From NYC to SF, AI to Aya, and a Call to Support Vegan Spots
Dear friends and colleagues,
With Earth Month coming, I’m feeling especially grateful to be part of a local effort organized by our friends at Metacrisis NYC. They recently put out a call to support Caravan of Dreams, NYC’s longest-running organic vegan restaurant; through this, I learned that vegan restaurants are facing challenges.
Places that prioritize high-quality, organic ingredients often operate on thinner margins, making them especially vulnerable in difficult economic times.
In addition to dining, Caravan will welcome community programming, bringing gatherings into the space. Explore or sign up.
And tell your friends: you don’t have to be vegan to eat like one and experience the benefits of plant-based meals. Our first event below is the next opportunity to gather over a shared meal, and I’d love for you to join us. In the meantime, if you can, consider showing some love to your local vegan spots.
You’ll also notice we have a new logo - big thank you to Jina Zhou! She says, "The new PSYCA logo was conceived in the spirit of expanding consciousness - both on a personal and on a planetary level." Thank you to Alexandra Plesner as well for collaborating.
NYC: The AI Doc Film Screening 3/29
This film is a wake-up call. It doesn't just explain what's happening with AI — it makes you feel the weight of the moment we're living through.
Our friend Benjamin Von Wong, Metacrisis Community, is organizing a buyout of a private theater for The AI Doc at Regal Essex Crossing - thank you Benjamin Von Wong for organizing! We're gathering a small group to watch it together and have a real conversation about what comes next. Opening weekend numbers matter. Your presence matters. Show up. Watch the trailer.
Space is limited - get your tickets today! We’ll also gather after at Caravan of Dreams for an intimate conversation with friends from the Center for Humane Technology.
New App: Good Standing! Your Impact, Rewarded
Give help, get help, and unlock real-world rewards for doing good. Congratulations to our friends, Ashley Taylor and Kurt McVey, for building this incredible new platform, connecting the people who can help to the people who need help.
Artists and brands can collaborate in creating custom coupons. These coupons offer real-world incentives, digital collectible artwork, and directly support meaningful causes, organizations and projects. Complete tasks, support causes, and unlock badges that recognize your impact. Each badge represents a milestone in your journey of doing good — and can unlock exclusive coupons and rewards.
Whether to give help, get help, or make an impact as a brand, there's a place for you in the Good Standing network. Choose how you want to engage. Check it out!
Global: Ask Me Anything - Conversations Inspired by Ayahuasca Diaries
Filmmaker Maxi Cohen (Ayahuasca Diaries) invites you to a marvelous Ask Me Anything series with some of today's most visionary thinkers from the mental health, ethnopharmacology, and psychedelic medicines fields.
March 24, 12:30pm Eastern Time on Zoom, Maxi will be in conversation with the renowned Dr. Richard C. Schwartz, founder of Internal Family Systems, the globally utilized therapy modality.
In the coming months, Maxi will host Ben de Leonen, followed by Dr. Dennis McKenna, Dr. Wade Davis, and Dr. Leor Rosen. Truly global conversations that matter!
Check out details and registration - this event is free and open to the public.
NYC: Do Forests Feel? 4/9 Pioneer Works
Join a consciousness-expanding conversation on the frontiers of forest ecology and plant intelligence with pathbreaking scientist Dr. Suzanne Simard and acclaimed journalist Zoë Schlanger.
On the occasion of the publication of Simard’s new book, When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World, we gather to ask: What does it mean for a forest to "feel"?
Hosted by geographer, author, and Pioneer Works Director of Publishing Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, guests will explore plant intelligence research returned from the wilderness, the intellectual debates that remain, and how a deeper understanding of forest consciousness and connectivity might help us survive in a changing climate.
Get your ticket, and join this WhatsApp group to connect with others in advance near Pioneer Works!
NYC: Spring Blossoming - Untie the Knot & Unleash Your Superpower 4/12
Join PSYCA Advisor Dr. Anna Yusim and Cheri Fandozzi for a holistic journey blending psychiatric insight, Buddhist meditation and sacred practices to help participants identify and liberate the central knot of struggle (the main thing holding them back — their personal "kryptonite" to their superpower), reconnect with their deepest desires, and blossom into their innate wholeness. Learn more and RSVP.
SF: Seekers Circle, Laura Brunow 4/13
Is personal growth and evolution a big part of your life? Do you explore consciousness through meditation, breathing practices, medicine work, or other modalities? Are you inspired by the creative and evolutionary potential of the mind? Do topics like the crossover of science and spirituality light you up?
Come be with your people at Seekers Circle, a new event hosted at Alchemy Springs by friends from the breathwork/Reiki/depth psychology community. We’ll host a curated group, first in a sharing circle indoors, and then out to the sauna garden to enjoy sauna, cold plunge, fire pits, etc. Learn more and RSVP.
NYC: The Unfixing Premiere 4/18
THE UNFIXING is a poetic exploration of a mother’s journey from illness to healing, framed by the intensifying global climate crisis. The film presents a richly textured visual diary, capturing the intimate moments of Betancourt’s personal struggles with a debilitating illness and the ripple effects on her family, all while engaging with larger ecological questions. As her body begins to break down, so too does the planet – both requiring a radical transformation and renewal. RSVP & learn more.
SF: Psychedelic Culture 4/17-19
At this three day in-person conference, Chacruna will convene comprehensive panels and experiential opportunities that will foster conversations around topics including: Indigenous voices, Indigenous reciprocity, biocultural conservation, religion and psychedelics, holding mindful ceremony, legislation reform, law and policy, racial equity and access, queering psychedelics, women in psychedelics, veteran leaders in psychedelics, disabled populations and psychedelics, perspectives from the Global South, critical reflections on psychedelic science, including psychedelic assisted therapy, sexual abuse, touch and ethics, and dialogues between neuroscience and shamanism. We will also offer a space for attendees to participate in music and art-centered workshops and ceremonies. Learn more & RSVP (discount code PSYCA20).
SF: Spiral R-Evolution Climate Week 4/20
At SF Climate Week, PSYCA’s Isabel Santis, Spiral R-Evolution is creating space for a different kind of climate conversation: one that centers inner resilience, connection to nature, and the stories that shape what we believe is possible.
Through panels on climate psychology, plant medicines, and regenerative storytelling, alongside experiential workshops, the gathering invites participants to move beyond overwhelm and into grounded, meaningful action.
It’s a reminder that how we relate — to ourselves, each other, and the Earth — is inseparable from how we respond to the challenges ahead. Learn how you can support this work, browse the agenda, and RSVP.
What to Watch! "What Survived the Fire"
Explore how adversity can become a catalyst for connection rather than division and how our response to disruption ultimately defines us.
Delivered by our friend Mark Monchek, What Survived the Fire is a reminder that adversity can be a catalyst for connection rather than separation. Disruption does not have to define us — our response does.
Mark is also Founder of Opportunity Lab, business growth through expanding consciousness.
Save the Date! World Ayahuasca Forum: 9/11-13; Girona — 1 hour from Barcelona
The World Ayahuasca Forum responds to the urgent call of Indigenous Spiritual Leaders for a deep intercultural dialogue between ancestral and Western knowledge systems. In these times of unprecedented global crisis, safeguarding ancestral knowledge systems means protecting cultures and territories.
This gathering invites people from all corners of the world—in all their diversity: scientists, policymakers, Indigenous spiritual leaders and knowledge keepers, artists, facilitators, integrators, and participants; everyone with an interest in ayahuasca—to come together to share experiences, exchange knowledges, and build deep alliances.
In this spirit, we envision a living future—one in which biocultural traditions, ecosystems, and territories are safeguarded—healing our ways of being and our Living Earth: our Home. Learn more and get an advance ticket (PSYCA members will receive a discount code).
As always, thank you for reading and being part of this growing community. If you’d like to support this work, become a PSYCA member — we have some exciting opportunities ahead, including a chance to win free tickets to the World Ayahuasca Forum.
Gratefully, Marissa
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Marissa Feinberg
