Honoring the Work: Ancient Wisdom in Modern Practice with Nigel Pedlingham & Nina Badoux
What makes a truly great guide? In this episode, Nigel Pedlingham, founder of MAGUEY and Nina Badoux, founder of Nanacatl Healing, share their insights from decades of facilitating deep, transformative experiences. Together, they explore how to hold space for others with compassion, authenticity, and respect, while also caring for yourself as a practitioner.
You’ll learn how to find the right guide, why preparation and integration are vital parts of the process, and how ancient practices can coexist with modern therapeutic models. Nigel and Nina discuss the importance of showing up with humility, staying grounded amidst emotional work, and remembering that true guidance means walking beside someone—not leading them.
Listen to the Full Episode:
What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode:
How to identify and connect with the right psychedelic guide.
What authentic guiding looks and feels like.
Why preparation and integration matter more than the session itself.
How to bring ancient practices into modern frameworks.
How guides maintain presence without projecting their own stories.
Ways to hold space compassionately and responsibly.
How to balance self-care with guiding others.
Why reverence and respect are essential in this work.
Common misconceptions about “woo-woo” spirituality.
How to keep hope and trust in the evolving psychedelic field.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
“We forget to breathe, we breathe too fast, or we take breaths that don't nourish, we make mistakes, or we get quickly tired out. So I think that it's that embodiment of the breath and using that as a companion, as a guide to guide us in how we show up to do this work.” - Nigel Pedlingham
“With giving due respect to the medicine we're working with, these processes are also way more than just the psychedelic experience. It is the whole triad. We know we can give lip service to preparation and integration, but the way one prepares and the way one integrates is so valuable. I'm hopefully enabling people to have access to a suite of tools which they can take with them in the long run.” - Nigel Pedlingham
“Keep hope and keep trusting. It's always very difficult for us humans, because we're only here for such a short amount of time in this lifetime, to be able to see outside of ourselves and to see outside of this linear frame of time that has been put out for us… So can we not lose hope and trust that whatever bricks we are laying down, that there's a reason for them, and that the pattern will emerge.” - Nina Badoux
