Our Story
About seven years ago, I sat with Bufo for the first time and everything changed.
It wasn’t just an experience. It was a return. A remembering. A profound and irreversible shift that opened me into a deep inquiry around consciousness, identity, and what it means to be alive.
At the time, I had no roadmap. I was trying to make sense of what I had encountered—what I had seen, felt, and touched in my journey. I was left largely on my own, confused and disoriented, trying to integrate something immense without guidance or support. That gap stayed with me.
I began studying—not only spiritually, but scientifically. I grew psilocybin mushrooms, explored different strains and their effects, and worked with both macro and micro doses. I read research on the Default Mode Network, followed emerging studies on DMT and the brain, and sought to understand the why behind the wow. The medicines themselves became teachers, each offering a different doorway into the same mystery.
Over time, curiosity turned into service.
After a year of training, I began holding ceremonies locally in Central New York. Eventually, I started traveling to meet others who felt a similar call—people ready to meet themselves, their stories, and their divinity. What began as something deeply personal grew into small, devoted communities in places like Pittsburgh, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Tampa, and Sedona.
As the work expanded, something became clear: this wasn’t meant to be held alone.
I didn’t want others to be dropped into the deep end the way I had been—left to make sense of powerful experiences without grounding, support, or integration. I wanted to offer the opposite: a space where people could be met with care, safety, and discernment; where the sacred was honored without abandoning the human.
That desire became Shama Sanctuary.
Shama means peace of mind. And that is what we hope to offer—not answers or dogma, but a grounded, ethical container where people can explore, integrate, and remember who they are beneath it all.
This church exists for seekers.
For those who’ve had experiences they can’t explain and need a safe place to process them. For those curious about sacred medicine but unsure how to begin. For anyone longing to reconnect—with themselves, with nature, with the Divine.
And if you’ve found yourself here, you’re already part of the story.
Shama Sanctuary is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) sacred medicine church committed to supporting individuals on their personal journey through the intentional use of entheogenic sacraments, integration practices, and community care.
Our mission is to create a safe, structured, and compassionate environment where people can reconnect with themselves, explore inner patterns and parts, and deepen their relationship with the divine presence in all of life.
We draw on grounded, trauma-informed approaches—including Internal Family Systems (IFS), embodiment practices, and nervous system awareness—to support emotional safety, long-term integration, and authentic personal growth.
We honor ancient wisdom while meeting people where they are today. Through ceremony, preparation, and integration, we support individuals in reconnecting with their inner clarity, agency, and sense of belonging—both within themselves and in community.
Our vision is to cultivate a vibrant, supportive community—both online and in person—where people can connect with themselves, one another, and the sacred.
Through our online platform, we offer workshops, integration support, and small group spaces that encourage honest dialogue, shared learning, and mutual care. We believe spiritual growth is strengthened in relationship, not isolation.
Over time, we aim to establish a physical sanctuary in Asheville, North Carolina—a place where these values can take root locally. This space will host retreats, trainings, and gatherings centered on personal and spiritual growth, alongside practices such as meditation, breathwork, yoga, and holistic wellness.
Shama Sanctuary is more than a place.
It is a container for real transformation, accountability, and the long-term integration of spiritual experience into everyday life.
“No, not half—I am the whole of mankind… Flowers and thorns, darkness as well as light… Whoever experiences this, I call religious.” — Osho
At Shama Sanctuary, we recognize the full spectrum of human experience—our beauty and our shadow, our capacity for love and our potential for harm. We believe the sacred path is not about escape, purity, or perfection, but about integration of the whole self within a safe, reverent, and structured container.
We hold the following beliefs as part of our collective spiritual path:
