Ceremonia

For most of my life I’ve carried a quiet sense of not being enough. Not doing enough, not being enough, always one more thing to prove. I’ve spent years reading, reflecting, and working on it, and it had softened, but it never really let go of me.

This week it did. The Awaken retreat was the most transformative experience of my life. I felt a profound sense of connection, to the people around me and to something much larger than myself, and a depth of love I didn’t know I had room for. I came home lighter than I’ve felt in decades.

The ceremonies were beautifully facilitated, with music that carried me further than I knew I could go. Around them, the days were full of thoughtful workshops, dancing, deep conversations and circles that slowly turned a group of strangers into a group of friends, one I’m grateful to still be part of. The food was incredible. Above all, the team’s care was felt in every detail, from the prep calls weeks before to the integration support after.

It isn’t a vacation. It’s some of the most honest work I’ve ever done, and I felt safe the entire way through. I’ve already signed up for my next retreat with Ceremonia.

Thank you to Austin and to my facilitators, each of whom played an important part in my journey. Special thanks to the one who helped me set down something I’d been carrying my whole life. She’ll know who she is, and I am forever grateful.

The Awaken retreat by Ceremonia is a profound experience, tectonic, and well and essentially facilitated. For me, I came to open my heart, and that happened, in spades. I, whatever I is, traveled the depths and heights of human experience, and reconciled and integrated with it. I am deeply grateful for the experience.

I’m writing this with a clear mind, knowing that any words I find will be a severe understatement. The closest I can come is this: the most healing, profound, and transformative experience of my life, after years of exploring different paths to healing, including journaling, psychotherapy, meditation, and countless workshops.

I walked away with clarity on some of the biggest questions I’ve been asking my entire life: Who am I? What is my purpose? What do I want to do with my life? More than that, the experience fundamentally changed how I experience being human, leaving me so much more loving and compassionate toward the people around me.

The highlight, of course, was the three ceremonies, beautifully and skillfully facilitated, with music that was absolutely mesmerizing and ineffable. The five-day retreat also offered thoughtfully facilitated workshops, embodied practices like dancing and yoga, incredible food (the best I’ve ever had!), and, above all, a beautiful sense of community.

What stood out most was the genuine love, care, and heart the entire team poured into every aspect of the experience. Deeply healing and empowering. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone on this journey.

I made more progress in coming to terms with issues from my past in these six days than in all my previous years of therapy. In fact, it changed my life and how I view the world and myself. I now bring more love, understanding, and compassion to all experiences, which has made me much happier. The leaders are excellent, talented healers, teachers, and musicians of the highest professional caliber.
My only criticism is that I would have liked more time to write responses to the structured questions about the different activities, both before and after they occurred. While the group exercises were very helpful, the lack of preparation and reflection time meant they couldn't be fully processed during the short writing periods. Sometimes, I felt rushed to start something new before I had absorbed the previous lesson's points. Perhaps you should focus more on the overall quality of the preparatory and reflective experience rather than trying to shoehorn more activities into an already busy day. Regarding the exercises themselves, they were revelatory and, for me, groundbreaking. My highest praise goes to these gifted, passionate healers of the human soul and spirit.

This experience has been truly transformative; I can honestly say that outside of childbirth it has been the most profound experience of my life.. The workshops , music,, meditation and dance provided opportunities for great connections within our group and also a deep look into my own patterns of being . The facilitators were present, attentive and skillful. The mushroom journeys were magical. The retreat was well organized, structured and balanced. The setting was gorgeous. The food was divine.. I can’t say enough and would recommend this to anyone who wants to experience their life fully with greater connectivity and joy.