SHAMANIC RETREAT Announcing 2 Workshops MARCH 15th - 22nd, Colombia MARCH 24th - 31st, Colombia True negativity is that just about bearable state of normal existence, whereas my (ayahuasca) experiences were dramatic, transcendental and spellbinding. Yaje, The New Purgatory, Encounters with Ayahuasca by Jimmy Weiskopf. Welcome We invite you to experience a powerful week of inner exploration and healing. We have organized a trip to Colombia for a small group of friends who wish to experience the deepest part of who they really are. We will learn directly from drinking ayahuasca medicine and participating in other shamanic traditions. This will be an intimate and profoundly deep experiential journey. We will spend our time exploring and opening the subtle doorway through the heart energy. This is the path back to awakening your authentic self. As we work through our old, limiting patterns, we begin to heal and reclaim our lost personal power. Since 2002, Ralph Miller has brought hundreds of people from 55 different countries to experience these sacred traditions. We continue to explore on our own personal journey and offer an approach that is friendly, safe and very personable. We maintain close personal communication with each participant during the entire process before, during and after the retreat.
Seven nights at the beachside retreat Reserva Natural El Matuy, Two ayahuasca medicine ceremonies, One yopo medicine ceremony, Three kambô ceremonies. Event fee for the Shamanic Retreat is US$2,300.00, with a $750.00 non-refundable deposit required to hold your space. Places are very limited and our trips fill up quickly, so please do not delay if you intend to join us. All accommodation in spacious bungalows included (shared) All meals, snacks, juices and other beverages included Transportation to/from Santa Marta airport included Excursion to Tyrona National Park included Yoga, Tai Chi available Massage available Flights to/from Santa Marta, Colombia not included. Wine or other alcoholic beverages not included. Any purchases or items of a personal nature (including nominal cost for Yoga, Tai Chi and Massage) not included. Eco Retreat Reserva Natural El Matuy.
Shamanic Traditions Visiting Colombia carries a very special energy unlike any other South American country we have visited. The upper Amazonian regions of the Putumayo and Valley of Sibundoy are the very birthplace of the ayahuasca tradition. It is home to shamanic traditions that are known only by the indigenous cultures who have guarded these secrets for millennia. These regions are a botanical pharmacy and contain more species of entheogenic plants than anywhere else on the planet. These are ethically the highest of shamanic traditions. An entheogen, meaning to evoke the divine from within, is a psychoactive substance used in a ritual or shamanic ceremony as a means to connect to higher realms of consciousness. When a person ingests an entheogenic plant they communicate with an intelligence inherent of nature herself. These teacher plants, or master plants as they are often called, have been used for 1000 s of years by indigenous cultures as a vehicle to communicate with their ancestral origins. They help us to explore and connect back to our own true nature. We began to work with these shamanic traditions as a way to find healing in our own lives. The experiences are strong and deeply profound. Shamanic plant medicines offer a direct way of exploring the subconscious parts of one s self. These teaching plants do not offer a shortcut, but rather a more direct no-nonsense approach to exploration and healing. People have often described their experience with ayahuasca as many years worth of reading, study and self-examination contained in a single evening. We offer through our own experience and a decade of work a way for you to approach these ancient traditions. Our retreats are an alchemy of many traditional shamanic ceremonies, set in a beautiful location, used in a way that all work together to create a week-long experiential process. It is our hope that you be bold and step bravely into the unknown in search of higher purpose in your own life.
Eco Retreat El Matuy We will have the private use of Eco Retreat Reserva Natural El Matuy, beachside property and nature reserve on the north Caribbean coast of Colombia. This region is stunning with its long private beaches and dramatic view of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world s highest coastal mountain range. This region is also home to the Kogi Indians, descendants of the ancient Tairona civilizations. Because of their retreat into the high mountains, the Kogi are the last and only tribe in south America that remain fully functioning as they were before the Spanish conquistadors arrived. The El Matuy property has 10 little houses with palm leaf roofs overlooking the Caribbean sea, each with private bathroom and terrace with hammocks. There is no electricity in the rooms and everything is lit by candlelight at night. The surrounding area is tropical dry forest and various rivers that run off of the surrounding mountains. There are trails for hiking and daytime excursions we will take to explore the natural beauty of these untouched lands. We will enjoy swimming in the ocean and the warmth of the Caribbean sun as strong healing elements during our stay. This location is a perfect place to rest, recharge and reflect as we explore the ancient shamanic traditions.
Warinei Wanare Warinei has been a good friend, teacher and shaman to us since our initial meeting in Colombia in 2004. Not only does he carry a strict diligence and dedication to these shamanic traditions, he brings his huge heart energy to this work. This is indeed a rare combination and shines through during his ceremonies. Warinei started his teachings with ayahuasca in 1996 with an invitation from a friend that would lead him to shaman Luis Florez of the Inga community of Colombia. Visiting him at his maloca in the Putumayo Amazonian region he received his instruction for six years while they cooked ayahuasca medicine together. In 2003 he met shaman Jose Antonio Kasulú, a Sikuani medicine man of the yopo tradition, another sacred healing plant medicine. It was during his visits to the Sikuani community, in the eastern Orinoquía region of Colombia, that he would learn the ways of this healing ceremony. During a yopo ceremony, Don Antonio gave him the sacred name of Warinei Wanare, meaning star from which come forth the warm and cold crystals with which it is possible to make healings. Additionally, Warinei spent 5 years working with the medicine plants of the maloca Nabi Nunhue, meaning House of the Jaguar, where he was consecrated as a shaman ayahuasquero. Warinei has received teachings of the native American Lakota tradition of the inipi (sweat lodge) from a descendant of the Crazy Horse and Woptura lineage. Warinei and his assistants Sara Ñusta, Catalina, and Andres have shared their traditional ayahuasca and yopo ceremonies with people from all over the world, from all walks of life. Warinei has offered these ceremonies in strict accordance with the oldest and most sacred traditions of indigenous shamanism. He continues to bring forth his ceremony as a way to help people find their own shamanic path and create their own inner healing. During our week together Warinei will lead two ceremonies with ayahuasca, one with yopo and three ceremonies with kambô.
Ayahuasca (Yaje) Ayahuasca is a medicinal tea brewed from the thick woody stems of the Banisteriopsis Caapi vine and the big bushy leaves of the Chacruna (Psychotria viridis) plant, a member of the coffee family. With great reverence, intention and prayer, the plants are prepared and cooked for 8-10 days. All the while the shaman sings his sacred songs of healing making this tea into a medicine. An ayahuasca ceremony in the traditional sense is a time when the tribe would gather together in an evening to drink the medicine for its healing, visionary and spiritual transformation effects. Each person's experience is highly individual and is a direct communication with the deepest parts of who they are. The heightened sensitivity created by the plant unlocks a state of consciousness where the person is fully awake, yet aware of their inner subconscious mind. Shamans refer to this state as dreaming while you are awake. There is a natural detoxification process or purge that begins when working with ayahuasca medicine. It is known for its properties of physical cleansing of the digestive system and whole body, removing stored mucus, killing parasites, and other impurities that rob energy from the body. Part of the way ayahuasca medicine works is by literally purging out of us anything that is imbalanced and not in harmony with who we really are. This purge can come in the form of sweating, crying, laughing, diarrhea and vomiting. This is considered a benefit of the plant as it uses your body's natural responses for cleansing itself. For some people the heaviness that is felt in their life is the weight of old emotional baggage. These memories can often be brought to the surface, confronted and released during the work with the plants. It is in this clearing process that we allow the space for new creativity and vibrancy to enter back into our life. People often ask what an ayahuasca experience is like. This can only be known by directly having the experience. Even after drinking ayahuasca there are parts of the journey that cannot be fully translated on a conscious level. No part of the journey is ever lost, but is more like seeds that are planted and continue to grow in your life over time. The effects of ayahuasca medicine continue months afterwards as this new vibratory state grounds and integrates in your life.
Yopo Living in the eastern Orinoquía plains of Colombia, the Sikuani indigenous community makes use of a visionary snuff called Yopo. In their tradition, they inhale this shamanic medicine in order to have the vision to see what healing is needed for themselves, their community or for the patient they are healing. Archeological evidence suggests that this tradition is over 4000 years old. The Yopo tree, Anadenanthera peregrine, thrives only in the tropics, where it prefers drier locations such as the savanna-like regions of the Orinoquía plains. The leathery, dark brown seedpods grow as long as 35cm and contain a very flat reddish brown seed 1-2cm across. The dried seeds are lightly roasted and then ground into fine powder that is mixed with an alkalizing powdered river shell and ground plantain. The alkalinity from the ground shell helps to activate the psychoactive alkaloids found in the Yopo tree. The snuff is then inhaled through a hollow bird bone tube during a ritual ceremony. During the ceremony we also chew a piece of ayahuasca Caapi vine to strengthen the Yopo s effect. The Yopo snuff contains a combination of DMT, Bufotenin, and 5-MeO-DMT psychoactive compounds and produces a visionary experience. Yopo shamans describe this experience as an opening of the 3rd eye to be able to perceive into the light of the non-physical spiritual dimensions. Central to the Sikuani Yopo tradition is the use of prayers to invoke healing energies. They believe that their word and the tonal vibration of their prayer is the very force of creation. For every imbalance and sickness that is created, there is a corresponding prayer to heal that sickness. Sikuani elder shamans know 2000 or more prayers and study intensively from about 8 years old.
Kambô Kambô is both the name of the Amazonian green frog Phyllomedusa Bicolor and also the name of the medicine ceremony that uses the poison secreted from the frog s skin. Kambô contains peptide substances (dermorfine and deltorfine) that are analgesic and that strengthen the immune system provoking the destruction of pathogenic microorganisms. The substances in Kambô also have antibiotic properties, and strengthen the immune system through the body s production of antibodies. During this ceremony a series of dots are made on the skin using superficial burns. These dots expose a layer or two of the skin and allow Kambô to enter directly into the lymphatic (immune) system. During this process one experiences a purgative effect, detoxification of the liver, of the intestine and of the entire digestive system. The main effect last about 30 minutes and many people report feeling an increase in their vital energy andand overall sense of wellness. The indigenous communities that use Kambô believe that it removes spiritual blockages, creating a psychological reorganization. From this place a person changes their attitude and their future patterns of health. They also believe the mission of Kambô is to protect the health of those who defend the forest. Kambô circulates in the heart. When we take kambô it makes the heart move accurately, so that things flow, bringing good things to the person. It s as if there was a cloud on the person, preventing the good things to come, then, when they take the kambô; it comes a green light, which opens the way, making things easier. Kaxinawá, kambô shaman
Event Guests & Staff Ralph Miller Ralph has spent most of his life passionately pursuing a quest for spiritual understanding. He has been compelled to learn and understand everything first-hand and by personal experience. He has traveled over 1-million miles to over 58 countries and had personal interactions with a wide variety of diverse cultures, religions and people from all over the world. In September 2000 Ralph began a project he called Heart of the Initiate as a path to help people approach their authentic heart through the use of ancient shamanic traditions. Over the last 14 years, Heart of the Initiate has run over 100 experiential shamanic workshops. Ralph is a prolific writer and lecturer on the evolution of human consciousness. He has now published 34 articles on various websites, some translated into 3 languages. Ralph s body of experience communicating and carrying people through this intensive healing process is unsurpassed. Catalina Lasso Montenegro Catalina embodies an unyielding dedication to her shamanic path. Those who seek her wisdom will find a clear, kind hearted and focused teacher. A talented jewelry maker and painter, Catalina shares her inner vision through her beautiful artwork. She is an integral part of the core support for both Warinei and Willem and is our English/Spanish translator during our retreats. Her path led her to spend an intensive year with Willem in Holland to learn the inipi, and become a carrier of the sacred Lakota traditions. Her beautiful singing voice carries strong as she runs the women s inipi ceremony. Catalina currently travels throughout Colombia assisting Warinei with ayahuasca, yopo and kambô ceremonies. She was Ralph s first Colombian friend when they met in 2004, and continues to remain dear to our heart.
Heart of the Initiate www.heartoftheinitiate.com Ralph Miller +1 (928)963-0500 ralph@heartoftheinitiate.com Please contact us immediately if you are interested in this event, limited space available. The consciousness of plants is a constant source of information for medicine, alimentation, and art, and an example of the intelligence and creative imagination of nature. Much of my education I owe to the intelligence of these great teachers. Pablo Amaringo