I was searching for information online about microdosing when I came across something even more expansive. In his 2023 SXSW talk, Paul Stamets spoke about psilocybin mushrooms with the kind of reverence and insight that immediately shifted my focus. What began as a search for practical tools led me to a deeper remembrance—of the knowledge keepers in this space, of the mycelial intelligence that has always been beneath our feet, and of the larger paradigm shift unfolding around us.
As a Wayfinder, I know that healing is not just about fixing something broken—it’s about reorienting ourselves, coming back into right relationship with what has always been there. Stamets reminds us that fungi are teachers of interconnection. They do not grow in isolation, and neither do we. Just as the mycelial network weaves together ecosystems, psilocybin has the potential to weave together fragmented aspects of ourselves, our communities, and the world.
Healing Beyond the Individual: The Mycelial Model of Psychedelics
In the West, healing is often framed as an individual pursuit. We treat mental health like an isolated condition, rather than something shaped by culture, history, and relational dynamics. The psychedelic space is no exception—so much of the conversation is about clinical trials, certifications, and scaling “treatment models.” But as Stamets points out, the wisdom of psilocybin is not new. It has been part of indigenous traditions for thousands of years, carefully tended by knowledge keepers who understood that healing is not just personal—it is collective.
Fungi offer a different model, one that resonates deeply with Wayfinding: Healing is a relational process. Mycelium is not an isolated entity; it survives by forming connections, by sharing information, by adapting in response to the ecosystem around it. What if we approached psychedelic healing the same way? Not as something to be extracted, commodified, or controlled, but as something we steward in relationship with one another?
The Shift from Fear to Connection
Stamets describes psilocybin as a medicine that helps dissolve fear. When people are afraid, they react with defensiveness, control, and violence. We see this in the broader world, but also in psychedelic spaces—where fear of doing things “wrong” leads to rigid hierarchies, where masculine-driven models prioritize structure over intuition, and where indigenous and feminine wisdom is often dismissed in favor of clinical validation.
But psilocybin does what mycelium does—it reminds us that we are already connected. Stamets shares studies showing that psilocybin is uniquely associated with reducing violence, increasing nature relatedness, and shifting consciousness toward collaboration rather than competition. This is a fundamental reorientation. Not just for individuals, but for how we approach psychedelic healing as a whole.
A Feminine Approach to Psychedelic Work
Psychedelic healing is often framed as a hero’s journey—one of breakthrough, mastery, and return. But as Wayfinders, we recognize that there is another path, one that is not about conquering or transcending, but about deep listening, relational intelligence, and integration.
Rather than centering individual expertise, we ask: Who are we learning from? Who are we in relationship with? How do we move forward in a way that honors the wisdom that has come before us?
Stamets himself embodies this bridge. He is a scientist, but he is also a storyteller, a listener, a steward of ancient wisdom. He doesn’t position himself as the authority, but as part of a lineage. This is the kind of leadership that will carry psychedelic work forward—not one that seeks to own or control the narrative, but one that recognizes the intelligence already present in nature, in indigenous traditions, and in the intuitive knowing that exists beyond language.
Wayfinding Forward
The message of mycelium—and of psilocybin—is one of radical interdependence. It is not enough to seek transformation for ourselves. The work now is to ensure that this movement doesn’t lose its soul. That it doesn’t become another industry shaped by extraction and hierarchy, but remains what it was always meant to be: a remembering. A return to the intelligence of relationship. A shift from separation to wholeness.
As psychedelic work expands, we must ask ourselves:
- Are we reinforcing old paradigms of control, or are we opening new possibilities for connection?
- Are we replicating systems of hierarchy, or are we honoring the wisdom of relational intelligence?
- Are we extracting knowledge, or are we listening to the knowledge keepers who have carried this wisdom before us?
Healing—like mycelium—does not happen in isolation. It happens in relationship. And perhaps the most important thing we can do now is not to own this work, but to steward it. To remember that we are not separate from the intelligence of the natural world. That the answers we seek are already woven into the fabric of life itself.
This is what it means to be a Wayfinder. This is the path forward.
“Inspired by Paul Stamets’ 2023 talk at SXSW, ‘How Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Help Save the World.’ Watch the full talk here.”
