Ayahuasca retreats
Ayahuasca is a visionary plant medicine from the Amazon jungle. Made from the chacruna leaf and the ayahuasca vine, boiled together for 24 hours and reduced into a thick, sludgy, acrid tasting brew, ayahuasca is drunk in a ceremony with a curandero (a shaman or traditional healer) who sings songs throughout to guide the healing.
​
​
​
​
​
What is the ayahuasca experience like?
​
Ayahuasca is commonly known as a vomit-inducing hallucinogen, but most users will tell you this does not remotely do justice to the profound and life-changing nature of the experience. Over the course of 2-6 hours, it can take you to the most blissful inner realms, or show you extremely challenging aspects of yourself to be healed. It can take you back to relive and release childhood trauma, or even cast you back into past lives to understand how you came to find yourself in the position you are today.
And yes, there is vomiting - but this is so much more than just a physical cleanse. As we purge - whether via vomiting or via other means such as sweating, trembling, crying, or laughing - we are purging the deepest, darkest aspects of ourselves and bringing them to the surface so they can be released, leaving us lighter, fresher, and ready to face life anew.
What are the benefits of ayahuasca?
​
Above ayahuasca teaches us that, underneath the struggle and suffering of this life, we are all one - beneath it all, our souls are beautiful, blissful, and at peace. And it is possible to return ourselves to that natural state, letting go of the trauma and sadness we have picked up in our lives, and being born anew.
​
Often, the real teaching of ayahuasca takes place after the ceremony itself, in the weeks, months and even years afterwards, when its lessons start to become clear, and we start to see things moving in ourselves and in our lives.
​
I have personally met hundreds of people whom ayahuasca has helped to heal from the darkest of traumas, including abuse, grief, depression, anxiety, alcoholism, drug addiction, and many more.
​
For many, taking ayahuasca is the start of a process of total life transformation, in which we learn to discern what is good for us and what no longer serves us, and in which we eventually come to live in harmony with our soul's true calling.
The healing team​
​
My own journey with ayahuasca has taken me to the Amazon multiple times over the past six years, and I have spent a total of nine months living in indigenous communities in the Amazon and undergoing rigorous master plant 'dietas' (a process of learning the medicine of different plant spirits).
My journey took me to many different healers, and while I undoubtedly experienced great healing, there was often something missing, prompting me to keep looking for 'my' place.
Finally, I found it, in the remarkable father-son team of Ceclio and Edgar Cauper Rengifo, heir to a long lineage of Shipibo curanderos. When Edgar or Ceclio sing to you in ceremony, you feel the deep magic and power of their medicine - often, you can feel their song lifting your suffering and transforming you in the course of just a few minutes.
​
In a culture that is often, rightly, suspicious of sharing knowledge with the West, they are remarkable for their openness and their willingness to explain their work with the medicine, as well as for the care and attention they are prepared to give to each patient.
The retreat
​
I plan to offer regular retreats to the Amazon to work with Edgar and Cecilio, starting in late 2021, COVID allowing. These will be small groups - no more than eight participants - ensuring plenty of personal attention for each person. The retreats will last ten days, with an optional excursion to Cusco for up to three San Pedro ceremonies at the end.
​​
Accommodation will be in basic jungle-style wooden cabins.
​​
Get in touch
​
If you wish to find out more or register your interest, please get in touch at alex@foolishsoul.org.
