Mind Bender

Mind Bender

My name is: Liz Friedland.

My stomping ground is:

Greenwich Village.

I’m known for being:

A connector. It’s intuitive and instinctual and something I couldn’t turn off even if I tried. I get energized by bringing people, brands and ideas together, and watching the sparks fly.

These days, I’m especially passionate about psychedelics given the warp speed at which they’re moving into mainstream culture and the necessity of controlling the narrative to support the advancement of the movement. I function as a bridge, placing high-integrity thought leaders in front of the right people to disseminate responsible information. At this early stage, the megaphone is up for grabs and the loudest, most charismatic voice will win—not necessarily the most genuine and deserving. 

I’m known for working with the industry’s leading pioneers, brands and businesses, giving them a platform, a spotlight and access to influential communities and audiences, to drive the conversation forward.

I'm talking about:

Listening: Tim Ferris’s interview with John Krystal, one of the most fascinating and engaging podcasts ever. An absolute must.

Reading: Reverberation, the mind-blowing story behind Peter Gabriel’s foray into using music as medicine.

Practicing: Breaking through my resistance to breathwork, working 1:1 with an incredible facilitator Brandt Miller, as well as taking classes at Frequency, an immersive, art-inspired breathwork studio that my dear friend Viv created.

You can find me at:

During the day, you’re likely to find me tucked in my “spot” at NeueHouse. I’ve been a member since it opened in 2013, and it truly feels like home. I know, that sounds so cliché, but I wouldn’t be who I am, or where I am, without those early days of building the community together, cultivating a culture of collaboration and celebration of one another.

Mornings kickoff with movement for me (post-meditation and walking, Iggy, my Frenchie). I’ve always been active and love to move my body. Weekdays you can find me at Tracy Anderson, part of my morning ritual that kept me anchored during COVID when everything else was unstable. Saturdays are sacred, reserved for dog-downing and hand-standing at Souk Studio with my longtime teacher and dear friend, Rima. Amidst all the noise and disruptions, there’s a deeply felt sense of serenity and safety there.

Before I started this work, I was:

At a beauty PR agency, then started their fashion department. When the recession hit, it all felt meaningless, so I left in 2009 to pursue something more aligned, where I could operate more holistically in my work as I did in my personal life. And because people knew me as the girl who spent her vacations at detox retreats and wellness centers, choosing green juice over cocktails, editors and industry friends sent anything cool in wellness my way. Robyn, the Live The Process founder, and I came up in this industry together back in 2010 before it was even called wellness!

My interest was sparked when: 

When I was introduced to Dr. Gabor Maté something crystalized for me, and everything suddenly made sense. The root cause is trauma, but we’re conditioned to believe our symptoms are our problems. Addiction, and other behavioral issues and mood disorders, are merely responses to untreated trauma. A light turned on for me and my mindset shifted, leading me to explore alternative paths to healing trauma that focus on rewiring, changing the operating system and not feeding the story. While breathwork, meditation and therapies like EMDR and IFS are effective, psychedelics—when used responsibly vs. recreationally—can be a real game-changer. One google search and countless studies support this. They hold the greatest promise for addressing the mental health epidemic and can service as a common solution to be shared by those suffering. One thing I’m certain of, healing happens in community. And I’m very excited about the opportunity psychedelics bring by providing a new means for those suffering to find relief in the connectivity and being in it together.

What I do is:

My company Obit is a brand strategy consultancy representing founders and brands making an impact at the intersection of consciousness and culture. We find your people and create your distinct orbit with ambassador programs, partnerships and cultural programming. Separate but often in tandem, I also work very closely with founders as a personal brand coach, empowering them to stay in alignment with their values and be more than just their company. I’m more of a guide and thought partner—I decode, distill and articulate their needs, then create a blueprint forward that aligns their values and vision with that of their business.

I hope people walk away feeling:

Connected, inspired, happy, curious.

Psychedelics are such a powerful tool because:

Psychedelics are mainstreaming. There’s no shortage of stories to support their potential to make a lasting impact on one’s mental health and well-being. By their very nature, they change the neuroplastic structure in the brain, which means that the way we think and react can be permanently shifted, thus ultimately changing the trajectory of our lives in shorter periods of time than traditional therapeutic approaches. Joe Dispenza says, “what wires together, fires together.” Be it positive thoughts or negative ones. Psychedelics literally have the power to change your mind (and if you haven’t read Michael Pollan’s book or watched the Netflix series, I highly recommend).

The words I live by are:

One tide raises all ships.

One truth that is so important, but people don’t always realize is:

One of the greatest gifts you can ever give someone is your presence.

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