Assuming that you have done your research to determine if this ceremony is for you, there is some info to know and a recommended check list to do, to determine the competency and suitability of a Facilitator. Most Facilitators should be happy to discuss any issues or questions you may have before you choose to participate in a ceremony. Also do your research, talk or PM people directly who have done ceremony with this person, check their FB profile, read their posts, feel them out.

An important aspect of choosing a Practitioner is to not give your power away. Set your perimeters. If you don’t want something, say it at the beginning. It’s your body and soul not theirs. Ultimate responsibility rests with you. If you don’t want any intervention like touch, bells, drums, chanting, electrical devices, water in the mouth or rapeh, then state it in the beginning. If you don’t, the practitioner may think you are just resisting the process and may try to push you through it. Suggested reading to familiarise yourself with the ceremony is the Conclaves paper on “Best Practice” “Integration” and “Ethics” https://theconclave.info

Questions you could ask a prospective Facilitator:

What is your training and with whom?

How many times have you had and served the sacrament?

Do you have any other background healing modality or skill set that may aid you in your work?

Do you have a current First aid and CPR Certificate?

Are you using the pure molecule or Toad medicine. If its Toad, do you know if the medicine has been respectfully collected?

How will the ceremony be conducted? eg, outside, standing up, group circle or one-on-one session?

What kind of dosage will you serve and do you do multiple rounds to build to a full experience or go directly into a “full release”?

What preparation and/or integration support do you offer?

Following is a draft of some “Minimum Safety guidelines for serving 5/Bufo” that seems to be constantly evolving. You could ask the prospective Facilitator if they agree to all, or some of these points. These are not meant to be rules they are simply guidelines. Most Facilitators serve differently and responsibly. These guidelines, have been crafted over the last 5 years of observing potentially unsafe practices and noting how to assist the initiate better.

1 That the practitioner has studied the “Best Practice” and “Integration” guidelines written by ‘The Conclave’ that are available online.

2 That the practitioner conducts a thorough medical and spiritual survey to determine the stability of the initiate and knows of any possible contraindications.

3 That the practitioner or the assistant is qualified in first aid and CPR and has an up to date certificate.

4 That ceremony is conducted in a private, safe and respectful setting.

5 That the practitioner will not do anything without prior informed consent.

6 That a measured amount of sacrament is offered and there is discussion beforehand about the amount the initiate wants.

7 That the practitioner will be attentive to the initiates needs and safety till the process feels complete.

8 That the practitioner only intervene physically when really necessary or with prior agreement.

9 That no rapeh is used while the initiate is not consciously aware and in control of their body functions.

10 That no water is poured into the mouth or nose during ceremony.

11 No electric shock device is used unless its a Defibrillator in an emergency..

12 That if intervention is required due to safety issues, that parameters and preparations are worked out first.

13 That adequate integration advice is offered on the day.

14 Follow up, check in, contact is made within a week of the ceremony.

15 If the initiate is having issues with integration that the practitioner doesn’t have the experience to deal with, that they supply the initiate with contacts of people who can help and that they don’t abandon the initiate.

16 That the practitioner has studied and extensively learnt and worked with other practitioners.

17 That the practitioner is open to feed back and peer review.

18 That the practitioner sets up some sort of support network should it be needed, eg, share personal contact details or pass on links to social media forums for participants.

19 That a practitioner refrain from any sexual interaction with the client for minimum period of a month preferably longer as there is likely to be a power imbalance and client may mistake the message with the messenger.

20 If the Facilitator is of the opposite sex there will be a third person present during the ceremony.