Now Registering: Friday to Sunday,March 22nd to 24th, 2024
On an idyllic island near Vancouver, BC, Canada
Experience three days and two nights of diving into and contacting the self on a quaint island close to Vancouver, BC. In a cedar house nestled between the ocean and the forest, we will host three small group earth medicine ceremonies: a sharing of heartwarming cacao, a light smoked 5-MeO-DMT experience, and an insufflated (intranasal) and deep smoked 5-MeO-DMT experience. You will be supported by us, our helpers, and our cook, who will prepare nourishing homemade meals. We will share circles for preparation and integration and rejuvenate our bodies and spirit through our cedar barrel sauna and hot tub under the cedar trees.
About the experience
The medicine, 5-MeO-DMT, is a powerful legal psychedelic that brings us into contact with our core essential self. In the journey to ourselves, we are invited to be with all the parts of ourselves that we have exiled, feeling the emotions that we have not given ourselves permission to feel. Joy, fear, ecstasy, heartache, anger–all emotions are welcome, often passing as quickly as they arise as the medicine moves through us. We encounter ourselves in a space beyond our stories and identities and tap into the deep well of who we already are. In doing so we answer the question, who am I? Not as a concept, but as a deep knowing. We come back as a more integrated person with the courage to be ourselves with an open heart.
The two-night retreat brings together fellow journeyers and seekers on the path to themselves. We will have sharing circles, guided meditation and breath, and share several doses of the medicine in both its smoked and insufflated (intranasal) form. The smoked form gives a short but deep dive, bringing you deep and back within half an hour, whereas the insufflated form is a slower, longer form of the medicine that gives us more time for the inner work. Helena and Sagan and their helpers create a loving, non-judgmental, and supportive container for whatever needs to arise and be processed in your journey. We will be held in a beautiful setting in nature by the water, with a cedar sauna and the option for cold plunges to reconnect with our bodies.
About Us
Sagan Bolliger and Helena Zhu are two heart-centred and grounded earthlings who are passionate about being of service in helping fellow human beings as they take the journey back to their hearts. We have devoted our lives to facilitating private 5-MeO-DMT journeys full-time over the past two years, a work we approach from a place of presence, compassion, acceptance, and love. We believe that creating a safe and loving container is the best foundation for the natural unfolding of our inner healing intelligence. We use therapeutic physical touch, sound, scents, and physical care to support our journeyers in the medicine and talk therapy and physical nourishments in preparation and integration. We appreciate our earth medicine for its ability to dive straight to the heart and into the body and honour the vulnerability and the power of working with this medicine in a community context.
We live between Vancouver and Bowen Island, BC and run two monthly community circles, one for journeyers and one for facilitators.
Schedule (tentative)
Friday
1-4 p.m.Arrival
5-6 p.m. Welcome and introductions
6-7:15 p.m. Dinner
7:30-7:45 p.m. Group agreements
7:45-8:15 p.m. About the medicine
8:30-9:30 p.m. Intention sharing with cacao
9:45-10 p.m. Logistics and Q&A
Saturday
7:30-9:45 a.m. Coffee, tea, and fruits
8-9 a.m. Sauna and ocean dips
10 a.m.-1 p.m. First medicine circle (including a silent break and sharing circle)
2-6 p.m. Second medicine circle (including a silent break and sharing circle)
7 p.m. Celebratory dinner
8:30 p.m. Hot tub opens
Sunday
8-9 a.m. Sauna and ocean dips
10-11:15 a.m. Brunch
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Integration and closing circle
12:30-6 p.m.Optional massage add-on, hot tub opens
By 6:30 p.m.Departure
Our hospitality
We have found that being held and in connection with the natural world is its own medicine. We are happy to be able to offer this retreat in a beautiful island space in nature nestled between the ocean and the forest. Through providing healthy, homemade meals, the option to start each day with a cedar sauna and cold plunge into the ocean, and a wood fireplace to cozy up in the evenings, we trust that the physical space will deeply nourish and hold you.
Considering Participating?
We would love to meet you for a free one-hour consultation to discuss your goals and the suitability of this medicine and container. For some clients we may recommend private facilitation, a different medicine, or other modalities. Email us at [email protected] to book a consultation.
We ask for a non-refundable deposit of $500 to hold your spot. All prices subject to 5% GST and listed in Canadian dollars (CAD).
We are also able to arrange private retreats for groups of 4-6 people upon request at dates that suit your group. We welcome you to reach out to discuss this option.
"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."
Rumi
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.”
Josh Magro, Psychotherapist
“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.”
Tom, Ontario, 49
“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. ”
Kate, 39, Vancouver
“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.”
JQ, Vancouver
“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.”
Dana Harvey, Founder, The Flourish Academy, Psychedelic and Microdosing Educator and Guide
“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.”
NF, California
“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.”
Male, age 50, Vancouver
“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.”
Ben R., Canberra, Australia
"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.”
KT, 28, BC
“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.”
David, Burnaby
“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.”
Nicki Dumba, Pemberton
“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.”
Ryan, age 40, Richmond
“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.”
