The 5 Keys to Navigating a Plant Medicine Ceremony

Johnny Nunez
Feb 17
3 min read

Updated: Feb 23

Navigating a plant medicine ceremony requires more than just preparation—it calls for deep trust, devotion, humility, respect, and gratitude. These five guiding principles serve as anchors, helping us move through the experience with grace, surrender, and awareness. Whether you're stepping into ceremony for the first time or deepening your path, this guide will offer insight into how to approach the medicine with an open heart and reverence.

When we step into the sacred container of a plant medicine ceremony, we enter a space of profound healing, transformation, and surrender. This journey is not always easy—it can bring forth deep emotions, revelations, and challenges. But when we navigate it with intention, we allow the medicine to work through us, not just for us.

At Casa Floresta, we recognize five essential keys that help guide us through this sacred process:

1. Trust – Everything That Arises is for Our Healing

It is natural to feel fear, doubt, or even paranoia during a ceremony. The mind may question, “What have I done?” or “This was a terrible idea.” But rest assured—there are no mistakes. Every sensation, thought, and vision is part of the medicine’s unfolding wisdom.

The energies that emerge, both seen and unseen, are here for a reason. Some bring direct teachings, while others mirror aspects of ourselves that need healing. Instead of resisting, ask the medicine:

What is this teaching me?
How can I move through this with trust?

One of the simplest yet most powerful ways to anchor into trust is by returning to the breath. There is no need to force a specific breathing pattern—simply bring your awareness to it. Notice the natural rhythm of your inhale and exhale, feeling how it moves through you. The breath is always there, gently guiding you back into presence. When the mind becomes overwhelmed, returning to the breath is a way of saying, “I am here. I am safe. I trust.”

Surrender to the process, and trust that everything is unfolding perfectly for your healing.

2. Devotion – Call Upon What You Believe In

Whatever your belief system—God, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Pachamama, the Elements, the Tao, Ram Dass—it is perfect.

Devotion is a powerful anchor in ceremony. When uncertainty arises, call upon your divine connection to guide you. Even if your belief is in nothingness itself, let that be your devotion. What matters is that you allow yourself to be supported.

3. Humility – Let the Mind Catch Up to Awareness

As Wavy Gravy said, “Only nobody gets through the gates of heaven.”

The medicine is not here to judge you—only the mind does that. Humility is the grace of allowing yourself to be exactly where you are.

If egoic pride or resistance arises, ask:

"Does this bring me peace, or am I closing myself off?"

True humility is not about self-judgment—it’s about being open to receiving the divine.

4. Respect – For Yourself, Others, and the Space

Respect is an act of love—toward yourself, those around you, and the ceremonial container.

Respect Yourself: If emotions like shame or self-punishment arise, know that they are not from the medicine—they are from the mind. Meet yourself with unconditional love.
Respect Others: Everyone is on their own journey. Keep conversations internal and allow others to have their process without interference. Refrain from physical contact, as energetic exchanges can be powerful.
Respect the Space: If using the restroom, bring your purge bucket and clean up any spills when you are able. Trust the facilitators—they are experienced in holding this sacred space.

When we respect the container of the ceremony, we create a powerful foundation for healing.

5. Gratitude – The Key to Moving Through Any Experience

We are all here because somewhere within us, we already know that this medicine is supporting us. Gratitude is the practice of remembering this truth, moment by moment.

Each time you move through something challenging, there is an opportunity to say thank you—to yourself, to the medicine, to the divine, and to the experience itself. Gratitude shifts our perception, helping us see the beauty in everything.