Braden Summers Behold Alumni Highlight of the Month

Meet Braden Summers

“The greatest gift I never knew I needed was learning to trust the flow of life.”

One of the greatest gifts of this community is realizing that while each journey is deeply personal, none of us walk it alone.

Every month, we’ll be highlighting one of our Alumni, sharing their story, the path they’ve walked, what life has looked like since retreat, and the ways they’re continuing to integrate their experience.

This month, we’re excited to introduce Braden Summers.

Braden is a fine art and commercial photographer based in Topanga, California, a husband, and a father of six-year-old twins. His work explores themes of identity, presence, and human connection, something that has taken on an even deeper meaning since his time with Behold.

Before Behold

When Braden first joined us, he described himself as being in one of the most difficult periods of his life.

He was navigating a deep depression, carrying decades of grief, uncertainty about his creative path, and the demands of raising young children. At the same time, he found himself overwhelmed by the state of the world and searching for a deeper sense of purpose.

“I felt overwhelmed, disconnected, and was searching for a deeper sense of meaning.”

A Turning Point

Braden often reflects on the third ceremony of his first retreat as a turning point.

Braden describes experiencing what felt like an awakening, one that completely changed the way he understood himself and the world around him.

“For the first time, I experienced the same life moving through me, every person, every tree, every animal, everything. It was as if the illusion of separation had fallen away.“

Before that experience, he considered himself agnostic and had never thought much about spirituality.

What emerged wasn’t a set of answers, but a new way of relating to life itself.

Life After Retreat

Returning home didn’t mean life suddenly became effortless.

Instead, it marked the beginning of a different relationship with it.

Braden shares that his work with the medicine helped him move away from antidepressants and other substances he had relied on for years. More importantly, it opened the door to a spiritual practice that continues to shape how he meets both joy and challenge.

“Learning to trust the flow of life, rather than constantly trying to control it, has been the greatest gift I never knew I needed.”

Today, he continues exploring presence, acceptance, creativity, and what it means to live with greater connection to himself, to others, and to the natural world.

A Message for Anyone Feeling Called

One of the things we appreciated most about Braden’s reflection was its humility.

“I would never tell someone they should do Ayahuasca. It’s a deeply personal decision, and it deserves respect.”

“But I can say that, for me, the medicine has been one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever encountered. Even the difficult moments were meaningful, and I never felt I was being shown more than I was capable of working through.“

Braden’s Work

Following his retreats, Braden began creating Sanctuary, an ongoing fine art photography project inspired by his exploration of presence, stillness, and our shared humanity.

If you’d like to explore his work, you can find it here:

Sanctuary
https://www.sanctuary-series.com

Commercial & Fine Art Portfolio
https://www.bradensummers.com

Connect With Braden

One of our hopes for these Alumni Highlights is to help our community get to know one another beyond retreat.

Whether it’s sharing ideas, collaborating creatively, supporting one another’s work, or simply reconnecting over a shared experience, we believe beautiful things can happen when alumni stay connected.

If Braden’s story resonated with you, or if you’re simply curious about his work, we encourage you to connect through the Alumni Community or send us an email, and we’d be happy to make an introduction.