Anahita Anais is a Multidisciplinary Leadership Advisor, Microdosing Expert, Trauma Healer, and Wisdom Keeper. In her private practice, she helps leaders and executives cultivate lasting vitality, fulfillment, and freedom in service to their legacy and impact. Anahita is also the founder of MicrodoseGuru.com; an integrative microdosing education and resource with the mission of democratizing access to quality psychedelic education and resources for the safe and conscious exploration of psychedelics.
Tell us about your background and upbringing:
I was born and raised in Iran. I was a total nerd growing up and still am in many ways. I felt socially awkward most of my life and that drove me deeper into learning and books.
Having found refuge in books, I was always a dreamer and rebel, knowing that there was more to life than the extremely restrictive lifestyle under the Islamic Republic. When I was 10 years old, I declared that I was going to live in the United States! It took another 9 years and a whole lot of turmoil and chaos, including multiple arrests by the morality police and even jailing and a moral court trial in Iran, before I escaped, landed in a refugee camp in Austria for a year, and finally made it to the US in the July of 2000.
Tell us about your entrepreneurial adventures?
I didn’t choose this path, this path chose me!
When I first came to the US, I was certain that I would follow a career path in the Intelligence Service but life had other plans. Following my graduation from UCLA and a short stint in Washington DC, I returned to California and entered the tech industry for nearly 15 years. Although I absolutely loved my work, my over-achieving tendencies paired with decades of unresolved trauma landed me in chronic pain disability, and burnout.
It was my quest to heal my body without harsh pharmaceuticals that inspired me to study the mind-body connection and integrative medicine. Being a nerd does pay off! The process of healing my body was so profound and empowering revealing the impact of many layers of trauma, programming, lifestyle, and social conditioning that most of us live with and never question until we become desperate. Witnessing this, I made it my mission to help people deprogram their body, mind, and spirit to feel more vital and liberated lives.
Transitioning from a cushy tech job to the entrepreneurial life with a total change in career was definitely challenging; especially the first few years but persistence does pay off. I think so often we think that successful entrepreneurship is about resources and strategy and while these are really important, I found that the most important factor is our mindset, lifestyle, and the people we surround ourselves with. And what dictates these the most? Trauma! This is why I always say that when you’re up to big things in life, healing trauma isn’t optional. This is why my focus is on working with leaders; we need more heart-centered leaders who are creating and leading from a healed and resourced place.
We met through the EPX crew. How did you find your tribe and how has your experience been with them?
At the beginning of every year, I pick a theme and write down my vision for the various aspects of my life. A couple of years ago, I wrote down “epic community” in my vision board. A few months later, as I was feeling into various entrepreneurial communities, I reached out to a couple of friends who had shared with me about EPX years prior. The day I got on a call with the founder of EPX, Paul Kirchoff, I knew right then and there that I had found the perfect community that nurtured and celebrated what I truly value. Joining EPX has been one of the most impactful decisions I’ve ever made. I LOVE this community, the people, the expertise, the generosity, the impact!
What does it mean to be spiritual?
To me, spirituality is about living with awareness, compassion, an abundance mindset, humility, and an open heart. Spirituality is the recognition that we are ever-evolving magnificent works of art in different phases of our evolution and that where we are on our journey is not indicative of our value. That we are ALL worthy by virtue of existing. That perfection is a mirage. That the most valuable things in life aren’t things. That there is so much more to life and reality than can be perceived and measured; that‘s the real magic.
How do you achieve higher consciousness?
As the Persian poet Rumi says “There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground”. For me, the journey has been guided by overcoming adversity, exploring plant medicines, conscious festivals, studying works of spiritual masters, and above all shedding the programming that keeps us limited. As I tell my clients, growth isn’t so much self-development as it is self-dismantlement; a sort of undressing to go back to the purity and possibility that we were born with on a soul level.
Why is gratitude so important?
Gratitude is the highest vibration of all! Gratitude is where spirituality and science meet! It is said that if the only prayer you ever say is “Thank you!”, that is enough. And now science is showing that gratitude literally heals our bodies, minds, and spirits! It increases dopamine and serotonin (happy hormones) production in the brain, and improves sleep and immune system functions to name a few. The law of attraction says “where the attention goes energy flows” so when we are grateful, we are focused on our blessings and create more of them as a result.
One’s reality is achieved through the thoughts one believes in their head. How do you take a thought and manifest it into your dreams?
The more clear we are about what our vision is and why it is important, the more likely we are to manifest it into reality. In my work with leaders, I have a signature process called “Impact Harmonics” which is all about living in impeccable alignment and harmony with our mission and vision; starting from our bodies, minds, and spirit. This means that we must be the living embodiment of our vision and create from that frequency to be effective, efficient, and impactful. For a healthy baby to be born, a very delicate balance is needed in the womb; the same is true for our visions, we must be willing to nurture it with precision and congruency. This is no small task as many of us have been through experiences that have made us doubt our abilities and sabotage our efforts. Manifestation at its core is a practice of healing trauma.
Everyone has a past…sometimes, it can be quite dark. How would you suggest letting go of your past so that you can achieve great results for the future?
As a somatic practitioner, I can tell you that difficult experiences leave a lasting imprint on our nervous systems and bodies and until we release this contraction from the body, we can not live in complete liberation from the past. The body and mind are intricately connected so we must heal both. Somatic practices like trauma release, breathwork, shaking, and art therapies can be incredibly helpful to release trauma from the body. There are many modalities that work with healing trauma from the mind. The most effective system I have found is the conscious and intentional use of psychedelic medicines (in both macro and microdoses) in combination with neural reprogramming frameworks that help stop and rewire old ruminating and negative thought patterns and liberate the individual from the past.
What is the best way of connecting with someone?
Presence! The greatest gift we can offer someone is our undivided attention. I am convinced that deep down, above all, we all want to be seen. So when someone is present with us, is curious about who we are, what our story is, and how we got there, that is medicine to our soul. Presence creates deep connection and safety even amongst people who are very different from one another. I think our world, especially right now, can benefit from more people who are fully present with themselves, with one another, and with the realities of our greatest common challenges.
How would you recommend anybody to take their career to the next level?
Befriend your fears, expect to fail and make a plan to rise again, commit 100% to your vision, surround yourself with positive influences only, let go of the habits, belief systems, influences, and people that no longer serve you, and live as the full embodiment of the version of yourself that you want to become. Time is not linear; once you begin to change, the world around you changes very quickly.
What are your views on psychedelics?
It is not an over-exaggeration to say that psychedelics saved my life. I have spent the better part of the past 15 years immersed in the world of psychedelics; first recreationally for a couple of years but quickly I recognized that they are powerful medicines and technologies here to guide humanity through a grand evolution in consciousness. I have dedicated myself and my career to exploring these medicines, studying with master shamans and teachers, community organizing, serving as the founding board member of a plant medicine church, and most recently working to democratize access to quality education and resources about psychedelics through MicrodoseGuru.com, I also serve as a faulty member at the Plant Spirit School where I train the Psychedelic Integration Coaches in-training on how to work with Microdosing For Trauma.
Do you have any biohacking practices that you do?
While I don’t personally resonate with the language of “hacking”, I do believe that we can optimize our resilience and vitality through daily practices that are best suited to our individual bodies and nervous systems. I’m a big fan of personalized integrative medicine which takes the long sustainable approach to health and performance. For me, this looks like microdosing mushrooms with nootropics (I have a product in the works for post-prohibition), cold showers after my infrared hot yoga classes, breath training, and meditation. I also enjoy sensory deprivation tanks, it’s one of the most profoundly calming experiences for my nervous system. I am also an avid advocate for integrative mental health protocols and have successfully transitioned many clients from chronic pharmaceutical use to holistic alternatives.
Who inspires you?
I am most inspired by the resilience of the human spirit. In my work, I often work with people who have endured unimaginable adversities yet found a way to not only survive but to thrive. These are my people! The radical survivors who no matter how many times they fall, they stand up again smiling. The ones who don’t allow the hardships of life to harden their spirit, the courageous ones who stay open and loving, the ones who recognize that acceptance isn’t defeat, it is wisdom. The ones who are kind and forgiving when needed and fierce and forceful when needed. The unapologetically authentic weirdos! These are my people!
What projects are you working on now?
These days, the bulk of my focus is on growing our community and educational offerings at MicrodoseGuru.com. Our mission is to democratize access to quality psychedelic education and resources with the purpose of serving the public mental health and harm reduction goals. We offer the largest directory of free top-quality educational materials on microdosing anywhere on the web designed to guide and support individuals to start and/or optimize their psychedelic microdosing journey. We’ve got microdosing guides, journals, courses, and personalized integrative microdosing protocols for those who are getting off of medications or just want to take their brain performance to the next level. Later this year, we will also be launching a live group program focused on Microdosing For Leadership, specifically crafted for leaders and executives who are ready to integrate psychedelic wisdom and medicine into their leadership journey.
As a psychedelic medicine woman, music is an integral part of my life personally and professionally so I am also always engaged with a musical project. These days, I am deepening my skills and mastery with the Rav Vast drum; an enchanting instrument from Russia.
What does beauty mean to you?
I love this question! To me, beauty is a reflection of harmony. It is the natural order of creation. It is that which delights, inspires, and consoles. Beauty, in our modern times, has often been distorted to refer to an arbitrary set of qualities often dictated by a narrow perspective and vision of the world as a whole yet true beauty is found in every corner of the world, in the young and old, in representations of life and decay, and in many colors, forms, and shapes.
How would you describe success?
To me, success is the ability to bring a vision to life from a place of harmony without compromising on your health, ethics, and values. I think in our capitalist system, we are often raised to believe that success is about wealth, resources, fame, and prestige. We are often completely unaware of the costs to our bodies, souls, relationships, society, and the planet.
In my work with leaders and executives, I almost exclusively work with individuals who are “successful” by our society’s standards but very often, 20 years into a successful career, they find themselves unfulfilled. Sometimes they are dealing with chronic health challenges stemming from chronic stress and hyper-achieving, sometimes they are not fulfilled in their relationships because of decades of prioritizing work and “success” over all else, and other times they are simply exhausted from catering to the seemingly endless sense of not-enoughness. When we get to redefine what success is for ourselves and revisit that every year, we are empowered to adjust our sail to arrive at fulfillment more consistently. So I guess perhaps success is best described as a true sense of fulfillment.
Where can we find you?
You can find me on IG @microdoseguru and @anahita_anais
If you’re curious about microdosing, then head out to www.MicrodoseGuru.com and grab our Free Mindful Microdosing eBook.
If you’re a leader or executive looking for 1:1 performance & psychedelic exploration support; I take on a select few private VIP clients each year. You can learn more about my work and apply to work with me at www.AnahitaAnais.com
