always held a soft spot for veterans, especially after working with so many veteran cannabis activists over the years, and many others before that who lifted me out of ruts in life.
Tom Presnell
As Presnell( on left) began explaining the origins of his Chen-style Tai Chi, I immediately regretted letting my workout regimen slip to the wayside over the past few months, listening to this formidable person.“ I do Tai Chi seven days a week, plus Sunday,” Presnell said, as the regret inside me deepened.
After saluting a picture of Chen Tai Chi’ s Grand Master, Chen Wang Ting, and going through some warmup exercises, my nerves subsided, realizing the class was filled with beginners just like me. During the remainder of the class, Presnell taught us the first six movements of Lao Jia( meaning old form 1) in four directions. There are 74 total moves in the Lao Jia Old Form 1, also considered Soft. There is also Old Form 2, Cannon Fist Lao Jia 2, with 54 movements considered Forceful.
“ For the experienced, it takes 15 – 20 minutes to do the full 74 moves in Lao Jia Old Form 1, but it only takes three-and-a-half minutes to go through 54 moves in the Cannon Fist Lao Jia 2,” Presnell later explained to me.
As I was still butchering the first six moves by the time the class was coming to an end, Presnell’ s compassion for newcomers exuded as he explained that he has students who have been in the beginners’ course for over two years.
The biggest takeaway was that if this 75-year-old Vietnam veteran can do these amazing accomplishments despite his age, then so can I. The very next day, I resumed exercising and running, and I plan to go back to his free Chen Tai Chi class at the library next week.
Presnell primarily teaches and trains at the Three Dragons Way under the direction of Head Teacher Master Gary Huff, a former martial arts instructor who holds a 4th-degree or higher black belt in eight different martial arts. www. threedragonsway. com.
Spirit
Psychedelics— Let me start by saying I have had many psychedelic experiences. Some that have taken me to the heavens of the unimaginable, and others that have taken my consciousness to the hells of my darkest shadows. Shrooms and Ketamine have helped me navigate living in this new alcohol-free skin, as I am still adjusting to its fit two years later.
What I had never done until this summer was Bufo. I was attending a church of self-empowerment and healing, and Bufo is their sacrament. Some toads contain a potent secretion in their skin, most notably 5-MeO-DMT, a powerful psychedelic. Almost more importantly than it being my first time with this holistic earth medicine via animals, it was the first time I let anyone else guide me through a spiritual ceremony while on a psychedelic.
Some Bufo ceremonies involve the use of a powerful psychedelic derived from the secretion of the Sonoran Desert toad.
My first Bufo ceremony had some similarities to macrodosing shrooms or Ketamine. The trip only lasted 10 to 20 minutes, during which I watched hundreds of thousands of short video clips of my life, all the way from my childhood until the moments that led me to take the longest inhale I could possibly take of toad secretion.
While I was on my trip, a group of spiritual seekers and leaders surrounded me, not only holding space for me and monitoring my safety, but they were also creating a protective ring of positive energy around me. They also held a mirror in front of my face just before I came out of the journey, and when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was ME smiling at MYSELF!( Something I thought I forgot how to do.)
The trip opened my consciousness to underlying issues that stemmed back to my childhood, and even my mother’ s underlying issues that led to mine. When I came back to planet earth, it was like …. OH …. That’ s why. That’ s where it all started. Let that shit go today( Lt. Sgt.) has become my summer acronym. But you must also know what you are REALLY letting go of.
The other substantial difference between Bufo and the other psychedelics I’ ve had in the past is that Bufo stayed in my system for at least a full week after the initial experience. I had some of the best meditations of my life, as it seemed effortless to drop back into that 10- to 20-minute trip I had taken days previously.
By the time you read this, I will most likely have experienced my second Bufo ceremony, and I am really looking forward to it as I continue to find ways to step out of my comfort zone. In future issues, we will dive further into other psychedelic services and the spiritual leaders who provide them. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, consider working on your own Mind, Body, and Spirit health and wellness journey.
Notice: Bufo ceremonies are gaining popularity as more people explore their potential for healing and spiritual growth, but participants should approach them with supervision, caution, and awareness of the risks involved.
The information contained herein is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, but rather a sharing of knowledge and information based on research and experience. The content is for general informational purposes only. As always, check with your doctor first.
Clayton Stallings is the Director of Sales & Marketing for
The EVOLUTION Magazine
August 2025 29