Natasja Pelgrom is a visionary leader in personal transformation and psychedelic-assisted care. As a sacred medicine woman and founder of AWAKEN THE MEDICINE WITHIN Retreats and the Eudaimonia Institute, she blends ancient wisdom with modern methodologies. Renowned for her Presence-Centered Leadership™ approach, she mentors practitioners and has facilitated over 1,000 psychedelic ceremonies. With 20+ years of entrepreneurial expertise, Natasja is dedicated to advancing behavioral change, human flourishing, and conscious leadership.

Chosen by the Medicine: The Hidden Fallout of Spirit-Led Decisions in Leadership & Life

What happens when life-altering choices are made in the wake of an altered state? This talk explores the shadow side of psychedelic healing in the context of modern leadership, spiritual revelation, and identity transformation. From clients pursuing divorce or motherhood because “the medicine said so,” to facilitators declaring themselves chosen “code holders,” these spirit-led decisions often bypass integration and discernment.This phenomenon is also deeply embedded within the psychedelic business world—where founders trip with potential stakeholders, leadership teams make strategic decisions mid-ceremony, and executives dose every other week, claiming spiritual guidance while hurtling toward financial collapse. Natasja Pelgrom, drawing from over a decade of experience and up-close observations of such organizational failures, reveals the very real human and collective cost of bypassing sober wisdom in favor of spiritual immediacy.At the heart of the issue is the absence of wise elders—those who once helped temper immaturity and ground insight into lived reality. This talk is a compassionate yet unflinching exploration of how expanded states can inspire—but should not override—ethics, readiness, or relational responsibility in both life and leadership.