's, it's very common to revert back, you 115 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,040 know, because there's already like so much momentum in that 116 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:30,760 old way, you know, by the time you're a young adult, a lot of 117 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,120 how we're showing up in the world is kind of it's, it's 118 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,480 patterned, you know, it's kind of deep in our psyche. 119 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,000 So you do need to make some real conscious effort to like make 120 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,960 permanent shifts. Although these experiences will 121 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,600 give you a real window, It can be really helpful to do that. 122 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,840 You, you do have to, it's not like Western medicine where you 123 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,120 just take your pill and go on with your day, that it just, it 124 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:53,600 takes a whole different approach. 125 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,800 And it's good for people to be aware of that. 126 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,320 So they kind of know what they're getting into and, you 127 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:00,800 know, have the right expectations. 128 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,320 Yeah, absolutely. I can remember from my first 129 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:10,440 journey, which was in August of 2022, that for me was releasing 130 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:15,560 some trauma from my childhood. And it wasn't until November of 131 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:21,480 2023 that I did my second one. And that one for me, I know it 132 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,160 couldn't have happened if I hadn't taken all of that wisdom 133 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,360 with me, but really given it also that full year. 134 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,559 But it was that second one that I, I call my rebirthday. 135 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:37,600 And it was preparing for it three days before I gave up 136 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:39,720 alcohol and I never touched it again. 137 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,840 And for me, that was really powerful. 138 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,200 And I, I say that to Cher again, you're coming. 139 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,760 My intention going into that journey, which by the way, I 140 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,080 need to leave the disclaimer that I, I did it medically, 141 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,280 legally and medically supervised. 142 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:02,120 But what I found from that was the rewiring had started. 143 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,640 I went into that journey with an intention to just be able to 144 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,120 give it up for 30 days at a time again. 145 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:12,760 And what the medicine showed me is no more like we're, we're on 146 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:18,280 a new path now. And I found it was so much 147 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:23,760 easier to release that kind of addictive, that habit cycle even 148 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,600 even and rewiring the, the neural pathways in my brain to 149 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:29,600 be able to, to let it go for good. 150 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,200 So. Yeah, that's a huge win. 151 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,560 If you can just reduce alcohol consumption can be an absolute 152 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:39,720 life changing decision. But it's really hard to do, you 153 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,800 know, And we have a lot of people that come through 154 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:46,920 programs and won't even have expressed that desire, but then 155 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,200 will tell us months later, I just have much less desire to 156 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:51,320 drink. Something's different. 157 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,640 Something shifted in me. And so, yeah. 158 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,520 Yeah, I, I had to share that because I, I think it does speak 159 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,960 to that kind of layering is I know I wouldn't have been ready 160 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,280 for that without the first one and releasing some other 161 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,800 patterns in my life. So, you know, which is a great 162 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,560 topic of like the preparation and the integration is so 163 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,080 important. And while we're not focused on 164 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,840 that, I, I also think, you know, to your point, that's what 165 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,920 you're mentioning, it's what you do with it after too. 166 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:30,320 So along the way, was it from a journey that you had done where 167 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,120 you had started to feel like I want to help bring this to the 168 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,120 world? Yeah, well, maybe I'll I'll 169 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:43,720 finish that little journey. So I was like in grad school, 170 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,200 learned how to take much better care of myself. 171 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:49,920 Actually ended up going and doing a teacher certification 172 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:51,840 and meditation at Jefferson University. 173 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,640 And so was teaching it for a bit of time while working on a a 174 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:02,000 small business with my brother. And so was living in community, 175 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,800 you know, alcohol, strong meditation practice, purposeful 176 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:08,080 work. You know, you do all those 177 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,240 things and then, you know, life is a little bit more smooth. 178 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,320 And then I ended up taking a job at McKinsey and company because 179 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,120 I had been deferring a job offer that I had and I asked him for 180 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,160 another deferral because I was enjoying what I was doing. 181 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,000 And they basically said, no, we're not going to, you know, 182 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,440 kind of be your permanent backup plan. 183 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:32,200 So I, I went there because I am curious and I had to see behind 184 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:36,920 this curtain and, you know, I, I'm, I'm so grateful I had that 185 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:38,840 experience. I learned a lot, you know, and I 186 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,680 got to, you know, see a lot of different business challenges 187 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:46,960 and things. And, and, but if I think, if I'm 188 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,880 honest, my mental health probably starts slipping the 189 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,160 wrong way in that period just because super intense 190 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:58,240 environment and I had learned some practices, but you know, I 191 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,240 wasn't, you know, I kind of started slipping a little bit. 192 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,760 And then I went, I was looking for a change and I kind of got 193 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,720 recruited to go to this consultancy that was doing 194 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,480 private equity portfolio company restructurings, which is like 195 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,640 really challenging work. You know, I mean, it's just, 196 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:23,120 it's, it's kind of like the, the toughest thing in capitalism. 197 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:28,480 It's like it, it and it, it, it was, and I was there for a few 198 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,520 years. Then at the period, like at the 199 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,920 at the end of that time, I noticed that I was having some 200 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,360 of my symptoms come back, like my sleep was getting worse. 201 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,680 I was a bit more irritable, you know, I wasn't being as present 202 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:43,760 in my relationships because I was super stressed. 203 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,560 I was like back in this fight or flight state and I'm like, what 204 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:51,000 the hell, you know, like I know better, you know, I wasn't 205 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,800 meditating much at all anymore. And so I just got to this point 206 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:56,640 where I was like, I'm, I'm just, I'm going to leave. 207 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,000 Like I'm, I, I want to go do something else that like will 208 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,640 allow me to live, you know, more in tune because I have done that 209 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:08,080 before. And so I left and I, I didn't 210 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,320 know really what I was going to do next, but I got back to 211 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,840 teaching meditation. And then I was teaching 212 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,040 meditation in Mexico just locally. 213 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,920 And there's a local indigenous people in this part of Mexico 214 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,480 called the Wechol. And they've been using plants 215 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,240 and psychedelics for quite some time. 216 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,840 And they were super accessible and hilarious, frankly. 217 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,680 And, and, and they, they thought it was really funny to have this 218 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,600 former veteran kind of hanging around a bit. 219 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,320 And, and then friends of mine were coming down and I was 220 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,440 connecting them with the Wechol. And then we were doing 221 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,800 meditations on the beach. And it just kind of started 222 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,360 happening. You know, where I was like, OK, 223 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,200 that the world is opening up. More people are interested in 224 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,080 this. Like people from my professional 225 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,800 background who never would have considered this a few years ago 226 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,760 are now like coming down. So I was like, well, maybe I can 227 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,880 do something in this world. Like, I really believe in it. 228 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:06,080 And I'm fascinated by it. And yeah, I think it's helpful. 229 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,720 And then I met Amanda Fielding and her family. 230 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:11,760 And then that was kind of like the that was that was when I 231 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,000 would knew it was it was something very real. 232 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,600 And I just have such respect for Amanda. 233 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,920 You know, she passed recently, but she's just the coolest, you 234 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:25,640 know, I mean, she's just such a a true, like a legend, amazing 235 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:30,680 heart, brilliant, hilarious, and just wanted more people to have 236 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:32,960 safe access. And so they were looking for, 237 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:38,680 you know, an entrepreneur and, and so it was very serendipitous 238 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,240 and timely and. Isn't that wild? 239 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:44,160 So you. Met her in Mexico. 240 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:51,040 No, well, the, the, the crazy thing is, is I'll try and keep 241 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,480 it short, but it is, it is wild. I, I was like, OK, I'm I want to 242 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,040 go start doing these long form programs with psychedelics and 243 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,440 take them to kind of white collar professionals. 244 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,160 It was kind of like my high level idea. 245 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:07,920 And so I went and tried to investigate raising some money 246 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,680 and I talked to, you know, some healthcare VCs and I was just 247 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,400 like, I don't know, like that's, that's kind of like what I left. 248 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:14,600 Like I don't want to do that again. 249 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,640 You know, I could just tell that it was just a, you know, a 250 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,680 money, a money thing. And it's just like, well, I want 251 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,240 to have some balance. And so I, you know, did that for 252 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,920 like a couple months and I reached out to this woman that 253 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,320 was a bit of a mentor for me at Columbia University, for me and 254 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,520 my brother's first business. And I was like, is there 255 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,720 basically I was like, is there any good money out there that, 256 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,880 you know, isn't that, you know, is trying to do this, trying to 257 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,320 do things with heart? And she's like, well, one of 258 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,800 your classmates is doing, I have no idea what you're doing. 259 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,720 You know, it sounds like really strange, but one of your 260 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,280 classmates is doing something I think really strange too. 261 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:52,240 And you guys should talk. I don't know, I don't have no 262 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:53,960 idea what you're talking about, but I think you guys should 263 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,360 connect. And I had gone to school with 264 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,080 this guy by the name of Dan Love. 265 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,280 And Dan Love was one of the founding members of Beckley 266 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,280 Waves, which is essentially the family office for Amanda's 267 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,080 family. And so they were, you know, had 268 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,240 stood it up to make investments in companies that were going to 269 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,320 go build the infrastructure. And when Dan and I connected and 270 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,640 then I met Amanda and met, you know, met Rock and the whole 271 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,400 family. And but the, the crazy thing is, 272 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:23,640 is that whole period where I was looking for a partner, they had 273 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,760 interviewed a bunch of retreat center owner operators looking 274 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,640 for a team that they could kind of like put their brand on top 275 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,320 of and then expand from there. And they interviewed something 276 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,160 like a dozen and 1/2 or two dozen all over the world. 277 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,640 And they said they didn't find anybody that really wanted to do 278 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,040 it. Everybody was like super happy 279 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,240 with their kind of like what they were doing and didn't want 280 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,800 to do something bigger. And then, you know, and they 281 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,040 said, if you know, the ones that did want to do it, the few that 282 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,160 didn't want to do it, they, they didn't think, you know, had the 283 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,280 right kind of background or skill set to do it. 284 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:57,880 So they in one of the meetings they had Amanda's son, Rock said 285 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,880 we're going to put the kind of retreats business to the side. 286 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:03,720 We have all a bunch of other things to look at. 287 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,560 It'll come to us when the time's right. 288 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,520 And he said something to the effect of if we had our pick 289 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,720 because they, you know, obviously following the news and 290 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,560 seeing what's happening in the US, but they said, you know, we 291 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,280 would, we would love to find an entrepreneur that's a veteran 292 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:21,760 because the veterans are leaving the public policy fight. 293 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,839 And like, it's the whole thing that it's the one bipartisan 294 00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:27,079 issue where it's like psychedelics or veteran healing. 295 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:31,080 Like what a great story to pair Beckley with a, you know, an 296 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,600 organization that's going to be, you know, veteran LED. 297 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,040 And that was the the same time I was looking for them. 298 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:39,480 And then we met and it was just like, oh, wow, OK, let's get to 299 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:40,960 work. You know, it was really cool, 300 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,040 really cool. And so, yeah, that's how kind of 301 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:51,120 how how I got got into it. I love that I didn't know that 302 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:55,120 level of depth and the story, so I'm actually sitting here really 303 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:59,360 appreciating it, just thinking, Oh my gosh, the power of the 304 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,320 mushrooms. To to. 305 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,240 Just orchestrate this. Like, I really believe that it's 306 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:07,200 just, it's just. Wild. 307 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,360 I mean, that's I, I, I, I, I'm open to it too. 308 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:13,040 You know, like how can you prove that you can't? 309 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,360 But there's all kinds of things that are happening on a moment 310 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:21,440 to moment basis that are beyond the so far beyond our ability to 311 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,240 rationalize. So we should be a little bit 312 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,280 open to maybe like, you know, some phenomena. 313 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:30,720 Yes, and and. It's real, you know it. 314 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,720 It's everywhere. And I think that's a great segue 315 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,240 to kind of talk about the work that you're doing with Beckley 316 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:42,080 that makes Beckley so unique, which is the science behind it, 317 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,000 right? Like I'm, I came into this work 318 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:51,520 very like left brain analytical. Let me do all the research 1st. 319 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:57,400 And then I quickly learned that for me personally, I meant to 320 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:02,880 have a much more balance with the, you know, the, the mystery 321 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,320 and the spiritual aspect of the work. 322 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:10,200 But I do want you to be able to talk a little bit about the 323 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,480 spirit or the science side of things, because what you're 324 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,720 doing is really remarkable. And I think it brings a lot of 325 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,960 safety not only to the work that you're doing and how you 326 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,200 operate, but also for people stepping into it that that might 327 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:28,040 have a lot of fear or concern around it. 328 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,120 So just talk a little bit about that. 329 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,120 Yeah. I think that that's, that's kind 330 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,240 of what we set out to do. That's what we're doing is kind 331 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:41,600 of blend tradition and science, and both have their place. 332 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,920 And yeah, And I think our program's doing a good, good job 333 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,000 of that. And most Westerners are very 334 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,200 inclined to use their mind a lot to make sense of things. 335 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:59,720 A lot of other people and cultures use more intuition, you 336 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,360 know, or use more of a balance of it. 337 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,960 But man, Americans love data, facts, figures, and that's fine. 338 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:07,240 That's like how we've been brought up. 339 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,640 That's everything we know. You know, some people have I, I 340 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,520 honestly lost the whole other side of the intuition or the 341 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:19,040 connectedness, you know, and so. I feel like I, I know where some 342 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,600 people are like you, you need and that and that's OK, 343 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,640 Especially, you know, it's, it's good to be have a healthy amount 344 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,480 of skepticism and ask good questions, you know, before you 345 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,480 make the investment in, in something like this. 346 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,400 But you know, we look at these programs more from like an 347 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,320 integrative health or functional health lens. 348 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,480 So the psychedelic or the mystical experience is a part of 349 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,000 that. That is a big part like can do a 350 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:51,480 lot, but we're also alongside of that trying to leverage best 351 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,680 practices from other disciplines. 352 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,800 So you know, we want behavior change. 353 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:02,560 So there's science around what it takes for an adult to learn 354 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,840 new habits, implement new habits and like the secret sauce to how 355 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,920 you get someone to actually start meditating on a regular 356 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,800 basis, you know, so we incorporated that. 357 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,880 There's the psychedelic experience effects a lot of 358 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:28,240 different dimensions of the of of the kind of human being, but 359 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,480 at least part of it's happening at the central nervous system 360 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,000 level, right in the central nervous system, you know, needs 361 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,920 to be kind of tuned. And if you had a lot of 362 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,520 stressors and things in your life, like many of us, you can 363 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,680 get into this kind of sympathetic dominant state that 364 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:47,560 then you're, you know, you're going more alert. 365 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:52,120 So then you're, you're kind of tendency for action is biased 366 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:56,480 towards a certain way of being. And there's techniques that have 367 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:00,320 been studied clinically that we know will help bring you back 368 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,600 more into a more resonant or balanced state. 369 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,400 You know, So we're trying to teach those things along the way 370 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:13,080 too, because ultimately, you know, that that state of the 371 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,640 central nervous system is really important in how we act and 372 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:18,840 feel. You know, so we're kind of 373 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,800 taking more of like a whole human approach and putting 374 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:24,920 together their different things from different disciplines that 375 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:28,320 we know work and, and actually look to be quite complimentary. 376 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,960 And yeah, I mean, we went through like a rigorous process 377 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,360 to design our program and, and then we're, we're capturing 378 00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:38,840 data. So we, we track how people are 379 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:40,880 doing before and we track how people are doing after. 380 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,680 And then we look at that and then we put that back into the 381 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,600 program and say, OK, well, what what can be refined or how can 382 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:51,600 we, you know, make, make it more tailored for individuals based 383 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:55,400 on where they are. You know, so taking some of that 384 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,080 kind of scientific method where you're you're, you're, you're 385 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,200 kind of, you know, trying something and then you're 386 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,920 observing outcomes and you're putting that information back in 387 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,240 to make better decisions. So it's like a systematic 388 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,920 approach to this as opposed to a, Yeah, but. 1. 389 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,080 And done right. Yeah, no, I felt that. 390 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,680 I feel that for sure. And then you don't want to do 391 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:29,120 it, but there's like a, a, you don't want to over mechanize it, 392 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,680 you know, because the humans And so like we don't want our 393 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,320 programs to feel like a corporate off site or worse, 394 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,960 like worse, maybe like a, a, a rushed doctor's visit, you know, 395 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:46,320 so you want to have like some space in between and you want to 396 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,320 have, you know, in our opinion, there's, there's many different 397 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,040 ways to think about this stuff. But kind of like in our way of 398 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,680 thinking that you want to have like really robust standards and 399 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:02,120 things that ensure the program is safe and structured and you 400 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,240 have some consistency. But then within some of the 401 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,160 modules, you want to allow for some of the flow and the 402 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,840 artistry of these facilitators who are really good at just like 403 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:14,520 working with the group and nowhere to go. 404 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,920 And like, so you don't want to like script all that or it 405 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,480 doesn't, it doesn't, we don't. Humans don't like that when it 406 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,240 feels like it's a robot, you know, so you don't want to, you 407 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:24,760 want to. And it's so it's just, it's 408 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,480 trying to find a nice balance of that structure and flow. 409 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,480 Yeah, that's beautiful. Can you recall a piece of wisdom 410 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:36,200 that you got during one of your own journeys that you've brought 411 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,280 into the work that you're doing with Beckley? 412 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,680 Yeah, and meditation, I mean, that's how I always get that. 413 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,720 It's just like, stop thinking about all this, Neil, You know, 414 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:50,200 just like, just be and yeah. Well, thank you. 415 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,520 I'm taking that reminder and myself. 416 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,160 That's, that's really beautiful that, that that's brought it 417 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,160 back to you. I have one more question for 418 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:04,600 you, right, because I think there is a lot of uncovering 419 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,200 that comes up in these journeys that guides us to the next step 420 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,240 in our life. So for anyone out there 421 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,440 listening that feels is kind of like the way that I described it 422 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,880 was just this ache. They might not know, oh, it's 423 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,320 your your soul calling to you. You're off your path, right? 424 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,480 They might not have a name for that. 425 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:28,400 But for anyone that does identify with, yeah, I'm not on 426 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,760 the right path. Like this isn't much how you 427 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,560 felt in your career transitions, right? 428 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,600 You just kind of had this knowing I'm off track. 429 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:43,280 What would you say to them? I mean, I've, what's coming up 430 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,240 for me is you're going to say, well, hey, meditate, allow your, 431 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,360 your central nervous system to just get calm and quiet. 432 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:54,920 But but what else would you share about that tug To find 433 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,680 your purpose, to live your purpose? 434 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,840 Yeah, I listen, you know, listen just like, and I think getting 435 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,040 still and trying to listen is really important. 436 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,960 And then, you know, there's all different types of techniques 437 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:13,400 around how to try and open that up, where you're getting that 438 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,560 signal from the low down in the body up, you know, as opposed to 439 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,480 stimulus in and down into the body. 440 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,960 And yeah, I think meditation is, is is is foundational. 441 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,560 Sometimes it gets put into all these other, gets put into a 442 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,120 bucket with all these other things. 443 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,280 And I would actually make an argument that it, it's, it's its 444 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:37,920 own thing and it, it should be talked about as its own thing. 445 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,240 And then there's that many other things that can sit on top of 446 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,040 that. But like meditation, super 447 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:48,560 foundational. And yeah, go for it. 448 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,400 You know, go like if you feel, if you feel that something's a 449 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:56,320 mess, like try and make some time to sit and investigate that 450 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:02,760 or, you know, work with a coach or a therapist or, you know, buy 451 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,560 some tools online to do the journal exercises, the practical 452 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:07,840 exercises, all kinds of like tools that are out there that'll 453 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,920 help you like get it on paper and just like start moving. 454 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:12,880 And that because life's really short, you know, you don't want 455 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:17,960 to spend 10 or 20 years kind of out of, you know, out of out of 456 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,800 sync because it goes by, it goes by fast. 457 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,000 I love that. I think that's a fabulous place 458 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:31,200 to land This podcast, this show, this episode is just go, get, 459 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,160 still go and find the tools that are going to help you get really 460 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,880 clear about what that next step is, right? 461 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:42,240 And then I'll just add and act, even if it's one small thing, 462 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,400 take an action and then see how it feels. 463 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,960 And clearly from your own journey, Neil, you've gone from 464 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,200 this deep healing work into taking action. 465 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:57,440 And then when we do that, when we say to the universe or 466 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:02,120 whatever you believe out there, I'm, I'm making moves, then 467 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:08,480 these synchronicities just can't help but show up and offer, OK, 468 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,120 let let me guide you. It's I, I call it like the 469 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:15,040 airport conveyor belt, like just just get out and it'll take you 470 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,040 where you need to go. Yeah, it's true. 471 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,880 And I, I can't, I don't have a good mechanical explanation for 472 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,720 it. But like as a mathematician, 473 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:30,200 kind of McKenzie consultant, like very structured thinker, 474 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:35,480 even through my rational mind, I still get to, there's something 475 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,440 there's there's something you can call it God, you can call it 476 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:41,640 the universe, you can call it spirit. 477 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,040 I don't think it really matters what you call it. 478 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,440 But there's something that's like very significant and real 479 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,320 that is part of this that you can have a relationship with if 480 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,320 you're open to it. And then that can change 481 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,800 everything. You know, it takes some humility 482 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,120 to kind of like, you know, believe because. 483 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,880 But yeah, it's very real. It's very. 484 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,520 Real, it's very real. Well, I just want to thank you 485 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,600 so much for your time and I also want to thank you for your 486 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,720 generosity because Cricket fixes members get $500 off your 487 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:15,480 retreat. So I just want to say thank you 488 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,440 for that. And I will be sure for anyone 489 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,720 listening, check out all the links, find me on YouTube, find 490 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,480 it in all the places that you listen to podcast because we 491 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:32,160 will be able to guide you to this incredibly powerful retreat 492 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,640 program that Neil and his crew have put together. 493 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,680 Thank you so much, Neil. Thank you. 494 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,040 All right, well, let's do this. Are you ready for your own 495 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,480 personal transformation? Tired of the patterns that are 496 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,080 holding you back and you're ready to finally unleash your 497 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,920 authentic self? Head over to cricketfixes.com. 498 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,040 You're going to find memberships packed with life changing 499 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:00,520 courses, exclusive discounts to the partner marketplace in a 500 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,360 community that's already waiting to welcome you in. 501 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:09,200 You can join for free or go all in and start your next charter 502 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:09,960 today.