18 Comments
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andie's avatar

As a Peruvian who has heard so many stories of the power of curanderos/curanderas I want to thank you for your consideration in broaching the subject. As a whole Peru is an incredible place that many people obviously want to visit but the prioritization of tourists throughout the country while the demise of indigenous communities is physically painful. For Peru, and every place someone visits, it's always best to do research to make sure you're helping locals and not boosting larger companies even more.

I'm so glad you found such a profound experience with the ceremonies and am really grateful for your many disclaimers, it's incredibly important.

Finn Harries's avatar

Thanks Andie! I'm just seeing this comment now.

Luisa M. Zárate's avatar

…also, thanks for being aware and putting it out there on the harm of ayahuasca tourism.

Mollie Brotherton Ceramics's avatar

Thank you so much for your openness and honesty. Sharing such deep and moving experiences is not easy and can sometimes dull the "magic". I appreciate you sharing. 🙏

capt. finn's avatar

Finn, thank you for sharing your experiences, feelings, and thoughts from your journey. Reading this made me emotional, even if I have been only mildly keeping up with your online work. Your storytelling has touched my heart, as someone who has only been exposed to the working world and has been troubled with what I want and need to do with my life. I hope to be as courageous and dedicated as you are.

Leonard Neamtu's avatar

Loved reading this! And the photos are so good, too.

Maria Sanu's avatar

Reading part one and two has been interesting for me. I was (and maybe still am) in a similar place to you. I did Vipassana meditation recently, I've been trying to integrate it into my life. I studied Sustainability at Warwick and for the last year I've been working towards integrating sustainability into my career, but it's been one dead end after the other, and I am not sure what to do. Is a career in sustainability even meant for me.

Hannah Larson's avatar

I really loved this article and your honest reflection, thank you for sharing! I also have been recently considering a vipassana meditation retreat since having a friend attend one & I think you just made me want to apply! So thanks for that as well 🥲 have an amazing week!!!

Maria Sanu's avatar

I'd recommend Vipassana! I did my session in UAE recently

Hannah Larson's avatar

COOL!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I’d love to hear more about your experience, I’ll shoot you a DM!

Ilario Dal Mas PhD's avatar

Amazing experience, only the wanderer not the traveller can share such precious moments.

Abby's avatar

Wowowow I am so grateful you did share this, understanding how personal and powerful all this experiences must have been! I love that you mention the importance of doing thorough research before embarking on the Ayahuasca retreat and the responsibility to honor the indigenous practices and people. I’ve always wanted to do both the Ayahuasca and a silent meditation retreat - and I know you mentioned that the Ayahuasca was the most profound for you. How would you say the learning or self growth differed from Ayahuasca vs. the meditation retreat? Super cool to read and I’m also exited to learn more about the regenerative design path!

Bosco Bernar Noriega's avatar

Impressive to read and I think you made your point clear on how profound all this experiences can be, so people wont take it lightly. Thx for sharing

Yveline's avatar

Hi! I really enjoyed reading your posts, your writing is very inspiring. Thanks for sharing!

Coincidentally, I had been looking for a meditation retreat for a while. Vipassana seems to me a very difficult way to get to know yourself better, but at the same time it is very intriguing. If you could go back, would you have done it again? Would you recommend it to someone without much meditation experience?

Greetings, Yveline

Luisa M. Zárate's avatar

Gracias for this! I am also torn. Between Mexico City, London and feeling very deeply connected to ancient/deep ecological wisdom. The shipibo as all the other indigenous peoples life has given me the pleasure to exchange with - will always be source of inspiration, i always think they are keeping everything in balance - while we inside our egos and our cities keep altering it.

…I guess they are the masters of regenerative design, they invented it.

Rachel Gomes Dias's avatar

This is awesome and vulnerable. Thanks for sharing!

Nathaniel Drew's avatar

Absolutely brilliant, I’m loving this series.