Spring Retreat

The retreat that has just passed was once again a meeting.  A meeting with a group of fellow travellers.  A meeting with the raw and generous nature of Portugal. We met the sun, the rain and the rainbow.  We met the mysterious fog that arrived like a veil between worlds, softening the visible and inviting us to trust what cannot be clearly seen.  And most importantly a meeting with ourselves beyond the stories we were used to telling.

 

Once again, we were entrusted by a group from England, Bulgaria and Poland. And once again, we felt what a profound gift it is to be allowed to serve.  Angelika, Tibor and I Lilia, as the Syntara team.

 

Each person arrived carrying an intention. Some came seeking understanding. Some came longing to overcome, to accept, to forgive, to release, to remember. Beneath these intentions were often the traces of life’s difficult roads, symptoms, adaptations, protective patterns, old griefs and stories that had once helped someone survive but had become too narrow to live.

 

In psychedelic-assisted inner work, the medicine can open a door. But the door itself is not the journey. We, the facilitators, help hold that door open for a few days with structure, care and presence. Through that doorway each person walks at their own pace. The work unfolds according to the rhythm of each soul.

 

And yet, the meeting always happens.

Sometimes it happens through the eyes of another participant.

Sometimes through movement, tears, laughter, silence or a song.

Sometimes through the steady support of a facilitator.

Sometimes in the inner space where a person meets themselves.

 

The six days of retreat are only the visible culmination of a much longer passage. Transformation begins before arrival. It begins with the decision to come. It begins in the first individual conversation between the team and each participant and then continues in the two group preparation sessions, essential before the retreat.  They help transform fear and expectation into intention. They help turn the tension of unknown faces soften into tenderness and support.

 

During the retreat we entered many doorways.  There was movement, silence, breath, art, embodiment, sharing and integration. Each practice became a thread in the larger weaving of the journey.

 

The food was extraordinary. The culinary support of chef Stef was not simply nourishment ( https://tastemeetsinstinct.com ) , but a part of the medicine of the retreat. Every meal reminded us that healing is not only found in peak experiences.  The care of the house and the atmosphere created by our host Sita gave the retreat its body. ( https://bodhi-bhavan.com ) In addition, Sita’s experienced hands supported the integration of several participants through healing massages.

 

Medicine does not do the work alone. The work happens in relationship with preparation, with the group, with the facilitators, with nature, with the body and with the ongoing discipline of integration.  This is why we honour not only the ceremonial days, but the before and the after.