Microdose Ceremonies
Psychedelic Community Framework Centered Around Gentleness
The psychedelic ecosystem has grown rapidly in recent years, fueled by a mounting body of research, changing legal frameworks, and a growing curiosity about how these medicines can support personal healing and transformation. Yet, for many, the leap from intrigue to participation can feel daunting. Rightly so, full-dose journeys often involve a commitment of time, energy, and the willingness to step into the unknown.
With The Flying Sage, we have hosted over 400 in-person events in the past two years and served thousands of individuals through a range of different experiences.
Generally speaking, our events fall into three categories.
Transformation
Education
Social Connection
Within the category of transformational events, our focus as an organization has been on providing microdose ceremonies.
We combine microdoses with different modalities such as breathwork, movement, meditation and sound, to provide introductory psychedelic experiences to those choosing to explore psychedelics in a community setting.
To date, we have offered the following primary microdose ceremonies…
4-ACO DMT Breathwork Ceremonies
Cannabis Ceremonies
Psilocybin & Soundbath Ceremonies
Huachuma Breathwork Ceremonies
At The Flying Sage, our mission is to democratize access to psychedelics, and today, I want to argue why I believe microdose ceremonies are a very important tool for this mission and why they can serve as a foundational component for an evolving global psychedleic ecosystem.
The reason I use the word argue here is because I simply don’t hear many people talking about this and I think it should be a much larger part of the conversation around psychedelic access.
What Are Microdose Ceremonies?
Let’s get our definitions out of the way.
Microdosing generally involves taking a sub-perceptual dose of a psychedelic substance—one that doesn’t produce a full-blown psychedelic experience but can offer subtle shifts in perception, mood, and cognition.
It’s a fairly commonplace practice nowadays - at least around these parts - but what is less commonplace is combining microdoses with ceremony.
In our ceremonies at The Flying Sage, a microdose is elevated by combining intentionality, support as well as other transformative modalities to create a safe and reflective container in a community setting.
Typically, a group microdose ceremony with The Flying Sage will involve the following key ingredients (in order)…
Intention & Introduction Circle
Psychosomatic Education
Introduction to Medicine Offered
Transformational Catalyst (ie. breathwork, sound, movement)
Integration & Sharing Circle
Socializing
Another few important things to note here are that all of these components fit within a three hour event duration and we currently charge an average of $50 per ceremony.
Why Are Microdose Ceremonies Important?
Accessibility
One of the most powerful aspects of microdose ceremonies is their accessibility. This shows up in a few distinct ways…
1.) A Gentle Gateway
Microdose ceremonies offer a stepping stone, a way for people to experience the subtle effects of psychedelics without diving into the deep end right away. These low-dose experiences can ease anxieties, showing participants that they are able to engage with psychedelics while still feeling present and grounded. This can be very empowering and useful for someone who is brand new to psychedelics.
The same should be said about ceremony itself! We sometimes forget that in trying to make psychedelics more accessible, we are also simultaneously trying to make ceremony more accessible and a lot of people don’t have any traction with ceremony in their day to day life. Microdosing ceremonies can help with this.
2.) Time Cost
Psychedelics invite us to slow down and have more spaciousness in our lives… but the reality is, most of us urban folk are busy people and the capitalistic machine that drives that commotion does not appear to be saying farewell anytime soon (or maybe it is and the world order will collapse next year... to be honest I have no idea.)
While some people believe AI is going to make life a lot easier for us, I have a feeling things are only going to get faster. Microdosing ceremonies are important because they can be scheduled more easily throughout a busy week and lifestyle.
A lot of people do not have the luxury to dedicate an entire weekend or even a full day for a retreat or guided MACROdose which is why our microdose ceremonies with The Flying Sage have been structured in a way where they can be held on an average weekday evening.
I see them as being less accessible that your average one hour yoga class but a lot more accessible than your average guided journey.
3.) Financial Cost
Professionally guided journeys can be expensive. Whether you are going underground, working with a clinic or choosing to go abroad to a beautiful retreat centre in the tropical jungle of some far off land, not everyone has the money for that. While I don’t think we have our financial model 100% figured out yet, I do think we’re on to something and that we are providing value to both participants and facilitators through these events.
Safety
Another important characteristic of microdose ceremonies are their safety. This aspect is closely linked to their accessibility but it is worth noting a few other points...
Nervous System Preparation
Many people are not physically ready for a full blown psychedelic experience. While I am a big proponent of cognitive liberty and I think humans should have freedom to explore their consciousness, many people are simply not prepared for a full journey.
In addition to requiring extensive preparation and education, larger dose psychedelic experiences require nervous system regulation. Many people’s nervous systems are simply not ready to receive the destabilizing blow that a psychedleic trip carries.
Microdose ceremonies offer a stepping stone, a way for people to experience the subtle effects of psychedelics without diving into the deep end right away. These low-dose experiences can ease anxieties and demonstrate through parallel practices like breathwork, how to regulate one’s nervous system. We can show participants that they can engage with psychedelics while still feeling present and grounded.
Reduced Stigma
Microdose ceremonies reduce the stigma associated with psychedelics.
When people can experience psychedelics without the fear of "losing themselves," they develop a sense of respect and appreciation for their power—often leading them to explore deeper experiences with an open mind.
Microdose ceremonies brings newcomers into the fold, builds community, and fosters the intentional use of these medicines, which is essential for the growth and sustainability of the psychedelic movement.
Psychological Safety
The psychological risks associated with high dose psychedelic experiences (which are significant and to be acknowledged with caution) are not present to the same degree with microdosing.
At least, this is a major assumption in my reasoning presented here.
This assumption is mostly an intuitive one for me because, at this time, there is simply not that much research out there around the risks (short-term or long term) of microdosing psychedelics.
If it was demonstrated that microdosing psychedelics poses a high risk of activating underlying psychological disorders such as schizophrenia or causing psychosis, then I will likely need to change my tune here… but from my understanding to date, this is not the case.
Psychedelics are inherently very safe molecules even with larger doses... and it is my belief that in microdoses, this safety profile becomes even more stark.
I feel like a cup of coffee with sugar is more dangerous than a microdose of psilocyibn!
Regulatory Opportunity
If we were to compare the psychedelic industry to the alcohol industry (a comparison I find useful to make fairly often), it feels a lot like we are trying to legalize the boot of alcohol before we legalize the sip. I think I hear an analogy like this being made by Alli Schaper too.
From a regulatory standpoint, we’re focussing on the super intense experience and trying to fit that into our medical system first. We’re creating expensive treatment models with the imposition that we need highly skilled facilitators like physicians and pharmacists involved in our transformation journey with psychedelics.
I think this approach is important for particular populations of people but not for the average person.
Psychedelics have been used for thousands of years… and most certainly not with physicians and psychiatrists involved.
Right now, I believe there is an over-emphasis on medicalization and I think microdosing ceremonies can play a key role in shifting that focus.
Less Is More
Now, if you are still following along, you might have one glaring thought popping up…
Well this is great and all, but microdosing is not powerful. There is a reason people do proper guided journeys. It’s so they can go deeper and have a more powerful experience. You can’t replace macrodosing with microdosing!
I think this is an important point and I think there is some truth there.
I am not arguing that we should replace guided marcrodose journeys with microdose ceremonies.
I would just want to emphasize here that less is truly more. Even with microdoses alone, whether it’s mostly placebo effect or not, people have experienced profound benefits from taking small doses of psychedelics.
Furthermore, its important for me to stress as well that the model I am outlining here of microdosing ceremonies involves combining a microdose with another modality like breathwork.
In this context, the power of a microdose ceremony really comes from the power of the breathwork, and if you know anything about breathwork, you know how powerful it can be.
My 2025 Intention: More Microdose Ceremonies
I truly hope to see more microdosing ceremonies in 2025 all around the world as they represent an essential tool in creating a thriving psychedelic ecosystem that makes group psychedelic work more accessible, safer and community driven.
At The Flying Sage, we believe that true transformation occurs when individuals feel empowered and supported in their journey.
Microdose ceremonies embody this philosophy, offering people a gentle, welcoming space to explore, connect, and grow.
As the psychedelic ecosystem continues to evolve, these ceremonies will play a vital role in guiding more people toward healing, self-discovery, and ultimately, a deeper connection with themselves and each other.
Special Goodies 🎁
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Farewell Until Next Time 👋
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With psychedelic love and gratitude,
- Michael & The Flying Sage Team 🤍