A plant medicine ceremony is not only about the medicine, according to facilitator Manuel Padilla. The co-founder of Pachamama Sacred Paths tells Jeremy Van Wert, in a conversation translated live between Spanish and English, how he came to this work, why he says we become the stories we tell about ourselves, and what being seen and heard in a circle can do.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Manuel says emotional pain, not only a diagnosis, is what many people bring to him, and that moving emotions makes them easier to heal.
- He explains the victim story: an old hurt becomes an identity that gains attention, and the ego grows around it.
- He ties anxiety to imagined futures and describes his job as bringing people back to the present moment.
- He argues that Western civilization is starved of human connection, and that being seen and heard in a circle can be as powerful as anything else in the work.
- He urges anyone interested in this path to choose trained, experienced guides.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠHow one facilitator came to lead a plant medicine ceremony
Manuel says he has always felt awake and was drawn to spiritual philosophies as a child. He had been through shamanic initiations before his first plant medicine ceremony, which he places between the ages of 23 and 26. In that first ceremony, he says, he met a spirit he already knew, and it told him it had been waiting for him.
He kept going back, he says, because it felt like a calling. He met a teacher in Mexico and spent about two and a half years working with her, and he began creating groups. When teachers later asked if he was ready to give medicine, he said no, because he knew it was a heavy responsibility. His first retreat as a facilitator was in Utah, where the visiting shaman was held at an airport and the ceremony still had to happen.
Group work came, he explains, because one-on-one sessions would never reach enough people. In Jeremy's introduction, Manuel is described as a co-founder of Pachamama Sacred Paths who trained with Mayan and Huichol wisdom keepers and as a biodance facilitator. Jeremy says he met him at a recent retreat.
ᚢDepression, mysticism and the search for purpose
Manuel speaks openly about a depression that lasted about seven years. He says it was a sense that something was missing, and that it pushed him to look for his purpose through meditation and mysticism. He also says that at first, discovering spirituality made things feel heavier before they felt lighter.
He describes a path of constant self-discovery and clearing away the programs and paradigms he had been told he had to follow. Dance came about two years later, through a technique called biodance, which he calls the dance of life. He says each time he danced he learned more about his purpose.
Manuel is sharing a personal story. If you are living with depression or anxiety, a conversation with a licensed professional is a good first step. Jeremy offers individual therapy and coaching for people who want that kind of support.
ᚦThe victim story: how the ego grows around old wounds
Asked why Western civilization struggles with depression, anxiety and trauma, Manuel answers that in a sense we are sick of civilization, and that we have forgotten human connection. He says people often arrive with emotional pain, and that learning to move emotions makes it easier to heal. In his work, anxiety comes from imagined movies about the future, and his job is to bring people to the present moment.
He then walks through what he calls the victim story. A childhood accident, for example, can be remembered as a time when someone looked after you. As you grow up, you look for that feeling in other people, and when it is missing the sadness holds a victim mindset in place. Later, he says, that story is what helps people see you, and if people see you, the ego grows.
Jeremy puts it this way: we write a story about what happens, it becomes our identity, and we become the story and not our souls. Manuel agrees that this is where depression, trauma and anxiety live. Jeremy says that during his most recent journey he felt that his inner words, such as “I'm not good enough,” became tiny and the love huge, which he took as the other identity falling away.
ᚨBeing seen and heard in the circle
Jeremy calls the circle of compassion one of the most profound parts of the weekend. People brought deep pain, and there was healing in being seen, heard and appropriately touched. He says that was as impactful as the medicine itself.
Manuel tells a story to explain why. A father is busy at his computer when his child says, “Dad, look at me.” The father says he can hear him but keeps working, and the child answers, “Dad, please listen to me with your eyes.” We are rarely seen as children, he says, and school can add bullying, so as adults we may hide.
In a circle with a good guide, he says, the inner child can open up and feel compassion for another person who is healing without judgment. People who want that kind of connection can find real conversation, live Fireside Chats and a course library in Thriving Spirits, the Mindful Mutiny community.
ᚱBiodance, slow movement and the nervous system
At the retreat, the group danced to slow music, which Jeremy had never thought to dance to. Manuel says calm music invites a calm, slow dance, and that rarely do we turn down the noise of the mind to observe the movement within us.
He says the body is always pulsing and has a rhythm, and that a nervous system used to chaos struggles to relax. In his view dancing helps the body find a calmer rhythm, and when you dance you are in the present moment. He mentions hugging, being listened to and being seen as other things that help the body.
He says neuroscience is observing these effects. These are Manuel's views, not medical claims, and he is not describing a treatment.
ᚲHow to choose a guide for a plant medicine retreat
On how he senses what people need, Manuel calls it a mystery and says that if he put logic to it, it would stop being one. He says he starts to feel who is coming before the ceremony, and that a sacred circle forms when everyone's timelines converge. Jeremy takes this as part of why the work felt so personal. These are spiritual experiences as the speakers describe them.
Jeremy's advice is direct. If you are interested in this kind of medicine, he says, do it with people who are careful, trained in an ancestral lineage and experienced. He notes that Manuel works with Pachamama Sacred Paths, whose retreats come to different towns.
Manuel closes with a thought he repeats to everyone: what I notice in other people is a reflection of what I am. For people who want structured, small-group support, Jeremy leads Light in the Mountains, a three-day small-group psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy retreat in the Sierra Nevada. You can also see whether this work suits you in a short, direct conversation.
Psychedelics and plant medicines may be illegal where you live and aren't right for everyone. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any substance. Manuel's views on the ego, trauma and ceremony are his own beliefs, not medical advice. This episode also touches on depression. If you are struggling, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional or your local emergency services.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What happens in a plant medicine ceremony?
This episode does not walk through a ceremony step by step. Manuel describes forming a sacred circle, being seen and heard by the group, and moving through emotion, with dance, music and a trained guide. The experience is personal and varies by tradition.
What does Manuel mean by the victim story?
He describes an old hurt that becomes an identity because it gets us attention and a sense of being looked after. In his view the ego grows around that story, and he links it to depression, trauma and anxiety.
Why does being seen and heard matter for healing trauma?
Manuel says many people were not listened to as children and then were hurt at school, so they stopped wanting to be seen. In a circle with a good guide, he believes the inner child can open and feel compassion without judgment.
How can you choose a safe guide for a plant medicine retreat?
Jeremy recommends people who are careful, trained in an ancestral lineage and experienced. Manuel also urges people to choose trained, experienced guides. This is not medical advice or a recommendation to use any substance.