Spirituality as a Compass: Why Meaning-Making Matters in Psychedelic and End-of-Life Healing

By Ekaterina Henyan, Soul Retreat SPC

The Quiet Truth About Transformation

There are moments in life when everything we thought we knew begins to soften.

Moments when our identity, our beliefs, and our understanding of “what is real” rise up for reevaluation. These moments come through profound psychedelic experiences, through grief, through the end-of-life process, or through any encounter that asks us to stand on the edge of what we believe to be true.

And in these threshold spaces, one thing becomes clear: Spirituality is not optional. It is essential. It is not a religion, not a doctrine, and not an ideology.It is the very way we create meaning. It is how we connect to ourselves, each other, and the mystery.

This was the central theme of my informational session with Rev. Lynda Elaine Carré in “Spirituality: An Essential Understanding for Psychedelic Integration at End of Life.” And it is reshaping the way I understand and support the healing journey through Soul Retreat SPC.

Spirituality vs. Religion — Why the Difference Matters

One of the first distinctions to explore is this:

Religion is a system. Spirituality is an experience.

Spirituality is the way humans have always made sense of their world — through love, loss, intuition, ancestors, symbols, nature, ritual, dreams, and meaning-making. It is universal, personal, and in some ways impossible to fully put into words.

In psychedelic journeys and at the end of life, spiritual material rises to the surface whether someone identifies as “spiritual” or not. The subconscious brings forward:

• Symbolic images

• Archetypes

• Ancestral memories

• Visions

• Questions about time, space, and identity

This material is neither random nor pathological. It is meaning asking to be understood.

The Turning Point: Integrity or Despair

During threshold experiences — whether psychedelic or near death — people begin to ask:

• Who am I, really?

• What has my life meant?

• What do I believe about reality?

• What matters most?

This brings them to the classic end-of-life crossroads: Integrity vs. Despair.

Integrity is the sense that one’s life has had meaning. Despair is the fear that it hasn’t.

This spiritual time opens the door to this fundamental reassessment of the self. And here the role of the practitioner is sacred. We do not fix. We do not force. We hold. We mirror. We witness the person’s inner wisdom rearranging itself.

Spiritual Distress: When Worldviews Collide

Rev. Carré beautifully named something I’ve seen in integration spaces:

Spiritual distress happens when a person encounters something that contradicts their core beliefs about reality.

This may look like…Fear, Disorientation, Panic, Symbolic imagery, Feeling “untethered”, Feeling like the world is dissolving, Ancestral or archetypal visions that clash with religious upbringing.

This isn’t a “bad trip.”It’s a moment of ontological shock — questioning:

• What is real?

• What is time?

• What is the self?

• What is beyond me?

Yet spiritual distress, when held skillfully, becomes…Spiritual growth. The worldview reorganizes into something more expansive and authentic.

The Role of the Guide: Presence Above All

One of the most profound teachings is this: Presence is the medicine.

Not expertise. Not spiritual explanation. Not fixing. Presence.

The guide becomes an anchor of regulated nervous system, compassion, and curiosity.We slow down.We ask:

• “Tell me more…”

• “I wonder…”

We listen not just with our ears, but with our whole being — sensing what is said and what is not being said. This is spiritual care. This is integration. This is how people regain meaning, stability, and connection after a profound experience.

Meaning-Making: The Heart of Integration

Spirituality, at its core, is the art of meaning-making.

• Global Meaning = your overarching worldview

• Situational Meaning = how specific experiences challenge or reshape that worldview

Psychedelic and end-of-life experiences often restructure both. Integration becomes the bridge between “what happened” and “what it means for my life.”

Meaning-making helps people:

• Reconnect with purpose

• Make peace with their past

• Understand symbolic imagery

• Reconcile religious or cultural conditioning

• Access the wisdom of their inner healer

• Re-enter their daily lives with clarity and strength

This is the work I feel most called to guide people through.

Spirituality is not separate from the work we do — it is the compass that guides every step.

I look forward to weaving these teachings into our retreats, integration sessions, community offerings, and the continuing evolution of Soul Retreat SPC.

May we keep choosing curiosity over fear.May we keep holding space for meaning.May we honor every threshold as sacred.