Accommodation
Ayahuasca Retreats Overview
We have carefully designed a variety of retreats throughout the year, to offer a heartwarming experience to every single soul visiting us here in the forest. Each retreat is different according to its program, length and theme, some are reoccurring every year and below you will find explicit details.
Vision Quest
A PROFOUND JOURNEY WITH THE SACRED MEDICINE INTO SILENCE AND INTROSPECTION
What lies behind the curtain? …Who am I?…What is my purpose? Come and quest for the answers that lie in the Beyond, and join us by the river for this intensive and profound journey of consciousness and healing. Not for the faint-hearted, Vision Quest is 10 day retreat of immersion into the medicine and nature. At the heart of the journey the group moves down to a special camp beside the river for 4 - 5 days and nights. Here, we totally immerse ourselves into nature, the sacred medicine of Ayahuasca, the elements and our inner and individual quest.
We are all in silence during these days and nights, each person has their personal and shaded spot in the forest or by the river where they sit during the day. There is the central fire area where the main guide sits. The drinking of the Ayahuasca occurs throughout the day, usually 2 - 3 times, or as needed. The group is summoned to the central fire to receive more medicine and guidance for the process. There are helpers available to assist if needed. There is one evening where the group drinks further into the night. During these days only certain fruits, coconuts and yuca root is eaten. Everyone sleeps around the fire at night.
At the end of this quest at the river, we hold a sunrise sweat lodge ceremony to cleanse, purify, ground and welcome in our newly received vision and intentions. By the guidance of Ayahuasca, SOL Circle developed this unique retreat, for a deeper connection with the Medicine and the forest and fusion of worlds to occur. For each person the experience is unique and this retreat will give you strength and courage.
Feitio Celebration
COMING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY TO INTENTIONALLY CREATE THE SACRED MEDICINE FROM THE LAND.
The Feitio is a Brazilian Santo Daime term for the festival of preparing the brew of Ayahuasca.
Sound of Light Circle has been holding Feitio festivals since establishing its Medicine Center at Florestral forest community in Costa Rica.
We have created a retreat around the process of cooking that invites people from around the world to come participate in and learn about the process of cooking. The main Feitio festival is held during the December and June Solstice, and sometimes during the Equinox in March and September.
The tea is prepared ceremoniously for up to 12 days. During the retreat participants partake in all the process of cooking, from harvesting to preparation, tending to the fire, cooking and drinking the brew during its various stages of preparation. We also hold multiple ceremonies beside the cooking pots through the retreat, energetically exchanging our prayers and intentions with the steaming pots, a point when the medicine can ‘hear and feel us’ and even enhance the individual’s experience during these special moments. At Florestral we lovingly grow a variety of Ayahuasca Vine and Chacruna, the two components that form the brew.
Participants learn about the different kinds of plants and make contact with them and enjoy the process of harvesting. We then share the process of cleaning and preparing the pieces of vine and the leaves and fill the pots together. We spend a lot of time together in circle around the brewing, sharing intentions and singing sacred songs. During the retreat we will usually work to prepare the Medicine 2 - 3 times. Once the pots are cooking on the fire, the group partakes in other activities, such as nature hikes, yoga , meditations, group sharing circles and personal quiet time. For some the process of helping to cook the medicine offers the opportunity to ‘give back’ for all the wonder they have received. For those that are new to the Medicine it gives the chance to connect deeper with the plants and the medicine path before drinking.
We are taught to cook the medicine in the way of the Santo Daime, cooking it during Solstice and Equinox. It is a labor of love and devotion and it is so very special to make the brew as community, as we work, sing and pray together throughout the process bringing our united intentions of healing and gratitude into it.
Ring of Fire
A UNIQUE SOL IMMERSIVE RETREAT TO JOURNEY THROUGH OUR FIVE SACRED TEMPLE SPACES.
Welcoming the group to the SOL Medicine path we will begin our healing journey by purifying ourselves in a sweat lodge ceremony with the San Pedro Medicine. For our first experience with the Ayahuasca we will hold a tribal circle outdoors in the forest around the fire, drumming with the forces of nature deep into the night.
Next will be an afternoon ceremony in the garden, dedicated to the light within and heart opening medicine of the hummingbird, following the path of the sun we will transition into the night experiencing the shift of time together with nature. We will then move to our Daime Temple to hold a traditional all-night SOL ceremony. Throughout the days we will have a yoga and meditation program to support the personal process of each one. We will integrate our journey in the way of the yogi, aligned within our new found truth, we bring our full presence to the holy space of the Fire Temple for our final offering of prayer and song. We invite you to the forest, to feel the force of the earth, cleanse in her waters, open up your wings as you awaken your Phoenix Spirit in the holy fire.