TRANSFORMATIONAL MEETINGS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DETERMINED TO CHANGE FROM INSIDE
“A retreat is not an isolation, but rather an coming close to oneself”
The word RETREAT is associated with taking distance; stepping out of the usual routine, with a holiday for reflection… But its meaning is much deeper and we could understand it better if we became aware that in reality what we have is a need to pause to access something new; a pause that is incorporated and extends it to the daily reality beyond exclusively limiting the experience to the days of the retreat. Time to breathe, revealing explanations about who we are in order to be able to incorporate them into our lives later.
We live within a context that conditions us to be in a certain way daily. When we move away from this everyday environment and enter another environment where there are people like us who have chosen themselves to be themselves, even if only for a few days, a small-scale social phenomenon occurs. The individuals who make up that little experiment realize that it is possible to share many moments of sincerity and authenticity with other people. This experience creates a healthy imprint on the participants, as they realize that it is possible to stop modifying themselves, of adapting themselves. That they can be honest with themselves and with others. In short, they realize that life can become a party when it is no longer necessary to lie, satisfy, please or have to be in a certain way.
These retreats, which can be between 2 and 11 days, are a therapeutic cohabitation that represents a transcendent experience for those who live surrendering to everything that happens and whatever happens to them. We have verified that beyond the natural relationships that are created from the first moment, from the third day a spontaneous and magical event occurs. We are talking about deep bonds that are created both among the participants as well as with the facilitators who lead the retreat. The importance of this mysterious “bond” is that we have discovered that it is a determining accelerator in people’s processes since it leads to deeper levels that one could ever imagine. And it is precisely this verification that inspired us to create an alternative proposal of retreats of up to 11 days for those who needed or wanted more time for the development of their inner work. Undoubtedly, the permanence and presence factors within this new and different context are what allow the work of gradual and increasing evolution in people to be carried out.
The experience lived during the retreats reverts to a therapeutic coexistence; completely spontaneous, fresh and surprising. The common purpose of healing that the people who share this space together have generates an authenticity in human expression that makes behaviours become natural and without judgement. A kind of catharsis of the inner being that when living in a group is visualized as if it were “Big Brother” or “reality TV” but without cameras that film. Something very important happens to every participant. Regardless of the activities they do or the substances they take, it is difficult for them to return to the same daily dynamics. The internal transformation that they experience during retreats is reflected in imminent external changes in their lives.
More than 10 years ago, we decided to do retreats in the jungle because we realized that knowledge of shamanic plants in their natural habitat enhanced the understanding of the process of inner evolution. At first we started with trips of 5, 6, 8 days, but we saw that it was not enough time. The next trips we tried out were 2 long weeks and resulted excessive in this case. After considering all the variables, we finally decided that 11 days was the perfect amount of time for the perfect experience we wanted to offer (the suitable amount for what we were looking for). And in this way, the 11-day retreat format which gave birth in the jungle, was born and has now spread throughout Europe. We even have a surprisingly successful retreat that is celebrated in several countries from December 23 to January 12 (the Christmas season) because many people want to get out of the usual routine and give themselves the luxury of sharing those significant dates with different people, who they don’t know at all, but who vibrate on the same frequency. And we also organize it during holiday periods.
The retreat is conceived as a living organism where each is an essential part of a whole, and that whole is generated through the cohabitation of the group in the same residential space where they share eating times, activities and ceremonies. Different workshops are organized during the days: yoga and meditation, joint systemic therapies, video forums, informal talks or walks to connect with nature. Alternatively, Bufo Alvarius or Kambó sessions are offered. These are natural substances that come from jungle and desert toad and frog poison that are transformed into healing energies when they come into contact with the human body, expanding consciousness and strengthening the organism in a surprising way. Other dynamics involve sensory stimulation and in them we can dance, laugh, sing or play instruments. But there is also a time for crying when the innocent essence of being is evoked in psychotherapeutic integrations. And that is the time to look at our wounds with the intention of healing them. All these moments in the day serve to open us, for sharing and to prepare for the night ceremony. It is then where the option to take ayahuasca is given to people who wish to do so and thus carry out a process of physical purification, emotional unblocking and spiritual connection.
In these retreats sincere friendships and deep encounters occur. Answers and very important discoveries about how we relate to one another appear; healing processes are initiated, emotions that blocked our evolution are unlocked; and genuine rebirths also occur. Many people come with the intention of putting an end to the unbearable patterns of life that make them suffer and to take away vital ideas that allow them to rebuild a new and satisfying model created by their own internal teacher. We are conscious that after a retreat, each person is going to continue with their life. That is why it is important that what they take active values and an integrated process from the experience that will guide them in making their next decisions.
We are dedicated to providing the conditions for all these phenomena, and many more, to occur in a retreat.
Alberto José Varela.
NEXT 11 DAY RETREATS IN SWITZERLAND, THE NETHERLANDS, GERMANY, ITALY, SPAIN AND THE COLOMBIAN JUNGLE
ALSO 2 TO 4 DAY RETREATS IN MORE THAN 20 COUNTRIES
Click here for a complete listing of information of all the 2017 Ayahuasca International Retreats Calendar . It includes subsequent links to information, prices and booking procedure for each retreat.
Ayahuasca International holds Inner Evolution retreats with therapeutic use of Ayahuasca in several countries in Europe. Click the links for specific information on each retreat.
Eindhoven- Netherlands, July 27 to 30
Switzerland, July 30 to August 11
For bookings or to request any further information call to +49 (0) 171 987 6655 (also available by whatsapp) or write to [email protected]