Supporting our Veterans, First Responders, and their families in finding hope, purpose, and growth through ancient healing and sacred communion.
The thing that stuck with me from that first experience was that I did not want to die anymore...
Justin LaPree
Founder and President
Helping You Heal
Up to 44 veterans take their lives each day.
That’s one suicide every 33 minutes.
More police officers and firefighters die by suicide than on active duty.
88% of veterans’ caregivers experience increased stress or anxiety.
Trauma is not the events that you have experienced. Trauma is how the body stores these events in your body, creating subconscious behaviors in response to these events.
It feels isolating. Like no one else has ever experienced this before. And while no one else may have witnessed the same events as you, your fellow veterans and first responders have stored these events similarly throughout their bodies.
The isolation, flashbacks, and mental harm caused by these events may lead you to believe you don’t belong here. You feel hopeless when conventional medicine has failed you. You may consider how to end your life just so the pain stops.
That’s why we’re here.
Our sacred medicine ceremonies help you dig deep into yourself to seek healing, truth, reflection, and community for personal transformation. With thorough preparation and integration support with each sacred healing ceremony, our facilitators help you explore alternative healing options — sacred entheogens, breathwork, yoga + meditation, and immersive sound healing — to help you rewire how your body has processed trauma.
We help you break free from these barriers and empower you alongside your healing journey.
Testimonial
“I’d be in therapy 3 days a week for 2 years, but I still wanted to kill myself. This program helped me reframe my life. I was living a victim’s story and realized I could live a hero’s story.”
— Brad, Army Veteran & Firefighter
Our Mission
We are committed to creating a world free of suicide. A world where veterans and first responders receive the care they deserve to heal from trauma and repair their lives.
We believe in cultivating a sense of unity to build a strong community through mutual support, compassion for one another, and our shared experiences.
Illuminating Heroes is a nonprofit sanctuary protected by religious freedom, on a mission to help veterans and first responders have access to spiritual healing and transformation. If you have served or are currently serving your nation or community, you deserve the opportunity to heal here in America. Founded by Marine and former Austin firefighter Justin LaPree, our sanctuary offers a space to restore your well-being, create an intentional and empowered life, and develop community along the way. We serve as a compass on your path of self-discovery to connect with yourself, your spirit, and those surrounding you.
We understand the toll that misalignment with your physical self and spiritual self can take in your daily life – from relationships to traumatic career experiences. We also understand how conventional medicine only treats symptoms instead of seeing a person as a whole body. A body with physical, emotional, and spiritual elements.
Many of our facilitators are veterans, first responders, or affiliated with the military. We understand the specific struggles you deal with on a daily basis and how it has impacted your wellbeing. We believe in creating community, visibility, and a healing space for you
This healing could be just what you need if you:
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Are a naturally curious person and want deeper personal development
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Are feeling frustrated with or failed by the wellness status quo's limiting support
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Have internal blocks and can’t seem to break through
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Want to heal deep traumas and limiting beliefs
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Understand your spiritual truth is a key component of overall wellbeing
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Want a built-in community to support and feel supported by along this journey
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Are a veteran or first responder and are seeking to heal from trauma
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Provide personal care for a veteran or first responder
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Have a family member who is a veteran or first responder
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Have lost a family member to suicide
How Can My Family and Friends Support Me During My Journey?
The Family Matters program at Illuminating Co. is designed to provide crucial support to the partners, spouses, or friends of individuals becoming a part of our healing and transformative retreat journey. Understanding that this experience will affect not only the participants but also their loved ones, the program offers resources and guidance to help navigate this period of change together. Through a series of support calls and informational sessions, Family Matters equips loved ones with valuable skills, insights, and tools that will benefit their own well-being and enable deeper support and new ways of connecting with initiates of the Illuminating Co. programs.
What to Expect
We believe in using holistic, science-backed practices alongside sacred ceremonies to enhance your healing. Some of these holistic practices include:
Entheogens
Expand your consciousness into elevated states of awareness, acceptance, and understanding with sacred medicines rooted in indigenous history. Break through the pain, obstacles, and spiritual misalignment to undergo a metamorphosis with these healing medicines.
Yoga and Meditation
Transport the healing medicine to every fiber of your being with yoga and meditation. You will be guided in daily yoga and meditation practices to help you better receive the healing from our entheogenic ceremonies.
Breathwork:
Bring more awareness to your intentions, thought processes, and well-being with guided breathwork. Our Healing Breath specialist will lead you through transformative sessions to allow the sacred medicine ceremonies to take your awakening to higher levels.
Bodywork Sessions:
Bodywork sessions complement your sacred healing ceremonies while breathwork restores your body’s physical and energetic self into balance. Our licensed masseuses work through pain points in your body that have stored years of spiritual misalignment, as well as physical and emotional pain.
IV Vitamin Drips:
Supplement your body with ample hydration, vitamins, and micronutrients to ensure you receive the full-body healing experience you are seeking. IV Vitamin Drips help restore nutrient deficiencies, prevent dehydration, and improve cognitive function – all crucial for ensuring a safe and transformative journey.
Sound Healing
Release blocked energy to connect to your higher state of consciousness with our Immersive Sound Journey. Improved moods, balanced chakras, and deepened levels of entheogenic integration can all be obtained by immersing in an intentional and immersive sound journey.
Equine Therapy
Learn trust, communication, and empowerment with equine therapy. Interacting with horses helps restore a sense of control, regulate emotions, and regain verbal expression — things often lost when confronted with trauma.
Chef-Curated Whole Food Menu:
Energize your healing with a nutrition-packed menu developed by our talented and artisanal chef. Proper and hearty nutrition helps you fully absorb the transformative sessions — leaving your body, mind, and soul revitalized and nourished. Our nutritionally charged menu helps clarify and cleanse your body, mind, and soul.
Meet Your Trusted Team
