From War Zones to Wellness: Neil Markey’s Journey Through Psychedelics and Purpose

Frank Roller (POH): So nice to meet you – how often do you go to the Beckley Retreats?

Neil (Beckley Retreats): I go a few times a year. We run about 30 retreats annually, so I’m not at all of them anymore—though I used to be, especially in the early days. Now I’m more focused on getting the word out that we exist.

Frank: Let’s just dive in then. Let’s start with your background—what was your path before Beckley Retreats?

Neil: It’s a long and winding road. I’ll give you the short version, and you can dive deeper wherever you like. I was doing my undergrad when September 11th happened. Long story short, I joined the service—one tour in Iraq and two in Afghanistan with a special mission unit. I got out in 2012. Then I went to grad school. I was doing well academically but struggling emotionally—sleep issues, anger, drinking too much. I tried anti-anxiety meds but nothing really worked. Then I discovered meditation—and it came at exactly the right time. That completely changed things for me.

Over time, I learned to live differently—more connected to myself and to nature. Through that meditation network, I had professionally guided psychedelic experiences around 2015. Those were big for me.

After that, I had a six-year corporate career. Some of it was with McKinsey; some in private equity restructurings—which I call bare-knuckle capitalism. I drifted off-path. And by the end of that period, despite the success, I felt just as lost as I did after leaving the military. That’s when I realized I had to make a change.

Frank: And that’s when Amanda Fielding came into the picture?

Neil: Yeah. Amanda was incredible—she just passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Frank: How did you first hear about her?

Neil: After I left the corporate world, I took time off, went back to teaching meditation. I was in Mexico, spending time with the Huichol people—using plants intentionally again. Friends would come visit and I’d connect them with rituals.

That’s when I started thinking, “Maybe I can work in this field professionally.” The world is shifting—more people are curious, and I saw a need for someone to bridge the gap between traditional business and these healing practices. So I started reaching out—talking to people, including health-focused VCs—but nothing clicked.

Then I reconnected with a mentor from grad school. She said, “You should talk to Dan Love—you went to school together. He’s doing something weird like you.” Turns out Dan was a founding partner with Amanda Fielding and her philanthropic circle. They had just launched Beckley Waves, which was making early investments in building infrastructure for the psychedelic space. When we connected, it was clear: they had been looking for someone like me, and I had been looking for them. And that’s how we started Beckley Retreats.

Frank: Coming back to the questioning of life—questioning what you’re doing—what was your first psychedelic experience like? What was the revelation or big moment for you?

Neil: For me, it was a lot of central nervous system stuff. I felt like I could finally take a deep breath—like, really breathe for the first time in a while. I could unclench my fists and just be in a peaceful state.

I had a few things come back to me during those first sessions—though they all kind of blur together now. I’d made a lot of progress through meditation, but there were still things I hadn’t let go of or wasn’t aware of. For example, I realized that sometimes when we were sleeping overseas, we’d get rocketed. You’d wake up to explosions, race to get your boots on, and run for the bunkers. I didn’t even realize how deeply that was stored in my body. But it was there—lodged in my gut, wired into my nervous system. That’s why I couldn’t sleep. I was in a state of alert even when I was trying to rest.

Once I saw that during a journey, I could start to unwind. I could tell myself, “There are no bombs. It’s okay. You can sleep now.” That kind of insight really changed things. But healing isn’t a straight line—you can regress. Still, over time, I’ve noticed the overall trend has been positive. You just have to stick with it. You have to keep doing the work—stay committed to the practices that support your well-being.

Frank: It’s all about the practice.

Neil: Exactly.

Frank: So with psychedelics, did you mostly work with mushrooms? Or did you try other plant medicines as well?

Neil: I started with mushrooms and ketamine. Over the years, I’ve tried a few others. I’ve never done ibogaine, though I’d like to. I think they all have a place and can bring value—it just depends on how they’re used and the intention behind them. They carry risk, of course. You can use them mindlessly—just like anything else. People sometimes chase the high or use them too frequently. That’s not the point. The plants aren’t the solution in themselves—they’re a tool. So I always say: use them with reverence and intention.

Frank: Totally agree,  and use them with deep respect. 

There’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask: Do you think reality is just a projection of the mind?

Neil: I think there’s a field—an energetic, informational field—that’s structured. Many people have called that thing God. And you can have a relationship with it. The nature of that relationship depends on what you put in your body, what you consume through your senses, how you live. That field, or presence, comes up through us—from small to big—and manifests in the world. Your thoughts influence it. We’re part of it. We inform it, and it informs us. We’re a subset of something greater.

Does that mean you can make things materialize in front of you? I don’t know. But you can absolutely affect the probability of things entering your orbit. There’s research on this—like random number generator studies—showing that intention can shift outcomes.

Frank: Since you have a deep meditation practice, you’re probably familiar with the concept of Maya in Indian philosophy—the idea that everything is an illusion. That what we experience is just a filtered frequency our mind picks up. So some people live in harmony, and others live in hell—all depending on what their mind projects.

Neil: Right. If you look at the material world at its smallest scale, it dissolves into energy and probability. At the atomic level, everything breaks down—electrons are just clouds of potential, not fixed points. So yes, in a way, it’s an illusion. Some physicists even say we might be inside black holes, or that black holes make up the foundational structure of reality. So your mind is filtering that vastness—it’s only seeing a sliver.

We all filter differently, but collectively, we manifest a kind of shared objective reality. I don’t have total control over it,—but I am part of it.

Frank: And if reality is an illusion—or a mental projection—how do you find value in it?

Neil: If I were an infinite being—where everything that could ever be done was already done—I think I’d want to create these kinds of realities. Ones where not everything is everything. Where there’s time. Where there are experiences, and challenges, and ups and downs. I think it’s through those finite journeys that we learn, evolve, and grow. That’s where the value lies.

Frank: Coming back to Beckley Retreats—you describe it as “science-backed psychedelic healing combined with ancient contemplative practices” on your website. What does that actually mean?

Neil : We’re really trying to find a balance—this sweet spot between scientific rigor and professional standards, without stripping away the artistry.

Because there’s something essential in the beauty, intentionality, closeness to nature, and the natural flow of the experience. That’s a very different environment from a sanitized doctor’s office—though we’re supportive of that model too. It’s just a different approach for different outcomes and states of being. To give you a sense of how we bring science into what we do: our program is built from an interdisciplinary perspective. We looked at adult learning, habit change science, functional health—basically, everything we could find on what helps people be well—and we built it into a structure that helps participants learn new skills alongside the psychedelic experience.

When it comes to the actual ceremonies, we spent time interviewing people with deep experience across different cultural contexts. We looked for what resonated with Western psychotherapy and what made sense intuitively and practically. It’s a thoughtfully constructed, integrative health program—not just about the mystical peak experiences. We want people to come away with sustainable tools for long-term well-being.

We also collect data. We use validated, non-clinical instruments and we’ve partnered with institutions like Yale and Johns Hopkins. We collect pre-retreat, post-retreat, and follow-up data. We look at the changes—this person went from here to there—and we ask, “Why didn’t they go further? What helped? What didn’t?”

We feed that data back into the program. We’re constantly refining, based on both quantitative and qualitative feedback. We’ve also spent countless hours consulting with indigenous leaders—real elders who have preserved these traditions for generations. We asked, “Here’s what we want to do. Can you guide us? How do we do this respectfully? How can we ensure this doesn’t infringe on your values and lineage?”

Of course, not everyone will agree with us. There will always be some who don’t think we should be running mushroom programs at all. But I believe we’ve done a really good job engaging with many different stakeholders, trying to build something beautiful—with care and integrity. And it’s not a clinical, doctor’s-office experience. We play live music. There’s a natural flow. We have structured protocols for safety and consistency, but we also allow facilitators the freedom to respond to the energy of the group. So it doesn’t feel overly “Mckinseyed,” if you know what I mean.

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Frank: How do people prepare before they come to a Beckley retreat? What’s the process leading up to it?

Neil: Great question. Our standard program is a five-night retreat with two psilocybin sessions. But preparation actually starts about a month before the retreat.

We hold a few group Zoom sessions beforehand—so participants meet each other, start building group trust, and get introduced to the facilitators. That creates a sense of safety and connection even before they arrive. They also get access to our app and content library, which includes structured modules. We teach meditation, mindful movement, breathwork, how to set intentions, and simple but powerful tools like gratitude practice. These are evidence-based techniques—nothing fancy, but incredibly effective if practiced consistently.

The key is that the psychedelic experience often opens people up in a profound way. That openness makes it much more likely they’ll adopt new habits like daily meditation or journaling—things that have a real long-term benefit. Once they arrive, we revisit these practices in a beautiful setting—there’s great food, a digital detox, and space to truly unwind.

After the retreat, we continue with six weeks of digital follow-up. There’s more content, group check-ins, accountability partnerships—like, “Hey, is your buddy still doing what they committed to?” And after those six weeks, we’re building out more long-term ways for people to stay connected and support each other.

Ideally, we’d love to see these retreat centers located closer to the communities that use them—staffed by people from those communities. Over time, you’d build a local network of alumni who meditate together, support one another, and create wellness culture from the ground up.

Frank: And if you just think back historically, I think that’s the closest thing to human DNA—this idea of community.

Neil: Yes.

Frank: We’re living in a time of self-isolation, where everyone is constantly chasing something. And with the constant consumption of digital content, we’ve lost that essential one-on-one or group experience that’s so vital to our species.

Neil: We really believe in the group model. It’s not for everyone or for every situation, but for what many people are looking for, it makes a lot of sense. A lot of the benefit comes from authentic, raw human connection—something that’s unfortunately a bit rare in daily life.

Frank: What would you say to someone who’s afraid to try psychedelics? Someone who says, “I’m scared I’ll mess up my brain chemistry”?

Neil: First off, these experiences aren’t for people who don’t want to do them. If it doesn’t feel intuitive, I don’t think you should try to convince yourself otherwise. But if the hesitation is based on fear—like not wanting to “lose your mind”—then I’d encourage people to look at the actual research. A lot of the fear we carry as a society isn’t grounded in real data. The idea that mushrooms or LSD are these dangerous boogeymen just isn’t true.

Yes, you can have a traumatic experience if you take a large dose in the wrong setting, without support—but if you’re thoughtful, and you get the medicine from a trusted source, and you’re in a safe environment with good people, it can be done very safely. If you compare the health risks of psychedelics in a controlled environment to many of the things we do every day—like driving a car, or drinking alcohol with friends at a bar—psychedelics are far less risky.

Mushrooms, in particular, are non-toxic and even neuroregenerative. Unlike many pharmaceuticals that are hard on the liver or toxic to the body, mushrooms don’t carry that burden. But they do need to be used with care and intention. In my opinion—and of course, everyone should make their own decision—the potential upside far outweighs the downside. There’s always risk, but the benefits can be profound.

Frank: Coming back to another very popular plant medicine—ayahuasca /DMT. What’s your take on how those compare to mushrooms? Are they complementary? Are they totally different?

Neil: To me, they’re more similar than different. I’d put them in the same general category.

That said, mushrooms are much more well-tolerated. In an ayahuasca ceremony with, say, 15 people, many of them will get physically sick—vomiting, discomfort, intense body sensations. It’s part of the process, but it’s intense. In a group of 15 doing mushrooms, especially if they’re prepared properly, it’s a very different story. Maybe one person will feel a bit of nausea, but it’s rare that half the group gets sick. It’s generally easier on the body.

In terms of the experience itself, it depends on many factors: the dose, the setting, the facilitation. Those variables shape the journey. For us, mushrooms are better researched, more widely documented, and generally more consistent in terms of outcomes. They’re also more accessible and raise fewer concerns when it comes to cultural and supply chain implications—especially around indigenous communities.

So for Beckley, mushrooms work really well. That’s where we’ve chosen to focus. I absolutely think there’s value in ayahuasca, but if someone is just starting out, I usually suggest beginning with mushrooms. It’s a gentler entry point—but of course, everyone has to follow their own path.

Frank: So what’s your take on another big trend—microdosing? It pops up everywhere now, especially online. But it’s often unsupervised and heavily advertised. What’s your perspective on that?

Neil : I believe in scientific research, but I also know that it can be limited—often for a lot of different reasons. And right now, the studies we have on microdosing suggest it’s no better than placebo. But I think that’s because we’re not getting the right kind of data in the right way. My personal opinion is that there is some benefit to microdosing—especially if you’re using it as a complement to practices like yoga, meditation, or time in nature. I think of it more as an accelerant or an opener.

If you just take it and go about your day—drinking alcohol, eating poorly—it might not do much. But if you use it in a reverent way, it can have an impact. These compounds don’t only work biologically; they do something on the consciousness or spiritual level, something at the biofield level. That’s fundamentally different.

So, in my view, your intentionality, your mindset, and your buy-in really matter. If you approach it in the right way, there’s likely some real benefit—we just haven’t collected the data to prove it yet.

Frank: What’s next for Beckley Retreats? Any plans for expansion?

Neil: Yes—some exciting things are in motion. Our vision is to have a network of centers, globally, wherever we can be helpful.

There are already a lot of teams and centers that would rather focus on in-person work. If we can help them with things like screening, customer acquisition, preparation, and follow-up, that could make a great partnership. We’d help raise the standards to a world-class level while letting them focus on what they love—working with people.

We see a future where we have partnerships like that all over the world. Some are already lined up for later this year, and a few of them will probably surprise people—which is exciting. So part of the future is doing more of what we’re doing now, in more places. The other part is really about helping people thrive. If there’s a modality or intervention that fits our model and genuinely helps people, we want to be able to offer it. For example, I always come back to gut health. Meditation is powerful—but if someone’s gut is completely out of balance, and they feel exhausted all the time, it’s hard to adopt any new habits. You just feel terrible, and you can’t meditate your way out of that. Maybe a few people can, but most can’t. You need a direct approach.

You have to work from both ends—from the biological and from the emotional/spiritual. If we could assess someone’s gut health at the start of a program and, alongside the neuro-emotional work, recommend a diet or supplements to fix the imbalance, that would be powerful. I think we’ll start layering in those kinds of approaches as we go.

Frank: Do you think there are enough trained people out there to support this kind of scaling? You’re working with people’s lives—it’s not just about handing out pills. Is there enough manpower behind it?

Neil: For facilitatorst? Yes, we’re building that as we go. We’re not in a rush—it’s going to take time. But part of our plan is to build a talent pipeline, or at least recruit, screen, and train the right people. There are already a lot of people with the right “intrinsics.” People who have done personal work, who are grounded, connected to nature and spirit—long-term meditators or people who’ve walked the path for years. With those kinds of people, you can teach them what they need to know in a relatively short period. And a lot of the work is just about being able to sit and be present.

Frank: I ask because, with your McKinsey background, you know that the corporate world is all about scaling. But as we both know, the moment you scale, you risk losing the magic.

Neil: Totally. You lose some of the quality, too. I think there’s a middle path. You probably lose something any time you scale—but there are also places that have figured out how to keep the magic. For us, it’s about maintaining quality. We want to have centers with local ownership, local participation, and where we support from a distance. It’s not a cookie-cutter, top-down thing—that’s not interesting to us.

Think about the Vipassana network of meditation centers. They each have their own flair, they’re locally run, but they share a standard around the content. That’s more the model we’re looking at.

Frank: What you guys are doing is fantastic. I think it’s so important—especially with the current state of humanity. Mental health is a major issue, and it’s only getting more complicated, especially with this wave of AI coming in.

Neil: Totally.

Frank Roller: Thank you so much. This has been really wonderful.

Neil: Thank you, Frank. I appreciate it.

While speaking with Neil, our eyes caught a poster on his wall. The words on it stayed with us, and we felt called to share them.

St. Theresa’s Prayer

May today there be peace within you.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born in faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. 

It is there for each and every one of us.

Amen.