When Ceremonies Go Big

A ceremony, whether plant medicine or a major life moment, doesn’t always build gradually.

Sometimes, it hits you like a wave, faster than you can process. You might feel as though everything you’ve known about yourself or your life is suddenly being called into question. It could manifest as an overwhelming emotional release, a deep grief or joy that feels impossible to contain.

Or perhaps it’s a sudden realization about a pattern you’ve been holding onto for years. The moment it goes big is the moment when everything gets louder, when the discomfort outweighs the familiarity of your past coping mechanisms.

This is the point where you can no longer ignore the work that needs to be done.

Feel It Fully: You may want to run, hide, or shut it down, but this is your moment to feel everything. Feel the emotions as they come. Observe the discomfort. Observe the joy. Observe the pain. Observe the fear. Observe the hope. Observe and feel whatever it brings to you.

The more you can sit with it, the more you’ll learn from it.

Don’t Look for Immediate Answers: When it goes big, you might want clarity right away or feel like you need to “solve it.” But sometimes, clarity doesn’t come until after.

Let go of the need to understand everything in the moment.

Surrender to the Process: The less you do, the more the ceremony will allow for. Trust the process. Trust that it’s unfolding exactly as it’s meant to. Breathe.

You don’t need to understand everything now.

Practice Gratitude: When things go big, it’s easy to get swept away by the intensity of the moment. Take a moment and find the gratitude, even in the chaos. Gratitude shifts your perspective, reminding you that the big moments are not obstacles, but opportunities, insights, gifts. Gratitude helps you honor the process and appreciate the depth of the work happening, even when it feels challenging. Gratitude for the discomfort. Gratitude for the joy. Gratitude for the pain. Gratitude for the fear. Gratitude for whatever your ceremony shows you.

Gratitude for what it is making space for next.

-Richard