#373- Out of the Ayahuasca Closet

This is not a normal episode of Nonprofit Lowdown. In this one, I’m sharing something deeply personal: my experience with ayahuasca and why it mattered so much to me as a nonprofit leader. From the outside, my life looked great. The business was working. The mission was working. I was working. But joy wasn’t part of the equation. I talk about burnout that doesn’t look like collapse—but like numbness. About over-functioning becoming a leadership identity. About how so many of us in the nonprofit sector are competent, ethical, respected… and quietly exhausted. I share why I chose a medically licensed ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica, and how the experience helped me move from self-surveillance to self-trust. This episode isn’t about telling you to do ayahuasca. It’s about asking a bigger question:What happens when being “good” replaces being whole? If you’re a nonprofit leader who feels like the hallway monitor—holding it all together while losing touch with yourself—this one’s for you. Healing isn’t a detour from leadership. It’s part of it. Important Links Retreat: How to Train ChatGPT: ⁠ My Big Ask Gifts Program: ⁠ My Book, Get That Money Honey: ⁠ My Newsletter: ⁠

You can listen to #373- Out of the Ayahuasca Closet online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

#373- Out of the Ayahuasca Closet is an episode from Nonprofit Lowdown by Rhea Wong.

This episode is 00:34:06 long.

This episode was published on Jan 26, 2026.

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