Thank You!
This website is a project from former participants and students with the purpose to share their insights on the healing experience and teachings.
Our position is we will never try to convince anyone that we are the right fit in regards to a medicine circle retreat, workshop, tradition, seminar or teaching. Neither we will discredit other organizations. We respect the diversity of expressions of other people. We have learned that Compassion is a great ally for growth.
Thank you all for your support and courage!
“Hope all is well in your life. I hadn't realized this email thread was for everyone that helped out during our ayahuasca ceremony, and the integration process (Shaba)! So, I just wanted to take time to honor you, and thank you for such a life changing experience that you have all been apart of.
My time after ayahuasca has been some of the most beautiful and alive moments I have ever felt! It's as though I am completely rebirthed and seeing the world a new, especially my inner world! Yes I had knowledge and have had spiritual experiences, but I never truly knew how to integrate it in my daily life. I now feel, as opposed to just knowing. I am able to map out and see where I want to go like never before!
The broken child, and the human in me feels restored and healed!
Thank you so much again! I wish you nothing but love, inner peace and a life filled with beauty and wonder.
”
— Elvis K.
“My retreat at Joshua Tree is an inexplicable journey. I had the most amazing experience with all the wonderful people that was there. I suggest you go with an open heart, open ears, open eyes, and open mind. Each one of the facilitators have their unique wisdom I learned so much from them. I learned that you have to get out of your comfort zone, go with the flow of life, and surrender to the process in order to receive the Blessings. I reconnected with myself and I rediscovered how to love myself and how to live in harmony once again. Life has turned a lot easier for me now that I’m implementing into my daily living everything I learned on my retreat. I’m more at peace with myself, I walk with an open heart, I’m inspired, I’m alive, I’m grounded. Thank you Shaba, Amit, Mila, and Drew for all your help and wisdom what an honor to have met you all and I’m looking forward to next time.”
— A.R
“The biggest message I received in the ceremony is the fluidity, tranquility, and opportunity in the present moment. There is nothing but the present moment, I now put extra intention to bring gratitude to the spaces and life beings around me. I intend to act with honor to those beings and to myself. No habit can be changed overnight. Through present moment awareness of thoughts, habits, speech, and personal energy can I change myself. Without the tranquility of the ceremony and the work of you, Drew, Amit, and the other participants I would not have received this message. I would have still felt confused, trapped, and hopeless. Now I am acutely aware of freedom at the moment. I work with the intention to stay in contact with it.”
— Alexandra
Reconnect with Planet Earth Reconnect within yourself.
Perhaps you feel the world sometimes is full of noise. And it can be hard to find the space you need to truly feel at peace with yourself and in tune with nature. But what if we told you that there's a place where you could go for spiritual healing, deep reflection, and reconnecting with your true self?
“I write today in a deep gratitude from moments of reflection on your actions, thoughts, and care you chose to show me.
As you threw the pink flower into the fire, you helped me let go of an innocence that had overstayed its welcome in me and my family for generations. For this, we are grateful. I have been able to breathe deeper, and create rituals for breathwork and cleansing. I allowed my stubbornness and lack of faith to dominate my energy. I let my fears control my actions and became ignorant of people around me.
You did not waver. You did not get angry. You did not lash out. You stood strong and grounded. You did not contribute to any cycles of negativity or pain. You held me. You helped keep me safe from myself. You did not shame me. You did not turn your back on me. Your wisdom helped me see how to help myself. Your kindness helps me let go of an irrational fear of men. I thank you for being a strong healthy masculine influence in my life. Thank you for choosing to show up for women. Thank you for your efforts to create a more conscious experience on this planet. You are deeply revered and cherished.
”
— A.J
“By the end of this experience, I wrote 5 different ideas to improve my life. Not only on my personal side, but on my business side as well. I came home with tools and ways to identify triggers in situations and how to deal with them. Last but not least, I feel much more calm and focused on my daily life.”
— Sebastian
“ So many beautiful changes in me to prepare me to take this step. Thank you for being so present with me at the last ceremony. It was such an honor to see you embody the great spirit of mystery, groundedness, and compassion. I learned so much from that experience, it gave me what I needed to deal with attachments & those places where I couldn't honor myself outside the ceremony. It was so rich, combining the lessons, life, your teachings & spirit after I left. I wanted to thank you for the container you provided. It was awesome!!!”
— C.C
What is a Sacred Plant Medicine Circle?
Join the Healing Experience Smile, Breathe and go Slowly. Sneak Peek.
“ Last weekend I connected with Mother Ayahuasca and it was amazing .. no fear no resistance etc. All my experience, teachings and journey started from Exactly the same points I have left on Saturday night in Joshua Tree. Now I see all my Ayahuasca experience as one complete whole, complete story… Now it’s time to go to the next level.
”
— Dimas Y.
“Thanks for the incredible experience. I am still processing and like inside a magic bubble.”
— A.P
“Both Leah and I had an amazing time this weekend. The ceremony and medicine are an unforgettable experience and we want to thank you for facilitating.
”
— Leah & Chris
“Thank you all for a life transforming weekend. We are very interested in attending next year. Please let us know when you have one or more scheduled next year.We are also interested in micro-dosing as follow up. I would like to learn more about microdosing if this will be of support. Warmly.
”
— P.
Who is the Shaman in you?
This is about learning to Know Yourself. To confront the worst enemy of all...Yourself! A shamanic spiritual retreat led by energy healing practitioners, where you will experience the sacred medicine of nature through daily rituals. Experience yourself as you are--as one with all that lives. You will learn how to nurture your relationship with self, others, the earth and cosmos through ceremony, teachings, workshops and ceremonies that honor our unique gifts.
“Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend. It was pure magic and I am missing all of you already. Sending so much love and gratitude.
”
— Sarah
“I had a wonderful weekend. I am so very grateful for your support and the incredible support of the whole team. I feel very motivated to continue walking this path. Many blessings to you, my friend.
”
— Rebecca
“Thank you so much for your help throughout this entire journey. It was absolutely amazing and I understand what it means now when they say the vine of death. My ego truly died this past weekend and I healed a lot of my past trauma. So I really want to thank you for everything you and the team did. Regards.”
— Megan
“Quite simply, I had an illuminating experience. I am so very grateful to you and the team that facilitated such a beautiful process for us all. I felt welcomed, and more importantly, safe. I came away with what the medicine needed to teach me, and also with more direction for the work I need to do for myself and others.
”
— A.R
Are you ready to Initiate?
To establish a School of Shamanic Initiation that inspires, teaches and ignites every Human Being on this Planet Earth to:
- Create their own reality,
- Support and flourish their own potential,
- Give light to creativity and celebration.
In Gratitude with each and everyone of you that have been present at the The School of Shamanic Initiation.
“A few things that could be improved- more clear instructions about itinerary and logistics earlier than a few days would have been helpful for planning, but I also can see how not having us fixated on that was helpful. I would have been helped with the reminder of taking it easy as far as work the week off, I worked the morning off and was rushed trying to get everything done before driving in. That also is part of my struggle though, so may have been unique to me.
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— J
“The food was excellent!! I did not snack after but others did and were happy the kitchen was open. It all felt healthy and nourishing and fresh. I appreciated that I could opt out of sananga and tobacco, but would have liked more information or discussion about it at some point. I enjoyed the podcast also. I listen to many podcasts daily on mental health, science, wellness, society and culture, as I find it an efficient way to passively learn while doing other tasks or walking, and appreciate learning always. If it would be useful or interesting, I would be willing to talk about ayahuasca from a psychiatrist’s perspective on an episode! I have always loved plants and am trying to keep cultivating my relationship with them, whether houseplants, food, or medicine.In good health.
”
— Jasdeep
“De un comienzo, los correos con información que mandas antes de la ceremonia fueron bastante instructivos hasta para mi, que ni siquiera es mi primera vez. Toda la comunicación hasta el momento de llegar al retiro fue excelente, así que es algo que deberían seguir haciendo.
Con respecto al retiro en si, todo maravilloso, realmente. El cuidado y atención que ponen ustedes durante todo el tiempo del retiro es perfecto, en específico durante las ceremonias. De el lugar, a la estructura del fin de semana con respecto a los horarios, etc. me parecieron muy bien. Una de las cosas que antes no le solía sacar el mejor beneficio (al menos yo) era la ceremonia del domingo con una mínima dosis de Aya. El cambio a la ceremonia de cacao fue algo bienvenido para mi, ya que para ese entonces, siempre siento que he sacado lo que necesito de mi tiempo con la medicina.
”
— Lio
“I had something amazing happen during Kundalini yoga and the ofrenda. While my eyes were closed, i could see the energy bodies of others. This has never happened to me before (…) Thank you so much for bringing the miraculous healing of these medicines and thank you for your medicine. Words cannot express my gratitude! Much love to you.”
— Stephanie K.
“Thank you again for all the love and support and opportunity to get a new birth!”
— D.
Understand and Heal your Addiction, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD.
Cultivate Gratitude, Compassion & Empathy.
“Thank you so much again for providing this experience to us. It was a wonderful retreat and I learned a lot from it. It is a gift to be able to now work on integrating the experience.”
— Santiago R.
“Thank you so much for everything. It will take a while to process everything that happened, but what a profound weekend full of unreal support from you and your team of facilitators.”
— T.I
“I would like to thank you once more for the transformative experience you facilitated, and would also like to validate you in the work that you are doing. Please encourage the participant to follow up with talk-therapy immediately, so as to help them make sense of the internal experience and the external experience - which of mine were completely different, but now my entire life makes sense. You are freeing so many people from their shackles, well done and please keep helping others to live a better life. Thank you.”
— Stephanie
“First of all I want to thank all of the facilitators, especially you for your unmatchable kindness towards me. You’ve been my comfort in my journey. Thank you very much and I would say it again and again. To Shaba I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for leading the circle. I am thankful for his wisdom, his kindness to me and showing concern to everyone. I thank him and you for bringing the medicine and helping it work for us. All of his and your songs and instruments worked well for my healing. Until now I still cry of how grateful I am for that experience. I am new to Ayahuasca. Despite that challenging situation nothing had changed my respect and trust to mother Ayahuasca. Jessica you have been a blessing to many people especially to me. I hope this situation doesn’t stop you from bringing healing to people. That situation happened for a reason and that is for all of us to reflect, learn and grow.”
— Ma.F
“I am Honoring Mother A & Myself: Sit Up, Throw Up & Wake Up. You will be required to Love Yourself even more and Let Go of all that no longer serves you.
Astro Journey...Light Years to Honoring Pachamama to her core. I own my behavior, have chosen to detox and replace my Champagne with healthy alternatives.”
— Jacquelyn
This is an individual path in which we are all in this together.
“Thank you so much Jessica , Victor, Kristin , Crystal, Shaba. It was an amazing experience. I hope to see you all soon.”
— Denis D.
“Muchísimas gracias por este fin de semana, por tus consejos y por tu guía, me ayudó muchísimo! ¡Te lo agradezco enormemente! ¡La tuya y la de todos! Realmente este fin de semana me ayudó a ver todo desde una perspectiva distinta! Muchísimas gracias!!! ¡Te lo agradezco enormemente! ¡La tuya y la de todos!”
— Karla
“I’d like to start off by giving my gratitude to you both. I came away from this experience feeling so looked after, supported, and guided throughout my healing journey. So thank you for your mission and the work you do. Again, thank you.
”
— Christine
“I’m Beyond grateful for all of you, each hold a special place in my heart this experience will stick with me forever, let’s continue the healing journey!!! Peace & Light.
”
— Brittney
“Firstly, thank you for everything this weekend. It was the most impactful and transformative 48h of my life and exactly what I needed. Thank you.”
— B. Johns
“Thank you all so much for sharing, offering the opportunity to learn from you all and allowing the space to be vulnerable, yet supported and loved. My heart is open in a way it never has been. It’s going to take a while, I see, for all the knowledge and lessons to come through from last weekend, and I look forward to sitting with that and learning even more in the weeks ahead. Drew, I heard your bell last night as I was falling asleep, Camisha singing, Shaba chanting and felt that connection to all of you. Much love.”
— Vic A.
“I have been attending ceremonies with Shaba for some time now. Working Sacred medicines is not an easy task, but Shaba has the wisdom to guide you throughout this process. He takes the time to listen, and to answer. I am truly blessed to work besides him in my own growth and healing, and I could not ask for a more capable guide. He has the patience and the love that is required to perform such a humble task, and further most, his words are his best tool, making you feel comfortable, protected, and safe. I can not recommend other hands if you are thinking to pursue this path, and I am thankful for the teachings and the blessings. The RESPECT he shows to each medicine, to each individual, to each being, is not something you find everywhere, and it is something you want to make sure your Shaman has. I can not recommend this project enough if you are looking to pursue this path.”
— D.V
“You are all in my heart forever !! Pls always remember you are each such a crazy special magical MIRACLE. I wish you all so much love and joy in your healing journeys, thank you for your strength, vulnerability, wisdom, and LOVE. I’m beyond inspired and grateful to have experienced this alongside you all. Reach out at any time ;)”
— Bella G.
“Bathed in stardust, innocent children with joyful hearts return home under the guidance of the fire eagle, grandmother Aya and the eternal divine light. Gracias Gracias Gracias. I hug you with my soul until next time.”
— Maria
“Thank You Mother Ayahuasca for Loving Us! We Love YOU!
A Heartfelt Thank You for The Magical Eternal Experience, Sacred Space & Love! You compel me to be A Galactic Goddess; emit Stardust for High Vibes to Love All & Serve All! IN AWE OF YOU! BE YOU! You never need to justify your existence.”
—Jacquline
Shamanic Teachings for the day to day.
Are you ready to Initiate?
“Dear friends,
It's been almost 3 weeks since we had the March Ceremony !
Those two nights have been the most difficult yet most transforming time of my life.
And those two days were the happiest , love filled days of my life.
Every now and then I get flashes of the sparkling moments we experienced during the ceremony.
Let’s keep our memories alive and share here whenever you get a flashback
For me the most memorable moment of the ceremony was Shaba giving us the “Love” mantra and we all giving each other a big group hug chanting “Love” , that unique moment I feel has opened up my heart and transformed me from an egoistic proud self righteous individual to all encompassing all loving being who can witness and others struggles and be kind and loving towards everyone. Yesterday someone was playing The Beatles’ “All you need is love” and all the memories come flashing back from that love chant moments ! Keeping the spirits of those precious moments alive sending you all my sisters and brothers tight hugs and plenty of love. I love you all “awesomest” and “bestest'' people ever”
—J Ch.
“I'm deeply thankful and blessed for the amazing and magical people I have met at the Ceremony in the precise magical moment it needed to happen. Let's stay in touch.
”
—Svetlana
“Let me take this time to thank you again from the bottom of my heart for this weekend. The amount of healing and insight I got was priceless and truly life changing.
”
—Rachel M.
“My awakening started with sharing plant medicine with you in August. It's been a year of introspection and growth and blessings.Thank you for all you do and for spreading your sweet energy. You are a gift for us all. Love
”
—Lisa T.
“Thank you Shaba! I will always cherish the experience of ceremony with you and the other precious souls under the canopy of oaks, where we all healed together, cried together and saw each other so deeply. Love.
”
—Elizabeth S.
“To continue to develop intentional ritual practices; enter into Andean/Q’ero energy work; recognize & organize the energetic structures from which I operate. The Warrior’s threshold improved my ability to implicate myself in living the life I choose rather than the life that happens to me; defend the growth I’ve made.
”
—T.P
“This journey helped me to wake up to who I really am. What’s been really important is valuing myself, and celebrating. I’ve had a habit of minimizing my experiences, so honoring myself has been really beautiful.”
—Morgan M.
“To the Shamans... Thank you. You were there for me in ways that I couldn't imagine. When I was down, you were there and I could never repay you enough for the feeling I felt just having you there. You all are so special. You were there for all of us in our worst moment and actually spent time helping us process and understand. So much love and respect goes to you. I hope to keep in touch. Let me wipe my tears and tend to my ant bites! Love you!”
—L.C
“First thank you and much love and respect to everyone that was at the retreat this weekend. For those who stayed and those who left I appreciate everyone one of you. I felt alone in this world and couldn’t imagine anyone having as many issues as I did. I figured I was the only one supposed to carry that old burden. With you guys I felt I was a part of a family. Everything we went through all the stories we shared means so much to me. I hope to see you guys again. Thank you to the Shamans and all of the brave Warriors that stood tall and went through our hellish nightmares to become better people for us, our families, friends, and to help humanity evolve for the better. I don’t think I would’ve completed this without you guys. It’s one thing to make friends but to find your family is…. amazing after believing that wouldn’t happen in this lifetime. Sincerely
”
—Nicholas R.
“Shaba, I am so incredibly grateful for you. Introducing me to these medicines has transformed me. I’m more empathetic, appreciate life and people more, I’m more emotional and most important, I’m alive. For the first time in 50 years I truly see beauty in life and I treasure the time I have in this life. Being suicidal for 35 years, this is nothing short of a miracle. Not a single bad day since my first ceremony and the deeper I go down this path the more I learn about myself and the amazing beauty that is within me. So thank you. So grateful. See you in the circle in February.
”
—Pete C.
Learning from Direct Experience:
Testimonials by students, participants, teachers, and medicine people.
“Gracias Shaba! Gracias por aceptarme para caminar contigo y seguir aprendiendo, hasta ahora todo me ha ayudado muchísimo y estoy muy entusiasmada por empezar el camino del guerrero éste 2020! Gracias por compartirnos la medicina y tus enseñanzas! Gracias por toda tu labor !Ayahuasca Healing Experience has been a wonderful journey of self growth, healing and discovery.
Shaba Amaru is an amazing teacher with a lot of knowledge that has the disposition and ability to be a guide into the warriors paths which has helped me heal, find myself and enjoy the beauties of life. After this experience with the warriors threshold I feel stronger, more peaceful, more aware, full of joy and love. Remember that we are strong, stronger than we believe. Stay true to yourself, connected to mother earth and feel the joy and love of the journey. Un abrazo muy grande.
”
—Karla H.
“Thank you for what you are contributing to our world Shaba. I am grateful for your guidance and compassion. In the past few months my perspective on life and reality has changed in a way that's led to me currently being in one of the best mental states that I have found myself in. I feel loved, not only by my friends and family but by everyone that I encounter, nature and a lot of love from myself too. The ayahuasca has also taught me to value my internal journey as much, if not more, than my external tangible journey. Thank you Shaba, I look forward to our next encounter alongside Pachamama.
”
—Toni L.
“So my spiritual retreat was hard work. I set my intention to feel unconditional love. In order to feel that love I found myself first acknowledging powerlessness in ways I had never imagined and humbling myself in ways I never thought I could. I found myself asking for help over and over until, finally defeated, I SURRENDERED and I simply uttered “I just need your help. My guide told me that he had been offering his help all along but I was confusing wanting my way with asking for help. But the biggest revelation of the whole retreat was that the unconditional love I sought was there all the time, from the very start of the retreat. I just couldn’t recognize it was all around me because I hadn’t found it inside me yet. This was some of the hardest work I have ever done, but it was work I needed to do. I am grateful to the people there who embraced me at what I thought was my most unlovable and hope I will take their teachings with me as I continue whatever journey I am on. Thank you to the shaman and all of you who spent so much time with me. I am in awe of you all.”
—Wayne B.
“Thanks for all you have done and your supreme guidance through all we've done. I will certainly keep this in mind as I constantly think about the rituals and conversations we've had over the past few months.”
—John W.
“The teaching you and I have discussed - have changed so much of my understanding. Yes, I speak from the Intellectual mind, but I feel so much spirit now. I'm just starting my journey; I've felt so grateful to have you walk with me. Thank you - mad respect.”
—JL
“These initiation teachings have been the most timely and relevant experience of my life. I now have a greater understanding of what happened & how it shaped who I became. Most importantly, I am more aware of who I truly am above & beyond this existence. This knowledge has enabled me to better understand my life, the lives of others and how everything and everyone are connected. I've been granted the tools to address experiences and provide myself with the guidance to live and better appreciate this existence. Shaba - you have done a fantastic job of guiding me during this awakening period. Every teaching session was 100% timely and applicable to what I was experiencing in my daily life and enabled me to better understand and navigate each experience with forgiveness, appreciation and love. I can not thank you enough and I appreciate you!”
—Nesha B.
“I am so grateful for this entire experience and it’s crazy to think that it's been less than a year. The warrior initiation teachings helped me in discovering more of myself, my truth and really connecting to my inner and outer world. I feel empowered and honored! I’m revealing the patterns I’ve held on to , releasing that which no longer serves me and growing into that which I value. Honestly Shaba , I do not know where I would be right now if it wasn’t for this beautiful journey , the teachings have acted as a catalyst towards my evolution. I thank you for trusting yourself and us to share this ancient knowledge with. Once again, thank you so much , and of course I will be attending the 2020 sessions”
—Clarissa K.
“Shaba's initiation teachings are incredible, powerful, and life-changing. I've discovered so much about myself and the forces that have shaped me into who I am today, and have been given tools to release them and become who I'm truly meant to be in this life. The teachings are not easy... they are trial by fire, but they've helped me unlock deeper levels of inner wisdom, intuition, and spirit. Shaba is a strong, wise, and caring guide on this beautiful shamanic path. I am forever changed, and forever grateful. Gracias!”
—Sara N.
“This journey helped me to harness the power of the mind, body, and spirit. I have been seeking to improve my understanding of the universe and the position I have taken within it. It is an uncomfortable feeling not knowing who you are or your place in the world. For a long time I was in a slumber...a torpor, grasping at conspiracy theories, occult magical practices, trying to understand mysteries of the Bible. Who was I? Why am I here? Why is the world such a miserable place? I had no spiritual compass. I sought the help of plant medicine to help me explore my consciousness. For a while, things made sense. I enjoyed the sense of understanding my place, the new questions I was asking, the ritual involved. But one day a voice came to me in one of my meditations, inviting me to seek a different path. I sought the help of a new plant medicine... ayahuasca. This path has led me to these teachings... understand the responsibility I have to myself and to my family. These teachings have helped put order to the chaos, that the universe is a reflection of what is within me...of my thoughts, feelings and desire. That I am a co creator in this world.”
—Victor C.
“The major emphasis of the course was that it guided me on how to root into my own core truth. The structure of the course and tools given became my allies in shaping my life, not by magical or mystical forces,but rather by my own forces intentionally. The course was a great support in manifesting the power of my own creative potential to cultivate the life I want to live, to trust into deeper, more expansive wisdom, than my own mind, to surrender to the truth arising from the inner voice of heart and soul. The ancient knowledge, ceremonies, rituals shared during the course assisted me on my path of self exploration, helping to fill in missing gaps, connecting puzzles together through gaining a deeper understanding of who I am as a human being. I am grateful to you Shaba for putting this course together! I have learned a lot from you. Thank you!!!”
—Mila B.
“I stand in front of myself differently since the first Initiation courses. Perhaps I was standing in front of myself before, but today, I know why I stand, from where I stand and how I stand in front of things. It feels like the strongest foundation, a gift to my core, to acknowledge myself. Never have I been filled with so much eternal peace, kindness and joy. I am settled in my house. My previous homes are not mine anymore, they are emptied of my being and no longer needed. I have said goodbye to my past with one last look.”
—K.K
“The exercises, rituals and classes that we saw in the last module have helped me impressively. I started this path with a great crisis of depression and anxiety which have already been left behind. I am not saying that I no longer get stressed or feel sad, I do, but I am aware of it and now I know how to handle it and understand it. That said, I know that the road is not over yet and it is the most beautiful thing about it! There is so much to go and discover that makes it so exciting! It is the most incredible feeling when I feel completely connected with everything, with that wonderful force that makes you feel great peace and great happiness! I want to thank you, Shaba, for everything you have taught me and continue to teach, for not only sharing with all of us all that knowledge you have but also transmitting it in a way that we can understand and apply it to our day to day.”
—K.H