Information

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  • Medical Research
  • Permaculture
  • Preparation & Integration
  • Setting & Safety
  • Shamanism & Ayahuasca
  • Ayahuasca Research Study with ICEERS & Beckley Foundation

    The Temple is committed to supporting the development of a body of scientific research that can demonstrate the efficacy of Amazonian plant medicines and healing processes. From 2015 to 2019, we hosted a landmark research project studying ayahuasca as a therapeutic tool in modern society with the International Center for…

  • The Divine Feminine

    We are witnessing a global spiritual renaissance that is reawakening our connection to Mother Earth, and in the process, breaking the hold of patriarchal materialistic systems of control and the mechanistic worldview that disavows the sacred and the interconnection of all life. Working with Divine Feminine Energy The re-emergence of…

  • Reciprocity to The Amazon

    According to indigenous wisdom traditions across the planet, sharing is the key to maintaining a healthy, balanced life for all. We strongly recommend that people come to work with ayahuasca with a clear understanding of the crucial importance of reciprocity. Reciprocity enables us to complete the varying phases of healing…

  • The Chaikuni Institute

    The Chaikuni Institute is a grassroots collective which investigates, promotes and protects equitable, inclusive, interrelated, and abundant living systems. By honouring indigenous wisdom and enacting the principles of permaculture, we support a form of life known in Spanish as buen vivir, and in Quechua as sumak kawsay. It is a mindful approach…

  • Our Planet

    Collectively, we are at the tipping point of enormous change. Our destiny appears poised between irreversibly destroying the environment and the air we breathe, and a spiritual awakening that transcends cultural, political and ethnic boundaries. The stakes are not just the survival and evolution of humanity but the evolution of…

  • Ayahuasca Preparation Guidelines

    At the Temple, our priority is to provide a secure, safe, and sacred space for you to heal deeply and transform your life. Focusing on ayahuasca preparation before you leave for the Amazon is a critical aspect of the healing process; establishing a clear intention and ensuring you prepare your…

  • Implementing the Masterplan

    Following a visit by renowned permaculturist Doug Bullock and his team from Terra Phoenix Designs in March 2012, we have been implementing an extensive Permaculture Masterplan throughout the Temple ground for over ten years. Our fundamental intention is to reduce our ecological footprint to the most minimal negative impact on…

  • Regenerative Ayahuasca Production

    The Temple has become a self-sufficient producer of ayahuasca, modelling a responsible and regenerative ayahuasca production method for this sacred medicine through incorporating the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) into our agroforestry systems on the Temple’s 300-hectare property. Our efforts seek to counter the trend of the over-harvesting of ayahuasca in…

  • Safety At The Temple

    The safety of our guests is paramount. All the healers and facilitators who work at the Temple of the Way of Light have many years of experience holding ayahuasca ceremonies and facilitating the responsible use of ayahuasca in its traditional context. Your well-being is our priority, both in and out…

  • Ayahuasca Shamanism in Amazonian Rainforest

    Ayahuasca Shamanism

    History of Ayahuasca Ayahuasca is an Amazonian plant medicine that has been used for centuries, possibly thousands of years, by indigenous and more recently mestizo ayahuasca shamanic healers across the upper Amazon throughout Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. There are over 40 other names known for this sacred medicine, including caapi, natema, mihi and yage.…

  • Ayahuasca Integration

    Integrating ayahuasca healing is as important as the process that happens on an ayahuasca retreat. It’s what you do with the teachings and insights that you get from the medicine, as well as how you take care of yourself and make changes in your life that ensure your ongoing process…

  • Medical Guidelines

    It is necessary that you agree to disclose, in confidence, any known medical conditions and/or use of any medication, at the time of booking. By coming to the Temple, you are declaring that you are in a physical and mental condition appropriate to the activities described in the workshop programs,…

  • The Alchemy Of Transformation

    When we dive into unintegrated blockages, it may appear that our experience is worsening. But this is a necessary part of the process. By this we mean blockages are projected onto the screen of the world. Our experience appears to deteriorate into increasing discomfort and strangeness. Conversely, however, these experiences…

  • Permaculture and Local Community Projects

    Through our focus on working with plant spirits at the Temple, it was clear over a decade ago that we needed to expand our inner/healing work into an all-encompassing focus on how we relate to the world around us. From health care to planet care. Permaculture is exactly this; a…

  • Compassionate Environment

    From the inception of the Temple, our core philosophy was to ensure that we provided an atmosphere of genuine care and compassion. We firmly believe that a compassionate healing environment is an essential component of the overall healing process. While it takes courage to work with ayahuasca, if we don’t…

  • Holding A Responsible Ayahuasca Ceremony: Guest Guidelines

    At the Temple, our priority for each ayahuasca ceremony is to provide a secure, sacred space for you to heal and grow. Our carefully selected healers are experts in holding ceremonies according to the traditional practices of the Amazon basin, and we adhere to these ancient procedures so that our…

  • The Importance Of Experienced Facilitators

    One of the keys to facilitating the most effective healing process is the combination of advanced healers with highly trained facilitators. By creating a reassuring atmosphere of safety, support, compassion, and trust throughout our ayahuasca retreats, facilitators carry out a vital role in supporting the healing process that is being…

  • Genuine Ayahuasca Healing

    Does the Temple Offer Ayahuasca Tourism?

    The Temple is a traditional medicine healing center. We are not a ‘tripping’ or tourist center for experimenting with what some would pigeonhole as a hallucinogenic drug – we work exclusively with high-level Shipibo healers offering genuine, deep, traditional Amazonian shamanic healing. We welcome guests from all walks of life.…

  • Ayahuasca Tea – Ancient Medicine in the Modern World

    Ayahuasca is one of the most powerful and well-known natural entheogens known to man. The name ayahuasca comes from Quechua, a widely spoken South American language found throughout the Amazon: aya means “soul” or “spirits” and huasca means “vine.” The full name, therefore, means “vine of the soul” or “vine of the spirits.” It…

  • Ikaros – Songs Of The Plants

    The main approach of the Onanya to remove negative energies is energy medicine that comes in the form of song – ikaros. Sound is a form of energy frequency (vibration) through which communication and healing can take place. As Pam Montgomery writes: “Everything in physical existence has a molecular structure…

  • Ayahuasca Dietary Information

    One of the most important aspects of working with ayahuasca is adhering to a honored tradition of following a special Ayahuasca dieta in order to prepare not just the body, but also the mind and soul to incorporate the healing energy of ayahuasca. Following the Ayahuasca dieta also shows the…

  • Amazonian Plants and Medicines

    The Amazon Rainforest produces more than 20 percent of the world’s oxygen, and 20 percent of the world’s fresh water and is home to over 150,000 species of plants, many of which are medicinal plants. The Amazon has been the richest biological incubator on the planet Earth for millennia. This…

  • Recommended Reading

    Please note that although we are happy to recommend reading materials, it is important to know that one can never truly grasp the profound benefits or “intellectualize” about the experience of ayahuasca. Ayahuasca works beyond the constraints of the mind and if you are new to the medicine, then it…

  • Plant Spirit Healing

    The last 40 years have seen a continual rise in people’s interest in traditional indigenous cultures that engage with the unseen forces of nature and the spirit beings that inhabit the astral/dreamtime dimension. Plant-spirit healing is a way of life as well as a modality of healing because it helps…

  • Respecting Tradition

    Traditional Medicine of the Peruvian Amazon The foundation of our work at the Temple is traditional Amazonian medicine, practised by genuine and highly skilled indigenous Amazonian shamanic healers. We deeply honor and respect indigenous traditions, their tried and tested healing practices and the profound wisdom that has evolved over countless…

  • Shipibo Energy Healing

    In ancient Hippocratic medicine, the patient was called asthenis, meaning a person who lacked strength or vital energy; the doctor was iatros, which means the healer who re-establishes the sthenos or vital energy in the person. The Onanya work directly with energy: identifying where there are blockages, if there is excess energy and where energy is…

  • Ayahuasca Healing in the Safe Environment

    Healing With Ayahuasca – Shadow Work

    The cornerstone of ayahuasca healing is shadow work: healing deep-seated emotional and psychological issues by bringing awareness to and rewriting negative patterns in your subconscious mind and clearing your energetic system of dense energies. An ayahuasca retreat at the Temple can be intense and often one of the most challenging…

  • Addressing Root Causes with Ayahuasca

    Our natural human state is joyful, harmonious, and peaceful. However, for most people, deeply unconscious and long-suppressed fears, anger, and negative emotions drive our lives, causing us typically to “try to feel good.” Yet this very attempt is self-defeating and serves only to repress the pain we are carrying. Our…

  • Overview of Scientific Research on Ayahuasca

    Ayahuasca has been recognized as a medicinal healing agent for thousands of years by indigenous cultures along the Amazon River. Western research regarding potential therapeutic effects of ayahuasca has taken off over the past 15 years, and while still evolving, many studies have indicated that ayahuasca has the potential to…

  • Healing Trauma – Individual And Collective Transformation

    “Throughout recorded and oral history, it has been the task of the shaman, or tribal healer, to help restore balance and health to individuals and communities where it has been disrupted,” writes Peter Levine. “In contrast to Western medicine, which has taken its time in recognizing the debilitating effects of…

Getting Here

The Temple of the Way of Light is located in the Amazon basin, in the Loreto region of Peru, a few hours journey by bus, boat, and hike from the city of Iquitos.
In order to come to the Temple you would need to fly into Iquitos International Airport in Iquitos, Peru. All flights to Iquitos are via Lima, Peru. We recommend booking your flights for one day before and after the start and end date of your retreat to first allow yourself time to acclimatize to the environment and then allow yourself ample travel time and time to reintegrate into the “mainstream” world once the retreat has ended.

**Please do not book flights or make any travel arrangements until your registration and medical information has been reviewed and you have been approved to attend a retreat.**

Each retreat group will be picked up on the first morning of the retreat at a designated pickup location in central Iquitos by one of our staff members and then travel to the Temple together from there. The group will be brought back into Iquitos after breakfast on the last morning of the retreat and will arrive in town by early afternoon (usually 2pm at the latest).

The price of a Temple retreat includes transportation from the group pickup place in Iquitos to the Temple on the first morning of the retreat and transportation back to Iquitos on the last morning of the retreat. The price does not include any flights, hotel costs, or transportation to the group pickup on the first morning
By Dates
By Program
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 3,900

    Living in Alignment: Ayahuasca Healing Retreat

    The backbone of our work and regular retreat offering, providing an immersion in traditional Shipibo plant-spirit healing complemented with yoga classes, individual and group support, and powerful methods of self-inquiry.
  • 12 Days + 5 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 5,100

    Ayahuasca Healing Retreat + 5-Day Integration Retreat

    NEW OFFERING – a 12-Day ‘Living in Alignment’ Ayahuasca Healing Retreat with the opportunity to stay on at the Temple for a 5-day Integration Extension Retreat. Available in April, July, and October 2024.
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 3,900

    Women’s Ayahuasca Healing Retreat

    For this retreat we will be working exclusively with female facilitators and female support staff. There is something very special that happens when a group of women come together to heal! To be held from April 16th to 27th, 2024 and November 26th to December 7th, 2024.
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 3,900

    Queer Ayahuasca Retreat

    This special queer retreat will provide a safe, welcoming, and caring environment where participants can feel comfortable being who they are. Shipibo healing will be complemented with Compassionate Inquiry sessions. To be held from October 25th to November 5th, 2024.
  • 14 Days
    5 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 2,000

    Traditional Plant Dietas at Shipibo Rao

    We are honored to support Maestro Jose Lopez Sanchez and his healing center, Shipibo Rao. Maestro Jose runs 14-day dietas working in the Shipibo tradition.
    Visit Shipiborao's website to book
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