Frequently asked questions

Our retreats are conducted in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Preparation and integration work can be done either in person or virtually.

Sweetgrass is used in healing rituals around the world for purification and summoning positive energies. It’s traditionally dried and braided into three strands which represent the mind, body, and spirit. Individually, these blades of dried grass can bend and break. But when sweetgrass is woven together into a braid, it becomes resilient.

This makes sweetgrass the perfect symbol for our practice as we believe in healing by equally addressing your emotional, physical and spiritual well-being to strengthen your resilience, confidence and self-awareness.

Your experience is held by two highly experienced guides who bring together clinical expertise, mindfulness practice, and a deep respect for the healing potential of plant medicine.

One guide is a licensed clinical social worker and psilocybin-assisted therapist specializing in trauma, anxiety, grief, and loss. Her work is grounded in both evidence-based modalities and compassionate presence. With advanced training in approaches such as Brainspotting, iRest Yoga Nidra, the Safe and Sound Protocol, and psychedelic-assisted therapy, she supports participants in accessing and healing the deeper layers of their inner experience. Her approach is rooted in authenticity, safety, and the belief that when people feel truly understood, meaningful change becomes possible.

The other guide brings a complementary foundation in mindfulness, education, and whole-systems thinking. With a background as a lifelong educator, nonprofit executive, and leader in the natural products and plant medicine field, he focuses on creating environments that support both individual and collective well-being. His work integrates meditation, nutrition, sustainable living, and plant medicine practices, helping to shape the overall retreat experience with intention and care.

Together, your guides hold a space that is both clinically grounded and spiritually attuned—where science and sacred practice are not separate, but woven together. Throughout your journey, you are supported with presence, experience, and deep respect for your unique process.

Individuals who take part fully in the preparation stage, 30-60 days before the actual journey, and follow it with 2-4 months of integration have the greatest success. Exceptions may be made but this is a process that requires time, education, and adding new practices that will support your growth, post-journey. Individuals in a hurry miss out on a critical part of what helps deepen and sustain the healing.

No. We have collaborated with many people who have a great deal of experience with psychedelics in recreational settings. Across the board, they report that this therapeutic experience is remarkably different in length, depth and intensity of insight and healing. 

Individuals with no experience find that one or two therapeutic sessions is enough and no further use, recreational or otherwise, is desired. Others may find that more support is necessary, depending on the nature of their work.

Spiritual development refers to the process of evolving and deepening one’s connection with their inner self, higher power, or the essence of life, in order to attain a sense of purpose, inner peace, and personal growth.

Spiritual healing is an ongoing and dynamic journey that involves exploring and understanding one’s beliefs, values, and purpose in life.

Psilocybin opens up your mind and heart to help you foster a deep sense of self-awareness, empathy, and connection with the universe; allowing for personal growth and self-awareness, exploration of beliefs and values, connection with a higher power or the universe.

Psilocybin is very safe as it is nontoxic and nonaddictive. It can increase heart rate and blood pressure so individuals with cardiac issues and hypertension may need medical clearance to take part. Hospitalizations for psychosis and negative responses to alcohol or other substances may also require medical clearance to be invited to join a retreat.

Additionally, individuals taking anti-anxiety/anti-depressants/pain medications may need to taper off so that they are medication free for at least 3 days before the journey. This is done under the guidance of your healthcare provider. Other supplements may also need to be avoided during this time, e.g. 5-HTP, Saint John’s Wort.

The medicine has a way of showing you where your work is. It is hard to un-know once you become aware. Attempts to return to your life and the status quo can cause internal dissonance leading to agitation and irritability. So, when you decide to do this work, it is important to be fully committed to the full process and welcoming of the insights for your growth and healing.

Again, the process matters. Bad trips are often the result of not knowing what to expect and being afraid. They can also be the result of not feeling safe in the environment where one is journeying. Sometimes bad trips come with trying to fight or manage the experience. Preparation is a process of learning what to expect, asking questions to allay fears, getting to know your guide, and creating a collaborative environment for healing.

You run the risk of just having a ‘gee-whiz’ experience if you expect the journey to do all the work for you. While the medicine is powerful, it is best viewed as a tool that expands our ability to see where our healing work is. Integration is a multifaceted approach to making sense of the experience and the insights gained. This might require big changes in lifestyle or just small adjustments. For many people integration is learning how to be more expansive in their life – imagining more for themselves, trying on new practices and habits. Successful integration requires an intentional and structured approach and the support of a therapist or integration coach.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of interest around the use of psilocybin. We are a small retreat staff and cannot function as a clearinghouse of information for every question that may arise. For this reason, we ask individuals to express their clear intention and desire to collaborate with us through a deposit. If you don’t meet the criteria for the work, the deposit is refunded. 

The tuition includes the advanced preparation sessions with your guides, journal, transportation to/from airport, meals/snacks, accommodations, massage, fire ceremonies, cacao ceremony, guided journeys, excursions to outdoor experiences, breathwork session, dinner at a rooftop restaurant in beautiful San Miguel, onsite integration sessions, and follow up integration sessions once you return home.