BECOME A SAFE & CONFIDENT
ENTHEOGEN MEDICINE CEREMONY FACILITATOR
A 15-day Experiential Training, for Earth medicines people
with optional 3-Day Specialty Practicum
Training: 22 Sept — 7th Oct 2023
Optional Practicums: 9-14 Oct 2023,
Tulum, Mexico
For aspiring or existing facilitators to serve ceremonies of ancestral medicines, in the modality of their choice, safely & with confidence, from Ayahuasca, Fungi, San Pedro or Peyote, to Bufo or Kambo. Integrating indigenous and spiritual healing practices with modern trauma resolution, harm reduction and ethical and business guidelines.
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What’s included – Snapshot
25+
Ceremonies
Experiential learning with various Sacred medicines
15
Nights
Luxury shared accommodation in Eco-Jungle resort
35
Vegan Meals
Farm to table Vegan delicious meals
6
Assistants
Team for Support and supervision
360
Supervision Hrs
Constant monitoring, supervision, feedback from faculty
1
Program
SpiritRivers comprehensive program
4
Practicums
Optional Specialty Practicums available post program
15
Shamanic Tools
Shamanic processes, from soul-recovery to drum journeys
∞
Monitoring
Continuous medical, mental & emotional assessment
∞
Care add-ons
Optional Yoga, Massage, Swimming and other services
The Entheogen Emergence needs facilitators…
Did you hear the call?
- Have you worked with Visionary Ancestral Medicines and feel a deep calling to support others in their most transformational journeys, yet, don’t know where to start?
- Have you apprenticed with indigenous or lineage-based curanderos and yet believe there is also a place for Ancestral Medicines led by western-minded facilitators, qualified to hold a safe, shamanically inspired, trauma-informed space for an audience sharing the same culture, language, and mindset?
- Do you feel there may be a missing piece in your confidence to handle any situation in your circles? Or do you already hold circles and would like to deepen your skills, whilst being part and contribute to a fast-growing community of safe and qualified facilitators responding to the call of service?
- Are you perplexed by the trend of ‘psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy’ training programs, mostly catered to psycho-professionals and seeking to make psychotherapeutic models the only valid ones in the western entheogenic space? Whereas they may be missing the vital components of true, authentic and sacred shamanic ceremonial context?
- Are you feeling disqualified because you are not a licensed therapist, even though you may have gained more entheogenic experience than most of the faculty in these programs?
What if it were possible for aspiring facilitators to bypass the filters and gatekeepers, to serve the sacred space of Ancestral Medicines safely with integrity and confidence, and to contribute to a heart-based community, supporting growth and alleviating pain and suffering?
About this program
Cohorts of us have heard the call to serve sacred Ancestral Medicines. They recruit us to support changes in consciousness and much-needed healing. Yet, working with sacred ancestral medicines can present a range of challenges, from unspeakably ecstatic experiences to difficult or profound psycho-spiritual confrontations.
In the West, rare are the facilitators or integration specialists confident to help others simultaneously navigate through the challenges of a deep Ancestral Medicine experience, process profound realisations, resolve activated traumas and integrate visionary and mystical experiences into their day-to-day life.
This 15-day, hands-on training offers foundational and practical skills to help you share ancestral medicines in ceremonial settings, with confidence, safety, and care. It combines shamanic & spiritual approaches, modern trauma & harm reduction solutions with effective business and ethics best practices.
Additionally, upon completion of the 15-day curriculum, students will have an opportunity to undertake optional practicums, to further and hone the skills gained in the training, in the modality of their choice, with real-life participants and fully supervised by faculty.
The 15-Day training & optional practicums are composed of individual & group processes, lectures, debates, Q&As, study groups and of hands-on practical & experiential ceremonial work, where you will be assisting real-life ceremonies with San Pedro, Ayahuasca, Bufo and Kambo.
The skills acquired and refined in this training cover four main areas:
The healing Process
Medicine
- What is Ancestral Medicine
- Shamanic perception
- Navigation skills
- You and the medicine
- Indigenous versus western
- Participating versus serving
The container
Ceremony
- Crafting and weaving space
- Preparation/Integration
- Working with individuals/groups
- Trauma; knowledge of trauma
- Ceremony light & shadow work
- Ceremony music; Canticos, Icaros
The one seeking healing
Participant
- Stories & attachment to stories
- Psycho-spiritual making
- Trauma management
- Shadows (theirs)
- Preparation, Integration
- Beyond Integration
The mediator
Facilitator
- Knowledge of entheogen space
- Shadow (yours)
- Humility, Integrity, Ethics, Commitment
- Embodying the Spirit of medicine.
- The crucial skills of a facilitator
- Beyond ceremony, Integration skills
For some of you, the above may already feel familiar and comfortable. For others, you may only discover the depths and the myriad aspects of what it takes to serve Ancestral Medicines in a modern context. Don’t be discouraged, this training is here to provide a solid exploratory platform of the many aspects of this new path.
Note: This training starts on a NEW MOON, perfect timing to initiate new beginnings, and will end on the day of the SPRING EQUINOX, a pivotal turning point in the year to help you lead and manifest your wildest dreams.
Why this training
The renewed interest for Ancestral Medicines (entheogens and psychedelics) attests to their capacity to provide answers to many of the ills of our current world, from mental health and chronic or terminal illnesses to people aspiring to deepen their spiritual or meditative practices.
Ancestral Medicines circles seem to improve all aspects of life, they often cure, they answer life-long enquiries and help reconnect communities with Nature and the sense of the Sacred.
The rapid expansion of new Psychedelic sectors has come with a dire need (and a growing offering) for psychotherapeutically trained professionals.
Yet, the options are less prevalent for the bridge walkers, those passionate about shamanic, energetic, spiritual and holistic approaches, those with the desire to hold Sacred space and translate the power of Ancestral Medicines for a western audience, safely, with integrity and without imprinting psychotherapeutic models.
We, at SpiritRivers, see a critical need for a solid shamanic safe framework, integrating the latest of neuroscience, yet independent of psychotherapeutic models, to help aspiring or existing facilitators gain confidence in their ability to hold sacred space for others and to execute the vision and mission that Ancestral Medicines inspire.
If you’re feeling a deep calling to support others in their most transformational journeys,
… then the SpiritRivers Entheogen Facilitator Training may be the most defining step for you to take your place in the Entheogen Emergence and to become part of a unique community of Earth Medicine people, serving and improving many lives.
Format and Learning Environment
What this training is
- A residential, hands-on, experiential, 15-day, all-inclusive training. An optional speciality 3-day practicum (Ayahuasca, Huachuma, Bufo Alvarius or Kambo) is also offered.
- It combines individual and group processes with ample hands-on ceremonial work with real-life participants supervised and integrated by the lead tutor.
- It favours indigenous ways of learning: nature-based, cellular and Spirit-infused, experiential understanding.
- The ceremonial part of this training offers hands-on work with the master medicines of San Pedro, Ayahuasca, Bufo Alvarius and Kambo to allow you to learn how to navigate any ceremonial spaces, and with the medicine of your choice. See FAQs
- We work with true earth medicines only (no synthetic or lab-made compounds). However, the training is also open to ceremonialists operating with synthetic medicines.
What this training is not
- It is not a psychedelic-assisted-therapy training.
- It does not deal with psychedelics but entheogens (see the difference here)
- It is anything but ‘therapy-based’.
- This training is dominantly experiential (not informational) and you will be guided and challenged to hone your own relationship with the world of the ‘Intangible’. No notes are provided. You are the material to learn from.
- This training offers neither diploma nor certification. We stay true to the indigenous way of establishing confidence in our own abilities based on our results only.
- We do not train ‘shamans’. We train practitioners in the shamanic arts of Ancestral Medicines. The reliance on Self-Assessment and Ally Work are fundamental keys and will be nurtured by your guide on this journey, to eventually become the only life compass you will ever need in ceremonial circles and beyond.
- A note for neuroscientists and psychologists: we absolutely welcome psycho-professionals (psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry…), however, by essence this training is a foray into the non-linear, non-cognitive and direct-knowing aspect of the mind and into our experiential relationship with Master Teachers, Nature, and the sense of the Sacred. As such, any prior cognitive training or experience may become more of a hindrance to operating within the space of the ‘Intangible’, the domain of Ancestral Medicines. Both open-heart and open-mind are absolute requisites.
BECOME AN ENTHEOGEN CEREMONIALIST WITH SPIRITRIVERS
Register your interest for this upcoming training
Who is this training for
We welcome any individual aspiring to answer the sacred calling to serve safe medicine circles with integrity and cultural and business ethics.
This training is ideal for individuals
- Wanting to develop their abilities to lead safe and trauma-informed entheogen medicines circles.
- Willing to acquire or deepen the skills and the crucial role of the facilitator in creating, holding and maintaining a space sacred ceremonial space for all concerned.
- Curious to learn or develop effective trauma release and behavioural change frameworks, tools, and techniques that help optimise the entheogen experience.
- Aspiring or existing therapists and coaches or Shamanic, spiritual and holistic practitioners wanting to incorporate sound and ethical entheogens circles and circles integration in their practice.
- Wanting to become comfortable and informed about the cultural sensitivities and ethics required to offer circles with integrity.
- Wanting to develop or refine their skills to promote and manage their own retreats.
This training is not catered for
- Those seeking a psychedelic-assisted-therapy training.
- Those seeking to learn techniques or shortcuts and unwilling to bring the whole of themselves as the material to learn from.
- Those attached to the modern psycho-professional paradigm.
- Those willing to profit from the Entheogen Emergence yet unwilling to integrate reciprocity, inclusion, diversity and sustainability into their practice.
- Individuals seeking a Diploma or certification to justify or support their operating in the domain of Sacred Ancestral Medicines
- Those unwillling to value the importance of reciprocity and contribution to community, Nature and to the cultural traditions that have supported millenia of practice of Ancestral Medicines around the world.
Results and Outcomes
Our goal is to create a unique experiential environment to safely learn the complexities of serving Ancestral Medicines. Upon completion you will be comfortable with
Shamanic approach to Ancestral Medicines ceremonies
How to construct a Ceremony: container, content, rituals, and rites. The tools of the trade: medicine wheel, cosmovision & cosmogony, shamanic processes including drum journeys, soul retrieval, Psychopomp and Despachos. Their importance and value.
Ceremonial skills
Creating beauty & safety. Opening the portals to Ancestral Medicines. Relationship to the medicine, embodiment. The crucial shamanic ‘seeing’ or perceptual skills.
Original wound, trauma-informed skills
Trauma (individual, collective) management and harm reduction approaches applied to the three ceremonial aspects of Preparation, Navigation, and Integration
Leading transformational processes
How to identify and support emotional, psycho-spiritual and traumatic processes to completion and, further, to integration.
Creating safer ceremony spaces.
The role of the facilitator, tolerance, boundaries, safety & communication
How to host & organise ceremonies
Management, business, promotion, ethics.
How to create Inclusive & diverse circles
The safe ways to avoid psychology-imprinting in circles.
How to lead and manage integration circles
The paramount skills of Integration. How to help a participant transcend the experience into useful insights for day-to-day living.
How to navigate cultural sensitivity, a simple framework.
A non-psychology based approach to cultural, indigenous identity, tradition and context to help you navigate the traps of the western mind.
Who we are — The team
“This training has been 4 years in the making and is the result of 30yrs of professional, clinical, shamanic practice, leading retreats and teaching experience, concentrated into a unique event for a very unique audience.
Like most of you here, I, too, have received the very loud call to not only share medicines circles with others but to also assist aspiring facilitators in their quest to answer their own calling and share their gift with those in need of healing and transformation. I can’t wait to gather up around the fire with you for this very unique event — Frédéric “
Your guide on the journey, Frédéric Cherri
By nature, I'm not very fond of labels or titles. However, if I had to describe my path I would say that I’m mostly a practitioner of the shamanic arts, a therapist with 30yrs of clinical practice and tutoring in the field of cranial osteopathy, specialising in trauma, immune disorders and perinatal issues. I've also trained extensively for the last 25 years in the shamanic arts, and dedicated much of my time to living and studying with indigenous communities in many parts of the world.
I’m finally an entrepreneur, a retreat leader, a program teacher, a ceremonialist, a shamanic practitioner, an entheogen integration specialist and a personal coach. Years of study and practice on the path of workshop facilitation, field research and clinical & therapeutic work have led me to believe we can heal anything.
I'm also aware of being a bit of an 'oddball' in the realm of ancestral medicines, as I've trained (and keep training) in a variety of medicines and within different traditions. A medicine man or woman is usually a one-medicine specialist and trains in one sole tradition. I have answered the specific calls from some of these remarkable medicines and travelled wide and far to different jungles and mountains to work and study with varied First-Nation communities on this planet.
I believe there is a need for people like me to help bridge, protect and disseminate to a western audience the extraordinary wisdom of the first nations who share these medicines. Shamanic work and one of its mysterious and exciting aspects, the realm of plant or earth medicine, brings many answers to the unresolved issues of modern medicine or psychology. I have dedicated my life to supporting others’ journeys, growth, and transformation and am delighted to answer any questions via Zoom or WhatsApp chat. Schedule a free call here. Or leave me a message on WhatsApp at +52 998 354 2178
Support and assisting team
Rogelio
Ceremony Assistant, Nutrition Specialist
For over 20 years, Rogelio has worked in different areas and fields, always in service of love, healing and creativity, and active in supporting and creating transformational and evolutionary spaces.
Having refined his offering in one of his main passions: vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free nutrition, he also learned how to support people in their healing processes. He now finds himself serving within the ceremony space, practising compassion and presence, as well as deepening his understanding of the plant medicine realm.
Ray
Logistics, Ceremony Assistant
Ray Bueno is a Marine combat veteran and marketing and logistics manager for SpiritRivers International. After struggling with PTSD and depression, he answered the call to a plant medicine retreat in Mexico with Frédéric. Since, he has been passionate about learning more about plant medicine and its potential to heal individuals and communities. He is an advocate for veterans and believes that plant medicines can be a powerful tool in helping veterans suffering from PTSD, chronic pain, and other conditions.
Amy Lynn
Facilitator & Ceremony Assistant
Amy Lynn is a Shamanic Doula, assisting Soulful transformation; the cycle of birth, and death. A guide to one’s own innate possibility, potential, awareness, and wisdom. A catalyst to creating change, by restoring the health of the individual's mind, body and soul. Dedicated to inspiring a N E W collective vision and possibility, educating response-ability, and reconnecting with Earth, Spirit, and community for social change. “Empowering the evolution of consciousness, starting with me, while rippling to You.”~ Amy Lynn
Geovanna
Operations & Management
Geovanna is a passionate advocate for natural and holistic healing, plant medicines as powerful tools in helping others work through trauma, depression, anxiety, and pain. She's joined many retreats with Frederic and gained hands-on experience with Huachuma, Ayahuasca, Bufo, Peyote and Kambo. Following her move to Mexico in 2022, she set out to continue helping others find healing and transformation with entheogens and as a way of inspiring growth and positivity in this world.
Investment
Your investment for this 15-Day Residential, all-inclusive* Training is $5900.
You can choose to pay the Early Bird rate of $5600 and save $300 (***only valid for the first 5 registrants***). Or to book your place on this training (limited to 15 participants) you only need to pay a $1000 deposit (non-refundable/transferable). The remaining balance of $4,900 will be due one calendar month prior to the starting day of the training. Payment plans are available on request.
**NOT INCLUDED: Air Fares, transportation costs to and from our retreat centre in Tulum, Mexico. The nearest airport to Tulum is Cancun (CUN) Airport, which is 60 km away.
EARLY BIRD
FULL PAYMENT — SAVE $US300- ***Only available to the first 5 registrants***
- ~ 15-DAY residential training, all-inclusive, twin-share accomodation, vegan meals
STANDARD PRICING
ALL INCLUSIVE- To lock your space, use the button below to pay your deposit of $1000 (non-refundable). Balance to be paid one full calendar month prior to the starting date.
- ~ 15-DAY residential training, all-inclusive, twin-share accomodation, vegan meals
3-Day Optional Speciality Practicum
You are given the opportunity to further your training with an optional 3-day speciality module to refine your skills with the medicine of your choice, in a real-life, ceremonial supervised setting.
Ancestral Medicines circles are organised by SpiritRivers for you to lead and support participants as a fully-fledged facilitator, simultaneously being fully supervised with further integration from faculty.
Ayahuasca
3-day Practicum - 10-11 October- ~ 3-day, 2 Ceremonies, 2-nights residential practicum, all-inclusive, twin-share accomodation, vegan meals
Included
- 3 Ayahuasca ceremonies
- Circles of 10 participants min.
- Preparation and integration
- Supervision with faculty
- 3 nights Accom. & vegan meals
Huachuma
3-day Practicum - 9-10 October- ~ 3-day, 3 Ceremonies, residential practicum, all-inclusive, twin-share accomodation, vegan meals
Included
- 3 Huachuma ceremonies
- Circles of 10 participants min.
- Preparation and integration
- Supervision with faculty
- 3 nights Accom. & vegan meals
Bufo Alvarius
3-day Practicum 11-13 October- ~ 3-day, 6 Ceremonies, residential practicum, all-inclusive, twin-share accomodation, vegan meals
Included
- 6 Bufo ceremonies
- Circles of 10 participants min.
- Preparation and integration
- Supervision with faculty
- 3 nights Accom. & vegan meals
Kambo
2-day Practicum 13-14 October- ~ 2-day, 4 Ceremonies, residential practicum, all-inclusive, twin-share accomodation, vegan meals
Included
- 4 Kambo ceremonies
- Circles of 10 participants min.
- Preparation and integration
- Supervision with faculty
- 3 nights Accom. & vegan meals
FAQs — Frequently Asked Questions
Hidden
Hidden
Do I need to have any entheogen experience to be accepted into this training?
The short answer is yes, you do.
You don’t need to have undertaken hundreds of ceremonies, but you do need to have a personal ‘calling’ to this work.
We do believe that entheogens have an uncanny way to call a specific type of people to the task of serving circles. The calling is usually received through non-ordinary states of being, dreams, intuitions, insights, and of course, clear messages whilst you are with the spirit of medicine. The people called to this work frequently are of all feathers, genders and origins, but the common denominator is that they have a deep desire to be of service and to share their gift with others.
The way we help you clarify if this training is for you is through a brief online call.
Fill up the pre-enrolment form here and just turn up for the predetermined online meeting we will establish.
FILL UP THE FORM HERE
What is the difference between Entheogens and Psychedelics?
The term entheogen, “revealing the divine within” (Ruck et al., 1979), was coined to overcome the bias and derogatory nature implicit in terms like “hallucinogen”.
On the other hand, the word psychedelic means “mind revealing” which is one way to describe the powerful effects of psychedelic drugs (sometimes also called hallucinogens). They cause a shift in your sense of self and consciousness, as do lots of other drugs, like alcohol, cocaine, and opiates.
We, at SpiritRivers, have made a clear subjective choice to refer to entheogens when describing Ancestral Medicines, as opposed to mostly lab-made psychedelic compounds (MDMA, Psilocybin, LSD or extracted tryptamines and mescaline) used in psychedelic circles.
Why many medicines in this training? I'm only interested in serving one
We strongly believe the entheogenic experience and the processes a participant may undergo in circles are often similar or present with the same challenges and potential confrontations, whether they be physiological, emotional, mental, spiritual or mystical. They also seem to require a very similar facilitation skill set, regardless of the medicine you’re working with.
Furthermore, we also believe that there is a very specific space common to all Ancestral Medicines: the space of the ‘Intangible’, the space the facilitator or shaman navigates to and fro. This is also the space we enter when altered states of perception become prevalent.
This space of the Intangible is a space a facilitator needs to navigate with ease, regardless of the medicine, in order to be useful to the participant, The practice of various spaces is one of the best ways to acquire solid navigation skills.
How many participants will there be during this training?
This training is open to 15 applicants only and is in high demand.
Apply now to secure a spot.
FILL UP THE APPLICATION FORM HERE
Why is there no certification offered?
Our western education models all establish a consensus of the content to be taught and how it should be taught, with the purpose of unifying and grading knowledge.
On the other hand, the ancestral way to ‘learn the world’ is through direct experience, the direct knowing of what can then, be established, individually, as truth. Its validity is personal and based on the results that it generates, and does not concern itself with the unification of knowledge.
From our point of view, and with profound respect to traditional or shamanic educational models, the study of Ancestral Medicines invites ‘other ways of knowing‘, based on the ‘direct knowing‘ that every individual will establish for herself or himself. The skills and tools required on this path are self-discernment, self-assessment, the willingness to learn from Spirit and a trusted guide.
What is the Application process?
This training is open to 15 applicants only and is in high demand.
Apply now to secure a spot in this upcoming event
In order to determine that we are a mutual fit for this training, the Enrolment is a 3-step process.
STEP 1
Fill out the Pre-Enrolment application form.
This form is a simple form allowing you to share your interests and motivation to join this training. Fill it up with thoughtful answers.
FILL UP THE APPLICATION FORM HERE
STEP 2
Book a personal Session.
Following Pre-enrolment, you will receive an online calendar link to book your Personal Session with Frédéric. Please book your call promptly.
STEP 3
Show up for your personal Session.
Our complimentary Personal Sessions are reserved for aspiring ceremony facilitators who are committed to undertaking a life-changing journey. Turn up at the approved time for your session.
During the call, we’ll establish if we are a good mutual fit to walk the path on this journey. You’ll be able to ask any questions you may have about the training.
Does the training require a preparation?
Coming soon
Is there any support after the training?
Coming soon
Is there any continuing education after the training?
Coming soon
Our Venue
Our venue is an outstanding new retreat centre in the famed city of Tulum, about 90 mins from the internation airport of Cancun.
The nearest airport to our venue is Cancun (CUN) Airport which is 50 km away.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT STEP?
Register your interest for this upcoming training
Application Process
This training is open to 15 applicants only and is in high demand.
Apply now to secure a spot in this upcoming event
In order to determine that we are a mutual fit for this event, the Enrolment is a 3-step process
Step 1
Fill out the Pre-Enrolment application form.
This form is a simple form allowing you to share your interests and motivation to join this training. Fill it up with thoughtful answers.
Step 2
Book a personal Session.
Following Pre-enrolment, you will receive an online calendar link to book a Personal Session with Frédéric. Please book your call promptly.
Step 3
Show up for your personal Session.
Our complimentary Personal Sessions are reserved for aspiring ceremony facilitators who are committed to undertaking a life-changing journey. Turn up at the approved time for your session.
During the call, we’ll establish if we are a good mutual fit to walk the path on this journey. You’ll be able to ask any questions you may have about the training.
