Our Founder

Stephenie Purnell

Spiritus8® was founded by Stephenie Purnell after more than three decades of professional work guiding complex human conversations in environments where discretion, emotional intelligence, and sound judgment are essential.

Professional Background

Her early career was spent in the legal profession, working as a paralegal, legal assistant, and legal recruiter within complex commercial litigation at several of the most respected law firms in the world, including Jones Day Reavis & Pogue. The work demanded precision, confidentiality, and the ability to navigate high-stakes environments where the details — human and institutional — mattered deeply.

She later built a successful career in institutional advancement and philanthropy at leading universities, including The University of Texas at Austin, Southern Methodist University, The University of Colorado Boulder, and St. John’s College Santa Fe. In these roles she worked closely with presidents, trustees, major donors, and institutional leaders to guide philanthropic strategy, major gift development, and complex institutional initiatives.

Across each of these professional settings, her work shared a consistent throughline: the capacity to hold complex human experiences with steadiness, discretion, and care.

Alongside this professional path, Stephenie devoted herself to the disciplined study and practice of expanded states of consciousness. What began as a personal turning point became a sustained commitment. She has now spent sixteen years working with expanded states — both personally and professionally — exploring their capacity to access psychological material, reorganize entrenched patterns, and catalyze durable change.

Expanded States Training

Her formal training includes more than 800 hours of education in the theory and facilitation of expanded states of consciousness. She is one of only a handful of certified Holotropic Breathwork® facilitators in the State of Texas and one of only a small number of certified Trance Movement™ practitioners in the United States.

These certifications are part of a professional training tradition that maintains rigorous standards for those who facilitate this work.

Certification in Holotropic Breathwork® carries ongoing professional obligations. Facilitators agree to strict ethical parameters governing the work, continuing education, and ongoing personal work in expanded states of consciousness. Maintaining certification requires practitioners to remain active participants in the very terrain they guide others through — a professional model comparable to the continuing education and ethical standards required in disciplines such as law, medicine, and psychotherapy.

Stephenie’s work is grounded in psychological containment, ethical rigor, and deep respect for the transformative potential of expanded states of consciousness.

Philosophy

A lifelong student of philosophy and contemplative traditions, Stephenie is a descendant of the philosopher John Locke, whose Essay Concerning Human Understanding profoundly influenced the foundations of modern democracy. She approaches questions of existence and human transformation with both intellectual seriousness and spiritual depth.

Spiritus8®

Spiritus8® emerged from the convergence of these paths: professional leadership, personal transformation, and years of disciplined training in expanded states of consciousness. Through Spiritus8®, Stephenie facilitates private retreats, salons, and bespoke experiences for individuals seeking meaningful interior work, while also advising universities, research centers, and philanthropic institutions exploring the emerging fields of psychedelic science and consciousness research.

Stephenie facilitates Spiritus8® experiences across the United States and internationally in both private and select public settings.