5.0
Strong container, excellent facilitation, you can't go wrong with Confluence
Confluence Retreats with Myles, Jules, Nancy and the other facilitators is an excellent choice for your first journey experience and for anyone with prior experience wanting an extremely well-held container. I personally attended the 5-day retreat, and I'm glad I did as having two days to experience the medicine allowed me to go much deeper and take my learnings from the first journey and apply them to the second. Everyone acted professionally and the experience was well-organized in the context of Oregon's laws. Omnia Group Ashland is an excellent partner with Brian and Michelle creating an amazing space to do the work with the medicine. All of the paperwork required for legal purposes was also well-handled.
The caliber of the facilitators is very high. I personally have never experienced mushrooms prior to this retreat, and in fact it wasn't even on my radar as something I had intended to do. I experienced a significant loss earlier this year, and a dear friend forwarded me the flyer for the retreat out of the blue around this same time. As I looked at it, it turns out I know Nancy (Cedar) Morgan who was to be one of the facilitators and someone I hold in high regard for her skill as a therapist and IFS (Internal Family Systems) practitioner. Knowing she would be facilitating was a strong draw, and considering the changes happening in my life this year, I decided that this retreat would be a great way to get support and guidance as I'm opening up to the next steps in my life among a lot of unknowns.
I can say without a doubt that the medicine will give you what you need. Everyone's experience is different, and doing this in a supported environment with others in a group was also amazing because hearing others in their process greatly helped me with my own, receiving insights and reflections in ways that would have been more limited in a 1-on-1 setting.
This is not a recreational experience; this is work - profound and beautiful work to know more about yourself and your connection to something greater. My experience was quite physical. I did a lot of shaking for hours and releasing energy in my body similar to trauma release exercises (TREs). I didn't see colors or anything like that, and I did receive a lot of guidance. Some things I received from this experience (among many others):
- A connection to a longing within me to have a family and be strongly connected to community and loved ones around me, something I have struggled in my life to know
- Messages about the gifts I am to give to the world, specifically also working as a healer myself
- Strong guidance to make amends and let go of past concerns and grievances so I can show up more present in my life
These messages came over both days combined, working together to give me a stronger picture of myself and what's going on in my inner world. The other days we spent preparing and integrating were also crucial to being open to these messages. The combination in this case with the IFS practice I found gave all of us more tools to navigate the inner experience, and I highly recommend this combination when it happens again.
We had a beautiful setup in cabins in the woods of Ashland and it was a gift of peace and calm that held me throughout the experience. Doing this work in such a strong container among nature is the only way I can recommend it, and this group has delivered this skillfully with a lot of love and respect both for us as participants and for the medicine itself.
If you've read this far, you're likely considering it and I can tell you, you won't regret this. This is an investment in your health and well-being that will pay dividends the rest of your life.
With love and blessings on your own journey,
Chris
The caliber of the facilitators is very high. I personally have never experienced mushrooms prior to this retreat, and in fact it wasn't even on my radar as something I had intended to do. I experienced a significant loss earlier this year, and a dear friend forwarded me the flyer for the retreat out of the blue around this same time. As I looked at it, it turns out I know Nancy (Cedar) Morgan who was to be one of the facilitators and someone I hold in high regard for her skill as a therapist and IFS (Internal Family Systems) practitioner. Knowing she would be facilitating was a strong draw, and considering the changes happening in my life this year, I decided that this retreat would be a great way to get support and guidance as I'm opening up to the next steps in my life among a lot of unknowns.
I can say without a doubt that the medicine will give you what you need. Everyone's experience is different, and doing this in a supported environment with others in a group was also amazing because hearing others in their process greatly helped me with my own, receiving insights and reflections in ways that would have been more limited in a 1-on-1 setting.
This is not a recreational experience; this is work - profound and beautiful work to know more about yourself and your connection to something greater. My experience was quite physical. I did a lot of shaking for hours and releasing energy in my body similar to trauma release exercises (TREs). I didn't see colors or anything like that, and I did receive a lot of guidance. Some things I received from this experience (among many others):
- A connection to a longing within me to have a family and be strongly connected to community and loved ones around me, something I have struggled in my life to know
- Messages about the gifts I am to give to the world, specifically also working as a healer myself
- Strong guidance to make amends and let go of past concerns and grievances so I can show up more present in my life
These messages came over both days combined, working together to give me a stronger picture of myself and what's going on in my inner world. The other days we spent preparing and integrating were also crucial to being open to these messages. The combination in this case with the IFS practice I found gave all of us more tools to navigate the inner experience, and I highly recommend this combination when it happens again.
We had a beautiful setup in cabins in the woods of Ashland and it was a gift of peace and calm that held me throughout the experience. Doing this work in such a strong container among nature is the only way I can recommend it, and this group has delivered this skillfully with a lot of love and respect both for us as participants and for the medicine itself.
If you've read this far, you're likely considering it and I can tell you, you won't regret this. This is an investment in your health and well-being that will pay dividends the rest of your life.
With love and blessings on your own journey,
Chris