On Seeking Center we’re always exploring different ways of getting to the center of who you are and better understanding why you are here in this lifetime. So today, we’re talking with Gary Logan and Rob Grover of The Journeymen Collective. They are contemporary shamans that co-create deeply transcendental and sacred psychedelic plant medicine journeys by guiding you through the metaphysical wilderness of your soul. Gary and Rob help to expand your awareness of multidimensional reality to accelerate your conscious impact in life, love and business.
For more than 40 years Gary has developed a deep awareness of the mind-body-spirit connection within human beings. Gary’s extensive knowledge of the psycho-physical connection, through the Alexander Technique – which we’ll be talking about in this episode– is a key distinction of The Journeymen Collective work that prepares the whole being for the ceremonies and facilitates a dynamic integration process; from the spiritual to the physical embodiment of renewal.
In 2003, Rob experienced a profound awakening which opened him up to the deeper realms of existence. It changed the entire course of his life, leading him out of a successful corporate career onto an ever-evolving path of self-development and to his higher purpose, which is to help others connect into their innate guidance systems and universal truths through the shamanic path. He combines his lifelong exploration of science with mastery of his multi-sensory spiritual awareness to guide each and every client to be energetically prepared for their shamanic journey.
From plant medicine and ceremonies to the Alexander Method and quantum energy--we're discussing it all.
MORE FROM GARY + ROB
Visit theseekingcenter.com for more from Robyn + Karen, plus mega inspo -- and the best wellness + spiritual practitioners, products and experiences on the planet!
You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter
On Seeking Center we’re always exploring different ways of getting to the center of who you are and better understanding why you are here in this lifetime. So today, we’re talking with Gary Logan and Rob Grover of The Journeymen Collective. They are contemporary shamans that co-create deeply transcendental and sacred psychedelic plant medicine journeys by guiding you through the metaphysical wilderness of your soul. Gary and Rob help to expand your awareness of multidimensional reality to accelerate your conscious impact in life, love and business.
For more than 40 years Gary has developed a deep awareness of the mind-body-spirit connection within human beings. Gary’s extensive knowledge of the psycho-physical connection, through the Alexander Technique – which we’ll be talking about in this episode– is a key distinction of The Journeymen Collective work that prepares the whole being for the ceremonies and facilitates a dynamic integration process; from the spiritual to the physical embodiment of renewal.
In 2003, Rob experienced a profound awakening which opened him up to the deeper realms of existence. It changed the entire course of his life, leading him out of a successful corporate career onto an ever-evolving path of self-development and to his higher purpose, which is to help others connect into their innate guidance systems and universal truths through the shamanic path. He combines his lifelong exploration of science with mastery of his multi-sensory spiritual awareness to guide each and every client to be energetically prepared for their shamanic journey.
From plant medicine and ceremonies to the Alexander Method and quantum energy--we're discussing it all.
MORE FROM GARY + ROB
Visit theseekingcenter.com for more from Robyn + Karen, plus mega inspo -- and the best wellness + spiritual practitioners, products and experiences on the planet!
You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter
Robyn: [00:00:00] I'm Robyn Miller Brecker and I'm Karen Loenser. Welcome to Seeking Center, the podcast. Join us each week as we have the conversations and we, through the spiritual and holistic clutter for you, we'll boil it down to what you need to know now, we're all about total wellness, which to us needs building a healthy life.
Karen: On a physical, mental, and spiritual level, we'll talk to the trailblazers who'll introduce you to the practices, products, and experiences that may be just what you need to hear about to transform your life. If you're listening to this, it's no accident. Think of this as your seeking center and your place to seek your center.
Robyn: And for the best wellness and spiritual practitioners, experts, products, experiences, and inspo, visit theseekingcenter. com.
On Seeking Center, we're always exploring different ways of getting to the center of who you are and better understanding why you are here in this lifetime. So today, we're talking with Gary Logan and Rob Grover of the Journeymen Collective. They [00:01:00] are contemporary shamans that co create deeply , transcendental and sacred psychedelic plant medicine journeys by guiding you through the metaphysical wilderness of your soul. Gary and Rob helped to expand your awareness of multidimensional reality to accelerate your conscious impact in life, love and business. For more than 40 years, Gary has developed a deep awareness of the mind body spirit connection within human beings.
Gary's extensive knowledge of the psychophysical connection through the Alexander Technique, which we'll be talking about in this episode, is a key distinction of the Journeymen collective work that prepares the whole being for the ceremonies and facilitates a dynamic integration process from the spiritual to the physical embodiment of renewal.
In 2003, Rob experienced a profound awakening, which opened him up to the deeper realms of existence. It changed the entire course of his life, leading him out of a successful corporate career onto an [00:02:00] ever evolving path of self development, And to his higher purpose, which is to help others connect into their innate guidance systems and universal truths through the shamanic path, he combines his lifelong exploration of science with mastery of his multi sensory spiritual awareness to guide each and every client to be energetically prepared for their shamanic journey.
From plant medicine and ceremonies to the Alexander method and quantum energy, there is so much to discuss. Let's get going. Hi, Gary and Rob.
Karen: If that intro does not get our listeners so fired up,
Gary: don't know what will . I can see them like shaking their heads like, what? What the heck are they going
Karen: to talk about? No, this is fantastic. We just can't wait to dive in .
Robyn: Yeah. So let's start by talking about and hearing about each of you we heard a little bit in the intro, but what led you both down this path?
Gary: I'd say I always start out with this saying when I was 17, I graduated high school and went right [00:03:00] into a theater program in college. So I think that was my first personal development taste, because if you know anything about theater, they're going to take you apart. Basically your habitual way of being from your parents who taught you and what school had taught you to find out who you truly are, the essence of you.
So from the parent paradigm, we'll call it, from what they know.
And honestly, we can't blame anyone for anything other than the tools that we have is what we bring forward in our lives to assist others to grow. With that said, I did finish theatre school for after two years. took time off and then went back to theatre school about five years later and moved to England.
And in that program, I discovered the Alexander Technique. And it is a mind, body, conscious awareness training. That's sort of it in a nutshell. But the teacher came up to me after two days of learning about it, said, I think Gary, you need to become a teacher of the Alexander Technique. And at the time I was 24 and I'm [00:04:00] thinking, No way.
I'm here to become an actor. I'm not here to become a teacher. Fast forward many years later. I moved back to Vancouver and met up with an Alexander teacher there and they opened up a school in Vancouver and she handed me an application says Gary It's time to become an Alexander teacher and all that with the three year Certification program.
I discovered a metaphysical teaching. I had an awakening. I was invited to go to a church, which I usually don't go to. And I had no belief system. And my friend says, no, just come . We'll see what the sermon's about. And they talked about thorns, burdens and crosses that we carry.
And I thought, okay, this is what we were talking about the night before. And it's funny that the sermon tied in the synchronicities that happen. And the minister says, as we're giving the bread and the wine, Please think of Christ lifting the thorns, birds across off your shoulders.
Praise the Lord. It happened. It's oh my God, I could feel these energetic hands come off and lift the burdens off my shoulder and my hair is standing on end. [00:05:00] And my friends are going, why are you crying? I think I've just had an awakening, Christ did come and lift these thorns and burdens.
So I told a friend in Vancouver, and that's when she introduced the metaphysical teaching to me. She says, you need to go to a spiritual center called unity. And I went there and the minister was brilliant. It was not a sermon, but a lecture. I totally understood. This is home. I've been with them for 25, 30 years now.
And I went every Sunday, but I really embodied the whole work of metaphysical teaching and learning. And from there, I went on a healing touch program. The Vancouver General Hospital with the nurses for two years and tapped into my intuitiveness and my energy and aura and just basically there's guides that are with us along the way.
And we'll move quickly forward into when Robert and I met, and then my mother lived with us for about three and a half years in the time that Robert and I were living together and, she transitioned after three and a half years which is quite [00:06:00] sad. It was unexpected, and that's when grief set in.
we'd always experienced grief from our losing a pet or me be a distant cousin or uncle, not really in the home with you. We had a magical friend come into our life and she spoke about a medicine man that she worked with that would be able to assist us to get out of our grief and depression and we thought we had enough tools in our kit after all the years of working on ourselves.
We didn't. Robert embarked on the journey and when he came home It was unbelievable. The change in Robert is whoa, you've changed like energy wise, just about his emotions. He was connected to his joy and his happiness. And I thought if the journey can do that to shift the grief from you, maybe I need to do this.
And it was like, the timing was right. we spread my mother's ashes on May 5th and May 6th was my birthday. And I always say it's the best birthday gift I ever gave myself. And it's Holy, I spent three days with the shaman and truly shifted out of depression. I would say I come [00:07:00] back in alignment.
So grief and depression take you off your core alignment of who you're supposed to be in the path that you're supposed to go forward. And it brought me back to dead center. I was really grounded and connected and no pun in the dead center.
there was a death. when you embark on a shamanic journey with a journeyman, collective, especially we guide you through. So you're going to have we'll call it an ego death, but we'll call it a, the old way of being and doing. So that's what happened on my journey is I saw myself here beside me and thought, okay, need to honor that past life that I've lived to move forward so I could free myself up to find the direction we're going.
And when I came home and told Robert about my journey and a vision that I had, and I said, the vision was that this is the work we're supposed to do. And he said, I know, but I didn't tell you before you went on your journey. And it was like, so we sat together and we thought, what does this look like?
Nobody else does this, Like we want to do it and we had a [00:08:00] brilliant we still do there in our lives executive coaches and they came on a journey and they sat with us says, Rob and Gary, we can work on this together to bring it to the humanity it's your gift to the world.
And pass that over to Robert now.
Robyn: Yeah, Rob, tell us.
Robert: Yeah, it's been several decades of just working on self. I grew up Roman Catholic, and that was a big part of my family's life. And we went to church religiously.
And something never quite sat in the pocket of who I am with it. There were teachings that I learned from and whatnot, but it was like there's more than this. And science entered my life, and I embarked on an undergraduate degree. Earth sciences, became an earth scientist, loved it.
I innately understood geology, physics, math, biology, like how the human cells work. And it all just came very intuitively. And so there was a point in my life where I was like, I don't need religion anymore. I'm basically going to just go [00:09:00] down this path of science and that's my belief system.
And that's what I'm going to work with for the rest of my life. And when I made that declaration, the universe took me and shook me and said, Oh, you think so? And I had an awakening in like 2003. And all of a sudden what was the awakening? I could see and sense energy around people. And so I went the traditional route and Was tested for everything, MRIs, CAT scans, neurological tests and everything.
And everyone was like, there's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with you. I met a spiritual teacher and she shook my hand. She held my hand and held my hand. And I was like, I can feel what you're doing. I know what you're doing. You're reading me. You're feeling into my energy. .
And she did that. She held my hand And I shared my story and she looked at me. She's there's nothing wrong with you. You're supposed to be seeing what you're seeing. And I just cried and cried and cried. It's finally, like it, was in that soulful pocket of Hey, she's speaking truth.
This is someone I can trust. This is someone who has answers for what I'm going through right now. And I think that's a big part [00:10:00] of what humanity is. Going through right now too they don't have those structures in place that can support their own awakening and their own understanding of this spiritual metaphysical world that we live in.
And so I had this unbelievable appetite for the metaphysical world and I could bridge it and mesh it together with science and I could see how it all worked together. From a very macroscopic level. And I just started training and I started taking courses and programs and for basically the last two decades, that's what I've been doing and just working on myself, but also with the intention to optimize my effectiveness and my efficiency in life.
And so 2015, I exited corporate America, corporate Canada, and after very successful career and a lot of people like, what are you doing you've done an undergrad, you done a graduate degree. There's also a master's degree in there too. And in the master's degree, that's when things started to open up and [00:11:00] I started to question things a little bit more and science didn't quite have all the answers for me of what was going on around me and in that process of awakening, I saw a lot of specialists and no one had any answers for me. So I'm like, okay, there's got to be something else. There's more to this.
So that was a thread that was throughout my whole entire life. I was always questioning things and 2015 I exited corporate. Started my own coaching practice, basically working with executives, working with professionals, career coaching, mindset coaching. And then even in that, that was the logical departure out of corporate and it was safe bet.
And as I was sitting there, I was doing the work and I'm sitting in my office and I sat back and I was like, there's something still missing. What is it? And I looked and all of the books, all the courses, all the programs, all the certifications were all just staring at me. It's this is what's missing.
You're not letting that part of you in. So the metaphysical part wanted to come through. So I started weaving that into my work. And then [00:12:00] we were just about to start running retreats. And then Gary's mom decided to exit stage left very quickly. And as Gary said, there was grief, there was depression, like opening up the bedroom door, walking down the hall every day and all of a sudden it's poof, that person is just gone.
And it was like, it was another awakening of hey, what the heck are you doing here? What are you doing here on this planet? What is the legacy that you're going to leave behind? What is the purpose of your work? And I think these are questions that your listeners can even ask themselves as well. And the good ol Saying a life is short, and it is it is gone in an instant.
And basically, 2017, Gary's mom passed away, and then a few months later, I went on a shamanic journey with magic mushrooms. And I had experienced mushrooms before, but in a very in a trip setting as opposed to an actual journey setting and there's a vast difference of like just having fun with your friends and looking at cool things and staring at pictures and Ooh, that's [00:13:00] fun.
It's swirling around versus looking inside. And even that, I think if I look back, some of those trips were merging and tipping into journeys. However, the people weren't there to support me. And so that was an integral part of the process that I had the medicine man there with me two full days.
In the medicine, there was no preparation, there was no integration, and it was like high and by, and it opened up a massive part of me, of remembering into who I am, remembering into what I'm here for, and I wanted to have those deeper level conversations with people, and those deeper level conversations with the clients that I already had, and I came out of that with a deep level of devotion and commitment, To my highest purpose of helping people remember into why they're here, and As Gary said as well, it came out of that experience and I was like, I think this is what we're to do.
What the heck does that look like? And it was a grand sort of [00:14:00] culmination of weaving everything together. And I think that's what happened is that we braided all of the different aspects of Rob, all the different aspects of Gary into like spiritual, mental, emotional, physical planes.
And that's the most linear that we can break it down to those four planes to help people work with those four different levels of self. And we just looked at the world and said, okay what is this going to look like? And we embarked on training of how to facilitate this work and then bridging all of the different pieces Of our previous personal professional development and really looked at the world and said we were guided to work with professionals, executives, founders, high achievers, movers, shakers, actors, athletes.
And we found that out in a journey. So I was like, okay another big trust fall happening here, trust leap. And when we actually took that on and started formulating the whole entire offering. Essentially, what was happening is that we're helping [00:15:00] people move from business to conscious business.
So if people can be more aware of their spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical beings, then they can be more aware of their team members, or board members, or their employees . And so instead of working from the bottom up, it was more the top down, let the energy trickle down and out into the workplaces.
And one of the biggest things that was posed to us is what is the most common thing that people do when they wake up in the morning? They get up and go to work. So if we can have people who are more consciously aware of themselves. Then they can be more consciously aware of what's taking place in their relationships at home and also in the workplace, the business environment.
Wow. So
Gary: much in
Karen: there, so many things.
I wonder just for our listeners, if we could have you guys talk about what is a shaman and what is a shamanic journey, because we've talked to people and there seems to be a variety of different definitions of that.
So maybe just
Robert: start
Gary: there.
Robert: Yeah, [00:16:00] totally. The label it's a loose one for us. It's not something we're totally glued to. And there's spiritual advisor, there's energy worker, there's visionary, there's so many different pieces, but a
shaman is one who helps another awaken their own healing potential and empowers an individual to recognize that I am life's greatest gift and I can continue to unpack that gift and learn about it and learn about the gifts that are there within me And anything that's going on within me on those four planes of spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, I, as an individual, can work with that when someone empowers me to do so it's almost like we're giving people a full on permission slip to say, here, you have all of the resources within you, we're just going to guide you to that inner realm within yourself, so that you can move the energy within your body where 99. 99999% space. So the rest of the being the point 1 is [00:17:00] matter.
So if we can educate people on how to work with energy at the most basic level, then that's something that you can truly empower someone with to help people bridge the gap most of humanity works from the intellectual center, just the mind, the logical center. But if we can help people bridge the gap and turn on the intelligence center of the heart mind and the gut mind and use all three of those minds in concert, then that's when a massive shift can actually happen.
And people can attune to what's taking place in their environment, in themselves, and around outside environment as well. So I think that's our definition of what shaman is, again, it's not something that we don't necessarily adhere to that label. But it's basically the image that can be created in someone's mind of, hey who are these people?
And that's the greatest symbol, I think, that we can help people to explore their own [00:18:00] inner realms. And I know we're going to talk more about the journeyman collective process and how you work, but what you were just saying when you talk about wanting to help people connect with that energy of that heart and intellectual and gut, heart, intellectual, when people come to you, would you say a majority the people that you have been on journeys with?
Have no idea what that actually feels like, or even know what you're talking about when you start working with them.
Gary: Yes. And yes. I'm not sure I know what you're talking about. People do ask that question and we understand. The simplest thing to do is instead of. Thinking with the head, think with the heart, love with the mind, and reverse it.
So that brings you back into your body. Then go forth with the thought and the words that come out of your mouth. So think with the heart, love with the mind, then [00:19:00] respond, act, move forward. So it's taking that moment to stop. We even say breathe, even place a hand on the heart. It's a practice you're going to build on, and it does get quicker as you move forward in this path of your life.
Oh,
Robyn: that's so helpful. to me, what that stresses is, Emphasizing to feel. when you think about thinking with your heart, it's feeling. Yes.
Gary: people don't know what feeling is, so you have to go to the thinking and then they'll go, Oh, I feel something.
There's the next step. That's right. Yes.
Karen: So going back to the shamanic I appreciate you not claiming that for yourself. Is that how the journeyman name came to be? Because I think it just so perfectly describes what you do and who you are as well.
Gary: Yeah, while I was in the forest, I did a lot of hiking in the forest in North Vancouver.
And as the trees do talk to you if you're open to listening and receiving. And we [00:20:00] were trying to come up with a name. And so I thought we're on Journey. And so we're Journey Group, Journey something. And then we came up with Journeymen and then what are we doing?
We're collecting a lot of people together to gather to move forward. So not like a cult, but a collective of mind, soul, and body. So people can go out into the world, emanate their light. Like we're lighthouses. We draw people in. We spark their lighthouse. They go out into the world. They shine their light.
So that's why the journeyman collective came together. So we're collecting and growing, expanding. That's beautiful.
Karen: You two are such a wonderful balance for each other. I And we never
Robyn: found out how you met, by the way.
Gary: Oh, okay. So do you want my version?
So I worked for an organic grocery store in Vancouver, and that's while I was going to school to become an Alexander teacher. And I was the guest service manager for [00:21:00] the cashiers in the front end. And Robert came through as a customer and I was providing excellent customer service by bagging his groceries and, smiling and, doing the usual stuff that a guest service manager is supposed to do.
And a gentleman that was a cashier says so what do you think? And I said what do you mean? He says what do you think of the guy that came through? I said he's tall, he's handsome, great hair, good eyes, great smile, good teeth, all the ticks on the boxes came through.
He says he's checking you out walking by the window and the whole front end staff turned and looked and we all laughed and he walked away. He wasn't like smearing against the window, but it was obvious we were both, looking at each other. Robert would shop on Thursdays and Sundays.
And those were the nights that I worked. And he came through again. And then he went away for a couple of weeks and I thought maybe he's not living here. cause I did see by his ID that he lived in Alberta and he did say he was moving here, but then he disappeared. And then magically showed up at the right time.
My cashiers were very good to me and they would call me down to say my mystery shopper was here. And [00:22:00] I would come down and greet Robert and then met him in the tea aisle and All the actor experience with Shakespeare, I thought, okay, what line am I going to say here? He's looking for tea, and I said, to tea or not to
Robert: tea?
Robyn: And I raised my eyebrow to tea. And
Gary: I said, good answer. And do I say, what kind of tea you're looking for? He was looking for white peony, and of course we had white peony tea, so I was able to provide him with the tea that he needed. And he left the store and I went outside the store.
And then I said, let's meet up for coffee or tea. And Robert waited the appropriate 48 hours. Didn't sound was too
Robert: desperate, was in 2007. So quirky texting is quite difficult.
Gary: So I got a phone call and not a text , and we met up and we sat at the beach for an hour or so and Usually my timing is 45 minutes, the coffee's over, and either it's successful or not successful, and it was successful because we went for a walk and went for dinner, and two [00:23:00] days later we jokingly say Robert moved in.
That's the gist of the story. We innately knew, we knew there was a connection immediately. And if we go back further, Robert did say he did see me a while ago in the store that I wasn't open to see him at that time. And the universe brought us together.
Gary: Robert, I wonder,
Karen: you see Gary's energy when you
Robert: met him? so basically it was October of 2006, and I was living and working in Calgary at the time, and I went to Vancouver for a weekend workshop and it was a brilliant workshop. I also went to the store that Gary was working at and I noted his presence.
He was beaming and I was like, there is no way that he is single. He is way too happy to be single because Single people can't be happy. And I went back to Calgary and I was speaking with a colleague at the time and I said I still want to move to Vancouver. And he looked at me, he was like, why don't you?
And it just shook me in my tracks. I was like, oh yeah, I can do that. And so in that moment, I was like, okay, I'm moving to [00:24:00] Vancouver. And went about my business and started, started planning what that was going to look like. And I needed to find the job and roommates or an apartment
and so basically, I took a few more times to go to Vancouver just to test it out to see is this something that I really want to do, and I bumped into Gary in the aisle one day, something else took my arm and moved it and clipped him in the aisle. He turned and glared at me. He doesn't remember this at all.
Gary: But I'm sure my thought
was, isn't this aisle big enough for two people? And I kept on going, not even seeing Robert at the time.
Robert: So I was like, he's definitely not single. And then I just let it go. Moved to Vancouver in May of 07. We went on our first date June 27th of 07. Basically
Gary: how many years later?
Yeah. Here we are. 17 years.
Karen: Wow. Look what you built. That's
Gary: yeah. We look back as could we have predicted this? No, not at all. But as the planets align, different
Karen: to your paths were so different starting [00:25:00] out. Although it's so fascinating to hear how the science and earth element has tied together, even with the theater.
Aspect of it, Gary, and how you've been able to draw this together. Can we just go back to when you were talking about the Alexander technique? I don't know what that is. Can you explain
Gary: that? Sure. Who needs the Alexander technique? Everyone. But mostly it's focused on actors, singers, dancers, movers shakers.
People that are working with their body. Especially actors and musicians. Everybody works with their body. I worked with a lot of musicians. And they get repetitive strain injuries, especially a violinist or a pianist. if this instrument, the human body is not in tune and alignment, how is the instrument that you're playing going to be in tune and alignment with you?
So we work at not just you, but you and the instrument. And basically It's coming back to that moment of stop, coming to heart, giving that moment to breathe. Then you're giving a thought and thought is energy and energy is the direction. So what is my direction that I'm planning to do? So something so simple as sitting in a chair, [00:26:00] getting out of a chair, we do that all the time unconsciously.
Because our bodies know how to do it. So even your first lesson with an Alexander teacher would be like getting in and out of the chair and you're like, what do I need to learn about this? But it's a good learning step to break it down. And you break it down by steps and that brings you back to the moment of here and now.
that's a 101. It is hands on and it is working with the energy and giving an idea of what freeing up we'll call it or letting your body be in a balanced relaxed state. Not over relaxed, not over tensed. You've got to find that balance in between and that's what we're looking at is finding that equilibrium within your body
Robert: I think what I'll add there is so how do we weave that into the journeyman collective?
So the muscles, tendons, ligaments, the myofascia Will hold us in a pattern and it'll hold us in a pattern of consciousness. It'll hold us in a pattern of habit And as a function of that, if the individual who's embarking on a journey doesn't have that work. And [00:27:00] doesn't know how to actually release the physicality, then the spiritual, mental, and emotional work just falls loosely away, because the embodiment process hasn't taken place, it stays in the intellect side, it stays in the head.
And the release, the empowerment that the individual takes on is the recognizing, Oh, I've got some tension in my upper back, or I've got some tension in my arms or my feet. Then the individuals can become aware of. Their mind body connection, and they can use their thought to actually direct their body and to release that tension so that they can embody essentially the vast array of knowledge and information that's received during an actual ceremony.
Karen: It's really teaching people how to be present. Totally.
Gary: Yeah, 100%.
Robyn: Yeah, there's that presence. And then to that point, that release, and that, true integration of acknowledging that your body holds on physically
Gary: to
Robyn: this energy.
Robert: [00:28:00] it holds on to the old pattern. We fear the new.
We hold on to the old for the fear of the death that's going to happen of the letting go of the old self. Yeah. So Rob, the grad student, had to let go of that self to step into the corporate world and then Rob had to die a little bit again to let go of corporate Rob, to step into coach Rob and then spiritual Rob.
We jokingly say that we've come out of a lot of closets in our day
so we teach people how to come outta closets.
Robyn: Good thing to teach, that's for sure. Totally. And talking about plant medicine, you primarily. Use psilocybin right on your journeys. For those who have heard about psilocybin, but don't know that much about it, can you talk about the benefits of psilocybin? How long do we have?
Gary: They've been used by thousands and thousands of years [00:29:00] from humans. . Humans have digested mushrooms.
Robert: Yeah. So psilocybin is. a vast array of different species of mushrooms, and there's different types of psilocybin, and depending on the actual type that you're using, they have different effects on the mind body connection as well.
And so we select, I don't know, I think there's hundreds of types. And so we primarily use a type called Golden Teacher. And the active ingredient is psilocin. And what does that do? It actually amplifies the amount of serotonin that takes place in the body. So as a result of that, at a neurological level, what happens is the brain can start making connections.
To different things that have happened and then what happens for the individual on a journey as they're in a journey with us. They're lying in stillness. They're lying in silence. And when I say silence, they're not talking a lot because the talking center of the brain can typically get in the way of seeing different things.
So the eyes are closed, the back of [00:30:00] the eyelids become like a movie screen. And there's different information presented to each individual. So they're going to see different things, they're going to be able to learn different things about what's being presented. They may not have context for a lot of what's being presented, so there's a vast amount of preparation that takes place as well.
And again, because our culture , hasn't nurtured that aspect of ourselves. And so there's education, even doing this podcast is an aspect of educating people of what a journey can actually be for you. And so the mushroom, when you look at it, what do mushrooms do in the forest?
They decompose that which is no longer necessary. And they decompose it, and then the network, the mycelial network, basically takes that decomposed matter and distributes it throughout the forest for the next level of growth to happen. That's the same thing. We are nature. We are composed of living earth matter, and we [00:31:00] can use that intelligence.
When ingested and when met with a high degree of intention and purpose, the mushroom can guide you, and you can work with the mushroom with guidance of Gary and Rob, or your own version of Medicine Man and Guide, or Medicine Woman, and when you actually ingest the medicine, you will be shown what you either have to let go of, And how does the letting go process take place?
That is a part of why the Alexander Technique is involved with this work, because people don't know how to let go, and they fear that letting go process. But then it's Giving people permission to cry, giving people permission to laugh, giving people permission to let go of the old energy that wants to be let go of, but you've lived 30, sometimes 70 years And you've never been given that permission to be cared for in that deep way.
Because, again, our cultures haven't [00:32:00] emphasized that part of us. And that's where a lot of disease, unhappiness, discontent happens. And depression, anxiety, grief lack of focus. And so when someone ingests the mushroom and you're shown different episodes of your life, Or episodes of the cosmos because sometimes it can be quite cosmic and you could be introduced to your guides.
I'm not saying that's going to happen, but there's many different things that happen at a cosmic level as well. And from that There's a deep clearing that takes place, and after that deep clearing takes place, people have a greater awareness of their own center. They have a greater clarity of mind, clarity of heart.
Robyn: They feel calm, they feel content, they feel at peace. We had one client come through and after one ceremony, he was like, I'm no longer depressed. After one ceremony and then It's from that deep clearing out and that awareness of center, then your actual own awareness and your sensory awareness also [00:33:00] expands.
So you start to sense energy, you start to awaken to your heart. So the cardiac dendrites of your physical heart start to awaken and start to sense what's happening in your world and you start to be able to process it in a moment by moment basis. And with that, on the other side of a journey, people have a greater level of contentment, a greater level of peace, happiness, love, joy, purpose, and they start to recognize that there's some other force beyond their conscious way of life that's been guiding them along and has been supporting them along.
And some people will say, Oh my goodness, like God's been with me all along. Or consciousness has been with me all along. The universe has been with me all along. It's been carrying me and I didn't quite see it. And so that's where people will. when that bandwidth or that light switch has been turned on, it's the duty of the individual to keep that light switch on and start seeing places where, hey, there is another aspect of the universe supporting me.
There is [00:34:00] another aspect of where consciousness is guiding me through my life if I just let go over and over again. It's a magical little mushroom that can help you shift years, if not decades of trauma and drama that's been ensued upon you, that you're holding in your cells, your atoms and your molecules.
And a lot of the time people will even come out and be like, oh my god, that pain that I've had. Is gone. The pain that was in my knee for years is gone. And there's just an unbelievable amount of mental clarity and presence that come through the whole process. And I think the last remark that I'll make is that people come out of a ceremony and they're just like, Oh my goodness don't know what to say.
I'm having trouble with like my thoughts right now and I don't know what's going on. It's like my mind is quiet. What am I supposed to do with that? That's what the monks go to the mountaintop for and study for years to get there. So if this is something that you can. Allow yourself to have that peace of [00:35:00] mind, that quiet mind, and then you know that it exists, then you can go there anytime.
So it's almost like opening up a door for people that they can access again and again and again after they leave the actual journey process with us.
Karen: I have never heard Description of the mushroom.
Yeah, the way you put it that way. It was such a light bulb for me. That they're purposeful and how the connection with a human being can be so purposeful as well. Can I just ask a question for from a
naysayer perspective? Totally.
Look, I think a lot of people feel there's maybe a An old belief around what the mushroom experience actually is.
And so what do you say to someone who would say to you, like, how do you know it's real, what you're really experiencing and not just the result.
Robert: Everything you experience in a journey is real. And we've been taught to only see the world. through our physical senses, our physical eyes, our physical sense of taste, [00:36:00] smell, touch.
And there's a whole entire aspect of humanity. I firmly believe that humans, as a whole, are running around and we're still in diapers with respect to our true potential. And I think some people are starting to witness Oh my goodness, I still have a diaper on, and other people are starting to take it off.
And recognize that, hey, I can stand up and be free without that level of consciousness. I think Gary Zukov even talks about it in Seat of the Soul, that we have a higher level of sensory awareness, subtle senses, that we can start to tune into. And you can actually taste energy, you can smell it, you can hear it.
Robyn: And why would you want that? Because that helps you refine your path in life when you start to turn that potential on. We've been programmed to believe that it's going to fry your brain and that you're going to lose your mind. And actually, you're supposed to lose parts of your mind.
That no longer serve you. You're not supposed to still identify as a 14 year old [00:37:00] child and Interestingly enough like sometimes when we work with people, it's like okay
There's a grown human being standing in front of me, but I just see this 14 year old teenager, and it's because there's something happened at that point in time, and that's where Gary usually comes in and is asks the very pointed question, what happened when you were 14?
Yeah. And they're like, Oh no, I don't want to go there. Yeah.
Gary: that's the door that's not opening for them. They don't know how to do it. And that's when they discovered the Journeyman Collective. They are going, it's Oh my God, I'm able to release that, let go. It was like, put it under the rug and, hide it away and deal with that at a later time.
And sadly, sometimes that turns into disease. And that is the time you need to deal with it. It's energy and it's been pent up. So the releasing of that story that you've repeated, maybe subconsciously, that you may not have said it for a number of years is awakened. So you're able to see it, acknowledge it, grieve it.
Move through it and that's why guidance is very important because if you're on your own and something like this comes up How do you work through it? And this is the stories we [00:38:00] hear people that are on their own doing journeys or trips We'll call them Don't know how to move through Anything that comes up other than they'll say it was a bad time and we're all saying is like you It was a guided most the time they say no the guidance is very important because we are there Almost side by side with you all the way and even after the journey process we're with you for three more months of integration work.
A lifetime. It's a lifetime. The collective is growing and it's a collective that we stay connected to all our lives.
Robyn: Let's talk about actually your process because it is really unique and within talking about that can we also define what ceremony is as well as integration?
Gary: Okay, we start with an application form.
We have to, you have to do that is very important. It gives us an idea of who they are and how much information are they going to share with us right at the start. So it's, we love it when, [00:39:00] clients will call them, fill out the application form and really dive into their purpose. What is their blocks that they know of and , how their future self is going to be.
Through the process , we have a part of our team that would basically interview you, go over the application. And see if you're qualified enough to make the next step to have a talk with Rob and Gary. And then from there, if you make it through, we'll call it that gate, you're going to speak with Rob and Gary, and we're going to, energetically tap in to see what's going on and see if we can draw some more information out of you and how are with us.
And us with you to see for a match because it's not like going on a retreat. We'll call it in quotes it's not going to mushroom journey and tick the box and do massage and tick the box isn't there is no boxes to t You come in, we meet you, and we meet you where you're at.
So you've been accepted, and we have a four week prep period that we're with you on Zoom, like we're doing right now, having a conversation about an hour, once a [00:40:00] week for four weeks, about what's coming up in your life, what's happening, and also the work that we've provided through a portal that has video content of Basic how to meditate because when you ask, we asked the first question, do you meditate and people's Oh, I have difficulty meditating.
It's okay, do you go swimming? Do you go running? Do you go hiking? And they say, yes, that is a form of meditation. And you don't have to sit in a chair, lying on the floor and be in silence. Anything in activity that gives your mind that quiet space that you enjoy. That is a form of meditation. So after the four weeks of prep, you would come to our location in BC and work with us at our center.
Usually the first day is like a meet and greet. And especially if it's a solo you'd be working with Rob and Gary on your own. We work with no more than three to four people at a time and everybody has their own space. Everybody has their own room. And Thursday is usually a journey day, meaning you're going into ceremony.
And what does ceremony look like? I'll pass it over to Robert.
Robert: so a ceremony, the way that we can [00:41:00] describe it most concisely is that we would all sit around and discuss our intentions. we'll just ask questions about what's come up for you, what usually there's fear, and so that's what am I going to discover, and that should be there, because if there's fear and there's excitement, that tells you that you're going to grow.
And even when we embark , in ceremony. There's still that fear that oh goodness, like what's going to come up? What's going to show up? And we are 100 percent certain that we have no idea what's going to show up for you, but we're 100 percent certain that we can guide you through that in a very high way of integrity, intent, and professionalism.
And for someone looking from the outside, you would eat the mushrooms after you holding them to your heart and blessing them with your intention. And then, going into the ceremony, you're gonna lay down on a beautiful, comfortable mat with lots of blankets and pillows and be super comfortable on the outside because the inside Can be quite uncomfortable and a lot of people will [00:42:00] say, wow, that felt like I just ran a marathon after five, six, seven, eight, maybe even nine.
That's rare. Typically I'd say people are in ceremony and silence and stillness with an eye mask on listening to music that we curate intuitively for the individuals that we're working with. And it's an inner discovery. So your eyes are closed. You're basically in a meditative state. And you're seeing what's presented and the reason why we have preparation is to create context for the whole entire process that you're going through so that it's purpose driven, you're not just coming into experience the medicine, there's a purpose for you coming through that whole entire process.
And that's going to carry you through the preparation, the intensive, and the integration as well. And so there will be information that's presented to you that you may not have any context for, but we teach you how to take screen captures of the mind. Okay, I'll remember that. Or we're there and we'll take notes for you.
We're not taking notes minute by minute, [00:43:00] but it's just different things or different songs that people will be like, Oh. Make sure that I remember this song, or remember this word, remember that I have to go talk to my daughter about my heart, and little key things that we'll talk about later on. So there's a vast array of information that's presented, and we're there to guide you through them on the inside.
So we're connected heart to heart, mind to mind. We see different things, and we help you move along. That ceremony, and that's also why we're there, because we'll adjust the music if the tempo needs to increase, if it needs to decrease, volume up or down the type of music that's being played, and so we just really give attention to the individuals that are moving through that space, and it's for the most part a five, six hour inner exploration, Of information that is unique to you, and there will be things that will be presented to you that you will most likely be unpacking for the rest of your life.
It's not something that that's one thing that we say is you may only need to go on one ceremony or one journey. In [00:44:00] your whole entire life and you're given enough information. So this is where the cultural shift has to happen as well because we hear a lot of people going on ceremony every weekend or every month and it's what did you learn?
What did you understand about yourself and how did you implement that into your life? And that is the key integration process that we start. As soon as the ceremony ends, we start dialoguing and processing. Some people might not want to talk, and we honor that process. It's a very dynamic process. And the integration and having that guide there is so important, because we can talk to clients from four, five, six years ago, and instantly drop back in, because we were there with you.
Robyn: And because we were there with you, if they're at a nexus point in their life, and they're I don't know what to do, then, if it's been a few years, it might be time for another journey, it might not be, but there could just be a guidance back to, hey, do you remember this part in your journey when you were sat on your mat and you said, Oh my goodness, I've never been so [00:45:00] content in my whole entire life.
I've never felt so much peace within myself. So we teach people how to touch back into those moments. And it's like a ball of thread that is given to each individual and each individual has to be willing and have the aptitude to pull on those threads and go back and pull on those threads.
So pull on one memory in the journey. Weave it through the awareness of your heart in the moment where you're at now and ask what am I to learn from this? What am I to understand and what am I to implement? And it's the action. or sometimes it's non action You're gonna stop doing something that doesn't serve you anymore But typically it's a new form of action or hey, I've always wanted to do this But I've never had the bravery to do it I've always wanted to do this sort of business or amplify the business that I'm in a different direction And So it's honoring those threads information, essentially, for the rest of your life, and you can continue to go back in and from my very first ceremony that I went on [00:46:00] in 2018, there's still pieces that I'm integrating, there's still pieces that I'll return to, and ask questions about, and inquire about what I'm to learn, and what it looks like for me to actually implement it, into my life.
And so some people will think that integration is, oh, I've written in my journal. That's a part of it. But the true integration, the true deep healing takes place when the individual takes empowered, centered action. And that's what allows individuals to spiral upward on their life path to essentially embody their highest potential.
The rest of the journey. That was just the
Gary: first.
And if you make it through that one, you got another,
Robert: that's actually so people arrive typically. At 10am say on a Thursday or a Friday, and by 10pm, 11pm, they're out of [00:47:00] their first ceremony, and so much has happened, and then usually everyone's gathered around the dinner table, and we're having a little bite to eat, and they're just dialoguing and processing, and we'll usually say, so you've only been here for 12 hours.
And so much has been unearthed and so much has unfolded within them, so much has shifted. I remember one individual just recently sat up and he was like, I've got so much pain right now in my chest. And he was like, it's all connected to my mom. And I was like you're in a safe place.
You can let it go. You can cry it out. It's okay to cry and he just bawled and bawled and bawled and bawled. And it is giving people permission to let go of what's been stored that no longer serves. So as you can probably tell we love what we do and we're very passionate about it. And we present a very integrous container for people to step into.
and put forth a high degree of professionalism so that people can be cared for at a very high [00:48:00] level. So after the first ceremony
Gary: go the next day would be breakfast and integration. So you're up around nine and we're sitting around the breakfast table and sometimes Breakfast could last for three to five hours, everybody is sharing their experience and integrating what's going on.
Usually after breakfast, we'll go out to the forest and behind us and go for a hike, get the body moving, get connected to nature again, maybe hug a few trees. Cause the trees want to be hugged and and most likely the humans need the hugs too. And the physical movement. Yeah. Just to get the body moving again.
And integration happens for the whole day conversation. Sometimes we love it when adults say, can we just go have a nap? And permission to nap is great because the body needs to rest and recalibrate and reset. And the third day you're going into ceremony again, around two or three o'clock and like the first day.
We don't know what's gonna happen, but we know we can be there with you along the path. The fourth day is another full day of integration, back into the wilderness, and maybe we'll [00:49:00] introduce you back to humanity a little bit depending on where we go. And then it's like a celebration at dinner, and they're stepping into their true selves.
We say, you've come home. I remember one client saying, it's weird, but I never felt so much love from two complete strangers over four days. when they leave, we always say they reluctantly leave because most people want to stay and live with Rob and Gary.
That's another package.
So yeah, then the real work starts, you're back into your stream of life, and then it's up to you how you're going to work. through what was taught and what was shown to move forward in your life and not get pulled back into the old paradigms, the way of thinking and doing that door is closed.
You can tap into it anytime. The thing is the pull isn't as strong as it was when you first arrived.
Robyn: How have you seen people's lives transform? you've sprinkled in a little bit of feedback from your clients, but are some of the most? Profound transformations that you've been a part [00:50:00] of.
Robert: Gosh, every single one has been transformative and might even get a little bit emotional. So we worked with a 70 year old gentleman a few weeks ago, and he was witnessing that his heart was closing off. And he just found his heart center.
It was raw and it was real and to give someone guidance so that they can access the purity of their own heart and their own essence and just witnessing the glowing, radiant being that's now present to himself.
Versus the individual that started the process. There's also another individual I'm thinking of, she came to us and she was like, I'm at the end of my rope. And she said, I don't know where else to turn, but I believe that you are the answer. And we're like actually, you are the answer. We're just going to guide you to your own answers.
And after coming through the journey, she experienced a deep level of freedom. That she had never experienced in her whole entire [00:51:00] life she was sleeping soundly for more than eight hours, because prior to it she hadn't slept for more than, I think it was like four hours at a time.
And it's been almost a year now. And she still is unpacking her journey, still implementing and integrating what was shown.
Gary: Clients release the antidepressants that they're on. They no longer are relied on that form of supplement, we'll call it. And there's peace and contentment and communication skills are heightened because people are listening.
Robyn: Now that, especially for people who never even recognized what we were talking about, right? Those different centers within us that they are energy, the energy all around us, what exists. So it's like as you said before, you're turning the light on. So now they're shining in a different way and then they're finding the other lights.
Gary: That's right. Yeah, totally. Yeah.
Karen: It's so funny because Robin and I said that when we met Rob and saw him for the first time, it was [00:52:00] like, There's something different about you. like you could really see the light that he is and you both obviously not, we can see, there's definitely in your energy that is, different.
And that comes through. And one of the things I just wanted to say that, I'm absorbing as you're speaking about this is the value that you're giving, because what You do for one human being in the workplace, which is typically the place we close off ourselves the most, right?
ripple effect of what you do has to be profound because that leader, that boss is now living from a total different place and is able to lead in a completely authentic way. want to cry because it's just,
Gary: but it's true. It's such an
Karen: amazing gift to give the world.
Robert: Totally. Yeah.
Yeah, there's so many different stories that we could share. I think every single one of them is usually emotional. And I think it's they found their home. They found their center. [00:53:00] And then they know when they come off center, how they can come back to it. I love how to
Karen: you pointed out the fact that the journey, not only helps you understand yourself better but like your whole point of attraction, your whole energy that surrounds you shifts as well.
As a result of that.
Gary: And that's profound as well. People will sense it. They'll come up to you. It's like our friend, she says what's different about you? And it's just the work that we're doing. And that ripples out they come home and people ask them, where have you been?
What's different about you? And then, it's up to the client to say, where they've been or where they're not been. It's up to them. It's very private and personal. We always say, keep your cards close to your chest and see, if you show one card, see where they're at.
With your exploration of self. And then if they're very interested in, they're asking questions or they go back to talking about the weather or sports, then, that's not the door you're going to open any more than this is where I was and let's talk about weather and sports. But hopefully we can ship people out of the weather and sports and more into the heart and consciousness be [00:54:00] here, be now be right where you're supposed to be.
And I love it that you say we put on I call them masks. For work, our parents, our friends. Our different relationships. We have a variety of masks that we label on to ourselves. And doesn't that get heavy? Doesn't that pull you down? All this weight of all this expectation that you've put on yourself.
And where's your true essence? It's all behind the like 30 layers of masks of labels that people put on you and expectations. They come here, I say, just leave the masks at the door. in the basket. They're there if you wish to collect them on the way out, but most of the time energetically they just leave them there and they dissolve away and they just step into their true selves and who they're supposed to be.
Robyn: Yeah, I feel like you are getting people at they're most raw beings, they're basically naked when they walk in. Not actually, but
Gary: No. But I think
Robyn: that's what it feels like. You see their soul. Yes.
Karen: And most of us don't get that safe space.
Gary: That's [00:55:00] right.
Karen: They don't take the time or there's not , like you said, a container where they can authentically really get take those masks off. So this is just such a rare opportunity to have that time for themselves.
Robyn: I wanted to also just go back to one thing, which is When people leave the amount of follow up, and I know
we've talked about integration, but part of that integration is actually working with you both after they leave your property and your center.
Robert: Yeah. So basically we work with people the first four weeks after the journey, we work with people once a week.
And again, we also open up our calendar to our clients as well to say, if you want to have a private one on one with us at any time, just book a call. And typically find once a week is a good sort of cadence. And then after the first month of seeing what's been popping up, seeing how you're continuing to pull on those transcendental threads of information and weaving them into your reality, then [00:56:00] we take the training wheels off and we meet once every two weeks for an additional two months.
So it's three months of integration support that we provide for people. And then even after that too, we still like unless someone, unless someone wants like higher degree of care or support, then we can do that. However, we find that after three months, things are ticking along. The other part that we haven't really touched on in all of this is that It's a purpose driven experience and part of what we do is we help people create a vision video of what they want their future to look like.
So the vision video creation, which stretches people's mind and their heart of what they think is possible for themselves, that helps enter this slipstream of information and data to be like, Oh, this is where all this is being directed. And as a function of that, it's going to take you time. To actually implement and integrate all of the different pieces because we've invited you to stretch your mind of what you think is possible.
And it's going to take [00:57:00] time for those different elements to drop into your life, into your love, into your business or businesses. And so it typically, I'd say like at the 3, 4 year mark, we're just starting to see clients that are like, okay. now ready to embark on another journey because I can feel myself hitting that ceiling of My reality needs to be shifted a little bit and opened up to what is that next level?
creation that wants to come through me. So that's a very important part that we bring into the mix as well, that , you're consciously creating where you're pointing your heart, where you're pointing your mind, what you're focusing on and what you truly want to create in your life.
Robyn: I'm so inspired. know. And I feel, like. Obviously you were drawn together. I feel every person that comes to work with both of you is drawn to you by something that we can't see, right? It's that energy. I feel we've been drawn [00:58:00] together to you on purpose. By energy. And I think those that are listening right now, there is a purpose and there is a reason you're hearing this as another option as a way to get to know your self and your journey and why you're here in this lifetime better.
So it feels just so purposeful and in alignment. So thank you for all that you're doing and following this path.
Robert: Thank you.
We love
Gary: it.
Karen: You can tell. It shines through in both of you. It really
Robyn: does. Yes. So you can find out more about working with Gary and Rob at thejourneymencollective. com.
You can follow them at the Journeymen Collective on Instagram. And we hope that you do, because We can see the authenticity and the light coming from both of you. It's just tremendous. So thank you. Thank you
Gary: for having us. It's a pleasure. Thank you so much.