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We’re creating a safe container for people to acc
ess the wisdom of their own inner healer. Rob Coffey Co-Founder of InwardBound It was while working with ayahuasca – an intensely hallucinogenic potion made from boiling woody Banisteriopsis caapi vines with chacruna bush leaves – that Rob Coffey received a message: it was time to utilise Ireland’s native medicine in his practice. “Psilocybin which grows in the land and is an ancestral medicine of Ireland was used by Celtic and pre-Celtic cultures,” he explains as we chat on the phone. “It was a journey of healing, a journey of coming back to my true self.” A journey of healing and a return to the true self are the intended outcomes of InwardBound, Ireland’s first psychedelic retreat business, founded by Rob, Dr. Darragh Stewart and David McNamara. The programme is a five-day retreat in the Netherlands, where psilocybin-containing truffles are legal, that claims to offer healing for psycho-emotional illnesses that modern healthcare systems are not always able to address. Before the retreat those looking to attend are screened for suitability and carefully prepared for the experience should they be accepted. Under the supervision of its founders and extra facilitators, attendees are provided with psychedelics in order to allow them to journey deep into their own psyche. “We’re creating a safe container for people to access the wisdom of their own inner healer,” says Rob. The efficacy of psychedelics in treating psychological disorders has been gaining traction. InwardBound is symptomatic of a growing body of knowledge that links psilocybin to the safe treatment of a range of issues such as depression and addiction. “For those who are skeptical, the science is there,” explains Rob. “We don’t impose any belief systems on anyone. In InwardBound we fuse spirituality and science because we’ve realised at the end of the day they’re the one path.” If taking mushrooms in a ‘container’ sounds a little reckless or intense, Rob is quick to stress their role as guides. These are strong substances and should be taken under supervision. Rob and the team do not promote the consumption of psychedelics, or supply psychoactive substances: instead, InwardBound’s focus is on offering a retreat service for people who have decided they want to partake in a psychedelic experience. InwardBound is paving the way in Ireland Hovay’s Karma for plant-based medicine and spirituality. Rather than seeing themselves as tripped out hippies, Rob and his team are practitioners doing their part to raise consciousness and enable people to connect with who they truly are. For Rob, this change is urgent. With the climate crisis at a tipping point, spirituality isn’t just a means of self reflection, it is a tool for collective action. “There’s many ways of expanding your consciousness, from vision quests, to walking in nature, to yoga and meditation, but personally I found that plant medicines offer the quickest way to help people change their consciousness,” says Rob. “At this time on the planet it’s necessary to help as many people as quickly as possible, because there’s a crisis occurring. InwardBound is there to allow people experience what I’ve experienced; to expand their consciousness and connect to their true selves.” inwardbound.nl 25