The Center
When I attended this retreat, The Paititi Institute (now relocated to the Mapacho Valley in the Peruvian Andes) was located an hour outside of the city of Iquitos, on a 100 acre property in the dense jungle near the village of Nauta. Set back around 2-300 meters away from the road was the main lodge, communal showers, compost toilets, kitchen, seed house, resident dwellings, and volunteer hut. There was no electricity on site other than a diesel generator which was occasionally used to activate the water pump for the community well, so after the sunset, all external light was provided by candles and flashlights. The landscape was densely planted with fruit trees, native plants, and various gardens with herbs and vegetables. Following the long rectangular layout of the property, the path extends further into the jungle where the Maloca (ceremonial meeting house) and private tambo huts were found. The tambo huts are reserved for retreat participants to provide a space of solitude, reflection, and deeper integration throughout the process. They contain a single bed & bug net, along with a hammock, nightstand, and table.
Retreat Structure Overview
Transformational Activities
Dreamwork
An integral component of the transformation retreat was the practice of 'Dreamwork Analysis'. In this process we were instructed to consistently journal our dreams in order to analyze the patterns, symbols, and metaphors through which our subconscious attempts to communicate to us. We would gather every few days for a 'dream-share', where one participant would read through three or more dreams in succession, afterwards roman and fellow participants would help illuminate the archetypes (based primarily off of the dream analysis archetypes of Carl Jung) and patterns woven between the dreams in order to help reveal the messages that the dreams were conveying. The goal of this process was to more deeply comprehend the language of our own subconscious communications and integrate the lessons which life is offering to teach us in order to evolve and more fully embody our wholeness.
Personal Process
I found great value in the practice of journaling my dreams and intend to integrate this method again into my daily life. I never did a dream-share with the whole group simply because there were many participants and one dream-work session would usually last anywhere from 1 and a half to 3 hours. Though I would have liked to have processed my dreams with the group, I learned a lot about my own dream messages just through witnessing the sharing, exploration, and interpretation of others'. You can find excerpts from my Paititi dream journal here.
Breathwork & Cacao
Throughout the retreat, on specified occasions we would engage in group breathing exercises utilizing techniques of the Amazonian 'Yanu Mamo' tribe as well as a practice developed by Tibetan buddhists.
The Amazonian breathwork method was executed while standing barefoot on the earth, utilizing sound, movement, breath, and focused awareness on a consecutive progression throughout the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, energizing and cleansing the various internal systems of the body.
We would then transition indoors for the Tibetan portion of the practice where we would lay down and breathe in synchronization with the beating of drums played by Roman and Cynthia. Both of these practices were potent activators which initiated energy streams of information and reflection to flow with greater amplitude and intensity within my body, mind, and emotions, usually revealing insights and deeper understandings around specific topics which were present in my life experience. Amplifying this process, before most of our breathwork sessions (other than during San Pedro ceremonies) we would imbibe a strong brew of Amazonian cacao aka chocolate, which helped to increase circulation through the body and sensitize our systems to perceive subtler currents of energetic information.
Additional Practices & Activities
Alongside the designated activities during the retreat, participants and apprentices were given the opportunity to facilitate group practices either in the morning or midday. These practices included modalities such as Yoga (5 tibetans, acro, vinyasa), guided meditation, and massage training.
In preparation for an intensive of our three-night consecutive ayahuasca ceremonies I participated in the ancient practice of helping to prepare and brew the medicine itself. The process of preparation can be found under the following page under the section on ayahuasca.
We also had two variey/talent shows which brought an element of light-hearted community entertainment filled with song, dance, skits, poetry, and laughter, providing decompression from the intensity of personal & collective process which innevitably unfolds throughout the retreat.
Program Flow
The daily schedule at Paititi, though well structured, was also flexible in order to follow the needs and energetic influence of the group process. Facilitators (Roman & Cynthia) would check in with participants and volunteers in order to inform and receive feedback on how to most effectively proceed and design our schedule based on collective needs. Because the majority of participants were given personal tambo huts spread well along a long jungle path, a horn was blown three times by a volunteer indicating meal times (3 times a day unless ceremony or dieting restrictions were made), meetings, and ceremonies.
My Tambo Hut
Dreamwork Session
Paititi Permaculture
One of the central focuses of the Paititi institute is the practice and implementation of permaculture ethics and principals. Below is an excerpt from Paititi's permaculture mission statement sourced from their website.
"Today, incredible wisdom, perspectives and techniques from indigenous cultures around the globe have been integrated into our Permaculture toolbox, all of which share similar and congruent practices given that all had the same teacher and guide, Mother Nature... At Paititi it is our work as a community to embody this deep awareness of our symbiotic relationship with nature and we have found Permaculture to be a positive, empowering, proactive and solutions-based tool to support humanity to return to a harmonious lifestyle."- http://paititi-institute.org/stewardship/permaculture-paititi/ - Permaculture at Paititi
Though the focus of our retreat was not designed to integrate permaculture education on a daily basis (like Paititi's Shamanic Permaculture Intensive), we did have an intro to permaculture seminar which included an overview of practices and principles along with an experiential workshop where participants broke into various groups to work on a specific area of the site. The options of participation included
- Compost turning
- Starting seeds in the seed house
- Mixing soil
- Planting fruit trees
Un/Learnings
I was impressed by the institutes' commitment to utilize permaculture implementation on site. Not only did this help to regenerate the earth and provide a more integrated way of living with nature at the center but it also acted as an example to empower locals to do the same. This was most presently demonstrated through the integration and education of a local peruvian family whom lived on site helping to cook meals, prepare plant remedies, and upkeep infrastructure. They offered their services to the community while learning more regenerative practices, as well as providing paititi and its participants with a deeper experience of cultural cross-pollination and unity.