The God Sitters Program
The God Sitters program is a structured individual psilocybin ceremony program developed by the Church of Ambrosia over approximately five years of research and refinement. Unlike traditional group psychedelic ceremonies, the program emphasizes solitary, deeply personal work in a controlled, comfortable environment.
The Philosophy
The program draws inspiration from Terrence McKenna’s approach: alone, in the dark, with minimal distractions. The core belief is that meaningful healing work requires going inward without the interference of other people’s energies, sounds, or movements. While group ceremonies have their place, facilitators have observed that participants in large groups often get distracted, focus on external stimuli, and struggle to retain the insights they receive.
The program identifies three phases of psychedelic work that should be approached in order:
- Phase One: Processing and releasing personal trauma
- Phase Two: Understanding your soul, your purpose, and why you’re here
- Phase Three: Exploring larger cosmic questions
The emphasis is on completing foundational personal work before attempting deeper explorations. You can’t save anyone else until you’ve saved yourself.
The Setting
Ceremonies take place in a dedicated space designed for maximum comfort and minimum distraction:
- A white room with nothing on the walls
- A bed on the floor with carpet alongside it
- The entire downstairs available to the participant
- A bathroom accessible at the end of the hall
- Two sober sitters (ideally one male, one female) remain upstairs
The room is pre-heated with an electric heater, and an electric blanket warms the bed before the ceremony begins. This counteracts the cold sensation that commonly occurs at the onset of psilocybin experiences. Dimmable lighting and eye masks are available, though at proper doses, participants report not needing external stimulation since the internal experience is so vivid.
Preparation and Protocol
Participants are asked to fast for 24-48 hours before the ceremony (minimum 12 hours) to prevent nausea and ensure optimal absorption. The psilocybin is prepared as a tea using a triple-steep method: the powdered mushrooms are steeped in fresh hot water for 15 minutes, three times consecutively. This extracts the psilocybin while leaving behind other mushroom material.
The onset typically occurs within 20 minutes of drinking the tea. Participants are advised to head to the ceremony room and lie down as soon as they feel the effects beginning, usually within 30 minutes. The experience generally lasts 3-5 hours, with 4 hours being average.
Dosing Approach
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of the program is its precision dosing methodology. The church uses laboratory-tested, homogenized mushroom powder, ground in large batches and tested per batch to ensure consistent potency. This addresses the significant variability in psilocybin content between different mushroom strains and growing conditions. Lab results have shown up to an 80:1 potency ratio between the weakest and strongest mushrooms.
The program uses a body-weight-based dosing calculator that identifies five dose levels:
- Micro dose: Sub-perceptual
- Perceivable dose: Noticeable effects but functional
- Intense dose: Unmistakably “on mushrooms”
- Profound dose: Spiritual-level experience with insights
- Breakthrough dose: Strong closed-eye visuals (the starting point for God Sitters)
God Sitters ceremonies begin at 100% breakthrough dose and work upward incrementally. Facilitators have identified 110-115% as a common “sweet spot” for meaningful work. At around 120%, open-eye visuals begin appearing with a transparent quality. By 150%, these become undeniably vivid, and participants report seeing, touching, and smelling things in front of them.
The guiding principle: “You can always take more, you can’t take less.” Participants work their way up gradually, learning their personal response at each level before progressing deeper.
The Role of Sitters
Sitters are trained to stay out of the way. Their primary functions are:
- Providing the psychological comfort that someone is present if needed
- Answering the door or handling external interruptions
- Bringing water if requested
- Checking on the participant if concerning sounds occur (like a loud thud)
- Being available in case of emergency (fire, etc.)
Sitters do not guide, intervene, or interact unless absolutely necessary. The work belongs entirely to the participant.
Post-Ceremony Integration
After the ceremony, once the participant indicates they’re ready to talk, they’re brought upstairs for a conversation. Facilitators use non-leading questions to help participants articulate what they experienced: “Was there a color to the light? Was there anything in the light?” They never say things like “That must have been an angel” or suggest interpretations.
All sessions are audio recorded so participants can review what they said during the experience, as insights are most accessible immediately after the ceremony and can fade quickly.
The program emphasizes that receiving insights is only half the work. Implementation in daily life is essential.
Key Principles
- Intent is everything: Coming in with a clear question or focus dramatically shapes the experience
- Overdose means forgetting: A dose is too high not if something bad happens physically, but if you can’t remember what you experienced. “If you can’t remember what you did, why’d you do it?”
- The meaningful message test: The most important messages from deep work are often simple truths (“hang in there,” “love your children more”), but when they come from your own soul, they carry transformative weight
- Comfort enables depth: Being warm, safe, and undistracted allows participants to go deeper than they could in challenging environments
- Progress requires steps: You can’t explore the universe before you’ve processed your childhood trauma