We don’t always experience ourselves as alive and we don’t always appreciate the life in others, nor how our lives are interconnected. In fact, days can go by in which our lives feel deadened, closed off and empty.

Luckily, there is a very human process that brings us to life and opens us to others, in which psychedelics can aid us, but also needs no substance to ignite. This practice has been performed by our species ever since we first painted the walls of caves. In fact, it is central to our humanity and something that we’ve been practicing for a very long time.

It’s play.

Think of a child playing with her toys and you’ll see just how serious this business of play is.

When playing, a child becomes enrapt in her senses, focused, and “in flow,” all the while animating her toys, taking what is wooden and bringing it to life. She also feels deeply connected to and related to that toy.

The same is true in all kinds of adult encounters too: in good conversations, in collaborative work, cultural pursuits, art making, love making, just plain making, play brings us closer to ourselves. It also brings us closer to each other, since play is the marrow of compassion, an essential element of cooperation.

To play is to be liberated. And, in this, it is a whole lot more than “fun.” This is why we chose our name.

Cardea is the Roman goddess of thresholds, hinges and handles–the protector of the devices that open doors. We work with our guests to help them discover their own means to open up where they feel shut down, to enter in where they are locked out and to pivot where they are jammed. In this, psychedelics can be a key to change, opening the door to one’s own innate ability to play.

Importantly, the root of the word Cardea is Latin for CARDO, the same root as the word ‘cardiology,’ which means connected to the heart or center—the core in the middle of us that brings us to life.