After nearly a decade as a psychiatrist running a psychiatric emergency room in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve come to recognize that one of the most radical ways we can offer support to a fellow human is through the decision to simply be present in a profoundly kind, patient, non-judgmental manner: to pause in the presence of another’s pain and resist the impulse to fix, explain, or retreat. To bear witness with steadiness. This act of generosity is what I encountered when I first volunteered with Zendo Project back in 2017. It’s what has kept me coming back, and it’s what compelled me to say yes when I was asked to join the board this past year. Over these years, I’ve come to believe something simple but radical: loving presence is not just therapeutic – it’s transformative. And it’s teachable.

So I invite you to imagine this future with me:

It’s hard to remember now what it was like “before”—before it became second nature to soften when someone was unraveling. Before attunement became instinctual—not to manage or mend—but to simply witness and be with. Before the power of presence wove itself into our cultural DNA. But Zendo Project remembers. Because Zendo Project helped us get there.

Across communities large and small—from refugee camps to dance floors, ERs to classrooms, shelters to boardrooms—people now know how to offer loving presence in moments of grief, rupture, shame, and overwhelm. Not because they were told what to do, but because they were shown how to be. Zendo Project’s foundational trainings, rooted in relational practice, not doctrine, became the standard for emotional literacy in the 21st century. As CPR did for cardiac crises, “Zendo skills”—or a sort of Emergency Psychological Response—did for emotional crises. The revolution didn’t happen on social media. It was transmitted—quietly, mycelially, human to human, heart to heart.

What began as a psychedelic peer support project evolved into a far more ambitious cultural transmission project. Zendo trained people not just to offer this special manner of presence, but to teach others how to do the same. That recursive ripple—training the trainers of the trainers—was its secret power. This quiet capacity allowed Zendo’s ethos to root in unexpected places: police departments deferring mental health calls to Zendo-inspired response teams, hospitals inviting non-clinical anchors into emergency departments, and corporate teams remembering how to be human. This way of being, we’ve realized, isn’t just for crises. It’s how we want to live.

This is the future I believe is possible. A world where more of us are trained in how to be with suffering. This culture of collective nervous system repair is calling us forward, but we need your help to build it. Zendo Project is powered by generosity—of spirit, of time, and of resources. We are embarking on our next exciting chapter, weaving a network of compassionate care that keeps this work alive all year long.

If this vision resonates, please join the Zendo Care Network today. Become part of the powerful, growing circle of people keeping care at the center of our communities.

Thank you for helping us share Zendo’s care and principles further than ever before.

Announcing the Zendo Care Network

Help us reach our goal of 300 new monthly donors to build sustainable support for the year ahead.

Together, we’re helping care become the foundation of the psychedelic community and beyond.

Be part of this next chapter with us.

Zendo Lab Update

Zendo Project research validates the need for compassionate support in altered states

At the American Public Health Association’s annual conference on November 4, Zendo Project Research Fellow Nima Veiseh presented new research alongside Missi Wooldridge from the Center for Psychedelic Public Health. This presentation introduced Nima’s Theory of Altered State Compassionate Integration (ASCI), which states that empathic and emotionally attuned support during transitions into or out of altered states facilitates psychological coherence and mitigates trauma by reinforcing trust, safety, and meaning-making processes that transactional or procedural approaches fail to activate.

Our world is producing more altered states, not fewer. As psychedelics become more accessible, mental health crises increase, and emerging technologies create new cognitive and emotional disruptions, the need for skilled, compassionate support remains constant. As Artificial Intelligence becomes more integrated into daily life, these technologically mediated shifts in attention, emotion, and meaning-making echo the same dynamics we see in psychedelic states.

Pulse Update

We’re launching a new Community Council—and we need your nominations.

The Community Council is a small group of trusted community members who help Zendo Project to navigate complex interpersonal situations with integrity and care. Operating under the Pulse team, Council members:

• Facilitate conflict resolution
• Hold space for accountability conversations
• Address escalated concerns that require collective wisdom
• Provide guidance on boundary concerns, power dynamics, and ethical challenges

This work helps us live our shared values of transparency, compassionate care, and restorative justice, strengthening the foundation of our volunteer and staff communities.

What it requires: Approximately 15-20 volunteer hours annually, including four quarterly 90-minute meetings and availability for “on-call” consultation during two months of the year.

Who we’re looking for: People who embody emotional maturity and cultural humility, serving with integrity, groundedness, and heart. Council members need to stay grounded during conflict, balance deep compassion with clear truth-telling, and address power imbalances without escalating them. This work requires confidentiality and genuine commitment to the continuous evolution of our community’s ethics and safety culture.

Nominate someone (including yourself!) by December 15th.

SIT Gratitude Sale: Save $264

We are offering a limited discount: The first 33 people to use code SIT333 can join our SIT training for $333, saving $264 off the standard rate.

We’ve been thinking about the ripple created every time someone takes the Zendo SIT Training and how those skills move through families, friendships, festivals, clinics, classrooms, and communities.

And so, as we reflect on gratitude and reciprocity this week.

We recognize that these qualities exist in an active relationship with one another.

Giving as we receive is how the cycle of care continues to grow.

We’re deeply grateful for everyone who has chosen to sit, listen, and care alongside Zendo Project. Because of you, thousands have learned to meet non-ordinary states with compassion.

As a gesture of thanks — and to help this ripple of care continue — we’re offering a HUGE discount to the first 33 people to use the code SIT333. Save $264! 

Limited Edition 4 Principles Leggings

For the leggings lovers who know instantly when a pair is right: these are high-waisted, studio-grade, and made from premium fabric that moves perfectly with you. Designed by people who live in leggings, with Zendo Project’s Four Principles woven in as a reminder of what you stand for.