Hello Nexiuns...

I would like some advice.

I am turning 30 soon and I thought what better way could I spend it than in an Ayahuasca ceremony? I have found (what seems like) a perfect ceremony in Holland. The group size is around 14, in a little retreat in Eindhoven. Their website is www.thefastingpath.com. The ceremony I am potentially going to attend is 5 days long with two ceremonies (optional 3rd at extra cost, plus optional Kambo ceremonies at extra cost). Plus 8 weeks of integration via skype sessions post return home. I have spoken to the (owner?), who calls himself Brother, via Skype and he seems great.

All sounds very lovely. Except the cost. They are asking for 1800 euros. I have no experience with such ceremonies, but this seems like an excessive amount right?

My other options would be to procure some raw materials, and have my first Ayahuasca experience solo, or find a different ceremony.

Should I bite the bullet and scrape the cash together or should I run a mile at this amount?

I'd love to hear you thoughts...

definitely this

In my opinion aya is best experienced alone, it will allow you to get to your true self without the Anchor of a group. And 1800 is a bit steep IMO.

Also I'm getting really skeptical when someone is calling himself brother, no where is his real name on there webpage.

Finally the introduction of this so called brother gives me the feeling that he has allot of mental issues himself. And the advertising is truly horrific, its something like this: all your problems will be solved by aya look at what it did for me i tried to kill myself multiple times until I found aya.
The message being; hee if your feeling depressed and have some very serious problems to fix then please give me your money.


well that what i think, when im in a pessimistic vibe, maybe its not all bad.

take care.

I have no ideas how these Retreats can justify their prices without feeling bad.
I think it is outrageous to clear 12K Euros total for holding one ceremony. Unfortunatly, options are limited and i would not say that money is everything. You can't put a pricetag on a good psychedelic experience. Do they have any real shamans or are they just random dudes who are handing out ayahuasca? I would be sceptical.

Drinking Solo is definatly an option. The materials won't cost more than 10$ for a beginners dose so ...well.

i would never pay that amount of money to drink twice, i think its a disgrace to charge that sort of cash.

just get your own vine and leaf/bark and crack on by yourself, then take all the money thats left and go on holiday, or buy cake, lots of cake.

€1800 sounds like a complete rip off considering psychedelics are pretty cheap, and all he's charging for his room and board with a few flashy extras.

If you want something a little extra, may I suggest airbnb? Get a couple of mates, pick somewhere you'd like to be for the trip and subsequent time aside, get a nice place you won't be disturbed, take all the stuff you need to create your own set and setting, and get cracking. I did this a few months ago for an LSD/Mescaline combo trip in Camden. We all had a great night out with the MDMA the night before, crashed out, then tripped our balls off in this lovely little flat that was perfect for a trip in. Or, if you want to get natural, you can rent out a cabin in the woods for a pretty small amount of cash.

Ugh I dislike seeing people take advantage of other's ignorance when it comes to Ayahuasca.
I strongly encourage you to buy the plants and grow them yourself. Or just get your hands on some plant material. Really cheap for what you're getting...and you can start slow and get comfortable with it.

Thanks all,

I slept on it and realised that this was all rediculous. I can travel round India for a looooong time on 1800 euros. I could probably even travel to Peru and experience it from the source.

I love the air B&B idea, thank you Shanghigher...

We can all go home people. ^^This right here is the best advice in the thread.

I recently did 2 ceremonies with Aya, Sanango and Rape + 1x Kambo and they asked for 330€, which i think is an very acceptable price.

If there is a capable (authenthic) Curandero present, i would pay up to 200 per ceremony/night.
Everthing drasticly above that would make me suspicious, as i know that authentic practioners take some money to cover their costs, but aren't greedy in the slightest amount.

1800€ sounds like a serious bussiness model, combined with an suspicious "brother"; thats 2 red flags too much for my taste.

Just search some more, there are a lot more groups in Holland. You could go to the UDV or Santo Daime, and start networking from there. Most of these groups are loosely connected or know each other.
And you should search for Curanderos from SA who are on a healing tournee through Europe, there are lots of these who come 2 - 3 times a year and hold ceremonies in Holland, Germany , Switzerland etc.

But this is more of a longterm commitment, so that you have more options in the future.

If you want to drink Aya on your Birthday you have to brew it for yourself.

Thanks Ryusaki - thats great advice, much appreciated. I had no idea about the Curanderos on a healing tourenee. Ill look them up.

hullo, money change? silk shop? best guesht house? firsht class børg alkoven? tour guide? yoga class? cheap price!!!!

Hi,

I am from the area and I had never heard of these people. I think that the cost is quite outrageous. I know several people who do ayahuasca sessions here and I would estimate that the average price per session is between 75 and 100 euros for one night's session.

One of the major resellers of botanicals is also local to the area. Buying your own medicine plants would cost perhaps 5 euros per session.

Two sessions, five nights stay in a very rudimentary hut with little privacy, not a lot of food (fasting) and the revered presence of "Brother" would cost you 1790 euros more. That's IMHO a lot of money to pay for what appears to me as a bunch of new-ageish mumbo-jumbo.

To be honest, I once myself considered doing ayahuasca retreats professionally. I had thought to rent a decent, luxurious place, have plenty of good food available - generally making sure that participants are comfortable. Furthermore, my intent was to leave out all the superstitious cult-like nonsense and at most provide a psychologically and emotionally safe space for participants to have their own experience - not that of their neighbour and especially not that of the "guru".

I had thought of prices that would be reasonable for such a retreat and I am truly baffled that these people are charging 1800 euros for their offering.

My personal path with ayahuasca has been to just go for it with some like-minded good friends. After a few tries, you'll learn the optimum dose and setting. Any after-care is IMHO also best dealt with by people who you can actually relate to in real life. Most of all, noone can take the responsibility for growth and development away from you yourself. Clinging to shamans, priests and guru's is IMHO fully counterproductive in that respect.