Mental Health Retreats: Advantages.
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To begin, keep in mind that, even though people may return to these locations regularly, they typically leave months or even years between each visit. You can’t be addicted to doing something once a year or even once every few months.
Others may have even more compelling reasons for returning to these retreats. Here’s is a complete list:
Every ayahuasca journey is an opportunity to learn something new about yourself and the universe. Each experience is unique and shows you exactly what you need to know at this moment. Look at it as an academic program. You can learn and learn about a specific subject by attending a lecture. Knowing a little about something new is exciting. But as soon as you realize there’s more to learn, it leaves you yearning to attend another seminar to learn more about something else entirely. This isn’t an addiction but rather a quest for information and wisdom. Ayahuasca drinkers are not addicted to the brew like college students are not addicted to their courses. There is a desire on their part for further education.
The ceremonial frame is a cultural tool to prevent the abuse of strong medicinal sacred plants. As the people come together in a tribe to heal and celebrate life, with a clear intention, and energetical protection from a shaman or facilitator, there opens a safe space to use this medicine in a proper way. Western civilization lost the knowledge about the proper use of psychedelic medicine. Consequently, our society is dealing with issues like drug addiction and a loss of spiritual awareness. Learning from other cultures such as tribes from the amazon can help us bring back ancient wisdom for this time where we need it.
Besides that, with ayahuasca, you see life from a different perspective and your consciousness expands immensely. It shows you very honest your patterns and how you treat yourself and the world around you. This experience can be a strong lesson and you need a bit of courage to take the responsibility for what you have been reflected. The sacred plant shows you your light and your darkness. Balance is one of the most difficult things in life. It helps a lot to face your darkness and integrate your unaware and destructive aspects into your life in a constructive way. This consciousness work helps actually to reduce any addiction or compensation behavior.
Ayahuasca also has the effect of purifying the body. Negative thoughts and feelings build up over time and have a negative impact on you. Allowing ayahuasca to cleanse you and purify you removes this baggage and is restored to your ultimate, potentiated state. As soon as people return from South America, their friends can tell because the person’s aura is completely different from when they haven’t visited in a while. Those who have had a few ayahuasca sessions will feel positively radiant.
Ayahuasca can heal you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We often arrive at ayahuasca retreats with minor ailments, and either the brew or the curandero leading the ceremony can help. It’s a bit like getting a checkup every so often. It is no longer necessary for us to go to Western-style hospitals because ayahuasca is both curative and preventative. It heals you on the deepest level, the energetical body where all the diseases are born and manifest in your emotions and finally in your physical body. The healing begins at the source and this is the reason why ayahuasca is a very effective medicine. Even if you don’t understand what is going on with your body or your emotions, in the ayahuasca ceremony, you will.
Most retreats take place in stunning natural settings. It’s worth the trip to be in the Amazon rainforest, far from civilization and in tune with nature’s rhythms, where we hold our ceremonies. It is important to remember that the medication is only one aspect of your overall experience. In reality, ayahuasca is just a tool and you are the only one who can heal yourself. When you come back from a retreat you feel empowered and beautiful but it is your task to do your homework and change the things in life that the sacred plant has shown you.
Depending on where you go, a Mental health retreat can also be a place where you meet like-minded people. When people experience such an uplifting process, it opens them up and makes them much more inviting to others. The change in their energy can be felt by others too. It’s common for people whose energy fields initially don’t pique our interest to begin to change after several ayahuasca sessions. As the energy field lightens and the layers start to peel off, it becomes much easier to connect and see the beautiful person hiding inside. Whoever sits next to you in a ceremony and you maybe judge people by their outward appearance, inside the medicine everyone is your brother or sister. Sharing life-changing experiences can also make lifelong friendships.
