An Open Letter of Gratitude to the District216 Community in 2025 by Jacob Tell
Tonight marked the final District216 event of 2025, and I’m heading home with my heart wide open and my cup completely full.
Like so many Wednesday nights this year, we welcomed several new faces into the D216 community alongside many familiar ones. Each seat of the circle was filled tonight, something that has become a powerful and consistent symbol of 2025 events. Week after week, the room fills. Not because of hype, but because people are genuinely hungry for connection, safety, and shared humanity.
We gathered around beautiful holiday food. Fruit and charcuterie as usual, and also Christmas cookies, cake, and chocolates that somehow made the night feel even softer and sweeter. Perhaps there was a sense of care in the room before a single word was spoken.
Tonight’s Conscious Connections Roundtable was held by my brother from another mother Jack Finnegan, whose presence and integrity continue to anchor this space. The topic, Sitting in Ceremony for Your Journey, was met with depth, honesty, and courage.
Jack facilitates our roundtables in the spirit of a Lakota Council Circle. We listen from the heart. We speak from the heart. We show up as our authentic selves. No fixing. No posturing. Just presence. Each share tonight was personal, and many were deeply vulnerable.
Some attendees were new to psychedelic experiences. Others carried decades of relationship with these medicines. That contrast, side by side, beautifully illustrates why community matters so deeply, and why thoughtful policy change matters too. It’s why our work to decriminalize psychedelics here in Santa Barbara is so important. These experiences don’t exist in a vacuum. They live in bodies, in stories, in real human lives, and they deserve support, education, and safe containers.
As the circle unfolded, I felt something profoundly personal. I felt my father in the room with me. (Context: Darryl Tell is the inspiration for District216’s Manifesto, and has been my source of ‘yes and’ throughout each of my entrepreneurial ventures.)
Darryl passed in 2022 from a rare blood cancer. He was a guidance counselor by profession, and by nature, a man who modeled active listening, empathy, and unconditional care. Tonight, I felt his presence strongly, as if he were seated quietly adjacent to the circle, witnessing the depth of sharing within the container that had been created. I felt overwhelmed in the best way and deeply proud.
Proud of the space. Proud of the community. Proud of our volunteer team Becca, Paxson, Judith & recent addition Brant. Proud of every person who showed up willing to be real. Proud of what we continue to build together.
People spoke openly about addiction, how psychedelics have helped, and where the struggle still lives. Others shared about chronic pain and the relief and insight these medicines have brought. There were many humorous moments in stories that featured the best collective belly laughs. There were stories of heartbreak, loss, grief, and healing, held not just by psychedelic compounds, but by the simple and profound act of being witnessed in circle.
This is what community looks like when it’s alive.
As we move into the holiday season and toward a new year, I feel immense gratitude. 2025 completed beautifully and intentionally with tonight’s gathering. The table has been set for an epic 2026.
If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a District216 member, consider this your invitation. We need your support now more than ever to continue growing our community, to bring in top-tier speakers and facilitators, and to produce even more meaningful gatherings in 2026. Membership is what allows this container to exist, evolve, and stay vibrant and accessible.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting the process. Thank you for walking this path together.
With so much love and appreciation,
Jacob Tell
Chief Dreamer, District216 💜
