15 August 2025
My Journey to Psychedelic Fatherhood
By: Dennis Walker
MAPS Bulletin: Volume XXXIV
I was at an invite-only psychedelic colloquium in the pacific coastal resort town of Sayulita, Mexico when I found out I was going to be a dad. I had spent the week with a rather remarkable group of academics, writers, and eccentrics belonging to what some might call the ‘inner circle’ of the psychedelic zeitgeist.
I had ducked away from the group as our week together was winding down to make a phone call to my wife letting her know I’d be on my way to my next event in San Francisco shortly where I’d be doing stand up comedy and participating in a panel on psychedelic entrepreneurship at Discovery Sessions SF. It’s tough work being a jester in the psychedelic renaissance, but someone has to do it.
“Are you pregnant yet?” I asked on FaceTime in an off-the-cuff, half-joking inquiry.
The frozen, unblinking look on her face as she started to slowly nod completely rocked my world. We had only just started trying to get pregnant a week or two before.
The broadly abstract questions our group had been engaging with throughout the week, centering on psychedelics and 21st-century society, suddenly became white noise, a backdrop to a much more present and concrete realization. At 36 years old, in a world that often feels like it’s coming unraveled at the seams, I was to become a father for the first time.
I had a new, profoundly important role to take on in my life. None of my psychonaut peers at the time had any children; kids were something you had if you were a card-carrying member of the Catholic Church or a corporate drone on a career track. Psychonauts go to wild parties, do fancy designer molecules at Burning Man, and travel the world for various plant medicine ceremonies and music festivals.
After nearly two decades of personal psychedelic experience and soul searching, a new chapter was opening for me — and I had no idea how to approach the transition.
I hung up the phone and went outside to say goodbye to the group. It was the last day of the colloquium, and as such, I made my departure and headed off to lunch at a nearby restaurant with tables outside. While still processing the news of my impending fatherhood, a cosmic phenomenon unfolded in the sky before me: A ‘Solar Ring’, a rare optical unicorn less common than a total solar eclipse.
Psychedelics have played a huge role in my life and personal development for nearly two decades; at no point had I ever considered what kind of insights and guidance these mind-altering molecules might hold in store for me when adapting to the role of father. But if I’ve learned anything from my psychedelic experiences, it’s that the answers always lie within ourselves – and they don’t always make themselves immediately available according to our wishful thinking and linear timelines.
Later that summer, I had a legal ketamine experience in Europe that brought me to a state of clarity and readiness about fatherhood that I didn’t even know I was searching for. I was excited and optimistic about this new chapter in life, but the reality of the forthcoming development still felt like it was a world away, and I had no clear sense of what this new role truly meant.
The substance was administered, and I surrendered to the rushing sensation that enveloped my body, mind, and spirit.
I was totally unprepared for what happened next, but thankfully in a safe and guided space that could hold the enormity of the experience. I hit my first “K-Hole,” a remarkably intense and idiosyncratic psychospiritual experience that feels like being sucked into a cosmic vacuum beyond space, time, and any recognizable aspect of self.
As I felt reality slipping away, there was a serious sense of “This time you’ve gone and lost your mind completely.”
I won’t bore you with the details of what transpired over the next 20 odd minutes, though it calls to mind the sensational hyperboles of Ego Death, interdimensional travel, and deeply ingrained sense of knowing that people who have undergone a similar experience will be familiar with — but it was the post-peak thread of awareness tying me back to reality and sense of self that really made an impact.
“Your main role in life now is to take care of your son. You get to raise this boy.”
A deeply visceral sense of purpose imprinted upon me in that moment. I hadn’t gone into the experience looking for any kind of particular insight or clarity; but I came out of it feeling this new sense of fatherly purpose in the deepest part of my psyche, in my bones, in the depths of my spirit.
My son wasn’t due for another four months, but at that moment, I connected with him. I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that I was the right person for this job and that everything else besides it paled in comparison to the importance of this new role.
Over a year later, I have a beautiful, healthy, 7-month-old son who is already beginning to stand up, climb, and show off his gift of gab in a babbling fashion well ahead of when he should be doing these things. He even joined me in Denver for the MAPS Psychedelic Science conference in June 2025, making his presence known in the hotel lobby as I introduced him to world-renowned psychedelic researchers and activists.
At Psychedelic Science 2025, I had the good fortune of participating in a panel called Psychedelic Fatherhood: Transforming Families One Dad at a Time, which drew a capacity crowd.
My co-panelists each have teenage or adult children, making me the newcomer on the block. I lean into their wisdom to help guide my own approach to fatherhood in this era of volatility and change. One of my mentors in this regard is Cesar Marin, a responsible psychedelic advocate changing lives through his platform Cultivating Wisdom. When I asked him for some thoughts on psychedelic fatherhood, he shared the following:
“As someone who advocates for the safe and responsible use of psychedelics and whose company focuses on reducing the stigma around them, I knew it was only a matter of time before my grown children would grow curious about these substances.
I’ve never shied away from discussing my own experiences. I’ve always approached those conversations with honesty, emphasizing that psychedelics are not something to take lightly.
What I tell them is that it’s not about whether or not to try psychedelics, but about understanding the why. Intentions matter. These are tools that can be powerful in the right context, but they require maturity, respect, and clear purpose.
Most young people won’t come right out and tell their parents they’re considering trying something like this. But when you build a foundation of trust, there’s a better chance they’ll open up. If they know you’re a safe space for honest, open dialogue, they’re more likely to approach these experiences thoughtfully and with greater care.
Curiosity is natural. Our role as parents is not to shut it down, but to provide guardrails through conversation. That’s how we help them navigate life with greater awareness and safety.”
My new role as a father is one that I am profoundly gifted to have inherited. Seeing my son grow into his own person, one baby step at a time, is the joy of a lifetime, and one which I will continue to lean into my psychedelic community and family circle to help steward with as much humility, grace, and strength as I can possibly finesse. And as for my relationship with psychedelics these days – they still interest me greatly, but my own spiritual development has found a new direction guided by changing dirty diapers and cleaning up apple sauce from his toothless, smiling face.
Dennis Walker
Dennis Walker is the Founder of Mycopreneur, a globally recognized media platform covering mushroom entrepreneurship and culture with a healthy dose of satire. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Wired, Vice, High Times, Los Angeles Times, and many other platforms. He is the Co-founder of Mycoday mushroom chocolate and Global Psychedelic Week, the marketing director for Mycroboost functional mushrooms, and frequently appears at international mushroom, cannabis, and psychedelic events as an emcee, keynote speaker, and stand up comedian on the afterparty circuit. He hosts the weekly Mycopreneur Incubator, an accelerator for mushroom entrepreneurs, the invitation to which goes out in the weekly Mycopreneur Newsletter covering the global mushroom entrepreneurial space. Follow his shenanigans on Instagram @mycopreneurofficial and book him for Speedo modeling gigs by reaching out directly.
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