Magic Mushroom Retreats
ABOUT OUR TEAM
We are dedicated to provide our guests the opportunity to benefit from the mushroom's potential to catalyse a life changing experience.
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Mark Huser - 1977
Temple Keeper
The initiator and director of Earth Awareness and architect of the Nature Temple, he is the master mind behind it all. Mark is a multi-talented person with great vision and a proactive attitude. As an extraordinary artist he is engaged with creating beauty in all its diversity, which is unmistakably found everywhere around the centre.
For 13 years he and Maya are organizing countless events and retreats. His teachers came from many different shamanic cultures, but above all the Huichol, the Shuar and the Shipibo traditions. After a full-time cycle of initiation into medicine plants and by collaborating intensively with many wisdom keepers, Mark has an incredible understanding about the use of sacred plants as a tool for transformation.
He is an inspirational speaker, a marvellous musician, a powerful chanter and a resourceful lead-facilitator during the retreats. He proved himself being an authentic bridge between the ancient knowledge and the modern Western culture.
Maya van Oosterhout - 1976
Temple Keeper
She is leading the organization with a clear vision and with positive energy, being really in her element on all levels. Maya is the one who has the overview and knows all the ins and outs. Together with Mark, they make an inspirational pair who have manifested a universal dream into this reality. She started working with Magic Mushrooms about 20 years ago, doing one on one sessions in nature.
As lead-facilitator she knows how to travel the inner realms, she guided over a thousand people through a psilocybin experience. Maya senses very well where someone is during the inner journey and she knows how to anticipate on this. People experience her as warm, down to earth and with a mature sense of reality.
She has two grown children who are both contributing to the centre. She is also working with female circles, creating sisterhood, encouraging women to live a life of power and purpose.
Laura van der Heijden - 1978
Facilitator & yoga teacher
Laura has been connected to our centre for over 10 years and we really love her cheerful presence a lot. As a young girl she was very passionate about movement and dancing, she did the previous education of the ‘National Ballet’ and Tai Chi.
After 8 years of training, she works as a certified ‘Critical Alignment Yoga’ (CAY) teacher and runs her own yoga-studio ‘YogaDus’ in Amsterdam. She teaches to all ages and all levels. CAY focusses on the alignment of the skeleton. This form of yoga helps to move freely and without stress, in collaboration with gravity and breathing exercises. She helps people to build up confidence towards the physical body, which stimulates the self-healing qualities of the body.
Laura is also a meditation/visualisation guide. She has over 25 years of experience with psychedelics and visited her shamanic teacher in Ecuador several times. As a ceremonial facilitator she is utmost caring for the participants and has an eye for their basic needs. She is a team player, very strong in practical’s and always in a good mood.
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Arend Jan te Biesebeek - 1954
Facilitator & Naturopatic doctor
Arend Jan is the respected elder of our team and is most appreciated for his sincerity and preciseness within everything he does. He is a multi-qualified team member of Earth Awareness for almost 5 years, he is a seasoned all-rounder. In 1976, at the age of 22 years old, he got involved in the work with medicinal plants and natural psychedelics and had the privilege of working closely together with some traditional wisdom-keepers from Northern America who learned him the intricacies of shamanism, like sweat-lodges and vision quests.
His knowledge about shamanic practices, the medical use of plants, the functioning of the human body and healthy food are always of great value for all participants. He is studying natural health care and is making his own herbal medicines, he is very passioned about gardening. People often consult him for alternative medical treatment. As a ceremonial facilitator participants experience him as helpful, correct and most friendly.
Pieter Meurs - 1988
Facilitator & holistic doctor
We know Pieter as an adventurous, bright and calming member of our team. With his friendly energy he is a real contribution to the retreats and we have been lucky to have him already 4 years at our side. He completed his medicine study in 2014 and started working in the regular health care for a few years as a doctor in the mental health service.
He went on several extraordinary travels and got involved in yoga, meditation and plant medicines. In 2017 he was initiated into Qiyo, a multiverse form of yoga where different paths come together, ranging from gigong, tai chi, yoga and kungfu, all blended into one system for inner alchemy. He is working for some time with the teacher plants, ceremonial as well as therapeutically.
This all led to the creation of his own practice ‘Dr Aquarius’ by which he aims to build a bridge to a new era of holistic healthcare, where all different modalities are integrated and a network of healers and therapists is formed. Within the retreat-team Pieter is also an enchanting musician and singer, he is most appreciated for his subtlety.
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Judith Sudholter - 1987
Facilitator & meditation guide
As a freelance researcher, anthropologist and journalist, Judith specialises in religion, spirituality and psychedelics. In 2012 she completed her research master Religious Studies (cum laude!) with a fieldwork study into the religious experiences of members of the ayahuasca church ‘Santo Daime’. Plants of Wisdom is Judiths blog where you can also find her articles published elsewhere. Judith interviewed many spiritual teachers who all contributed to her broad-minded way of looking at the world.
She meditates already for years in the tradition of zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. This tradition has a main focus on mindfulness, compassion and interconnectedness, and therefore combines well with the plant medicine work. She also facilitates a meditation group in this tradition. Judith is guiding psychedelic integration circles and has given lectures at Ozora and Psy-Fi, both prominent psychedelic festivals. We are very happy to have her gentle and imaginative spirit in our team for 2 years now. Her objective and peaceful attitude is of great contribution to the retreats.
Sarah Schützle - 1988
Facilitator & voice expert
Sarah contributes to the Earth Awareness since the beginning of 2021 with her music and presence.
From angelic to primal, she weaves a powerful web of sound with her voice and instruments to
support you on your healing journey within.
As ‘Sarah Sounds’, she shares her songs and improvisations during ceremonial concerts and other events. She also offers Singing Circles and Voice Expression workshops.
As birthkeeper ‘Wonders of Life Doula’, she gives extensive emotional and practical support around and during childbirth. She also weaves music and birth-work together, offering opening- and closing ceremonies to honour and celebrate transitions in life, such as childbirth, becoming a parent, but also loss and grieve. For Sarah, life is ceremony. She’s a lover of silence and subtlety, but also of truthful raw expression.
She aspires to hold earth as sacred, to integrate and embody our divine human nature. Both her music and birth work are about creating safe spaces where people feel welcome, just as they are, and invited to connect to themselves, each other and all life more deeply.
Pascal Rees - 1974
Facilitator & cook
Pascal is a steady and grounded presence, his first visit to the centre was in 2008. With his experience as Nature Life Coach, Shinrin-yoku walks, breath- and wellness coach and shamanic training, he is a versatile addition to the team.
He is an active, compassionate and optimistic facilitator during the ceremonies and retreats. Sacred plant and animal medicine helped him to find his way in life and a more conscious spiritual and earth connected path.
He loves to challenge people to find their inner wisdom and become the best version of themselves. He loves to work in the garden as he is a permaculture teacher as well.
His practise is called NatuurKrachtCoach and that's why always loves a good walk in nature! He also works with the plant spirits through the use of the essential oils, aromatherapy so people can empower themselves with the use of natural products.
Chemistry van Oosterhout - 2001
Ground facilitator
Our youngest team member is Chemistry, she is 18 years old and also lives at the centre with her mother Maya and Mark. She knows the place very well. She joined the team a few years ago, taking on the job of ground facilitator, now growing into the role of team coordinator. She prepares the place before the events take off or have ended, does great work in the kitchen and is a lovely hostess for our guests.
She has finished an education for event managing & communication and she is now taking on a study for social worker.
. We know her as a very motivated and grounded person, who is up for new challenges when they appear. She is a fast learner and we all hope she stays with us for the many years to come.
Ivo van Dijk
Facilitator & sound healer
Music, and especially drums, had been known to me for years. I have been involved with music since my childhood. I was on stage with Het Metropole Orkest, among others, and in the past I performed regularly throughout our own country and beyond. The idea of working with old instruments had been bubbling for a number of years. Partly since being actively involved with meditation and shamanism, I have gotten to know a new part of myself. This resulted in a great development of myself, but also my music experience and practice (more from intuition, closer to my emotions). I began to understand my own story better.
Voicehealing.nl I set up as a meeting of my love for music and meditation. I love nothing more than to share, to explore with you what happens when we experience a musical journey in a space that is set out of love for and by all those present. I hope to welcome you to one of the Holistic Frequency Treatment & Voice Healing Concerts!"
Kristjan Schwarz - 1980
Facilitator
Like all team members Kristjan is very experienced. For 20 years he is using psychedelics for self-development and answering life questions. It is a way of life for him, which he managed to integrate in his spiritual, hand-pocked tattoo-shop in Deventer K581, where he adds ceremonial aspects to his working methods. He is an artist and a graphical designer who among other things graduated from the art academy.
His spiritual training and inspiration came from the Shuar culture (Ecuador) and the Saami culture (Finland). Since 2019 he is part of the Earth Awareness-team as a facilitator. We got to know Kristjan as calm and awake observer, who works with focus and care for the people. Participants feel save with him, with his open attitude he brings confidence in the group.
Marte Kiers - 1986
Ground facilitator
Marte has joined our team since the late summer of 2021, she is our newest addition. We fell for her enthusiastic spirit and as we discovered later her fantastic cooking skills. She loves to be the hostes for people, it's in her nature to pamper our guests with delicious tastes and good vibes. She sees the brightest in any situation and loves to share it with others. Her positivity is contagious, partner that with a "getting-things-done" mindset, and you understand the reason why she started a project management company in 2014. She works as an interim consultant, entrepreneurs seek her out to gain different perspectives, and she likes to design digital solutions that fix corporate challenges. Their simplicity and fun has won prices in start-up competitions. You might have an interesting chat about the collaboration of ants, while she prepares breakfast. Having lived in 4 different countries, she loves other cultures and is always curious to learn something new. Now living in her hometown 10 minutes away from the Nature Temple.
Ramona Capilitan - 1973
All round facilitator & massage therapist
Ramona is a warm and gentle spirit who is alround at the centre. You can find her in the kitchen as a ground facilitator or meet her taking care for the guests during the ceremonies as a ceremonial facilitator. At our retreats she is offen taking care for relaxing chair massages, which is a blessing for all participants and really compliments the retreats. If you are in need of some relaxation in the body’s muscles or a soothing touch to realine your body’s energy field, her hands will find the way. Her companie is called The Art of Relaxation and Creation. At her practice in Amstelveen she offers massages, coching & workshops. She also works over 10 years as a massage therapist in companies. As passionate as she is for giving massages, she also loves to cook delicious food. Specialty: homemade banana-bread! You will find Ramona also in our kitchen making great soups and salads.
Earth Awareness Team
Time is Art