Rewilding Ourselves Through Psychedelic Integration Participation in the ACER Integration Cycle: An Intuitive Inquiry
Rewilding Ourselves Through Psychedelic Integration
Participation in the ACER Integration Cycle: An Intuitive Inquiry
Rosie A. Leeson
Alef Trust and Liverpool John Moores University
Author Note
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article. The author declares no professional affiliation or financial interest in relation to ACER Integration, although participated as a user without receiving payment or other forms of compensation. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rosie Leeson. Email: info@wildoracle.co.uk.
Links to Rosie’s other work are wildoracle.co.uk or on Instagram, @wildoracle__
Abstract
Psychedelics are psychoactive substances that induce non-ordinary states of consciousness characterised by significant shifts in perception, mood, cognition, and sense of self. Psychedelic integration refers to the post-experience phase during which insights and learnings from psychedelic journeys are integrated into daily life. This study utilises intuitive inquiry, a transpersonal qualitative research methodology that balances intuitive, compassionate knowing with logical discernment through a hermeneutical five-cycle process, to explore individuals' lived experiences within the ACER Integration framework (Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adults actively participating in the ACER cycle, analysed through thematic analysis. Four main themes were revealed: common characteristics of integration (non-linear, lacking clear time boundaries, synchronicities, the challenge of embodiment); ACER provides an integration toolkit; the role of ACER as a grounding, connecting and nurturing space; and the critical role community plays in facilitating embodiment and self-reflection. Findings suggest that psychedelic integration is a non-linear process lacking clear time boundaries, which is supported by the presence of community and integrative practices that assist with embodiment. Keywords: Psychedelics, psychedelic integration, transpersonal psychology, ACER, intuitive inquiry, thematic analysis, ecopsychology
Introduction
Psychedelics induce non-ordinary states of consciousness marked by profound changes in perception, mood, cognition, and sense of self (Halberstadt et al., 2018). Derived from the Greek for “mind-manifesting” (Osmond, 1957), psychedelics reveal internal psychological processes and facilitate deep transformative experiences. Their therapeutic potential has been harnessed through psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), involving non-directive therapeutic sessions using high-dose psychedelics to address various mental health diagnoses (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016; Grob et al., 2011; Moreno et al., 2006), and addiction (Krebs & Johansen, 2012). Beyond clinical settings, psychedelics have a longstanding history in religious and shamanic rituals, commonly known as plant medicines, revered for inducing mystical states and promoting holistic healing (Rätsch, 2005).
The mid-20th century marked the initial wave of modern psychedelic research, characterised by unrestricted scientific exploration until legislative actions severely limited such studies by classifying psychedelics as Schedule I substances (Grinspoon & Bakalar, 1981; Belouin & Henningfield, 2018). Decades later, resurgence in psychedelic research has reignited scientific and public interest, emphasising not only acute psychedelic experiences but also the critical process known as integration (Aixalà, 2022; Rucker et al., 2018).
The term integration is widely used to refer to the period of time following a psychedelic experience and is recognised as a crucial, yet understudied aspect of psychedelic use. As defined by Bathje et al. (2022): Integration is a process in which a person revisits and actively engages in making sense of, working through, translating, and processing the content of their psychedelic experience. Through intentional effort and supportive practices, this process allows one to gradually capture and incorporate the emergent lessons and insights into their lives, thus moving toward greater balance and wholeness, both internally (mind, body, and spirit) and externally (lifestyle, social relations, and the natural world). (p. 4)
Integration models vary widely in worldview, target audience and the domain of human experience they address (mind, body, spirit, relational) (Bathje et al., 2022). Integration practices, including mandala drawing, journaling, tarot, dreamwork, singing, meditation, community work, sharing circles, and nature connection, differ greatly, contributing to critiques that integration is an unclear concept encompassing diverse practices without clear guidance for their selection (Aixalà, 2022; Sloshower et al., 2020).
ACER Integration
The ACER Integration model emerges within this landscape as a promising holistic, community-oriented framework, and provides the focus for this research. ACER, standing for Accept, Connect, Embody, and Restore, uniquely combines psychological principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), eco-psychology, and nature-based experiential practices (Watts, 2023). ACER is an expansion of the ACE (Accept, Connect, Embody) model put forward by Watts and Luoma (2020), which states that by accepting our emotional experience we can connect to what it teaches us in an embodied way (Watts, 2023). The R (Restore) was added to incorporate the beneficial synergy of psychedelics and nature contact (Gandy et al., 2020). ACER encourages alignment to the slow and cyclical rhythm of nature; honouring the natural cycles of light and dark, rest and growth, giving ourselves time and space to feel instead of endlessly striving for fast-paced creativity (Watts, 2023).
The ACER Integration cycle unfolds over twelve months within a closed online community, inspired by the Celtic tree calendar. Participants engage with guided nature meditations, breathwork, journaling exercises, and regular sharing circles designed to support emotional depth, interpersonal connections, and ecological attunement.
Despite the recognised importance of integration in the literature, qualitative exploration remains scarce, presenting significant gaps in understanding this critical process. The present study addresses this gap by qualitatively examining the lived experiences of participants actively involved in the ACER Integration framework. Through an intuitive inquiry methodology, the study explores the challenges, effective practices, and critical components participants identify as vital within their integration journeys. By highlighting experiential narratives and identifying emergent thematic patterns, this study provides detailed qualitative insights that enrich existing understanding of psychedelic integration. Moreover, by elucidating the role of embodiment practices, ecopsychology and the centrality of community interactions, this research offers practical implications for the development of more comprehensive and supportive integration approaches that enhance the long-term benefits derived from psychedelic experiences.
This study was guided by the research question: What is the lived experience of integrating psychedelic experiences through participation in the ACER Integration cycle?
Method
Intuitive inquiry is a qualitative, hermeneutical method that integrates intellectual rigour with intuitive and compassionate ways of knowing. Developed by Anderson and Braud (2011), it involves five iterative cycles that together form a complete hermeneutic circle of interpretation (see Table 1). This methodology aligns well with the research topic as it mirrors the non-linear, synchronistic, transpersonal quality of psychedelic integration. Both psychedelics and intuitive inquiry purposefully activate the deep psyche, allowing previously unconscious material and embodied insights to emerge, rather than relying on logic and reasoning alone (Anderson & Braud, 2011; Grof, 2009). There is also resonance between the cyclical nature of intuitive inquiry and the seasonal shifts of the natural world that ACER aims to align with.
Cycle One: Clarification of the Topic via Imaginal Dialogue
Intuitive inquiry begins with clarifying the research topic through imaginal dialogue, a meditative exercise to evoke an intuitive symbol representing the topic until a sense of resolution emerges (Anderson & Braud, 2011). Initially, I struggled to identify a meaningful research focus, experiencing frustration and creative blockage. In the depths of the winter solstice, my internal confusion mirrored the external winter darkness. Ceasing my attempt to force clarity, I engaged with ACER Integration’s theme of the silver birch, symbolising transformation through loss, shedding old identities and preparing for unseen growth.
During a silver birch meditation, I experienced profound emotional release and intuitive clarity: ACER integration emerged clearly as my research focus. This realisation aligned synchronistically with Anderson and Braud’s (2011) description of intuitive inquiry:
I am writing this chapter on intuitive inquiry as the winter solstice draws near … the impulse to conduct an intuitive inquiry begins like a light in the dark of winter because this impulse to explore a topic claims the researcher’s imagination often in an unconscious and surreptitious way” (p.15)
These words perfectly mirrored my creative process, right down to the significance of the winter solstice. Months later, I recognised this meditation as the unconscious beginning of Cycle One.
Cycle Two: Developing the Preliminary Interpretive Lenses
During Cycle Two, the researcher articulates their personal values, assumptions, and current understanding of the topic before data collection (Anderson & Braud, 2011). Often, these beliefs shaping perception are deeply rooted and difficult to consciously identify. Anderson (2019) describes these preconceptions as "lenses," arguing we unconsciously wear them continuously. The aim is not to remove these lenses but to consciously invite their transformation through the research process.
The articulation of Cycle Two lenses often happens in a short burst of intense concentration, feeling more like creative brainstorming than a formal process (Anderson & Braud, 2011). My own process unfolded in two distinct phases. Initially, my attempts at logically defining lenses resulted in frustration and perfectionism; I hesitated to express myself authentically, relying heavily on literature instead. In a second phase, I abandoned structured analysis and embraced creative play, spontaneously drawing a silver birch tree (Figure 1). Although initially unrelated to my research, insights from earlier imaginal dialogues unexpectedly mapped onto this drawing. Recognising these insights as interpretive lenses, a sudden burst of inspiration enabled me to clarify them into six preliminary lenses (Table 2), framed metaphorically through the language of nature.
Cycle Three: Collecting Data and Preparing Summary Data Reports
Cycle Three involved selecting the most suitable sources for data collection, developing inclusion criteria, collecting data, and summarising it descriptively (Anderson & Braud, 2011). To ensure qualitative richness, semi-structured interviews were chosen to assess participants' lived experiences.
Six participants (five women, one man) were recruited via criterion sampling through the ACER online community forum. Inclusion criteria required participants to be actively engaging with the ACER Integration cycle to process a psychedelic experience occurring within the past 12 months. Participants had to be over 18, conversant in English, and not experiencing severe emotional distress. Individuals with whom I had ongoing personal contact were excluded to ensure impartiality. Eligibility was confirmed through self-report emails.
The interview protocol was developed through a meditative intuitive inquiry exercise, balancing intuitive curiosity with critical refinement, aligning with the method’s integration of linear and imaginal processes (Anderson & Braud, 2011). Interviews began with a short guided meditation to foster open awareness and a supportive relational space (Dängeli, 2019). Participants received comprehensive information sheets, consent forms, and post-interview debrief documents providing psychological support resources. Interviews lasted approximately 45-60 minutes via Zoom, recorded privately to protect confidentiality.
Ethically, the project gained approval from Alef Trust's Research Ethics Panel and adhered to British Psychological Society guidelines. Risks relating to confidentiality breaches, especially given the nature of potentially illegal psychedelic use, were clearly communicated. Confidentiality boundaries were defined, noting mandatory reporting only if serious harm risks emerged.
Interview analysis followed Clarke and Braun’s (2016) six-stage thematic analysis method, applied inductively. Transcripts were read multiple times for familiarisation, initial codes identified and visualised using Miro software, and subsequently mapped into four main themes and 10 sub-themes (Figure 2). A detailed thematic description typical of TA was omitted to align with intuitive inquiry's minimal interpretation requirement.
Cycle Four: Transforming and Refining Interpretive Lenses
In Cycle Four, preliminary interpretive lenses from Cycle Two were revisited and refined through reflection on Cycle Three's data. Five lenses gained deeper clarity, one was significantly expanded into a new formulation, and two additional lenses were developed to capture emerging understandings (Table 3).
Cycle Five: Integration of Findings and Literature Review
In Cycle Five, the initial literature review is revisited in light of new insights, highlighting key findings and unresolved aspects, and identifying directions for future research. This stage importantly includes reflective exploration of the researcher’s unconscious journey, openly acknowledging personal challenges, errors, and transformative experiences throughout the inquiry.
Results
The thematic analysis identified four main themes and 10 sub-themes (Figure 2).
1. Key Characteristics of Integration
Integration was described as having several distinct yet interrelated characteristics:
1.1 Integration Does Not Have Clear Time Boundaries
Participants described integration as an ongoing, subtle process without clearly defined endpoints. Mary expressed, “it's kind of osmosis … there's a subtle shift and you start to feel more at peace with yourself, more comfortable, but it's not like you can say, aha! Got it … it's more like just over time as these things percolate.” Noah echoed this, noting, “I've started seeing integration as a lifelong process … it never ends.”
1.2 Integration is Nonlinear
Integration was repeatedly depicted as a spiral rather than a linear progression. Noah reflected, “you see the thing, feel the thing, and you can push it to the side… But often whenever you learn that first lesson, two months later it comes back in such a big way to really say, have you actually really learned this?”.
1.3 Synchronicities
Participants frequently experienced meaningful coincidences. Noah recounted bewilderment when the ACER theme of rest coincided with a period of work-related burnout, describing it as if "the tree was sending me a very clear message to relax." Charlotte noted similar occurrences within group meditations: “there seems to be a lot of synchronicity … we all do the same meditation … We all have different visuals, but
1.4 Embodiment is a Core Aspect
Embodiment emerged as a significant yet challenging component. Noah described this challenge vividly, stating, “My biggest challenge with integration is that I ... understand how it works conceptually, and I'll practice it in a surface level way. But I don't allow myself to actually feel it.” Grace offered a contrasting experience of successful embodiment: “I was crying from my toes upwards, and that was such a delight. Because I just felt so integrated.”
2. ACER Provides an Integration Toolkit
Participants valued ACER’s structured integration practices. Noah detailed his routine, stating, “I now regularly … go into a forest … do the ACER meditation, journal for as long as I feel like … and I come away with amazing gems.” Mary similarly noted the effectiveness of ACER’s methods, commenting, “it's almost … replaced the need for psychedelics … a lot of explorations, whether it's through breathwork, or through all the resources on ACER, the music meditations, the tree journeys … I find that a lot of that's just as helpful.”
3. ACER as a Container
Participants highlighted ACER as a supportive environment facilitating integration. They frequently described it as a “space,” expressed in diverse ways, such as feeling held, supported, or having room carved out amidst busy lives. This container metaphorically "holds space" for integration processes to occur:
3.1 A Space for Slowness
Participants appreciated ACER’s deliberate pace. Mary emphasised, “that's why we have a year … the nature lesson of … things happen slowly … don't expect overnight ‘everything is different’ … it's the nature of the process.” This slow unfolding fostered self-acceptance and normalised the gradual nature of personal growth.
3.1 A Space for Grounding
Participants noted that nature-based metaphors, tree journey meditations, and sharing circles helped them feel less in their minds and more grounded, fostering deeper connections to themselves, others, and nature. Charlotte noted the balance ACER provided to her cosmic psychedelic experiences: “with ACER … it's so intimate and grounded … I just appreciate it so much.” Participants also noted how ACER shifted their perspective away from daily stress, reminding them of deeper life values like connection and purpose.
3.2 A Space that's Flexible
Participants valued ACER's adaptability. It provided structure without demanding strict adherence, allowing individuals to guide their level of participation. Dakota experienced it as seamlessly integrated into her life, observing that it “dovetails with, and overlaps, what I do with my integration coach April and my music teacher.” Thus, ACER was flexible enough to fit into various lifestyles and complement existing self-development practices.
3.3 A Space for Connection to Self
ACER created meaningful opportunities for introspection, providing participants the chance to step away from daily life and deeply reflect on their internal experiences. These reflective practices regularly led participants to new insights, enhancing their self-understanding and fostering a deeper connection with themselves.
4. The Importance of Community
Community significantly supported participants’ integration processes:
4.1 Community as a Mirror
Participants described sharing circles as mirrors, witnessing others move through similar processes which facilitated self-reflection and integration; Noah remarked, “people saying things and you go … I’d never looked at that same process within myself … there's so much I can work with.”
4.2 Community as Nourishment
Community connection was deeply valued. Mary shared how ACER addressed her isolation: “I can never get over these sharing circles and how open and vulnerable people are … everybody is supportive … you have confidence people are there for you.” Participants found the community environment facilitated authentic expression and a greater sense of intimacy and openness.
Cycle Four Lenses
In Cycle Four, the preliminary interpretive lenses from Cycle Two were revisited and deepened in light of insights gained during Cycle Three. Five of the original six lenses were retained with significantly enriched understanding. One was removed as its concept expanded into a broader new lens, and two entirely new lenses emerged through deeper reflection on the integration process. Table 3 provides an overview.
1. Planting the Seed: A Deeper Understanding
Setting intentions for psychedelic journeys initiates an unpredictable growth process. Upon returning to this lens, I found an embodied sense of truth not present previously. We can plant the seed, but our preconceived notions of how this seed will sprout and grow will likely be shattered.
2. Psychedelic Experience As Sunlight Providing Fuel for Transformation: Removed
This lens was removed as its conceptual boundaries expanded dramatically and incorporated into lens eight. Initially, psychedelic experiences were viewed as the primary catalyst for transformative energy. However, the sustained growth observed among participants suggested a broader perspective; life itself continuously provides fuel for growth, if we choose to engage with it in this way.
3. We Assimilate This Energy Into Our Being, We Bring It Into Our Trunk and Branches: A Deeper Understanding
Lens three gained depth through recognising embodiment as the core and most challenging aspect of integration. Participants highlighted that insights must move beyond cognitive understanding to genuine embodiment, integrating deeply into one's daily actions and identity.
4. New Leaves Burst Forth, We Bear Fruit: A Deeper Understanding
The fourth lens evolved through witnessing the delicate vulnerability of early personal growth, revealing that initial assumptions underestimated the fragility of integrating new emotions, beliefs, and lifestyle changes, and the need for protective practices to support this tender phase until it stabilises. Lenses six and seven further expand this insight.
5. Every Tree is Different: A Deeper Understanding
Lens five acknowledged the unique, individual nature of integration, but understanding broadened to include common elements observed across different personal journeys. These commonalities included non-linearity, the lack of clear time boundaries, recurring synchronicities, and widespread challenges with embodiment.
6. Tending to the Garden: A Deeper Understanding
The sixth lens initially emphasised active engagement with integration practices. It evolved to recognise the importance of balancing intentional participation with allowing space for natural unfolding. Like gardening, integration involves cultivating conditions for growth without forcing outcomes. We cannot make plants grow, but we can enrich the soil; likewise, we can shape our lives to support transformation.
7. The Importance of a Root Network: New Lens
Community support provides critical nourishment for the tender, vulnerable aspects of personal growth emerging through integration. Sharing circles and interactions within supportive communities offer grounding, fresh insights, and critical emotional sustenance, like interconnected roots in a forest.
8. The Wisdom of Mother Nature: New Lens
Through my own integration process and by witnessing others, it became evident that a deeper, guiding force was at play. Growth unfolded with its own innate wisdom, often revealed through synchronicities and paradoxes: structure enabled freedom, solitude deepened connection. This force carried a sense of interconnectedness, as shared themes emerged across individuals. Like the seasons, integration followed a non-linear rhythm of activity and rest. Supporting this natural process required both effort and surrender to something greater than ourselves.
Discussion
This intuitive inquiry found psychedelic integration to be a non-linear, multifaceted process demanding a delicate balance between active engagement in integrative practices and surrender to the innate wisdom of the journey. Integration uniquely unfolds for each individual; however, notable commonalities emerged, including synchronicities, unclear temporal boundaries, and the centrality of embodiment. Additionally, community emerged as a critical supportive element, providing intimacy, encouragement, and diverse perspectives on personal challenges.
The flexibility and spaciousness identified as key features of integration counter critiques that integration lacks clarity and specificity (Sloshower et al., 2020). In fact, these very qualities that complicate its definition appear to facilitate the integration process. These findings strongly support the position that integration should be considered equally, if not more, important than the psychedelic experience itself, highlighting a critical gap in current financial investments, which favor psychedelic retreats and facilitator training rather than post-experience aftercare (Watts, 2023).
Limitations and Future Directions
This study has several limitations. The sample likely reflects participants who were highly engaged and found the ACER framework beneficial, suggesting potential sampling bias. Individuals less connected to the process or who found it less useful may have opted out. Additionally, all participants had prior experience with personal development, potentially influencing their integration process. To assess ACER’s broader applicability, future research should include individuals without previous self-development practices.
The study also focused on participants who reported predominantly positive psychedelic experiences. As such, the findings may not translate to those navigating difficult or adverse experiences, which often require different integration strategies. Given that 6% of LSD and psilocybin users report prolonged difficulties (Kopra et al., 2023), further investigation into effective support for challenging experiences is essential.
Future directions include longitudinal research to explore whether ACER’s benefits compound over time. Moreover, adapting ACER as a mental health intervention targeting disconnection from self, others, and nature represents another avenue for inquiry. Additionally, conducting ACER in-person rather than online could reveal further insights, particularly due to the essential roles embodiment and community play in integration.
The Unconscious Journey
Anderson and Braud (2011) write that the topics chosen for investigation by intuitive inquiry often lie along the fault lines in the researcher’s personality, or the culture at large, that seek healing. The research becomes a way to bring previously unconscious aspects of self into the light in a manner not unlike psychotherapy. Romanyshyn (2008) further describes the "wounded researcher" as serving the research topic, emphasizing the necessity for researchers to release their personal claim to the work, allowing it to speak through them.
This research was not only academic, it was also a deeply personal integration journey. Through it, I came to recognise the importance of balancing feminine and masculine energies, both within myself and in the research methodology. I use the terms feminine and masculine not to refer to gender, but to describe contrasting energies or modes of being. These could equally be expressed as yin and yang, lunar and solar, or inner and outer - complementary forces that together form a dynamic whole (Table 4 provides further context). This theme was reflected in the methodology of intuitive inquiry and personal experiences during the research process detailed below.
During a psychedelic ceremony that took place during the research process, I experienced a state of eco-consciousness (Irvine et al., 2023), feeling united with nature and perceiving myself through the eyes of Mother Earth. In this non-ordinary state, I received a profound insight: the menstrual cycle is a sacred reflection of the Earth’s seasonal rhythms. This awakened a deep awareness of internalised patriarchal beliefs, particularly the notion that rest equates to laziness or lack of worth. I began to see the necessity of honouring cyclical rest (winter) rather than clinging to constant fast-paced productivity.
A subsequent personal crisis intensified these lessons. Under extreme stress and burnout, I was forced to confront the consequences of always pushing forward. The collapse of my physical and emotional wellbeing revealed how entrenched patriarchal ideals had shaped my self-worth. Choosing to rest became not just a recovery strategy, but a radical act of healing.
This shift culminated in a powerful dream: my mother, after resting for most of the year, effortlessly wrote a book about feminine wisdom in a matter of days. Witnessing this in the dream filled me with awe and emotion and I wept. The dream symbolised a pivotal integration moment, where rest birthed creativity.
Through this unfolding, the ACER model continually guided me. Integration, I came to see, is not something to be “done” quickly - it is a way of living. The research echoed a broader cultural issue: through a patriarchal, capitalist lens, integration is expected to be linear, goal-driven, and efficient. Participant Noah shared how he had initially approached integration through his “work mind,” seeking productivity and results. But integration cannot be forced. It calls for balance: masculine intention aligned with feminine receptivity.
In this way, integration becomes a kind of rewilding. A return to the natural order within and around us. It means dismantling internalised conditioning and attuning to a deeper rhythm. Honouring both intuition and logic, rest and action. Listening to the forest. Following the way of nature.
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About the Author
Rosie holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and an MSc in Transpersonal Psychology, Spirituality, and Consciousness. As a transformational coach, she specialises in shadow work, dreamwork, tarot reading, intuitive sound healing, and psychedelic integration. Her practice weaves together science and mysticism, guiding individuals toward wholeness by integrating unconscious aspects of the psyche and supporting them to confidently share their unique gifts with the world. Grounded in intuitive wisdom and psychological depth, her work facilitates transformative journeys of self-discovery and authentic expression.