We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Simran a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

As far back as I can remember, I have been an explorer, infinitely curious and trusting. Roaming pastures, climbing trees, discovering where in the area had the best fruit trees. As I got older, still infinitely curious I couldn’t decide on what to major in in college so I just started learning about everything. It took me almost 10 years of part time university to get my 4 year degree. I just love learning. After I had my daughter I started my bachelors and did deep study on world religions, meditation and non-ordinary states of consciousness. This was 15 years ago.

I didn’t stop, my outward exploration turned more and more inward as I aged as a mother and meditator.

Of course life experiences lead us, like dot-to-dots on a coloring page, toward what _we think_ we are ‘supposed to do’ with our lives; of all these studies I had involved myself in the most exciting thing to me was the similarities between beliefs in different religious systems. I learned that I didn’t care so much about the religions themselves but instead the Light, Consciousness, Peace, that they all spoke of.

I dove into Transpersonal (Spiritual) Psychology. Self-study reasons mostly, because I had struggled for a number of years with self-acceptance and self-abandonment (awareness work that is always working for me) and I began an even deeper exploration of integrity and went back to school to become an LPC. I learned EVERYTHING. Depth psychology, group dreamwork, internal family systems, group counseling, but most of all I learned humans experiencing is so beautiful!

There was a ‘place’ in all of this learning and experiencing I was on an intuitive trajectory towards but I did not know for sure where the place would be. I just knew one day I would graduate with my masters and become a therapist. Then 2020; everything became unclear, and my values towards education changed, I prioritized intimate connections and my personal sovereignty. That year my schooling went completely remote and I realized very quickly how much I valued the energy of the human experience right in front of me.

My last semesters of school were close and I was moments from committing to internship placement. I felt stagnant though… and my coaching clients mentioned his partner went to the jungle to do kambo for healing. my intrigue piqued and I inqured more, soon I was traveling to learn everything I could about this process, heading to colorado – to work with people who serve this earth medicine / cocktail of peptides that would help facilitate an energy purge from the body. I needed the covid era off of me and I really had no idea what I was getting into.

I booked 10 days in the mountains of southern Colorado to be served this earth medicine and see if it could help me.

At the end of this immersion, we were offered a type of graduation with an ayahuasca ceremonial night but the plans changed for that because of the ceremony space not being ready, but the facilitators offered an alternative entheogenic experience called a Bufo Ceremony.

I had no idea what a Bufo Ceremony was but (I deeply trusted my facilitator and to this day absolutely adore her) I committed to what was described a a “journey to Love” and the next day I took the sacrament.

There is a before Bufo part of my life, just like there is a before childbirth part of my life, and there is an after Bufo part of my life. When I sat in this ceremony, this very first time, within seconds of inspiration I was taken to a place where all transformation lays dormant waiting for the voice of inspiration to speak through us. This space was so deeply familiar for me that no school, no friend, no money, anything material could ever help me remember the wholeness that was always inside of me. It was the ultimate vastness of Self the Absolute Transpersonal space. It was everything I had ever looked for in every thing outside of me, every exploration, every yarning to learn something new. My experience with Bufo rendered me feeling perfectly complete, moment to moment, and it hasn’t stopped helping me.

I know with these spiritual experiences you are not supposed to make major decisions until you are grounded which I was glad I did wait with previous journeys. But this was truth. It was all my kundalini yoga training, all my solo south America travel, it was becoming a mother, it was grad school, trauma, bliss, fullness and emptiness and it reminded me everything is complete. I had to know more. I called my school counselor… she suggested that I wait a few more weeks before changing my course at school so I took her advice and waited until I was neutral before making the decision to work specifically with transpersonal experiences in the psychedelic space.

I now hold space for straight-forward transformational work at Sonora Love Bufo Church where I serve moms, dads, felons, addicts, students, judges, pilots, humans ceremony for them to meet the truest version of themselves.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a pattern breaker, I help people recognize shadows, integrate parts-of-self, I hold the mirror.

My work is psychosomatic, transpersonal and very trauma informed. It is embodied, I live my work, and I love digging deep *with* people. You could describe me as a co-journeyer, but I am often labeled a spiritual life coach.

A lot of people struggle with self-acceptance, they want to be seen as authentic and they want to be accepted and feel whole, not to sound cliche but all of this must happen inside of the mind/body first. We spend a long time in our lives hiding our true nature, I help dig this out. When we can relax in the body, in total acceptance of ourselves, we become very powerful, radiant I may say!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Be yourself always, to everyone.

Authenticity is more sustainable long run.

I believe that setting the expectations with my members at first meeting has streamlined my process from pre-integration to post-ceremony integration. From the beginning we establish exactly what can and cannot be expected and determine right away if our relationship can be best for *each other.* In the helping professions this is SO important, because you are establishing relationship and I am in the business of *teaching* relationship so its important to live the practice.

When I began to consistently set expectations it refined what I also knew I could provide members which built my confidence up and their confidence in the practice. Then members willingly and happily share their experience with future referrals.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

What has helped me beyond anything and I refer to it over and over in my career as a helper/coach. Is “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron. This book (its actually a 12 week process) always helps me get clear, helps the church members integrate and simply gets us back in touch with our inner creator. The playful one inside of us who wants to make, sell, write, play, manifest reality. Its not an easy practice, but it is a simple one, to take 30 minutes every day and let all the loose change fall out of the head so you can get to the juicy parts of self who want to play and create.

I also love Michael Singer, he wrote The Untethered Soul and any of his books or lectures, speak to me in a practical, yet not too metaphysical, inclusive kind of way. He pretty much teaches how to quiet the mind, get out of your own way and meet every moment as if you are there for the first and last time. Refreshing!

Contact Info:

• Website: bodyforbeing.com
• Instagram: @bodyforbeing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/body.for.being