Keith Gilmore: Lost and Found

Twenty-something Keith was adrift.

College philosophy classes gave him Nietzsche’s "amor fati" (love your fate), but he couldn’t yet apply it. He tried teaching, but something gnawed at him – a sense he was performing a role rather than living it.

Then came the mushrooms.

Not in a ceremonial context at first – just friends in the Oregon woods, laughing as the trees breathed. But those experiences kept whispering the same thing: You already know how to come home.

The Ceremonial Turn

What began as recreation became reverence. Sitting in Santo Daime ceremonies and peyote circles, Keith witnessed something radical: "These medicines weren’t ‘showing me new things’ – they were reminding me of something ancient in my cells."

He also noticed how healing amplified in community. "A solo trip can crack you open, but it’s others who help hold the pieces together."

Building What He Needed

When COVID isolated everyone, Keith started convening men’s circles – not as an expert, but as a fellow traveler. The Integrated Man program emerged from simple questions:

• What if we stopped pretending to have it figured out?

• How do we honor both our strength and our tenderness?

As Portland Psychedelic Society president, he avoids cheerleading about substances. "Safety isn’t sexy, but neither are avoidable bad trips. Real community means having hard conversations."

The Work Now

Keith’s current rhythm:

• Writing (keithgilmore.com) about the spaces between philosophy and lived experience

• Facilitating – not as a guru, but as someone who’s still navigating his own "Nietzschean dance"

• Fatherhood – his newest and most humbling initiation

"Alignment isn’t a destination," he reflects. "It’s showing up – for yourself and others – even when the path isn’t clear."