STARSONG SANCTUARY RETREATS

AN OVERVIEW

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Thank you for committing to being with your soul’s work and for the opportunity to serve you

and provide a safe and sacred container for your journey. Whenever we choose to step

towards our deep work, all of life benefits. Our active ceremony time together is a small jewel in

the beauty of life’s greater journey. The integration of our work together into our everyday lives

is big magic. My prayer is to offer the guidance and support to nurture a life-long relationship

with Grandmother Aya and to gracefully support you with tools to dive and thrive.

 

When Grandmother calls you, there is YES. She speaks clearly. We know when we are called.

We may feel many feelings with this yes. Joy, excitement, fear, sadness, confusion, longing for

clarity. There is plenty of room in the YES. This is where we begin, the initial invitation to

surrender, to open our intentions and begin to refine our bodies, our minds, our hearts. When

we enter our dieta, and are preparing our bodies to drink Ayahuasca, we are making space for a primary relationship to develop with Grandmother Aya. Master Plants are teachers. We approach them as we would a revered elder with respect for the wisdom they hold and share. Preparing ourselves to receive is like polishing a crystal glass before an honored guest comes. Before we pour our offering, we polish and make clear our intent.

 

Intent and expectation, while they can walk closely together, are two unique paths. Expectation

is rooted in the past and is an energy of control and even resistance that almost always fails us. One of the blessings of expectation is that it can lead us to clarify our intent. When we take the moment to recognize the feelings that arise with an expectation, we can soften and lean into our intent. Like a river smoothing a stone, we can rest there. Meanwhile, a focused intent is an opportunity to connect and aim true. While intent may form initially in our minds, over time as we prepare ourselves, it will become more alive in our bodies and the daily experience of life will affirm this.

 

So, in preparation, we make shifts to our diet, what and how we nourish our bodies and create consciousness around what we consume. We sacrifice our typical habits. The word sacrifice has shifted so much from its true meaning. To “sacrifice" is to make sacred something we consider mundane. As we shift our eating and drinking habits we make a sacred vessel of our bodies (and subsequently we have less cleaning and clearing to do when we sit in ceremony). I highly encourage journaling during this time. Writing down our thoughts, feelings, expectations and or desires all bring us closer to forming what we are asking to become clear, what we are bringing to Grandmother for her wisdom to illuminate. Journaling in the form of writing a letter to her, singing, making art, movement or dancing are all encouraged.

 

A two night minimum is required for all Grandmother retreats, and I personally prefer three. You are welcome to choose how many nights you are called to sit in ceremony. I typically sit ceremony on new moons, with a flex (starting day) of 3 days before or after. Requests for full moon sits will be considered on an individual basis. A 50% deposit is due when reserving dates. When I am traveling off island to serve I ask that my flight fees and accommodations are paid by either the host or collectively by the group for the days/nights of our time together. 

 

Special arrangements and other financial exchange for retreat locations (that are not held at the individual’s home) will be discussed on an individual basis, including availability for one on one retreats at my personal temple space. Space rental will be either the individual’s financial responsibility or an equally shared responsibility if for a group. 

 

Once dates are chosen, deposits are paid and dietary preparations have begun, calls can be scheduled for support and clarity, and the larger context of the ceremonial work begins. All questions are valid and will be addressed with care. Often, Bobinsana, Master Plant heart medicine and teacher of deep acceptance and self love, will also be offered in preparation for ceremony with Grandmother.

 

All retreats include 3 post ceremony integration phone calls and can be scheduled at your preference. All calls are over Signal, a private and encrypted app. All conversations are ethically held in privacy and with great honor. What is spoken to over the phone or in person and all that is experienced in retreat is private and will not be shared with others.

 

Custom retreats with other Master Plants Bobinsana, Wachuma, Cacao, or Noya Rao, in addition to Grandmother Aya, are available upon request.

 

What to expect when you arrive for retreat:

 

We gather by 11 am so that there is time to settle in and that we may share a meal before our fasting time begins at 1 pm. After our meal, we will share a meditation, and the rest of our day is for quiet rest and personal time as we prepare to enter the ceremony in the evening. If meeting as a group, there will be an offering of quiet service to support our host (light service work on the land or in the home cleaning).

 

What to expect for ceremony time:

 

We begin opening prayers in the ceremony space just before dark. Once the medicine is

served, our conversations will be closed. We sit in complete darkness. We honor this time in an

inner way to listen and direct our attention to Grandmother. We will sit in silence for a period

of time, reflecting on our intentions. My job is to hold a safe and sacred container for your good

work. My job is not to influence, alter, fix, soothe or change your experience in any way. I offer

my voice and instrumental sound as tools to move energy and support in ways that are clear,

prayerful and empowering. If physical assistance is needed for getting to the bathroom, please

ask. Otherwise, again, we will not speak to one another with words during the ceremony time.

Once we are in ceremony, we commit to staying in the space except for needing use of the

bathroom. When we sit up we are actively engaged in listening to our teacher, Grandmother

Aya. There may be times when she requires us to stretch or move for comfort or expression but primarily we come to sit up and be guided by her teaching and or visions. There may come a time in the work when she clearly invites you to rest and lie down, but this position is not encouraged without her direct invitation. The shift between lying down and sitting can be one that differentiates a consciousness of what is happening to you or for you as one is passive and the other is involved and attentive. Duration of ceremony time may range from 4 to 9 hours. When it is clear that the greater portion of our active journey is complete; we will each go to our own rest. We will keep our silent time until the following morning at 8am. Breakfast will be prepared by 8am. If you are hungry before that time you are encouraged to nourish yourself as you need. Following breakfast we will circle to pray, meditate and share in an open listening style, meaning without comment on other’s sharing. Our fasting time will begin at 1pm again as we prepare for the next night’s journey.

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After our final night of ceremony concludes:

 

After our final night of ceremony and then resting overnight, keeping silent until 8am, we will share breakfast and then return to the circle to share, integrate and pray together. We will formally close the ceremony with salt and citrus, effectively completing the journey work before stepping back into the greater world. The integration of the ceremonial time shared will continue to unfold and be present with us for the rest of our lives. Having arrived as individuals, we leave as family, supported. 

 

I ask that folks are prepared to leave the retreat space by 3pm on the last day of your stay. Transportation to and from the retreat is your personal responsibility. You may schedule your first integration call before leaving or wait and schedule when you are called to.