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Cipher_4
Raad Seraj
May 26, 2025
You came to MOSAIC and now you’re part of the cipher, a bi-weekly dispatch on culture, psychedelics, community — decoded.
Table of Contents
TLDR: MOSAIC S2E2 is in full swing — Tier 1 is gone, Tier 2 is live, and the referral portal is open for those who know just the right weirdos to bring into the room. This issue profiles the rhythm-makers and medicine-movers behind the night, plus a band that might accidentally cause a small, joyful riot. In Altered States Weekly: psilocybin shakes up religion, ayahuasca reminds us the Earth is watching, and music under psychedelics goes from background noise to soul-language. You’ll want to read this before it dissolves.
🔮 MOSAIC Season 2 Episode 2 // June 12th
MOSAIC S2E2 is officially live — and Tier 1 tickets disappeared faster than my last attempt at mindfulness on a Monday morning. Tier 2 is now open and also going fast. This episode is built around the ancient, wildly underrated power of music, movement, and expression — the kind that predates language, outlasts empires, and doesn’t care if you’ve done your inner work yet. In a world obsessed with optimization and self-surveillance, we’re carving out space to sweat, shake, shout, and feel something real. This isn’t about performance — it’s about presence. And maybe, just maybe, dancing your way back to yourself.
Here’s who’s helping us hold the beat, move the room, and make it meaningful.
Kiyoshi Nagata — Rhythm as Medicine
To witness taiko drumming is to feel rhythm in your bones. Originating in ancient Japan, taiko was used to summon gods, signal armies, and synchronize communities. It’s music as movement — physical, expressive, and deeply communal. In a world that pulls us into disconnection and disembodiment, taiko brings us back to rhythm, breath, and presence. It aligns with everything MOSAIC stands for: music, movement, and expression as portals to healing and collective remembering.
That’s why we’re honoured to welcome Kiyoshi Nagata to MOSAIC S2E2. With a career spanning four decades, Kiyoshi is a master of the form — founder of Nagata Shachu, international performer, educator, and most recently, music producer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. His work bridges tradition and innovation, reminding us that rhythm isn’t just sound — it’s lineage, it’s language, it’s medicine.
Erin Cochrane — Somatics and Sacred Space
In a world that keeps us stuck in our heads, disconnected from our bodies, somatic practices offer a way back — to presence, regulation, and real connection. Science now echoes what ancient traditions have always known: that movement, breath, and embodied expression are powerful tools for releasing trauma and restoring wholeness. Healing doesn’t just happen through insight — it happens through sensation.
That’s why we’re excited to welcome Erin Cochrane to MOSAIC S2E2. As a psychedelic guide and lead facilitator at Othership — the Toronto-based collective known for turning breathwork and sauna into communal ritual — Erin leads experiences that reconnect people to the wisdom of their bodies. Her work blends somatics, emotional attunement, and sacred medicine to remind us that healing isn’t something we think through. It’s something we move through.
Dr. Sabrina Akhtar — A Clinical Lens on Psychedelic Care
Canada is fast becoming a global leader in psychedelic research, with Toronto’s University Health Network (UHN) at the forefront. Through its Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Group, UHN is exploring how psilocybin can support people facing depression, end-of-life anxiety, and other complex mental health challenges. This work is reshaping how we think about care — not just as symptom management, but as a holistic process that includes movement, expression, and the full spectrum of human experience.
Dr. Sabrina Akhtar is a family physician and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, with a special interest in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She joined UHN’s Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Group in 2023 as the medical lead for the Special Access Program Clinic, bringing deep experience in primary care, palliative medicine, and community-based health. At MOSAIC S2E2, she brings a clinical lens to our exploration of how psychedelics — when supported by practices like music and movement — can unlock new pathways to healing.
SHOUT! — The Riot Starts Here
To close out the night, we’re handing the reins to SHOUT! — one of Toronto’s most electrifying brass party band. This 12-piece powerhouse brings the kind of energy that can crack open a room and get even the most stuck-in-spreadsheet-mode among us moving. With members from Ghana to Argentina and a résumé that includes Coachella, The Wu-Tang Clan, and Anderson .Paak, SHOUT! doesn’t just play music — they summon it like a collective ritual.
Expect rhythm, sweat, joy, and just the right amount of chaos. This isn’t just a set. Bring shoes you can dance in — or none at all.
🎙️ MOSAIC Referral Program
The right vibe at Mosaic isn’t something we manufacture. Mosaic runs on referrals. Always has. Always will. This isn’t about algorithms or ad spend — it’s about you. Every person who finds their way here through a friend brings something essential: trust, alignment, curiosity, and connection. That’s what makes Mosaic feel like something more than just an event. It’s how we keep the signal clean.
Now that Tier 2 tickets for S2E2 are open, we’re counting on you to bring in the next wave.
📨 Here’s how to invite your friends on Luma:
After buying your ticket, head to the Mosaic S2E2 event page on Luma.
Click the “Invite Friends” button near the RSVP.
Share your unique link with people you genuinely want in the room.
That’s it. You’re building the circle.
Perks for Top Referrers
To sweeten the deal, the top referrers will receive gifts from our friends at Sero and MicroDays. Think of it as gratitude, not bribery.
So if you’ve ever said, “You have to come to this,” — now’s your moment. Help build the room you want to be in.
🌱 The Extended Mix // Spotlights from the Community
The 2025 Canadian Psychedelic Summit
From August 13–17, leaders in psychedelic healing, research, and culture will gather where the forest meets the ocean — on the bioluminescent shores of Cortes Island at Hollyhock, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. But the setting isn’t just scenic — it’s ceremonial. The land is part of the medicine.
Now in its fourth year, the Canadian Psychedelic Summit is one of the few gatherings truly led by Indigenous voices, with a focus on land-based learning, relational ethics, and collective vision. Facilitated by Kim Haxton and featuring guests like Suni Sonqo Vizcarra Wood and Erika Dyck, the Summit centers integrity over hype — and transformation over trend.
Mission Club returns for the fourth time as proud partners and advisor, because this space continues to shape us. If you care about where the movement is headed — and who gets to shape it — this is a gathering to pay attention to.
✨ Altered States Weekly // Psychedelic research, rituals, and real-world impact
A landmark study gave psilocybin to 30 religious leaders—many called it one of the most profound spiritual experiences of their lives. Some went on to found psychedelic ministries. The experiment is now raising big questions about faith, ethics, and the future of religion.
Ashaninka leader Benki Piyãko uses ayahuasca not as escape, but as communion—with the forest, with spirit, and with responsibility. As psychedelics gain popularity in the West, he reminds us: true healing means remembering the Earth is alive, and acting like it.
Recent phenomenological study reveals that, during psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, music is radically transformed from ordinary recorded sound into deeply personal, multisensory experiences that feel internally generated and profoundly meaningful to participants. This challenges the conventional view of music as a passive treatment tool.
📡 Transmissions // What Our Friends Think
“Last night was so much fun…the food and drinks were incredible. The people were so kind and interesting. It feels like we don't get these opportunities to meet new people and have deeper conversations. Not once did someone ask someone else what they did for work, instead we talked about who we are as people outside of it. Of course, we made quick friends within the community. I was buzzing on my way home, you guys are really doing something special here.”
📡 Low-Key Loud
No website. No ads. No culty group chat. Just good people, doing real shit. If you believe in what we’re building — help us keep it strange, sacred, and sustainable.
Show up. Share it. Tell one person who gets it. That’s how this grows.
