About Our Retreats

Growth – un-becoming all that isn´t anymore.

To create space for the new to manifest, it´s necessary to let go of what no longer serves us.

The path of self-discovery is a path of truth, and when facing truth all parts must be looked at, recognized, accepted and integrated.

It´s a path of commitment, awareness and responsibility.

A deeply transforming journey with beautiful healing moments, but also with moments of deep discomfort, resistance and pain.

The path of self-discovery is about discovering / uncovering / unraveling. It´s the path of a lifetime that can only be taken by you.

Here, at Quinta da Fé, we want to help you (re)connect. We want you awake, rooted and more conscious. With optional use of ancestral remedies, with safety, comfort, confidentiality and without judgment, we will be here for you.

*Please note that our retreats are mixed - both women and men are invited to attend.

Welcome to Faith Retreats™️

Faith Retreats™️ opens its doors to a select few, to facilitate internal evolutionary processes and conscious exploration through physical, mental and spiritual cleansing using plant and animal medicines native to the sacred Amazon rainforest and the Sonoran Desert.

Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca stands as one of the most widely known psychedelic teacher plants used in native Amazonian shamanic rituals and, in the modern world, in healing from addiction, trauma and mental illness.

The anti-addictive properties present in Ayahuasca are thought to derive from its effects on dopaminergic, serotonergic receptors and mesolimbic pathways, successfully breaking down triggers, cues and pathological associations that go hand in hand with addictive impulses.

Ayahuasca produces a strong purging effect, whereby you will expel certain attachments to people, behaviors, emotions or situations that no longer serve you.

It is a powerful psychedelic and produces altering effects across all the senses, as well as a deep introspective period, where you can contemplate the resurfacing of repressed memories, emotions, feelings and thoughts in a short space of time, achieving in a matter of hours what years of talk therapy cannot.

Over the course of the first and second nights, you will be guided by expert Shaman Axis Mundi. Axis is a young shaman healer that has been working for twelve years with master plants and natural medicines, such as Ayahuasca, Iboga, Kambo, Bufo Alvarius, and many other forms of healing.

Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms)

In the spiritual and religious ceremonies of Mesoamerica, psychedelic or “magic” mushrooms have always played a pivotal role.

After a series of preclinical trials conducted in the USA during the 1960s and ‘70s, psilocybin, the psychedelic component found in over 180 types of mushrooms was proven highly efficient in treating a series of ailments such as depression, addiction and other mood disorders.

Soon after, they would be classified as a Schedule I drug and made illegal in the US, where they remain so to date.

Between 1 to 1.5 hours after ingestion, one notices changes in visual perception, thoughts and emotions. While a sense of wonder, delight and connection to the world and life are common, some people can experience darker, more challenging visions or emotions, depending on what residual pain and trauma they have still unaddressed.

This is natural, and an active part of the healing process. By re-living the more difficult parts of repressed memories, you will develop a better understanding of your more problematic impulses, addictions or habits and their reasons.

Live Music

During the mushrooms journey, we are delighted to combine Johnny White’s live sound-craft into our psilocybin healing for the ultimate sensory experience. Johnny has long been a musician, sound healer, Reiki master and holistic therapist who intuitively knows where to take you with his sonic tapestries. You will be treated to Chakra Activation with Crystal Singing Bowls, Vocal Toning, Sound baths and of course, “the ultimate sound journey.”

Kambo

Native to the upper Amazon rainforest, the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog has been held by indigenous tribes as both a potent warrior medicine and cleanser of body, mind and energy fields.

By raising one’s frequency, it cleanses and purifies the energetic body of negative energies, facilitating alignment with one’s higher self.

It is customary among many tribes to make use of this potent medicine either before or after rituals with other teacher plants, such as Ayahuasca or Iboga to deepen their integration and healing effects.

In addition to this, Kambo has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, and works wonders for the immune system, having medical applications as diverse as the treatment of addiction, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, cancer, immune diseases, trauma and grief.

With this medicine, as with Ayahuasca, it is normal to feel nauseous and purge, after which you will feel cleansed and revitalized. You may also feel a hot flush in the upper body and face, an increased heartbeat, and swelling of the face, but this is normal and will subside soon after.

Our facilitator, Axis Mundis, as member of the International Association for Kambo Practitioners (IAKP) works with members of the Matsés tribe to ensure not only the ethical harvest of the Tree Frog’s secretions in a way that does not harm this revered amphibian, while also ensuring fair trade prices and funding for those who provide the service of harvesting Kambo.

Sananga

Among the indigenous tribes of the Amazon rainforest, the administering of the powerful eye medicine, Sananga, is mostly used to sharpen night vision and aid in hunting.

On the more spiritual, psychedelic healing side of things, it is often used as a precursor in Ayahuasca ceremonies due to its capacity to increase the spiritual insight of those who take it.

While it does not provide any hallucinatory visions, and will cause an intense, painful sting in both eyes, through focused breath-work, you will do well to breathe into the pain as an essential part of the healing process.

Our facilitator will advise that, by accepting and even embracing the pain, you will not only clean and tone your vision, but your body, mind and spirit, and once the pain subsides, you will be left with a feeling of fullness and deep relaxation.

Rapé

Although nicotine is often considered a highly toxic, addictive substance in the modern world, to many indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica, it is revered as a sacred plant that cleanses not only ceremonial spaces, but individuals.

Pronounced “ha-peh,” this Amazonian snuff consists of several plants, one of the most common being Nicotiana Rustica.

Besides the tobacco itself, rapé often includes the alkaline ashes of other plants. The tobacco and other plants are ground to a fine powder, which is then either blown by a facilitator or shaman into the nostril cavities through a ceremonial pipe fashioned from bone or bamboo.

Some of its benefits include:

Increased focus of the mind.
Clears bad energies and paves the way for setting intentions.
Helps detox the body and clears energy field; especially useful in ayahuasca ceremonies.
Facilitates a calm, grounded feeling that outlasts the initial sensation.

Bufo Alvarius

The hallucinations experienced after the smoking of the Bufo Alvarius secretions, which happen instantly after ingestion can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the dosage.

Many who take it describe it as a highly connective experience, feeling one with the Universe and all beings, both plant and living, or with their own conception of God, and a visceral connection with the Source.

It is common to experience colors and looping patterns. In terms of sensations, there is a feeling of complete surrender, which can be described as a death of the ego, which amounts to a momentary suspension of our innate psychic defense system.

Note that if you have experienced trauma, Bufo may well bring it back up, as with your ego shut off, suppressed memories will tend to rise to the surface, including instances of forgotten sexual abuse, trauma, or even intergenerational trauma.

No matter how dark the trauma is re-experienced as, the good news is that on Bufo, you will often return to a wholesome, safe space of love, forgiveness and connection with the Universe after the experience.

Fire Talks

As part of the ongoing therapy and integration process, we here at Faith Retreats™️ believe there is much to be gained from sharing our pain and difficulties with one another, but also our joys. To talk openly about our pain helps us to connect and normalize what for a long time may have been a source of guilt and shame, paving the road for better healing and integration.

Cold Exposure Therapy & Breath-Work

with Christopher Dickson

A breath-work master and trained Wim Hof method instructor, Christopher felt the calling to alternative therapies and holistic healing early on and is a firm believer that we can recover our lost sense of connection through breath-work and cold exposure (such as ice baths). He will teach you a wondrous, renewed trust in the self-nurturing, restorative and innate healing capacity of the incredible, forgotten machine that is your own body.

Holotropic Breath-Work

with Álvaro de Ferranti

The practice of Holotropic Breathwork was created in the 1970s by psychiatrists Stanislav and Christina Grof. Designed as a way of achieving states of altered consciousness without resorting to drugs, it was intended as a therapeutic tool which has proven especially efficient in the treatment of addiction and relapse prevention.

Guided by Faith Retreats™️ and Tabula Rasa Retreat™️ founder, Álvaro de Ferranti, you will be taught how to induce shifted states of consciousness through the mere act of controlled breath.

Disclaimer:

Faith Retreats™️ does not provide psychoactive or controlled substances, nor are we licensed therapists, counsellors, or medical professionals. We are not spiritual guides or scientists; however, we offer you a safe set and setting, with an experienced team, so you can delve deep into your own ‘plant medicine’ journeys. We are a harm reduction company. We do not provide referrals to “underground” (illegal) psychedelic services. Any information received through our services should be considered for educational purposes and not be misconstrued as medical or legal advice. Please use your discretion to ensure our services meet your needs.