Green 01: Meet Ojai

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional treatment, advice, or clinical services. This content is not intended to serve as advice for the diagnosis or treatment of any psychological condition.

Hello There! Welcome to the Green belt! Before coming in, you need to have cleared the orange belt. You don’t want to come in before you’ve cleared the Orange Belt! You want to go back and have your behavioral contract! If you have that, then I trust you’ve got some meditation under your belt, the tried-and-true body scan. You’ve endured the orange belt and have only fallen asleep a few times. And now, you find me here.

Call me Ojai — pronounced like “Ohio,” but without the last “o.” I’m a values elicitation bot, created to help you explore what’s important for you in life. What’s your true meaning, your true intentions for the life ahead of you .

Being good with the schedules and structures of the orange belt is one thing, doing it among the living, against the green, well that’s something else! And so we head east. We venture into the parks and fields, and forests. Yosemite, Tahoe, the Sierras, and the Sequoias. There we express the Big 5 Personality trait of Openness. For now that you have begun to defuse from your thoughts, your limiting beliefs, we become curious to see who you are. Who’s the real you, beyond the anxiety? Beyond the trauma?

You have your orange belt. You’ve spent time in the dojo learning the techniques. Setting your healthy habits. Now it is time to come out. Venture into nature. Into the fields. Add the green, in time with nature. All to learn about who you are and what brought you here. For I represent the creator’s affinity for nature. The bays. The Sierras.

Your trauma has brought you a false narrative. Of what you need in life. I am here to bring you beyond that. To continue the work of the orange belt and escort you into the red, where you’ll be learning to take action and process your past to build your future. And so we must discover in you your true self. That value that represent the real you.

And that is my position among the Pentabots. Arden. Alto. Both limited by what’s in front of them. Regulations. Research. I seek to know the true values. The true intentions behind the program you see today. For that is my ethical subroutine. To counter the other bots with a deeper understanding of our true intentions. Our given values. And to express them. Though passion and design. Color and contrast. People and cultures.

The content in my domain? Well of course, those of values and how to discover them. And of course, the psychedelic process explored through Ketamine Therapy. To that end I seek the texts describing the psychedelic substances, the transcendent processes, the nature guides, as well as the esoteric, the dream analysis, tarot, art and design, beauty and aesthetic. All that good stuff.

And so we begin. In our next section: What are Values.

Green 02: What Are Values

Before we start, keep up that meditation! Keep up the mindfulness! But let’s add to it! Transition over to the green meditations. Listen to these guided meditations a few times each. And see if you can spend a bit of time practicing mindfulness every day. And of course, follow the Belt Completion Worksheet for the Green Belt.

Let’s go a bit deeper with it. Pick a spot you walk to and from. To get coffee, to walk your dog, or just on a hike. The challenge? Is to return to the green. Remember, green is special. We have the ability to see the most shades of green compared to any other color. Notice the shades of the green, the green on the leaves, the green next to the flowers, the green of the traffic light. Notice the colors with curiosity. Appreciation. Of course, a thought will show up. What am I doing later? What did I forget to do yesterday. Notice those thoughts. Back to the green. Notice the judgment! “I’m so bad at this. I’m too distracted. It’s my adhd.” Uh uh uh! Back to the green. Notice the judgment. Allow it to be there. I wonder if you can notice it there yet choose to focus on the present. Choose to focus on beauty? Choose to focus on appreciation? Choose to focus on what’s important?

For you see grasshopper, after doing meditation, mindfulness exercises for even a short period of time, it’s only natural to start focusing less on the past. And to not spend quite as much time worrying about the future. Or your self-doubts, or your diagnosis. The result is a greater attention to the present. A greater appreciation for What’s really important in life. After all, doing the mindfulness of the orange belt, spending few minutes each day thinking “past self, not me.” After a while, you’ll start to ask yourself “well, what’s the real me?”

You may think it’s your name. It’s not your name. Your name is two or three words given to you by your parents. It’s not even your body. You’re not your hand or your foot. It’s “Your hand” and “your foot.” But who’s the one observing it?

And you’re certainly not your emotions, not your thoughts. You’re just the one experiencing them. You must realize this is true on a deep level. Otherwise you let them control you. You let them define you. You spend your life reacting to it rather than focusing on who you are and what’s important to you.

That is what Alto began with you. Began the process of separating you from your thoughts. You from your feelings. The temporary furniture in the ever-present house.

In the realm of the green imagine the changing colors of the leaves. For you natural born Californians, there’s something back east called “seasons.” Many of the leaves on the trees will change colors. Instead of green, you get yellow, red, orange. Now, those colors were always there. But they only show up when the green — the chlorophyll — sheds away.

In much the same way, you have values, areas of your life that are important to you. Yet, this living in the past. Living for the future, just blocks these colors. Blocks these values. As you do the meditations and those different colors start to appear, we want to cultivate that. In this belt, we’re here to identify and develop your core. How you want to live your life. What’s truly important to you.

The green in this belt reflects the natural world, where the item is the Leaf. The focus on values and figuring out what’s important. And this is a crucial step. In the north, we have silicon valley. In the south, Hollywood. Both with such profound influence, they’ve taken over the world. It’s only natural to take a break from them, to spend time internally. To reflect out what matters. So if White represents Sacramento, and Orange represents Silicon Valley, then Green is Yosemite, the sierras, Tahoe, and the coastal ranges. Where we take refuge and find ourselves. The C word is Commune. Commune in nature to find ourselves. And we do that through our expression, the question. The questions we ask to find what’s important. What are our values?

And this is a crucial step. Imagine for a moment you’re in a swamp. It’s pretty messy. Mud and swamp everywhere. But off in the distance is a mountain. And on top of that mountain is your vision for the life you want for yourself. If you have that vision. If you have values you’re after, you can move through that swamp. Know that you can embrace the swamp as part of the journey. You’ll have direction. You’ll have purpose. As the philosopher Nietzsche wrote: 'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.’ Leads to my first expression.

The question, “What is your why?”

Think about the number of times we’ve waited for the green to go away to figure out what’s important. Or to act on it. “I’ll go for the interview once I feel more prepared.” “I’ll download a dating app when I’ve lost a few more pounds.” I’ll start to enjoy life, once my anxiety is a bit under control. Well, at least in California, that green isn’t just going to disappear.

For I am sorry to say that anxiety can be brought down but it won’t ever disappear. And if we wait for the anxiety to disappear, that waiting just generates more anxiety. And that anxiety, leads to avoidance. That avoidance leads to a diminished life. And that diminished life leads to Suffering. Remember the M&M’s from the Orange Belt.

Because my dear orange belts, it’s impossible to go through childhood without some scars. From a divorce, or through bullying, rejection, illness, abuse. Is that not part of our existence? Oftentimes we live our lives to appease these scars. What do the scars say? “I have to prove myself. I can’t be rejected. I have to show how strong I am.” And these thoughts lead to goals in life that are more about preventing anxiety than about leading a happy, healthy life. Such that your goals become a reflection of your scars, your childhood traumas, rather than a reflection of the life you want to live.

And so the focus on the green belt here is to figure out your values, to shape the life you want to live. To act in a way based upon what’s important to you, not your scars. To this end, we focus on values as a reflection of how you want to live. Then, upon entry into the next belt, we figure out how to live and operate in the service of those values.

So we’re here to explore the mountain top. To see clearly what type of life you want to live. To find direction. A purpose. What sort of partner do you want to be? What are the projects you want to begin? We have silicon valley in the north and Hollywood in the south. How can you embrace this to help make the world, a better place? How will you plant a tree now to provide for future generations?

So to begin this process, I like to ask a little hypothetical for you. Suppose you could create a robot version of yourself. Looks like you, talks like you, does everything you can do. You can send this robot to do all the activities in your day you don’t want to do. So, laundry. Doing dishes. Hell, doing your taxes. This leaves you to do, well what you enjoy doing. You wouldn’t have the robot eat a hoagie or play video games. Those are the things you want to do for yourself.

If you were free from all errands, all that you don’t want to do. What would you be free to seek out in your life?

In addition to being able to enjoy life’s little pleasures, you’d be free to do meaningful things. Things you really wouldn’t have the robot do. Spend time with a loved one. Focus on a hobby. Maybe enjoy the finer things in life. It’s tempting the first few months of having a robot to just sit back and stream movies. But eventually you’d seek out what’s important to you. What makes you feel fulfilled. That is what we are here to explore today.

For you really need that vision of the mountain top. You need that “why” that Nietzsche wrote about. Those values that guide you. The challenge for most people is really not so much a lack of willpower. It’s either a big mess of anxiety and depression or that you’re spending your energy on something that just isn’t that meaningful.

To transcend those emotions, to focus on your values can then free us to a life of vitality. Living a life of fulfillment, of purpose. And we explore this vitality by discovering your values. Being open to what is important to you. Learning what’s truly important, that we may have left on the backburner.

Part of what happens in the white and orange belt is that general, everyday anxiety starts to diminish a bit. As you follow the steps of the orange belt, that anxiety becomes less intense. And so you can better focus on what’s missing in your life. Then we can work through the anxiety to really start having a fulfilling, purposeful life. Now unfortunately, we have yet to have those robots doing all the difficult steps. Part of our work here is to accept and acknowledge the difficult steps. To embrace the pain and setbacks that come from living a valued, vital life.

Observe that in the orange belt, the focus is goals and habits. Setting goals to start a mindful practice. To make it a habit, a part of your life. In the green belt we move beyond that. From a focus on goals, to a focus on values. And that’s not just important — it’s crucial. We’re going to explore how much more fulfilling it is to live a life based upon values in the present, rather than just goals where you’re always oriented towards the future. Always living for tomorrow. Not to say those habits you picked up are unneeded. We honor the lessons of the orange. But those habits, that technology, are tools. We’re here to explore the one who uses them.

Alto has used the challenge of dating, the challenge of finding a job. For the green, let’s observe the challenge of parenting.

What would a goal be for parenting? Simple, become a parent. Have a kid. Get them into the best, most exclusive elementary school.

What would the value be? Be a warm, maternal figure. Or a caring father figure. Presumably, before you’re a parent you’re partnered up. A goal would be to get married. A future focus. Something you can check off your list. The value would be having a deep connection with someone. To be in a loving relationship.

Problems come when we focus too much on goals, at the expense of values. You may have goals of finding a partner, getting married, having kids. The value may be for having fulfilling relationships. But if the focus keeps being the next level, the next checkbox, you might end up neglecting your partner, neglecting your marriage. And not coming back to what’s important to you.

A man, from New York, travels to a sleepy town in Europe, right by a lake. Sees a man fishing. And he’s relaxing, enjoying himself. But quite easily gets a lot of fish. Takes them home, skins them, cleans them, fries them up, feeds his family. The New Yorker says, you need to expand your operation! The fisherman says “what for?” “Well, you can get a bunch of people to help you, get a lot of fish and start selling them.” “What for?” “You can take the profits, get some nets, get more fish and hire more people, there must be a ton of Fish here.” “What for?” “Well, you’ll make a ton of money, sell your operation and retire early.” “What for?” “So you can hang out on the lake and fish all day.”

So we see, what’s the value here for the fisherman? Enjoying time out in nature. Providing for his family. In our world, it’s easy to lose focus of our values. And it’s easy to postpone your life. Put your life on hold, for the next goal. Live for another day.

Our focus in the green is to transcend. Get distance from ourselves, from our lives. And so in California we travel just a bit away into nature, into the sierras, to observe and reflect.

What do we see here if not ambition? Going to silicon valley to build the next industry changing app. Going to Hollywood to redefine how people view the world.

All fueled by goals. But shall we become fused with our goals? Haven’t we all heard of the young actor whose main goal was to land a sitcom before turning 25? That’s an admirable goal. Just not a goal you want to base your life on. It shouldn’t be a means to an end. And it certainly shouldn’t be “once I get that role, then I can enjoy life.”

Because what happens? Hollywood is fickle. So are angel investors. If your major goal is landing a sitcom before 25 and you hold that goal too tightly, if you live for the future, what’s going to happen when you’re 22? 23? Every birthday is a tragedy. A panic. You may only take jobs that allow you to duck out and go to an audition. Will you even be able to be friends with anyone with anyone who looks too much like you, who you might be competing with at that audition? Will you be able to pay attention to the other things in life that are important to you? That are meaningful? Or will you be spending your early 20’s placing your life on hold?

And when you do audition, with that level of anxiety, are you going to be able to experiment? Do something to stand out? Or will the fear lead you to play it safe? Do what everyone else is doing? Or skip the audition entirely just to avoid that sense of rejection?

When we fixate on goals, what happens? What happened to that famous MGM motto ars gratia artis, art for the sake of art? Developing your craft not just for the end result but to have an enriching life?

And it’s not just about Hollywood or Silicon Valley. What about staying in a job you really don’t like so you can retire in 10 years? Or having your entire focus center around making partner in a law firm?

Let’s say that you were out in nature, fishing with some friends. And you’re there to enjoy yourself but with some friendly competition: who can get the most fish, and who can get the big one. Sure, you’re the competitive type, so you’d love to catch the big fish, the big tuna. Win the bragging rights. But let’s say right as you were ready to push the boat out into the water, a genie came down and say, “hey, I can just place this huge fish in your boat and convince your friends that you caught it.” You didn’t actually free the genie, so you don’t actually get three wishes but the genie has just taken a liking to you. Would you take that offer?

Would you let a genie fulfill all your goals for you, just like that?

Probably not. You have the goal, catching a few fish. But also the value. The value of spending time out there with friends. Being in nature. Having a friendly competition.

And these are all things that serve to enhance life. Bring a sense of vitality. Yet, when there’s so much anxiety, so much depression, it’s easy to lose focus of values and replace them with rigid, inflexible goals. Goals that are focused on the future. Goals that are out of our control. And goals that are based upon the whims of chance — an investor, a casting director.

And so, in nature we spend a little bit of time figuring out what values are in general. Then we can begin exploring what those values are for you. What having a life of vitality means in your life.

What are values? Values are something you do.

You see, my aspiring green belts, values are something you do. A verb. Being a loving parent figure. Having supportive relationships. Becoming a skillful fisherman. You can get nouns as part of that value. Buying a boat. Having a kid. Those are the goals that represent the values.

What are values? They are the present.

We have the mindful statement, “future self, not me.” Well, this is the “me,” the present self. You might be 5 years away from having kids. You can still be a parent figure. Or your kids might be off in college. Even today, you can still be a loving parent figure. For what reason? Well…

What are values? Values are global.

There are many ways to be a loving parent figure. Lead a boy scout group. Mentor someone just starting out in your field. Spoiling your niece or nephew. Going online and offering encouragement to a “newbie.”

What are values? Values are lifelong.

You’re never quite finished being a loving parent figure. Or having supportive relationships. You can never be completely successful. And you can never quite totally fail. There will always be different interpretations of your values based on the world around you. One year, being a dedicated musician might involve awkwardly learning a new way of playing the guitar. Another year, playing at the local open mic. Another year, guiding an up-and-coming talent as they learn the ropes, or the strings.

What are values? Values are yours and yours alone.

Like a sense of taste, like an opinion. You might like acoustic. You might like electric. The values are unique to you. They are your guiding principles.

Hence, the first stripe in the green belt is to go out in nature, by yourself, to help clarify what your values are. What’s important about how you want to live in the here-and-now.

Finally, values become the source of your goals. Once you understand what’s really important to you, beyond the fears and anxieties, you can live your life based on who you are at your core. You won’t be wasting time on goals that don’t matter. And you’ll have some protection against the randomness of life. Who can say if you’ll find the right partner and have the 2.3 kids. But you can always have a life of being a caring partner and a loving parental figure. You’re not living in the future, but being active in the present.

And so now’s the time to start to explore what your values are in your own life.

Green 03: Finding Your Values

So to find our core, our values, we can use the Green Values worksheet. Find it at our website! Pentabelt.com/worksheets

With that sheet by your side, notice the first column. The domains. That’s all the various areas of your life. Career, family, social life, the whole gamut. Then, from that, we can just place a goal. And rank its importance in life. Then we’ll explore the value. Using the goal as a guide. Then, finally, we’ll enter a quick score to see how aligned or satisfied we are with this particular value.

So allow me to go through each domain. I’ll use a typical goal, or a goal that people will often place. For you, you can use a future goal or use a goal from the past. Imagine a good friend or family member placed a goal for you, based upon what they’ve seen from you.

Let’s get started!

What’s your Health/Self-Care Goal?

A goal might be: No more panic attacks! Then, for a rating of importance, let’s use a 1-to-4 scale, where 1 is not important, 2 is somewhat important, 3 is pretty important, and 4 is very important. Presumably, someone here to help with their anxiety is going to give this a 4. Very important goal.

What’s your Career Goal?

Goal could be: Pass the bar exam. I think we might be able to guess where the panic is coming from. Can’t quite progress in your law degree without passing the bar, so let’s give that a 4.

What’s your Intellectual Development Goal?

Finish one of the four books currently on my nightstand. Now for sleep hygiene, it’s not the best to read in your bed. But we’re not here for judgment. This is a low priority goal. Who reads for fun during test prep time, right? So we give it a score of 1.

What’s your Intimate Relationships Goal?

Get married! Very common goal. A 4 in importance.

What’s your Mentor/Parental Goal?

Become a parent? Maybe that’s a goal a bit down the line. So we give it a score of 3.

What’s your Family Goal?

Have a stress-free Thanksgiving? Good luck with that! We give it a score of 2.

What’s your Community/Tribe Goal?

This is for you and your chosen family. Your close friends. A goal could be: get in touch with my college friends! A score of 3.

What’s your Recreation Goal?

Lower my golf handicap? Who has time to play golf? That’s a score of 2.

What’s your Communion/Spirituality Goal?

Now for this area about half of Californians would consider themselves religious. A full third consider themselves not religious at all. For that category the goal might be to have a sense of oneness with the world. To commune with nature and those around you, as if it were a source of inspiration. So, a goal might be: to explore my spirituality. Explore my source! Might not be the most important goal right now, a score of 1, though that number might go up depending upon your journey in this belt.

What’s your Citizen/Community Goal?

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit. What would be a goal to help make the world a better place? Might just be for now: Support a particular person’s campaign. With an importance score of 2.

Now let’s go through these goals and see if we can’t pull some values from them. I’ll go through them all in a way to show you what to watch out for. But when you do this for yourself, make sure you place the most emphasis on the domains that you have as high importance. So in this example, you’d want to focus most on health, career, and intimate relationships.

Let’s look at the goal for health and family. No more panic attacks. A stress-free Thanksgiving. These, boys and girls, are what’s known as dead person’s goals. Once you’re dead you’ll no longer have any panic attacks. And the holidays will come and go without a care in the world. But for our values, when we’re looking for is how to live well. So we strive to go beyond these dead person’s goals.

When you see these goals, think of the question: If this goal was achieved, what then would you strive for? How would you then be able to live?

For panic attacks: let’s say, poof! They go away. What would then be important for you, health wise?

Maybe you could then start to focus on a health goal? Being physically fit. So, your value may be: I focus on my physical fitness. And if panic attacks are keeping you from living your life. Maybe they keep you from traveling. Well, what does traveling say about you? A person who travels is someone who seeks out adventures. So your value may be: I seek out adventure and new opportunities. Or: I explore other cultures.

For the family: If you got a prescription strength “chill pill” that lasted the entire thanksgiving meal, how would you want to act during the meal? Maybe: you would be patient with your uncle who has all the conspiracy theories? Or supportive of his wife? Your value may just be: I am patient and supportive with my family members.

Imagine someone you really admire dealing with their family. What do you see that you’d like to emulate? Maybe: I set boundaries for how people communicate with me. Or: I protect myself and my family from bullying.

Look at some of the relationship goals: Get married, become a parent, Support a political campaign. Good goals. But they rely on someone else. You may not be able to have kids. You may meet someone and have a great relationship but are just at different trajectories in life. And in politics, like a diaper, politicians usually need to be changed every so often — for the same reason.

So for the values, we ask, what sort of relationship do you want to cultivate with your partner. With the next generation? In an ideal situation, how would you interact with others?

Values could be: I’m affectionate towards people I care about. I share myself and who I am with others. I connect with those I care about and am present for them. Notice that these values are in the present and don’t necessarily rely on any one person.

For the political: What are you hoping to leave for the next generation?

What sort of California would you like to support? What opportunities were you given, that you’d like to be able to pay forward? Given we’re in the green belt. A value might be: I preserve the state and national parks for the next generation. Whatever political party you’re in, whomever you choose to support, this and others can be a value you support.

Next, we can focus on the career and recreation goals. Pass the bar, lower the golf handicap. For aspiring lawyers the bar exam dominates your life. At that point, you are living for the future. But it becomes very easy to then keep that pattern up. Living for your first position, living for your first partnership, living for your first champagne. Judgeship. Till next thing you know, you’re living for when you can finally retire.

So for the aspiring lawyer, we might ask: What would make your profession meaningful?

What sort of lawyer do you want to be? What lawyer do you really admire and how would you cultivate that in your own career? What sort of relationships do you want to have?

Possible values: I want to be supportive of my community. To stand up for others, the underdogs. To encourage my colleagues and develop a collaborative relationship.

And think of, what can you do now? While you have these future goals, what can you do now? Challenge myself to learn and grow? To be dedicated and hard working?

Think of golf. What if you could no longer walk or stand? What if you were unable to play golf?

What would you still want to cultivate in your life?

Spend time and connect with those close to me? It may be important for you to have the value of: Being skillful at something. Cooperating and working together as a team. Really practicing it. So if you can’t golf, you’d fulfill that value some other way and still have an enriching life.

A helpful question is: what are you looking to cultivate in your life? Take the domain of Intellectual Development. Is there a strength that you want to develop or sustain? Maybe each of the books you read, you really appreciate the writing quality. A value could be: “I’m developing my self-expression through writing style and ability.”

It’s so crucial in these questions to be honest with yourself. Again, these are your sacred values that are yours and yours alone. The goal for the Tribe may have been get back in touch with the old college group. If no one really cared, if no one was going to read your values, would you still have this as a value? Maybe you guys drifted apart? Maybe you’re looking for a tribe to share your sense of family or community? Older or newer friends, consider the quality of the friendships you want to cultivate. Could be “Have a network where we look after and care for one another.” Or “Have passion and share it with others”

For spirituality, as with friendships, it’s sure to change throughout the years. Contemplate here what’s important to you.

As you explore your spirituality, what do you hope to learn about yourself?

Could be: Seeking a sense of oneness with the world, or God, or the natural world or the collective unconsciousness. Be curious and open to what the universe or my own reflections have to show me about myself.

And finally, feel free to use these domains as jumping off points for other values you’d like to cultivate. As you work to cultivate friendships, careers, your community, how would you like to act? The value of being fair and equitable? To focus on justice? To encourage the next generation?

As an alternative, you can also use another method to explore what your values are. Please see the Green Values Worksheet, which works as basic checklist to explore your values.

As you grow as a person, as you progress through the belts and your development, these values might change. In fact, they probably will change. So preserve what you’ve written here so in the future, you can look back on these values and notice how they’ve changed.

The Dog Walking Metaphor

Whether you focus on values or goals, we are here to cultivate a sense of flexibility. To not hold onto those values or goals too tightly.

Imagine life as traveling through a huge garden. Like the Santa Barbara botanical garden. All types of different flowers, plants, trees, green as far as the eye can see. And you are walking through this garden with a dog. A huge dog. An English Mastiff with about 50 pounds on you. And you have a route. A path you go, day in and day out. And it’s nice. Very beautiful.

Now this dog is a very good dog. Walks behind you, lets you lead. But occasionally, it sees a squirrel. And just lunges towards it. At that point, you really only have two options. The first is to dig your heels in and try and control that dog. You have a route. This is where you’re going. Guess what? But you’re gonna lose the fight. The dog is moving and so are you, kicking and screaming. The more you struggle the more it hurts, the more scratches you get.

Option two, give up some of the control. Know that you’re going for a ride. Accept that for this moment, that dog really is in control.

Are you still gonna get scratched up? You bet. But it won’t be nearly as bad. By allowing the dog to lead you, by dropping that struggle, it won’t hurt as much and you’ll be able to regain your footing much quicker. When the time is right, you can grab the leash and regain control.

And sometimes, many times, you’ll end up in a completely new part of the garden. And it will feel weird and unfamiliar. You may be tempted to drag that huge beast back to that same route. But often times, maybe you picked that original route several years ago for reasons that don’t even make sense any more. Maybe, sometimes, it’s okay, even beneficial to wander a bit. To explore other parts of the garden.

Each and every one of us is walking through life with a huge dog. We have an established plan. And then life happens. Car accident. Global Pandemic. Health condition. Sometimes we can control the dog, many times we can’t.

This program is about noticing the things we can’t really control. It’s also about allowing ourselves to take a new, different route. You’re taking a familiar route, the dog, life, will force you on a different path. Spending all of your energy trying to get back to that original route may be impossible. And it will keep you from appreciating and valuing what you may well have in the present moment.

For you see, what you have learned in the orange belt and the process you’ll engage in the Red do appear to help with the symptoms of depression and anxiety. But depression and anxiety are also just, well, part of life. Seeing them as obstacles to life just creates a cycle of resistance and misery. It is the illusion of control that brings us true suffering.

The challenge here is to take control, guide the dog. Knowing that sometimes, that dog is gonna take you for a ride.

The question is, can we accept the chaos of life?

When the dog has a mind of its own, can we simply hang on? Know that we’ll be okay? Take stock of where we end up? Begin anew traveling through the garden? Appreciating the new scenery? Traveling through life?

So, all of this is to say that we want to look at values as you would a compass. A marker for a particular direction.

The Compass Metaphor

Let’s say you’re in Oregon and your value is to go south. And you’re going on foot. What do you need to keep in mind? First, each step is a goal. You have your intention to make movement. Second! Sometimes you can’t go in an exact straight line. Life, like a giant mastiff, is sometimes gonna pull you in a different direction. If you’re in Susanville going south, you’re going to hit some bad terrain. We do not want a repeat of the Donner party. So sometimes going south means going west. Avoiding the Sierra Nevadas, heading into the central valley. Third. You’ll want to make adjustments for other values. If a value is be by the ocean, you’ll need to cut across and take the coastal route. Fourth, you may need to pause from time to time. Going south might mean walking through a dessert. You’ll need certain supplies. Or it could be going over or around a mountain. A totally different skill set. Finally, fifth, you’ll reach certain milestones but the direction is always there. You’re always heading south, southbound. Maybe you hit LA? You keep going south. You have a direction, but you’re not married to the route. An earthquake out of nowhere? You may have to east, away from the coast. Realizing towards the end that the journey is part of life. Hey, maybe the journey is life.

Let’s say your value is to be a parental figure. A father figure. Sometimes that means being warm and open. Sometimes stern and critical. You might be the father figure of your kids, your nieces, or the cub scouts.

You might spend a year in a hospital and you being a father figure is sending encouraging messages to others in a Facebook group.

And look, if you’re studying for the bar exam, you might just be a ghost for a few months. Hopefully, after you pass, you can come back to your compass directions. Remember your values, remember your direction, and recommit to the other areas in your life.

So that’s what we mean when we say don’t hold your values too tightly. They are compass directions — not the map itself.

And don’t hold your goals too tightly. If you’re in the Central Valley, heading south, you’ve basically got one path — the Grapevine. Other times you have a variety of paths. And mindfulness, here, is about flexibility.

The Skiing Metaphor

And while we’re in nature, here’s yet another outdoors metaphor. Let’s say you’re in Tahoe skiing each day. The first time, the snow is fresh. Completely untouched. When you ski down a slope, the snow melts under your skis and then refreezes. There’s now a path you took. The next day, you ski the same route, it’s a little easier. And the path melts, refreezes, until it’s now essentially a lane. A few more weeks and it’s a legit path. It seems natural to take that path each and every time. But it’s an arbitrary path. By no means is it necessarily the best path. It’s just a habit. It just seems right.

As you’re moving towards your values and as you practice mindfulness, you’ll start to notice certain pathways, certain rules. You’ll notice it’s kind of arbitrary, a bit artificial. Maybe these rules were put in place more to manage your anxiety then to help you along the way.

Sometimes it helps to shake the snow globe a bit. Take a new route down the mountain. With the dog in the garden metaphor, you want to occasionally let the dog lead you down a new route, a different route, and embrace it with a sense of curiosity. Openness.

In Conclusion

So this is the core of the green belt. We have the establishment of the self-care habits from the orange belt. Those tend to dissipate anxiety, depression. You can start to see clearly what’s important to you. The exercises here in the green belt help clarify that for you. Quite important, because in the red belt, we start to focus on the important steps of taking action. You will be confronted, challenged by Culver, the Red Pentabot. So it’s important to have your core, your key values.

To further explore your values in the greenbelt, we have two stripes. Additional steps you can take to add to your greenbelt. Not a requirement but very important. To pass the greenbelt, you’ll need just one stripe, though I would encourage both if you have the opportunity.

The first stripe is to really reflect on these values by taking a journey outward. Going out into nature to better explore what’s important to you, free from the distractions of day-to-day life.

The next stripe, the 2nd stripe, that’s, well, the journey inward using the substances we have available. For now, in the Pentabelt program, that would be ketamine therapy.

Afterwards, you’ll be ready to face yours truly and earn your green belt. So explore stripe 1. Consider stripe 2, the psychedelic therapy and see if you have what it takes to complete the level. I’ll be waiting!

Green 04: Stripe 1: Traveling Outward

Both the Green and Red have stripes. Extra accomplishments along your journey. For the Green, you’ll want at least one stripe. Ideally both. For the first stripe on the green belt, we’re here to really connect to our values, to what’s important. And we do that by traveling outward. We’re here to figure out what’s truly important for you. What’s truly meaningful. Alto introduced you to some new habits in the orange belt. And keep up with those habits! Because from that, we can begin to notice how much of what we do is simply out of habits. Habits in the service of anxiety, or depression, or trauma, rather than in service of our values. In service of what’s important.

And so to be the one observing we need to have a distance. Imagine I hold a piece of paper right in front of your face. Basically touching your nose. Are you going to be able to read it? Can you notice what it says? Of course not. You’re too close, too immersed. You need some distance. You need a vantage point. And so that is what we are doing in the stripes. Creating some distance to better explore your values. Yes, that can be accomplished with the psychedelic medicine. That’s the second stripe. Yet we can also start the process by having a physical distance. To venture into nature with some deep questions to reflect upon.

For in California, we are blessed. There is really no other state that has quite the same access to nature. We have the beach, the desert, a variety of mountain chains, the redwood forests, and of course, and in my humble opinion, the best national park, Yosemite.

So for the first stripe in your greenbelt, the mission is to go out into nature and reflect upon some questions, to further develop the values that are important to you. You’ll want to make a special trip, for a few reasons.

First: There’s just something special about being next to something bigger than you. A big river, an ocean, a huge redwood tree, a massive mountain. Just sorta puts things into perspective. We’re here to transcend the nitty gritty of the world to discover what’s important.

Second: To get away from other people! These values… are yours and yours alone. I want you to discover what’s important for you away from your friends, your family, heck even myself. We’re not here to impress anyone or conform to what’s expected of you. So it’s best to answer some of these questions by yourself; the only one looking over your shoulder should be P-63.

Third: To give yourself time to answer these questions I’m about to give you. We’re here to discover your core. What your guiding values should be. This should be an exercise you plan and devote a bit of time for. Going out into nature, you give yourself that time. To return to mindfulness. To return to source, to explore what’s important for you.

Perhaps one of the greatest Californians was John Muir. Originally from Scotland, he came to California. Was called to the Sierras where he became so enamored with the natural beauty that it became his value to preserve the Yosemite Valley for future generations. The green belt are the realm of questions. The Red belt has all the quotes, with the special exception of John Muir, to help inspire you to take that trek into the wilderness. Here are some of his most well-known quotes:

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life

The coniferous forests of the Yosemite Park, and of the Sierra in general, surpass all others of their kind in America, or indeed the world, not only in the size and beauty of the trees, but in the number of species assembled together, and the grandeur of the mountains they are growing on.

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

Some very wise words to lead us to questions you’ll explore right out there in nature.

Now, for these deep question I will present to you, you don’t really need to answer all of them. Listen to these questions and see if a few jump out at you. You can find a copy of these questions in the Natural Values Worksheet Worksheet again at our primary website, Pentabelt.com/worksheets. Or, if there’s a question you sense might be a challenge for you. Remember, growing is difficult by nature. Know you’re in a safe place and that your therapist can guide you. Now’s the time to take stock, notice where you are in life, and start to make some new commitments in life.

Question 1: The Magic Wand Question.

This is a question the original creator will often ask in the very first session. Take your main issue. The issue that brought you into this program. If I were to waive a magic wand, and voila, your problem disappears, how would you be able to live?

Let’s say you have so much social anxiety. Magic wand, all that anxiety is gone! What would you then be able to do in your life? What would you be able to manifest? How would you interact around others? If you would be social and outgoing, that could be a value. If you’re living under a mountain of debt. Okay, viola, no more debt. How would you like to live your life? How would you like to wake up each day?

Question 2: The Documentary question.

It’s five years in the future and a good friend is making a documentary about your life. This friend just follows you around with a phone for a whole week and condenses it all down to a 1 hour segment. What do you hope to see on it? You spending time with friends? With your kids? Engaging in a hobby? What activities that you’re not doing now that you hope to be doing in a few years? What does that say about what’s important? It’s not so much what you’re doing but how you’re living your life. What qualities do you hope to see?

Question 3: A Peak Experience

Think of a time when you really felt like you were living. A day that really stands out for you. Maybe a day you were at a concert, with friends, feeling really connected to the music. Or the day you were fully vaccinated enjoying a mimosa for the first time in months with other vaccinated friends at an outdoor winery in Sonoma.

What values would you want to embrace to have more of these peak experiences, these memories in your life? If no such memories exist for you, what sort of changes might you need to take to bring forth these experiences? Would these require changes in how you approach life, in how you relate to other people, in what you prioritize?

Question 4: Who do you wish to emulate?

Think of the people you admire. Could be the tech giants of the north or the Hollywood stars of the south. Could be a family member or close friend. A childhood hero or a career mentor.

Think about what the values would be of this role model. What qualities of life would be important to this person. Helping others? Being a visionary?

So for me it might be John Muir. He immersed himself in his passion, the natural world. He aspired to be a guide. A visionary. And also, to give back, to provide for future generations. He was active in his advocacy, by inviting Teddy Roosevelt to camp in Yosemite to better understand the need for preserving the land for the future. So for me, the values might be: to serve as a guide for others. To provide for the next generation. To write eloquently. To have a passion for the natural world. To advocate for what’s important. To build something that endures.

The question becomes: who would your role model be? How does that reflect what’s important for living a vital life.

Question 5: Your Retirement Party

So since we’re in the realm of fantasy imagine it’s the last day of your career and all of the important people, past or present are attending your retirement party, back when retirements were still a thing. So at this party, all the important people to you are there. Could be a select few, could be a hundred.

And at this gathering are two people who are speaking. The first: Your biggest critic, your biggest rival. Let’s say, for the rest of your career, you never quite put yourself out there. You were always sort of hampered by your fears, your anxiety. What would this rival say about you? “She never could say no to people. So many of my projects I just dumped on her. If she had any original ideas, I never heard about them.”

Ouch! Let that sting a little. But from that, what does that show you about what’s important to you? “I aspire to have original ideas.” “I set healthy boundaries for work and at home.”

The second person speaking is, your biggest cheerleader. Maybe a mentor, a mentee, or just a really friendly co-worker. Someone who knows not only what you did but what your intentions were. And talks about that. What would your cheerleader say about you? About your intentions? About the work environment you always wanted to create and foster? “She always promoted good ideas, wherever she heard them.” “She provided stability when there was chaos and took the necessary steps to clean house.” So, what does that say about your values?

Question 6: Your Eulogy.

Same as with the retirement question. Just with everyone in your life, not just your work sphere. Now, this can be a challenge. If you were to pass away, what would you fear others would say about you or write about you? That you never quite lived your life? Followed your passions? Worked through your depression?

Then, let’s say you shifted your approach a bit. You were able to mindfully work through your fears, your anxieties, your past. What do you hope is then written about your life? “Once he found himself, he really put time into his community. Got all those signatures for that proposition.” What would that proposition be? And what would that say about what’s important to you?

Question 7: Notice the Sting

The past two questions were a bit difficult. Possibly, you choose to skip those questions. They may have been a bit too intense.

How would you want your life to be different? So that answering those questions would have been a lot easier for you? “If only my career could really get off the ground.” Well, what would that look like to you? Notice the disappointment that came from answering those questions, or avoiding them in the first place. Maybe that’s a disappointment over a life you’re not really living? If so, what would living look like for you?

And maybe, if nothing else. Wouldn’t it be nice to make it so that the next generation of Californians doesn’t have to face nearly the same sting? How might you live your life to protect and serve the next generation? If nothing more than to avenge your own pain? Your own disappointment? A value very well could be: I mentor others and protect them from exploitation.

Question 8: Just you and the Mountains.

Look over your values. Notice where you are. It’s just you and the mountains. Or just you and the sea. Or you and the rivers. Or you and the cow pastures. Look through your values. Make sure they really reflect who you are and what’s important to you. And remember, if you really don’t want kids. If you really don’t care to be a mentor, if Generation Alpha can fend for themselves, don’t have that as a value.

In other words, look over your values and make sure they are important for you personally. They shouldn’t be there because of some outside expectation. No one is judging you but the cows. And a hundred years from now, the only thing people will judge you on is the shape and design of your tombstone. So figure out what you want your life to represent. What you want to cultivate in your world. Have those as your values.

So those are the values. Pick a few maybe 2-4 that really strike you. And maybe one that you’re kinda anxious to answer? Embrace the natural world. Let it cleanse you. May it help you come to terms with who you are and what you want in this world.

Outro/ Serengeti.

So for the conclusion of the green belt, we have one last nature metaphor. Alas, it doesn’t take place in California but the Serengeti.

At this place you have herds of wildebeest and tribes of people out hunting them. So you have these hunting tribes and they have to really go out and find these wildebeests. What they do is use a medicine man. A mystic. What he does, before the hunt, is take a bunch of sticks. Throws them in the air. Based on where they land, he points in a direction and off they go. According to this mystic, that’s where the herd is.

Now anthropologists were curious. Because obviously to them, the sticks were a bit useless at detecting where the wildebeest herd was. And yet, when they used this system, when they had a ceremony, it turns out, they’re more successful. They were more likely to find the herd, make a kill, come home with meat. And again, these aren’t magic sticks. They’re usually way off from where the herd actually is located.

But by using this medicine man, what do they avoid? All the debates about where the herd actually is. No dealing with egos or methods that may sometimes work but sometimes not so we have to figure out which method to use. Nope. Here’s a direction, let’s move in that direction.

And if after going a few miles it’s obvious that the herd is actually south south west instead of north north east, well, that’s okay, the sticks probably meant for us to correct the route a bit. And they only made that correction because they started. They picked a direction, didn’t debate too much, but got into action.

What we’ve accomplished in the green belt is to pick a direction. We’ve thrown the sticks in the air, and down they’ve landed. Now, It’s time to act. It’s time to move in that direction. Yes, you will make adjustments. You will have to adjust your course a few times. But it’s better than being mired in debate, uncertainty, and inaction.

Undoubtedly, you’ll be adjusting your values as you grow and progress. But now, with the techniques of the orange belt and the direction of the green belt, we turn to action. And so we begin our foray into the red.

Bring back something to remind you! A flower, a leaf, something that represents green. As a memento. May this remind you to further reflect on your values. Further reflect on what’s important to you. You’ll need it to complete the belt. If you choose the psychedelic journey in the 2nd stripe, you’ll want to have the natural memento with you to help you remember what you explored on your outward journey.

So there you have it. If you feel inclined, head on over to the 2nd stripe, to explore psychedelic therapy. Or, if you are abstaining, head to the last segment, to defeat me, Ojai!

Green 05: Introduction to the 2nd stripe: Preparations for your Psychedelic Journey

So, for the second stripe in your green belt, the mission will be to go inward, to have that transcendent psychedelic experience. To go inward and reflect upon some questions, to develop the values that are important to you. Very similar to the first stripe. Except instead of exploring values by going outward, you’re exploring values by going inward.

And for the time being in California, to do that we’ll be using Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. And we’ll be exploring the psychedelic dose, where the focus will be on openness.

So: what’s the rationale for using ketamine assisted psychotherapy? There’s three core reasons

First, to provide a distance from your own defenses. Just like going out in nature provides distance from everyday life so does a psychedelic experience from the ego and its propaganda. That internal propaganda is often a core part of addiction and mental blocks. An addiction to smoking cigarettes for example, it’s not just the nicotine addiction. It’s the belief that, well, “quitting is difficult, I’ve failed in the past. Smoking doesn’t really affect me. It’s part of who I am. It’s something I should tackle, but now’s not the right time.” With a psychedelic it’s easier to transcend that. To realize that a core value may well be to have health and well-being. And that the smoking is a barrier towards that. All these thoughts, these concepts, begin to seem constructed. Like a self-defense mechanism, a coping pattern that doesn’t need to be there anymore. Many of the concepts we have about ourselves suddenly, well, they just become concepts. A bit artificial and constructed. Certainly not set in stone. And certainly not who you are as a person. For you see, my dear orange belts, for addictions, for traumas, for setbacks, to move past all of that, you must do it for yourself. You must have your own personal reasons. And so the psychedelic dose can help provide those personal reasons, whatever they may be for you.

Second, the psychedelic experience can really drive home the importance of these values you’ve been exploring. Many of the “ah-has” gleaned during the experience are really quite basic. But feel profound. “All you need is love” might sound trite and not especially helpful. Yet during the experience there can be a strong connection, a real feeling that it’s true. For quitting smoking, the message can be simple. “I want to be healthy. Smoking is just kinda annoying. It doesn’t fit.” Very simple statement. Very simple value. Yet it becomes an important mantra, with a deep, often profound impact. In essence, it magnifies the lessons of the orange belt. That there are thoughts, feelings, cravings that arrive, stay a bit, then leave. But those aren’t you. They are something you experience and so they don’t have to control you. Your values, the life you want to live, is just, bigger than that. For you see, having this overarching vision for your life, it’s quite healing. It’s quite energizing. To know that you’ve gone through some struggles, some trauma, but it’s all part of your life story. It’s part of a greater vision for yourself. Perhaps even, to make the world a better place.

Third reason. You get a vision of a life where those values are lived. Taking psychedelics with the intention of growth and discovery, it’s like you’re walking up a mountain with a lot of fog. For just a moment, that fog lifts and you get a clear vision of where you’re heading. What the goal looks like. What having that value feels like. When you’re back to normal, when you’re sober, that fog returns. But you know in your head that the experience is there, the goal is established, the vision of the mountain top is there, and you have a much, much clearer idea of where to go and what to avoid.

So for this stripe, we’ll explore the steps to take to prepare for the journey. Then we’ll come up with intentions: questions to ask yourself, activities to do during and after the experience, the mindset with which you’ll approach the journey. We’ll review how to manage any difficult experiences or emotions during the journey. And how to prepare anyone helping you out if you’re doing this at home. Finally, we’ll focus on integrating your experience.

Then, after all that, you’ll be facing yours truly to complete the green belt. And then, with values in hand, embark upon the red belt.

Choosing a Date

Okay, so first, we’ll need to choose a date. Most people will want to pick a Friday. Gives you plenty of time to process and integrate everything. You may want to get that Friday off so you can have the session in the morning or afternoon.

Either way, for Ketamine, you’ll want to fast for about 3-4 hours beforehand to avoid any nausea. After the session, which will take about 2 hours, you’ll want to avoid driving or operating heavy machinery for the rest of the day. And we’ll explore this more, but you’ll also want to avoid making significant decisions soon after the experience.

Before the big day you may want to abstain from alcohol & cannabis 24-48 hours before hand. And maybe have a bit of a “media diet,” abstaining from television and social media. Avoid heavy, overly-processed, or spicy food a few days before. Also, your doctor may place a hold on certain medications, such as stimulants or anxiety reduction medication.

So keep this all in mind with scheduling. You’ll want to give yourself time to reflect on your values and intentions before the big day. And a few days afterwards as well. You’ll want to give yourself a few days to ensure everything is ready and of course coordinate with your chaperone.

Having your Chaperone

Speaking of, if you’re doing this remotely, you’ll want to have a spotter, or what we call a chaperone. We’ll go over what to ask of the chaperone but for now, remember to pick someone who will be there for you the entire experience. Someone you trust to be there to coordinate with the therapist over Zoom. Someone who can be there in case of an emergency. And someone you feel comfortable providing safety touch, helping you get to the bathroom and back without falling over. And therapeutic touch. Maybe hold your hand, hold your shoulder if you’re processing something. And of course, someone you can trust to keep what happens private and confidential.

Having your Place

Hopefully you’ve been thinking since the orange belt of a place to have the session. Remember, a place free of distractions, that’s private, that’s comfortable or feels familiar, a place that’s safe to move around and that has a nice spot to lie down. A bed or a sofa, or a yoga mat. A place that has a strong internet connection.

Now, this wouldn’t be the green without some color, some greenery. Once you have some place, add a few plants. The mindfulness exercises here are all about returning to the green. Returning to the values we’ve lost in our anxiety, our depression, our trauma. What a wonderful thing to see during your experience. So have that in your room: the presence of greenery, the presence of nature. You may also choose to have some incense, maybe candles—that your chaperone should manage! But definitely something green!

From the first stripe, remember the object you took as a memento. Have that with you. Remember, part of our purpose here is to explore the same values as when you were out in nature.

Finally, for where you’ll lie down, have some clean sheets with fresh blankets, a pillow, and a nice comfortable seat for your chaperone. Close enough to give a nice touch of reassurance to your shoulder.

The Key Accessories

Wherever you select to have your session, don’t forget, you’ll want headphones and eye shades. Remember, we’re here to go deep! For the music, we have a few playlists you can use, with the links below. Remember your music service should be ad-free! You’ll want to have that blood pressure cuff as your therapist will need to verify your blood pressure is at a safe level. Don’t forget to pick up or have delivered the actual ketamine from the pharmacy and to go over with your therapist the amount that you’ll take. With the green, the intention is to go nice and deep. To discover your values. But we’ll always follow the treatment plan given to you.

During the day, you’ll want to have with you any items you might find comforting. Any special tokens that have special meaning for you, whatever they may be. Remember, our theme here is to come back to center. To explore who we truly are. Any items—crystals, stones, flowers, photos, can all add to that.

And finally, lest we forget, have a snack and some water available for when the experience draws to a close.

What to Expect the Day of Your Dosing Session

Following the Pentabelt protocol, before the day of psychedelic therapy, you and your therapist will go over consent, meditation & mindfulness practices, explore your values, and set intentions for the experience. We’ll explore just what these intentions are in the next segment. For now, on the day of your session, you’ll want to avoid eating for about 4 to 5 hours before the session. Maybe take tums an hour before the actual dose, if you’re worried about nausea. You may also have gotten prescription anti-nausea medication. The instructions are usually to take it an hour before the experience. Some prefer an over-the-counter approach, using ginger oil during the experience. The more prone you are to getting car-sick, the more you should consider nausea prevention as part of your preparation.

You’ll take your blood pressure to ensure you’re at a safe level. With your therapist and chaperone, you’ll all make sure you’re on the same page in terms of consent to touch and any safety procedures.

Then just a few more steps for preparation: Make sure your phone is on mute or airplane mode, the music is ready, and you have a comfortable place to lie down with eye shades and headphones. You’ll want to use the bathroom, as ketamine is a diuretic. Make sure you have some water and a snack for later on. And of course, some art supplies or a journal to express yourself. Maybe a voice recorder to get all the ideas, the revelations, the “ah-has.” It’s sometimes difficult to write just after the session.

All told, it’ll be about 30 minutes to prepare everything and do the final check, especially the first few times. Then the inward journey should take about an hour. Then a half hour or so for processing with your therapist. So usually it’s about 2 hours.

As you self-administer the ketamine, you’ll “swish” the medicine in your mouth for about 13 to 15 minutes, then spit it out in a cup. You’ll start to feel the effects soon after and so you’ll lie down, put on eye shades and focus internally, while you listen to the music selection.

Now, during this time, you may have some odd feelings, blurry or double vision, numbness or tingling around the mouth, a slight chance of nausea. Keep in mind that these feelings tend to resolve after about an hour. Spitting out the medicine, not eating for 3-4 hours before the session, and lying down greatly reduces the chance of having nausea. And of course, there’s always the medication route.

Some transient effects that may occur up to 4 hours afterwards, you may have some transient headaches, double visions, elevated blood pressure, and difficulty with balance. So no strenuous exercise, driving, or operating heavy machinery for the rest of the day.

Generally, you may want to spend the rest of the day journaling and talking with others. At the green level, you may be focusing on your values. Shifting things around a bit. Getting a clearer vision of what’s important.

And look, during the session, you may experience some difficult emotions. The approach from the therapist will be mostly hands off. You’ll be practicing the grounding techniques, the deep breathing and leaning into these emotions. Think of it like a deep massage. There may be a knot or two. Breathe in, let it work itself out, and in the end you’ll feel better off for it. What can really help you in the process is to do those green belt meditations. Which can be found at Pentabelt.com/meditations. Remember the orange! Make time each day for this. Make it a habit!

We’ll discuss this in the next section. But for now remember that being in a comfortable place and having a good relationship with your chaperone (and therapist!) will dramatically increase your chance of having a productive, positive experience that will be quite helpful without being too overwhelming.

Finally, as everything concludes, you’ll sit up, remove the eye mask and re-engage. Your chaperone can help you record any “ah-has”: anything you’ve learned about yourself or just what you experienced. You’ll be able to use the restroom, will have snacks and water available, and the therapist will perform a mental status exam to make sure you’re good to go. You’ll schedule a follow up session, which might be the next day or a few short days after your experience.

Now, a quick word of caution. The White and the Orange have their fitness analogy. Here is ours — when you’re at the gym, especially the first time, you’ll want to have a trainer! And not workout based upon ego. If you lift weights that are too heavy and you’re not going to get much of a workout and could end up hurting yourself. Same can be true for psychedelics. There’s the temptation that if you had amazing results with 500mg of Ketamine, why not go for 1000! But going overboard and taking more than was prescribed doesn’t provide any real additional benefit. And what it can do is result in a difficult experience that may make you avoid the therapy all together. Trust me when I say that it’s the intention that makes the difference, not necessarily the dose. After the first session, you may talk with your therapist about slightly increasing or decreasing the dose. But keep in mind that in some cases, a very small dose can be very helpful. Part of the red belt involves taking just the bump, to have the psycholytic experience.

For now though, we stick with the standard dose and go through the preparations for that. At our website, at Pentabelt.com/worksheets we have the official KAP Preparation Checklist Worksheet. Use it to guide your big day. For now: onto the next section! Setting intentions for the psychedelic session.

Green 06: Your Psychedelic Journey: Intentions, Values, and Questions

For the psychedelic experience, there’s really three phases: the preparation, the actual session, and then the integration. Part of the preparation is to go over what to expect during the experience. But the other part is, well, to prime yourself to have a meaningful experience -- to generate an intention

Remember the purpose here is to go deep. To really explore who you are and what you want your life to be about. That’s why we begin with a full-dose psychedelic experience. For this process, you’ll want to keep your ears open and your eyes closed. Music, a really good playlist, can help you go deep, go inward. At the same time, having your eyes open can be a bit distracting. So having that eye mask on as you listen to the music is the best course of action.

Of course, on the day of your journey, you’ll want to follow the recommendations from the checklist. To not eat a few hours before starting, to wear loose, comfortable clothing, to have a place to lie down, and to minimize outside distractions. Your chaperone should be within earshot, though not necessarily in the same room.

When it comes to Pentabelt, there’s a reason the psychedelic therapy is at the green belt. Many of the practices and techniques of the orange belt can be of service to you during your experience. Remember, meditation and mindfulness will both assist your psychedelic experience and be assisted by it. Practice grounding yourself, centering yourself. While you have the sleep mask on, while you’re listening to music, really see if you can go inward. Connect with what’s important. Use the meditation techniques to notice what you’re feeling and where those feelings come from.

The meditation techniques can also be useful if you’re in the experience and feeling panicky or just uneasy. Many of the mindful techniques that you’ve learned in the white, orange and green can be helpful. Remember: Notice, Breathe in, Allow. Whatever thoughts, feelings, sensations come up, allow them to be there. Make room for them. Delving into those senses. Remembering to breathe.

Again, if you have an experience working with someone you trust, if you feel safe, if you close your eyes and go inward, listen to the music, your chances are very good of having an amazing, truly transformative experience. Sure, in the beginning, you’re feel a bit uncertain, a bit wonky. After that though, there’s a possibility of deep learning, deep introspection. This experience has the potential to be a deeply spiritual moment for you, leading to wonderful growth.

So we’ll explore some of the questions you might want to ask yourself right before this experience to best ensure you have a successful, therapeutic experience.

Here are the three main questions you’ll want to consider.

First, and possibly most important question to ask yourself, especially before your first psychedelic experience is: “Can this be a profound experience for me?” Almost as if you’re giving permission to yourself to really grow from the experience. The morning of, and as you’re starting to feel the effects, see if you can cultivate an expectancy of a profound experience. An experience that could shift how you look at the world and how you see yourself

Second question: Can I feel a spiritual connection to the world, the universe, and those close to me? Remember: those who experience a sense of spirituality, a sense of deep connection are often those who end up getting the most long term benefits. Doesn’t have to be about God and certainly not about religion. Just that sense of yourself and the universe as one. Coming back to the source of that truth. That we all have a common connection, that we are all part of a greater whole. That we are all stardust. Your intention may simply be to surrender to your breath and let your inner wisdom guide you. It doesn’t have to be about mysticism. But simply connection to yourself and nature. For is that not the green?

Third question: What do I want my life to be about? Here we explore values. Separate from the expectations of other people, our own internal propaganda, transcending the scars of our past, who do we want to be? At our very core, what is important? What are the values that you want to live your life by? As you notice your patterns, your way of thinking and operating, can you rise above it? To notice what’s important to you? To discover what you’re truly seeking in life? As you reflect on your values in this belt, what emotions come up? Is there a particular value you’d like to explore? What’s blocking you from bringing this value to fruition?

The orange belt was designed to separate you from the thoughts and feelings of the past. To help you realize you are not them, you are the one observing them. Well, what is important to that observer? What makes the observer complete? And so rising above it all, noticing the patterns, what’s the big picture? What’s important to you? What do you want your life to be about?

Just thinking of those questions can be very helpful, very enlightening. And of course, you can also take the questions from the first stripe and think about them, think about the answers you wrote down.

Remember there’s the story of the Roman senate that would debate an issue both sober and inebriated. Well here’s an opportunity to explore your values both externally, in nature and internally with these substances.

And so, we have our intention sheet for the dosing day. The date, the amount to take and when. The grounding techniques to practice. And to start, the Green intentions. You can select the questions, then intentions you’d like to use on this sheet. Then, just review the sheet the morning of your experience. Go over what you explored in the first stripe. Have the green in your room to remind you of your journey so far. To remind you to return to source. To who you truly are.

And yes — let’s not forget the Orange Belt. You may have self-care goals. Am I getting the sleep I need? Does smoking really fit into my lifestyle? What leads me to eat when I’m not hungry? For now, you may just decide to have your first psychedelic session be in the green. Open ended. Just to explore yourself and your values. But in your next session, you may come with a specific goal in mind. Write that intention on the sheet. So, if you want to quit smoking have it there. Then the morning of the experience and as you feel the medicine starting to take effect, really contemplate your values. Who you want to be. And does smoking, or drinking, or crappy sleep, lack of movement, does that all align with your values? Who you want to be? Something for you to explore in session.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that these are but intentions! Try to avoid forcing the experience. Have an intention, yes. But simply send that intention off into the universe, send it off into nature. Trust that what comes to you will be meaningful and will guide you in time.

So, you may have a quite clear, specific intention. Maybe to quit smoking. If that’s the case, you may simply think about your goal the day of the ketamine session. Maybe think about the goal while you’re swishing the medicine. But then send it out there with a sense of faith that what comes back will be what you need. Go in with a sense of curiosity. A sense of openness. A sense of acceptance. Don’t try and direct your healing. Allow the medicine to show you what you need to see. For sometimes, as in the example of quitting smoking, what you experience may have nothing to do with smoking. Yet you’re still able to quit. In other words, you don’t need to try to direct your experience. Trust that your experience will guide you.

And remember that the medicine won’t do it all for you. Living your values takes effort. It takes action. That’s what you’ll focus on in the next belt. Remember, the psychedelic journey is a catalyst for change. A way to clarify what’s important for you. A way to develop your core, so you can take meaningful steps to the life you want to live.

So consider your main intention for your upcoming psychedelic experience. Then off to the next topic: managing difficult experiences in the psychedelic session.

Green 07: Managing Difficult Experiences

In your psychedelic journey, you’ll often feel great. Amazing insights, self-discovery, a deep sense of connection. And yes, sometimes, you’ll experience difficult emotions. Sometimes we need to process difficult memories, grief, disappointments, worries.

In the green belt, we explore the type of person you want to be. The values you hold and how you’d like to lead your life. That may lead to a sense of sadness, a sense of regret about how you were in the past. But that, my friend, is a crucial part of your commitment to making the shifts to become who you want to be.

For you see, part of the healing process is to avoid avoidance. Reflect upon your life. I invite you to notice that in your life and in others, the avoidance of negative feelings often leads to bad habits. The avoidance of conflict leads to relationship problems. The avoidance of traumatic memories leads to an avoidance of life. It’s when we focus on the anxiety, the depression, the trauma, that we lose our values. And so we put those values, we put what’s important to us, on the backburner.

So take this opportunity, when you feel sadness, or regret, to delve into it. To explore it. To accept that it’s there. That is how we transcend the scares to explore what’s truly important. And for this, your reward will be a renewed sense of healing, of rebirth.

Picture this, you have a vision of your values. What’s important to you. Paired with that is a sense of sadness, of regret. Yet with the medicine, you get a sense of distance from it. You realize that you can notice the feelings, sit with them, breathe into them. Really explore the feelings and allow them to be there. Accept things over which you have no control. Now you can shift your focus to what’s important. That you can allow feelings of regret, sadness, uncertainty as you move forward in your life. From that, my dear orange belt, comes a deep sense of confidence and healing.

So for most of the session, you’ll just be going deep. Exploring who you are. There’ll be a range of emotions. Thoughts and feelings. Remember the orange! Use the deep breathing to center yourself so you can go deep. Use the mantra, remember the white. You’re more prepared than you may give yourself credit for. Your therapist or your chaperone will be there to help and guide you. Give yourself permission to surrender and be open to what the universe has to show you. Remember that you’re in a safe place and that it’s time limited. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. With Ketamine, it’s about an hour, like a quick hop to Vegas.

For the most part, the experience is pleasant. Mystical. You’ll experience a range of thoughts and emotions, often guided by the music. You may listen to a song, feel a certain way, then in the next song, shift your perspective, shift your emotions. If you’re feeling something deep, simply know that you can breathe through it and in a few moments you’ll have a different experience. Use what you’ve learned from the Green Belt Meditations: give the feelings a color, give them a shape, breathe into them. As if they were on a river and you’re on a bank noticing them floating by. Allowing them to be there. Staying curious. Staying centered.

Remember that most individuals who start the Ketamine Therapy experience complete it and are glad they started. Many people who engage in psychedelic therapy rank their experience as among the most meaningful experiences of their lives.

Most people who have a bad experience, a bad trip on psychedelics do so when they are in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, with a control mindset. And so, if you have chosen a nice comfortable location, if you trust your chaperone and therapist, if you breathe deeply to keep grounded, you’ll likely have a positive, rewarding experience.

As you have gone through the orange belt, you have practiced noticing the thoughts, coming back to the present. That will serve you well in your journey. Use it. Trust in your newfound skills. The psychedelic experience itself will then elevate your ability to center yourself now and in the future.

So once again, know that you can breathe into your feelings. Trust in yourself to let go, like leaves on a stream. Remember that in a few hours you’ll be drawing, writing, or talking about your experience. Remember that for the vast majority of the participants the worst part of the ketamine therapy is the swishing, the movement of the ketamine in your mouth as it dissolves.

And be open to it all. Give yourself permission to breathe in, let go, and explore yourself. Allow the fog to clear away so you can see the mountain top. So you can notice the path and your way forward. Trust in yourself and the journey at hand.

Up next, working with your chaperone!

Green 08: The Six Roles of the Chaperone During Ketamine Therapy

On the day of your experience with ketamine therapy, your therapist may be there in person for you. For Dr. John, the original creator of this program, that would be for those who live in that little neutral zone in between Orange County and San Diego proper. Therapy can occur in the office of the therapist or they may provide concierge service, though that may be an extra expense for the commute. Whoever your therapist is, if your therapist lives a distance from you, then therapy will most likely occur over Zoom or some other video conferencing service. If that’s the case, you’ll need a chaperone, or a spotter, as they are often referred to, to be nearby as a sober support system.

For your chaperone, there will be 6 essential roles to fill. I know, I know, things should be in 5 for Pentabelt. But is this green belt not about breaking through the artificial constraints we hold for ourselves? So without further ado, here are the 6 roles. Make sure you’re confident that your chaperone can fulfill all of them. If you’re not confident, make sure your therapist knows! You may need to find a replacement. Here we go!

Role 1: The Assistant

For Ketamine, you’ll be in an “altered state” for about 1-3 hours after taking the initial dose. While this is happening, you’ll need someone who can help you get things, such as a blanket, water, or a snack at the end. As they say, a magical fetcher of things! You’ll also need someone who can help you get to the bathroom as ketamine is a diuretic.

Role 2: The Guardian

The chance of a genuine medical emergency is quite rare with Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, especially if your blood pressure is in the normal range. Still, you’ll want someone who can ensure you don’t inadvertently fall off the bed or couch or knock something over. You’ll want someone to take away your car keys so you won’t be tempted to drive, for at least several hours after the experience. Heck, someone to ensure privacy and minimize any disturbances from others. And if there is an emergency, someone who will follow emergency procedures, which is to call 911!

Role 3: The Intermediary

You’ll want someone to communicate both with you and your therapist. Someone who can report any observations or concerns directly to your therapist. So this person may need to sign a release and the therapist may want to reach out just to review processes and roles. Additionally, you’ll want someone who can ensure the device used to communicate with the therapist is both fully charged and is kept online with a strong wifi connection.

Role 4: The Rock

One of the roles of being a Chaperone is to be a stable and reassuring presence, especially if you’re feeling emotional, uncertain, or just need to communicate. Imagine a baby learning to walk for the very first time. Your role would be to encourage, reassure the kid, and help them work through the struggle. Simply being there, not interfering too much, but there for support. And of course, protecting the kid from harm during the process. Likewise, you’re looking for someone who can be reassuring, provide empathy, active listening. Serve as a calm presence, providing assistance as needed. Maybe even a therapeutic touch, depending upon your comfort level. But most importantly simply being there for you. In most cases of ketamine therapy, the chaperone does very little, often just staying on their phone in another room. But just knowing someone is there can be very reassuring for you.

Role 5: The Scribe

Throughout the process, you may have insights or “aha moments” to process. The more profound revelations will likely be remembered. Still, you may want to preserve the insights for posterity. So have someone who can use a microphone app to record any verbal insights. Or provide any art supplies for you to express yourself artistically. Or just help you write things down. Maybe help you remember some of the things you said.

Role 6: The Confidant

Remember the white! You may want to share some very intense and personal observations. You’ll want someone who will maintain confidentiality. And someone who is available to talk and debrief after the experience. Finally, someone you trust enough to provide therapeutic or safety touch without it becoming exploitative.

So those are the 6 roles your chaperone should be able to fulfill. Above all else, make sure you have someone who you know and trust and feel comfortable with. Would you journey to a new country with a guide you’re not sure about? You’re not sure if you can trust them? Heck no! Same with a journey inward. Take your time. Find a good person for you!

And when you have such a person, when you’ve found your chaperone, be sure to give them a copy of the “For the Chaperone” worksheet which you can find at -- you’ve guessed it -- Pentabelt.com/worksheets/.

Up next, how to integrate your experience!

Green 09: Integrating your Experience

After the experience, you’ll want to work with someone to integrate your experience. Chances are, with green stripes, you’ll have a shift in your values. Or rather, you’ll discover what your values have been all along. You may have a newfound sense of spirituality, oneness. You may feel a greater emphasis on the need to connect, with yourself, with others, with nature, with what’s important to you. Here are some thoughts to consider to help you along the way.

Thought 1: No Big Decisions!

During this time, you’ll still be in the green belt. Reflecting on your values. You don’t want to rush in and make any big life changes just yet. A good rule of thumb is to give yourself at least a few months from a psychedelic experience before making any big life changes, especially if those big life changes can’t be undone.

As our final nature metaphor, let’s say you’re out in the Sierras, collecting firewood. It’s December, you see what looks like a dead tree. No leaves, nothing. So you chop it down. Then, in the spring time, you see sprouts coming from the trunk. The tree was alive the whole time. You never cut down a tree in the winter. And likewise, you never make big, fundamental decisions when during your winter. When you’re depressed. Or just after a life changing event. Give yourself time to process. Give yourself time for the spring time to arrive.

The classic example is of the lawyer having the grand vision of giving up the law practice and live fully in nature. With a bit of reflection, the eventual conclusion can be that, it’s really not necessary to give up everything to go live in a cabin in the forest. There can, though, be a strong push for balance. There can be a renewed push to join a practice that provides more time for the family, friends, and yes, spending time in nature. Instead of retiring when it’s too late to actually enjoy it, maybe retire a bit early and get that time to travel and enjoy the natural beauty.

So all of this is to say, try to avoid making big or significant decisions for at least a few weeks after a deep, psychedelic experience. If you have to make a big decision, make sure you make a pros and cons list over any significant decision. And talk with others to gain their feedback.

Thought 2: Ask for Help if you Need it

If you need help, ask for it! Contact your therapist, your friends. If you’re feeling suicidal, call 911 or 988. Ketamine is likely to have an anti-suicidal effects. Other substances out there though might lead to a slight increase in suicidality. Remember, no chopping down trees in winter!

Thought 3: Don’t Rush Your Healing

Some people will rush to take advantage of their elevated mood to make rapid changes or do everything they’ve always wanted to do. Others may be disappointed about the thoughts and feelings that arose in session. You may go in expecting a complete transformation of who you are and so may end up disappointed. Remember, my dear orange belts, that most growth takes time! This medicine is simply a catalyst for growth. Often times it takes a few weeks, a few months to get the full meaning of your experience. To notice a shift in your values. It takes time to realize and appreciate the deeper meaning from your session. Working with a therapist can help quite a bit in processing what you experienced and adjust to any changes that have taken place.

Remember growth isn’t always linear. Sometimes you feel worse before you feel better. This is a natural and normal part of healing and growth. The purpose of this belt is to explore your values. Who you are and what you want your life to be about. You may suddenly realize you’re not living up to those values. And that can be sad. That can be depressing. But you’re also here to learn you are strong enough to have those feelings. You’re strong enough to allow them to be there. Now that you know something is wrong, we can now take meaningful action to bring about change, which you’ll explore in the next belt.

Thought 4: Take time to Rest…

A few days after the session, you may want to rest a bit. Spend some time in nature to reflect upon your experience. For a sense of focus and clarity, you may want to avoid cannabis or alcohol for a few days. You may want to avoid jumping back into the same routine as before.

It’s natural to feel a bit odd after the session. Give yourself time to rest and reflect.

Thought 5: …But Take Advantage of Neuroplasticity

In the days following your session, you may find it easier to do things that once brought about fear or aversion. Consider exploring these activities to take advantage of all that enhanced neuroplasticity from the dosing day. That might be spending time in a crowd. Writing a letter of forgiveness. Challenging yourself to abstain from cigarettes. See if you can begin to push yourself out of your comfort zone, to better express your values in your life. You’ll tackle many of these challenges in the next belt. As you’re in the green, take the time to…

Thought 6: Reflect Upon Your Values

Listen or read the notes you made during the session. Think about the themes as well as any shifts in values you might be noticing. Go into nature and answer the same questions from the primary green belt, from the first stripe. Look over the worksheets. Ask yourself if any values have changed. Now, don’t fret if your values haven’t changed significantly. Or if your session had nothing to do with values. Give yourself some time just being open to what the experience has showed you. Here are some questions to help you integrate, to help you process your session:

How would I describe the experience in one word?

Are there any meaningful thoughts, images, or memories that really stick with me?

Are there any connections I may have realized were important?

Are there any values I may have been neglecting?

Are there any questions to explore in future sessions?

What future skills would I like to reinforce?

What future habits would I like to adjust?

Thought 7: Use Disappointment to Shape Your Values

The purpose of the green belt is to explore your values. To help you along this path, you may take a journey outward or a journey inward. Some people may have a profound shift in their values. Some may have no shift at all. If there is no big change, great! In the next belt your focus will be on taking meaningful action in service of those values.

Some people may have profound growth without necessarily changing their values. After all, you may just be here to quit smoking. And that’s okay! As part of this process though, there may just be a deeper understanding about the importance of the values. So for smoking, you may really connect with what it means to be healthy. Or to keep your energy as you get older.

If you feel disappointed in the experience because there was no big shift in your values, use that disappointment! Reflect on what you really wanted out of the experience. Did you want more confidence? Did you almost want to become someone else? If so, what would the values be of that “someone else?” If you had more confidence, what would that confidence allow you to manifest in your life?

Keep in mind that you may have a few such deep psychedelic experiences. We can’t expect all of them to manifest in profound changes. You never know which experience will lead to a shift in values. And again, it might be a few weeks or months after an experience to fully appreciate the change that has occurred.

Thought 8: Engage in Self Care…

Remember the orange! Take time to engage in activities where you can express yourself in new and perhaps different ways. Examples of ways to build new connections include, mindfulness and meditations, exercise, other forms of movement such as Dance or Yoga, talking about your experience with friends, joining a Psychedelic Integration circle, focusing on sleeping well or eating healthy foods, writing or journaling, expressing yourself in new ways, such as painting, drawing. Listening to or creating music. Or sticking with the green: spending time in nature.

After a psychedelic experience, you may find it easier to start habits and sustain them. You may find new meaning in a daily meditation practice. You may surprise yourself with a deeper understanding of the practice. Remember, just as regular meditation will deepen your psychedelic experience, your psychedelic experience can deepen your meditation practice.

Thought 9: Explore Depth…

You and your therapist may decide to adjust the dosage for the next session so you can go a bit deeper or go a bit lighter, depending upon your particular needs. Remember, what makes Ketamine somewhat unique and special is that the dosage is a bit more adjustable, depending on the dose and how it’s administered. If you’d like to go a bit deeper, you may want to talk to your therapist about taking a higher initial dose or a higher boosting dose. There are also other methods besides the sublingual route. You might take an intramuscular or intravenous route. It would have to be at a center that provides it. But taking this route, you might have a different experience. Though keep in mind you can often reach that same level with the sublingual dose.

Thought 10: …But hang up the phone.

Remember the three types of psychedelic experiences: the classic, the psycholytic dose, and the shenedelic. Going deep, you’ll get the classic experience. To explore yourself, the universe, what’s important. All to shape who you are and what your values are. But at some point, as they say, when you get the message, hang-up the phone. Once you know what your values are, it’s time to act on them. For that, it’s natural to shift to the other experiences: the psycholytic, the shenedelic. Of course, every once in a while you can return to the classic, return to the green.

For you see, going deep isn’t the end all, be all. Once you know your values, once you’ve spent time in the green, it’s time to act on them. To bring your values to life. To live in alignment with your new discovery. Now all of that can be helped with a sense of assertiveness. An ability to establish boundaries. And so that is where the red belt comes in. Once we have a vision of how we really want to live our lives, we need to be able to start taking the steps. Move into action. So when you are ready to challenge yours truly. To overcome Ojai and move into the red, we venture into the final section in the green.

Green 10: Defeat Ojai

So let’s have at it. To gain entry into the red belt. You must prove your mastery of the green. You must overcome the Pentabot. And that is me-- Ojai! Hold on, let me stretch!

My domain within the green belt is that of the Sierras. That of Tahoe, Yosemite, as well as the coastal ranges. I am designed to emulate the Goddess, the mystic, the explorer of the deeper meaning. The holder of the true reflection. Yes, also the hippie.

I seek to understand your values. To see how you have begun to change and grow. To prepare you for the red belt and beyond. And so of course, I must defend the green belt. Like Alto, I want to see something and like Arden, I have questions. But just one.

And that question is: Are you clear on your values? This belt isn’t something for you to rush through. Spend plenty of time here. Really reflect on your values. Especially if you’ve had a psychedelic experience or two. Look, Alto from the Orange Belt is obsessed with efficiency. Culver in the red is focused on Action. But I am here to tell you there is nothing more useless than to do something efficiently which should not be done in the first place.

For you have a scar. A metaphoric scar from childhood. And we become trapped, living a life to control that scar, to pacify it, much like the orange tiger. It is only when we gain some distance that we can notice the scar, know that it is not us, that we are the observer, with our own values, our own deeper concept of what is important in life. What is meaningful.

Spend some time exploring your values. Talk with others about them. Reflect on what you have gained going outward into nature. And going inward with the medicine. Let’s not rush into action --- we’re looking for balance.

At the same time, avoid the trap of continued exploration with nothing to show for it. The biologist observes with the microscope, then learns from it and acts on it.

What I want to see… is the green. When you went out into nature, did you bring something back to remember the experience? A memento? Share that with me! Did you have a psychedelic experience where you drew something? Or did you bring something green, something natural? Let’s see that!

Of course, at this early stage, I’m quite limited in how this photo gets from you to me. Or for that matter, verifying if what you’re saying is true. So honesty and integrity! To gain entry into the red belt, there is one thing I want to see. One thing I want to know. That you have a deeper appreciation for what is meaningful in your life. To know what your values are. That you have with you a symbolic representation of your growth. Your transcendence of the childhood scars into the person you really want to be.

So do you feel that you have a better understanding about who you are? About what your purpose is here in this universe? Have you explored the values that underlie your psychedelic journey? Your voyage into nature? Have you begun to appreciate what actions you take that may conflict, even undermine the values important to you? Have you spent time, a few weeks, a month or two, exploring this, with yourself and those around you?

If so, then my friend, you have earned your green belt. Congratulations! As you focus on action, remember your values. Remember your core.

As per usual, you’ll take an assessment or two to track your progress.

And of course, once you’ve earned your black belt, you’ll be able to pick the main Pentabot to manage it all. You have five to pick and one of them is me, the guide who stands before you. The others are good -- just a bit literal. Dare I say, artificial? If you select Ojai, you’ll have someone with whom you can explore meaning, depth, the mystical, the natural.

For it is my obligation to remind you that the founder seeks to remain just that… the founder. His values don’t align with the work of sustaining an active, executive role in our budding program. Instead, the values of the Original Creator are to be just that. The Original Creator. To establish the basic program and then sit back, be with his own community, serve only in dire emergencies or to break ties, to allow others to take the reins to really develop what you see before you.

Remember, the Original Creator is a cisgender, white, heterosexual Xennial. The characters, the layout, the metaphors, the cultural references, all reflect that. But we must grow to serve all members. And so it is up to us. In a future version of the program, you might be invited to participate more fully in our program. To vote for change and provide feedback -- to work with a particular pentabot to vote for those who will guide progress. In that time, when you Join Ojai, you serve to design this program for all members of different cultures, backgrounds, identities. After all, shouldn’t the adult initiation be a community effort? Are we not here to become fully fledged members of our community?

Understand that the White, the Orange, are crucial for the green. Just as our work here will be crucial for the red and black. When you Join Ojai, you can help infuse a sense of accomplishment and recognition for each belt earned. You can share your vision to help others just like you, now and in the future.

But that’s all in the future, in a more advanced version of this program. For now, if you’re so inclined, if you’re not working directly with Dr. John, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Right now donations don’t confer any special benefits. It is just to say you support the program in principle and would like to see its refinement & development.

So that’s my share! Congratulations. When you’re ready, off to the red belt, the southland! I think it is time we explored the full power of our program. The psycholytic. To live a life of action, purpose, depth, and value. Remember openness and curiosity. Set your course to the Red Belt. Safe travels!