Ayahuasca

Spirit Plant Journeys

Peru

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Spirit Plant Journeys is a safe, experienced and transformative Ayahuasca Retreat nestled in the Peruvian Andes, created to help you open your heart, look within, and awaken to a new way. We offer intimate retreats with small groups in which we closely guide you through your journey within. We provide a healing space for you to acknowledge your truth; to feel, express, allow and transform.

Ayahuasca is a powerful tool that can help us uplift ourselves, heal our wounds, and let go of anything that no longer serves us. In working with plant consciousness, we become open and sensitive to everything that we are in relationship with, and in this, gain awareness, perspective, and wisdom.

Our highly-trained, experienced facilitators will closely guide you as you immerse yourself in this process. We believe that true healing is a beautiful process of opening up and awakening, and we feel strongly that this process can and should happen in a nurturing, loving way. As facilitators between cultures, and bridges between worlds, we provide a safe, open space in which we honor and respect every human being’s process in a gentle and kind way.

Every element of our retreat is designed to sustain real transformation. With a down to earth, heart-centered approach and kindred family spirit, we provide the opportunity for a life-changing healing experience. Our programs are held in the Sacred Valley, a safe haven from the noise of the city and the dangers of the jungle, and we limit our group size to a maximum of 12 people, allowing our Facilitators and Maestros to give you close, personalized guidance during your time with us. We are blessed to be working with a team of powerful Shipibo Maestros, the oldest lineage of Ayahuaqueros in South America, and we bring in both men and women maestros on retreat to strike a crucial balance between the energies of the Divine Masculine and Feminine.

Our experienced and trained facilitators serve as a cultural bridge on your journey, providing a link between cultures and plant medicine realms. They walk alongside you on this journey, guiding and empowering you with the tools to truly engage with your healing process. We specialize in providing support through pre-retreat intention sessions, sharing circles and self-inquiry on site, and post-integration sessions.

The healing process truly begins to take root when our guests go home, and as such, we believe strongly in checking in and providing support after the retreat. These are the keys to real transformation, to embody your healing experience in your daily life, enabling you to bring lasting change and growth into your life. After your last ceremony ends, the ceremony of life truly begins.

Reviews (88)

5.0 out of 5

Overall 5.0

gsteeves
October 9, 2016 at 10:21 pm

September 2016 Retreat.

If you feel you have done everything in your life, have everything you have ever truly needed, no real wants and you are still searching for something, may I please recommend Spirit Plant Journeys.

I have not even been through the second Ayahuasca ceremony as of this writing and if I was to leave now the price would have been worth it for this retreat. The accommodations alone in the Sacred Valley are worth the price. The area of the accommodations is totally surrounded by huge and gorgeous mountains. Breathtaking! The afternoons are breezy and the air is fresh and clean. The hosts Neils and Sarah are awesome by themselves but the interactions between them are sometimes priceless. The kitchen staff and housekeeping staff Julian and Yony (pronounced Jenny) are perfect. The food preparation amazing, the Shamans are the best of the best. And for me, I believe Ayahuasca is going to save my life. I felt my body going downhill fast and now I am on the verge of a total health reset. BTW I am going on 63 and this is my first experience with anything like this. In between time includes massage from a true sweetheart of a person (Paulette), hikes through the Pisac and (Ollantay Tambo) ruins, visits to local markets and best of all, the making of lifelong friends.

The San Pedro ceremony was awesome as Bernhard has a way of seeing into your heart and providing comforting suggestions when he takes the time to see everyone individually several times during the ceremony. I am a huge fan of AVATAR and the San Pedro experience took me directly into the beauty of Pandora. Just Amazing beauty and a total sense of living a natural life with total respect for nature. San Pedro, to me, was the perfect lead in to the Ayahuasca ceremonies.

The Ayahuasca ceremony was to date the most spectacular experience I have had and as of this writing, I have three more to go. I strongly suggest anyone coming to this retreat to please take the preparatory recommendations by Neils to heart to get the most out of the process. The Shaman Gume is absolutely the real thing. His ceremonial singing and ritual (Icaro’s) is so impressive it is hard to believe one can have that much energy and virtually nonstop. The ceremony is followed up with music and singing by Gume, Neils, Sarah and guests. Indescribably beautiful.

September 6, 2016

As of this writing I have been through two ceremonies’. The second was a step up more powerful than the first. I feel healthier than I have in years. Ayahuasca has automatically taught me to chew my food completely before swallowing and slow down my eating pace significantly. I feel like I have lost 10-12 lbs and 4 inches off my waist. Ayahuasca has purged my system of a vast amount of my undigested food in my gut. It is amazing what has come out of me. On the spiritual side, I have fulfilled a major goal of this trip by actually meeting with my mom and dad and especially my niece that had passed the same week I had left for this trip. I got a lot more than I had bargained for here as many family members, friends and pets showed up too. It was all incredible. I know there is a lot more cleaning up to do of my body and spiritual experiences ahead of me and I am looking forward to that as I experience ceremony 3 tonight.

If you have read this far, I have been through all four ceremonies and it is by far the most incredible experience of my life outside of watching the birth of my two awesome sons, one of which I was lucky enough to have been able to bring with me. Number 2 son definitely must join me in the near future. I am so impressed that I am planning to do what I can in my life to make a new start in the Sacred Valley within the next two years…. God willing and I am sure God is willing and going to assist me all the way. I just have to be part of this.

The whole movement towards Ayahuasca retreats has really taken off and become extremely popular for quite a while now. I highly and strongly recommend Spirit Plant Journeys for their highest levels of integrity and value in every possible respect. And please, do not take Ayahuasca without a Shaman and proper guidance. One MUST take this highly spiritual experience 1000% seriously and with an open mind and heart. See you soon SPJ, I will return in March 2017.

Much Love and Thanks to you all!

Gary Steeves
Lunenburg, Massachusetts
avatar382
September 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm

I am so grateful for my experience with Spirit Plant Journeys. I had felt a strong, very strong calling to commune with Ayahuasca. I planned my trip in just a couple of months, and it felt a little like jumping off a cliff. I had no experience with Ayahuasca, didn’t know anyone in Peru, and had never met a Shaman before.

So, this process was a leap of faith for me, but I felt completely at ease and comfortable within an hour of meeting Niels, Sarah, and my retreat group. I can’t explain it other than things just felt right.

Neils and Sarah are compassionate and love their work. They were so friendly, I felt my heart open to them in love and trust immediately. I really appreciated their knowledge of the process, and the effort they put in allowing us all space for our work with Ayahuasca, balanced with getting us out and about and seeing breathtaking sites. I loved all of our side excursions, they added much to my experience.

The accommodations and food were all top-notch. Initially, this wasn’t a concern of mine — but during my Ayahuasca process, I came to really, really appreciate it! Aya was very taxing on my body and the love, care and comfort I received were SO important to me in the midst of that challenge.

The San Pedro experience was very gentle with me, and it was a lovely way to start the ceremony. I felt like I connected deeply with Bernhard, both during the San Pedro and later, when I was feeling flattened by the Ayahuasca. It was a very challenging time and Bernhard was there with me and gave me love, support and guidance.

I experienced Gume, the Ayahuasca shaman as a powerful father figure. He made it clear that we were there to do our own work, and he did so much to create the space to allow that to happen. I appreciated his care, intensity, and clear, no-nonsense manner. He was such a beautiful instrument and channel. His singing the Icaros has stayed with me since the retreat.

Myra, the massage therapist and Machu Picchu tour guide was so sweet and loving. I was in such a delicate state… and her healing touch and encouragement made such a difference for me.

I did the Machu Picchu tour, and it was great. I almost didn’t go because I was still feeling the effects from my Ayahuasca process, but Neils and Myra encouraged me. It wasn’t easy, but that fit given the process I was going through.

I let a lot go during those 11 days. I have been working so hard spiritually, seeking and looking and trying to find God and healing and I left with such a powerful sense of having it deep inside all the time. On Aya, I experienced myself as a mountain, as earth and rock… and Aya came to me as water, flowing into my cracks and letting me know that all was going to be ok.

Being back home, I’ve experienced such acceptance of myself and others, and a noticeable release of stress and existential tension. Aya has given me a beautiful exhale.
Ryan Gentleman
August 18, 2016 at 5:00 pm

Hello world!
I basically never ever write reviews, but it just wouldn’t be fair to deny the possibility of more people having the amazing experience I had through lack of a review, after all , it was the testimonial page that helped me take the leap of faith and fly across to the other side of the world on my own to have my own experience. So unbelievably glad I did. Didn’t have any trouble with the locals , basically everyone is friendly in the neighboring areas. The location at the sacred valley is a beautiful spot. Was wonderful to wake up there every morning , and have a good cup of tea and a chin wag with my fellow adventurers. It didn’t take long at all for our bond to grow incredibly strong, and a huge part of that development process is the way that our hosts “held” us. Neils and Sarah are wonderful people and the best hosts in the world, its amazing that they can put on such an incredibly great retreat for people from all walks of life , and allow them to come together and have an amazing experience. Which is exactly what we had. Food is fantastic, walked away from the retreat a stone heavier than I entered (which for me is a good thing, and it really was a whole stone! don’t underestimate the power of diet) How to possibly summarise those weeks… Take a leap of faith , everyone had their own individual reasons for attending, I certainly had mine. If you know its something you want/need/feel the urge to do, and you want to experience it at an awesome place , with amazing hosts, then I can’t recommend Spirit Plant Journeys with Neils and Sarah enough.

Peace and Love
Ryan Gentleman
sas
August 10, 2016 at 2:44 am

Thank you Spirit Plant Journeys, Gume, Neils, Carl, Bernhardt and the amazing community of souls who were my retreat mates in May of this year. This is an experience I wish every person on planet earth could have. I am grateful for the opportunity to heal, learn, soul-search and stretch self imposed limits and boundaries accumulated over many, many decades. I hope there will be an opportunity to return; I hope anyone reading this review will take a leap of faith and go.

The venue is beautiful and comfortable, the food excellent, and the shaman and facilitators knowledgeable, helpful and extremely kind. The many hikes and walks provided a physical counterpoint to the exercise my mind did during the ceremonies. It’s a synergistic mind-body experience.

Our group was small and we bonded quickly and tightly – the kind of non-judgemental, loving family that everyone should have. Thank you again my friends.

I would like to return, but if that is not possible, I highly recommend the experience and Spirit Plant Journeys to all – please go in my place – you won’t regret the decision.
damndissonance
August 9, 2016 at 2:58 am

The 10 days at SpiritPlant Journeys (SPJ) made for an indelible experience, not “only” the medicines, but the bond that was forged amongst people who had been total strangers before that. SPJ took very good care, both psychically and physically.
Gumercindo was an inspiration and a comfort. The setting, too, is utterly beautiful. The sightseeing and the hiking it entailed were great.

Five stars to everyone at SPJ who bring a tremendous experience.
holl272
July 27, 2016 at 8:01 pm

My stay with Spirit Plant Journeys was hands down one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I was a little nervous signing up and arriving but within a few hours of arriving I felt completely at home. Niels, Gume, Carlos and the team made us all feel so welcome and comfortable that all the initial worries soon fell away. The group of people were also very friendly, open and by the end we were like family, I have without a doubt made friends for life. The ceremonies were beautiful, well organised and everything was thought of and accounted for. The accomodation was also beautiful which made such a difference, going back to a lovely clean and warm room after the ceremonies, not to mention the amazing surroundings we were in. This retreat has changed my life for the better and I don’t think I will ever be the same again, and I am so happy and grateful for that. For anyone considering a retreat I would say, choose Spirit Plant Journeys – I can’t imagine a safer, more friendly and more beautiful setting and group of people to experience plant medicine with. It was perfect.
SEA
July 18, 2016 at 8:07 pm

It’s hard, really, to put into words an experience that is so truly life changing. The depth and power of this experience made possible through the work of Spirit Plant Journeys led by Neils and Sarah, who are exceptional in so many ways, and Gumercindo Galindo, who is clearly a maestro of the highest order. Gume (as he is affectionately known), carries the ancestral lineage from the jungles of the Amazon of Ayahuasca curanderos. His intuitive, spiritual, psychic, kind, powerfully shamanic approach, protects the space and where appropriate, enables him to intervene to help participants to go through healing, cleansing, and the removal of negative energies.

Undergoing the journey through both San Pedro and Ayahuasca is exceptionally challenging, at least it is for me. And it is clear that what is vital is to have safety, support, and qualified guides. All of this was provided by SPJ’s.

At the beginning of the journey, it is suggested we make clear our intention, which for me came down to three areas of focus:

1. Personal healing for a medical issue and for trauma carried in my system, and for stress-related anxiety, which has been producing very difficult energetic processes and sensations in my body.
2. To be open to, and accept, whatever La Medicina (the plants), wished to show me.
3. To better understand how I, as someone who is a healer, teacher, and social activist, could better be of service.

At the culmination of the 10 days, it was clear that all three dimensions had been addressed, and of course, much more.
I should backtrack and say, actually, this was my second retreat with SPJ’s and both flowed together in a seamless whole, in that some of the knowledge and insights revealed in the first retreat, continued into the second.

Ayahuasca is a deep and ancient intelligence, and to be opened into ‘her’ realm, is to meet this intelligence that knows you so intimately, knows your body, (gave you your body), and the various realms of the living, dead, the cosmos, plants, the processes of karma, the ways of healing, absolutely directly, without any priestly intervention, theology, or spiritual interpretation. It is a direct meeting with consciousness that is deeply embodied in each of us at a cellular level.

To enter the flow of this knowledge, with its healing dynamic and revelatory processes, entails a death of sorts – at least that’s how I experienced it. I experence the process as getting in a Shamans boat, in order to travel through the realms of disintegration, (where fear arises), and into transformational process (where ultimately deep peace is possible and tasted.)

The journey also involves cleansing – called purging (puking, shiting, shaking) – all of which happened for me. But also a deep ‘surgery’ of sorts, where healing took place at a profound energetic level, shifting blocked energy creating dis-eases that emerge sometimes with life experiences, thought forms, beliefs and so on. I received advice from La Medicina about diet, and plants that were shown to me that can heal my condition.

Beside the physical level, much was revealed around healing the emotional and psychic planes, as well as an understanding that we live in a sacred hologram of energetic interface with other dimensions (including the ‘dead’ who were very alive to me, with messages), heirarchies of knowledge, light beings, earth spirits, plant intelligence. The evolutionary unfolding was glimpsed, with our task at this time to continue our (humanity) awakening process at speed at this few seconds before midnight. (We are headed toward mega storms – ecological, political, social upheval.)

I understood that there will be much collapse of the systems we have been under for centuries (patriarchy, capitalist, white supremacy), etc, and that the best way to prepare is through prayer, strengthening the heart through spiritual practice, and through nourishing community.

Basically, there was a lot to take in, and make relevant for new ways of being in my life. I was given guidance as to how best, with my skills and capactities, to contribute to this extreme time we are collectively living through.

All of this was carried by the Icaros, (shamanic songs) of Gume, and music of Neils, Sarah and Gume, which were so healing, like the wings of angels in the midst of stormy weather. Exquisite.

If you come on this journey, prepare yourself to be opened, made vulnerable, cleansed, to share your beauty, trials, your heart and soul with your fellow travellers. Prepare your body by eating cleanly before you come, and prepare your heart to let go of the walls you have created, prepare you mind to be opened.

Thank you Gume, Neils and Sarah for making such profound journeys possible. Also for the mini tours to various interesting local Inca sites, and for helping us negotiate all realms, from the ordinary and practical to the non-ordinary, and for your love, humor, stories, and support.

I’ll be back.
MelanieB
September 11, 2015 at 12:00 am

I went to this retreat a nervous wreck. I had anxiety daily. I was stressed out from work, alienated from family and friends, and felt completely lost. Its been a little over two months and these days I experience very minimal stress, no anxiety, and I am reconnecting with people again. I feel for the first time in a long time like I have a direction and meaning in life. I have Ayahuasca, San Pedro and Spirit Plant Journeys to thank for this.

The medicine was great. Some days, most days, were pretty rough for me. I was shown a lot about myself that was hard to accept but I was also shown a way through it. I am so thankful for the guidance of Bernhard who spent time with me talking me through the pain I was releasing. He always knew the right things to say and shared many helpful insights.

The Shaman Gumercindo held powerful ceremonies and I felt safe in his care. During one ceremony I felt the medicine really strongly and didn’t feel I could cope. I am not sure what he did, I could hear him singing over me, and I could feel him holding my head. I just followed the sound of his voice and found myself back in the room. Each ceremony with Aya was powerfully healing and insightful.

Neils and Sarah were wonderful guides and took us on day trips around Peru.
I went to the retreat for healing & inner exploration and also experienced the leisure of travel & exploration of ancient ruins. It was quite symbolic . The facility was a hidden and private gem with the cutest adobes, & plenty of pets to hang out with! The whole experience was life changing.
MattBrown
August 24, 2015 at 12:00 am

Simply amazing! I could write a long review, but really, I would just suggest you have the experience yourself. I cannot garuntee that the whole time will be enjoyable….mine was not. But I grew from it. No matter what you have read, you do not know what Ayahuasca is.

With spirit plant journeys, you are in good hands. Neils and Sarah are professional and experienced in helping those through tough spots. Gume and Bernard hold the space well and help to facilitate the plant medicines to their fullest effects.
Soror Mystica
August 10, 2015 at 12:00 am

Words can hardly begin to express the profound gratitude and love you will feel at Spirit Plant Journeys. Neils and Sarah have built something incredibly special because they are extraordinary people full of wisdom, talent, humor, and gentleness. If you are curious about the work but also a bit frightened, this is the place where you can leave those worries behind and trust that you are in very capable hands. Every detail is attended for you so you have a safe and blessed journey. (Our luggage was lost from the outset of our journey. Neils made sure that we got the essentials that we needed and also saw to it that the luggage was retrieved and delivered safely.)

The retreat is located at Las Chullpas Eco-lodge– a place of serene beauty in the Sacred Valley. The Earth there is maternal and healing. She becomes a great part of your journey with the plant medicines. As others have said, the outing to the ruins are fantastic and balance the work of the medicine. Peru is a place of great beauty, history, and mythic imagination. The plant medicines weave the wisdom they bring from the earth. It is profoundly healing to reconnect in such right relationship and to feel that connection so deeply rooted in your own body.

For me, the lessons of the San Pedro heart medicine were to love myself and to release the traumas I carried with me. One of the greatest teaching came when I expressed worry for my teenage children who have both struggled with anxiety and depression for many years–I was told that all I had to do to heal them was to heal myself. This permission for self care and deepened experience of self love has enriched my relationship with them and has had a healing effect for us all. San Pedro powerfully reaches into one’s pain, mulches it, and turns it into pure joy. it is truly the heart medicine. Bernhard is magic–intuitive, nurturing, and honest. He skillfully helps you work through your process and set the intention for the work with Mother Aya.

The four nights of Aya were the most powerful thing I have ever experienced. The wisdom to build massage and yoga into those days helped to sustain the body in practice for the evening. While it is hard to explain the power of the medicine, I can tell you that one thing I came to ceremony with was the plague of thoughts–the scorpions of the mind–which come with the troubles and stresses of divorce, single parenting and the freelancing life of a working artist. These thoughts have many times in my life riddled me with stress and fear. By the end of the retreat, the ability to quite the mind and connect with the universal force of love that is everywhere became effortless. Such freedom is palpable. While the evenings were not always blissful and some of them very difficult, Aya was in a constant process of attending and healing.

What was particularly powerful was the soulful connection we felt with the entire group, with each individual’s intention and in their blessings by Gume. To meditate so deeply with a group you love, to connect at the meta level and pray together, to share consciousness in that way was truly the most loving experience. Our group will always be our tribe. My healing was possible because I was in their company, in their hearts, and they in mine. Bless all of you for your courage to walk so softly but deeply in the world.

Gume is a force. The medicine works through your body by the way he sings the icaros. His voice is beautiful and resonate. He is a true servant to the medicine and has no ego. At the beginning of the trip, I arrived with a very bad pinched nerve–or pain in the neck (metaphor in practice) which had been so painful that even sleeping was difficult. This was present for a year. After the first two ceremonies, it disappeared. Gume also performed a special healing for me during one of the ceremonies which entailed sudden lower back pain. He completely drew this out of me. It was quite extraordinary.I wouldn’t dream of wanting to work with anyone else and look forward to returning soon. But perhaps one of the loveliest parts of the ceremony was they way Gume, Sarah, and Neils sang at the end. The songs were sighs of the heart that spoke so powerfully, loved so deeply, like lullabies did as a child. Those songs frequently play in my mind.

The outcomes after a month home have been subtle yet powerful: my yoga pratice has strengthened and I find it very easy to return to that deep and healing meditative space. Aya told me the first night that I was her daughter and I find it easy to connect to the wisdom of the earth whenever I need, am able to tap into the profound universal love with a heart full of gratitude. My ability to handle stress is far easier. My gentleness with my self is far greater. I was very blessed to attend this retreat with my love and partner, and I highly recommend this for couples. it is a beautiful reset for a relationship: one in which the sovereignty of the beloved is celebrated and granted. We look forward to returning and bringing our friends and family.
There is a quote that reminds me of this experience that I would like to share for it sums up the good work that all of the practitioners at Spirit Plant Journeys accomplish:
Integrity in love
Is the only true guide
to the wisdom that leads
to freedom.
—Marion Woodman

Spirit Plant Journeys was not just a retreat, it was a homecoming. Go home.

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Spirit Plant Journeys

Reviews (88)

gsteeves

avatar382

Ryan Gentleman

sas

damndissonance

holl272

SEA

MelanieB

MattBrown

Soror Mystica

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