democratizing transcendence.
Psychedelic community for the new paradigm
The Flying Sage is a psychedelic community on a mission to democratize transcendence. We offer education as well as in-person and virtual events focussed around integration, connection and transformation.
What is a flying sage?
In classical philosophy, a Sage is "someone who has attained wisdom".
A Flying Sage is someone who has attained wisdom with the help of psychedelics.
OUR VISION
We believe in a world where everyone has safe and equitable access to psychedelic medicines and other transformative technologies. We envision a thriving psychedelic ecosystem that empowers people to use these powerful medicines through education and peer support. We believe most people can develop the knowledge to safely engage with psychedelics themselves.
We hope that by building bridges between the underground and aboveground psychedelic spaces, we can co-create a new paradigm of wellness that leans into the wisdom gleaned from psychedelic and other expanded states of consciousness. We envision a world where novel and traditional ways of knowing are integrated together through safe, intentional and community-lead psychedelic use.
Our Story
The Flying Sage started in 2019 as a clothing brand. Our goal was to help de-stigmatize psychedelics by offering apparel for the modern psychedelic voyager. Although clothing is still a part of what we do, our focus now is on democratizing transcendence through building community. In 2021 we started to run integration circles and expansion seminars here in Vancouver with the goal of helping people connect through their experiences. Our focus so far has been on bringing people together in person but we are now starting to offer virtual events as well.
In 2022 we launched our membership program and now our main focus as an organization is on pouring as much love as we can into our growing community. We started to offer more Vancouver based events including Integration Circles, Seminars, Cannabis Ceremonies, Sound Baths, Breathwork Ceremonies and Ecstatic Dances.
In 2023, we started adding more virtual offerings to our platform including courses and events and we also joined forces together with the Vancouver Psychedelic Society (V.P.S). We are now one and the same organization committed to offering transformative and accessible events here in Vancouver. We currently run 5-6 in-person events per week and have 10 different Community Leaders that help contribute to our growth.
Our Values
Patience
Slow and steady wins the race, and when there is no race, why not take things easy? We’re in no rush to get where we need to be. We trust, and we are patient with the process.
Listening
During our journeys we listen. During our calls we listen. We prioritize listening over speaking. As organizers of the community, we try to listen to what the community wants as much as possible and then we take action from there.
Fostering Reverence
We continue to foster deep respect for the medicines that we work with by challenging ourselves to continue healing with this powerful modality. We keep their power front of mind and do not lose sight of their potential as transformational medicines
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Everyone is welcome here and we acknowledge that self-actualization through psychedelic use is a privilege that needs to be more accessible to all. We want to help with that.
Service
We serve a cause greater than ourselves and we are in service to this mission. We are inservice to our members as well as individuals and communities we are connected to.
Wisdom
We embrace ancient wisdom. We don’t reinvent the wheel. We lean into the wisdom that has existed among our species for millennia and which exists within each of us.
Abundance
There is more than enough to go around.
Cooperation
The future is synergy. We seek to cooperate whenever we can. A rising tide should raise all psychedelic ships.
Experience
We prioritize experience with the medicine and familiarity with the psychedelic landscape.
Community Leaders
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Gabriel Largaespada
Born and raised in Nicaragua, Gabo has always had an affinity for the realm of the physical, the psychological and the spiritual. As a movement coach, he’s had the chance to observe how physical exercise can change not only a person’s body but also the way they think and exist in the world.
Gabo’s connection to the spiritual realm was initiated through psychedelic medicines, meditation and breathe work practices. He’s guided group meditations, facilitated healing events and now aims to continue furthering his passion for helping people through a modality that he finds incredibly powerful, psychedelic medicines.
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Mehran Seyed Emami
Mehran (Mind Body Integration) is a trauma-informed MDMA-assisted psychotherapist based in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples now known as the city of Vancouver. He is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), and Certified Practitioner of Compassionate Inquiry (developed by Gabor Maté). He is a graduate of the Integral Counseling Psychology and Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research programs at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). He is also trained in Somatic Experiencing and Holotropic Breathwork, and in his work with clients, invites a holistic and somatic (body-centered) approach, while looking through a biopsychosocial-spiritual lens.
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Alireza Jambor
Alireza is an engineer, movement coach, and psychedelics enthusiast. He has explored a range of practices and disciplines such as Yoga, Acrobatics, Capoeira, Dance, Climbing, and Fire Spinning. Ali's mission as a teacher is to inspire individuals to engage in a physical practice that transcends mere improvements in strength, flexibility, and aesthetic appeal. He advocates for a meaningful practice that promotes extensive exploration of the body and fosters physical and mental growth, self-expression, playfulness, and creativity. Furthermore, Ali believes that with proper approach and intentionality, psychedelics can be seamlessly integrated into a movement practice, further enhancing a sense of play, skill acquisition, and creative exploration.
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Damian Kai Norman
As a professional dance artist, a holistic movement coach, a certified yoga instructor, and a trained breathwork facilitator; Damian Kai Norman strives to understand the body through conscious breath, intuitive energetic awareness, soft pliable musculature, and functional range of motion. Norman has over 10 years of experience performing and teaching across Canada and Europe and is always searching for new modes of expanding what is possible through physical practice. Norman is a level two graduate of Slava Golobouv’s movement flow program and is currently expanding his understanding of meditation + mindfulness through The Power Of Awareness certification course. He is also a growing voice in conscious men’s work through the Arka Brotherhood, stepping further into leadership roles. Lastly, he has enrolled in the Rhodes College Professional Counselling Program, envisioning an integrative approach to physical, emotional, and psychological healing. With a calm grounded presence and an uplifting encouraging spirit, Norman invites you to connect with your body and build a relationship of trust, freedom, curiosity, and compassion…Manifesting a conscious abundant partnership with yourself
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Aga Somaheart
Aga is a trauma informed Breathwork practitioner, Kambo and Bufo facilitator, and mushroom medicine guide. She has over 10 years of professional experience working in the realm of holistic healing and expanded states of consciousness. She is a playful explorer of our inner worlds and is passionate at providing a safe space for people to heal with the help of spirit medicines.
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Brian Carew
Brian Carew (Lion Ra) is an intuitive divine masculine coach and guide. Weaving ancient philosophy, practice, and paradigms in a modern context, Brian is here to lead and inspire through both his embodied wisdom and ability to share the stories of older ways in language and practices that are relevant to our modern day. Brian has been led and taught by many great plant medicines from a very young age and attest much of his wisdom and deeper knowings to these immersions and initiations. As a Flying Sage Community Leader, Brian's intention is hold space and guide those on the journey of discovering themselves through the assistance of plant medicine, and how to integrate those lessons and teachings so that learning may become embodied and infused into the persons way of living and being.
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Navin Sahjpaul
Navin Sahjpaul (Music Therapist, BMT, Certified Yoga Teacher, Musician, Mental Health Advocate) is a South Asian man of colour who identifies as an Indo-Canadian (he/him). Both of his parents were born in India and immigrated to Canada at a young age with their families. He resides and works in Vancouver, BC and this life journey thus far has led him to pursuing a career path in being of service in this world. Navin is deeply passionate about well-being, mental health, community building, and healing, a believer in the idea that one can overcome life adversity and does not have to live an existence that consists mostly of pain and suffering.
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Angela Ivy Leong
Angela is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Founder of An Elegant Mind (AEM) Counselling Inc., a private practice that specialises in relational intimacy, sex, and psychedelics. Angela holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia. She has over 10 years of experience helping people from the lowest to the highest rungs of society find meaning in life. Her method involves a deep acknowledgement of core wounds, the development of key skills for functional, loving relationships and the psycho-education required for the embodiment of the sexual self. Clients who have worked with Angela have experienced deep emotional release, compassionate strategies for becoming unstuck, and transformation into more authentic versions of self expression. In the An Elegant Mind (AEM) method, clients are taken through three levels of healing: (1) individually–where you carve out your authentic sense of self, (2) relationally—where you learn relational skills, and (3) sexually—where you learn to use pleasure as a form of intimate relating and a way of being. At AEM, we acknowledge that psychedelics are an epistemology in and of themselves (a way of knowing), and that spirituality is inextricably linked with psychology.
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Sagan Bolliger
Sagan is a psychedelic guide and co-creator of the Earthlings Institute with his life partner Helena Zhu, where they offer transformative private and group experiences with the medicine 5-MeO-DMT, monthly integration circles, and facilitator circles for fostering community and best practices among psychedelic facilitators. As a young person, Sagan found himself confronted with the task of healing as he found the symptoms of his childhood trauma standing in the way of him becoming the person he wanted to be as an adult, as they manifested in depression, shame, and anxiety. He has had many teachers and allies on the path of healing, but among the most significant for him have been the earth medicines, meditation, and his connection to the natural world through skiing, rock climbing, and quiet contemplation. He studied Psychology and Philosophy as an undergraduate, completed a Masters in Computer Science, and was in the midst of pursuing a career in Artificial Intelligence when he found himself called by the medicine to step into service as a guide in the spring of 2020 just as the world was shutting down and reinventing itself in light of the pandemic. It’s been a beautiful journey of re-focusing on his own inner work, learning from mentors, and stepping into community. Sagan approaches his work as a guide with a deep honouring of the courage it takes to show up for ourselves in the process of healing and believe in creating a therapeutic container with enough love and acceptance to bring home even our most deeply exiled parts.
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Dana Harvey
Dana Harvey is a Psychedelics and Microdosing Educator and Guide. She supports people who are curious about or exploring plant medicines for personal growth and healing to reduce risk and unlock the propensity for transformation. Dana’s own personal growth and healing journey revealed to her that even when you tick all the boxes of external success, inside, you may still be stuck and suffering. She embarked on a journey to find true happiness and fulfillment. In the process, she left her corporate position as CCO and Head of Investor Relations for one of the leading publicly traded psychedelics companies to follow her passion for serving people at a heart-felt level. Now, Dana intertwines two decades of coaching and mentoring people in business, confidence, positive mindset and life transformations with specialized training in psychedelic tripsitting, somatic integration, mindfulness, breathwork, microdose coaching, Internal Family Systems, and group healing models as well as hands-on apprenticeship to provide psychedelic-assisted support to individuals and groups. Dana founded The Flourish Academy through which she provides loving guidance, shares evidence-based knowledge and cultivates supportive communities like The Flourish Academy Clubhouse with 2K+ members and Vancouver Women in Psychedelics.
Advisors
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Dr. Ivan Casselman
Dr. Ivan Casselman is a Psychedelic Scientist, Ethnobotanist, and entrepreneur. With a focus on the psychedelic and herbal medicine market, Dr. Casselman has started and run several companies in Canada, the UK, Jamaica, the USA, and Australia. He is an accomplished, solutions-focused senior executive and business/scientific strategies, advisor. His research includes the human use of psychedelics (ethnobotany and ethnopharmacy) and the study of psychedelic plants (genetics and analytical chemistry). One of the critical components of his research has been a focus on experiential analysis in addition to his lab work, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the human psychedelic interface. Dr. Casselman is also an experienced formulation chemist with a strong foundation in nutraceutical formulation and product development. He has led design teams that have produced several retail cannabis products for the legal Canadian and US markets. His experience developing herbal formulations, authentication, and quality control gives him unique insight into developing plant-based medicine products across various commercial applications.
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Deus Fortier
DescriptiDeus Fortier is an Accelerated Evolution Coach, Transformational Artist, Numa Breathwork practitioner and Plant Medicine facilitator based out of Vancouver BC. He has over 17 years of experience in the immersive study and practice in non-ordinary states of consciousness, Kriya Yoga, body-centered psychotherapeutic methods, art therapy, embodiment practices and trauma-informed facilitation. Deus' exposure to many different esoteric and psychotherapeutic principles and practices has informed a comprehensive and holistic approach to healing. He combines body-centered therapeutic processes, explorations into non-ordinary states of consciousness, integrative coaching, and trauma-informed principles and practices as a catalyst for resolving suffering, liberating authentic expression, and accelerating personal and collective evolution.on goes here
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Tim Sae Koo
Tim Sae Koo is an entrepreneur at heart who bootstrapped, scaled, and exited his first software company by 28 and now focuses his time mentoring founders, angel investing in mission aligned startups, co-hosting transformational medicine retreats for heart-led leaders as COO and Co-Founder at 1Heart, advising software products for psychedelic education as Head of Product at Third Wave, and coaching top executive teams at psychedelic companies as Executive Team Coach at Ferrazzi Greenlight. He has also co-created Haux Wear by the Flying Sage, a medicine inspired clothing line intended to remind us the magic that is all around us in our every day life. In his free time, he spends time expanding his musical and vocal expression that he shares in sacred medicine ceremonies.
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Kristof Lenart
Kristof Lenart is a qualifying psychotherapist, photographer and the founding member of the Vancouver Psychedelic Society. He is deeply committed to empowering individuals on their wellness journey, with a passion that lies at the nexus of healing and human connection. He is committed to facilitating personal growth and well-being, enabling others to overcome life's challenges and build richer, more fulfilling lives. Kristof draws from his experience as an RN in the ER and is adept at navigating challenging situations and providing compassionate care. Kristof holds a keen interest in integrating his passion for psychedelic-assisted therapy into his practice upon graduation.
Co-Founders & Staff
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Michael Oliver
Michael Oliver is a community builder and psychedelic facilitator based in Vancouver BC. Since graduating with a degree in Cognitive Systems from UBC, Michael worked in the psychedelic space for 3 years as the Volunteer Coordinator and Executive Assistant for MAPS Canada. During this time, Michael founded the The Flying Sage, a psychedelic community and apparel brand on a mission to democratize transcendence. Additionally, Michael serves as a guide through his own practice Legacy Journeys where he offers transformative psychedelic experiences towards embodiment and lasting change. To learn more about Michael, click here.
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Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver graduated from BCIT in 2019 in Marketing Management, Entrepreneurship, and quickly jumped into the fast-paced corporate sales environment. Intense burnout, and her continued passion for entrepreneurship led her to leave the sales industry to partner with her brother co-founding The Flying Sage. After going through a major life transition, she discovered psychedelics had the most profound effect on her own healing journey and mental health challenges, which brought an even deeper passion to expand The Flying Sage to help others just like herself going through their own healing journeys.
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Gabi Kuz
Gabriele is a marketing and digital media specialist originally from Lithuania, but she moved to Canada seven years ago to pursue an MSc in Computational Media Design. Vancouver is now her home, where she has connected with incredible people who have ignited her passions for marketing, design, technology, and community growth. She has worked with brands such as Adobe, TEDx, Pantone, The Beaumont Studios and Rumble Boxing. Professionally, she is a digital media designer responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing digital design and marketing strategies for organizations. Her expertise extends to user experience design, event planning, and fine art.
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Usama Riaz
Usama Riaz is the Operations Administrator with The Flying Sage, bringing over 7 years of freelance experience to the team. With a knack for social media management, email marketing, and organizing chaos, Usama keeps operations running smoothly. His eagle eye for detail shines in everything from data research to crafting perfect email campaigns. A quick learner and clear communicator, Usama excels in project management, lead generation, and creative problem-solving.