02 · Why SWIM & FLOAT
Oceanic boundlessness
Expanded states are often described in the language of the ocean: vastness, connection, the dissolution of separation between self and world.
But the ocean is not only serene. Beneath the luminous surface are unfamiliar depths, powerful currents, waves of emotion, the riptides of personal history and the wider tides of collective suffering. There can be profound beauty and healing here, yet guides and journeyers alike may rapidly find themselves out of their depth.
There is vast beauty in the ocean of experience.
And we can rapidly find ourselves out of our depth.
This is where SWIM begins.
Four frames of knowledge and practice for learning to perceive the currents, stay connected to the body, navigate intensity and make meaning with discernment.
SWIM at a glance
Four frames.
Sixteen lenses.
One living system.
SWIM is not a staircase. The four frames are currents within the same ocean.
The body shapes the story. The story shapes the body. Relationships alter what feels possible. Values shape what we do with insight. Attention changes the world that becomes available to us.
rest on a frame, or on a single lens, and it will speak
- Agency
- Neuroception
- Regulation
- Embodiment
- Philosophy
- Contemplation
- Ethics
- Eudaimonia
- Interbeing
- Connection
- Creativity
- Transcendence
- Mindset
- Mindfulness
- Multiplicity
- Meaning
The four pillars of contemplative development
Why does each frame unfold the way it does? Because the structure is ancient. The wisdom traditions describe a path in four movements: the view you begin from, the practice you keep, the conduct it meets the world with, and what it ripens into. Every lens in SWIM stands on these same four pillars.
View
the ground you begin from
A frame large enough for the journey, and the aspiration you set out with. What do we understand, and what are we reaching toward? Orientation comes before movement: without a view, practice has no direction and experience has no shore.
Agency · Philosophy · Interbeing · Mindset
Practice
the keeping of the path
The daily training of attention, body and heart, until clarity, compassion and steadiness become available capacities rather than occasional visitors.
Neuroception · Contemplation · Connection · Mindfulness
Application
where practice meets a life
Ethics, relationship, work, repair. Insight becomes trustworthy through how it behaves; the path proves itself in contact with other lives.
Regulation · Ethics · Creativity · Multiplicity
Fruition
what the path ripens into
Not a peak, but a way of being: flourishing, effortlessness, wisdom lived so thoroughly it stops announcing itself.
Embodiment · Eudaimonia · Transcendence · Meaning
Contemplative wisdom asks for preliminary practices of heart and mind. They develop the cartography, the map and the tools for navigating the terrain of heart‑mind.
An altered state offers possibility.
An altered trait is possibility practised.
And the fruition of practice is effortlessness.
stop swimming
SWIM teaches you to navigate the water.
FLOAT is the moment you remember the water is holding you.
Feel · Let go · Open · into Awareness · Transcend
Where SWIM & FLOAT is taught
The Certificate in Psychedelic and Contemplative Therapies
CPACT is a 200-hour, 12-month* hybrid certification program designed for professionals, students and therapists seeking a deeply integrative, evidence-based and experiential approach to psychedelic-assisted therapy. It blends online and in-person experiential learning:
100 hours of core psychedelic-assisted therapy training
Gain fundamental skills and confidence in psychedelic science, clinical frameworks, legal and ethical considerations, and integration practices.
100 hours of contemplative or experiential training
Tailor your path with yoga training, breathwork, meditation, Indigenous philosophies, nature-based therapy or somatic integration.
Building solid foundations: the core modules
100 hours of foundational training to set you up for success. The core curriculum combines contemporary psychedelic science, evidence-based clinical practice, contemplative practices and Indigenous wisdom traditions to provide a comprehensive, skill-based foundation for working with altered states of consciousness.
- Monthly study groupswith core faculty
- Monthly guest webinarswith core and guest faculty
- Two 3-day in-person intensivesdeep learning, roleplays and a holotropic breathwork workshop to practise altered-states facilitation
- An online manualto guide the learning journey through each of its phases
- A collaborative learning portalto connect with the teachings and fellow students
- A personal reflection frameworkfor continuous self-inquiry and development tracking
Connect with your cohort at two immersive retreats held at a waterfront, forested sanctuary.
The 100 hours of foundational CPACT units are endorsed by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) as a Category A CPD Activity.
Learn more at Anam Cara Centre →
*CPACT is designed to be completed over 12 months, subject to elective dates and individual needs. All contemplative electives can be completed standalone and then recognised as Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) when applying for CPACT.
SWIM&FLOAT™ is a training framework for practitioners and a map for contemplative education, not a treatment.
© Melissa Warner & Dr Lani Roy