Rules/Credentials | OpenMind Integration

My Credentials

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Educational History

2016-2018: Masters of Health Science in Integrative Medicine at The George Washington University

Coursework included self-care, nutritional metabolism, epidemiology, metabolic networks, genomics, clinical research, ethics, and practical application

2007-2010: Bachelors of Science in Mathematics, Minor in Physics at The Maharishi International University

Coursework included an emphasis in Transcendental Meditation ™, Sidhis ™ advanced meditation technique, Vedic philosophy, and Ayurveda. Served as a teacher’s assistant for 6 math and science courses.

2005-2007: Pursued Associates in Chemistry at The Minneapolis Community & Technical College

Coursework included general education requirements, electives in physical fitness, western herbalism, Qi Gong, sexual health, and three semesters of inorganic chemistry.

Training

Integrative Medicine: Triad Method of biological systems, functional medicine, lifestyle nutrition, mind/body medicine, motivational interviewing, and empathic communication. Instructed by notable physicians such as Dr. Andrew Heyman, Dr. Pamela Smith, Dr. Russell Jaffe, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. James LaValle, and Dr. David Perlmutter.
Traditional Medicine: western herbalism, meditation, and Ayurveda.
Psychedelic Community Leadership: 2 years Executive Director for the Psychedelic Society of Minnesota. Event organizing, public relations, and administrative responsibilities. 2 years Global Psychedelic Society Host of Monthly Meetings.
Support Group Facilitation: 1500+hrs hosting meetings for small and large groups on topics of psychedelic experiences, integration challenges, and informational support.
Education: Hosting live events and creating videos on psychedelic neurobiology, pharmacology, psychedelic history, legality of psychedelics, spirituality, nutritional/environmental microbiology, and meditation. 7 years experience with adult/grade-school tutoring one-on-one and in groups.
Meditation: 15 years of Transcendental Meditation. 2 years of guided meditation practice.

Licensing

I am not licensed. Becoming licensed as a medical doctor, therapist, nutritionist, etc... means a practitioner can take advantage of certain conventional health care systems like prescription drugs, invasive procedures, diagnosis, and insurance plans. However, it also means sacrificing the ability to explore controversial opinions and being open about my numerous psychedelic experiences that conflict with the established rules of practice.

I don't have a conventional background and relationship with education. I learned a lot by doing and I cherish that. The underground has taught me deeply meaningful lessons that I'm doing everything I can to integrate into the world around me.

This is the primary reason I remain unlicensed in my health practice and I firmly believe it allows me to serve my clients in a more effective manner. Keep in mind licensing and training are not necessarily the same thing. I try to be as transparent about my scope of practice as possible, so that the client understands where I fit into their healing process.

Also, licensed practitioners are conventionally taught under the same reductionist paradigm as medical doctors. They tend to look at your body as a finite set of mechanical processes rather than an infinitely complex, integrated, living system. Unfortunately, this means I come to some different conclusions on health that aren't always backed up by prestigious journals of science, so it is important that I provide an explanation for this.

My beliefs are not restricted to only evidence from randomized controlled trials that are the gold-standard of all major medical practice in the U.S. and most places in the world. Dependence on reductive empiricism for the truth results in out-of-the-box ideas being viewed as useless fiction until the scientific method validates it. It's a "guilty until proven innocent" kind of attitude that I enthusiastically protest. I am in the camp that references both science and conscious discernment. This includes things like meditation, psychedelics, yoga, and other useful mindfulness practices to improve both the practitioner and the client's subjective reasoning. The knowledge is already inside you, just have to learn how to unlock it.

My History With Psychedelics

I started out as an active dream/lucid dream enthusiast as a teenager which was followed by passionate experimentation with psychedelics. From the beginning I recognized they could be used beneficially and so I set out to understand how that worked. Psilocybe mushrooms and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) were the most interesting to me, but I also explored Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), Salvia Divinorum, MDMA, Ketamine, Cannabis, and a small handful of nature's other psychedelics.

Even since childhood, my life has been intimately involved with altered states of consciousness, and some not involving psychedelics. Since I began daily practice in 2007 at the Maharishi International University , meditation has become as necessary as eating and sleeping in my life. I have also explored various mechanics of meditation and trance mainly for healing purposes. However, novel insight and cognitive adaptation are also notable resources that are found in abundance when you learn to meditate.

Different states of consciousness have different uses, but I have found psychedelics to be powerful tools for maintaining harmony with the external world. They certainly have the power to disrupt that, but that power also provides the ability to adapt to evolving needs on modern times. Chronic stress, addiction, anxiety, fear, and general existential meaninglessness are common maladies of our current cultures. Psychedelics and Open Mind consciousness are a powerful antidote to that.

It's been over 15 years of asking questions and finding answers. I approach integration coaching with a combination of academia and underground wisdom, facts and experience.

My Services

I’m trained and experienced in helping people identify the causal sources of their illnesses and work step by step towards self-sustaining balance. I like working with people that use psychedelics because they always have at least one tool to break down the stubborn layers of the ego. When you can do that, the rest is just adjusting how you interact with the external world. The health of your body, your environment, relationships, work, and purpose is what has to change for sustainable optimization.

Through some gentle conversation, I’ll inquire about these broad aspects of your life so that I can detect where the lowest hanging fruit is and work from there. That will be the most potent contributor to your symptoms, but it may not necessarily be the easiest to change. I take a detached approach to your life changes, meaning, I never coerce or even try to convince you to do anything, only point out what the most likely causes of sickness. I can then work with you to sort out the obstacles to see how feasible a change is. We will prioritize based on those 2 factors: lowest hanging fruit that can also achieve some changes.

It's been my privilege to study under both master meditators and master physicians in the theories of integrative medicine, lifestyle nutrition, and meditation mechanics. I also offer educational resources for psychedelic integration, which studies not just psychedelic substances, but also meditation, dreams, self-hypnosis, and any other non-ordinary state of consciousness we are able to integrate

My Policies

1. The information and paid services provided on this site are for educational purposes only and are not intended to substitute a licensed practitioner's advice, rather, it is intended to compliment it. In other words, diagnosis or treatment of disease is not the purpose of these services.

2. Maintaining legal behavior is necessary to the existence of my practice and well being. Please refer to the following points to understand my boundaries and scope.

Things We Don't Talk About: How to get involved with trafficking controlled substances, how to manufacture them (in detail), and plugging any underground therapies/experiences. However, it is OK to talk about harm reduction education (how to be safe) in regards to those topics.

Coming to events (online also) while looking like you're on something is a problem for everybody. That's not appropriate for these kinds of events, so please don't do it.

I do not offer controlled substances and I do not offer therapy. I do offer coaching, education, and traditional sacred ceremonies.

3. The state of Minnesota does use legal precedents allowing non-licensed health practitioners to work with clients as long as the practitioner's qualifications are clearly stated. They also require the presence of the following text:

"The state of Minnesota has not adopted any educational and training standards for unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioners. This statement of credentials is for information purposes only."

This law was passed because there was a demand for the type of care that you can't get a license for. The only restrictions are for the practices surrounding official medical diseases and treatments. In other words, I won't get in the way of any drugs or procedures you are prescribed. That choice is and should always be yours.

4. The following is the official mn.gov list of allowable practices for non-licensed practitioners. It is acknowledged to be an incomplete list:

Unlicensed Complementary and Alternative Health Care Practice (CAP) means the broad domain of complementary and alternative healing methods and treatments, including but not limited to:

● acupressure

● anthroposophy

● aroma therapy

● ayurveda

● body work, massage, and massage therapy

● cranial sacral therapy

● culturally traditional healing practices

● detoxification practices and therapies

● energetic healing

● folk practices

● Gerson therapy and colostrum therapy

● healing practices utilizing food, food supplements, nutrients, and the physical forces of heat, cold, water, touch and light

● healing touch

● herbology or herbalism

● homeopathy

● meditation

● mind-body healing practices

● naturopathy

● nondiagnostic iridology

● noninvasive instrumentalities

● polarity therapy

● traditional Asian practices, such as Qi Gong energy healing

Client Bill of Rights

This is copied directly from the Minnesota Department of Health for the purpose of referencing your legal protections and rights surrounding health services such as mine. In summary, it says that you have final choice in how you would like to proceed and can request any information about health services.

146A.11 COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE CLIENT BILL OF RIGHTS.

Subdivision 1.Scope.

(a) All unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioners shall provide to each complementary and alternative health care client prior to providing treatment a written copy of the complementary and alternative health care client bill of rights. A copy must also be posted in a prominent location in the office of the unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioner. Reasonable accommodations shall be made for those clients who cannot read or who have communication disabilities and those who do not read or speak English. The complementary and alternative health care client bill of rights shall include the following:

(1) the name, complementary and alternative health care title, business address, and telephone number of the unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioner;

(2) the degrees, training, experience, or other qualifications of the practitioner regarding the complementary and alternative health care being provided, followed by the following statement in bold print:

"THE STATE OF MINNESOTA HAS NOT ADOPTED ANY EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING STANDARDS FOR UNLICENSED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS. THIS STATEMENT OF CREDENTIALS IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY.

Under Minnesota law, an unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioner may not provide a medical diagnosis or recommend discontinuance of medically prescribed treatments. If a client desires a diagnosis from a licensed physician, chiropractor, or acupuncture practitioner, or services from a physician, chiropractor, nurse, osteopathic physician, physical therapist, dietitian, nutritionist, acupuncture practitioner, athletic trainer, or any other type of health care provider, the client may seek such services at any time.";

(3) the name, business address, and telephone number of the practitioner's supervisor, if any;

(4) notice that a complementary and alternative health care client has the right to file a complaint with the practitioner's supervisor, if any, and the procedure for filing complaints;

(5) the name, address, and telephone number of the office of unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practice and notice that a client may file complaints with the office;

(6) the practitioner's fees per unit of service, the practitioner's method of billing for such fees, the names of any insurance companies that have agreed to reimburse the practitioner, or health maintenance organizations with whom the practitioner contracts to provide service, whether the practitioner accepts Medicare or medical assistance, and whether the practitioner is willing to accept partial payment, or to waive payment, and in what circumstances;

(7) a statement that the client has a right to reasonable notice of changes in services or charges;

(8) a brief summary, in plain language, of the theoretical approach used by the practitioner in providing services to clients;

(9) notice that the client has a right to complete and current information concerning the practitioner's assessment and recommended service that is to be provided, including the expected duration of the service to be provided;

(10) a statement that clients may expect courteous treatment and to be free from verbal, physical, or sexual abuse by the practitioner;

(11) a statement that client records and transactions with the practitioner are confidential, unless release of these records is authorized in writing by the client, or otherwise provided by law;

(12) a statement of the client's right to be allowed access to records and written information from records in accordance with sections 144.291 to 144.298;

(13) a statement that other services may be available in the community, including where information concerning services is available;

(14) a statement that the client has the right to choose freely among available practitioners and to change practitioners after services have begun, within the limits of health insurance, medical assistance, or other health programs;

(15) a statement that the client has a right to coordinated transfer when there will be a change in the provider of services;

(16) a statement that the client may refuse services or treatment, unless otherwise provided by law; and

(17) a statement that the client may assert the client's rights without retaliation.

(b) This section does not apply to an unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioner who is employed by or is a volunteer in a hospital or hospice who provides services to a client in a hospital or under an appropriate hospice plan of care. Patients receiving complementary and alternative health care services in an inpatient hospital or under an appropriate hospice plan of care shall have and be made aware of the right to file a complaint with the hospital or hospice provider through which the practitioner is employed or registered as a volunteer.

(c) This section does not apply to a health care practitioner licensed or registered by the commissioner of health or a health-related licensing board who utilizes complementary and alternative health care practices within the scope of practice of the health care practitioner's professional license.

Subd. 2.Acknowledgment by client.

Prior to the provision of any service, a complementary and alternative health care client must sign a written statement attesting that the client has received the complementary and alternative health care client bill of rights.

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