Dear beautiful community,
I'm so excited to share this with you: the Aware Project Los Angeles chapter is reawakening!
For those who don't know its history — the Aware Project was founded in 2014 by Ashley Booth, whose gatherings shaped and touched so many in this community, myself included.
After a few dormant years as her path took her to other areas of the psychedelic ecosystem, Ashley has passed the torch to me, and I'll be stepping in as the new leader of the LA chapter.
I'm honored beyond words to carry this forward, and to open our first gathering with the person who started it all — Ashley Booth will be joining us as our inaugural speaker. It feels like the perfect way to honor where this community came from as we step into what's next.
- Guzel
An interactive talk on:
Psychedelics & Internal Family Systems
October 15th, 7pm
Flow Life Sanctuary, Venice, CA
Ashley will be sharing what she has been up to these past years, becoming a therapist, working for MAPS on the MDMA trials, becoming a psychedelic-assisted therapy trainer, author and leading voice at the intersection of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and psychedelics, which is the topic she will be presenting on at our event on the 15th. She will be sharing her delightful illustrated picture book for adults on IFS as well as leading an interactive workshop on how to apply its principles to psychedelic preparation and integration. Come join us for a night of community connections new and old!
Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for other local events by community partners
A little about me:
I'm Guzel Gjenasaj, and I've been hosting gatherings since 2013. It began with Cross Pollinate, a women's networking and empowerment gathering. From there I went on to host fire circles for 12 years, sweatlodges, dance parties, and so much more.
My spiritual path is deeply rooted in Earth-based tradition. I'm an 8-year Moon Dancer, a carrier of the sacred pipe, and initiated to pour for sweatlodge. I've been initiated by the Ollintlahuimetzli lineage of Teotihuacan, Mexico. Starting this fall, I'll be resuming lodges in Thousand Oaks, CA.
My journey with medicine began in 2011. What followed was a decade-long deep dive — healing trauma with the plants as my allies. I remain forever grateful for what extraordinary healers and master teachers they are. And I want the honoring of Indigenous people, these medicines, feminine wisdom and safety for all to be at the forefront of this movement.
Currently, I work with women in Midlife and with psilocybin for private journeys and co-host an annual women's retreat in Colorado — happening next week. (I'm actually in Colorado right now — if you're here too, please reach out!)
Learn more here: guzelgjenasaj.com
One of my missions in life is to bring people together, and now more than ever, we need to gather.
We'll be gathering monthly here in LA moving forward.
I'm also calling in speakers and musicians who feel called to participate in future gatherings — if that's you, please reach out via our contact form.
San Diego Community
The Aware Project's San Diego branch has also gone dormant. If you're San Diego-based (or know someone who is) and feel called to revive that chapter, reach out to us via our contact form.
Forgive us as we sort sort through our mailing list so that what is coming in your inbox is more customized to your location. More to come!