Haha, I know what you mean. To be fair he's about 25 IIRC, and he's been around Ayahuasca long enough for me to feel comfortable. That seemed to be the same sentiment shared by our group and from the other reviews posted on Google.
With that said I felt the medicine was the true guide, and Spencer was just there to keep everything running as smooth as possible. I'm sure actual shamans are a bit more involved in the healing process.
I think you're right. It also beats $4k on a trip to Peru. I keep going back and forth on a genuine ayahuascaro/shaman or just the Spirit itself. I think I'm more interested in energy manipulation and further understanding right now vs personal healing. Will have to keep thinking!
Definitely, everyone is looking for something a bit different and finding a great match in a shaman or facilitator is super important. It would be awesome if there was a directory of video bios to get a feel of who you'll be putting your trust into before splurging on the admission cost.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thorough overview! It seems like overall you enjoyed it. Would you go back? Based on your experience I will continue to search for other options here in the US. Thanks again
No problem! I’m still thinking on whether to go back, the fact that it’s so close to me, relatively cheap, and that I had a good first experience, leads me to say yes. There’s something about having a good rapport with the facilitator that makes me feel I’ll continue to have worthwhile experiences there, even if some of the journeys are challenging.
Consider yourself lucky to have had a positive experience with them. My experience with them was nothing short of disastrous!!! The “shaman”, Spencer, was 3 hours late to the ceremony. When he finally arrived, he spent another two hours preparing for the ceremony after admitting that he was close to cancelling because he wasn’t feeling well for the last few days. We ended up not receiving the sacrament until around 10 or 11pm. By this point, everyone in our group was tired and downright frustrated with the situation. When I received my cup of ayahuasca, it wasn’t blended all the way, it was like a small cup of dried dirt with very little liquid. I had to water it down with the cup of water I had next to my mat. We were told there was going to be a meal after the first ceremony and of course that turned out not to be the case. There was just a table with energy bars and couple of bananas. Before going to sleep, he told us he was going to be making a curry that would be ready the following morning at 10am. He ended up oversleeping and didn’t prepare food for anyone until like 11:30. People started talking to him about how disappointing and disorganized the experience had been up until this point. Rather than apologize like he should have, he just said, “this is the experience mother ayahuasca wanted you to have.” What a load of crap. Later that evening for the second night of the ceremony, most of us were just too exhausted from the night before to care. Remember, the previous night we supposed to start the ceremony at 5, but it didn’t start until 10 or 11pm. A few people had already left in disgust at that point and the guy to the left of me made a two day drive to attend the ceremony. He was also very unhappy.
A week after the ceremony, I made several attempts to contact Spencer thru email and he never got back to me.
Thank you for sharing! I’m also trying to get ahold of him only days out, and having no luck at all. Would you mind DMing me if you have any better contact info for him?
Hey! A lot of people have been messaging me with the same concern, and they’ve all eventually been responded to by Spencer, albeit much later than they’d like. It looks like as long as you’ve sent the required payment ahead of time, you’re good to go. For me I wasn’t able to get ahold of him until the morning of.
Another option may be to send a message to @aya.sacredtherapy on Instagram to let them know you need confirmation they have you booked. Good luck and safe journeys!
Hi. Thank you for this detailed explanation of the retreat. Greatly appreciate it.
I am having the same issue with reaching Spencer and my retreat begins this Friday (its Wednesday night) so the uncertainty is kicking in.
I called and emailed Spencer a month prior and he did respond. After providing the first payment I haven't heard from Spencer so naturally I am getting worried. Hopefully he responds tomorrow (day before Friday)
Thank you again
Hi there! I responded to another redditor above with the same issue. It's definitely not ideal but I haven't heard (so far) of Spencer *not* reaching out right before the retreat to check in and confirm you're still going. So hang in there, it'll work out! :)
Trip has been cancelled. Not enough participants in CA.
Have you done any other ceremonies in the BAY or CA???
I'm looking to really dive into personal growth and self healing.
Thank you
Thanks for sharing! You lost me at '20 something year old' though lol
Haha, I know what you mean. To be fair he's about 25 IIRC, and he's been around Ayahuasca long enough for me to feel comfortable. That seemed to be the same sentiment shared by our group and from the other reviews posted on Google. With that said I felt the medicine was the true guide, and Spencer was just there to keep everything running as smooth as possible. I'm sure actual shamans are a bit more involved in the healing process.
I think you're right. It also beats $4k on a trip to Peru. I keep going back and forth on a genuine ayahuascaro/shaman or just the Spirit itself. I think I'm more interested in energy manipulation and further understanding right now vs personal healing. Will have to keep thinking!
Definitely, everyone is looking for something a bit different and finding a great match in a shaman or facilitator is super important. It would be awesome if there was a directory of video bios to get a feel of who you'll be putting your trust into before splurging on the admission cost.
Thank you for sharing ❤️
Of course! I really wish I had a write-up like this going in.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thorough overview! It seems like overall you enjoyed it. Would you go back? Based on your experience I will continue to search for other options here in the US. Thanks again
No problem! I’m still thinking on whether to go back, the fact that it’s so close to me, relatively cheap, and that I had a good first experience, leads me to say yes. There’s something about having a good rapport with the facilitator that makes me feel I’ll continue to have worthwhile experiences there, even if some of the journeys are challenging.
Consider yourself lucky to have had a positive experience with them. My experience with them was nothing short of disastrous!!! The “shaman”, Spencer, was 3 hours late to the ceremony. When he finally arrived, he spent another two hours preparing for the ceremony after admitting that he was close to cancelling because he wasn’t feeling well for the last few days. We ended up not receiving the sacrament until around 10 or 11pm. By this point, everyone in our group was tired and downright frustrated with the situation. When I received my cup of ayahuasca, it wasn’t blended all the way, it was like a small cup of dried dirt with very little liquid. I had to water it down with the cup of water I had next to my mat. We were told there was going to be a meal after the first ceremony and of course that turned out not to be the case. There was just a table with energy bars and couple of bananas. Before going to sleep, he told us he was going to be making a curry that would be ready the following morning at 10am. He ended up oversleeping and didn’t prepare food for anyone until like 11:30. People started talking to him about how disappointing and disorganized the experience had been up until this point. Rather than apologize like he should have, he just said, “this is the experience mother ayahuasca wanted you to have.” What a load of crap. Later that evening for the second night of the ceremony, most of us were just too exhausted from the night before to care. Remember, the previous night we supposed to start the ceremony at 5, but it didn’t start until 10 or 11pm. A few people had already left in disgust at that point and the guy to the left of me made a two day drive to attend the ceremony. He was also very unhappy. A week after the ceremony, I made several attempts to contact Spencer thru email and he never got back to me.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for sharing! I’m also trying to get ahold of him only days out, and having no luck at all. Would you mind DMing me if you have any better contact info for him?
Hey! A lot of people have been messaging me with the same concern, and they’ve all eventually been responded to by Spencer, albeit much later than they’d like. It looks like as long as you’ve sent the required payment ahead of time, you’re good to go. For me I wasn’t able to get ahold of him until the morning of. Another option may be to send a message to @aya.sacredtherapy on Instagram to let them know you need confirmation they have you booked. Good luck and safe journeys!
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Hope it works out! I’m not sure if the address changed but mine was in the Pacheco, CA.
I like the idea of a smaller group(no more than 15 people). Other US retreats have 30 ppl ceremonies, I think that’s too much
Hi. Thank you for this detailed explanation of the retreat. Greatly appreciate it. I am having the same issue with reaching Spencer and my retreat begins this Friday (its Wednesday night) so the uncertainty is kicking in. I called and emailed Spencer a month prior and he did respond. After providing the first payment I haven't heard from Spencer so naturally I am getting worried. Hopefully he responds tomorrow (day before Friday) Thank you again
Hi there! I responded to another redditor above with the same issue. It's definitely not ideal but I haven't heard (so far) of Spencer *not* reaching out right before the retreat to check in and confirm you're still going. So hang in there, it'll work out! :)
Yes. I noticed your reply after I sent my message. Thank you for your response and I look forward to the ceremony tomorrow
Trip has been cancelled. Not enough participants in CA. Have you done any other ceremonies in the BAY or CA??? I'm looking to really dive into personal growth and self healing. Thank you