It’s one thing to have a job and quite another to fulfill a vocation,” says Marissa Grasmick (MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2012). Based in Seattle, Washington, Grasmick works in private practice as a transpersonal somatic psychedelic therapist, yoga and meditation teacher, and breathwork guide. “I utilize these contemplative practices to support clients in moving towards greater connection with themselves, their relationships, communities, and natural and cosmological worlds. I help adults and couples broaden their capacity to feel and experience the rhythm of life in their bodies as they move from patterns of protection to patterns of authentic connection.”
Learning meditation at Naropa was a turning point in her life. “I felt like I was handed a golden key that prepared me to engage fully in my personal and professional life. After a decade in practice as a therapist, it’s safe to say that presence is one of the defining features of successful healing work, and Naropa could not have supported me more in cultivating loving presence for myself and others.”
Compassion is at the center of her work. “When we learn to turn towards our pain with less fear and confusion, and instead with a tender and compassionate view, we can respond with more clarity. As Rumi says, ‘The cure for the pain is in the pain.’ Learning how to treat our pain with friendliness is the key for harvesting the wisdom the pain holds. Anywhere we are not liberated in this sense, we remain imprisoned.”
She recently completed Naropa’s Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy. “Adding this to my work has been very synergistic and exciting. It’s an exhilarating time to be doing consciousness-expanding work, not only because we need it, but because many more people are opening up to what’s possible in their lives when they break free from limiting views and discover a more liberated and meaningful perspective.”
