I just returned back to my home in Tokyo, Japan after spending two absolutely incredible weeks on an Ayahuasca retreat with Lotus Vine Journeys in Tarapoto. Wow. What an experience it was! Words truly can not adequately describe what I’m feeling right now. There are retreat centers… and then there’s Lotus Vine. The latter is at a whole different level in every possible way. I know, because I’ve been to other retreat centers in Peru. While there are some good ones out there, none come close to the level of professionalism, comfort, care, love, insight and community as Lotus Vine. And none, in my opinion, come close to Lotus Vine in terms of the quality of facilitation and support in terms of how the medicine ceremonies are conducted.

My experience was truly magical. I originally chose Lotus Vine as I was curious about the Buddhist philosophy underlying the retreat. Having a philosophy such as this in which to place your Ayahuasca journey in perspective is both incredibly powerful and helpful at the same time. On the matter of ceremony, the maestro shaman who conducted the ceremonies was amazing. His humility and unassuming nature outside of ceremony was complemented by his amazingly powerful and compassionate presence during ceremony.

No review of Lotus Vine would be complete without recognition of the tremendous support from Spring Warsham and her two amazing assistants Janeth and Yugo. In my opinion, what truly separates Lotus Vine from any other retreat are these three angels. Spring is a warrior. I can’t describe just how amazing she is. She exemplifies everything you could hope for in a retreat facilitator – compassion, knowledge, love, attention, presence and power. Yugo and Janeth are also legends. Always on hand to provide support. Their ability to intuitively know for who, where and when support was needed was remarkable. For me, their presence during ceremony provided a level of stability and calm that allowed me to let go and confidently flow wherever the medicine invited me to go. I still recall one evening after ceremony how all three of them lovingly guided me back to my room. They were always on hand, before, during and after ceremony to support you in any way you needed.

There was so much love, music, singing and joy throughout ceremony that I began to worry about how I would ever re-integrate back into my ‘normal’ life. Fortunately, integrating your experience and newly gained insights from ceremony back into your life at home is something Lotus Vine take very seriously. Years of experience have allowed Lotus Vine to prepare you for your return home after retreat but more importantly to ensure that the healing work you did on the retreat, and the discoveries and progress made, continues long after you return home. I truly can’t wait to be there again soon. So much so in fact that I am now considering bringing my entire company staff along with me! I can’t think of a better investment in my people than giving them the opportunity to learn, heal and empower themselves to a degree they will never have thought possible.