Wondrous Manifesto

April 20, 2025

by Ryan Hunter

Co-Founder of Wondrous, PBC

“What we found out was that the love is there, the forgiveness is there, and the understanding is there. But like water to a fish or air to a bird, it is there, all around us, and exists without any effort on our part. There is no need for the Father, the Son, the Buddha, the Saints, the Torah, the books, the bells, the candles, the priests, the rituals, or even the wisdom. It is just there — so pervasive and so unending that it is impossible to see as long as you are in the smaller world of people separated from one another.”

-Dr. James Fadiman, PhD. – The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide

The Purpose of Wondrous

The purpose of Wondrous is to reduce human suffering, enable human flourishing, and increase safe access to psychedelic wellness. We will accomplish this purpose by allying with cannabis and other medicinal practices for healing and personal growth. We are creating an application, community, and ecosystem that manifest these intentions.

Psychedelic experiences have the capacity to empower us towards tremendous personal growth, spiritual awakening, and deeper connectivity with others and the world around us. Psychedelic experiences also have the power to help us manage and reduce the suffering that is inevitable as human beings.

Three generations ago, before psychedelic substances were largely criminalized, extensive research established the safety and efficacy of psychedelic substances to empower wellness and human flourishing. Psychedelics have been proven to reduce alcohol dependence and misuse (Am J Psychiatry. 1967) and to effectively reduce the symptoms of treatment resistant depression (Johns Hopkins Long-Term Study 2022). We also know that ongoing research with different psychedelic compounds is showing promising results in treating post traumatic stress disorder.

In 1966 James Fadiman, W. W. Harmen, et al published a groundbreaking study(1) that established the efficacy of psychedelic experiences for solving previously unsolvable problems. Breakthrough and discoveries in multiple fields have also been attributed to substantive insights via psychedelic experiences, including: Kary Mullis, who credited psychedelics for his pivotal discovery leading to the development of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), revolutionizing molecular biology (Doyle 2002); Ralph Abraham, who reported significant insights in the emergent mathematical field of chaos theory following psychedelic use (Abraham 2008); Carlo Rovelli, whose revelations surrounding quantum gravity theory were influenced by psychedelic experiences (Higgins 2018); and Steve Jobs, who attributed his shaping of Apple’s business strategy and focus on quality to psychedelic experiences (Dormehl 2012).

In this era, our collective awareness of the healing capacity of plant medicines is re-emerging. For many traditional cultures, that awareness has always been present. For cultures that have previously disconnected from a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, that relationship is reconciling.

In the US, there is growing hope that psychedelic plant medicines will provide salvation from trauma, substance dependency, mental health disorders, and despair. Beyond these intentions, many are called to psychedelic experiences to expand their personal potential, to heal from the suffering that all humans experience, to inspire creativity, to deepen their experience of joy, to solve perplexing intellectual challenges, to tap into their internal wisdom, to understand themselves more deeply, to find purpose, and to form a deeper connection with their spirituality and with nature.

Wondrous Origins

For more than 30 years Ryan has had a relationship with cannabis and psychedelic medicines. Ryan’s mindfulness meditation practice began nearly 10 years ago. The combination of these practices led to the birth of Wondrous. The following is a brief history of these origins.

In the fall of 2022, Ryan was guided through a large-dose psilocybin experience by his dear friend, Philip. The experience awakened within Ryan a deep calling to teach and heal others. As a result of his awakening, in December 2022, Ryan enrolled in a personal development coach training program certified by the International Coaching Federation. This training was his first step towards envisioning what has become Wondrous.

As Ryan embarked on training in the spring of 2023, he was navigating difficult inner experiences in the wake of a business failure. To better navigate these experiences, he sought help from a therapist. At that time, he was consuming cannabis regularly and, separately, meditating daily. His cannabis use then was sometimes habitual and not typically combined with a particular intention or consumed in a particularly mindful way.

One day Ryan was meditating and decided to consume cannabis during the meditation. He was listening to music, smoking cannabis, meditating, and he had an amazing and insightful experience. He wasn't sure how the magic happened... But it happened!

After the initial experience, Ryan started to combine this practice with his therapy. Ryan would see the therapist on Friday, then journey with cannabis on the weekend. He started to have significant breakthroughs in the therapeutic process. At first the therapist was not on board, but they became more supportive after witnessing Ryan’s progress and consulting with their peers.

This process of combining psychedelic cannabis experiences with therapy had such a beneficial impact on Ryan that he started to consider supplementing his coaching with a training program for psychedelic facilitators. It was Ryan’s friend Philip who then pointed Ryan to the work of Daniel McQueen and his book, Psychedelic Cannabis.

Where Ryan’s self-developed practices with meditative cannabis consumption were very experimental, McQueen’s work pointed clearly towards the power of mindfulness meditation as the essential catalyst for psychedelic experiences with cannabis. After reading McQueen’s book, Ryan wanted to learn more.

The Center for Medicinal Mindfulness in Boulder, Colorado was established in 2012 by Daniel McQueen and his wife, Alison. Beginning in 2023, Ryan trained with Medicinal Mindfulness for more than a year and became a credentialed, trauma-informed, cannabis-assisted, psychedelic experience facilitator.

The methodology and the rigorous adherence to harm reduction practices that we implement in the Wondrous app, Wondrous education programs, and Wondrous live experiences are based on the methodology that Daniel and Alison developed with Medicinal Mindfulness. Ryan is honored to be a part of the community of Medicinal Mindfulness credentialed facilitators and is deeply grateful for the work that Daniel and Alison have brought into the world. The work of Wondrous would not be possible without their wisdom and teachings.

Limitations to Safe Access for Psychedelic Wellness

As stated above, in the US, there is growing hope that psychedelic plant medicines will provide salvation from trauma, substance dependency, mental health disorders, and despair. However; disappointingly, the current approach that we are undertaking to make psychedelic medicines available in US states like Oregon, Colorado, and others still creates existential limitations to safe access to psychedelic wellness. Due to high costs and limited access to services, these healing medicines are effectively out of reach for the majority of the population who would benefit from their use.

The current approach being implemented to facilitate psychedelic experiences limits safe access to psychedelic wellness in these significant ways:

First, the most important aspect of psychedelic healing is the work of integrating the insights received through psychedelic experiences into the life of the participant. At present, most frameworks for providing psychedelic experiences do not provide sufficient resources for integrative support – if any at all. As availability of psychedelic medicines proliferates, on a relative basis the resources for facilitating the integration of psychedelic experiences will diminish further.

Second, while there is a well-understood shortage of mental health practitioners in the US in general(2), there are additional capacity constraints for psychedelic facilitators. Psychedelic facilitators are energetically, emotionally, spiritually, and physically invested in the experience of their clients. This significant investment results in a capacity limitation that restricts the number of experiences a practitioner can facilitate in a given timeframe. Realistically, it is challenging for a facilitator to guide more than two to three experiences in a common work week. In the absence of health insurance coverage and as a result of these capacity constraints on the supply of services, compensation needs for practitioners can only be met by requiring significant compensation for the limited number of experiences they can facilitate. In Oregon, high fees and other logistical factors have led to decreased demand for licensed services resulting in a vicious cycle for licensed practitioners who struggle to find a market for their services(3).

Third, there is a supply bottleneck created by licensing requirements and legal restrictions on service providers. In order to be licensed in Colorado, Oregon and other US States with emerging legal psychedelic facilitation frameworks, psychedelic facilitators are required to undergo additional training and supervision. These are appropriate requirements but do create a bottleneck for service provision as facilitators undergo compliant training. Unlicensed facilitators of varying levels of expertise will continue to provide services, but due to the illegality of these services, it is difficult for prospective clients to become aware of, gain access to, and evaluate the credentials of providers such as these.

Fourth, because of the capacity constraints stated above, psychedelic facilitation services can not be scaled to a volume sufficient to meet the demand from those in need. As a result, access is limited for the vast majority of the individuals for whom psychedelic experiences could provide transformative effects. This fourth flaw compounds the negative impacts of psychedelic inequality, as it may lead those in need to seek psychedelic experiences without the benefit of good care and/or integration – leading to further harm and suffering for those that choose this path.

These limitations to safe access for psychedelic wellness can be overcome by empowering adults to safely support themselves in self-guided psychedelic experiences that combine cannabis consumption with meditation.

Cannabis as a More Accessible Medicine

The psychedelic capacities of cannabis have been established, but have not been widely disseminated. Psychedelic cannabis experiences differ from experiences with ketamine, MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, and other more well-understood psychedelic compounds in three fundamental ways:

First, with other psychedelic substances, there is no “antidote”. Although in extreme cases benzodiazepines or antipsychotics may be prescribed and administered by emergency caregivers to reduce the effects of a difficult psychedelic experience. However, typically when a person “takes the ticket”, they are “on the ride”. Alternatively, within a psychedelic experience facilitated by cannabis, there is an antidote. A difficult psychedelic cannabis experience can be safely ended or diminished by administering cannabidiol (CBD) to the participant – enabling them to return to a stable experience.

Second, unlike with other psychedelic substances, participants in a psychedelic cannabis experience retain a significant sense of personal agency. It is rare for a participant to experience unintended ego dissolution within psychedelic experiences enabled only by cannabis.

Third, unlike many other psychedelic substances, the recovery time following a cannabis-enabled psychedelic experience may be much shorter in duration. The recovery time will vary from participant to participant, but this important difference enables participants to return to their lives in a shorter timeframe and with a clearer sense of personal agency. With other psychedelic medicines, the recovery time may be significant and participants sometimes experience undesirable aftereffects like depression and fatigue.

For these reasons, participants may be trained to safely facilitate their own psychedelic experiences with cannabis and without the assistance of an additional paid facilitator. In this way, psychedelic experiences may be enabled at scale. Further, through a combination of community-based, practitioner-based, and technology-based offerings, integration services can be scaled in parallel with the psychedelic experiences themselves.

Guiding Principles

The purpose of Wondrous is to reduce human suffering, enable human flourishing, and increase safe access to psychedelic wellness. We will accomplish this purpose by allying with cannabis and other medicinal practices for healing and personal growth. To guide this purpose, we will adhere to two key principles:

Be in Right Relationship. The term “right relationship” means to recognize and honor our interdependence with nature and all other beings. We intentionally recognize and honor the interconnectedness of all beings and all things to support the growth of our work in the best possible way. In this way we pursue outcomes that create harmony in the world around us rather than only excessive profit at the expense of the well-being of the others with whom we share the world. Importantly, we will continuously strive to avoid misappropriating indigenous and other cultural practices in any way. Further, we will seek to be in right relationship with the natural world as well as indigenous and marginalized communities of all types globally.

Create Negative Net Suffering. Ending psychedelic inequality and reducing human suffering are outcomes toward which we may measure our progress by evaluating the amount of Negative Net Suffering we produce. While we can not eliminate all suffering, this consideration frames how we do our work so that we may be thoughtful about how each action and initiative affects the suffering of others. In this way, we act intentionally to reduce the suffering of others to the greatest extent that we are able. We can apply and measure this principle across many aspects of Wondrous including but not limited to: Participant Outcomes, Employee Satisfaction, Environmental Impact, and Marginalized Community Engagement.

A Public Benefit Corporation

In order to ensure that the activities of Wondrous are always aligned with our guiding principles, Wondrous is incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). Beginning in Maryland in 2010 and now in many other US States, PBCs are established as an entity that is a for-profit business legally obligated to pursue a specific public benefit alongside profit, balancing the interests of beneficiaries, financial shareholders, and other stakeholders.

Through the public benefit purpose specified in the Wondrous, Inc. Articles of Incorporation, we affirm that:

“Wondrous, Inc., a PBC, exists to promote human flourishing and meaningful engagement with life by fostering a more conscious and inspired world.”

Wondrous Community Matrix

So that we may produce negative net suffering, and be in right relationship with Wondrous participants, we will create a community matrix that is woven throughout the Wondrous experience. This matrix(4) is an ecosystem that will empower Wondrous to connect with participants throughout the world and invite adults globally into personal discovery, growth, and healing. The Wondrous community matrix will provide expansive opportunities for participants to integrate their experiences into their lives in ways that are the most meaningful to them. The Wondrous community matrix will also expand our capabilities to create pathways to services provided by therapists, healers, caregivers, and other resource providers.

Designed for Safety and Efficacy

Assessment – Wondrous prioritizes harm reduction over all else. Based on clinical research and practice, Wondrous enables participants to determine whether a psychedelic experience is appropriate for their present experience, whether they should avoid psychedelic experiences, and/or whether they should seek direct support from a trained facilitator to engage in psychedelic experiences.

Preparation – Based on the evidence-based protocols, Wondrous enables participants to prepare for a cannabis-based psychedelic experience.

Journey – Based on best practices established by leading psychedelic facilitators, Wondrous provides instructions and guidance to empower participants to complete a self-guided psychedelic experience with cannabis.

Integration – Based on best practices established by mental health practitioners and leading psychedelic facilitators, Wondrous guides participants to integrate the insights they have gained through their psychedelic experience into their daily lives.

Wondrous Risks and Limitations

An undertaking of this scale and of this nature inherently comes with risks and limitations. Within our guiding principles we always approach our work with the mindset that we will do all that we are able to do in order to reduce the risk of harm to Wondrous psychedelic experience participants and members of the Wondrous community matrix. Here are the key risks and limitations that we understand as of this writing:

Psychedelic Harm Reduction

Working with cannabis as a psychedelic lowers the risk of harm relative to other psychedelic substances. However, certain physical, mental health, and living conditions are contraindicated for psychedelic experiences of any kind. Wondrous strives to enable participants to assess whether psychedelic experiences are right for them to undertake and provide resources to enable participants to make well-informed decisions.

Even when psychedelic experiences are an acceptable path for the participant, psychedelic experiences may be difficult for the participant. Additionally, participants may consume more cannabis than is needed. Wondrous will provide education on the use of CBD available as a resource for difficult experiences. Wondrous also provides resources for additional harm reduction practices like notifying a supportive friend or family member that they plan to undertake a psychedelic experience and asking them to be available if support is needed.

The power to decide whether or not to safely guide their own experience rests with the participant. Some will inevitably choose to undertake psychedelic experiences when it is not advisable for them to do so. In these cases, if the participant’s needs fall outside of Wondrous’ capabilities, we will do our best to support the participant with access to other sources of care such as access to safety and support hotlines similar to that provided by the Fireside Project.

Physiological Responses to Cannabis are Variable

All animals have an endocannabinoid system. This is a physiological system that “provides homeostatic balance to the nervous and immune systems, as well as many other organ systems.”(5) It is the endocannabinoid receptors in our bodies that are activated by the cannabinoids we consume from cannabis plants. The operation of each person’s endocannabinoid system is unique to each individual person. Each individual may experience a response that differs from another individual’s response to consuming the same amount and variety of cannabis, and two different varieties of cannabis will have a different effect on any single individual depending on a wide range of variables such as the amount and variety of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids present in the cannabis.

The same dose and strain will affect two people differently and unpredictably. This makes appropriate dosing challenging, especially for inexperienced cannabis consumers. To address this challenge, Wondrous offers participants a process to gauge the effects of cannabis on their individual endocannabinoid system.

Wondrous Does Not Provide Therapy

Psychedelic therapy has shown tremendous efficacy for enabling recipients to overcome PTSD(6), treatment resistant depression(7), substance dependence disorders(8), chronic pain(9), and many other intractable conditions. For individuals suffering from conditions such as these, Wondrous creates a path to enable them to seek treatment from licensed therapists who can better attend to their needs in a therapeutic setting.

Legal and Liability Considerations

Wondrous does not recommend or condone the use of any cannabis products in an illegal manner. The purchase, possession, and consumption of cannabis products are subject to varying laws and regulations, which differ by jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the participant to be aware of and comply with applicable local, state, and federal laws.

We also recognize that there is inherent risk in undertaking a psychedelic experience. As noted above, within our intention to reduce the potential for harm to the greatest extent possible, participants may still choose to undertake psychedelic experiences when not advised and some may still encounter difficulties when they undertake psychedelic experiences in accordance with best practices for harm reduction. In these cases, we will do our best to support them with access to other sources of care.

Equitable Access

As we undertake our mission to eliminate psychedelic inequality, we also recognize that there are marginalized communities who may not be able to afford the services that Wondrous provides. We will work to develop ways to provide reduced-cost or no-cost access to those who have needs but can not afford our services. Additionally, there may be individuals who wish to participate in our community matrix but lack internet connectivity. As Wondrous grows we will consider offerings that empower individuals disconnected from the internet to safely facilitate their own psychedelic experiences with cannabis.

Conclusion

We live in a time of significant change and uncertainty. Many believe that we stand on the precipice of irreversible harm to our global ecosystem. The events and experiences of the recent past have led many humans to lose hope. We offer our fellow human beings a Wondrous path to personal exploration, growth, healing and faith in what is possible. We believe that the entheogenic plant and fungus allies that have been abundant since long before the origin of our species are raising their voices to call us back into right relationship with all others with whom we share this fragile planet and with the natural world around us. In time we will offer safe access to psychedelic wellness for all and, in this way, empower humanity to heal itself. We welcome collaboration from all who share in this important mission.

Acknowledgements

In addition to the research cited in the footnotes and referred to in the body of this manifesto, the co-founders of Wondrous acknowledge the significant contributions of many others. The ceremonial practices of imbibing cannabis and other plant allies has been ongoing in many cultures for millennia. Our modern understanding and practices are inextricably linked to these traditions.

In the modern era, the work of Albert Hoffman, James Fadiman, Betty Eisner, Timothy Leary, Baba Ram Dass, Stansilov Graf, Amanda Fielding, Robin Carhart-Haris, Roland Griffith, Paul Stanmets, Rick Doblin, Michael Pollan, Sue Sisley, and innumerable others have contributed to our current understanding of how to facilitate and the effective use of psychedelic substances.

In particular, the work of Daniel and Alison McQueen and the staff of Medicinal Mindfulness has provided a foundation specifically for the effective use of cannabis as a psychedelic medicine.

Finally, we are humbled by the deep support and love of our own families and community matrix.

Footnotes

Psychedelic agents in creative problem-solving: a pilot study (W W Harman, R H McKim, R E Mogar, J Fadiman, M J Stolaroff 1966 Aug;19 (1):211-27. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1966.19.1.211. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2466/pr0.1966.19.1.211
Limited Access to Mental Health Providers - According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, as of April 2024 just under 27% of the US population has access to adequate mental health care.
Oregon’s psilocybin industry, a year old, seeks customers https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/06/10/oregons-psilocybin-industry-a-year-old-seeks-customers/
While the concept of set and setting is well understood and is the cornerstone of psychedelic coaching and therapy, Eisner developed an extension of these concepts described as “matrix” that has been largely forgotten and is only published in a brief contribution to The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs(3). The concept of matrix in Eisner’s words, “...includes consideration of the environment (1) from which an individual comes, (2) in which the individual lives during the time of the [psychedelic] sessions, and (3) to which the individual returns after successful therapy – the everyday living space…”. In its fundamental essence then, matrix is community. “Set, Setting, and Matrix”, Betty Eisner, PhD, The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, September 6, 2011, pp 213-216, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.1997.10400190
The Endocannabinoid System of Animals by Robert J. Silver Published online 2019 Sep 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6770351/
Davis AK, Levin AW, Nagib PB, Armstrong SB, Lancelotta RL. Study protocol of an open-label proof-of-concept trial examining the safety and clinical efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD. BMJ Open. 2023 May 4;13(5):e068884. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068884. PMID: 37142308; PMCID: PMC10163450.
Gukasyan N, Davis AK, Barrett FS, et al. Efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted treatment for major depressive disorder: Prospective 12-month follow-up. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2022;36(2):151-158. doi:10.1177/02698811211073759
Kurland AA, Unger S, Shaffer JW, Savage C. Psychedelic therapy utilizing LSD in the treatment of the alcoholic patient: a preliminary report. Am J Psychiatry. 1967 Apr;123(10):1202-9. doi: 10.1176/ajp.123.10.1202. PMID: 4381477.
Glynos NG, Baker A, Aday JS, et al. Psychedelics and chronic pain: self-reported outcomes on changed substance use patterns and health following naturalistic psychedelic use. Br J Pain. 2025:20494637251319497. doi:10.1177/20494637251319497