Welcome to Experience Onward – A Legal, State Licensed Mushroom Service Center in Portland, Oregon
My name is Daniel Carcillo and I founded Experience Onward because psilocybin helped save my life. It restored my brain health and quality of life after playing 10 years in the NHL, winning two Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, fighting 164 times, and suffering 7 diagnosed concussions that forced me into an early retirement at the age of 30.
About Daniel’s Journey
In 2015, I received an early onset dementia diagnosis, with CTE like symptoms that included head pressure, brain fog and fatigue, light and sound sensitivity, appetite and weight loss, short and long-term memory loss, insomnia, impulse control issues, addiction, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations.
The first two years of my journey were spent being prescribed pharmaceuticals to manage symptoms, which exacerbated others. When I stopped, I experienced two seizures coming off the synthetic medicine that doctors had prescribed me.
I then went to seek out all the best medical professionals.
From the top neurologists and neuroscientists in the country, using academic research facilities, and stroke/concussion rehabilitation centers to be diagnosed and rehabilitated. They told me that they could identify the areas of my brain shut down due to trauma and would be able to wake them back up with ocular, vestibular, autonomic and memory task exercises.
After finding little to no relief 3 years in, I began trying float tanks, hyperbaric chamber, hormone replacement therapy, moxa acupuncture routines, stem cells and cranial sacral.
I found myself, in the Spring of 2019, no better after spending $500,000 of my own money at many of these cash pay facilities.
As I was moving through these different modalities, I was always reading pub med papers and trying to uncover what had happened to my brain, and how I could fix it. I then came across a study by the Imperial College of London using psilocybin and measuring brain connectivity under an fMRI. They measured a placebo brain (not on psilocybin) and the same brain on psilocybin.
After seeing the images and reading the study, I thought this treatment could possibly work for me, remembering what the doctors had said they could do for me in the concussion clinics with diagnostics and exercises.
So, in the summer of 2019, I took an invitation to a farm in Colorado from an old teammate and partook in a high dose psilocybin mushroom ceremony.
I first took diagnostics before I left, qEEG and blood work, because of the stigma associated with these medicines. A qEEG is a brain scan that measures how our different brain hemispheres (there are 6) are communicating, as well as DELTA, THETA, BETA, ALPHA and GAMMA read outs. Prior to the 2 high dose psilocybin ceremonies, I had the free testosterone levels of a 72-year-old male and my cortisol levels were 4 times as high as a male my age.
I wanted to ensure that if this worked, I could speak about it anecdotally and show people the science and hard data behind my recovery to break the stigma associated with this medicine.
In a matter of weeks 80% of my symptoms disappeared or significantly lessened in intensity. My blood panels came back equalized, with my free testosterone increasing by 1200% and my cortisol levels being optimized. 6 months in I redid my qEEG and neurologists could no longer find any abnormalities in my brain scans. (see below)
BEFORE 🍄
AFTER 🍄
I began to focus solely on a daily wellness and holistic health regimen that included exercise, a focus on an organic diet, limiting processed foods, sugar, and my alcohol intake. I implemented weekly high heat sauna exposure and cold plunges for recovery, and began to refine my spiritual practice with breath work, meditation, and visualization techniques. The result was looking and feeling 20 years younger.
BEFORE 🍄 AFTER 🍄
I firmly believe that I have been put on this earth to introduce and help others rediscover the power within themselves to heal using natural medicine and these mushroom experiences. This is precisely why I worked the past 2 years to open Experience Onward, a transformative wellness center offering legal mushrooms ceremonies in Portland Oregon.
Coming to our center and experiencing a mushroom journey can be a positive catalyst to help show someone a different way of thinking and living. Shift perspectives of their world view, how they view themselves, their trauma, a diagnosis, expand consciousness for curious beginners or increase human potential for healthy norms. These lessons come to us in an altered state of consciousness and it’s then our responsibility to learn from them and integrate them into our life with talk therapy and coaching.
Clinical Research
Johns Hopkins studies suggest psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, shows promise for treating a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction and OCD.
Combined with therapy, these effects help patients reframe their experiences and break free from rigid, destructive thought patterns, making psilocybin a powerful tool in mental health treatment.
The Johns Hopkins studies on psilocybin for treating depression have shown promising results, with significant reductions in depressive symptoms and sustained relief lasting up to a year for many participants. The research suggests psilocybin therapy could offer a more effective, rapid-acting alternative to traditional antidepressants, with fewer side effects.
The Johns Hopkins study on terminally ill cancer patients found that a single dose of psilocybin significantly reduced anxiety, depression, and fear of death. Patients reported lasting improvements in emotional well-being and a greater sense of peace and meaning, demonstrating psilocybin’s potential in alleviating end-of-life distress.
The Johns Hopkins psilocybin smoking cessation study found that a single dose of psilocybin, combined with therapy, helped most participants quit smoking, with 80% remaining smoke-free after 12 months.
The Johns Hopkins PTSD study found that psilocybin, combined with therapy, significantly reduced PTSD symptoms, with many participants experiencing lasting improvements in anxiety, depression, and trauma processing.
The Johns Hopkins study on alcohol use disorder found that psilocybin, combined with therapy, significantly reduced alcohol consumption, with many participants achieving lasting abstinence or reduced drinking.
The Johns Hopkins study on OCD found that psilocybin, combined with therapy, significantly reduced obsessive-compulsive symptoms in participants. Many experienced lasting improvements in anxiety, compulsive behaviors, and intrusive thoughts.
The studies suggest that psilocybin, when combined with therapy, has the potential to treat a variety of psychiatric and emotional disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and OCD, by promoting lasting psychological and behavioral changes.
Its effectiveness may stem from its ability to alter brain connectivity, particularly disrupting the default mode network (DMN) involved in negative thought patterns, and promoting neural plasticity, which helps rewire maladaptive brain circuits.
Psilocybin also facilitates emotional processing, enabling individuals to confront suppressed emotions or trauma, while shifting perception and fostering a sense of interconnectedness and spiritual insight.
A study published in June 2023 examined how various psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin and ketamine, affect the brain’s “critical periods”—windows of heightened plasticity that facilitate learning. The critical period remained open for two weeks on psilocybin, as opposed to only 48 hours after ketamine use. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/2023/06/study-shows-psychedelic-drugs-reopen-critical-periods-for-social-learning
A) Durations of the acute subjective effects of psychedelics in humans
B) Durations of the critical period open state induced by psychedelics in mice:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06204-3#Fig1
With new realizations from a deeply personal experience, one can begin to take responsibility for their emotions, actions and ultimately their life. Become responsible to for the choices they are choosing. Change destructive behaviors. Make new habits and thought patterns. Make peace with past traumas. Forgive those who have wronged us and move forward. Become the best version of ourselves.
A mushroom experience can gift the individual with more presence and awareness. Many people report being profoundly grateful for their life. A sort of survivor’s remorse. Grateful for each event whether they were viewed as a positive or negative.
About Experience Onward
Oregon’s Measure 109 was passed by voters in November 2020, legalizing the regulated use of psilocybin for adults over 21 years of age. The measure allows licensed providers to administer psilocybin to individuals in controlled settings. It established a regulated program overseen by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), including requirements for training facilitators, setting up licensed psilocybin service centers, licensed manufacturers, and licensed testing facilities.
Experience Onward is a licensed service center in Portland Oregon, approved by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), allowing for the legal purchase and consumption of psilocybin within our center.
Making this kind of commitment to yourself is deeply rewarding. When you decide that this is something that you need and want, the preparation begins.
After a discovery call to uncover what type of experience and the “intention” or reasoning behind it, a client must undergo a thorough health intake process. This is a similar intake process used to qualify patients for FDA approved clinical trials. The service center staff, including licensed facilitators and trained professionals, will assess your overall health and mental well-being.
Once a client is approved, the preparation phase begins
Preparation is an essential part of the process, designed to ensure a beneficial experience.
Once a client is approved, the preparation phase begins. Preparation is an essential part of the process, designed to ensure a beneficial experience.
You will have sessions with a trained facilitator (or team of facilitators) who will guide you in setting an intention for your experience. You’ll discuss any fears, anxieties, or past traumas you may have and explore the goals you hope to achieve through the experience. You will be informed about the effects of psilocybin, including its onset, peak, and duration. This information helps you feel more comfortable and grounded during the ceremony.
Depending on which experience is selected (individual, group, or 3-day retreat), there are typically 2-3 hours of preparation calls. EO will send literature and research to each person to help prepare them for the best possible outcome with the journey. This package includes diet and breath work protocols, informational podcasts, and guided mediations, as well as a “what to bring” document, hotel, travel, food, transportation, and center information.
On the day of your session, the psilocybin will be administered in a controlled, supportive setting.
Psilocybin is served in tea form, with the dose tailored to your health and wellness goals. Facilitators guide you through the experience, providing support as you explore your thoughts, while monitoring your emotional and physical well-being throughout the 4-to-6-hour session. A calming, supportive environment is created, with music and guidance available to ensure comfort and reassurance.
After the ceremony, the integration process is an important, ongoing, and crucial step in helping you process and apply your experience to daily life. It involves reflection time to make sense of emotions and insights, followed by integration sessions with a facilitator to understand and incorporate these insights. Ongoing support, such as therapy or counseling, may also be provided to ensure long-term emotional and psychological well-being.
The best results from anecdotal stories and clinical trials have always been tied to psychotherapy and some form of ongoing talk therapy.
All of this is done under the oversight of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), which ensures that the licensed service centers comply with state regulations, including safety protocols, professional training standards, and client protection measures.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Be well,
Daniel Carcillo & The EO Team
If you are interested in contacting us to request more information about our offerings, process, or center, how to get on our free webinar and newsletter email list, or how you can begin your wellness journey with us, please see our info below;
Phone: (971) 313-0579
Email: daniel@experienceonward.com
Website: www.experienceonward.com
Instagram: @danielcarcillo13
