Our three-day, two-night Self Contact Retreat provides a powerful container for letting go and diving into to your most tender self. In a cedar house nestled between the ocean and the forest on a quaint island close to Vancouver, BC, we host four small group earth medicine ceremonies: a sharing of heartwarming cacao, and three 5-MeO-DMT ceremonies: a light smoked ceremony, and medium-depth insufflated (intranasal) ceremony, and deep smoked ceremony, also known as the full-release. You will be supported by us, our helpers, and our cook, who will prepare nourishing homemade meals. We share circles for preparation and integration and rejuvenate our bodies and spirit through our cedar barrel sauna and hot tub under the cedar trees. [learn more]
Now registering: December 6th to 8th, 2024 (Friday to Sunday)Welcome
Hello fellow earthlings (beings home to planet Earth), we are two down-to-earth beings who feel called to serve as ground control for fellow humans who are interested in journeying with 5-MeO-DMT. We facilitate the powerful, legal psychedelic in and near Vancouver, BC, Canada with an approach that is gradual, supportive, and based on informed consent. We run group retreats, individual & couples sessions, low-dose sound baths, and community circles. We welcome you to explore our website and feel free to reach out to us.
About Us
Sagan Bolliger
I grew up close to nature on a farm in Nova Scotia. My early memories are filled with rich solitude sitting by the river in the forest or under the willow tree by the pond. Since my early teens I have been drawn to existential questions of life and death and to the path of introspection. In my 20s I did a bachelor’s in psychology and philosophy and a master’s in artificial intelligence at the University of Toronto. After studying the mind objectively for a number of years, I felt called to return my focus to the inner realm of being wherein rests the soul. Having stepped into the role of facilitating the inner work of others as a profession, I feel as though I am stepping in through the door of the house of my belonging.
I share my life with my partner, Helena, and together we have created a life filled with joy, love, and balance through our work, both inner and outer, and our shared love of nature, adventure, and freedom.
"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
Helena Zhu
I spent my childhood between a quaint university campus, where my grandfather was a professor, and a rural home in the mountains in Sichuan, China. I have since spent a lot of my life on beautiful university campuses and in the mountains, both as a rock climber and a skier.
I come from an academic background in social sciences (Bachelor and Master of Arts from the University of British Columbia) and work experiences in journalism, policy, and international development, all of which help me understand humans in their contexts across time and space. I am fascinated by humans and in awe of the human capacity to heal, grow, forgive, and love. I find this line of work meaningful and rewarding for its ability to connect human beings to who they really are and what feels the most authentic to each individual. I intend to share my presence, compassion, and acceptance with our clients and colleagues. I appreciate living in reciprocity with other humans, earth, and life itself, sharing what I would want reflected back at me.
"The real work you have to do is in the privacy of your own heart."
Training
- Toad School with Trina Nguyen and Lucy Everylove (for 5-MeO-DMT facilitation)
- Phoenix Academy Psychedelic Therapy training with Bradley Foster, Linda Nicholls, and Liz Razanson
- Vancouver Crisis Centre (for comfort with crisis intervention and suicide prevention)
- Internal Family Systems The I in the Storm workshop with Dick Schwartz at Esalen Institute
- Opening to Grace Relational Somatic Therapy Certification with J. Mariah Moser
- Numa Somatics Breathwork Immersion with Trevor Yelich
- Giving the Wound Air grief poetry workshop with Susan Musgrave at Hollyhock (Helena)
- Radiant Heart singing retreat and song circle with Julie Blue (Helena)
Kafka
I am a gentle, soft tabby cat of a ripe age with wise whiskers. I weave in and out of facilitation, offering grounding company, playful headbutts, and distinctive purrs when they are needed the most.
"He is terribly afraid of dying because he hasn’t yet lived."
About the Medicine
5-MeO-DMT is a powerful, legal cousin of what is commonly known as DMT (more precisely N,N-DMT), both of which can be found in the Amazonian brew ayahuasca. As its nickname “the toad” suggests, 5-MeO-DMT is extracted from the venom of the Incilius (formerly Bufo) alverius toad, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad and Colorado River toad. They spend most of their lives hibernating in underground burrows, only coming out to feed and mate at night in the summer rainy season. We use synthetic, or what we call vegan 5-MeO-DMT, for the purity of the substance and to not harvest venom from the toads, which leaves them without defence. We have found no conclusive historical evidence for the indigenous use of these toads for their psychoactive properties prior to the 20th century, though 5-MeO-DMT is also found in low concentrations in a variety of plants, which indigenous peoples of South America have used for thousands of years.
5-MeO-DMT is likely produced endogenously in humans, as it has been detected in blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. Humans have reported 5-MeO-DMT-like experiences in darkness retreats and in near death experiences. In our work with 5-MeO-DMT both as facilitators and journeyers, we have encountered profound themes of life, such as love and death. When a human surrenders to life, they also surrender to death, and what takes up the space that the journeyer surrenders is immense light and unconditional love. Not everybody has this experience on 5-MeO-DMT, but we trust that everybody gets the experience that serves them and their intention for the journey.
"When you move beyond consciousness, you caress the beloved. When you move into the unknown, beyond everything, the beloved caresses you."
The healing work can also manifest in the body, with sensations of the medicine pushing through blockages within the body. Journeyers can feel more flow and lightness in their bodies, including expansiveness and freshness in their breathing. When in a safe enough space, it can also facilitate healing from trauma, namely re-opening a traumatic experience, but giving space for what is needed for wholeness, be it understanding it, recontextualizing it, or rewriting it. The medicine also has the potential to facilitate spiritual awakenings, whatever spirituality could mean for an individual.
Unlike many other psychedelics, the 5-MeO-DMT experience is relatively brief, lasting under 30 minutes. For many people, the short duration of the experience provides a sense of comfort in knowing that whatever happens, they will be back in the physical world soon enough. This in turn can lead to a greater feeling of trust in the medicine, which allows the journeyer to delve deeper into the experience.
Have a look at our 5-MeO-DMT resources page for some of our favorite books, articles, films, podcasts, and scientific studies about the medicine.
Our Services
For those preferring a private tailored experience with just Sagan and Helena, we offer individual and couples ceremonies by appointment in our city space in Vancouver, B.C. Our offering consists of four sessions, including an initial consultation to discuss fit and suitability of the medicine; an in-person preparation session, where we dive deep into exploring intention and give you tools that can help you navigate the medicine space; the journey day, during which offer a series of increasing doses building up to the full-release dose with preparation and integration in between doses; and an integration session in the week following your journey. In addition to the four sessions, we also offer at-home exercises and resources to assist with your preparation and integration, and referrals to complementary practitioners to assist the integration of your experience when appropriate.
“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles.”
Testimonials
“Journeying with Sagan and Helena was easily one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. It was profoundly life-changing to a degree that language fails to describe. I feel alive. My soul has bloomed inside my body. This awakened me to level of existence I previously thought impossible, and I felt welcomed into that life by these two loving humans. I would happily place my heart in their hands again when the journey calls me back.”
“The most profound experience of my life. It has released a deeply rooted inner conflict that I have struggled with since my childhood and has begun to relieve me from a deep 5 year depression and has completely resolved my lifelong struggle with severe anxiety. I could not have asked for a more caring and supportive couple who looked after me so carefully which allowed me to fully relax and dive into my experience. My journey has changed me so profoundly and I am so eternally grateful I found Sagan and Helena. I would highly recommend … absolutely profound.”
“There are two passages that come to mind as I reflect on where I’m at. The one is by some famous psychiatrist, who once reminded us that 'man has a soul, and there is treasure buried in the field'. The other writing was found in an ancient cave, apparently written a few thousand years ago, saying that 'if you bring forth what is within you, that which you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, that which is within you will destroy you'. Through serendipity (or rather synchronicity), I crossed paths with the kind folks at Earthlings. H&S have been lending me a hand ‘excavating' this ‘treasure' of my soul. I am painstakingly removing the 'dirt and soil' around this new-found treasure, and are able to let go of the 'bits and pieces of my ego' that are no longer needed... While at times uncomfortable and even painful, I am growing into my real identity in the Beloved. I am in deep gratitude; this is finally my journey 'home'.”
“It was my first time doing any medecine and I am glad I did it with Helena and Sagan. They are caring, knowledgeable, patiente, and available. Their support before, during, and after the journey was priceless. Their space in Gastown is lovely. The ceremony room was perfect, it felt like a safe healing cocoon. I came with a specific goal and I ended up transforming more than I ever expected. I will be forever grateful for that amazing, deep and transformative experience. ”
“I found it a genuinely enlightening experience. It was eye-opening. It was one of the best journeys of self-discovery that I have ever had, capping off more than two decades of meditation and conversation. Helena & Sagan were incredibly helpful, kind, supportive and knowledgeable and the whole process was so much better as a result. I cannot wait for my next retreat with them. :)”
“When I was at a major crossroad in life, I researched healing retreats like it was for a PhD thesis and struck gold when I found Earthlings Self Contact. I can't imagine I will ever forget Sagan and Helena for their professionalism, care, wisdom and preparation for this life-changing event. It's been almost 2 weeks and I've finally been able to commit to making the changes I needed to live Life 2.0 as I've been calling it. I truly love you guys- I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much!”
“Helena and Sagan are wonderful guides. They were accepting, supportive, curious and reflective before, during and after my experience. I very much appreciate their focus and time on explorations prior to the experience since it helped me expand my understanding of my goals. I highly recommend their services! The experience was a very powerful deep dive into my consciousness and understanding of who I truly am. It was one of the most memorable experiences in my life. ”
“Life changing, re-birth, everything applies here. The facilitators Helena, Sagan, and may I add Kafka (The cat), were incredibly compassionate, understanding and open. From the beginning, the knowing was there. The body / mind was exactly where it was suppose to be, and that was in their presence. From the beginning to the end, it was super comforting, safe, and one of the most life changing things ever experienced. If you are being called to this then congratulations. You will have two incredible beings, plus Kafka helping you out.”
“As an experienced guide myself, my bar is high for facilitated experiences. Helena and Sagan surpassed my expectations, holding space in a smooth, loving, and knowledgeable way.”
“Working with Sagan and Helena helped me to let go of some deeply unhealthy narratives and self-limiting beliefs. The medicine surfaced profound insights that have given me a different way to see my relationships, career and outlook. Each day, new positive behaviors emerge and I attribute them to my journey and integration work. An unexpected, and welcomed benefit of the medicine was that it opened up my body to release a lot of deeply stored pain. I feel wonderful. Thank you both for facilitating this transformation.”
“Sagan and Helena are skilled therapists, even without the 5-MEO. They are always learning and improving their process. I was really happy how they helped me prepare for the session and guide me through it. Their gentle, supportive natures helped me relax, surrender and share my most personal feelings. There were some challenging parts of my experience and their support and experience helped get me through. I released some bad feelings that I didn't know I was holding inside and I had quite a positive change in my life. This experience changed how I view the world and life and is the most powerful therapy I know of. The experience was too big to fit in my human brain but bits and pieces of it stick with me. I will go to Helena and Sagan without hesitation when I'm ready for another guided journey.”
“Absolutely incredible, I could not have asked for a more supportive couple who held loving space and looked after me so attentively which allowed me to sink soul deep into the experience. The most profound experience of my life, it has changed me in ways I could never imagine and after a deep 20 year struggle with depression, anxiety and addiction I finally feel like I am a FREE man who is on his divine mission. I am so incredibly grateful I found Sagan and Helena. My highest recommendation.”
"Sagan & Helena are the most gentle human beings I have come across on my journey. The way they both hold space was so comforting, there was not a time that I felt judged, I always felt seen and heard, I felt free to be me. Everything that is done is done with such care and love. Helena & Sagan are both so welcoming, along with their cat. Their home is very comforting as well. The way they work with the medicine is really refreshing and beautiful, I would love to journey with both Helena & Sagan again. Their passion for this work shines through. I was able to work through a lot of what was holding me back in life, before ceremony, during ceremony and after. On first meeting Helena & Sagan is when I feel everything in my life began to shift. Thank you Helena & Sagan for the love, support and unforgetable healing.”
“Helena and Sagan are two beautiful souls, I'm so grateful to had the chance to meet them and have them facilitate my 5-MeO-DMT experience. They've been extremely knowledgeable, open and welcoming during all phases and the whole process felt so smooth and natural. I feel they greatly enhanced my journey and significantly helped with grounding and integration, forever thankful.”
“Helena and Sagan's support and facilitation across all facets of my preparation for and over the duration of my journey was amazing at every stage. My overall experience in addition to my internal "journey" was something that I will be forever thankful to Helena and Sagan. Amazing!!”
“Helena and Sagan are wonderful people and very committed professional facilitators. My experience with them and the medicine has helped me reorient my life in a significant way. The experience was everything I was looking for!”
“It too was my first experience with the medicine and it was so profoundly transformative that language does fail to describe this life altering experience. What is so extraordinary about Sagan & Helena is that they create a space that feels like you are in the arms of the divine. Safe, Trusting, Supportive & Caring. It allowed me to fall deeply & divinely into a place in my heart that fully awakened an unconditional love I had not experienced before. I am truly grateful for their guidance, patience, understanding & knowledge of the human heart. The Universe guided me to this exceptional couple. I feel so blessed to have found them. I highly recommend them heart & soul.”
“After considering several different facilitators to journey with for a larger scale journey I am grateful to have found Helena and Sagan @the Earthlings. The safe, empathetic and nourishing container they provided, gifted me the comfort and trust to dive deep(er) into my Self.A magical weekend filled with loving dissolution and I am already looking forward to the next journey with them and the amazing team supporting. ”
“Helena and Sagan are empathetic, kind, compassionate, and knowledgeable. They are non-judgemental listeners, and held a free flowing space with peace and love. I was supported and safe during all aspects of the journey and would highly recommend a ceremony with them.”
“I had an amazing journey with Helena and Sagan. They made me feel absolutely comfortable during the session and prepared my mind for the breathtaking journey. The feedback and counselling they also provided were top-notch and greatly helped my integration.”
“I feel really honoured to have been able to journey with you both! You are both such lovely open people and that really helped make the experience just what I needed. I didn't feel rushed or anything which really helped give me space to process, the meal at the end was so nice and I felt that everything was really planned out in a thoughtful way. Also the option of 'going back' to one of the doses was helpful to know so the journey really felt complete.”
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Community
We create a safe and inspiring space for our journeyers, friends, psychedelic enthusiasts, and ourselves to come together to share our own experiences with 5-MeO-DMT and other psychedelics. We have found the power and magic of resonating with another human being on our psychedelic and lived experiences and the fun of discussing our respective understandings of our experiences. In our circle, we believe in respect and confidentiality. Everybody can make their own decision on whether to share, how much to share, and whether to be witnessed or receive reflections and feedback from the group. We ask that everybody take their own experiences and stories with them, but leave others’ experiences and stories for others to share themselves. We generally open our home for another hour after the circle for optional informal exchanges over tea and snacks. Our circles meet in Vancouver’s Chinatown on or near full moons and function on participant-generated circle agreements and donations.
Next circle: Sunday, December 1, 2024 @ 1:30 p.m.
Community and accountability are important values for us in this work. We create a space to come together with fellow psychedelic facilitators to discuss what has been working for each of us, what we are exploring, ethics, self-care, and any cases that we would like to touch base on. We organize these circles once a month on or near the new moon, a time for reflection. We start with a formal circle for the first two hours, followed by an hour of informal social. The circle functions on participant-generated agreements and donations.
Next circle: TBD
In these community sound baths we offer a low dose of the medicine, what we call a meditative dose, to an accompaniment of live instruments. We offer these as an accessible way to get a taste of the medicine in a three-hour container. These can be a good starting point for those new to 5-MeO-DMT to develop familiarity and trust with the medicine, and can also be a gentle way of re-accessing and integrating the places we've been to on higher doses.
God Molecule Sound Bath
In the God Molecule Sound Bath, we offer gentle doses of the medicine in its smoked form. The smoked form of the medicine has a quicker onset, coming on in about 10 seconds, with a total duration of around 15 minutes. We offer mulitple doses within the sound bath container.
Next sound bath: Friday, November 29th, 2024 @ 6:00 pm
Gentle Jaguar Sound Bath
In the Gentle Jaguar Sound Bath, we offer the medicine in its snuffed (intranasal) form using handcrafted arbutus wood snuffers. Snuffing the medicine produces a slower, gentler experience, with a longer come on of around 10 minutes, and a total duration of nearly an hour.
Next sound bath: Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 @ 6:00 pm
On a magical island some salt water away from Vancouver in spring 2022, we organized a Toad School, a foundational training for 5-MeO-DMT facilitation. We gathered four other 5 facilitators with diverse background and training and together created a holistic experience for learning, exploration, and growth. We included a ceremony roleplay, a facilitation practice with a mini dose, yoga, ocean plunge, healthy home-cooked meals, and training on integration, ethics, and trauma-informed care between crashing waves in the ocean and whistling needles of the forest. Together with 10 participants, we created a new community of toadies.
Read a trip report by one of the participants.
Our Mission and Values
Mission
To create space for the human capability and capacity to heal, transform, and grow.
Values
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Vancouver, BC, Canada