Live and Awake in LA

Article by Ryan Palmer

Having attended the surprisingly few SoCal events over the past few years, it was such a welcome pleasure to see familiar faces coming together in LA for 3 days of meaningful conversations centered around healing, community, access, learning, and networking at Awakening 2025 hosted by Psychedelic Institute of Los Angeles. Paul Karasik’s speech during the kickoff party reminded everyone that while growing pains may accompany most good things (referencing difficult trips often being the most helpful, but also failed policy reform attempts and other ‘industry setbacks’), for most of human history we’ve collectively done a great job of being our own stewards when it comes to personal exploration of altered states. While simultaneously advocating the importance of trained facilitators and integration practices for those that prefer a more clinical model, at some point many of us acknowledge that our introduction to and personal experience with entheogens were more likely to take place out in nature or a friend’s garage than anything resembling a doctors’ office- and we turned out just fine, especially if we had proper community around us to organically help with the integration process. This marks a refreshingly different vibe from many of the other larger and more corporatized conferences that often performatively force upon their patrons that the only place for psychedelics in modern culture is within a medical model. Perhaps being in glorious nature with your closest friends does real healing on a soul level that you may never get from tripping balls in a doctor’s office or therapist’s chair with your insurance involved.

Speakers were pleasantly ample for the size of the event. Multiple stages ran what seemed like non stop for the entirety of the three days, usually hosting a number of different voices on any of the incredible topics covered. Panels and discussions centered around specific substances and their various benefits, various healing modalities, therapy, integration, ceremony, business, technology, policy, activism, art, family, and of course community. Leonard Pickard’s speech on Friday morning delivered an amazing perspective on the pioneer days of LSD and modern psychedelic history in this country and echoed Paul’s sentiment on these substances being directly tied to true cognitive liberty and personal freedom. Judd Weiss’ keynote dove into the future of unscheduled psychedelic molecules like metocin and how they may factor into the cultural landscape. Other keynotes included Rob Sanchez discussing Hermetic wisdom and how it relates to understanding experiences, and Sabba Nazhand bringing psychedelic integration into the modern age through the help of AI. Our own Nick Desrosiers spoke alongside Audrey DeWitt and Miranda Milbauer on the integration panel moderated by Patrick Harbula, where they went over not only the importance of the integration process but also the many approaches to what can sometimes seem like a daunting task, whether that means sitting with a trained professional or simply remembering to journal.

Vendors filled out the space both inside and out at the historic York Manor with a wide variety of products and experiences- from booths like Insight and Regenero whose offerings would be right at home in Raoul Duke’s briefcase, to facilitators like Pala Medicine and MycoWellness, holistic and scientific healing approaches from Soma Sanctuary and Quantum Activation Center, cultivation supply companies like Shrüm, fully legal alternatives like Xüm and Minnesota Nice Botanicals, and even business and tech solutions like Safar and Panacea Payroll.

The three day event allowed for plenty of time to make your way around to everyone and really connect in a relaxed community-oriented environment, often accompanied by live music performances between the talks on the main stage. There were workshops on microdosing, psychedelics in tech, integrity in healing work, intuitive visioning, tantra, and more. In some of the smaller rooms, ceremonies were held enlightening attendees on the benefits of tools like kambo, mapacho, sananga, hapé, and cacao.

Something special is happening in Los Angeles, and we’re here for it. If you’re anywhere remotely near enough to make it happen, do yourself a favor and come check it out- especially if you prefer a more classical Americana approach to psychedelics. Be sure to keep an eye out for the next installment, Spring Awakening 2026, taking place April 17 & 18 in the city of Los Angeles. With state legislation in California continuing to change in favor of psychedelic research, the future is looking bright in the golden state. Come see for yourself and get plugged into the community!