Clubhouse Membership Led to Transformational Enlightenment
Over the course of five days
I stayed up until 1am listening to a real time conversation about racism and white privilege.
It was one of the most powerful and engaging discussions I’ve heard in a very long time. It was hosted by a club called “Black School for White People” and was moderated by the fascinating and brilliant Ms. Queenie Johnson. I wish I could link to it here, but outside of Clubhouse she is not easily searchable.
The conversations in that room were so important, and lasted for over five hours. I popped in around 10pm, and was held captive by the inclusive energy, smart dialogue, and powerful race-related discussions. The question posed was, “how do you have uncomfortable conversations about race?”
One by one white people entered the stage and awkwardly addressed the question. And every single time they were received with grace and patience and acceptance — it was a mesmerizing thing. Ms. Queenie continued to keep the room energy positive, she navigated through the audience with intention and incredible detail. The energy it takes to hold that space is extremely taxing, and the moderators pulled it off so eloquently.
This was a turning point for me. Until then I was really on the fence about the new social media app Clubhouse. I was invited by my local acupuncture goddess, who has helped me with multiple health issues. I trust her. But my first couple of days on the app were non eventful. I saw a lot of marketing, branding, NFT enthusiasts, “grow your social”, “grow your network”, etc BS that I just didn’t want to engage in.
I’m a small business owner, but on a social and recreational level, I just don’t want to constantly talk about industry.
I clicked into some of the sober communities on the Clubhouse app, and to be honest I was not that inspired. I am newly sober and many of the guests in the rooms are longtime sober superstars. One question posed in a sober room was, “what activity is better doing it sober?”, well duh — even as a novice in the field I know that the answer is — just about everything — every activity is better sober — because you can feel it, enjoy it, remember it, and have the desire to do it.
The most unexpected space which led me to the most drastic change of opinion toward the Clubhouse app was the discovery of a community of psychedelic plant medicine thought leaders and advanced human behavioral study gurus. After tapping in to the daily Psychedelic Clubhouse conversations I am on a completely new yet destined path to enlightenment.
Do you see that? I’m even speaking differently now.
I may not have known that I wanted to learn about microdosing, magic plant medicine, psychedelic ritual, mental health applications, and ayahuasca protection for local indigenous tribes — I now need to know all of the information. I signed up for a free 8 day microdosing course and I am tuning into a podcast called The Psychedelic Space.
Some of the smartest and most experienced people in any chosen industry or topic are on Clubhouse sharing their space and knowledge for free. And there is ample opportunity to share your own experience, and to be received with compassion and understanding — a truly remarkable endeavor for a social media app.
The downfalls — there is some junk on the platform. You have to be weary of multi-level marketing schemes, and people who expect payment for their time. It can also be really addicting. I find myself spending too much time on the app, scrolling and searching for conversations, when I should be doing other important ‘real life’ things. You cannot DM through the app. So to continue the conversation IRL with another user you have to go through IG or Twitter, which makes me think that this app is in bed with the uber app Facebook (of which I broke up with in 2017). Also, the notifications are not curated, and the ‘hallway’ doesn’t seem to have much of an algorithm. You can follow different users and clubs, but because of its volume, it’s hard to pinpoint when those clubs start rooms. It’s a mishmash of everything.
The app is in beta and apparently updates are happening often. I have that sick feeling that it may turn into a trash dump (like Facebook did) but even if I left Clubhouse tomorrow there would be some measurable value to my life—maybe some new doors unlocked, new ideas to explore.
I’m still a new user with a party hat (who knows when that is removed??), but the amount of knowledge and information I’ve received has already been so insightful. I am surprised by the direction it has led me. I joined looking for a sober community and ended up learning about psychedelics on a micro level. I feel like it may have just expedited my path to higher awareness and understanding. I’ve tripped before, using these drugs a very long time ago— recreationally — but to think that at very small careful levels they could help with my panic and anxiety disorder is mind bending, and hopeful.
And I’m here for it.
