Plant Medicine
What Plant Medicine Is, and What It Isn't
Psilocybin is our church’s single sacrament, and ayahuasca is a plant medicine we offer in Baja, Mexico. People have worked with both for a long time. The medicine alone is not the healing. Preparation, ceremony and integration are the work. Here is how we hold each one. Not sure which is right for you?Start with Find My Archetype below.
The Medicines
The medicines we hold
Psilocybin
Psilocybin
The medicine in our Awaken retreat in Colorado. Our facilitators include Austin Mao, Tamara Golden and Jo Ann Forristal, who each hold a Colorado natural medicine facilitator license. Our ceremonies are held under RFRA.
Read moreAyahuasca
Ayahuasca
An Amazonian brew of vine and leaf. Heal takes place in Baja California, Mexico, held as ceremony, with the same preparation and integration as every Ceremonia retreat.
Read more
The Container
How we use plant medicine
Prepare
A free connection call, then your application and medical intake. Our nurse practitioner reviews every intake. One month of virtual preparation before retreat, where we teach skills of curiosity and connection.
Read moreHold
Ceremony in a group, with facilitators, on a one-week retreat. Jo Ann Forristal, a family nurse practitioner, is on site.
Read moreIntegrate
One month of virtual integration is included. Optional two-month extension if you want more support.
Read more
Ceremony is not recreation
Ceremony means intention, a held setting, preparation and integration. Take the same medicine out of that context and the experience can be very different, and sometimes harmful. Read more about how our ceremonies are held.
Lineage
These traditions have roots. We name them, and we do not claim a tradition that is not ours. How we think about this →
Want to find out whether this is right for you?
A name does not predict an experience
Ayahuasca is a brew with preparations that vary; psilocybin is a compound found in certain mushrooms. Each has its own pharmacology and risk considerations. Individual health, dose, expectations, and surroundings also matter, so a simple description such as “gentle” or “intense” cannot predict what will happen for one person.
When comparing options, ask about screening, facilitator qualifications, consent, emergency planning, and the support available afterward. Indigenous communities have distinct histories and practices around traditional medicines; a contemporary retreat should be clear about its own practices and their sources. A clinical research result does not establish the outcome of a retreat.
Review of ayahuasca pharmacology and safety · Preparation guide · Integration guide