Preparation Guidelines
Read this when you join our retreat, this page contains all kind of practical information about your stay.
1. What to bring?
2. Address, transport and parking
3. How to prepare?
4. Accommodation details
5. How the ceremony works?
6. House rules
7. How to integrate the experience?
8. Cancellation
What to bring?
The following is alsways good to bring, no matter what type of retreat you are joining:
* Flashlight
* Comfortable clothing, layers (suitable for the weather at the time of the year)
* Towel (we don't provide this when you forgot one)
* Warm socks/slippers (when it's rainy we wear no shoes in the Nature Temple)
* An extra set of clothes in case of sanitairy accidents
* Ear plugs (in case of snoring participants)
* Eye mask (some people like to wear this during the ceremony)
When you join a private ceremony or a 5 day retreat your accommodation is always taken care for. We provide a good sleeping place, fully equiped, so you can travel light. Still you need to bring your own towel, we never provide this.
When you join a 2 day or 3 day retreat it is optional to book a private tent (fully equiped) on availability. If you didn't book a private tent in our ticket shop you sleep in the Nature Temple. You should bring your own sleeping gear in this case (mat, sleeping bag, pillow).
* We provide eco friendly soaps. Please don't use eco unfriendly soaps at our place
* In our shop we sell quality noice cancelling earplugs, in case you need something extra to get you through the night
Address - Transport & Parking
Finding your way easily - Earth Awareness is located at de Ambonstraat. The Ambonstraat is a side street of the Rijksstraatweg, which runs from Apeldoorn to Deventer. You can find de Ambonstraat through a large double gate. We share the terrain with others, so respect the privacy of our neighbours by staying on the main road.
Parking: About 10 cars can park on the terrain. Always make sure you park in a way that leaves the street open for other people to drive by. When we have many people coming with the car, there will be a team member who will give parking instructions.
When you enter the big wooden fence of the terrain, you walk straight up to the second house on the left, where you enter our driveway. You can see the Nature Temple already rising through the trees.
Public transport: Bus 15 stops right in front of our terrain. Bus 15 goes from Twello central station to Apeldoorn central station. In the weekend and in the evening after 19.00 hours this bus needs a reservation. This is free of charge and can be done at least one hour before you need it to arive.
For all public transport information (timetables trains and busses in the Netherlands) you best check this website.
How to prepare for a retreat?
Consciously & with care, get yourself prepared for your ceremony. The following guidelines will contribute to the succes of your psilocybin journey. These are guidelines, no strickt rules!
1. Make sure you've had enough sleep in the weeks before your ceremony starts. Feel relaxed and have a clear mind. Do things that make you feel uncluttered. Some might do yoga, listen to nice music, others enjoy a walk through nature to achieve this state of being. Just go with what works for you.
2. When it comes to food stay with the healthy stuff, at least 1 week before attending the ceremony it's very helpful to avoid the following; alcohol, drugs, meat, very sweet or fat foods.
3. We advise you to have less/no sexual interaction the week before and after the retreat. This helps you to stay centred in yourself.
4. Most likely you aim to mark some kind of new beginning by coming to this retreat. That’s great. It helps if you prepare things well and tidy at home before you leave. Returning to a clean and welcome home after the ceremony will support your fresh start.
5. Take time to feel and explore attentively where you stand and wonder what this ceremony can mean for you. Step back and take a look at your current lifestyle. Where are there pockets of negativity that you can reduce or stimulate in preparation for your journey? Your own attention is what activates the transformation. So basically the ceremony has already started the moment you signed up. Make time to tune in, by connecting to nature and find stillness inside.
6. Having doubts when the date starts to come nearer? This is a very common feeling almost everyone, to a greater or lesser extent, will experience. In most cases it's a sign that the ceremony is already starting to work, and you're getting out of your comfort zone. A journey with the use of mind expanding substances is like a jump in the unknown, no one can predict what you will experience. This can cause a natural sense of tension and calls us to practice trust. It’s only when you realize you don’t know, that real learning begins,
possibilities open up, and wisdom can come in.
7. Be in time! Get your stuff organized in time. If you have any last questions know that we are not so much online in the days before the retreat starts because we are preparing your stay. Don't come earlier, the centre is not open yet as our team is preparing the space. And don't come too late; after the introducting round we close the circle. If you are too late you cannot join anymore and you cannot stay at the centre, so plan your travel wisely.
8. Make sure the day(s) after the retreat are easy for you. Try to take some extra time off and if you are coming from far it might be helpful to book a b&b before you go home.
Accommodation details
We are dedicated to provide our guests the best experience. Do not expect the luxury of a hotel at our centre, but our facilities are basic, clean and good for the planet. For us this is not a job or hobby, but a way of life and we are happy to welcome you in our lifestyle for a few days. You are intimitely involved in our off grid lifestyle and philosophy. It takes a kind of mindfulness to keep our facilities working. Please read the information boards that you will find in the toilets, tents and other places and follow the instructions.
* At your arrival you will be taken on a short practical tour around so you can manage our off grid systems yourself easily.
* You are welcome to use the warm shower when you stay 2 nights or more. When you only stay one night our shower facility is not open. We have recently been upgrading our sanitary facilities. We
kindly request to use only eco-friendly soaps and toothpaste, which will be also available if you forgot yours.·
* The private tents are 2.5x2.5x2.5m with a bed, mattress, pillow, blanket, carpet and a night light. A mosquito-free and clean sleeping area. Visually you have privicy but tents do not block sounds. If you are a light sleeper, don't forget to bring your earplugs!
How the ceremony works?
Magic mushrooms, taken on an empty stomach take 10-30 minutes to show their first signs. Colours, sounds and feelings are intensified and your senses start vibrating. The first part, where you leave your everyday state of consciousness to a deeper level, can cause feelings of discomfort and nausea. You can start yawning or sometimes shaking.
Focusing on deep breathing and make sure your body is in a position where it can relax will help this stage to move through. The ‘take off’ takes about 15-45 minutes, after which you find yourself in a state of higher consciousness. The mushrooms will start to make a ‘body- scan’.
When the mushrooms are working fully, at moments you may have less co-ordinated control of your motor skills and performing simplest tasks may become a struggle. Raise your hand for the facilitator to help you drinking a tea or going to the toilet.
Every now and then there is vomiting involved. Magic mushrooms are less a physical purification than other psychedelics, like ayahuasca, but it is not uncommon to vomit. There are vomit-buckets within your reach, the facilitators will clean them when you are ready. Vomiting is a very effective way for your body to release energic blockages, emotional stress or body waste. Energy blocks are usually manifested as small pains in the body. Just
surrender to it all.
While on magic mushrooms you can become increasingly aware of your surroundings and yourself, but also other people that are in the space. If other another person is triggering you, it helps to keep an open heart towards the others and focus on your own process. If you do not manage to be relaxed again and the trigger becomes your main subject, speak to a facilitator about it. Sometimes we can make things easier for you with a small adjustment,
or we advise you how to deal with it.
During the magic mushrooms everything is intensified, so also your emotions and thoughts. There is space for every participant to experience and explore these intense moments. The team will get involved only if someone is displaying a constant repetitive behaviour or demands attention too often or for a long time. This can be done by, talking, laughing, moaning, restlessness and so on. To maintain the harmonic energy it is important
that you let us guide you, for your own well-being as well as the groups.
During the journey the facilitators will sometimes give instructions. We recommend you to follow our invitations and advice and cultivate trust in our experience. We have developed a sense of knowing what needs to happen to balance the energy. You can benefit from our guidance and in this way get the most out of the experience. However, you are not obligated to join in. If you, for instance, do not feel like sharing, you can always pass.
If you need to leave for the toilet or some fresh air during the ceremony, that is fine. If you smoke tobacco, try to minimize as much as possible during the ceremonial experience. If you are stepping out at an in-appropriate moment, a facilitator will let you know. Outside is a silent area during the ceremony.
The fire that is burning in the centre is taken care for by the facilitators. We treat the fire with great respect. Nose papers or other waste products cannot be put into the fire, use the bins for these waste materials.
During the magic mushrooms we minimize the talking amongst each other. Although the monkey-mind is famous for evoking interaction with others, this is a pitfall for focussing on what really matters. In our invitation we wrote that our ceremonies are alive and dynamic, which means there is certainly sharing involved. Sharing spontaneously or truly from the heart, not the chattering mind.
The experience can be easy or difficult for you. It is very helpful if you share within the group or
with a facilitator what you (have) experience(d).
During the ceremony we will collect all mobile phones, smart-watches and car keys. We do that because recent years we have had several incidents that were very disturbing or dangerous. When the ceremony starts you bring your devices and car keys, make sure they are shut off or at least at flight modus. While you are on mushrooms you cannot make any contact with the outside world. Even when the feeling of connecting with your loved ones can be really strong, it is best you wait till the next day until the effects have come down. When the ceremony has come to an end we return the divices and keys.
Our ceremonies are 'one medicine cermonies'. This means you are not welcome to use other substances during the retreat, like marijuana, rape, alcohol, and so on. When you disregard this we give you one reminder. The second time we will exclude you from the ceremony.
In our group ceremonies we make life music. People who are joining these ceremonies already for many years know that we used to make a lot of music together and everybody was invited to join along. This has changed step by step over the last year(s). Our music is way more professionalized and therefore it's not always a contribution to have people joining in while on mushrooms. If you have some musical skills and you would like to share this with the group, the last part of the ceremony (when the fruits are served) is the perfect moment to do that.
People who come with somebody they know (a partner, a brother, a friend) are asked to sit separetly during the ceremony. To avoid you are interfering (as an automatic reaction) into the process of the person you love. You need to trust our team that we take care for everybody in the circle. We also want to avoid chit-chat between people who know each other and distract the energy from doing the real work. After the ceremony there is plenty of space to share your experience with each other.
We, as an organisation, have the right to exlude you from taking the mushrooms when we feel that this is not healthy to do. When you are not in a good condition to have this experience or when the information about yourself was incomplete or not correct, we have the right to limit your dosage or exclude you from taking part in the ceremony. Keep us informed about medical and mental changes in your life that can effect the safety of your experience at all times. Even if you came from far, we will not take the risk of putting our team, you or other participants in danger.
A guest that does not listen to our instructions or who does not respect our house rules or use of the place can be excluded from the centre as well. In all of these cases we do not refund your ticket. By joining our retreats you confirm that you will behave as a good guest and be honest about your personal situation.
House rules
*Follow the instructions given by our team or the instruction boards.
* Stay at our centre, don't go wondering over the terrain. If you are with us for a longer period, we can provide you nice walking routes and you are welcome to borrow a bike if you want to stretch your horizon a bit.
* Sigaret buds always in the ash trays, not just somewhere in the garden.
* You cannot pee in the garden. We eat the herbs and plants that grow everywhere.
* Drinking water cannot be used for dishwashing or washing hands.
* Garbage is devided in plasic+aluminium, paper and compost.
* In the tents no shoes, no fire and no food/drinks.
* After 23h in the night silence outside, our neighbours want to sleep.
How to integrate the experience?
How to navigate your daily reality after the retreat? You can notice that you have more vivid dreams at night or that you have flashbacks. The effects of the ceremony can last for another few days or even weeks. To process the whole experience can even take years. This is nothing to be worried about, it's just how the integration works. Yet, if you have any doubts about your health or well-being in relation to the retreat, always feel free to contact us by email.
It is highly recommend to continue to avoid alcohol, drugs, (red) meat and sexual interaction for at least 7 days after the retreat. Don’t jump into your old habits right away, try to delay it as long as possible.
Make sure that you don ́t have much planned a few days after the retreat, keep life as relaxed as possible. Connect to nature and take good care of yourself. Practice your mindfulness, yoga or other practices and techniques that you have learned. There is a lot to process, take your time and use your attention for this.
When at home again, your friends or family want to know all about your trip. We advise to share from the heart, not from the head. The head will fixate the experience and make a story from it which can be repeated over and over again and can lose its power. Share only from the heart, like we practiced during the ceremony many times, and your view on the experience can keep on evolving. Don’t expect your experience to be understood or validated by others, as ultimately these are yours seeds to nurture.
Keep in mind that a magic mushroom experience is different for everybody. There is no use in judging your experience as right or wrong, better or worse than anyone else’s. Accept what it is, without labelling it. Receive other perspectives, other approaches and other experiences just as an inspiration for next time.
Find a community, whether it is online or in your neighbourhood that offers the opportunity to connect with others about the experience and integration after the ceremony. This creates a supportive container for you to continue learning and understanding your process. We also recommend to exchange contacts with the people you met at the ceremony that made you feel comfortable and stay in contact with them.
Writing, drawing or using another form of creativity during or after the retreat can help you keep your memories alive. Looking back on your creations after a considerable time will bring back some of the feelings and insights of the retreat. Creativity is actually one of the best ways to integrate your experience.
The integration is of just as much importance as the ceremony itself, something that you shouldn’t take too lightly. You might be wondering how you can navigate your daily commitments like work, family and so on, How can you be intentional about integrating your lessons and provide space for continued healing? We advise the following:
With your great effort you managed to transform during the retreat and you are so happy about it. Once back at home you start to notice that it seems that everything around you stayed the same, soon you find yourself back into old thinking-habits, eating-habits and complaining-habits. We call this post-retreat depression. This usually
occurs with unexperienced people, it often fades when you look away from your negative perceptions and focus on your real work. In our modern culture we are very much focused on direct satisfaction, but as mentioned before, the real work is to keep on taking care for yourself.
If your unsatisfying habits are strong, you’ll need lots of attention to create new patterns. First of all, give up your high expectations, try to accept where you are. Second, keep on remembering and practicing what you learned already and focus on little steps, notice small changes and cherish them. Bit by bit you will manage to integrate the
whole experience into your everyday life. Be mild and forgiving to the people around you that need time to see and accept you have changed.
Aftercare is for those who are not managing to integrate the experience by themselves alone. You can always ask for aftercare by email. Aftercare starts with an email from your side followed by a telephone conversation. We can advise you on how to cope with the situation.
Cancellation
The cancellation policy is slightly different for every type of retreat. To find the cancellation policicy that fits the retreat you reserved, go to the event page and click on the retreat of your choice. Scroll down and find the cancellation policy.