WHERE.
The only healing center I recommend that serves ayahuasca is Soltara in Costa Rica. I have personally been supported through many retreats there, their advisory team (Dr. Gabor Maté, Dennis McKenna, and others) is top notch, and I have personal relationships with the staff from the COO to the kitchen workers to their indigenous healers. These retreats are framed in the context of deep healing and built to hold powerful space.
Soltara works hard to keep the tradition of ayahuasca rooted in the indigenous lineages that have preserved it since prehistory, as well as the importance of modeling modern sustainable values. They hire locals and pay them fair wages, donate resources to their native neighbors, and offer themselves as respectful guests to the pristine environment Costa Rica prides itself on — the kind of energy and context ideal for medicine work. They also provide a general scholarship program for those with financial constraints, and an additional one for BIPOC. Mee Ok offers sessions to scholarship students at a 40% discount. You may donate toward Mee Ok’s fund for low-income individuals seeking support and guidance.
“Become who you are.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
WHY.
Much can go wrong on the healing path, especially with ayahuasca. While there is no perfect place or healer, Soltara is the only place I feel confident sending people where I know they will be safe — both during their active medicine work and after. I recommend joining The Maloca to explore their ongoing offerings and learn more about their community and the support they provide.
Sacred medicine has been a pillar of every society except for the modern. When approached with reverence under the guidance of an indigenous practitioner grounded in an ancient tradition, it can provide revolutionary healing on a profound level.
“Even gods cannot kill you. They can only transform you into something else.”
— Ovid
Artwork: Donum Lumine (Hierosgamos)
– A. Andrew Gonzalez
HOW.
This modality of healing can involve healing on an ancestral, DNA-level, energetic surgery, rewiring of neurons in the brain, and the uncovering of memories and the unconscious beliefs that arose from them. Constituted from both light and shadow work, this process requires a great unlearning of our modern, mechanistic paradigm, which allow us to enter the realm of Mystery, or the quantum.
Profound shifts and epiphanies result in lasting transformation with the hard work of integration, guidance, and support that helps keep you grounded and maintain perspective throughout your process, while offering the teachings of the elders and the plants to see you through. A skilled coach can help to remind you of the great progress you’ve made, intentions you’ve set, the reasons why you’ve embarked on this journey when challenges arise, and the rewards that await you.
To sign up for one of their retreats, click here and use the code “MEEOK” at checkout for a $200 discount.
